The Tone Thread

[JD01]

excerpt.mp3

Here is an excerpt from a tune that I've been working on. The guitars were all done with a Les Paul custom with Duncan Distortion pickups into an AMT VT2 pedal. To me it sounds surprisingly amp like. What do you guys think of the tone?

Just got around to catching up on this - I think it sounds good, regardless of how you generated the tone.

[JD01]

I've just started working up a new tune and am trying to sort in my head the base track - at least for the start. So I was mucking around with the tele and a Carol Ann amp profile (Miro's favourite amp... ) and put some tremolo, and random reverb and delay on it, without agonising too much about the various settings.

Obviously it'll start out a bit sparse, so probably just a single track and then build up and down as the song goes through its various parts. I suspect it may be a bit too much of all the effects, myself - sounds nice when that's the only thing playing but might not work in a mix.

Any thoughts? Overall tone, trem, delay, reverb - apologies for the relatively clunky single take playing - I'm still learning the various bits. Have left a touch of the click on it. It goes through, repeats and then gets to what is probably going to be the chorus, with the full strummed chords, at the end.

15_The_Dreams_Malfunction.mp3

This is all good sounds, but it is a bit sea-sick on its own, with your Kemper/effects units can you change the level/stereo effect of the tremolo after you have it in a mix? I reckon it will probably be OK once its got bass, drums and maybe another guitar to balance it sound, but it would be nice to be able to control it in a mix - or just do a few takes until you're happy with it.

[Greg_L]

Way back in the day when The Tone Thread first started and it wasn't even called The Tone Thread, it was about Mick Ronson - Bowie's "Ziggy" era guitarist, and a bad ass dude. Randy Rhoads swiped prettty much his entire look off of Mick Ronson. Lol.

Mick


Randy





Anyway, we talked about Ronson's permanently half-cocked wah feeding a fucking 200w Marshall Major. Cool tone. Here's my attempt at a "Ronson" track I pulled out of a cover I did while back.

I don't remember the specs. I just know it was my Goldtop > Crybaby half-cocked > 100W Plexi > Greenbacks.

Ronsonish.mp3

[JD01]

Note the lack of pickguard or pickup covers on Ronson... as Les Paul's should be.

Don't have decent cans handy at the moment, Greg. I'll have a listen later.

[Greg_L]

Note the lack of pickguard or pickup covers on Ronson... as Les Paul's should be.

Lol. Your opinion about that might matter one day if you ever man up and own a Les Paul.

[JD01]

Lol. Your opinion about that might matter one day if you ever man up and own a Les Paul.

Couldn't bring myself to do it! Went tele instead. Was close though!

[Greg_L]

Couldn't bring myself to do it! Went tele instead. Was close though!

I always prefer LPs with the pickguard. Always. But some of them with nice tops look good without it. I think the plain/painted ones need the pickguard to break the monotony of all that real estate. My Goldtop looks dumb without it.

[JD01]

Yeah, I can see that. I like the quite dark sunburst studios without a pickguard. I just couldn't find one at the money I was prepared to pay

[Minerman]

Lol. Your opinion about that might matter one day if you ever man up and own a Les Paul.

Couldn't bring myself to do it! Went tele instead. Was close though!

FWIW, I hated LP's for most of my life, I absolutely despised them...There was a guy in a local band who played one, his playing sucked & his tone was terrible, so I always just thought "it's the LP"...I also took his spot in that band, & made it a point not to sound like him...

Up until about 4-5 years ago, I would never have even considered having one, but the Tonetards changed my opinion...I actually kinda miss my LP Studio, but I have the SG, which sounds pretty much identical, & it was worth it to me to let it go so I could get my amp back...

If I ever do get another LP, it'll have binding & a nitro finish...Honestly I was kinda disappointed with the LP Studio when I got it because it had a satin finish...I took the cheap route obviously to save $$$, but if I had it to do over again, I'd plunked the extra $$$...IIRC, there was like a $500 priced difference between the 2 I'd picked, & I should've just gotten what I really wanted, instead of settling...Like 90% of the gear I've had, I got it on monthly payments, & the price difference wouldn't have been that much...Live & learn...

Long story short, if you're gonna buy a guitar, amp, whatever, make sure you get what you really want...Don't do like Miner did & go through a dozen fuckin' amps before finally getting the one he knew he wanted to begin with...

[Minerman]

Way back in the day when The Tone Thread first started and it wasn't even called The Tone Thread, it was about Mick Ronson - Bowie's "Ziggy" era guitarist, and a bad ass dude. Randy Rhoads swiped prettty much his entire look off of Mick Ronson. Lol.

Mick


Randy





Anyway, we talked about Ronson's permanently half-cocked wah feeding a fucking 200w Marshall Major. Cool tone. Here's my attempt at a "Ronson" track I pulled out of a cover I did while back.

I don't remember the specs. I just know it was my Goldtop > Crybaby half-cocked > 100W Plexi > Greenbacks.

Ah, the early days of the Tone Tards at HR...While I wasn't there when it first started, it wasn't very long after that when I jumped in...I bought a Blackstar HT-5 & a '57 not long afterward, & it's been a fun ride ever since...My tone was atrocious at the time (still is sometimes), but damn if I ain't learned a lot about this shit since those days...

Sky Blue Lou was/is the original 'Tard, did he ever come over here??? I do remember he had a LP Custom that looked very much like the one Ronson is playing in that pic...

Clip sounds kinda weird to me Greg because of the wah, but I'd say that's a pretty good representation of Ronson's tone...

[JD01]

I actually want the model you had, Miner!

[Minerman]

He did come over here but was having health issues and so disappeared from view. Not that I've checked, but I doubt he's been back at HR either. Be nice to see him again, but I somehow suspect we won't.

Thanks Armi, I thought he'd came over, but couldn't remember...Fuck man, I can't remember what day it is sometimes...I always thought Lou was pretty cool, hate to hear about anyone having health issues, it truly sucks...

I actually want the model you had, Miner!

I offered to sell it to you dude, but the shipping would've been outrageous...Don't worry though Jdude, there should be all kinds of 'em out there on the used market, just keep your eye open...It was a solid little guitar, & sounded like, well like a LP...

[Greg_L]

Clip sounds kinda weird to me Greg because of the wah, but I'd say that's a pretty good representation of Ronson's tone...

That's the idea. The wah is halfway on at all times. That was one of Ronson's signature things. Supposedly he'd spend several minutes getting it balanced just right and then wouldn't move it at all. I can understand that because I remember it taking me like an hour to find the sweet spot and then bumping it and having to start all over again.

[Minerman]

Clip sounds kinda weird to me Greg because of the wah, but I'd say that's a pretty good representation of Ronson's tone...

That's the idea. The wah is halfway on at all times. That was one of Ronson's signature things. Supposedly he'd spend several minutes getting it balanced just right and then wouldn't move it at all. I can understand that because I remember it taking me like an hour to find the sweet spot and then bumping it and having to start all over again.

Oh yeah man, I didn't mean anything by what I said...I know that's how he got his tone, because you guys spent quite a bit of time getting there way back then...

Fuck man, I just had a peek @ HR to see when our thread started...3-21-2012, & the original thread "Guitar Tone To Die For" was a while before that...Holy shit, sure doesn't seem like 6+ years ago...

[Greg_L]

Oh yeah man, I didn't mean anything by what I said...I know that's how he got his tone, because you guys spent quite a bit of time getting there way back then...

Fuck man, I just had a peek @ HR to see when our thread started...3-21-2012, & the original thread "Guitar Tone To Die For" was a while before that...Holy shit, sure doesn't seem like 6+ years ago...

Ha yeah, and that's right about when I started amassing my piles of Marshalls. I don't know if you remember, but I used to drag a laptop and mics to my practice space and record with the other guys' amps. That got old after a while so I started getting my own. Then I couldn't stop.

I started with this little thing.


That didn't work out, so then I got this....


And now I'm sitting here with this...

[Minerman]

Ha yeah, and that's right about when I started amassing my piles of Marshalls. I don't know if you remember, but I used to drag a laptop and mics to my practice space and record with the other guys' amps. That got old after a while so I started getting my own. Then I couldn't stop.

I started with this little thing.


That didn't work out, so then I got this....


And now I'm sitting here with this...

I don't remember you using other guys' amps & all, but I do remember when you were using the JCM900...I also remember when you bought your JVM...I was like "Holy fuck", & of course, I was instantly hooked...

I also remember you using Guitar Rig on some of your tunes...I remember because I asked you a shit-load of questions about getting the sound you had, specifically, some KISS covers...This was around 2009 or so when I was a lurker at HR, before I ever even considered using a real amp...

Holy fuck how things have changed dude, but the goal is still the same: good guitar tone...

I tried my fuckin' best to get my tones with little amps/gear...I jumped through a lot of hoops, & tried everything I knew to try, but there's just something magical about being in the room with a big, loud amp...Don't get me wrong, a lot of those amps I've had were actually pretty good, but it just wasn't what I was after...I gotta say the Chupa is the only amp I've really wanted, & it's all good over here...

[Greg_L]

I don't remember you using other guys' amps & all, but I do remember when you were using the JCM900...I also remember when you bought your JVM...I was like "Holy fuck", & of course, I was instantly hooked...

I also remember you using Guitar Rig on some of your tunes...I remember because I asked you a shit-load of questions about getting the sound you had, specifically, some KISS covers...This was around 2009 or so when I was a lurker at HR, before I ever even considered using a real amp...

Holy fuck how things have changed dude, but the goal is still the same: good guitar tone...

I tried my fuckin' best to get my tones with little amps/gear...I jumped through a lot of hoops, & tried everything I knew to try, but there's just something magical about being in the room with a big, loud amp...Don't get me wrong, a lot of those amps I've had were actually pretty good, but it just wasn't what I was after...I gotta say the Chupa is the only amp I've really wanted, & it's all good over here...

Yeah it was around 07-09 or so I used Guitar Rig a lot. Before that I had a little SS combo and this Digitech processor thing. That was a nightmare and Guitar Rig was better. Then when I got around to really recording good amps...it was night and day. My buddy has this modded 50w JCM 800 that was just fucking insane. That amp was worth trucking to the practice space to use.

[Minerman]

Yeah it was around 07-09 or so I used Guitar Rig a lot. Before that I had a little SS combo and this Digitech processor thing. That was a nightmare and Guitar Rig was better. Then when I got around to really recording good amps...it was night and day. My buddy has this modded 50w JCM 800 that was just fucking insane. That amp was worth trucking to the practice space to use.

I hear ya man...I gotta say I've tried just about every way I can think of to get good tones, with the exception of a Fractal or Kemper...I'll probably never get the chance to try 'em either with the price tag they've got...

But, fuck Kemper & fuck Fractal, I've got a fuckin' Chupacabra...

Meant to ask you earlier, have you tried the 65w Creamback speakers dude??? Just guessing, it's basically a high-powered Greenback, right??? Might be a better speaker for the ISO cab than the T75 I'm using right now...

[Greg_L]

I hear ya man...I gotta say I've tried just about every way I can think of to get good tones, with the exception of a Fractal or Kemper...I'll probably never get the chance to try 'em either with the price tag they've got...

But, fuck Kemper & fuck Fractal, I've got a fuckin' Chupacabra...

Meant to ask you earlier, have you tried the 65w Creamback speakers dude??? Just guessing, it's basically a high-powered Greenback, right??? Might be a better speaker for the ISO cab than the T75 I'm using right now...

That guy Shawn in my band has a quad of the new 65w Creambacks in a Splawn 4x12. They sound pretty good to me, but I haven't personally messed with them myself.

I bet one would probably be good in your iso cab. I have no doubt it's better than a G12T-75.

[Minerman]

Ok dudes, another clip with the Chupacabra...

I'm still learning this thing, & been messing with the Pussy Trimmer a little today...I didn't mess with it on the other amp very much, but I gotta say it makes a pretty big difference in the amp overall, it's basically a master gain control, & I can probably use it to dial out some of the fizz, I'll just have to spend some more time getting it dialed in...

There are some effects on this clip, I added a little 1.5 db bump of eq around 1khz, there's a high-pass filter @ 11.5khz, & it's got a little reverb on it...Hopefully I can take the eq off by dialing the amp in a little better, but it's past "curfew" for the night, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow...I thought it needed just a little boost in the mids, & the top end is still a little fizzy...
I've told you guys before, I like effects, & I think the 'verb adds a little something extra myself, but it could just be all in my head too...

Signal chain: Strat Hardhead bridge 'bucker> Chupa > V30 > i5

• Resonance:6
  Presence: 6
  Bass: 8
  Middle: 8
  Treble: 5.5
  Master: 5
  Gain 2: 2
  Gain 1: 8
  ERA: Left/Modern (lowest volume setting)
  Bright 2: L
  Bright 1: C/off
  Pussy Trimmer: 10 (cranked doesn't affect the amp)

CHUPA_STRAT_V30_8-23-2018.mp3

I'm gonna give this another shot tomorrow, & I may try using the G12H to see if it helps the mids any, or I may even try blending 2 speakers/mics, so we'll see...

Lemme know what you guys think...

Oh yeah, if any of you are keeping these clips like I do, I started putting the signal chain/amp settings in the "Details" box...Just right click, then go to properties, then "Details" & it should show up...