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It's OD and clean boost pedal. I was only using the gain side. EXACTLY SAME SETTINGS on a twin reverb gave a lot of gain. Same pedal, same guitar, just changed the amp. Tried several times. WT zero distortion. Twin lots of distortion (gain at 12 using only the gain side!) Sorry man it happened.... I have no idea why but it did happened.
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12-04-2011 01:55 PM
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Possibly some freak ground loop condition that prevented the pedal from functioning properly while connected to the Ibanez amp? And this perhaps due to a wiring fault in the shop where you tried the amp?
Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
I mean personally, I would be tickled pink if amplifier design has indeed evolved to render all distortion effects inoperable, but...
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I also thought it was really weird! But if it gave me distortion with the Twin in the same place... Maybe it was a one-time event. Anyone here has the amp and an OD / distortion pedal to try it with?
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Yes, I bought one to try out. My initial impressions are that this is quite different from the tube amps that I am used too.
I am using it with a Heritage Sweet 16, and find that the flat position on all controls seems optimal in my living room.
The main advantage that I think I discern is more of a hi-fi sound, as I believe the 15inch speaker is able to put out a "flatter"response in the low end, resulting in more bass.
My ears have not adjusted to all the characteristics of the amp as I have done limited testing for optimum performance, - I think the amp has dispersion characteristics that I am not used too, and I wonder if the speaker needs time to break in, - my gut tells me so.
It seems to be better about not feeding back when compared to one of my other amps, but when I adjust tone controls on the other tube amp to approximate the wholetone the tendency for feedback lessens on the tube amp (I think).
I can and will try various stomp boxes to see if they work as expected, but my hope for this amp is that it puts out a flat clean signal, for accuracy thereby exploiting the sonic characteristics of my archtop.
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On the OD subject. Our big band leader for some reason - I think his wife likes the song - has us playing "still got the blues". I'm using either the Ibanez TS 10 or Blackstar OD. In both cases the sound is distorted. Not at the same level I'm used hearing on my Fender Vibrolux, but for sure not "cleaned up".
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I plugged in an OCD distortion box last night. It worked but sounded terrible. I was using an archtop as a source guitar, and the OCD caused lots of feedback. Perhaps I should have hooked up a strat or tele but I don't think this amp is designed for rock tones.
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It's because of the tone stacks,circuitry, and the kind of speakers used in these "clean", almost Hi fi sounding,solid state amps; distortion is not taken in account :-) There are some ss guitar amps on the market,wich can do,for gain rich tones,but they have a different layout (circuit project) and classic speakers,I mean those set for the standard frequency range in wich guitars really breath...
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I got confused did it sound bad because it gave a bad tone or because of the feedback? You can get a lot of feedback from a distorion pedal and an archtop but still have a good sound. Originally Posted by Treading Water
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As I mentioned in an older wt80 topic, my wt80 works very well with my distortion pedal, the Boss BD-2. No problems with it, cool authentic vintage 70's rock and blues sound i got with it. Just give it a try!
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I finally decided to purchase the WT80 and (IMO) it is a great deal for the money. Very clean sounding. I open the volume and tone all the way on my archtop and keep everything on the amp centered (except for a bit of treble and reverb) and get an excellent tone. I also think it has enough volume for my needs. I really like this amp and would recommend it to anyone looking for a clean jazz sound at a decent price.
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I've had a Wholetone for about three months now and love the jazz tone much better than my old Polytone. I haven't had the oportunity to play every amp out there, but this tops everything I have played around with and for $215 delivered ( Music123 with hardly noticible dent way down on the bottom ), it would be hard to beat for value. I had read you couldn't play it with pedals, but I find my Zoom G5 works very nicely with smooth jazzy tones.
jazzboob
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The one I tried (for one hour in an empty music shop with my archtop) I found a little artificial... reminded me of current Polytones - no comparison with old ones which I like much better.
But for that price... it's sort of a no-brainer, go for it!
PS - It does not like OD pedals. Tried it with a Sparkle Drive for hours and zero overdrive... really weird, I think it's the internal limiter.
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I have one, it sounds very good to me, not fenderish at all. If the fender sound is your usual preference you may not care for it. However I don't think it is as versatile as some other amps. As always, IMHO.
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Yeah it's not a Fender, it's a flat polytone type of sound.
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Have you tried any overdrive/distortion through the Wholetone to any success? I'll admit that they look very intriguing, but if they don't take pedals well it's a bit of a turn off for me.
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I saw the Beatles at Cleveland Stadium. This makes me an old fart that listens to more Sinata than heavy metal ( is there music still called heavy metal? ) and I just don't like the overdriven distorted sounds when I have attempted them. I can appreciated some of the tones fellows like Slash and Jeff Beck create, but we are then talking about true talent I was not gifted with. The Wholetone supposedly has some kind of limiter, but I am unlikely to ever bump into it. For overdrive/distortion sounds, I would probably look elsewhere. The Wholetone dosen't even like the drum sounds from my G5. I play my Boss Dr-880 drm machine through the Cube 40 XL and it sounds great.
jazzboob
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Thank you all. As always it is best to listen before buying, even though I cant as there are no wt80 in town to try. Im still puzzled, and hear the jury is devided.
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I had few amps (Roland JC80, Marshall Valvestate 8040, Roland Cube 60, Peavey Delta Blues, Demton - that was a handmade, Vox) but for jazz, I only use the Wholetone. I have it 1 year long now, and still its the best for me. The big band in which I play has an expensive Line 6, but I prefer to carry my own amp at concerts.
About the pedals: I have a Fender USA Telecaster, and like play the blues, and a lil' country. I put a Boss Blues Driver 2 before the amp, and it IS working for me! Can get good bluesy tone out of it, too.Last edited by mrblues; 12-02-2012 at 04:20 PM.
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I've had a Wholetone for a year now, and I really like the sound. I don't use pedals, so I can't speak to that. For that price you could probably buy it, try it, and sell it on Craigslist (or whatever in your town) and break even. The WT80 doesn't seem to get a lot of love on this forum, but everyone I've had play through it has thought it was a great amp for the money (I paid $400). I agree with the Polytone comparison. The 15" does sound great. Just my opinion.
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Here is a quick review of the amp I did over at TGP. I thought I would share it here if anyone has been thinking about this amp.
This is not an amp for everyone, but it's great for the purpose I got it for, which is a clean solid state amp with verb for Jazz. It sounds good with both my semi-hollow and my solid body guitars.
It's a little funky in shape, but reminds me of the Polytone amps. You can tell Ibanez was going after the sound and the look of the polytone. It's an 80 watt amp, but it sounds like a lot less. I don't hear the pumping factor that I did with the Roland cube amps, which is a good thing. The amp is truly clean and stays clean. You can not get distortion out of it. It is definitely voiced for a Jazz sound, but if that's what your going for and your on a budget, I say go for it.
It also has an aux-input for backing tracks or whatever. I'm loving this amp. I think it would be good for home and small gigs, but you would have to mic it for a larger venue.
Here is an official video of the Wholetone if you haven't seen it. By the way this is not me!
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Not intending to be argumentative but what do you mean by 'pumping factor' with regards to the Cubes? Again, not looking to debate or defend, just curious.
Thanks for the write up on the Wholetone! Been wondering about this amp.
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80 watts but sounds like LESS must be where the similarities to a Polytone end...that's too bad, I always thought these looked promising.
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Pumping might be the wrong word, but that is what I hear. It kind of reminded me of how a Compressor sounds when maxed out. I played a Cube at a grand-opening type event and the sound at a high volume did this in/out pumping sound very faintly. I also use to use a friends at church and I didn't notice it at first, but the more I used it the more I could hear it. Maybe I'm crazy, but there is just something about the dynamic response of that amp that I don't like. Originally Posted by barrymclark
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Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
The amp has a good amount of volume especially when the Gain/Volume controls are used correctly. The EQ section can also increase the volume, so I would play around with the amp before making any overall decisions about it. So please don't take it as I meant its only a super low volume amp. I just don't believe it sounds like a full 80 watts. When the Gain and the Volume are cranked it doesn't distort out which is nice. The big thing for me with this amp is the voice. I love the voicing of this amp for Jazz.
You might not like it, but I think if you have an opportunity you should definitely try it out. For the price it"s hard to be in my opinion.
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Gain/Volume is a little odd on this amp, they need to be used correctly to get full volume (it's been covered in these forums in the past). I can rattle the house from my studio if I feel like it, might not be enough for some folks but it's fine for me. It does stay clean even at high volume and produces a very nice jazz tone (IMO), but you need to try it yourself to see if it is what you are looking for. I can't imagine a club I've played in that it wouldn't have been more than sufficient for. I've seen/heard it dismissed because it's an Ibanez and only costs $400. I suggest trying it and making your own decision.
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