Brown sound In A Box

[miroslav]

Originally posted by Hairfarmer:

I'm saying that it doesn't matter that my primary genre is metal, and yours is not. We can still agree that our preferred tones toward recreating the music we do, comes best from the pedal free distortions we get from our rigs.

Oh...well that's cool, 'cuz that supports my point, that you can play all kinds of styles WITHOUT the need for a special box.

[Xplorer]

Originally posted by ellwood:

Originally posted by Xplorer:

It must be nice having access to all this sweet gear to not need external effects of some sort to get all the tones you're after.

 

I unfortunatley need pedals to get the sounds I want within my price range. It's pretty convinent though. Ever year quite a few pedals are made. And by the sounds of this thread, I'm the only one buying them. So I shouldn't have any problem picking up the pedals I'm looking for.

Yeah, it is!

I was being sarcastic, but not in your case. You do have a crapload of gear!

[Dr. Ellwood]

Originally posted by Xplorer:

Originally posted by ellwood:

Originally posted by Xplorer:

It must be nice having access to all this sweet gear to not need external effects of some sort to get all the tones you're after.

 

I unfortunatley need pedals to get the sounds I want within my price range. It's pretty convinent though. Ever year quite a few pedals are made. And by the sounds of this thread, I'm the only one buying them. So I shouldn't have any problem picking up the pedals I'm looking for.

Yeah, it is!

I was being sarcastic, but not in your case. You do have a crapload of gear!

Yeah, except none of it is crap, and guess what...I betcha I can play pinch harmonics on all of it!

[Xplorer]

Originally posted by ellwood:

Originally posted by Xplorer:

Originally posted by ellwood:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Xplorer:

It must be nice having access to all this sweet gear to not need external effects of some sort to get all the tones you're after.

 

I unfortunatley need pedals to get the sounds I want within my price range. It's pretty convinent though. Ever year quite a few pedals are made. And by the sounds of this thread, I'm the only one buying them. So I shouldn't have any problem picking up the pedals I'm looking for.

Yeah, it is!

I was being sarcastic, but not in your case. You do have a crapload of gear!

Yeah, except none of it is crap, and guess what...I betcha I can play pinch harmonics on all of it!

---

Don't get your panties in a bunch, I wouldn't think someone would have that much equipment and not have a wide variety of tones available and the ability to use them.

[Ricardo.]

What's this about pinch harmonics? I hope no arguments are being carried over from other threads; it is disruptive.

[picker]

Originally posted by ellwood:

I was being sarcastic, but not in your case. You do have a crapload of gear!

Yeah, except none of it is crap, and guess what...I betcha I can play pinch harmonics on all of it!

Now, now, a load doesn't have to be "crap" to be a "crapload". It's about size, not composition.

[Xplorer]

Originally posted by Picker:

Now, now, a load doesn't have to be "crap" to be a "crapload". It's about size, not composition.

That's right. Much different from a 'load of crap'.

[Xplorer]

Originally posted by Ricardo_F:

What's this about pinch harmonics? I hope no arguments are being carried over from other threads; it is disruptive.

What?! Trolls!! Where???

[Dr. Ellwood]

Originally posted by Picker:

Originally posted by ellwood:

I was being sarcastic, but not in your case. You do have a crapload of gear!

Yeah, except none of it is crap, and guess what...I betcha I can play pinch harmonics on all of it!

Now, now, a load doesn't have to be "crap" to be a "crapload". It's about size, not composition.

[dave esmond]

Originally posted by miroslav:

Oh...well that's cool, 'cuz that supports my point, that you can play all kinds of styles WITHOUT the need for a special box.

Sure, you can play all kinds of music with just an acoustic also. And there's also ton of cool sounds you can't get without pedals tho'.

 

It's all good. All this stuff makes different sounds, not better or worse, just different. Most of my playing is with just a cranked up amp. But that doesn't mean I don't hear the different sounds pedals give me.

 

 

But then I've never bought into the "tone is mostly in your fingers arguement" either. Style? Sure. Tone has a lot to do with the gear tho'.

[Dr. Ellwood]

Originally posted by Xplorer:

Originally posted by Ricardo_F:

What's this about pinch harmonics? I hope no arguments are being carried over from other threads; it is disruptive.

What?! Trolls!! Where???

So what are you the troll police?

[Xplorer]

Originally posted by ellwood:

Originally posted by Xplorer:

Originally posted by Ricardo_F:

What's this about pinch harmonics? I hope no arguments are being carried over from other threads; it is disruptive.

What?! Trolls!! Where???

So what are you the troll police?

What?! Troll Police!! Where???

[phaeton]

Pedals are cool. I don't care what anyone says.

[Xplorer]

Originally posted by phaeton:

Pedals are cool. I don't care what anyone says.

I agree. I like having pedals kicking around. I can do without, but as a hobbiest, I love playing with them!

[phaeton]

Originally posted by Xplorer:

Originally posted by phaeton:

Pedals are cool. I don't care what anyone says.

I agree. I like having pedals kicking around. I can do without, but as a hobbiest, I love playing with them!

Absolutely. I actually don't play with a whole lot of effects anymore, but I still like distortion circuits and all the many possible variations. Distortion is still the "number one effect", like it or not, and different distortions are for different moods/modes.

 

I also don't buy the whole "it's got to be all-tube to be good" bit. There are some GREAT SS amps and distortion pedals, and there are also some really lousy tube amps. Sticking tubes into something doesn't automagically make it good- it takes a good design, and all the same rules apply to tubes as they do transistors. There's an overwhelming tide of SS shit, too, but most of this 'anti-SS' thing hails back to the early 1970s when SS amps really WERE crap. Modern SS amps can routinely fool people into thinking there's tubes inside.

 

Best of both worlds: SS boost or distortion into a tube amp, IMHO. You get the SS articulation, but the tubes round off the piercing edges to make a nice, finished product.

 

Just my $0.02

[Dr. Ellwood]

"Modern SS amps can routinely fool people into thinking there's tubes inside"

 

Fool who? the pimple faced kid down the block?

[dave esmond]

...but most of this 'anti-SS' thing hails back to the early 1970s when SS amps really WERE crap.[/QB]

HeeHee

 

Those are actually some of my all time favorites. Sun, Kustom, early Peavey. I love 'em.

 

They don't sound like tube amps. And they have their share of quirks, but I love 'em. Some of the best sounding amps for bass in particular to my ears.

 

The vibrato on a Kustom 250 is awesome too.

 

 

Choice is good.

[phaeton]

That's the other side of the coin too- It's not that any amp sounds bad, just different.

 

I have a sort of 'fetish' for cheesy guitars and amps. Especially amps. We all remember this this little tirade a while back...

 

It's kinda interesting listening to some late 60s early 70s psychedelic pop (usually the stuff that never 'made it') because of all the crap fuzzboxes they were using at the time. There were some real stinkers in those days. Love it!

[marvar]

I'm with Keef when he says-"Is it a tool or a toy?"

I try to use effects as tools- I don't overuse any one effect-I'm using the Boss ME-50, if the song calls for a certain sound, or effect- I've got it covered, at least enough to get the feel or spirit of the song, but personally, I really love the sound of just guitar into amp.

[picker]

Originally posted by marvar:

I'm with Keef when he says-"Is it a tool or a toy?"

This from the guy who recorded one of the most recognizable fuzz tone solos in history? I guess you can call it a "tool" if it sells a lot of records, eh?

 

I don't mind playing with toys in music, because playing with toys leads to new discovery. A lot of tools start out as toys, just things you piddle with, till you find something you can do with them that sounds kinda cool. When you find that, it starts being a tool.

 

Jeez. You know, I think the reason why a lot of current music is so lackluster is that people are so busy trying to replicate so-and-so's tone with whatever equipment they have that they never just play with their own stuff and see what they can find in it for themselves.

 

I mean, how do you think Keef really came up with the opening line to "Satisfaction", by working or by playing?

[miroslav]

I see that the discussion is getting a bit blurred...

 

Effects pedals...delay, reverb, flanging, phase shift...etc...are one kind of box, and they are not trying to emulate a driven/overdriven tube amp.

So they CAN add a new "sound" to ANY kind of signal.

 

But my point and opinion (and that of a few other folks)...is that I see no reason to use a pedal that is meant to emulate the sound of a nice, driven tube amp...

...when I can get the real thing by just using a tube amp and guitar combination.

 

Also...there is a point where I personally don't like that extreme overdriven guitar sound as it tends to become very homogenized and there is absolutely no string articulation at all...it's just this soupy buzz.

Now some people obviously get off on that soupy buzz sound...and that's fine.

But most of those overdrive boxes when set to stun...sound nothing like a true overdriven tube amp/speaker combination.

Many of them sound like glorified fuzz boxes...which CAN be used on occasion to add some spice to a song or two...but IMO...that sound is just a novelty...though I hear some bands that do EVERYTHING with that soupy buzz sound...and guess what...

..it all sounds the same, as not only is there no string articulation...but there is no song articulation.

 

But hey...that's me.

Some folks obviously like the same sound for everything they play...every song.

You know what I'm talking aboutthat chunk-chunk-chunk power chord kinda' opening followed by the "HEAVY" drum lead in...and than the whole band kicks in with some repetitive chord sequence that then proceeds to drone for 5 minutes non-stop...while some monotone vocals are screamed out on top if it all

...and then they do the next songwhich is not any different than the previous one.

[phaeton]

Originally posted by miroslav:

But my point and opinion (and that of a few other folks)...is that I see no reason to use a pedal that is meant to emulate the sound of a nice, driven tube amp...

...when I can get the real thing by just using a tube amp and guitar combination.

 

True, but not all distortion pedals are trying to sound like a tube amp. Some of them are even designed to sound like no other item at all- just a different flavor.

[MILLO]

Well... many tube amps sound like a fuzzy mess almost no matter how you try to tis et them to sound clean and smooth...

 

yeah... ss doesn't necessarily mean bad, and tube doesn't necessarily mean good. They're what they are.

[miroslav]

Originally posted by MILLO:

[QB] Well... many tube amps sound like a fuzzy mess almost no matter how you try to tis et them to sound clean and smooth...

A fuzzy mess...?

 

Like which ones?

 

 

There may be poorly designed/manufactured tube amps...but they use tube amps for many esoteric Hi Fi systems in favor of solid state...because there is a feeing that tubes give a more natural analog sound...where all-SS amps have a tendency to be a bit too hard/crisp/edgy.

 

Quite frankly...I never understood why so many folks who play electric guitar...get so hung up on the amp being able to deliver a 100% squeaky clean sound...but then they rarely play it that way.

And most pickups will "dirty" up your signal anyway.

 

I'd say that only the traditional country pickers...and maybe the big-box jazz players tend to run a fairly clean tone all the time...though usually it's not 100% pure....as there is some pedal or FX on the signal anyway.

I use my clean channels (which are quite clean)...but I'll usually try to push them to where there us just a hint of break-up...otherwise, for most Rock/Pop...that squeaky clean sound just doesn't fit....IMO.

[phaeton]

Well, that's just it-

 

The whole *magic* in tubes is that they never get 100% clean. Sorry to ruin all the mojo, but that's pretty much what it is.

 

SS stuff is often "too clean" for most people's tastes, but if you dirty it up just a little bit with something like a Tubescreamer, the difference is huge.