The New Tone Thread

[Greg_L]

Greg,
Thanks & yes please.
I'll render a version with the count int and no drums for you in the next hr - it's at 120bpm.

Got it, thanks Ray.


I've been fucking around with my clusterfuck of a pedalboard. I had shit wherever it would fit, but I put a little more thought into it this time and arranged things in order of usefulness and trying to find a balance between the true bypass and buffered pedals. I've got about 50 feet of cable between my guitar and amp so I need to get it right. So this is what I ended up with....
Before:


After:


The "after" layout is more logical for me.
It goes guitar > Boss SD-1 (buffered) > Tuner (True bypass) > Tube Screamer (buffered) > Boss Flanger (buffered) > Phase 90 (true bypass) > Boss Tremolo (buffered) > Crybaby (true bypass) > amp. The Flashback Delay and MXR EQ are still in the effects loop when applicable. Having the Wah first is most common, but I like to use it left-footed, and it's true bypass with a buffered pedal right before it, so fuck it. It goes last. I've got a buffered pedal to start it all off, and one next to last, so that should be good enough, and the layout works better for me. And believe it or not, it sounds better. Much less noise. That's a win!

My back is still jacked up, so I popped some more vicodin, because it's awesome, and chased it down with the nectar of the gods - jaegermeister. I got another super happy fun buzz going, so I whipped out some tone. I'm not sure if this is good or not.

Les Paul Traditional - Burstbucker 3 bridge pickup
Marshall JVM 410 - OD1 Channel, Green mode
Presence -3
Bass - 6.5
Mid - 4
Treb - 6
Gain - 3
Channel vol - 4
Master vol - 4
Tube Screamer engaged as clean boost - drive @ 0, level @ 2:00, tone @ 12:00
Marshall 1960B 4x12 - Vintage 30 - single SM57, on axis, on grill, just outside dustcap
No EQ or anything in DAW.
Ace of Slop

Lemmy know what you think!

 

[Tadpui]

do we talk about acoustic tone on this thread?

I thought I had mic position done and dusted like 8 years ago, but since then I've developed major doubts -- I attached two clips - same guitar and same mics in X-Y, but on clip 1 the mics are pointed down about 20 degrees south of the 14th fret, and in clip 2, they're pointed at the 14th fret. Which sounds better to you (or do they both suck)?

I think I like #2 a little better. #1 sounds a little boxy, and it emphasizes the lower mids a bit more. #2 sounds like it'd fit into a mix better.

It may be time to get your winter truss rod adjustment done, there's quite a bit of string/fret buzz when you dig in harder. clip #2 doesn't have as much of the fret buzz in it, sounds like you eased up a bit on the first half of the clip. I have this problem myself, I don't get setups very often and the seasons change and blow up my acoustic guitars' action.

I like that chord progression! Also, after I listened to this I turned around and immediately bought a stereo bar so I could try some XY mic positions myself

 

[Tadpui]

Here's an update based on your thoughts folks.
I've left the limiter & Sanford Bass thing ON and lifted the drums a little.
TONE wise I've swapped the relationships between the blended mics. It's 2/3 L'Grange Dynamic & 1/3 57 on each.
Is that brighter?
I've not added any additional EQ at this stage - hoping that the mics will have the answer - if not I'll move the mic positions for the next recording.
At present the 57 is directly facing the speaker about 1" in from the outer edge & the L'Grange is at right angles to the spot when dome & cone meet.

I could handle even brighter guitars, but it's headed the right direction. Again I like the crunch and texture of them, I'd just like to hear a little more brightness.

 

[Tadpui]

Got it, thanks Ray.


I've been fucking around with my clusterfuck of a pedalboard. I had shit wherever it would fit, but I put a little more thought into it this time and arranged things in order of usefulness and trying to find a balance between the true bypass and buffered pedals. I've got about 50 feet of cable between my guitar and amp so I need to get it right. So this is what I ended up with....
Before:


After:


The "after" layout is more logical for me.
It goes guitar > Boss SD-1 (buffered) > Tuner (True bypass) > Tube Screamer (buffered) > Boss Flanger (buffered) > Phase 90 (true bypass) > Boss Tremolo (buffered) > Crybaby (true bypass) > amp. The Flashback Delay and MXR EQ are still in the effects loop when applicable. Having the Wah first is most common, but I like to use it left-footed, and it's true bypass with a buffered pedal right before it, so fuck it. It goes last. I've got a buffered pedal to start it all off, and one next to last, so that should be good enough, and the layout works better for me. And believe it or not, it sounds better. Much less noise. That's a win!

My back is still jacked up, so I popped some more vicodin, because it's awesome, and chased it down with the nectar of the gods - jaegermeister. I got another super happy fun buzz going, so I whipped out some tone. I'm not sure if this is good or not.

Les Paul Traditional - Burstbucker 3 bridge pickup
Marshall JVM 410 - OD1 Channel, Green mode
Presence -3
Bass - 6.5
Mid - 4
Treb - 6
Gain - 3
Channel vol - 4
Master vol - 4
Tube Screamer engaged as clean boost - drive @ 0, level @ 2:00, tone @ 12:00
Marshall 1960B 4x12 - Vintage 30 - single SM57, on axis, on grill, just outside dustcap
No EQ or anything in DAW.
Ace of Slop

Lemmy know what you think!

That's more gain than I'm used to hearing you play with! I like it, the lows stay crisp. I like the dissonance when you're doing the bends towards the end, nothing in the world saturates like that other than hot power tubes. And that's with the master only on 4? Jeez, that thing is a weapon of mass destruction.

 

[rayc]

Nice riffing Greg.
jaegermeister was a tradition at my folks place for my mum to have a single drink at celebrations. One Xmas she had 2 and was off her face. I can't imagine her having 2 with vicodin!
Wha placement - yeah there's the orthodoxy & what works for an individual.
I've only recorded one successful solo and I used effects before the WAH so that the tone was more Wah than the effect.
I still prefer it that way now.

 

[Tadpui]

OK fellas, one more try. I took the advice above and changed over to the clean channel of the classic side. Turned off the resonance, turned up the treble, turned down the bass. I wasn't getting quite enough gain so I added the TS9 Tube Screamer to the fold. I like this a lot, I'll be curious if I still like it tomorrow:

Gibson LP Classic->TS9 Tube Screamer->Marshall DSL40CST

TS9:
Drive - 5 (the markings are funny on this pedal...this equates to about 11 or 11:30 on the dial)
Tone - 4 (according to the markings)
Level - 4.5 (according to the markings)

DSL40CST:
Classic Gain
Clean Channel
Gain - 8
Volume - 9
Treble - 3
Mid - 6
Bass - 4
Presence - 2
Resonance - 0
No reverb

Mic'd by an Audix i5, a little closer to the dust cap than last time, about 1" away from the grille cloth
Preamp is an FMR RNP

*edit*
Oh, and a bonus favor to ask. I set up an SM81 and pointed it at my Martin D-41 last night as well. Wondering how it sounds to others. I put the mic farther away than I usually do, maybe 18" or 24". Also I put ReaEQ on this to tame the bass. Single band, High Pass, 100.0 Hz, 2.00 oct Bandwidth.

Is my lively room noticeable here? It is when I monitor live in headphones, but I don't hear the room as much over my monitors. Would that just be because I'm hearing the same room reverb/reflections and I don't notice it? Curious how it sounds in other rooms...

 

[Lt. Bob]

My back is still jacked up, so I popped some more vicodin, because it's awesome, and chased it down with the nectar of the gods - jaegermeister. I got another super happy fun buzz going, so I whipped out some tone. I'm not sure if this is good or not.

Les Paul Traditional - Burstbucker 3 bridge pickup
Marshall JVM 410 - OD1 Channel, Green mode
Presence -3
Bass - 6.5
Mid - 4
Treb - 6
Gain - 3
Channel vol - 4
Master vol - 4
Tube Screamer engaged as clean boost - drive @ 0, level @ 2:00, tone @ 12:00
Marshall 1960B 4x12 - Vintage 30 - single SM57, on axis, on grill, just outside dustcap
No EQ or anything in DAW.
Ace of Slop

Lemmy know what you think!

THAT SOUNDS LOUD AS SHIT !!!!


No lie ..... it sounds glorious .......

 

[Lt. Bob]

OK fellas, one more try. I took the advice above and changed over to the clean channel of the classic side. Turned off the resonance, turned up the treble, turned down the bass. I wasn't getting quite enough gain so I added the TS9 Tube Screamer to the fold. I like this a lot, I'll be curious if I still like it tomorrow:

Gibson LP Classic->TS9 Tube Screamer->Marshall DSL40CST

TS9:
Drive - 5 (the markings are funny on this pedal...this equates to about 11 or 11:30 on the dial)
Tone - 4 (according to the markings)
Level - 4.5 (according to the markings)

DSL40CST:
Classic Gain
Clean Channel
Gain - 8
Volume - 9
Treble - 3
Mid - 6
Bass - 4
Presence - 2
Resonance - 0
No reverb

Mic'd by an Audix i5, a little closer to the dust cap than last time, about 1" away from the grille cloth
Preamp is an FMR RNP

much mo' bettah!

I liked that immediately.

 

[minerman]

Greg: Cool toan dude, as always...It just amazes me the tones you pull off with your gear dude...I've been pretty damn busy with other shit, so much so haven't even fired the amps up in a few days, but I'll get 'round to 'em....

Vicodin huh?? Dude, when I was on all that shit, that was like eating candy for me....Seriously, I'd do like 3-400mg of oxycontin everyday....Did that shit for about 8-9 years, until it almost killed me, but I've been off it for almost 8 years now, Feb 8th is my anniversary...8 years....Not preaching or anything, but please be careful with that shit, I myself never intended to wind up where I was at, just sayin'....


Tadpui: Cool tones dude, just keep listening to Greg & Lt. Bob's suggestions, & you'll do fine dude....It's all a learning process, they've both walked me through a lot of it here too....Great thread, keep at it!!!! I like the acoustic tone too, it does sound pretty roomy/lively to me, in a good way...


Stopped to see the new place again today, & I personally think it's gonna be awesome, I'll have my own pad in a few weeks, that'll actually be mine (in a few years....lol), but I'm super stoked to be getting out of this holler....It'll always be home, but it's driving me bat-shit crazy too, no cell service, internet is sometimes hit/miss because of the weather, it's been a long fuckin' year guys...I'll post up some pics when I get settled in the new pad, I'm probably gonna go ahead & buy a set of e-drums too, just to have, as there are a couple guys I know that live kinda close to there, that play/record....I've always wanted an e-kit too, kinda like the big Marshall, so that'll be another thing crossed off the list....hahahaha

Long fuckin' night at work, the 5 day, mini-vacation has truly ruined me, gotta get back in the swing of things....Another plus about the new pad, it's gonna cut my drive time down about an hour a day too....

Gonna grab a shower....

 

[Greg_L]

That's more gain than I'm used to hearing you play with! I like it, the lows stay crisp. I like the dissonance when you're doing the bends towards the end, nothing in the world saturates like that other than hot power tubes. And that's with the master only on 4? Jeez, that thing is a weapon of mass destruction.

Thanks, yeah that's about the most gain I'd usually roll with. I like some gain, just not metal levels of gain. For live playing, I usually try to dial in an Angus kind of sound, and then just play fast. Less gain played fast sounds very punchy and aggressive to me. AC/DC is the benchmark. AC/DC sound played punk rock fast. That's the ticket.

Nice riffing Greg.
jaegermeister was a tradition at my folks place for my mum to have a single drink at celebrations. One Xmas she had 2 and was off her face. I can't imagine her having 2 with vicodin!
Wha placement - yeah there's the orthodoxy & what works for an individual.
I've only recorded one successful solo and I used effects before the WAH so that the tone was more Wah than the effect.
I still prefer it that way now.

Cool thanks Ray. I think maybe I'm weird with the wah. I'm not very good at it, and I use it more as a wild effect than a tasteful addition to singing leads. I'm no Hendrix fan, but I like the way he used the wah as sort of like a psychotic noise machine to push his craziness over the top.

THAT SOUNDS LOUD AS SHIT !!!!


No lie ..... it sounds glorious .......

Thanks a lot Boob!

Greg: Cool toan dude, as always...It just amazes me the tones you pull off with your gear dude...I've been pretty damn busy with other shit, so much so haven't even fired the amps up in a few days, but I'll get 'round to 'em....

Vicodin huh?? Dude, when I was on all that shit, that was like eating candy for me....Seriously, I'd do like 3-400mg of oxycontin everyday....Did that shit for about 8-9 years, until it almost killed me, but I've been off it for almost 8 years now, Feb 8th is my anniversary...8 years....Not preaching or anything, but please be careful with that shit, I myself never intended to wind up where I was at, just sayin'....

Thanks man. You don't gotta worry about me. I'm paying the price this morning and I'm not gonna get hooked on anything. I live a very clean and sober life 99% of the time. My worst habit is not sleeping as much as I should. I'm just too hyper. I go to bed late and get up early because I'm just too damn excited about everything. Like right now, it's 5:58am Texas time, and if I could I'd be beating the shit out of my drums.

Good luck with the house. Sounds cool. How's the neighbors? How loud can you be in there?

On the e-drums....try to get some that have rims and heads. They feel and act more like real drums and you can get rimshots and shit out of them. Those plastic practice pad types are wonky.

 

[Greg_L]

OK fellas, one more try. I took the advice above and changed over to the clean channel of the classic side. Turned off the resonance, turned up the treble, turned down the bass. I wasn't getting quite enough gain so I added the TS9 Tube Screamer to the fold. I like this a lot, I'll be curious if I still like it tomorrow:

Gibson LP Classic->TS9 Tube Screamer->Marshall DSL40CST

TS9:
Drive - 5 (the markings are funny on this pedal...this equates to about 11 or 11:30 on the dial)
Tone - 4 (according to the markings)
Level - 4.5 (according to the markings)

DSL40CST:
Classic Gain
Clean Channel
Gain - 8
Volume - 9
Treble - 3
Mid - 6
Bass - 4
Presence - 2
Resonance - 0
No reverb

Mic'd by an Audix i5, a little closer to the dust cap than last time, about 1" away from the grille cloth
Preamp is an FMR RNP

That sounds really cool to me. Really good punch and dynamics. Believe it or not, it has a Plexi-like kind of middy growl to it. Really nice classic crunch sound. Now try the "Ultra" side.

*edit*
Oh, and a bonus favor to ask. I set up an SM81 and pointed it at my Martin D-41 last night as well. Wondering how it sounds to others. I put the mic farther away than I usually do, maybe 18" or 24". Also I put ReaEQ on this to tame the bass. Single band, High Pass, 100.0 Hz, 2.00 oct Bandwidth.

Is my lively room noticeable here? It is when I monitor live in headphones, but I don't hear the room as much over my monitors. Would that just be because I'm hearing the same room reverb/reflections and I don't notice it? Curious how it sounds in other rooms...

I am hearing the room. It doesn't sound terrible, but I think it detracts for the overall recording.

 

[antichef]

AC/DC sound played punk rock fast. That's the ticket.

Yes! For me, even the still cleaner sound of thin lizzy, a band I don't otherwise much like - love the motorhead, though

I'm paying the price this morning and I'm not gonna get hooked on anything. I live a very clean and sober life 99% of the time.

And the other 1% is when it's time to go to the shooting range

It may be time to get your winter truss rod adjustment done, there's quite a bit of string/fret buzz when you dig in harder. clip #2 doesn't have as much of the fret buzz in it, sounds like you eased up a bit on the first half of the clip. I have this problem myself, I don't get setups very often and the seasons change and blow up my acoustic guitars' action

I don't [sniff] have a truss rod... probably just need to ease up. That SM81 recording sounded good to me. You did catch a little room - sounds fine, but I don't usually have the balls to do that because I've become so addicted to reverb plugins. Nice chords too. I need to dig out my SM81. Your new amped track sounds great - not tubby

 

[Tadpui]

much mo' bettah!

I liked that immediately.

Thanks Bob!

Tadpui: Cool tones dude, just keep listening to Greg & Lt. Bob's suggestions, & you'll do fine dude....It's all a learning process, they've both walked me through a lot of it here too....Great thread, keep at it!!!! I like the acoustic tone too, it does sound pretty roomy/lively to me, in a good way...

Thanks minerman, this thread has been a big help. Looking forward to more experimentation and learning more about my new amp. Hope the house works out for you!

That sounds really cool to me. Really good punch and dynamics. Believe it or not, it has a Plexi-like kind of middy growl to it. Really nice classic crunch sound. Now try the "Ultra" side.

I am hearing the room. It doesn't sound terrible, but I think it detracts for the overall recording.

Thanks Greg, I never would have thought to just crank up the volume and gain on the clean channel. I definitely like this tone better than any other I've managed so far. I briefly tried the Ultra channel, and it scares me a little. It was tough to get a saturated tone that wasn't gritty. But in the name of science, I'll keep trying

Thanks for listening to the acoustic tone too. It's weird how it sounds neutral when played back in the same room. Psychoacoustics is a weird thing. I'm going to add more absorption in the room soon, so hopefully I can end up with less room reflections when I have to back off of a mic.

I don't [sniff] have a truss rod... probably just need to ease up. That SM81 recording sounded good to me. You did catch a little room - sounds fine, but I don't usually have the balls to do that because I've become so addicted to reverb plugins. Nice chords too. I need to dig out my SM81. Your new amped track sounds great - not tubby

No truss rod? There's not a hex-head poking out underneath where the neck meets the body inside the sound hole?

Thanks for the listens. I'm really happy with where the DSL tones are headed. And I hear ya on the room reverb on acoustic. I love reverb plugs also, so if I use a tone like this on acoustic, it'll sound odd when it's in one room but everything else is in a different reverb space. So I'm going to need a less reverberant room, for sure.

 

[minerman]

Ok, had a few minutes this morning to fire the amp up, just messing around really, still got a lot of shit to take care of, but, gotta have some toans too...Nothing special, just some loud-ass playing, trying to break the new speakers in a little more...


LP > Chupa > G12-65 > e609


Resonance: 1
Presence: 8
Bass: 8
Mid: 6
Treble: 4
Master: 10
Gain 2: 5
Gain 1: 6
Era: 80's
Bright 2: C
Bright 1: C
Focus: Off

Chupa > '65 > e609


Really liking the new speakers, but especially the G12-65 re-issue, & especially with the Chupa...The G12H is great too, but until I get it broken in really well, it's gonna have that shrill, mid-spike thing (it's not bad, just a lot different than any of the other speakers I have...which can be cool for some stuff), I guess that's why I like the '65 so much right now, it's a little smoother sounding already...

No post-processing in the daw, just the raw track....

Greg: On the e-kit, I'm sure the kits with real heads/rims would be more like a real kit, but they're a lot more expensive too, I probably won't drop a lot of $$$ on one until I see I'm gonna stick with it & actually learn how to play the fucking drums a lot better than I currently can....lol...It would be really nice to be able to just play my drum tracks instead of jumping through hoops with the programming though....I've considered those all-in-one pads, & even tried my midi keyboard, but just can't get it to work for me...I saw a used kit on the local Craigslist a few days ago for about $150, so I may go that route too....Still doing some research, & weighing my pros/cons on all of it too, I may end up just sticking with the programming instead, but again, it would be really nice to just play my fuckin' drum track instead of jumping through hoops....lol

The neighbors at the new place aren't real close, a little farther away than my old place with the ex, so I should be able to get pretty loud there at times, of course, I won't be able to crank up after 9 pm, that's a given, but during the day/evening, it should be fair game....Pretty excited about the new pad to be honest, like I mentioned before, up here in "Deliveranceville" is & always will be home, but it's driving me nuts...

Gotta go in early again today, so I've gotta get off here & hit the road in a few minutes....

 

[Lt. Bob]

I don't [sniff] have a truss rod... probably just need to ease up.

that seems unlikely ....... VERY few guitars without a truss rod.

 

[Greg_L]

Sounds good minerman. It's a little crispy, but good clarity as you roll the vol.

 

[Tadpui]

Ok, had a few minutes this morning to fire the amp up, just messing around really, still got a lot of shit to take care of, but, gotta have some toans too...Nothing special, just some loud-ass playing, trying to break the new speakers in a little more...


LP > Chupa > G12-65 > e609


Resonance: 1
Presence: 8
Bass: 8
Mid: 6
Treble: 4
Master: 10
Gain 2: 5
Gain 1: 6
Era: 80's
Bright 2: C
Bright 1: C
Focus: Off

Chupa > '65 > e609


Really liking the new speakers, but especially the G12-65 re-issue, & especially with the Chupa...The G12H is great too, but until I get it broken in really well, it's gonna have that shrill, mid-spike thing (it's not bad, just a lot different than any of the other speakers I have...which can be cool for some stuff), I guess that's why I like the '65 so much right now, it's a little smoother sounding already...

No post-processing in the daw, just the raw track....

Greg: On the e-kit, I'm sure the kits with real heads/rims would be more like a real kit, but they're a lot more expensive too, I probably won't drop a lot of $$$ on one until I see I'm gonna stick with it & actually learn how to play the fucking drums a lot better than I currently can....lol...It would be really nice to be able to just play my drum tracks instead of jumping through hoops with the programming though....I've considered those all-in-one pads, & even tried my midi keyboard, but just can't get it to work for me...I saw a used kit on the local Craigslist a few days ago for about $150, so I may go that route too....Still doing some research, & weighing my pros/cons on all of it too, I may end up just sticking with the programming instead, but again, it would be really nice to just play my fuckin' drum track instead of jumping through hoops....lol

The neighbors at the new place aren't real close, a little farther away than my old place with the ex, so I should be able to get pretty loud there at times, of course, I won't be able to crank up after 9 pm, that's a given, but during the day/evening, it should be fair game....Pretty excited about the new pad to be honest, like I mentioned before, up here in "Deliveranceville" is & always will be home, but it's driving me nuts...

Gotta go in early again today, so I've gotta get off here & hit the road in a few minutes....

It's got a good edge to it. I'm surprised at how bright your LP is when you roll off the volume. Or were you adjusting the volume on the amp? I thought this sounded best at the very first and at the very last of the clip. It was a nice pleasant clean breakup at first, and an aggressive chunk at the end, especially with the chords that involved open strings.

I grabbed an e-kit earlier this past spring, and I've been loving it. I suck as a drummer but it's a lot of fun to hammer away at them. But I can still do better on an e-kit than I could on a keyboard. There's something about actually hammering it out with arms and legs that puts those familiar accents where listeners expect them. I just couldn't do that with a keyboard. I went with the Yamaha DTX400K. Excellent pads, but the drawback is that they're all single-zone. So no rim shots, sidestick, or cymbal choke unless you dedicate a pad to that sound. And the hihat pedal only does open or closed. I have to use the mod wheel on my MIDI keyboard to record the hihat pedal as an overdub if I want to work the pedal during a song. Maybe look into the Alesis kits. I don't know about their pads, but it looks like they pack more features for the buck into their kits.

 

[antichef]

Yeah minerman - assuming that was the guitar volume that was rolled down, that's pretty awesome - most of my guitars go really dark like that. I've tried fixing it by changing pots and capacitors with some success. Love the 65 - gotta get one

that seems unlikely ....... VERY few guitars without a truss rod.

it's true I swear - OK pics or it didn't happen:







actually one of two guitars I have without truss rods - my 2 favorite acoustics:

 

[Lt. Bob]

well ..... I actually meant to come back and mention that older Martins didn't have truss rods ..... but I thought they'd started using them.
Is that an old one?

 

[Lt. Bob]

lol at me.

So I fixed my Blue Angel amp .... ya'll might remember around a year ago it died .... started blowing fuses.
Even blew fuses with all the tubes out which led me to suspect rectifier diodes .... and they were in a place that made it a nightmare to replace them so it sat there unfixed and I used my little 5 watt amps thru a small 10" cab mic'd, or I used a modeler direct into the PA ....... tweaked them within an inch of their lives and got the small amps and modeler sounding quite good ....... I mean really good ......... hell, maybe as good as the Blue Angel ............

ummmmm ............ not even close!!

I went ahead and fixed it the other night and then had a gig in a place large enough to bring it ........... Oh man ..... it sounded SO good!!

Won't be able to fool myself with the pretend stuff now.
hahahaha! Crap ...... it was so much easier not to bring it.