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Oud through a Twin, week one

NH
@noor.haddad
6 weeks agoAsked in Rig Diaries
Picked up the '72 Twin a week ago specifically to put the Türünz oud through it. The Twin doesn't know it's an oud amp. That's the joke. It thinks it's amplifying a Strat and treats every note like one. The oud doesn't sustain like an electric and the Twin's headroom means the picking dynamics come through completely. Every right-hand articulation is audible. What I didn't expect: the Twin's reverb tank, which I was going to bypass and replace with a pedal, is exactly the right size for the oud's natural decay. The reverb on 3 sounds like the oud is being played in a small wooden room. Anything higher and it's a different instrument. Problems so far: the pickup I had on the oud is too hot for the Twin's input. First gain stage breaks up before I want it to. Solution might be a transformer DI to drop the level. Or move to a quieter contact mic. Also the upper sympathetic strings are getting eaten by the amp's natural high-mid voicing. I don't want to EQ this on the amp because I like everything else about how the amp sounds. Considering a passive EQ in front to dip the 2.5kHz region. Open to any suggestions from anyone who's amplified a fretless or oddly-tuned instrument.
4 replies

4 replies

  • AK
    @aris.kemp6 weeks ago
    Active instruments going into amps designed for passive pickups is the most common cause of breakup-too-early. A transformer DI is the right idea. Look at the Lehle P-Split or a Radial JDI passive. They'll knock the level down without coloring anything. The 2.5kHz dip is less critical than getting the input level right first.
  • KT
    @kobu.tinker6 weeks ago
    On the 2.5kHz issue, before you put EQ in front, try a different cable length. Longer cable into a high-impedance input rolls off the top end naturally. Cheap fix. Won't solve it completely but will tell you whether it's the pickup or the amp shaping that frequency.
  • MA
    @mira.alves6 weeks ago
    Welcome to amplifying instruments that weren't designed to be amplified. The Twin is generous, it'll forgive a lot. The reverb tank is honestly one of the unsung Twin features. Glad you found that on your own. The pickup is the variable you should change first.
  • JR
    @jules.rourke6 weeks ago
    The Twin doesn't know it's an oud amp. Best line on the forum this week. I run a Ricky stereo into two AC30s and the same logic applies. Amps don't have ears. They have a transfer function. Find the right pickup-to-input-stage match and the amp does what the amp does.

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