Posts Tagged ‘tone’
May 11th, 2012 | 
Author: 
http://www.secretguitarteacher.com
How to play the Amplifier
Two questions we get asked most frequently about guitar amps are:
1. How do I get a high level of sustain or overdrive from my amp without necessarily turning it up too loud and
2. What am I supposed to do with the tone or EQ controls on the amp.
In this lesson we shall address both of these subjects.
First let’s look at setting up your amp to get the most sustain at reasonable volume.
Now one difficulty about discussing amplifiers is that, manufacturers differ in their choice of labels for the controls on different makes of amplifier.
One manufacturer will label a control ‘Volume’ another ‘Gain’
We also get ‘Boost’, ‘Level’ ‘Pre-gain’ Post-Gain’ ‘Overdrive’ ‘Distortion’ ‘Input volume’ ‘Output volume’ and ‘Master volume’ — all labels on knobs that basically do the same thing — they allow you to control the amplitude of the signal passing through the circuitry of the amplifier at some given point.
Added to this complication, some amps have multiple channels and some even multiple inputs.
Now, if you have got more than one channel or input choose one that is labelled ‘High Gain’, ‘Overdrive’ ‘Distortion’ or some such label indicating more power.
Avoid channels labelled ‘Clean’ or ‘Low Gain’
Now look at the control panel of your amp and locate the input socket — this should be where your guitar lead is plugged into the amp.
Whatever labels are used on your amp we’ll call the one closest to the input socket GAIN and the farthest one VOLUME.
Whatever the layout, for the purposes of our instructions, in a case like this we will refer to the two controls nearest to the input socket as GAIN and the control furthest from the input socket as VOLUME.
So here’s how to apply this to your amp settings.
First, as an important precaution, turn the Volume control (the one furthest from the input socket to zero).
Next make sure that you are feeding the amp as much signal as possible. This means TURN up all controls on the guitar to 10.
That’s Volume and tone. Have as many pick-ups selected as possible and if you have any kind of active circuitry (boosters) switch it on .
Then, in the interests of maximising pressure, turn the gain on the amp straight up to 10. Remember if there are three controls affecting sound levels on your amp then this applies to both of the controls nearest the input socket.
Remember you have just created the audio equivalent of a primed and loaded bomb! With this much ‘Pressure’ in the system, the output volume control is going to be pretty sensitive so TURN IT UP S L O W L Y
So there you are — you won’t get more sustain out of your system than that!
Now here’s a good way to set the EQ.
Again amps will differ, but the vast majority will give you some control of Bass Middle and Treble.
Set the volume level on the amp as high as you reasonably can, because the higher the volume the more clearly you will hear the effects of the EQ controls. If you are going to be playing clean then select the cleanest setting, if you are going for sustain then set the gain and volume according to the instructions earlier in this lesson.
Now Shut down the treble and middle controls to zero and set the bass on 10.
Test this setting by playing the lowest sounding strings on the guitar. It will almost certainly sound too boomy..
Turn the bass down until the lowest notes on the guitar sound about right.
Next turn the treble all the way up and test the highest notes you are likely to play. They will sound too tinny…
(Shown on video)
Turn the treble down until the highest notes on the guitar sound about right.
Finally, strum a chord across all six strings and feed in the middle to restore a bit of warmth and body to the sound. Too much middle can make things sound a bit thick and muffled — too little and the sound is a bit brittle or cold sounding.
(Shown on video)
Duration : 0:12:21
Posted in guitar amp | 
Tags: amplifier, bass, beginner, distortion, easy, Electric Guitar, first, gain, guitar, heavy, how, howto, Input, instructional video, instructions, intstructions, lead, lesson, middle, minnion, new, nick, output, Overdrive, post-gain, pre-gain, reverb, secret, Simple, sustain, teacher, the, to, tone, treble, use, Volume, warm | 
19 Comments »
I am playing the 1960 Tweed Bassman and the 1964 Super Reverb together with my Blackie 1964 Strat. I recently swapped out two of the Jensen ceramic speakers in the Super to a Eminence Legend 10″ AlNiCo and an old Jensen Alnico I had that has a different cone than usual. They sound pretty good.
Duration : 0:3:10
This is a demo of my 1975 Fender Deluxe Reverb amp, this thing is the best sounding deluxe i have ever heard. I searched high and low, black face, silver face, drip edge, you name it i tried it, THIS AMP HAD IT ALL! Not only did the sound blow me away when i turned it around i found out that it had everything original and in working order, caps, tubes, speaker, even the power chord had the “do not destroy” tag on it from fullerton california. It is in amazing condition 9/10 and any guitar sounds good through it. So before you turn your nose up to it and say “oh it cant sound that good its a silverface” LISTEN to it! When you find the right amp it doesnt matter what year it is, what panel it has on it, ect. This is the ultimate fender amp.
And sorry to y buddy Gearmandude, this demo looks like your demos but the only reason i did it this way cause i was using the Zoom on the floor where the mic sounded best haha.
Duration : 0:7:47
Posted in fender amps |
Tags: 100, 1975, 2000, 50, 52, 58, 59, 800, 900, AC15, ac30, Airline, ampeg, amps, aney, Blackface, blackgaurd, boogie, cabinets, City, coil, combo, Deluxe, demo, DSL, fender, hand, handwired, Hartke, humbucker, JCM, Korg, les, marshall, Martin, mesa, NOS, Orange, PAF, paul, Point, RCA, reverb, rosewood, sg, Silverface, single, sound, strat, Stratocaster, Taylor, Tele, Telecaster, to, tone, tubes, vox, wired |
7 Comments »
Marty Stuart, one of country music’s most eclectic artists, talks about his Fender amplifiers–both past and present–and how touch and tone allow “the guitar to speak.”
Duration : 0:2:43
Posted in fender amps |
Tags: amplifiers, burton, cash, fender, james, johnny, luther, marty, perkins, soul, stuart, tone |
17 Comments »
http://www.wamplerpedals.com The Pinacle from Wampler is a most awesome box of dirt, gain, and grit. Really dug the versatility of the unit.
Duration : 0:5:10
more cool lessons http://www.guitarjamz.com
also Brett Papa Stacheless has schtuff here http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1421460745
Duration : 0:5:32
Posted in guitar effects |
Tags: 80's, amp, amplifier, amps, away, bass, blues, boogie, BOSS, brett, chorus, clapton, classic, cover, custom, delay, demos, distortion, Duncan, dunlop, effects, Electric, esp, far, fender, getting, gibson, guitar, guitarist, guitarjamz, guitarjamzdotcom, guitars, Hendrix, improvisation, jam, jamz, jazz, line, Line6, loop, ltd, marty, mesa, Metal, Papa, peavey, pedal, ray, ray vaughan, Rock, Roland, schwartz, Seymour, Spider, Standard, stevie, stevie ray, strat, Telecaster, tone, Tube, vaughan, vaughn, Vintage |
24 Comments »
http://www.throbakelectronics.com Over Drive Booster gain pedal with a Fender Tele and Blues Junior amplifier. I love this box…switch between Silicon and Germanium drive base…totally bitchin…rad…tubular…bodacious…yep.
Duration : 0:6:44
Join Sean Halley as he shows you how to deep-dive into the thick tube tones of DT50. Hear its four classic voicings (American clean, British crunch, class A chime and modern high-gain), and see how the Bogner-designed power amp section automatically reconfigures key elements like class, pentode/triode, and feedback to match the preamp settings for each tone. DT50 gives you the ideal “jumping off point” for each tone — but from there, you can change settings and fine-tune your tone — or create something new entirely.
Duration : 0:11:39
Posted in guitar amp |
Tags: amp, Amp modeling, amplifier, bogner, combo, DT-50, DT50, guitar, Line 6, Line6, modeling, Pentode, power, power amp, Reinhold Bogner, tone, Triode, Tube |
12 Comments »
http://www.plumcrazyfx.com The H.M.F.I.C. from Plumcrazy Effects. Love all their stuff!
Duration : 0:6:25
Paul Gilbert Signature Model parametric Equalizer pedal from H.B.E. Homebrew Electronix. Pretty cool idea really…especially if you’re playing an amp with only a couple of tone knobbies on it. I didn’t spend enough time with it, but then again, I never do, but after listening to the clips while editing, I really dig the pedal…plus, Paul Gilbert pretty much rocks ass! I used a http://www.kingbeeguitars.com relic Telecaster and a http://www.jaguaramplification.com Jaguar Twin Amplifier. Very affordable pedal, which is what we all need!
Duration : 0:5:5
Posted in guitar effects |
Tags: 808, big, board, BOSS, boutique, cheap, De, De-Tox, demos, detox, dough, dude, fun, fx, gear, graphic, Low, man, Mr, new, OD, out, outs, para, pedalboard, power, racer, scarified, Screamer, shape, shaping, shoot, Shootout, shrapnel, shred, tone, Tox, TS, Tube |
14 Comments »