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
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.Originally Posted by Eric
=-) PJ
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
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
Guitars: Squier '51, Fender Classic Player's 60s Strat, Epiphone Dot, Ibanez SA260FM (Bareknuckle Nailbomb/Trilogy Suite p'ups)
Pedals: Fender Pt100, Tech21 Double Drive, BYOC Mighty Mouse, EHX Stereo Pulsar, Boss DD-20
Amp: Blackstar HT-20 Studio, Fender Blues Jr
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.Originally Posted by otaypanky
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.
Dee
"When life's a biatch, be a horny dog"
Amps: Marshall JVM 410H w/ Plexi Cap mod, Choke Mod & Negative Feedback Removal mod, 4x12", Behringer GMX110, Amplitube 3/StealthPedal
Half a dozen custom built/bastardized guitars all with EMG's, mostly 85's, Ibanez Artwood acoustic & Yamaha SGR bass, Epiphone Prophecy SG, Vox Wah, Pitchblack tuner plus assorted pedals, rack gear etc. for home studio use.
Easy.. clean-ish, dirty-ish and grungy. Keeps things simple. :-)
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.
Highest Regards From Miami-Ace
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.
Guitars:
Fender 2006 MIM Fender Stratocaster HSS in 3TS
Ibanez RG 570 with a bridge Invader
ESP M II Deluxe with a Tune-o-Matic bridge
Eleanor, the magical, mystical Road Worn wonder Tele
Blackstar HT Club 40
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!
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...
Dee
"When life's a biatch, be a horny dog"
Amps: Marshall JVM 410H w/ Plexi Cap mod, Choke Mod & Negative Feedback Removal mod, 4x12", Behringer GMX110, Amplitube 3/StealthPedal
Half a dozen custom built/bastardized guitars all with EMG's, mostly 85's, Ibanez Artwood acoustic & Yamaha SGR bass, Epiphone Prophecy SG, Vox Wah, Pitchblack tuner plus assorted pedals, rack gear etc. for home studio use.
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.
http://tubeworks.mortality.net - Tube Works / Mosvalve Fan Site
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.
"I happen to have perfect situational awareness, Lana. Which cannot be taught, by the way. Like a poet's ... mind for ... to make the perfect words." - Sterling Archer
One tone - My tone.
Steve
P R O J E C T - 4 3
http://www.project-43.com/
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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.
Maxi...................
Bootsy Collins:
I pledge allegiance to the funk, the whole funk, and nothing but the funk, so help me James, Sly and George, Amen!!
Guitars: 2010 American Special HSS Strat, 2010 CIC Squire CV ThinLine Tele, & 2006 MIM FSR Strat.
Basses: 1979 Peavey T-40, 2007 Ibanez SR 500, 2013 Ibanez SR375F, 2013 CIJ Fender Geddy Lee Jazz Bass, 2014 Sadowsky Will Lee VI, & 2014 Sadowsky Will Lee Metro V
Amps: Mesa Boogie BASS STRATEGY:Eight:88, Aguliar DB 4X12, Augilar DB 751, Genz Benz CTR500-210T/Focus 1X15 CAB, Fender Hot Rod Deville 410, VHT Deliverance 60/VHT 2X12 fat Bottom Cab, & VOX DA20
Effects: Boss ME-25, MXR Custom Baddass 78, MXR Custom Baddass modified O.D., Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator, MXR Phase 90, MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe/Octave Deluxe/Bass Compressor/Envelope Filter/, Way Huge Pork Loin
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.
Axen: Jackson DK2M, Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster, Reverend Warhawk 390, Taylor 914ce, ESP LTD Surveyor-414
Amphen: Jet City JCA22H and JCA12S cab, Carvin X-60 combo, Acoustic B20
Effecten: "Thesis 96" Overdrive/Boost (aka DVM OD2), Hardwire DL-8 Digital Delay/Looper, DigiTech Polara Reverb, DigiTech EX-7 Expression Factory and CF-7 Chorus Factory, Danelectro CF-1 Cool Cat Fuzz
"I wish Imagine Dragons would be stuck in an Arcade Fire for an entire Vampire Weekend."--Brian Posehn
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.
Guitars: Epiphone Les Paul Ultra; pretty red Squier Acoustic;
Amps: Vox VT30;
Pedals: Dunlop Fuzz Face; Dunlop Crybaby Wah
My kids have: Squier Affinity Stratocaster MII; Fender G-DEC; Squire Acoustic; Jay Turser Strat-copy, Roland Cube amp
"I am a sworn enemy of the saccharine, and a believer in grace over karma." Bono 2001
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.
Dee
"When life's a biatch, be a horny dog"
Amps: Marshall JVM 410H w/ Plexi Cap mod, Choke Mod & Negative Feedback Removal mod, 4x12", Behringer GMX110, Amplitube 3/StealthPedal
Half a dozen custom built/bastardized guitars all with EMG's, mostly 85's, Ibanez Artwood acoustic & Yamaha SGR bass, Epiphone Prophecy SG, Vox Wah, Pitchblack tuner plus assorted pedals, rack gear etc. for home studio use.
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.
I use probably a dozen or so. Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to cut down the suck knob.
LIVE AND LET ROCK!!