I use a Marshall AVT275
and hello by the way, im Adji
Good Amplifier Settings
Hey, im new to these forums and i was wondering if you guys know of any good amplifier settings for any style? I jsut want to widen my range of tone on my guitar, I play all sorts, blues, jazz, classical, metal, i was jsut wondering if you have any good settings to help acheive a gretaer tone.
I use a Marshall AVT275
and hello by the way, im Adji
I use a Marshall AVT275
and hello by the way, im Adji
# 1
[font=trebuchet ms]Some metal players will tell you to crank the bass and treble while reducing the midrange (scooped mids), but the simple fact is that the guitar has it's voice in the midrange. Scooped mids sound OK playing on your own in the bedroom, but it turns to mush when your sound disappears into the bass lines.
For any style, you need to tailor the mids to suit. Jazz used to be built around dark, sometimes muddy guitar sounds, but I think there's more acceptance these days of guitar tones that 'cut through'. Bass at 10 o'clock, mid at 12 o'clock, treble at 12 - 2 o'clock. Adjust the levels for a clean sound, and add a smooth overdrive when you want some distortion.
My personal taste in blues tone puts the amp just on the verge of breakup, so that there's some headroom, while allowing some grind to add expression. Bass at 8 o'clock, mid at 2 o'clock, treble at 12 - 2 o'clock. A Fuzz Face or Big Muff tweaked for smooth warm distortion works well here. A lot of 'white-bread' blues uses tones that verge on metal, but I think that sounds ridiculous.
For metal, you need a tone control section that can shift the emphasis into the upper mids. With the bass set around 10 o'clock, the mids at 12 oclock, and the treble at 12 - 2 o'clock, (same as for jazz, actually) a lot of the tone comes from the levels set on the pedals and the preamp. Don't get carried away with the gain, or everything turns to mush. And too much treble will just make it sound harsh instead of heavy.[/font]
For any style, you need to tailor the mids to suit. Jazz used to be built around dark, sometimes muddy guitar sounds, but I think there's more acceptance these days of guitar tones that 'cut through'. Bass at 10 o'clock, mid at 12 o'clock, treble at 12 - 2 o'clock. Adjust the levels for a clean sound, and add a smooth overdrive when you want some distortion.
My personal taste in blues tone puts the amp just on the verge of breakup, so that there's some headroom, while allowing some grind to add expression. Bass at 8 o'clock, mid at 2 o'clock, treble at 12 - 2 o'clock. A Fuzz Face or Big Muff tweaked for smooth warm distortion works well here. A lot of 'white-bread' blues uses tones that verge on metal, but I think that sounds ridiculous.
For metal, you need a tone control section that can shift the emphasis into the upper mids. With the bass set around 10 o'clock, the mids at 12 oclock, and the treble at 12 - 2 o'clock, (same as for jazz, actually) a lot of the tone comes from the levels set on the pedals and the preamp. Don't get carried away with the gain, or everything turns to mush. And too much treble will just make it sound harsh instead of heavy.[/font]
# 2
[font=trebuchet ms]I looked back over my post, and I'm sorry to be so generic about my suggestions. I'm not familiar with your particulat amp, so I can't be more specific about where to set the knobs. I play mid-70's Ampegs, which have very flexible and effective tone controls. The bass and treble controls are the usual boost-cut variety, but the midrange has a switch to move the control centre frequency to 300 Hz, 1000 Hz, or 3000 Hz. This lets me apply the boost or cut where it's needed. There's also an 'Ultra Hi' switch that can boost or cut the high frequencies.
When I have to play through someone else's amp, I tend to leave the mid control (if there is one) in the mid position, and tailor the bass and treble around this. Frankly, I don't think many amps do nearly enough for tone-shaping controls, which tends to turn them into one-trick-ponies that have a few 'sweet spots' amid a lot of mediocrity. You'll have to spend some time experimenting to find out what works for your particular combination of gear. The quest for tone is very much an individual, subjective endeavour.[/font]
When I have to play through someone else's amp, I tend to leave the mid control (if there is one) in the mid position, and tailor the bass and treble around this. Frankly, I don't think many amps do nearly enough for tone-shaping controls, which tends to turn them into one-trick-ponies that have a few 'sweet spots' amid a lot of mediocrity. You'll have to spend some time experimenting to find out what works for your particular combination of gear. The quest for tone is very much an individual, subjective endeavour.[/font]
# 3
thats cool, thanks alot for your help man, i quite like those tones you suggested actually.
# 4
[font=trebuchet ms]Now that you've had a few days to play, try tweaking the mid control. This is where the voice of the guitar lives. Bump it up to make your tone step out a bit. If it gets harsh, cut back the treble a notch or two.
Try that for a while, then go back to the previous settings and see which way sounds better to you.[/font]
Try that for a while, then go back to the previous settings and see which way sounds better to you.[/font]
# 5
Lord has got the 411 up in heyah! Good advice.
I have gone through the stage of scoping the mids in my sound, only to later learn some of the things you wrote about in your post. 'Course, that was in the 80's. Good stuff.
In my own amp adjustments, I find the "Presence" knob to be the most maddening. Not every amp has this setting.
My understanding is that Presence is the amount of influence you allow your EQ/Tone settings to have...or maybe "strength" would be a better term.
In other words, the lower the presence, the less effect the bass, mid, and treb settings will have. If I turn down the presence all the way, I have mud. If I turn it up all the way, I have marble. Is this accurate?
Lemme know what you guyz think.
Peace
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Legato
I have gone through the stage of scoping the mids in my sound, only to later learn some of the things you wrote about in your post. 'Course, that was in the 80's. Good stuff.
In my own amp adjustments, I find the "Presence" knob to be the most maddening. Not every amp has this setting.
My understanding is that Presence is the amount of influence you allow your EQ/Tone settings to have...or maybe "strength" would be a better term.
In other words, the lower the presence, the less effect the bass, mid, and treb settings will have. If I turn down the presence all the way, I have mud. If I turn it up all the way, I have marble. Is this accurate?
Lemme know what you guyz think.
Peace
------------
Legato
# 6
Originally Posted by: LegatoVibrato... My understanding is that Presence is the amount of influence you allow your EQ/Tone settings to have...or maybe "strength" would be a better term...[font=trebuchet ms]Not directly.
The tone controls are filters that boost or cut parts of the frequency spectrum. They are part of the preamp. And their effect does not change with the volume level.
Presense is a type of feedback control that samples the output at the speaker and feeds that signal back into the preamp. Because it is frequency-dependant, it affects the tone, and because of the interaction of the output transformer with the presense circuit, the degree of effectiveness is more pronounced at higher volumes.
Rolling the presense control all the way down will usually cut the highs and upper-mids, producing 'muddy' sound. Turning it up boosts these frequencies, causing the 'icepick in the forehead' kind of sound.[/font]
# 7
