Favourite distortion

[BJF]

Hi,

Musicains tend to use things in the abnormal way.
What's your use and is there anything beyond that could be solved perhaps in a technical way?

BJ

Gentlemen please:

[BJF]

Hi,

Ahum, well like this

What's your favourite texture?
for example dense, light, compressed, aggressive, smooth.
What would you need to control in terms of density or sound?

Since this is a pedal forum:
Do you perfer to have access to a clean sound from amp and get distortion from pedals ?
Maybe you'd like to run semiclean sounds from amp and then increase density with pedals?
Actually, I'd say the whole system would be the instrument and so all counts
but not really by any rule ;)

Some old tricks:

The worn down tube also parent to the myth that things sounds best just before they die.

The overheated amp: just drag all carpets in the studio and cover your amp
( not recomended)

The fried amp or line variations:
Brown out maybe achieved with lower line voltage, while higher linevoltage converts amp to a toaster.
( don't try toasting on your only amp or someonelses )

The thrashy speaker....oh all right noone does that any more ;)

More modern tricks

The attenuated amp: suck all the juice out and.....

Pedals..........

Second part of question:

What's your general EQ?
Example: clean bright amp, midrangy OD for cut...


I'll start :
I'd like to have on tap a fairly aggressive, dynamic sound, just enough treble to make it cut without being piercing, about as dense so it just cleans up if I strike lightly while it also must be able to go into controlled feedback so it sustains on feedback and force more than density of distortion
I'd set that either on amp or when I need a clean sound from amp this can be achieved from a pedal or two or three.....

But then there are other times when playing others materials when I'd need and perfer a light distorted sound one that hardly is noticed as distortion and something a bit heavier for leads or heavy rythms. If I'd need sustain or more uniform level a compressor comes in handy, though if I'd need a compressor ( which I just might when palying e.g with organ) I'd set compression just so it isn't really heard but felt, and the set various distortion levels accordingly.
Actually I think favourite distortion comes down to the material/music played so it fits and it becomes sounds in the head.......

Oh this leads to problems at times......


I thought maybe some of you may have stories and visions of sounds to tell

Thanks
BJ

[No Code 5]

From the guitar:
I like a resonant lively guitar with good sweetness to the pups... a little bit of honk is good too

from the amp:
I like a warm and deep clean tone, a little dirt if I dig in and a nice bloom to the note... the tone has to have enough clarity for finger picking as well (that's where the slightly honky guitar comes in)

from the pedals:
I like to have options here... a straight mild od to add to the amp is 1st. Then a fuzz to add more thickness and bass... I also LOVE running two ods (or more) to get an amp pushed to what I call "Nuclear Meltdown" tone... think about Neil Young's lead tone and you are in the ball park... thick, raunchy, and liquidy... tons of sustain, and the amp sounds like it is about ready to self destruct... I visualize this as stages of heat... with the peak being a blueish white flame... shooting out the end of the guitar... :D

It goes from yellow/orange warm clean... to deep red heat... and all out meltdown...

I have never gotten this "blue" tone from just an amp... always an amp... set to a warm semi clean tone with two od pedals pushing it...

Good stuff.

[Teahead]

More modern tricks

The attenuated amp: suck all the juice out and.....

Pedals..........


I've been thinking about the use of an attenuator versus pedals quite a bit lately. Even at the minimum stage attanuation of my Hotplate (-4db) I feel it sucks too much from the sound. So, I've been trying to recreat the sound of my amp cranked with pedals, namely PGC > EGDM > SBEQ...

Is this a reasonable thing to attempt to achieve? Can correctly tweaked pedals perform better than an attenuator at reducing the volume levels usually required to attain that certain feel, tone and response you expect of a cranked amp?

[Jones]

Member #259 checking in. TGP now has a membership of over 16,000! Here's hoping that this place grows....but not that much!

Well, since the last post on this thread dates from July 14th, it seems I will be speaking over a time vault. Oh well.

I'm primarily a fusion player and want a good deal more compression than your average rocker. In the past I've frequently used high gain pedals at low volumes to get what I'm after. These days I'm after softer sounds and the Honey Bee has become my favorite pedal.

I also love sag and wish I could get an almost exaggerated amount of it at lower volumes. But since I play at lower volumes from necessity (I have severe tinnitus) I frequently struggle to get the distortion and sustain that I'm looking for. I've tried two different attenuators and don't care for that approach. But recently I've been using a 'fat boost' type of pedal with some good results.

Now if I good just afford a few more BJF pedals I' be fine. Hey Bjorn, when is that new line coming out!

This place has an interesting feel to it, it's like shouting in a canyon!

Cheers

[K-man]

shouting in a canyon....in a canyon....canyon...

Sag at lower volumes. As far as pedals go I think your HB is probably the best bet for that. I haven't heard any of the newer amps with power scaling, but they might get you there. Good luck.

[sliding-tom]

I like a setup where my tone (amp only) is on the verge of breakup with the guitar volume set at @ 7, cleans up when rolled down to 5 and really fattens when turned all the way up. I'll be using an OD pedal to try and get the sound of a cranked small tube amp - the sound you'll hear on Sun and Chess blues records of the fifties.