The Tone Thread

[JD01]

Eh.... wasn't expecting that image to be quite so big!

[Greg_L]

That's a really nice clean tone, Greg. I think I can tell when you're splitting pickups and you get a pretty Fenderish twang to it in places. When you stick the humbuckers back in they really make it sound more "marshally".

Its a nice clean tone, and you've got it surprisingly spanky - got me thinking though about how completely unfamiliar I am with a Marshall clean tone.

I don't really like the sound of the TS over a clean amp, I think they sound great over a crunchy amp - not so much over a clean tone.

You've done a great job with the amp though - it sounds really quite versatile. Have you got it footswitchable between clean and your different gain sounds.

Thanks man. No it's not footswitchable. I don't know where to even begin with something like that. That would introduce relays and transistors that I don't want to mess with or put in there. I think I might add an fx loop though. That could make this little monster pretty super bad ass. I don't like the Tube Screamer over clean-ish either. Sounds pretty crappy to me, but I tried it anyway. A better pedal like an OCD or some other amp-in-a-box would sound better.

[Greg_L]

Eh.... wasn't expecting that image to be quite so big!

I like that guitar. Looks like a Jr and Melody Maker made a baby.

[JD01]

Eh.... wasn't expecting that image to be quite so big!

I like that guitar. Looks like a Jr and Melody Maker made a baby.

1000 quid, handmade in the UK. Can't see it offering anything that those Yamaha Revstars don't though.

[Greg_L]

1000 quid, handmade in the UK. Can't see it offering anything that those Yamaha Revstars don't though.

What does "handmade" really mean though? Often on guitars at that price point, the bodies and necks are mass produced in Asia somewhere and shipped back to the homeland to be assembled. The hardware is mediocre. That's not a bad thing at all, but it's kind of misleading in some cases.

[muttley]

1000 quid, handmade in the UK. Can't see it offering anything that those Yamaha Revstars don't though.

What does "handmade" really mean though? Often on guitars at that price point, the bodies and necks are mass produced in Asia somewhere and shipped back to the homeland to be assembled. The hardware is mediocre. That's not a bad thing at all, but it's kind of misleading in some cases.

Gordon Smith has been doing them for quite a while. They are good solid functional instruments not unlike the build I'm finishing up in the other thread. Last I heard almost everything is made on site same as aree mine and are customizable. I would go with one of mine though...

[Greg_L]

Well that's cool. Gordon and Smith makes surfboards over here.

[WhiskeyJack]

What does "handmade" really mean though? Often on guitars at that price point, the bodies and necks are mass produced in Asia somewhere and shipped back to the homeland to be assembled. The hardware is mediocre. That's not a bad thing at all, but it's kind of misleading in some cases.

Gordon Smith has been doing them for quite a while. They are good solid functional instruments not unlike the build I'm finishing up in the other thread. Last I heard almost everything is made on site same as aree mine and are customizable. I would go with one of mine though...

A couple of my guitar "idols" both play Gordon Smith guitars. Dickie Hammond and Frankie Stubbs of Leatherface both play double cut GS Les Paul Junior clones. they sound and look fantastic. I love the tones they get. I think i read an article somewhere they credit the GS guitars pushing an overdriven Marshall as being the main ingredient to their flavor. Nothing in between. I think Stubbs liked to add a hint of compression which might be what i liked when i was younger. It sort of grabbed me as being "huge" on their earlier records but that was before they made migrated from Gibson to GS. Now it is simple and sounds awesome. mature, deceptively simple and articulate.

here is a clip of the GS / Marshall combo era of their work. This was pretty much the last going off for them. Hammond passed away a year or two ago. YouTube sucks the life out of the tones but this is the best representation of it i could find. Kind of sucks you can't see the rest of the band. makes it Weird.

[BBvideo=560,315]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlhfsNSLW74[/BBvideo]

[rayc]

Excellent clean run Greg. It does sound like an excellent clean pedal platform in that life and goes completely Hyde in the other.

[Greg_L]

Excellent clean run Greg. It does sound like an excellent clean pedal platform in that life and goes completely Hyde in the other.

Thanks Ray. It does seem to cover a lot of ground for such a basic amp. I'm quite pleased with it. I think it sounds great all the damn time.

[Minerman]

Guys I gotta say...I've been watching Kemper videos for a couple of days & I'm really, really impressed with some of the tones I've heard from that thing...My current situation is screaming for something like this too, & I don't know if this'll ever change...The "thing" I've been hoping for just seems like it's never gonna happen, so I'm actually thinking about jumping on another boat here...Don't get me wrong, I love my amps, cabs, & there's just a thrill/rush I still get plugging in after all these years, but damn if some of the tones I've heard are just plain fuckin' killer to me...Sound like that plus no noise at all is really tuggin' at me hard...

I'm gonna dig in, try some different things the next little while with my rig, & there's just no way I could swing one of those things right now if I had to, but a Kemper may be something I may seriously consider...

[Greg_L]

Guys I gotta say...I've been watching Kemper videos for a couple of days & I'm really, really impressed with some of the tones I've heard from that thing...My current situation is screaming for something like this too, & I don't know if this'll ever change...The "thing" I've been hoping for just seems like it's never gonna happen, so I'm actually thinking about jumping on another boat here...Don't get me wrong, I love my amps, cabs, & there's just a thrill/rush I still get plugging in after all these years, but damn if some of the tones I've heard are just plain fuckin' killer to me...Sound like that plus no noise at all is really tuggin' at me hard...

I'm gonna dig in, try some different things the next little while with my rig, & there's just no way I could swing one of those things right now if I had to, but a Kemper may be something I may seriously consider...

You might as well just use good sims man. It's the same thing if you're just recording with it.

[JD01]

You might as well just use good sims man. It's the same thing if you're just recording with it.

I'd not really thought of this but I guess you're kind of right. Although the Kemper "Sim Engine" does have a very good reputation. With the kemper there are also loads of good profiles online so Miner could for example download the Glen Tipton profile!

[Greg_L]

I'd not really thought of this but I guess you're kind of right. Although the Kemper "Sim Engine" does have a very good reputation. With the kemper there are also loads of good profiles online so Miner could for example download the Glen Tipton profile!

That's right, but it's just a sim. The Kemper is amazing technology that doesn't sound any different than any quality sim when used for recording. The true benefit of the Kemper is more for live playing.

[JD01]

That's right, but it's just a sim. The Kemper is amazing technology that doesn't sound any different than any quality sim when used for recording. The true benefit of the Kemper is more for live playing.

True, my main problem with Sims from my own experience is 1, Option Paralysis and 2, when you have all of these things at your fingertips you (I did anyway) tend to exagerate the aspects of the tone that you like 'cos you're not dialing it in, in the room and then trying to capture it.

Also, its fucking boring - I'd rather have an amp.

[Greg_L]

Option paralysis is very real with Kempers. I know a dude in real life that has one and he spends more time tinkering and downloading profiles than he does playing anything. He tells me about all these profiles he gets. Like really specific weird stuff. Like profiles based on guys I've never heard of based off albums I've never heard of. Thousands of profiles and I've never heard one piece of music from this guy.

[JD01]

haha, Armistice might be particularly prolific for a Kemper user! But then he's got his tone and sticks to it.

[Greg_L]

haha, Armistice might be particularly prolific for a Kemper user! But then he's got his tone and sticks to it.

Right. He's got "his tone" and sticks to it. So he's got a unit that's capable of infinite possibilities and he just sticks to a handful of "tones". No problem. That's pretty much what everyone does. The quiet recording is the only real benefit, and there are simpler and cheaper ways to do that.

[JD01]

haha, Armistice might be particularly prolific for a Kemper user! But then he's got his tone and sticks to it.

Right. He's got "his tone" and sticks to it. So he's got a unit that's capable of infinite possibilities and he just sticks to a handful of "tones". No problem. That's pretty much what everyone does. The quiet recording is the only real benefit, and there are simpler and cheaper ways to do that.

It is nice to have actually knobs to turn rather than adjusting things using a mouse on the screen and you don't have to be at your computer to plug in and play.

[Greg_L]

It is nice to have actually knobs to turn rather than adjusting things using a mouse on the screen and you don't have to be at your computer to plug in and play.

Yes you do unless you opt for the power amp version and have a cab to go with it. And by then....you might as well have a real amp.