Techs and Players…
Question:
I’ve said here many times before- as a player, at its most basic, it’s always seemed to me that there are two roads to personal tone mecca (not including chops and shedding which comes first, -always)… 1.] Signal chain in front of long established muscle car amps. 2.] Ferrari / Maserati amps. Either way, …you pay. The upside to being a non-tech player- I think it’s easier to come back to a problem and undo a fuckup with stomp box choice and order…slapping patch cords around, insulating against electromagnetic hum, etc. -than to face some awful problem –after the solder has cooled. The thing is, 99% of us as early players weren’t born rich and spoiled by parents to begin with (like some today). Then again, the worse ones I’ve witnessed are older guys with mega-credit card capacity and almost zero sweat equity into learning the instrument, walking out of boutique shops with INCREDIBLE gear… Also, things like BadCat amps or Boogies and a shitload of cool boutique stomp boxes) weren’t invented yet. So most of us came up a long trail of gear tears –learning that came with acquiring deep cynicism at the music eq. gear sales biz along the way. I just spent a couple of hours tonight undoing a fuckup I created last week. (Merely removed a component, switched others around and w/ one, entered the software patches via MIDI, changing several variables inc. EQ around). Real simple shit to undo, but painful nonetheless. It’s good to tinker yet great to arrive back where you started sometimes -and that’s with my OWN shit. I honestly can’t imagine what it must be like to snafu someone else’s work tools -esp. if that’s how they make a living. It’s gotta be damn near sleepless at times. Here’s to the great ones among you who’ve been there and survived that, and here’s a laugh at the lesser among you lacking the balls to admit the worst of what -you once did too. mvm
Response:
> I’ve said here many times before- as a player, at its most basic, it’s > always seemed to me that there are two roads to personal tone mecca (not > including chops and shedding which comes first, -always)…
For me, it’s usually enough that the guitar is good and the signal goes into an 12AX7 or equivalent, and the rest of the chain is unimportant, as long as it’s quality stuff. No matter if I play into a Twin or a Boogie combo or a Marshall head or pre, or a tech-21 stompbox direct to PC, the only real difference for me is whether I mic a speaker or play direct. All else is a matter of gain levels and some EQ after the fact; usually I tend to use whatever preset the amp or whatever has, and it works pretty well as is. Always sounds more or less the same, the difference being mostly in clarity/boominess/etc. not the basic sound. I mean of course they sound different at first, but after a few settings or style changes, it always ends up sounding just the same on record, no matter what I’ve used to create the sound originally. But I prefer a tube up front and enough sustain and overdrive and singing qualities so I can hear my playing well and adjust picking accordingly. For bass, it’s even more simple – just a tube D/I box will do, then it’s off to a PA or disk. All else is best done after the fact, on board or whatever.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I’ve said here many times before- as a player, at its most basic, it’s > always seemed to me that there are two roads to personal tone mecca (not > including chops and shedding which comes first, -always)… > For me, it’s usually enough that the guitar is good and the signal goes into > an 12AX7 or equivalent, and the rest of the chain is unimportant, as long as > it’s quality stuff. No matter if I play into a Twin or a Boogie combo or a > Marshall head or pre, or a tech-21 stompbox direct to PC, the only real > difference for me is whether I mic a speaker or play direct. All else is a > matter of gain levels and some EQ after the fact; usually I tend to use > whatever preset the amp or whatever has, and it works pretty well as is. > Always sounds more or less the same, the difference being mostly in > clarity/boominess/etc. not the basic sound. > I mean of course they sound different at first, but after a few settings or > style changes, it always ends up sounding just the same on record, no matter > what I’ve used to create the sound originally. But I prefer a tube up front > and enough sustain and overdrive and singing qualities so I can hear my > playing well and adjust picking accordingly. > For bass, it’s even more simple – just a tube D/I box will do, then it’s off > to a PA or disk. All else is best done after the fact, on board or > whatever.
Well put and appreciated, DeeAa. I think there’s tremendous fun to be had in playing through another guy’s entire rig too. I mean, it’s simple to walk into a Gc and sample amps. And true, many of them also have pre-assembled rigs to try out. Mine is in a carry case. You know those glass rooms all the GC’s have now? Great to try different amps w/ your own signal chain too. Also, every ___nth visit, you meet some secure, good guys and they can try your rig, and you can prod them for any improvement feedback. This particularly true for self-designed patches as well as adjustments. Also, different players have different ear-goals and sense of professional players tone -how to find it w/ what you’ve got. Clearly, there’s no better place to do this than a local sit-in night, but often, the competitive, insecure ego bit leaves guys doing anything but collaborating. They think it’s all about "cutting heads", as if that’s cool all the time.
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