20 minutes alone with the Lee Jackson Metaltronix M-1000

[@LeeJacksonMetaltronix]

Hello Michael Thank you for taking the time to talk about my M-1000 amplifier The 80’s was a magical time in Hollywood, and I was lucky to be located in the middle of it. At that time Lee Jackson Metaltronix was located in Reseda California, just outside Hollywood.. We were custom building amps for all the up and coming future rock stars. The M-1000 was just an extension of what we were doing with the Marshall modifications. I just released a new M-2000 head that takes all the designs I created over the years, and put them all into this new amp. You can check it out here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6PNiJ9qar5_gZY If you are into modding or repairing any of your own equipment I have put all my videos up for free here: kzbin.info Thank you again for the kind words.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Hi Lee! Congrats on the release of the M-2000!

[@LeonTodd]

Lee - please, PLEASE, get one of your new amps to Michael to demo. No one on the interwebz will do it more justice than Mike.

[@stringedassassin]

The GT-50 changed my life and has been a friend for 27 years. Thank you so much! Someday a Metaltronix will be mine.

[@georgebarry3153]

To my mind, the original Boutique Amp is a Lee Jackson amp. All others came later.

[@2204as]

I want one so bad!

[@pfrisch6030]

That is THE tone from Eat 'Em and Smile and a bunch of others from back in the day. I actually played one of these back in like '87 at a local store. I accidentally hit the attenuator button unleashing the full force of the amp. I'm not sure I've ever heard anything that loud! It was like a bomb going off.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

ha! It THE most dangerous amp ever!

[@WyattWillis88]

Such a treat to see an in depth play with a underrated legendary amp from an underrated legendary builder! You literally can't make these videos too long bro! Especially being stuck at home its a real pleasure to watch during these times

[@judgegroovyman]

agreed the more the better of this stuff

[@ttestates1]

I was one of the 1st Lee Jackson dealers in CT. I still use the SP-1000 Power Amps. I hung out with Lee at NAMM for hours, Gilbert, Wylde and the rest came to the booth. It was simply Awesome knowing him.

[@nickm.9474]

Dude!!! It sounds sick!!! Right off the bat.

[@KauffeyBean]

Thanks for this great in depth review of this almost mythical difficult to find amp! Always love your videos!

[@hollywoodjakespeed8354]

Michael, the other tones that “lurk” in Lee Jackson’s amps(I have a VL-1002) is George Lynch’s rhythm tone off “Back For The Attack” and Akira Takasaki’s tone off “Thunder In The East”. We ran the VL-1002 at full blast(literally) through a Boogie Recto 4x12, to get those tones. The thing I like about the Lee Jackson amps is that they do that "80s hard rock tone" perfectly. I wouldn't use one for modern metal tones. Lee’s stuff is magic!🤘🏻

[@nicholastotoro7721]

Didn’t Lynch use Aspen Pittman’s purple Plexi on BfTA?

[@hollywoodjakespeed8354]

Nicholas Totoro I believe so. But, what I was saying wasn’t that GL used the Ampeg, but that you can get that tone from that amp.

[@donsmith5385]

Hey lee Jackson’s old shop is right around the corner from me! You are so right never saw one in a store. I never knew how much noise these amps have, makes my vintage Randall’s sound quiet!

[@LeonTodd]

Me starting the vid - "this is going to be SIIIIIIICK" Me halfway through - "PLUG THE SOLDANO IN"

[@SHREDTILLDEAD]

I have a soldano profile and have no idea what Ir to pair with it. I typically like brown sounds, iic+ sounds and mark 4 sounds for prog metal. Any suggestions ? The only soldano cab ir's I have are 4x12 with eminence legend v12 done with various popular mics with the exception of neumanns they all seem to be done on the other cabs I have.

[@luthiervandros]

Lol these are good Marshall variants

[@tomulator]

LOL I was thinking the same...only, plug that Friedman in and show what GREAT tube amp sounds like!

[@LeonTodd]

@@SHREDTILLDEAD I really like greenbacks with my Hot Rod 50+

[@MrRycher]

Leon Todd , I agree Greenbacks go great with a Soldano. V30s just don’t allow it’s natural characteristics to shine through.

[@klanggrenze3905]

Thank you for your entertaining videos! I totally agree on your thoughts on the first Mr. Big album... Just awesome ingredients on that one \m/

[@matthias7455]

Sounds pretty cool. I especially like how the mids are voiced. Great video.

[@fredvahldiek738]

I remember the old Metaltronix shop in Reseda across the street from The Country Club. Lee tried to get me to use his stuff back in the mid '90s.

[@Jay-sy5yf]

Honestly the SD-1 segment sounds like old Yngwie to me! Thanks, Michael!

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Nope, wasn’t flashing stink eye. Was totally exhausted from 2 long days grinding out at the studio. It was my only opportunity to show the amp though.

[@plugnplaybaby]

Man I've been waiting for a new video longer than my dad to come back from getting a cigarette

[@6120orange]

Loved experiencing this rare beast with you. It has a couple of great sounds.

[@RoccoPezzin]

So good!!

[@danielspangler8358]

Michael I've used this amp in the late 90's with two Genz Benz 4x12 cabinets (earlier versions with eminence speakers, the black carpet and speckled grey speaker fronts with individual black metal speaker protectors.) It was these cabinets with a BBE 462 in the loop that made this amp come alive. The Genz Benz cabinets were amazing, total game changers. I was at Chuck Levin' s and was checking out the Ampeg Lee Jackson amp that Paul Gilbert was endorsing (the one with the lock out key and logo that lit up, too cool in my oponion). It was plugged into the Genz Benz cabinets. I bought the Ampeg took it home plugged it in to my two Gallien Kruger 4x12's and it sounded horrible! I called the sales guy up and explained my issue thinking it was the amp. He said "dude it's your cabinets". I asked what I was playing through at the store, he said Benz Benz. I said I'll take two. I drove two hours one way with two 4x12 G/B cabinets in a 1983 Dodge charger with me up against my steering wheel (It was so hard to make turns driving like that) back to the rehearsal space and voila! There was that awesome tone! The funny thing is, the Metaltronix and the Ampeg sounded almost identical! Duh, right? I still have the M1000, but sold the Ampeg as well.😑

[@raxsmax9774]

Great review as always Michael! Thank you! Heard a lot about these amps in the 80's and could never find one to demo. Don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. Interesting. Surprising how the tone has almost no bass in it. It's probably why it sat so well in the mix, but as a standalone... yikes. Definitely a purpose built amp. I can now see the methodology behind why the amp sounds the way it does. Very interesting... There was an earlier comment that you look disappointed. It seems like that. I would have been. What I suggest is that you demo this amp in a mix to see its full functionality. So many times we look for amps that sound full, tubey and warm as standalone because most of the time guitar players are at home alone, but that tone can get lost in the mix because of frequency overlap. Zakk and Paul were in full on band situations where the other frequencies were covered by the rest of the band. This amp makes sense, now that I have rambled a bit here, to explode out of the mix and slap the listener. Thank you once again for the review and great chops for not playing!

[@jbailey4690]

I'm loving the way that sounds

[@chasebeavers]

Growing up in the eighties was so great, this video brings a tear to my eye...

[@guitarworks2546]

i bought two of the Lee Jackson "Blues '59" 2x12 cabs loaded with Celestion Gg12M70's way back in the early '90's......still have them...the BEST 2x12 cabs ever....in fact, they were probably the only 2 that ever ended up in Ontario, Canada as a post NAMM show order for the music store I worked in at the time...we ended up with 3 M1000's and 2 Blues 59 amps..good stuff...a little temperamental as far as reliability...but great sounding amps!

[@jackbenson8228]

thanks for taking the time and making the effort. from new zealand

[@Bridging_the_Political_Divide]

Great tones here for sure. Killer amp.

[@94Shredder]

Def sounds good for that kinda thing 🤘

[@claretimus]

Awesome! That's the sound...period.

[@CarloRegadasGuitar]

I'm sure I remember Andy Larocque and King Diamond using the Metaltronix stuff? I've been playing guitar for 40 years this year and I remember the Metaltronix stuff being almost mythical, here in the UK. I'm talking around the time when Jackson guitars weren't even available in the UK. Owning that Hollywood custom shop stuff was the stuff of dreams. I've always wanted to hear a detailed study this amp and you didn't disappoint mate. I remember when Paul Gilbert was using the Ampeg stuff and used to get all the US guitar magazines on import in the 80s, so this is a cool video for me. Lee Jackson was obviously a tone guru and it's no surprise why all the top 80s shredders were queuing up at his door. It's a thick tone, in terms of saturation but it's still incredibly detailed and articulate. There's a nice slice of crisp crunch, although it sounds like it's more of a nice midrange bite, rather than ear-slicing, brittle treble or fizzy presence. Superb video mate. 👍🏼🎸

[@motorjunkie7717]

Thanks for the very cool review. His list price for the new amp according to his web site is $5,000. With all the great amps out there these days, I don’t think he will be selling many.

[@matthias7455]

I saw one a few years ago at GC for 300 bucks. Should have snagged it.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

He was on Tone-Talk. He made it sound like he was selling as many as he could build! I was surprised.

[@Yupppi]

It's the handmade guru thing. They will usually sell because you know the man and his ear and knowledge. That is actually not crazy far-fetched price for handmade boutique amp by a small hut dude and people love to pay for some specialty. I don't think you get the Lee Jackson sound elsewhere, even though you get in the ballpark and are probably more than happy with your sound, it's the extra 1% people are willing to pay for. I tried to figure out how to get that GP-1000 sound and was decently close with other stuff, but once I got one the sound instantly happened from just plugging in, I didn't have to tweak and search for it. It was there no matter which way I turned the knobs.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

@@Yupppi 100% Lee's sound is pretty unique. That why I feel like you can hear it specifically on certain songs on No Rest For The Wicked. It jumps out. I know there's Marshall JCM800 on there too, but certain times it's UNDOUBTEDLY the Metaltronix amps. After you've played one for a while you can really tell. Can't be mad at an amp with personality!

[@LeopardBull5trik3]

Pretty sure he modded Paul Gilbert's 74 super lead for the first 2 racer x albums. Guy is a talent

[@countveles]

And by the way, that amp has by far some of the most magical tones ever created

[@Ten80pete]

So what I'm hearing is that since I live on a second floor unit in an apartment... this is a must-have amp for me. Maybe paired with a Peavey Full Stack or 2 just in case the leasing office 3 blocks down wants to rock out with their eviction notices out. Damn. I will get one someday, but right now I'm having a hard time playing my Kustom HV100 at a manageable volume. Passive Attenuators are a godsend.

[@jameswyre6480]

Excellent job really running it through paces. Slammin’ pickhand technique, rusty or not. Thanks!

[@formula73]

I got one with the matching Killer Kab about 20 yrs ago. After endlessly fiddling, I gave up and sent it to FJA Mods and he made it way, way more useable. These are good quality amps that’ll never be worth much so I can’t recommend FJA enough.

[@bodiecano3751]

I had the M-1000 head and matching 4 x 12 cab. It was a great metal-hard rock amp. I wish I had never got rid of it.

[@californiasurfpunkmetal6207]

Great review of an old friend. Don’t forget Zakk ran two of the GP1000 preamps along with the head. These were mixed with a Simmons midi drum mixer and ran to the Metaltronix power amp. A key in all that was the BBE Sonic Maximizer. He also had an eq in the rack but the BBE was a really big part of the tone. It’s not the same without that BBE and those two preamps running together.

[@canaan_perry]

Great sound. I really like how it records.

[@xthexadvantagex]

Can’t wait to see what you do with the new M-2000. I’ll probably never afford that one but it’s nice to see what other people can do

[@garybourke468]

I had one about 20 years ago . Strange design. Very reliable, I gigged with it, definitely loud enough to fill a 1000 person space. But that was about all I liked about it. Had (3) foot switch jacks . One of them simply cranked the thing to 10 . Funny as hell . I think that was meant to be used in conjunction with the attenuation feature. Still though, it couldn't compare with my stock '73 (hand wired) 100w Superlead. The Metaltronix could not produce the "sub woof" bass and off the chart "sizzle" that my '73 SL/A naturally had with a grit box and boost box . Made a few bucks on it when I sold it.

[@reedhannon1984]

Had to pause just as you started dialing in. The first volume ( yea, we could hear it....) when you stop and turned towards the camera was tits boss, best look ever. You knew what was coming and had me laughing. Such sweet toys you get and I also dig your playing. Yet another good vid. So glad I am a subscriber, love this channel.

[@LysergikFuneral]

Nice Zakk riffs! I've got an early 90's Ampeg VL-1002 designed by Lee Jackson. I love it to death. Definitely a hot-rodded Marshall tone and also with a built-in attenuation. The killer feature though is the Mid-shift, which should be similar to the one on the Metaltronix. It was a mod Lee used to do on Marshalls too.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

I'm sure there fairly similar. Lee got that mid-shift from Paul Rivera. Paul created that for his Fender mods.

[@Diggerdog2nd]

My 100 watt Crate Stealth is my number one amp. It was designed by Lee Jackson also I heard.

[@matthias7455]

Dude, love the mid punch. Killer.

[@ericcarpenter3263]

Saw Ratt at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Ok like 20ish years ago... warren was the craziest, loud guitarist ever. Problem was in that building you could not hide from the presence or highs. I didn’t get up too close and something about about the frequency and volume really hurt. I noticed I wasn’t the only one having a rough time with it. I don’t remember what amps he was using but my ears rang and I felt like I had a concussion for 3 days. I would see Ratt again but take hearing protection for sure. Been to tons of concerts but for some reason that one hit me harder than even AC/DC in an arena. It was the loudest thing ever. That amp is actually scary to me, sounds good, but I was flinching when you hit notes. Lol. Great video and great sounding amp. Thanks.

[@sebastiannai4381]

I had one, it always blew power tubes. Sounded pretty decent when working, and the attenuator feature was cool. Took it to a couple of different repairmen, they would fix it supposedly, put new power tubes in it, and not too long before they blew again. I gave up on it, and it sat unused in the garage. When I moved from LA in 2005, the 80's hard rock/metal was at an all time low, the amp was the epitome of uncool, and I cared so little that I left it behind with roommates. Stupid, I wish I would have kept it.

[@danielspangler8358]

Me again, I also was able to find two of the Metaltronix Killer Kabs to compliment the M1000. They are nice cabinets, but in my opinion the Genz Benz still sounded the best.

[@saddestchord7622]

I'm looking forward to your video on the GP-1000. I have one that's broken. Back in the day I squeezed some good sounds out of it.

[@Yupppi]

I bet you also got it for cheap unless you bought it when it was released. They were going for like $150 before Children of Bodom got big around the world and the new generation found out what the guys were using in their racks. Suddenly you paid for $400-600. And today you struggle to find one for sale. Funny enough, I paid 400 euros and I'm pretty pleased, I think it's a fair price for that amp, it was a crazy steal for $150 back then. People would first go for digital and multieffects and whatnot, nobody recognized the piece of gear. And rack gear fell out of fashion too, in general.

[@saddestchord7622]

@@Yupppi I think I paid $200 for it, but that was way back in the early-to-mid 90s. Racks had gone out of style by then so I put this huge stereo rig together and played everything but metal on it. Then something went wrong with it and the gain sounded like ass so I used it as a pedal platform for a while before going to combos.

[@paulsdino]

Sounds really good on my speakers.I never had a chance to play one .

[@shaynesamia6372]

I used to own the series 2. You’re absolutely right... crazy loud!

[@yellokrab]

My bandmate had the Ampeg version in the early 90s and it was a lot of fun for about 10 minutes and then you couldn't hear over 1khz for a week. It's one of those 'amazing on records' amps but impossible to use outside the studio unless you want to get charged with a crime. Thank god for Kemper!

[@lucasdeliramendonca3546]

That's a pretty interesting Lee Jackson amp, i love it! But Michael, i think it's time to do a preamp battle part 2: the other ones!

[@BCyr1991]

The old Mustard Tiger! They certainly go from Whisper to stadium quicker than any other amp I’ve ever owned.

[@judgegroovyman]

I could feel the pain your ears were going through due to the volume. Great video thanks!

[@jamesford5919]

I think Zakk actually re-recorded all of his parts on NRftW with the Marshall John Sykes used on the Whitesnake album. I could be wrong tho.

[@wakjob961]

Thanks for the good questions on that last 'Tone Talk' with Bob Bradshaw. Now I want a PCM 42 LOL!!!

[@Quietistooquiet]

Best amp I ever owned was that Ampeg/Lee Jackson head that lit up. Gilbert sold me on that. Wish I still had it.

[@everettguy7070]

I had a few comments and questions for lee in that tone talk video you mentioned. I own #6 of the M-2000 and you should try it out. Its sound is so much bigger and quiet for the gain you can get. I was set to play it in a outdoor festival in April 2020 and the pandemic caused the event to cancel. I hope to get a live gig recording on youtube soon. I play thru a orignal metaltronix 4×12 cab. Its the perefect match.

[@wheresallthezombies]

Pretty ok sounding But good video. Hope you’re doing well during this quarantine thing .

[@Locoandchooch]

Zakks solo on “Miracle Man” is still in my top 10.

[@cainm8808]

absolutely

[@ud4034]

I have one of these! I have some weird version, the chassis says Blues 59' but it's really actually an M-1000. These amps are so obnoxiously loud!! It definitely takes awhile to dial in a decent sound for me and it also weighs like a million pounds hahahaha. Wish they used that new aircraft aluminum on these bad boys but hey beggars can't be choosers right?! Anyway, great to see one of these on KZbin, thanks for doing this!

[@TavaresProject]

The buxom boost sounds great with that

[@enlightened-ze3zs]

That's the sound I hear in my head . Wish I could find one of these

[@danielspangler8358]

One more note and then I'll shut up. When I bought the M1000 (used) I got the 3 button foot switch with it, but no user manual. I was overly confident and was kneeling down in front of a 4x12 cabinet fiddling with the knobs. I had master #2 engaged with that God damn system level on 7 or 8. I plugged in the foot switch (while hot, Not Recommended) pushed a button on the foot switch not knowing it would disengage master #2. It sounded like a gun shot right next to my ears! And then uncontrollable squealing and howling immediately followed. I was so stunned it took what seemed like 5 minutes to figure out that I needed to shut it off. I now have so much respect for that amp. It needs a good going over by a tech because I have not used it in quite some time. I'm afraid to turn it on.💥

[@BigHairyGuitars]

OH MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@johnpierson8398]

I am super interested in these amps! I want to add that when I first heard solo tracks of Eddie's guitar playing on VH1, I was amazed at how thin and even fizzy they sounded! Whoa, the Holy Brown Sound? The same with Lynch's playing on Under Lock and Key which has some of the best tones I have ever heard. George used Metaltronix amps on this album (which I mistakenly thought for the longest time was the SIR #39 Marshall). But the secret was with the rest of the band blasting away, these brash sounds were killing it in the mix. This EQ was a big part of the great metal tones of the 80's. One more point, this amp is like a nitro burning dragster. If the tubes are not great and biased just right, then it's not gonna be all it can be Thanks for this video!

[@enlightened-ze3zs]

That clean setting sounded just like the road to nowhere into tone

[@Juicexlx]

Fun fact: Alexi ''Wild Child'' Laiho played a Lee Jackson prea-amp for years. The definition of melting faces Metal tone.

[@roberteffler3382]

I bought one of these used in the late 80's and could never play it up loud enough to get a good sound out of it, it was a fine piece of gear, but to loud for the dives I was playing in.

[@janispetku4450]

I remember these great sounds from Paul Gilbert&Racer X, Loudness&Akira Takasaki and Zakk Wylde/Ozzy

[@Doty6String]

This is a sick ass amp

[@gstmusic69]

I played through one of these years ago. The overall noise drove me nuts, even though I did think it sounded cool. It is extremely loud but, I have to say....I have never heard an amp as loud as a full Rockman stack..and virtually no noise. It about took the roof off.

[@michaelmolick292]

well, i had a 100 watt Rivera Knucklehead that would peel the skin from your face. my 06 Splawn Quick Rod is a melter too

[@THEJOEDAVISBAND]

I toured in the 90s using the vl series ampegs..lee jackson ampeg models. they would go down and fry. they also never sounded the same after retubing. find dark horse live from the delta hubcap on itunes to hear thw amps.when they were new they were unreal.

[@208414]

I think these tones would stand out well in a mix but were obviously kind of painful in a solo setting due to the abundant top end presence.

[@cardbored_]

We’ve been spoiled by modern amps where the eq stack is much more interactive to where you can get tones for all settings.

[@armandomorenotherevival7827]

Far as I know Warren dimartini was a marshall user and soon after has been a soldano ever since. Nvr heard of him using metaltronix but he may have had some of his old Marshall’s modded by Lee Jackson

[@JunkRacecars]

There are a few different iterations of Lee Jackson modded Marshall circuits and they're all different. This is contrary to what Lee and others on the web keep saying. The M1000 is different from the Ampeg VL and XLA/S, but closer to the mods he did for Paul Gilbert (and likely George Lynch) w/o the gain pulled. The GP preamp (what Zakk used) is vastly different from all of the others and has more resemblance to a Fender or Boogie. If you're looking for Racer X tone, there is a guy on YT who profiled Paul's JMP and you can see the settings scribbled on it. As far as I can tell, the circuit is basically a slightly tweaked superlead bright channel with a PPIMV (aka "attenuator") on the back run about 1/3-1/2 up. The M1000 could be modded to that pretty easily, but it's pretty close as is (albeit, less gain and brighter). Turning down the attenuator and running the tone controls higher should get you into high gain territory without engaging the extra stage.

[@EarthisnotforSale]

I remember Andy LaRocque use to have these amps also and just about everyone in the late 80's wanted one of these.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

I don't know much about Andy. I'll have to look him up.

[@user-qr7ee2cp4y]

the lee jackson and Solano stuff may not sound revolutionary compared to the Bogner, Friedman, or boutique stuff today, but 30 years ago when they came out, the were the "eruption" of amps.

[@waterbuffalo4225]

Try the M-2000 please. If you can get a hold of it

[@EVEROSFP1]

Nice superstrat ! Think Steve Stevens has a similar....Can you give some info about thi guitar as well as price.. Thank you! And congrats for your channel.

[@damiencrow8338]

I own this amp and matching cab. I get entirely different tones. Mine breathes absolute fire and the tone stack is way kore pleasant that this video. But a 412 definitely makes a difference.

[@moparbryan]

I have an ampeg vl-501 and a crate stealth 50 and I really want one of these. Also these amps are similar to the soldano in that v1 preamp tube is key to the noise floor if you can find one a really good 1st preamp tube will cut down on the noise a lot. Your obviously not gonna get rid of all of it but it can help. Any amp with dc heater circuits is gonna be prone to noise. And yes the attenuator is a tone suck he put that in most of his amps not sure why the metaltronix stuff got it as that always seemed like the pro line stuff.

[@The_Absurdistt]

Absolutely love this amp. Paired with the right cab/speakers, This sound is rockstar magic. Mr. Neilsen, who built those awesome amp rack there in your studio? Cheers.

[@fredericknewton6827]

Have you ever played the Ampeg VL502. Lee Jackson designed?

[@MojoMedicineMan]

I've never seen that skinny instrument cable that you're using before. What brand is that?

[@BigHairyGuitars]

That's a George L's cable. I just happened to have a long one sitting around, I usually only use these for pedalboards

[@MojoMedicineMan]

@@BigHairyGuitars Thanks. I've heard of them a long time ago. Never seen one so skinny.

[@t-boog2173]

Actually, Zakk first recorded the No Rest tracks with a Metaltronix head but he wasn't happy with the sound so producer Keith Olsen told him to plug into a JCM800 combo(w/ 4x12) that was in the studio. Zakk says it was the same exact amp John Sykes used to record Whitesnake. For the full interview search: "Guitar World, Zakk and Ozzy revisit No Rest". Rock On!

[@drogier]

Were you aware that you can either run EL34's or 6550's in that amp? You can also pull 2 of the output tubes and run it as a 50 watt head. That allows you to crank the tubes a bit more but at a bit lower output volume.

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

Can it do modern and thrash metal and how would it compare to Bogner, Friedman and Soldano?

[@kylebrooks8607]

Makes me appreciate my axe fx.

[@mercedese5507]

Every time you play, perma tweak sets in omg.

[@johnnywomack548]

I remember at NAMM a few decades ago where the Metaltronix and Laney booths were next to each other. The Metaltronix amps DESTROYED the Laneys. I actually felt bad for the Laney guys.

[@n1ckA_youtube]

Man would have loved to see the boost pedals on the clean channel! Lee Jackson is one of my hero’s! Have you seen or used his Big 1 pre amp pedal?

[@ShreddySam]

Dude complains about how the sound is all high end. Pan to the controls: Treble: 10 Mid: 10 Bass: 6 Seems to me it was doing what you asked.

[@Yupppi]

The thing with this amp is that the eq is before the gain stage. Like he said, if you think about how eq normally works, you're led far from the truth with this amp. The eq pre gain stage basically works as a distortion boost. It doesn't change the frequency curve like you're used to seeing with eq post gain stage which is these days pretty much the standard. Lee Jackson's designs have their own great sound, but if you don't like the core tone, the character and frequency response, you're out of luck. You won't be able to change that with the eq. Similar to old Marshalls.

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

@@Yupppi it sounds great for classic rock but not so much for modern metal.

[@EnFuegoPlays]

That’s a nice shelter in place beard. 😝

[@guittarwizzrd]

Usually I'm like I don't need a gate I got a volume knob but yes that thing needs a gate .

[@TheNocturnalEvil]

The "Mid-shift" knob, is it just me or the functionality of that knob sounds pretty similar to the ISF knob found on Blackstar amps?

[@the_grube5782]

I’ve never tried the Metaltronix amp but I owned the XLS and the Ampeg he designed. Both were way too much top end for me. Only tameable with a 412 full or EV SR’s from the 70’s. I figured they tame the treble in twin reverbs so use em with the Lee Jackson.

[@gioelevio1626]

Do I see a new SOLDANO HEAD (🤩🤯🤪🚀) down there???

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Nope. You see a late 80's Soldano head! Yippee-ki-yay!

[@gioelevio1626]

Michael Nielsen WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO🤪🤣😎🤘🏻🚀🚀👌🏻🤩🚀🚀🚀

[@muleblues71]

one of these came up local for 500 a while back.

[@SpinandThrowDiscGolf]

Lee Jackson takes credit for album tones that were not his amps.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

I know what you mean, but I don't think it's malicious. He sells a guy an amp, the guy brings it into the studio, then in the studio, they pull up 3-4 difference heads and record. Lee doesn't know what went down, unless he sat in there for the whole sessions.

[@bigdavedave9865]

That is ‘that’ sound. Chuck in your spx 90 and it’s close as you will get - you have the chops too 😉

[@DeathMetalGuitar]

Akira Takasaki too! Loudness' - Soldier of Fortune 1989

[@MCSquishyTooshy]

What cabinet is being used? Thanks!

[@chrischwaz7788]

How does the Ampeg Lee Jackson amp compare to the metaltronics amp you have here