nick
Full Member
Posts: 136
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Post by nick on Mar 6, 2007 21:15:50 GMT -7
For all you guys who have been doing this longer than I have and may know of a few tricks...
I'm not totally thrilled with some of the sounds I'm getting with my setup. I'm running (primarily) a Peavey Tele copy with some sort of 57RI pups, a Texas Special Strat, and an Epi Elitist. Effects go Boss TU-2, Keeley Wah, Barber Tone Press, Keeley BD-2, Analogman SD-1, Danelectro Cool Cat Chorus, DanEcho, Volume, Maz 18 210R. All George L's, no loops or anything like that.
Chorus and Delay leave a little to be desired, as does the SD-1. I can't decide if I want to try the Keeley SD-1, if that's going to make any tonal difference. I can't justify to myself spending a whole lot of money on effects, but I think I want something different.
I'm looking for suggestions for stuff on somewhat of a budget. It may be something as simple as some tweaking on my settings, but I think that I have convinced myself that I don't like it, and therefore can't make myself put the time into doing that.
Any ideas?
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Mar 6, 2007 22:00:39 GMT -7
Nick, you leave out the most important piece of information: what are you trying to do?
It seems to me you have a LOT of pedals in your signal path - how long has it been since you plugged your guitar straight in to the amp? Try it - you might learn something about whether you're losing any character via the pedalboard. If not, that's good, but I'll bet you'll notice a big difference.
The other thing is, you've got this brilliantly designed hand made amp, and a load of expensive pedals, but your guitar seems to be left in the dust. I don't know what kind of wood your guitar has, or how its hardware compares to other instruments, but I do know that there are tremendously great pickups out there that can really wake up a run of the mill guitar and turn it into something really special. And you don't have to spend a fortune either - I just put a set of GFS pups in my Mexi-Strat and they sound fabulous. Total expenditure was under $70. But if you have a bit more to spend, Fralin, Lollar, and two dozen other boo-teek pickup winders offer dozens of choices can do wonders. YMMV!
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Post by rhythmeister on Mar 7, 2007 1:50:55 GMT -7
It seems to me you have a LOT of pedals in your signal path - how long has it been since you plugged your guitar straight in to the amp? Try it - you might learn something about whether you're losing any character via the pedalboard. If not, that's good, but I'll bet you'll notice a big difference. Hey Nick, As I read your post, this comment by Steve was exactly my thought. And while some of these pedals are true bypass, some are definitely not. This means that even when not engaged, they are sucking tone! I might get flamed for this (because this seems to be one of the pedals most used by musicians) but that Boss TU-2 tuner is sucking your tone, for sure! I owned one for a single day...long enough for me and a couple friends with good ears to hear that when this thing wasn't engaged, it was draining tone from my Z amps. Back to the shop for return the next day!!! I agree with Steve - plug straight in and try to figure out if the pedals are where the problem lies. Good luck! Cheers, Blair
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Post by tjstrat on Mar 7, 2007 6:34:45 GMT -7
Ditto on getting that tuner out of the chain. I have an old mini Loooper AB switch that I use to switch run my tuner from the B channel.
The essential question here though, as noted above, is what do you want to do/sound like? I play in a cover band and have a deep affection/affliction for/with overdrives. I use a very cheap and non TB chorus (which I won't name, because it's also the best Univibe clone I've ever heard and you can get 'em for $20.00 on eBay) and an Ibanez Tone Lok delay (the echo setting kills). Those are last in my signal chain except for an MI Audio Boost n Buff for solo volume boosts.
Plug straight into your amp and set a basic tone that you like for clean or however dirty you need to be for your foundation. Then, pedal by pedal, add what you have and adjust it so the tone pleases you. I find that with my Zs, even though I play a lot of country, I really don't need compression at all. You might choose to pull that out of your chain. Want a more heavy metal overdrive? The MI Audio Crunchbox will turn your Z into a Marshall. Need moderat dirt? The modded SD-1 will probably do that REAL well, and try stacking it with your high gain pedal to make that set up REALLY scream.
Just some thoughts. Whenever I get sick of my tone, I strip my board and do this. Works for me, but YMMV.
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Post by Shannon on Mar 7, 2007 14:17:45 GMT -7
I agree with all. The quicker you can get the signal from your fingers to the speakers the better. Sometimes in your life you have to simplify. There was a thread on that a while back about shedding some clutter from the chain and how happy it was making some of us. When you think about it, how much do you use that stuff? A song or two a night? Would you really miss it? Could you give up an effect that you use only once for better tone all night? Is this effect what makes your amp sound better? Do I have a full pedal board "just in case I want to use this"? Simplicity is a beautiful thing. I hardly ever stomp a box. I've got a sound I like and I keep it all night. I understand that some players go for different sounds on different songs, whether it be to keep the cover sounding right or other reasons, but there's nothing wrong with one great sound. If you haven't found it yet, the fun's in the search. If you have, the fun's in the search for what ELSE sounds like I want it to. But the most important thing is enjoy what you do. If it takes 50 pedals or 50 amps to keep you happy, stay happy. Nobody wants to play if they're not having fun. And we all want to keep playing.
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nick
Full Member
Posts: 136
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Post by nick on Mar 8, 2007 12:55:25 GMT -7
I've spent a couple of hours this week going through everything. I went straight into my amp and got a sound that I like. Then I started adding pedals. I wasn't losing too much with them. I've got it narrowed down, and figured out I need a new OD. I liked it when I was using Fender Hot Rod amps and equivalent, but I just don't think it's suited for this amp.
I've still got some work to do with it, I've been "rediscovering" what all this stuff sounds like, and adjusting the settings I've been using. I didn't think about a different amp making my effects sound different, so I've been dialing in everything. I won't really have it done until I have a gig and can hear it at a higher volume with other stuff going on around me.
Thanks for all the suggestions. Nick
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