Criss Oliva/ Classic Savatage guitar tone possible?

  • Hey gang,


    I'm still sacking away the dollars to bite the bullet and snag a Kemper rack model, but in the meantime, I was wondering if anyone had successfully obtained an old school Savatage guitar tone ala "Hall of the Mountain King", "Gutter Ballet", "Streets", or "Edge of Thorns" era? I've read numerous things online about how Criss ran dual Boss SD-1 pedals into the low input of Marshall JSM800 and other amps, but I wasn't sure doing a multiple of any pedal or anything like that was even possible in the Kemper. Anyway... just an idle mind curiosity this day. If anyone has thoughts, I'd love to hear them.


    For reference... these are some examples of the tone I was referencing:


    HOTMK:

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    GB:

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    Streets:

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    EoT:

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    Thanks,

    Jeff

    Shred 'til yer dead,

    Jeff in Houston

  • 808illest,


    Sorry, I actually was talking about MODELED pedals inside the Kemper, not external to it, when I mentioned that part of the tone stack. Thank being said, it's good to hear that those tones are in the Kemper somewhere. Are there specific commercial or free profiles you'd suggest I check out once I get a KPA? I'm creating a not-so-short list of the commercial ones I plan to buy. I know for certain I'll be snagging that TopJimi profile of the Paul Gilbert's old Racer X amp and all of Josh from Sylosis' stuff. :)


    Regs,

    Jeff

    Shred 'til yer dead,

    Jeff in Houston

  • Sorry, man, read that wrong lol. Yeah, stacking drives is definitely possible. An overhaul of them is due at some point soon, IIRC!


    So, this isn't the right sub-forum for discussing commercial offerings, but if you want some suggestions, check out the free and commercial sub-forums (many, many good topics, which I'm sure you've read), or start a thread of your own when you get and register your KPA! ;)

  • Understood. Thanks. I'm still very confused by the seemingly strange rules for what can be discussed in each forum here vs. every other audio forum in the known and unknown universes. ;)


    Regs,

    Jeff

    Shred 'til yer dead,

    Jeff in Houston

  • Yeah Savatage! I have listened to them a lot back then.

    I will not mention commercial profiles, but from what I've read, Savatage was into JCM 800's of some sort. So look out for profiles of those amps.

    Actually, I am currently working on a set of (free) profiles from my JCM 800 2205. I am not sure if it's the same they've actually used, because 1) it's the 50W version and 2) Savatage is older than the 2205, so they might have used the 2203, which is the earlier JCM 800 model.

    I've also read that they had a Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive (or even two of them in series) in front of the amp. I happen to have a 1984 SD-1 right here.


    That said, it would be fun do an experiment with you Jeff, where I am trying to get that Savatage tone with my gear into a Kemper profile. Just post here or PM me, if you're into this.

  • Sure, RiF. I'd be happy to provide feedback or whatever. Just understand that I don't own a KPA, myself, so if you need me to audition something you come up with, I wouldn't be able to do that. I'm happy to help out in any other way, though.


    Regs,

    Jeff

    Shred 'til yer dead,

    Jeff in Houston

  • Let me know if you need an audition person. I play 80s rock and converted over to a kemper over Labor Day weekend and haven’t turned on one of my amps since. I still love my amps but this is such an easy setup plus it sounds truly amazing. I mainly just play JCM800 profiles with one exception (ada mp1) in one of my lead slots. I can say my keeper sounds better than any real 800 I owned. You can’t go wrong with a KPA

  • Let me know if you need an audition person. I play 80s rock and converted over to a kemper over Labor Day weekend and haven’t turned on one of my amps since. I still love my amps but this is such an easy setup plus it sounds truly amazing. I mainly just play JCM800 profiles with one exception (ada mp1) in one of my lead slots. I can say my keeper sounds better than any real 800 I owned. You can’t go wrong with a KPA

    Yes, I do! Thank you. I will come back to you in a few days. Although I have my JCM 800 for 20+ years, I haven't played it much because I also had a 30th Anniversary head at the same time. So a set of ears that is familiar with that 800 tone can be very helpful to get on the right track with my profiles that I am currently working on.

    Sure, RiF. I'd be happy to provide feedback or whatever. Just understand that I don't own a KPA, myself, so if you need me to audition something you come up with, I wouldn't be able to do that. I'm happy to help out in any other way, though.


    Regs,

    Jeff

    If you could listen to some audio and give honest (as in: not being friendly if the tone actually sucks) feedback, that would be great.

  • Yes, I do! Thank you. I will come back to you in a few days. Although I have my JCM 800 for 20+ years, I haven't played it much because I also had a 30th Anniversary head at the same time. So a set of ears that is familiar with that 800 tone can be very helpful to get on the right track with my profiles that I am currently working on.

    If you could listen to some audio and give honest (as in: not being friendly if the tone actually sucks) feedback, that would be great.

    LOL! I can absolutely do that. And, if need be, I can provide critical feedback without being a total douchetard, too. ;)


    Regs,

    Jeff

    Shred 'til yer dead,

    Jeff in Houston

  • If you're going for the "Hall of the Mountain King" through "Streets: A Rock Opera" albums, you definitely want Laney AOR Pro Tube Lead 100 profiles. I'm currently shaping Criss Oliva tones if you're interested.

  • Share'm if you got um! Hall of the Mountain King nd Gutter Ballet were in my rotation for a long time. Loved Edge of Thorns as well after Jon Oliva burned his voice out.


    I saw them at The Station- RI-USA club that burned down a year after my show. Let me tell you it could have easily been me. They over packed that place. Chris Caffery was on lead guitar, he was phenomenal.

  • Actually I am struggling for 3-4 weeks straight already to get a tone that I want out of my 2205 (with either a new Maxon OD808, a custom Driftwood amps OD808 or 1981 SD-1). I made dozens of profiles and I am feeling that I am running in circles around the tone.

    And it's a bit hard to compare the profile to the actual tone from the record, because everything had been drenched in so much reverb in the 1980's...

  • Well feel free to ask for constructive feedback, different ears as they say. Happy Holidays!

    Good idea!

    Here's where I am currently at. It's not meant to be Savatage's exact tone. I am just trying to squeeze kind of a typical Marshall-type of rock / metal tone (from Tom Morello to Scott Ian, knowing that this spans quite a range) out of my JCM 800 2205.

    As I said, I am kind of running in circles around the tone and could need some feedback to find out where I am.

    The clip shows the profile in action with my Gibson Les Paul Standard with a Duncan JB in the bridge position, tuned to drop-D. The guitars are bone dry, no fx/eq/reverb/delay on them at all.

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    Short list of the gear used: Boss SD-1 (from the early-mid 1980's ), Marshall 2205 Ch2 (1987 I think), Mesa 4x12 /w Celestion G12-T75, Shure SM57, Midas 502 preamp, Midas 512 EQ.


    EDIT: The clip has been played with the Boss SD-1, but the profile has been made with the Driftwood OD808 pedal.