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Effects, multi-effects stuffs and pedals

Home › Forums › Discuss Your Gear › Effects, multi-effects stuffs and pedals

  • This topic has 10 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 4 months ago by Rickey.
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    • April 15, 2011 at 11:55 am #3858
      Rickey
      Keymaster

        Hi Brian,

        I’m wondering what kind of stuff you’re using for your video lessons, specialy for reverbs, tremollos and overdrives.
        Thank’s for help.
        Patrick

      • April 20, 2011 at 5:09 pm #7578
        Brian
        Participant

          Patrick, the dirty little secret is that I’m not using an amp at all for my lessons and all of the different tones come from a Line 6, M-13 Stombox Modeler. Here’s the link if you’re interested.

          I typically play with the distortion (overdrive) about half way up.. and the guitar volume at about 75%. That gives you a nice range to work with so that if you need more overdrive.. just increase your volume slightly. I also like a little slap-back delay mixed with a warm reverb tone. Not TOO heavy on the delay, just enough to give a basic echo (repeated 1 time).

          My tone has always been pretty simple, I know there are a million variables with it but try to find something that compliments your playing style. Obviously if I was doing something heavier.. i’d increase the overdrive.. and for heavy overdrive I prefer the Gibson ES-335 because of the humbucker pickups. Those have a GREAT bluesy overdrive tone to them.

          Just stay away from any of the crunchy sounding metal distortions, those are the worst.. even if what you’re playing is great, a cheesy tone can totally kill things for you. Hope that helps.

        • April 21, 2011 at 10:23 am #7581
          Rickey
          Keymaster

            Hello Brian !

            thank’s for help. I’ve recently purchased a BOSS ME25 Multi-Effects pedal and I’m playing a bit with it.
            My Telecaster don’t have any Humbucket but it’s doing fine with the BOSS and I’ve edited some blusy sounds to work with on your lessons.

            I’m thinking to purchase an Ibanez guitar or Cort M600 with humbukers in a few months to get more rounded sounds if possible.

            Thank’s again for help.
            Regards
            Patrick

          • April 23, 2011 at 8:31 pm #7586
            Rickey
            Keymaster

              Newbie,
              I have always loved the look and feel of a tele but envied thelush tones and sustain of a strat, gold top Gibson what have you. So I have an appt in a month to have a humbucking ( or humbucker either is right) installed where my rear single coil does. Then, the guitar tech will install a “push-pull pot” on m tone knob. Then….I will have a big fine double humbucker on the rear and by pushing down on the tone knob I get the single coil on. That you dont lose that bright country tone that the tele gets when you throw your tone switch all the way backward.
              Cost: pick up 82.00
              push pull 24.00
              Labor 25.99 ( but he is a friend of mine. Regular labor I’d say 65.00
              So total: 171.00 not too bad for what you get.
              Hope this info helps,
              Jack

            • April 23, 2011 at 8:39 pm #7588
              Rickey
              Keymaster

                Dear Psour…sorry I got your name wrong. I was looking at my status. I am the newbiw. 🙂
                best regards,
                Jack

              • April 23, 2011 at 9:09 pm #7589
                Rickey
                Keymaster

                  🙂
                  no problem Frost 😉 and thank’s a lot for your help
                  Best regards
                  Patrick

                • January 6, 2012 at 12:46 pm #7720
                  StreakyPete
                  Participant

                    @Brian wrote:

                    Patrick, the dirty little secret is that I’m not using an amp at all for my lessons and all of the different tones come from a Line 6, M-13 Stombox Modeler. .

                    That’s interesting Brian.
                    I had my eye on a M-13 for ages, but eventually settled on a bargain priced HD400.
                    I just got it a couple of weeks ago, and I still haven’t got it sorted out the way I want it. I’m having too much fun discovering great M-class tones. I think that’s my problem – just when I think I’ve got my tones sorted, I go off at a tangent with some new whizz-bang sound!
                    I think I’ll just have to knuckle down and get the first two banks nailed good and proper (first bank for the strat, 2nd for the Casino)

                    I’m running the HD400 through my ancient MK1 Spider Valve 2×12, bypassing the pre-amp section. It’s a pretty decent sound, for not a lot of money. Like yourself, I stay clear of the crashy metal sounds (must be getting old). I love all the amps right up to the AC30/15. Beyond that point I’m struggling to get a sound which isn’t going to blow what’s left of my hair off!

                    Another plus with the HD400 is that I can use the looper to help me practice your tutorials!

                    Pete.

                  • January 6, 2012 at 5:42 pm #7722
                    Brian
                    Participant

                      Yeah the HD400 – is an awesome sounding effects board for the price no doubt. It’s funny though, no matter how many different effect pedals / board that I play around with, I always come back to basic overdrive, a slight slap back delay, and some reverb for just about everything 🙂

                    • February 17, 2012 at 4:19 am #7803
                      Rickey
                      Keymaster

                        Hey guys I’m playing a 2006 black strat that I made into a hard tail just because it had problem with staying in tune. I am playing through a Line 6 spider valve with Bogden tubes. I am working on selecting some new pickups and so far Lace Sensor is winning. I have no idea about how to make a selection like this as I have seen some videos on you tube. Any ideas you guys have on this would be great,Thanks

                      • February 19, 2012 at 3:28 am #7815
                        Brian
                        Participant

                          Hey John, I’m a huge fan of Lace Sensor pickups. I have an early 90s Strat that has them and I love the sound they produce. They have a really nice low-end. Otherwise I’d go with Fender Hot Noiseless pickups. A set of 3 of them is around $150 and they sound incredible.

                        • February 27, 2012 at 8:41 am #7839
                          Rickey
                          Keymaster

                            I have a PRS standard 24 with some extras like the single/double coil switch, birds, gold, and I got it because it seemed to immediately improve my playing. I also have an old Laravee electric (kind of rare since they haven’t made them for 20 years or so)

                            The iron bits rusted on the Laravee from the humidity in Fiji where I lived for a few years. (The PRS didn’t have any ferrous parts to rust)

                            When I got back to California in 2009 I took the rusted bits Laravee to a guitar wizard in Orange County who installed a nice matched set of SH15 Seymore Duncan pickups and reworked the electronics. It gave that old Laravee a whole new lease on life. Even the guy who did the work was surprised at how big the sound was. The pickups, electronics, new switches, pots, and labor, were worth more than the guitar — but it really has a great neck and for the tone I’m getting was worth the mods.

                            The PRS has a silkier sound and a greater range of sound. It is also much easier for me to play than the Laravee but the PRS should be nicer — it cost 4x as much.

                            I’ve been using a boss GT6 for more than a decade and I briefly had a BOSS GT10 in 09 when I first got back from Fiji. I like the sound of the GT6 because of the tweak ability. I can get tons of dynamic range out of that thing to where I can cut through just about anything with even a relatively low wattage tame amplifier. Most amps can put out several times their RMS power for split seconds and the compression and overhead in the GT6 allow for amazing tonal warmth and glass cutting dynamic responses when plugged into a decent amp.

                            I’ve got my eyes on the GT100 that was just debuted at the 2012 NAMM show and should be on shelves pretty soon. I’m waiting to try one out to see if it’s any better. Someone suggested an HD400 recently but I read reviews all over and found that it lacks the fine tuning tools and quality of effects that the Boss GT series has.

                            As much as I love to mess with gear to fine tune sound what I end up with after all that tweaking is just 4 different sounds I program to the 4 main foot switch selections.

                            1. A warm super clean sound — with a “part your hair with lightning” transient response and just the kind of reverb that makes it sound like you’re for real. (imagine a vintage fender twin with the verb at about 1/2 — only sweeter but with 3x the attack)
                            2. A sweet distortion sound that breaks like a spiller wave on a calm sunny day surfing as it gently breaks.
                            3. A clean like number one but with a tap delay.
                            4. A fat — all out bluesy sound that breaks warm but harder then #2 and has a fatness that makes you think of a marshall stack.

                            Everything else is done with three pickup settings on the Laravee (four on the PRS) and the guitar tone controls. Also I’ll play with basic tone, verb, and overdrive on the amp I plug it into. What I like about the Boss GT is that I can plug it into a relatively inexpensive amp with average wattage and get killer sound as long as the amp has about 40 watts and a great clean sound. I’m used to more expensive guitar amps — but frankly I’ve been almost as happy plugging the GT6 into much lower priced amps like a 40 watt marshall and just blowing people away with the sound. Nobody expects it.

                            On the GT6 I don’t even use the second bank or the secondary channels. I’m not good enough at gigging to think that deeply on stage. I can only think about hitting foot switch 1, 2, 3, or 4 without getting confused. Maybe someday I’ll get really fancy and program another four sounds into bank 2. 🙂

                            It took me about 200 hours altogether to work out the sounds I wanted on the GT6 — playing with every possible combination of compression, reverb, tone controls, delay settings and types, distortions, cabinet models, internal guitar models, and virtually every other knob and switch on it. But now I can plug it into almost any amp that has a clean clean — and get the sound I want almost immediately.

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