How many tones do you actually use?

[P.J.]

Curious on some forthright answers here...

How many tones do you actually use? I know there are a billion settings your pedalboard/modeling amp/multi-effects box can give you, but I want to know what actually makes the cut when you're performing (for an audience or yourself, whichever is more applicable). The 'go-to guitar' for tones, if you will.

I personally use a medium-drive overdrive setting or mild-to-mid RAT-ish tone for the vast majority of the stuff I play, and clean (~60%) or with basic chorus (~40%) for softer songs. I'll use some slapback delay (170-350 ms) when I remember to for some leads, and I have some mild spring reverb on pretty much all of the time. Tone knobs on the LP are almost always dimed, and I spend most of my time on the middle pup position. My 'amp' (Tech 21 GT2) is set on a dead clean California (Mesa) tone and stays there 100% of the time. That's about it.

When I'm messing around at home (sometimes with Pod Farm), I find a high-gain Stones-y tone to be fun, if only because it covers up mistakes...

I basically start w/ a clean sound that has either amp reverb or some delay if the amp is verbless. Lots of times there will be some added dirt just to give the sound a little more bite but not enough to mess w/ any harmonies. After that basic sound I have lots of "Pixie Dust" that I can use if needed. I definitely find that effects can be "idea generators" but also really enjoy the sound of a clean(ish) guitar w/o them.

=-) PJ

[pes_laul]

I have a few
DS-1 with no effects
My main distortion
DS-1 with chorus

Clean sound: Just running through chorus


Bluesy sound: Using my bad monkey

[Matt]

I have quite a few to play with- having a JVM (only the 2 channel version) means I have 6 gain stages to play with there. However, I feel that my strat prefers pedal gain than amp gain, and so use my Rat clone and Tech21 dual drive with it. Of course they can be added to the marshall's various gain stages.

Then I have my DD-20 for all delay requirements. I will be getting a dedicated reverb pedal for 100% wet reverb fun, volume and wah pedals and a whole host of modulation. Also looking to get an analog delay for pre-gain delay fun.

Im one of those guys who likes a lot of things to choose from in terms of tone and just would not be happy with a single channel amp and one drive pedal etc. As far as I'm concerned, the electric guitar is the most versitile instrument there is and is only limited by what you use it with

[otaypanky***]

I keep it simple. The only thing I use between my guitar and my amp is a good cable. I use tube amps of various wattages ranging from 15 to 60 and a variety of guitars. Getting the most out of your basic gear is not as simple as simply flipping the switch on. There is a learning curve. But I think the rewards are significant and in the long run help you become a more proficient player with a more natural sound.
I'm not opposed to effects and no disrespect intended to folks who use them all the time. I've been working on a trio for a few months and in order to introduce some variety, I have put a pedal board together. As it turns out, I rarely use it.
I just happen to feel that the more you can do with just your guitar and amp, the better player you will be overall, and once you add effects into the mix, you'll use them with better results as well.

[deeaa*]

I keep it simple. The only thing I use between my guitar and my amp is a good cable. I use tube amps of various wattages ranging from 15 to 60 and a variety of guitars. Getting the most out of your basic gear is not as simple as simply flipping the switch on. There is a learning curve. But I think the rewards are significant and in the long run help you become a more proficient player with a more natural sound.
I'm not opposed to effects and no disrespect intended to folks who use them all the time. I've been working on a trio for a few months and in order to introduce some variety, I have put a pedal board together. As it turns out, I rarely use it.
I just happen to feel that the more you can do with just your guitar and amp, the better player you will be overall, and once you add effects into the mix, you'll use them with better results as well.

Well said; pretty much how I see it too. Although I do need OD's at minimum - have a single-channel amp.

Sometimes I do envy people who can/do use a delay for instance to good effect as they play - it'd be so cool and fast-sounding in leads.

[mainestratman]

Easy.. clean-ish, dirty-ish and grungy. Keeps things simple. :-)

[Miami-Ace]

Well, I'm not good enough to be a real tone pro, but I use an old Korg Pandora multieffects processor with two actual pedals on it (now discontinued) and a newer Pandora PX4D ... which work well for me. Besides having channels that can give you a Jimi Hendrix, or a Stevie Ray or an early Beatles sound, the PX4D has a pretty good tuner and can give you some solid, programmable backing tracks that include being able to choose the key for the bass line. It allows me to try different blues and/or rock sounds without having to be a technical genius. It's also an affordable way to simulate having a ton of gear. I also have a nice Ibanez reverb/repeat pedal and an Art preamp for times when I want to run a real simple clean style sound.

[Katastrophe]

When I had my rack setup (a loooooooong time ago), I had probably about 30 presets I'd use in a typical set, just because I had the flexibility to tailor a bank of presets for each song.

When I bought the Crate and the Digitech, I narrowed it down to four sounds:

1. Chorusy clean
2. Mild OD crunch
3. Heavy Rhythm
4. Really loud distorted lead tone.

Then my Digitech fried.

I went straight into the amph, no effects (except for some onboard reverb).

The sound got narrowed down further to

1. Squeaky clean
2. Crunchy Rhythm
3. Boosted lead tone

After a while, I didn't miss the effects unit at all, and loved the cleans I was getting. Never could dial in my favorite lead tone, though.

[6stringdrug]

i try and keep it simple onstage. got a super champ xd, keep the bass/treble setting constant no matter what. bass 6.5/treble 8. never mess with those. the footswitch lets me swith clean/dirty (its actually different voices) set on 5 (slight od blackface voice). the FS also lets me turn the effects on/off. Almost never touch that one and run medium reverb constantly. Everything else i do with my pedals and they are pretty much set as i like em. rarely tweak em onstage, if ever. keeps it simple and i can concentrate on the songs, rather than slow down to change settings. theres always some extra noise i live with because of the pedals, really havent found a noise gate i can live with, just turn off all the pedals and whooosh! no noise....lol.

In the studio and home practice i am constantly fiddling, taking notes and replaying bits a thousand times till it sounds right to me. which it almost never does cuz im not that good. cant even tell you what im playin most of the time, just play what comes from my hands. i spend a lot of time figuring it out at home so my bandmates dont kill me at rehearsal. once ive got something i can dig on, circle my notes and take it to the studio. onstage, its pretty straightforward for simplicity and sanity sake. we blend our songs and rarely stop till setbreak, keeps the energy up we think.

but i digress, rock out with yer c&^k out!

[deeaa*]

I guess I have to update as thanks to the new Carl Martin switchboard I now have no less than seven sounds at my feet plus tuner/mute.

It's like this:

pretty clean w/slight delay (delay)
crunch w/comp (comp)
overdrive (Jackhammer)
harder overdrive (Jack + comp)
overdrive w/ a slight delay (Jack + delay)
solo sound w/slight delay (Vox + comp + delay)
extreme drive lead sound w/slight delay (all on)

So using an analog delay, Jackhammer and Vox OD's and a Marshall comp along layered in different combos over amp sound to achieve these. The idea is having various degrees of gain of basically the same sound, the delay is used to beef of the sound some in leads etc. where single notes are picked instead of chords.

I need to make another soundclip video of the setup now I added a delay...

[Moander]

I use 3 basic tones.

1) Clean. My clean has just a tad bit of heat, for punch and sustain, and color.

2) 70's Crunch. Basically, the same, musical crunch of say any Led Zeppelin song.

3) Saturated. For my Van Halen, Joe Satch and George Lynch sounds.

The effects I use, depending on the song:
Phase
UniVibe
Chorus
Delay
Pitch Shift/Harmonizer ( I seldom use this one)

I also use a compressor on uber-low settings just to tighten things up.

[R_of_G]

As an avowed tone junkie, I like to think the possibilities available to me are endless. It really all depends on the situation. What might sound right playing with two other guitar players may not be what I'm looking for in a solo setting.

[Rockermann]

One tone - My tone.

[MAXIFUNK]

Clean I have down to 2 to 4 I like with my Fender DEville

Chrunch & Dirty I am still working on with that same amp and my boss ME-25 which has so tones and sounds. I am still working on finding the ones that work with my fingers and ears.

I wish there was s seminar on how to get certain tones and sounds out of your gear.

[marnold***]

Mainly three:
1) Clean
B) Bluesy overdrive
III) 80s Metal

I tend to spend most of my time in III. I add a pinch of delay to all three unless I'm using chorus.

[Retro Hound]

I probably shouldn't add to this thread as really, I am still learning the basics, but...

Much as I love metal and grunge, I find that when I play I pretty much use just the clean settings, maybe with a little gain. Not more than 1/2 way. I have the Vox VT30 amp which has 22 amp sounds. I mainly use the manual setting, as opposed to the presets. I'll have it on one amp setting for awhile, then one day, that setting won't sound right, and I'll play around for another.

The amps I usually use are the Super 4x10, Tweed 4x10, Deluxe Tweed, and Tweed 2x12. Occasionally I use the AC30 settings. Surprisingly, the one called "metal bull" sounds really good when you turn the gain way back. Not all of them do.

I also have a Roland Cube that I use all the sounds on. They all sound great. For metal, I think it sounds better than anything I get out of the Vox.

As to effects, I usually don't have any other than reverb at 1/2 to 3/4, but sometimes I use tremolo (which I really love) or chorus. Sometimes the delay or tape echo.

I suppose acoustic is a tone? I play my acoustic 1/2 the time, my Les Paul 1/2 the time with both pickups and my Strat when I'm looking for a particular sound, like the James Bond Theme. On the Strat I prefer the tone of both the neck and middle pups. I'd probably sell the Strat but my son likes it. Not that I hate the Strat, it's just the Les Paul tone is so sweet, that's what I always turn to. Tone is almost always set at 7 on both guitars.

[deeaa*]

Time to update, since I now have new gear...

I guess I could say I only use one sound, but eight degrees of drive for the same sound, and some of those 'degrees' have a delay on them.

But the amp channel stays the same all the time, the guitar pickup stays the same...all that varies is how hard I drive the amp, and this happens by adding things like a compressor, booster and a slight OD in various pre-set orders and combinations.

Anyway, I now have 8 buttons to choose from, 8 levels of drive, and that's all I need.

[6stringdrug]

I have a Super champ Xd, I switch between the clean, and high gain tweed channels. Reverb is set at small room and never gets turned off unless I accidentaly step on it while switching channels.

My pedals are boss tu2->budda budwah->boss ns-2 looping ibanez ts9->ibanez ts808, out of the loop into ibanez cs9->boss bf2 flanger->boss dd3 into the amp.

the ts808 is always on, 12 noon gain, 3pm tone unless i am playing totally clean, which isnt often. For high gain songs, the ts9 is pinned gain and tone and i will use them together for mean OD or by itself. the noise gate keeps the hum from the OD pedals from getting outta hand. the chorus, delay, and flanger are song specific.

I just got a BBE two timer, BBE orange squash, and BBE soul vibe (got a great deal on the set $110 craigslist). Playin around with them and maybe they get onto the board and maybe they don't. Also am waiting on a boss cs2 i scored on ebay, and see which (if either) compressor makes the cut.

Basically, we play a broad spectrum of tunes and, I like to be able to actually get the sound I want instead of just faking it.

Tone is in the hands, pedals, amps and guitars just add salt.

[Perfect Stranger]

I use probably a dozen or so. Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to cut down the suck knob.