Tones, Tones, Tones!

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mshilarious, I find that running through the Pod XTL, my Strat sounds like a Strat, and my LP sounds like an LP. Particularly of note is that on my LP the neck pickup is a P90 and the bridge pickup is a DiMarzio SD, and the tonal differences between the two is very distinguishable.

And on both these guitars, the different amp models respond remarkably differently to guitar gain, pickup selection, and picking technique, so there is more going on than just fucking around with EQ curves to make the models sound different.
 
mshilarious's Avatar

Arrrr...I be born 19 Sept
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Happy birthday! Sept 19 is my b'day as well! If you enjoyed your birthday just HALF as much as I did mine, well then, I had twice as much fun as you did... ;^)
 
ggunn said:
Happy birthday! Sept 19 is my b'day as well! If you enjoyed your birthday just HALF as much as I did mine, well then, I had twice as much fun as you did... ;^)
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Sept. 19 is not my real birthday, it is INTERNATIONAL TALK LIKE PIRATE DAY, and I did enjoy myself thoroughly, thank you . . . :)
 
Aye matey!! Hoist the Jolly Roger. My vocal chords are sore from all of yesterday's pirate talk. Happy B-day to the GGunn!! I am still a dollar short. Anyhoo, I love all my toys, including the Pod. Now I think I am torn between a new mex strat or a new pu's for my existing 80's USA strat. ?? Didn't mean to hijack. GASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS attack.
 
I am sure that the recorded result could be made indistinguishable. the reason i feel that way is because I've recorded lots of stuff with really good equipment that just ended up sounding mostly shitty anyway. the best guitar sound I ever got on a recording was when I put a peavey audition 20 with an 8 inch speaker inside of a refrigerator with the door closed.

The probelm for me is that I play better when the guitar sounds good to me as I'm doing it. Does that make sense? Even if the tone isn't optimized for recording, the result is better because I had happy ears and a happy brain and happy hands. You can dial up a really cool patch, but if it doesn't light up the right parts of your cerebellum, then the recording won't be so hot.

If I play different guitars at home, it kinda sounds like different guys playing. I had a tele over here a while back and it was really surprising to me how my style had changed to fit the thing. I was all excited and took it to the gig and it completely sucked. The true me is a strat guy and I can't really do me honestly on other guitars.

I guess I am with MShilarious or whoever said they always sound the same. I have spent alot of time developing a style and a tone. Alot of guys don't have one, so if I do, I should probably capitalize on it.
 
The probelm for me is that I play better when the guitar sounds good to me as I'm doing it. Does that make sense? Even if the tone isn't optimized for recording, the result is better because I had happy ears and a happy brain and happy hands. You can dial up a really cool patch, but if it doesn't light up the right parts of your cerebellum, then the recording won't be so hot.
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Indeed, but theoretically, if the tone is killer coming out of the amp, you should be able to capture that in a recording. I don't think that there is any "optimum" tone for recording; there is only mic placement, room, player. THE END
 
Another factor seems to be that a great sounding guitar tone by itself will not sound good at all mixed with other instruments, and some really bad tones work well in a mix.

This is going to be a lot of work.
 
well, obviously we agree to disagree. a good studio tone may not be a great live tone; but a good studio tone, captured well, should be great mixed with everything else, assuming all parts are equally well tracked, and you know how something will work in the context of the mix before-hand.
 
Thurgood said:
...I love all my toys, including the Pod..
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WHAT?? Don't EVER call them toys, especially to the IRS! They are tools, dammit! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
 
blueroommusic said:
Indeed, but theoretically, if the tone is killer coming out of the amp, you should be able to capture that in a recording. I don't think that there is any "optimum" tone for recording; there is only mic placement, room, player. THE END
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Since we're going theoretical and all... :)


The thing you don't factor in is that I have 25 years of wear on my ears and what my brain perceives as what my guitar sounds like may not be at all how it sounds in real life. I think it's the psychoacoustic effect, although i have no idea what that term actually means.

I can imagine a scenario that illustrates this. You know how when you have that amp just loud enough that it is buzzing your pantlegs? It is extremely thick and fills the air around you with vibrations? But you put a mic on it and it's picking up more highs than my 25 years of loud guitar ears can hear so it sounds kinda wimpy and shitty on record?

I think that performance trumps that. I'll take the wimpy sound (hey, I can think of shitty guitar sounds on some of my favorite records) if it is in the context of capturing me playing some crazy shit that came out 100% as inspiration from my pantlegs buzzing.
 
blueroommusic said:
...sorry to hear that.
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I don't understand :confused:

I loved every second of it - even playing "Always and Forever" for 17 minutes during the bridal dance at a wedding reception when you were "crappin' in your hands and rubbin' it on your face."

Sorry. I love "point break". It truly is an acheivement for Busey.

I like this one too:

Pappas: Let me tell you something, Harp. I was in this bureau while you were still popping zits on your funny face and jacking off to the lingerie section of the Sears catalog. But there's something I've learned in all my years...

Ben Harp: Why don't you astonish me, shitbrains.

Pappas: [Pappas punches Harp] Respect for my elders!
 
I just meant that your hearing is a precious thing...I played for several years, before using earplugs...It will probably help my engineering career last an extra 10 years (hopefully)...that being said, my hearing ain't too bad considering the years of abuse it took.
 
Sadly, I'm in a situation of "if I knew then what I know now".....

I played some very, very loud music in years past without ear protection, and I have sustained permanent high-freq loss. So I just have to assume all that stuff over 12KHz is there.... ;)
 
blueroommusic said:
I just meant that your hearing is a precious thing...I played for several years, before using earplugs...It will probably help my engineering career last an extra 10 years (hopefully)...that being said, my hearing ain't too bad considering the years of abuse it took.
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Huh?





Actually, my ears aren't as bad as they could be, I guess. Although my tone is kind of bright and jangly. I used to ride my motorcycle without a helmet alot and I honestly believe that the wind noise does more to hurt your ears than the music. I can't wear ear plugs when I play, because I sing, but I ALWAYS wear them when I ride my bike without a helmet. safety first :D
 
mshilarious said:
Sept. 19 is not my real birthday, it is INTERNATIONAL TALK LIKE PIRATE DAY, and I did enjoy myself thoroughly, thank you . . . :)
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You mean I missed out on an International event of that magnitude...I didn't even say Arghhhhhhhhhh once. :( :( :( :(

Hey I got the Naiant mics today....I am definitely having fun with them, no doubt about it! :D
 
I have a Variax + XTL + Toneport.

So now you're looking at 50+ guitars (with workbench to make them), all those amps + the options for doubling up amps and effects.

I think there is a real danger that we spend all our times tweaking tone's for the slightest variation and sometimes I think it would be better to identify 10 or so for different situations and just use them.

PS. I don't know the first thing about "real" tone and it all works for me.
 
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