Sound stacking

[Dave Bryce]

I can't help it. It must be the keyboard player in me...but I'm endlessly fascinated by stacking guitar sounds, and the control and tonal variation that provides.

 

I'll explain: I have a Fender Newporter (thin body acoustic with a Strat neck and a Fishman pickup). I run that into an AB/Y box (with individual volume out controls and a phase switch). One side feeds a DynaComp and TC SCR. The other side feeds a Pod XT, controlled by FBV 3 pedal that lets me swell the POD sound in under the acoustic sound.

 

 

Compressing the acoustic tap to even out the dynamics, it is WAY cool to be able to bring in/combine the neatly crafted POD sounds to add tube shimmer, Gilmour sounding sorta phaser tones, Stevie Ray-like blues crunch with touch and the FBV pedal, etc. Stereo POD sounds on either side of the mono acoustic without the chorus and compressor sends things in a whole other fun direction.

 

The stereo chorus at max width on either side of the crunch tone is completely knocking me out.

 

Now, I just need to learn to play better, dammit.

 

dB

[Winston Psmith]

Try running the little Dano Chorus, or the Phase 90, into the SCF, at slightly different Rates. At the right settings, you can get some very cool Filter Peak Sweeps (Phaser into Flanger), or shimmering Dimension-like sounds (Mono Chorus into Stereo Chorus.) Start out with fairly slow Rates, so you can really hear how the LFO's are interacting. I've gotten a PHAT Stevie Wonder sound by running a Phase 90 into an old Ibanez FL-303, both in Mono. You may even be able to set up a dual-Mod chain within the POD, but the two Analog pedals together should give you a very rich sound.

[Dave Bryce]

Try running the little Dano Chorus, or the Phase 90, into the SCF, at slightly different Rates. At the right settings, you can get some very cool Filter Peak Sweeps (Phaser into Flanger), or shimmering Dimension-like sounds (Mono Chorus into Stereo Chorus.) Start out with fairly slow Rates, so you can really hear how the LFO's are interacting. I've gotten a PHAT Stevie Wonder sound by running a Phase 90 into an old Ibanez FL-303, both in Mono. You may even be able to set up a dual-Mod chain within the POD, but the two Analog pedals together should give you a very rich sound.

I was doing that before on the bigger pedal board. You're totally right - that was awesome...especially with the Dano pedal having a BLEND knob.

 

dB

[KuruPrionz]

I am currently refining a compact giggable portable system using a Roland Cube 40gx and a Peavey Vypyr VIP 1 (with a 10" Peavey Scorpion speaker) both running from a Rivera A/B box.

I'm tempted to add a parallel input/output on the input side so I can run another amp that is completely clean and clear, maybe with a touch of reverb. I guess I could just use a direct box and run the mic output to the PA.

 

As much fun as two different modulations running at two different speeds is, it's even more fun if there is a stationary voice in-between them. The 3d effect that provides is too much fun.

Add in that the Vypyr has reverse delay, a goofy synth simulator and some other fun goodies and both amps have a wide range of tones and the problem becomes sounding "too big."

 

On my DAW, I've recorded a single straight in DI guitar track, copied and pasted that 8 times into separate tracks and did cool stuff to all of them. That is less fun because you aren't playing it in real time and more fun because you can automate all of those channels and create constantly moving washes of madness and depravity.

 

With only two feet and only one volume pedal, it's impossible to emulate that.

 

Just saying, Brother Dave, that you are not alone in stacking sounds. I've been at it since the 90's or so in various phases. Including extended "pure" phases where all I used was one amp with one clean tone and one dirty tone. Then you see how much you can get out of that. When you revisit the weirdo-butt madness you have more tones in your arsenal after a pure phase.

 

If everybody did it all the time a 3 piece band could sound symphonic.

[Winston Psmith]

Ah, signal splitting . . . gotta love it!

 

Here's a fun trick for your current rig - start out with your favorite Electric Guitar, plug into a Splitter box, send one chain through the RAT into the Phase 90, the other chain through the Dyna-Comp, into the SCF. Set the Phase 90 to a very slow Speed, so it just barely adds some 'throatiness' to the distorted Guitar tone, and set the SCF for a wide, not-too-fast Chorus sound. It's like having Robert Fripp in one channel, and Adrian Belew in the other.

[KuruPrionz]

I will add that I've found active pickups can handle signal splitting without any noticeable loss of fidelity. Depending on your chain, that may or may not be true with passive pickups.

[Dave Bryce]

Ah, signal splitting . . . gotta love it!

 

Here's a fun trick for your current rig - start out with your favorite Electric Guitar, plug into a Splitter box, send one chain through the RAT into the Phase 90, the other chain through the Dyna-Comp, into the SCF. Set the Phase 90 to a very slow Speed, so it just barely adds some 'throatiness' to the distorted Guitar tone, and set the SCF for a wide, not-too-fast Chorus sound. It's like having Robert Fripp in one channel, and Adrian Belew in the other.

Will do - should be easy since I already have the second chain set up.

 

I might even be able to build a similar sound to the first on the POD XT and not even have to rewire...

 

Thank you sir!

 

dB

[Guitarzan]

Ah, signal splitting . . . gotta love it!

 

Here's a fun trick for your current rig - start out with your favorite Electric Guitar, plug into a Splitter box, send one chain through the RAT into the Phase 90, the other chain through the Dyna-Comp, into the SCF. Set the Phase 90 to a very slow Speed, so it just barely adds some 'throatiness' to the distorted Guitar tone, and set the SCF for a wide, not-too-fast Chorus sound. It's like having Robert Fripp in one channel, and Adrian Belew in the other.

 

 

 

Not with me playing..ha