Zum Encore Nashville 400

[David Gresens]

Hello,

I am running a Zum Encore direct from the steel to the volume pedal to a Nashville 400. Anyone have any advice for a sweeter, less grindy, sound? Maybe an effects pedal of some sort?

Thanks,
David

[Tucker Jackson]

Hi, David.

The general consensus is that most Peavey amps could use a decent cut in the midrange at a frequency of around 750 or 800kHz.

Maybe start with all the EQ knobs straight up (no boost, no cut).

You probably know how a parametric EQ works, but if not, the midrange setting is a two-knob thing, with one dependent on the other:
First, select the frequency you want to adjust using the "Shift" knob. Maybe start by pointing it to around 800. That's the frequency selection that the other knob, the "Mid" will then actually be turning up or down when you get to the next step.

To do the actual Mid cut, turn the Mid knob setting it somewhere to the left of "Noon." Anything to the left of Noon is a cut at 800kHz. And obviously if you twist the other way, anything to the right of Noon is boosting that frequency.

Play around with cutting the midrange until it sounds good to your ears, taking out that harsh 'honk'.

You may also want to sweep from 800 down to lower frequencies like 500 to see where in that range you prefer the cut to happen. You would leave the Mid knob in a strong cut position... while twisting the Shift knob through those frequencies to try to find the one that's most offensive.

Then add in Bass and a little Treble to taste and see where you are.

In terms of the gain structure, per the owners manual, make sure the 'Pre' is always run at a lower setting than the 'Post.' Maybe start Pre at 3 or 4, and then turn the Post up to get your desired room volume (with the volume pedal at 75% or wherever you run it at 'neutral'). If you do the opposite, and set the Pre higher than the Post, you might get a grindy sound, as you mentioned. Or, if you're hitting the amp with the volume pedal full-on, it might get distorted since it's overloading the input. There's an assumption in the design that you won't be doing that...

Throw in a decent level of reverb and see how it is. Good luck.

[David Gresens]

Thanks Tucker! Tried all that. Sounds preeetttyy good at times but still missing that sweet spot. Also has this odd bouncey/pulsating thing going on sometimes. Now that could be because I suck(?). The amp sound may also be due to the room I am playing in…(?)…carpet floor, fabric “stage drapes” close to the amp, classic drop ceiling tiles.

[Tucker Jackson]

It's hard to suggest a fix without knowing what tone you like -- and what it sounds like now. Don't be afraid to get extreme with the tone knobs. I've been known to really crank the mids down on a Peavey NV400 and NV112.

Play around with placement:

If it's very close to you, maybe put it a bit further away so you can turn it up a little?

If you aren't getting enough sparkle, get the amp off the floor and up on a chair or amp stand. Obviously, high-end is extremely directional, so if you point the amp at your head, you'll get maybe too much -- but a little off axis from your head will tone it down, at least from your perspective (rather than that of the bass player standing next to you).

[Eric Philippsen]

I used only NV 400’s for decades. Great amps.

I like using a D10 but this old body doesn’t like hauling one. So, I find myself using an Encore more and more and playing it through a NV400 that I keep at the gig. Sometimes I’ll use a smaller combo.

You can get the tone you want from a NV400. The other posters on this thread are spot-on in their suggestions on how to do that. I would add that NV400’s are getting to the age where they need some of their electrolytic filter capacitors replaced. Those inevitably wear out and you will have less of a defined bass response.

[Mark Keogh]

I agree with Tucker, try backing the mids and highs off. Try setting them to -9, crank up the presence to +9 and bass all the way, shift to about 800-900. Also check the height of your pickup on the guitar. If it's high you could try drop it down to 5mm and if you can justify the cost get a Black box mini from Brad Sarno and run through it before your volume pedal, those things are magical.

[Tucker Jackson]

Also has this odd bouncey/pulsating thing going on sometimes.

I forgot to address this issue: often, a pulsating sound is caused by a ceiling fan. The sound from the amp bounces off the ceiling, and the natural room reverb coming back to you is chopped up a little. Sounds like a helicopter.

[Ron Pruter]

Yes, I was going to say ceiling fan. Another possibility is hearing aids. They can make music sound like crap. RP

[Dave Grafe]

Ceiling tile, carpets, curtains are all your friends

[Ron Pruter]

Dave, just to clarify, we said ceiling fans not tiles.

[Danny Letz]

Don't leave your cell phone on top of or near your amp. My hearing aids make my rig sound like it's got a bunch of stereo chorus. Can't play with them on.