The Tone Thread

[JD01]

Just thinking, I haven't put up a tele tone yet - so here's a tele tone.

1st tele tone.mp3

Sounds pretty usable to me. Reckon I could do with a bit more treble though

Just noticed when I listened to it back that its a bit dark then I looked at the treble on my amp is down way below 12:00, must have knocked it when turning it on.
So, after listening to that and thinking it sounded way too dark I recorded some more with the treble pushed up to where it normally sits around 13:00 - 13:30. I reckon its much better and sounds more teleish.

2nd tele tone.mp3

Was just listening back to some of the stuff I recorded yesterday, and it all sounds dull as fuck, so the treble was down then too - I thought I hadn't adjusted anything since last weekend. But yesterday I was playing and just feeling totally uninspired and really couldn't get into it... now I know why.

[Greg_L]

Sounds okay, but too much gain to me. You have a Tele so let it be a Tele.

[JD01]

Sounds okay, but too much gain to me. You have a Tele so let it be a Tele.

Yeah - it sounds best on the bridge pickup on the clean channel with a boost or with a hint of OCD

[Minerman]

I think it sounds good Jdude, & for the gain-y tone it is I don't think it's too dark myself, but how it sits in a mix is really what counts...That said, it'd probably sound great mixed in with some drums/bass...

I kinda agree with Greg about it being pretty gainy for a tele tone, but I can't say I don't like it because I'm a gain-iac myself...

[liv_rong]

Tele sounds good jdude

[rayc]

Give it some tele tone - and I'll check my string gauges, thanks James.

[JD01]

Give it some tele tone - and I'll check my string gauges, thanks James.

Yeah, just try a few different ideas. Only you know really, if you're having trouble fretting notes and your hands are hurting try a set of 8s. If its more like you're over pressuring things and bending things out of tune you might be better off with a really heavy set. Just try a few different ideas. Do it as scientifically as you can, record a bunch of takes, change strings, record them all again and compare.

[Minerman]

Quick question for you Tonetards, when putting a mic on a 45 degree angle, which way do you point it??? Do you put it dead center of the cap & point it outward toward the cone, or do you put it in the "usual" place (where the cap meets the cone) & point it inward toward the cap or what???

I know there's no right/wrong way to do this, I'm just curious about you guys & your preferences...

[Greg_L]

Quick question for you Tonetards, when putting a mic on a 45 degree angle, which way do you point it??? Do you put it dead center of the cap & point it outward toward the cone, or do you put it in the "usual" place (where the cap meets the cone) & point it inward toward the cap or what???

I know there's no right/wrong way to do this, I'm just curious about you guys & your preferences...

I used to sometimes do a reverse off-axis with the mic dead center, but I'd angle the capsule away from center, pointed towards the cone.

But usually it's off-axis, pointed towards center.

[Minerman]

Quick question for you Tonetards, when putting a mic on a 45 degree angle, which way do you point it??? Do you put it dead center of the cap & point it outward toward the cone, or do you put it in the "usual" place (where the cap meets the cone) & point it inward toward the cap or what???

I know there's no right/wrong way to do this, I'm just curious about you guys & your preferences...

I used to sometimes do a reverse off-axis with the mic dead center, but I'd angle the capsule away from center, pointed towards the cone.

But usually it's off-axis, pointed towards center.

Cool man, the off-axis thing you mentioned last is usually how I do it too, but I'm still curious to hear what others say about this...

I've been on a big Alice In Chains kick lately, & I've been reading up on how Cantrell got his sounds on their albums (Facelift & Dirt in particular)...I'm still piecing it together trying to find the actual interview/source, but I'll post it up in a couple of days...There's also some info on Mike Starr's bass tone in there too...It's really nothing most of us here knows, but it does kinda make me feel good that I'd already been doing some of that stuff long before I read the articles/interviews I'm talking about...

[Greg_L]

Cool man, the off-axis thing you mentioned last is usually how I do it too, but I'm still curious to hear what others say about this...

I've been on a big Alice In Chains kick lately, & I've been reading up on how Cantrell got his sounds on their albums (Facelift & Dirt in particular)...I'm still piecing it together trying to find the actual interview/source, but I'll post it up in a couple of days...There's also some info on Mike Starr's bass tone in there too...It's really nothing most of us here knows, but it does kinda make me feel good that I'd already been doing some of that stuff long before I read the articles/interviews I'm talking about...

The dual center on axis + off-center off-axis blend works really good for me.

One mic dead center straight on, the other one right next to it off axis. Blend to taste. You'd think it'd be bright as hell, but it isn't. The natural phase cancellation takes care of the top end if you do it right. It's like the "Fredman" method without the dumb mic clips. Nice and clear and bright enough but not too bright. Two 57s is great for that.

I also like the 421 on axis dead center and a 57 off axis next to it. That works good too. The 421 is a kick ass mic. It's quickly jumped up into being one of my favorite cab mics.

But even with all kinds of successful and proven off-axis shenanigans, I still usually prefer two mics straight on - No tilting.

[Minerman]

The dual center on axis + off-center off-axis blend works really good for me.

One mic dead center straight on, the other one right next to it off axis. Blend to taste. You'd think it'd be bright as hell, but it isn't. The natural phase cancellation takes care of the top end if you do it right. It's like the "Fredman" method without the dumb mic clips. Nice and clear and bright enough but not too bright. Two 57s is great for that.

I also like the 421 on axis dead center and a 57 off axis next to it. That works good too. The 421 is a kick ass mic. It's quickly jumped up into being one of my favorite cab mics.

But even with all kinds of successful and proven off-axis shenanigans, I still usually prefer two mics straight on - No tilting.

Cool man, I'm gonna have to invest in a couple more mics over here...What I have are good, '57, i5, e609 & a few cheap condensers, but I'd like to have another round of each, or at least the '57 & i5...

I'd love to have a 421, but a new one costs almost as much as all 3 dynamic mics I have together...

I think I've found why my ISO cab lacks bottom end a day or two ago...It's so obvious when I look at it now that it's kinda funny...I think I need a piece of plywood covering over top of the speaker:

mic & speaker 2.jpg

The way it is now, it's basically like an open back cab...Of course, when the lids are shut that's covered, but I've been doing some tinkering/playing around recording with the lids open, & it finally hit me...

I also found out something about both my amps that surprised me, a lot...The Mini Jubilee is actually louder in the room than the Chupa in it's hot-rodded modes using the ISO cab...When it's in plexi/normal, they're about the same, but I was really surprised about that...

[Greg_L]

You might wanna try miking the back of your speaker. Remember that? You'll get tons of low end that way.

[Minerman]

You might wanna try miking the back of your speaker. Remember that? You'll get tons of low end that way.

Yeah dude, I remember that...I've learned a lotta stuff from you dude, like 90% of what I usually do regularly, I picked it up from you...
You're the sensei & I'm the grasshopper...

[Greg_L]

Yeah dude, I remember that...I've learned a lotta stuff from you dude, like 90% of what I usually do regularly, I picked it up from you...
You're the sensei & I'm the grasshopper...

Lol. Well I'm not breaking any ground or anything. I just fuck with what works every time.


But wait, I got a better idea for your iso box low end - ribbon mic. That inexpensive MXL R144 ribbon I got is bad ass for "chunk" at lower volumes. You can put that bitch dead center and it sounds great. It's ribbon naturally rolls off top end fizz, and it being a figure 8 gives a huge sound.

[Minerman]

Lol. Well I'm not breaking any ground or anything. I just fuck with what works every time.


But wait, I got a better idea for your iso box low end - ribbon mic. That inexpensive MXL R144 ribbon I got is bad ass for "chunk" at lower volumes. You can put that bitch dead center and it sounds great. It's ribbon naturally rolls off top end fizz, and it being a figure 8 gives a huge sound.

That mic is still on my radar dude, but it's gonna be a little while though...

[JD01]

Everyone mentioned before when I posted my first tone with the telecaster that there was way too much gain on it - I used my normal tone that I'd use for the bridge pickup of my Crimson (did I mention I had a Crimson and its the best guitar in the world?)

Anyway, this is the bridge pup of my tele into the SD1 with the level maxed and the drive on zero into the clean channel of my H&K.

Starts with the bridge pup which is actually quite crunchy and then onto the neck pup which is really clean.

There's a touch of Paul Gilbert reverb from the HoF on it as I always have a touch of verb when I'm just playing to myself.

Cleanish Tele Tone.mp3

[JD01]

Yeah. I like it too. I play in a style that suits that guitar quite a lot when I'm just playing and chilling. But I almost never write and record in that style... I'm gonna have to consciously work it into what I do cos I do like the sound of it and slightly looser playing won't do me any harm

[Minerman]

Everyone mentioned before when I posted my first tone with the telecaster that there was way too much gain on it - I used my normal tone that I'd use for the bridge pickup of my Crimson (did I mention I had a Crimson and its the best guitar in the world?)

Jdude, I'm sure you know this, but I didn't mean anything by my remark about using too much gain dude...I was just wanting to hear the character of your new guitar...I like a lot of gain too, but after a certain point, it's hard for me to distinguish one from another...

Anyway, this is the bridge pup of my tele into the SD1 with the level maxed and the drive on zero into the clean channel of my H&K.

Starts with the bridge pup which is actually quite crunchy and then onto the neck pup which is really clean.

There's a touch of Paul Gilbert reverb from the HoF on it as I always have a touch of verb when I'm just playing to myself.

Cleanish Tele Tone.mp3

I think this sounds great myself dude, just the right amount of dirt to sound pushed, but it's still got the guitar's character...

The first part (bridge p'up) is almost an old-school AC/DC tone man...Well done...

BTW, I think I've asked you before, but what are the dimensions of your 2x12??? Lemme know...

[Minerman]

Ok dudes, here's a little mix clip of the Chupacabra ran through the ISO cab...Lots of guitars & fx, so I'm not gonna post any settings, but the signal chain is:

strat > Chupa > Greenback ISO cab > i5

There are 5 guitars on this:
dirty L/R, strat bridge humbucker
clean L/R strat bridge split
"effects" guitar bridge humbucker

Chupa Mix 9-2-2-18.mp3

Lemme know what you guys think...