What are Fuzz and Octave Effect Pedals for Guitar
Entertainment,Music,Consumer
Fuzz and octave guitar effects pedals are a unique way in which several well known musicians have achieved sound from different stages in musical history. In an effort to come up with a totally unique sound, technology has put together devices that are clear and distinct. When these units are applied to modern day music it gives an interesting sound spin that is ruminant to the mid to late seventies.
Modern technology has made the use of a revered piece of equipment such as this clear and distinct. Sounds of today are easily mixed with the unique feel of the sixties and the seventies.
The audio source is always affected by the effects pedals. This electric source is directly responsible for the sounds of the electric instrument. It can be used with the electric keyboard, the electric guitar, and and keyboards. Each one of these instruments is enhanced to great heights.
The sound that this unit can produce may not be for every one very few things are. It is usually more appreciated by the musically advanced. There is a greater quality of sound from an octave up than you may find coming from any other pedal. Guitar players from around the globe of all levels have learned to respect the advancement this technology has offered the industry.
The fuzz directly affects the transition. A poor quality product can easily distort sounds. It can be used during live concerts or in a recording studio. When it is used in a live concert it should be plugged into the path of the electric signal. During a post production situation the auxiliary output is patched into the effects petal. The effect is responsible for dramatic sounds as well as subtle musical listening.
Subtle music as well as dramatic musical listening can be contributed to the device.This device gives a seasoned musician the ability to take their sound to a whole new and unexplored level. Many of them have a remarkable amount of respect for the reigns of dramatic sounds caused by a unit that will also relax and distress a listener with clear subtle sounds. Ultimately there is no substitute for good quality.
Locate that octave pedal to help make your music sound better. Or choose one of many fuzz pedal choices you have online. Go online today and find more.
Related Articles - consumer electronics, fuzz pedals, octave pedals, guitar effects pedals for guitar
Showing posts with label fxs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fxs. Show all posts
Monday, 5 July 2010
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
The Best Of Guitar Effect Accessories
One of the important add ons to guitar are guitar effect accessories. They enhance the sound of guitar and allow the player to come up with different kinds of tones and sounds.
There are a whole lot of guitar effect accessories available today.
- Guitar to U.S.B interface: This particular accessory is very effective for practicing. It is a cable that can be adjoined with the U.S.B port of your personal computer. And after that you can jam as long as you want. You do not need any other accessory. All you need is your guitar, a computer or laptop and this U.S.B interface.
- Footswitch: It is a gazette that helps you to control the selection of loops. It also gives a hands free comfort to change the modes. It has got an option by which you can start and stop it automatically, if you want. It also provides you the system to record automatically.
- Foot pedal: This is a small processor kind of thing that provides you different facilities and effects. It has got a record option. It also contains some other facilities like, multiply, insert, mute, undo etc.
- Remote control pedal: This is a more advanced version of conventional pedals. They have some unique facilities, which will make the playing comfortable and enjoyable. This gazette has one pedal through which, the major functions of two amplifier foot switches can be fulfilled.
- Mini amp and distortion: This is the latest two in one version of guitar effect accessories. This is a mini amplifier. There is a very powerful inbuilt speaker in the pedal. After the amplifier is attached, it becomes a very strong distortion box.
- Mini auto guitar tuner pedal: This is a very short box. It fits easily in the pedal board. It instantly tunes the guitar with total accuracy. A digital needle indicates the state of the tune.
- Slap echo pedal: This pedal delivers the echo tone. Especially the shower room tone that was very popular in the 1950s.
- Flanger pedal: Another effect accessory that gives a flange effect.
- Acoustic guitar amp modeling effects pedal: Do you want an acoustic tone from an electric guitar? Don't have to think a lot or invent a new machine. This gazette will do that for you. You just need to plug in. And it will give clear tone of acoustic guitar.
- Digital stereo reverb guitar effects pedal: This is for reverb effects.
The above accessories are all for electric guitars. But there are other guitar effect accessories also, which are made for bass guitars.
- Bass guitar multi FX: It has got a good amplifier and many brilliant effects.
- Bass multi effects pedal: It is a bit advanced from the previous one. It contains drum machine, recording software, along with many effects.
These are the guitar effect accessories, which are available mainly for electric & bass guitars. There are lots of other accessories being invented everyday, especially for electric guitars. These accessories are making guitar playing a more enjoyable experience.
There are a whole lot of guitar effect accessories available today.
- Guitar to U.S.B interface: This particular accessory is very effective for practicing. It is a cable that can be adjoined with the U.S.B port of your personal computer. And after that you can jam as long as you want. You do not need any other accessory. All you need is your guitar, a computer or laptop and this U.S.B interface.
- Footswitch: It is a gazette that helps you to control the selection of loops. It also gives a hands free comfort to change the modes. It has got an option by which you can start and stop it automatically, if you want. It also provides you the system to record automatically.
- Foot pedal: This is a small processor kind of thing that provides you different facilities and effects. It has got a record option. It also contains some other facilities like, multiply, insert, mute, undo etc.
- Remote control pedal: This is a more advanced version of conventional pedals. They have some unique facilities, which will make the playing comfortable and enjoyable. This gazette has one pedal through which, the major functions of two amplifier foot switches can be fulfilled.
- Mini amp and distortion: This is the latest two in one version of guitar effect accessories. This is a mini amplifier. There is a very powerful inbuilt speaker in the pedal. After the amplifier is attached, it becomes a very strong distortion box.
- Mini auto guitar tuner pedal: This is a very short box. It fits easily in the pedal board. It instantly tunes the guitar with total accuracy. A digital needle indicates the state of the tune.
- Slap echo pedal: This pedal delivers the echo tone. Especially the shower room tone that was very popular in the 1950s.
- Flanger pedal: Another effect accessory that gives a flange effect.
- Acoustic guitar amp modeling effects pedal: Do you want an acoustic tone from an electric guitar? Don't have to think a lot or invent a new machine. This gazette will do that for you. You just need to plug in. And it will give clear tone of acoustic guitar.
- Digital stereo reverb guitar effects pedal: This is for reverb effects.
The above accessories are all for electric guitars. But there are other guitar effect accessories also, which are made for bass guitars.
- Bass guitar multi FX: It has got a good amplifier and many brilliant effects.
- Bass multi effects pedal: It is a bit advanced from the previous one. It contains drum machine, recording software, along with many effects.
These are the guitar effect accessories, which are available mainly for electric & bass guitars. There are lots of other accessories being invented everyday, especially for electric guitars. These accessories are making guitar playing a more enjoyable experience.
Saturday, 14 November 2009
How To Choose A Guitar Amp
Here are some things to keep in your head when you are going out to buy your first guitar amp. There are different amps to suit different styles of guitar music. Blues, jazz and blues based rock are best served by the so-called "vintage" sound. This is the sound of the sixties, brought to the world by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Hendrix and Cream. You can get that authentic sound by getting yourself an effects program that can replicate many of the vintage amp sounds. For playing heavy metal high gain amps are the way to go. These amps give you greater distortion than the vintage amps.
Let's go onto the possibility that sometime in the near future you are going to be a professional or semi-professional guitar player. You will be getting paid to play the guitar on stage. People will enjoy hearing you play at your gigs but don't get the idea that your family will be enjoying listening to your guitar practice. The message here is to get a practice amp or an amp that's small enough to play through without making your family and neighbors mad. Either that or make sure the place you practice is separated by distance or thick walls from the rest of the world. If you must practice in your bedroom, get some headphones.
To use for practice or for small gigs you need a low wattage amp. It's best to go for a good tone so that your relationship with your amp will always be one of mutual respect. Don't let a guy in a guitar store sell you a big bad amp with a boatload of effects. You won't be needing any of that for quite a while, if ever. You will eventually become disenchanted with loudness but a good sound is a joy forever. So get a thirty watt amp and start working on being a serious musician.
The thing that makes the sound of your electric guitar into a nice tone is your pre-amp. You plug your guitar into it and it works on the noise from the strings to give it bass, treble and a number of other qualities that go into a great tone. You will find some pre-amps using MIDI technology to generate your tone. Using this kind of setup you can save your settings and access your preset effects with a pedal. It is best to get yourself a separate effects box. This will give you better quality effects and greater versatility.
Newbie guitar players are flocking to Guitar How-To for the free articles, tutorials and videos on every aspect of guitar playing you can think of. Fast track your guitar expertise now at http://guitar-how-to.com/
Let's go onto the possibility that sometime in the near future you are going to be a professional or semi-professional guitar player. You will be getting paid to play the guitar on stage. People will enjoy hearing you play at your gigs but don't get the idea that your family will be enjoying listening to your guitar practice. The message here is to get a practice amp or an amp that's small enough to play through without making your family and neighbors mad. Either that or make sure the place you practice is separated by distance or thick walls from the rest of the world. If you must practice in your bedroom, get some headphones.
To use for practice or for small gigs you need a low wattage amp. It's best to go for a good tone so that your relationship with your amp will always be one of mutual respect. Don't let a guy in a guitar store sell you a big bad amp with a boatload of effects. You won't be needing any of that for quite a while, if ever. You will eventually become disenchanted with loudness but a good sound is a joy forever. So get a thirty watt amp and start working on being a serious musician.
The thing that makes the sound of your electric guitar into a nice tone is your pre-amp. You plug your guitar into it and it works on the noise from the strings to give it bass, treble and a number of other qualities that go into a great tone. You will find some pre-amps using MIDI technology to generate your tone. Using this kind of setup you can save your settings and access your preset effects with a pedal. It is best to get yourself a separate effects box. This will give you better quality effects and greater versatility.
Newbie guitar players are flocking to Guitar How-To for the free articles, tutorials and videos on every aspect of guitar playing you can think of. Fast track your guitar expertise now at http://guitar-how-to.com/
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Taming High Gain Distortion Noise
Noise is a demon that plagues all high gain distortion pedals. It's a fact of life that there's just no escape from... or is there?
Before we begin lets take a moment to define the word 'noise' as we use it in this article. When we use the word noise we're referring to the hum & hiss you hear when you are not playing. The moment you strike a note, the noise is 'gone', but in reality it is simply overcome by the note having been played. The note is passing trough the distortion circuit and being amplified in the same way the noise is, but being that the note is intentional and, as such, a much louder source than whatever is causing the noise in the first place. As the struck note decays the noise slowly becomes more apparent until it overcomes the decaying note, as the noise never left, it was simply overpowered by the note.
Why are distortion pedals noisy?
Many distortions use cascading gain stages to create their sound. While this creates some great distorted tones, each gain stage also amplifies all background noise.
Not all distortion pedals use this design, but the long and short of it is that a distortion pedal will amplify and distort any signal it is fed; even if you can not hear the noise causing signal source before activating the pedal.
What could be causing the noise?
Many times, the noise accentuated by distortion pedals can be tracked to environmental issues. This is why professional recording studios are so expensive to design and construct. Painstaking measures are taken to ensure that every power source is pristine, ever power line is shielded and kept far from physical audio paths, all of the walls are shielded against stray radio frequencies, and so on.
That being said; let's take a quick look at what might be causing your noise and a few things you can do to clean up your signal.
Power
The first thing to look at is how you're powering the unit. Batteries will deliver a quieter performance, as they are not subject to some of the issues that affect AC power, but they have a downside as well. Batteries will steal your tone as they die, at such a subtle rate, you might not notice until your tone is truly not the same anymore.
AC power eliminates the gradual tone theft caused by dying batteries but they open the door to other noise causing possibilities. AC power directly from the wall is wrought with noise. The power is not delivered in a conditioned or filtered manner which is perfectly acceptable for most worldly applications, but not in the audio realm. If you rely heavily on pedals of any kind to create your tone, we highly recommend investing in a good power supply for them. Here in our shop we use the PA9 power supply from Godlyke, but there are many others on the market.
Another power distribution possibility could be that you have too many pedals on your power supply's chain. Noise occurs when you overload your power supply's capacity. The rated output of your power supply might indicate it can handle 4 or 5 pedals (after doing the math of course), and in fact it can- it just can't handle it well. That output rate is there to tell you where the failure point would be, not where the optimum operating level is. To keep your pedal board sounding clean stay well under your power supply's rated output. Some pros suggest you cut the rated output in halve and use that as your load guide. I say use your ears. If you hear degradation, even while within the specs of your power supply, ease back on its load.
Cables
Why are you plugging your $1000 guitar into your $1500 amp with a $9 cable? And DO NOT get me started on those $3 patch cables you're using in between each pedal on your board. C'mon guys... your cables are essential to your tone, so skimp someplace else.
Our good friend Mark Stoddard over at Lava Cable chimes in with this angle:
"Noise or microphonics is caused by cable movement or contact as small voltages are generated from this that interrupt the signal path. If the cable does not have the correct amount or type shielding the noise will be greater. Also, the lower in capacitance a cable is, the easier the noise will be heard as more signal is passed. Typically, with static cable such as pedal jumpers noise is not an issue as there's no movement. It's important for cable jumpers to be solidly built as a loose solder connection or loose solder-free connection can cause noise when the pedal or cable is moved."
This is good info, lets expand on it a bit- pedal jumpers or patch cables actually take some serious abuse if you're a heavy footed pedal user. Every time you're stepping on the switch you're causing that whole unit it shift, unless your using mounting screws to keep your pedals on your board, and that slight shift with each stomp causes your patch cables to move and flex as well. So each time you engage your boost pedal for a solo, lets say once per song multiplied by 10 songs a set, thats 20 stomps... that can add up to some sizable movement over the course of the evening, not to mention the movment your cable plugging your axe into your pedal board is seeing. So you want to be sure that these are well constructed.
The other topic Mark touched on is capacitance. Over at Lava Cables web site they have a great write up on capacitance, and cables in general, I encourage you to check it out. But in a nut shell, capacitance sucks the high end out of your signal. The longer the cable the higher the capacitance, which is why 40 foot cables sound dark and muddy. So, stick to the correct cable length. If you're a bedroom rocker, a couple of 5-8 foot cables is probably all you need. If you're gigging try 12-15 footers, they'll probably do you well for most venues.
Shielding
Do you have any quiet spots in the room you currently play in? Meaning- if you move around in the room do you have spots that are less noisy? If you do that tells us you've got something floating around in the air which might be quieted by shielding your guitars cavities.
Shielding the cavities of your guitar is not all that difficult, it can be time consuming, but not hard; however, the end results can be amazing. What shielding does is it prevents radio frequencies and other 'noise' from entering your pick ups. The shielding doesn't make the 'noise' signals bounce away, it actually absorbs the noise. The conductive material in the cavities attracts the signal and sends it to ground rather than letting it float around your pick ups. There are a lot of different methods to shield your guitar, so do your research. You can probably start and stop at GuitarNuts.com. GuitarNuts has been offering tips and guidance for shielding and pickup re-wiring for years, and they're a great resource. I've rewired more than my fair share of instruments using their diagrams, check them out!
Pedal board config
Heres a real example from a customer that had horrible noise issues with his Body Rot II. His pedal signal chain was a GE7 EQ to 'scoop' his tone, then running into the Body Rot II, then some reverb and delay. Here is exactly what I told him via Email:
One thing I would recommend right off the bat- put the GE7 at the end of your chain (before your delay or reverb) to sculpt your entire tone. If not at the end, certainly after the BRII. Essentially the BRII will take the boosted signals produced by the GE7 and distort it. Causing noise when there otherwise not be any.
With the tone 'scooped' by the EQ, the highs are boosted, then feeding those boosted highs into the BR2 to further boost and distort, caused hellacious noise. Simply moving the EQ cured his problems.
Another common noise causing problem the fact we use the volume knob on our distortion pedals as a master volume. Yes its handier to use the volume control on your pedal to turn your amp up and down, but its causing more noise than you need to hear. Let the amp do the heavy lifting. Set your pedals volume to the same level on or off (unity gain-ish) and use your amp to give you more volume when you need it, this will clean you up greatly.
The obvious
Do you have any computer monitors in the room- the older big monitors, not a flat panel? If so, you're probably going to get noise.
Any fluorescent lighting in the room, either overhead or on a wall? If so, you're probably going to get noise. Even the new compact fluorescent bulbs that are going to be the only types of bulb we can buy in the near future are noisy. The best cure for both the old monitor noise and the fluorescent light noise is to shield your guitar, but even the best of shielding can't eliminate the noise those sources cause.
One last thought- noise gates are always useful in high gain situation. Sometimes there's just no way around them.
Dennis M.
Dennis Mollan is the founder of Pro Tone Pedals. With 20 years experience as a practicing guitarist coupled with his formal education in music theory and audio engineering Dennis has become a noted resource in all things rock guitar related. Pro Tone Pedals was founded in 2004 to provide hand built high quality guitar effects to modern hard rock guitarists. In the five years following, the Dallas Texas based company has had the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in modern rock music.
Pro Tone Pedals have been on tour and in the studio with Velvet Revolver, Alice In Chains, Camp Freddy, Flickerstick, Ministry, Peter Murphy, Rusty Cooley, Richie Kotzen, Jeff Loomis, Nevermore, Prong, Mission UK, Poison, Overkill, Fear Factory, Mob research, and the Cult.
Website: http://www.ProTonePedals.com
Blog http://blog.ProTonePedals.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_Mollan
Before we begin lets take a moment to define the word 'noise' as we use it in this article. When we use the word noise we're referring to the hum & hiss you hear when you are not playing. The moment you strike a note, the noise is 'gone', but in reality it is simply overcome by the note having been played. The note is passing trough the distortion circuit and being amplified in the same way the noise is, but being that the note is intentional and, as such, a much louder source than whatever is causing the noise in the first place. As the struck note decays the noise slowly becomes more apparent until it overcomes the decaying note, as the noise never left, it was simply overpowered by the note.
Why are distortion pedals noisy?
Many distortions use cascading gain stages to create their sound. While this creates some great distorted tones, each gain stage also amplifies all background noise.
Not all distortion pedals use this design, but the long and short of it is that a distortion pedal will amplify and distort any signal it is fed; even if you can not hear the noise causing signal source before activating the pedal.
What could be causing the noise?
Many times, the noise accentuated by distortion pedals can be tracked to environmental issues. This is why professional recording studios are so expensive to design and construct. Painstaking measures are taken to ensure that every power source is pristine, ever power line is shielded and kept far from physical audio paths, all of the walls are shielded against stray radio frequencies, and so on.
That being said; let's take a quick look at what might be causing your noise and a few things you can do to clean up your signal.
Power
The first thing to look at is how you're powering the unit. Batteries will deliver a quieter performance, as they are not subject to some of the issues that affect AC power, but they have a downside as well. Batteries will steal your tone as they die, at such a subtle rate, you might not notice until your tone is truly not the same anymore.
AC power eliminates the gradual tone theft caused by dying batteries but they open the door to other noise causing possibilities. AC power directly from the wall is wrought with noise. The power is not delivered in a conditioned or filtered manner which is perfectly acceptable for most worldly applications, but not in the audio realm. If you rely heavily on pedals of any kind to create your tone, we highly recommend investing in a good power supply for them. Here in our shop we use the PA9 power supply from Godlyke, but there are many others on the market.
Another power distribution possibility could be that you have too many pedals on your power supply's chain. Noise occurs when you overload your power supply's capacity. The rated output of your power supply might indicate it can handle 4 or 5 pedals (after doing the math of course), and in fact it can- it just can't handle it well. That output rate is there to tell you where the failure point would be, not where the optimum operating level is. To keep your pedal board sounding clean stay well under your power supply's rated output. Some pros suggest you cut the rated output in halve and use that as your load guide. I say use your ears. If you hear degradation, even while within the specs of your power supply, ease back on its load.
Cables
Why are you plugging your $1000 guitar into your $1500 amp with a $9 cable? And DO NOT get me started on those $3 patch cables you're using in between each pedal on your board. C'mon guys... your cables are essential to your tone, so skimp someplace else.
Our good friend Mark Stoddard over at Lava Cable chimes in with this angle:
"Noise or microphonics is caused by cable movement or contact as small voltages are generated from this that interrupt the signal path. If the cable does not have the correct amount or type shielding the noise will be greater. Also, the lower in capacitance a cable is, the easier the noise will be heard as more signal is passed. Typically, with static cable such as pedal jumpers noise is not an issue as there's no movement. It's important for cable jumpers to be solidly built as a loose solder connection or loose solder-free connection can cause noise when the pedal or cable is moved."
This is good info, lets expand on it a bit- pedal jumpers or patch cables actually take some serious abuse if you're a heavy footed pedal user. Every time you're stepping on the switch you're causing that whole unit it shift, unless your using mounting screws to keep your pedals on your board, and that slight shift with each stomp causes your patch cables to move and flex as well. So each time you engage your boost pedal for a solo, lets say once per song multiplied by 10 songs a set, thats 20 stomps... that can add up to some sizable movement over the course of the evening, not to mention the movment your cable plugging your axe into your pedal board is seeing. So you want to be sure that these are well constructed.
The other topic Mark touched on is capacitance. Over at Lava Cables web site they have a great write up on capacitance, and cables in general, I encourage you to check it out. But in a nut shell, capacitance sucks the high end out of your signal. The longer the cable the higher the capacitance, which is why 40 foot cables sound dark and muddy. So, stick to the correct cable length. If you're a bedroom rocker, a couple of 5-8 foot cables is probably all you need. If you're gigging try 12-15 footers, they'll probably do you well for most venues.
Shielding
Do you have any quiet spots in the room you currently play in? Meaning- if you move around in the room do you have spots that are less noisy? If you do that tells us you've got something floating around in the air which might be quieted by shielding your guitars cavities.
Shielding the cavities of your guitar is not all that difficult, it can be time consuming, but not hard; however, the end results can be amazing. What shielding does is it prevents radio frequencies and other 'noise' from entering your pick ups. The shielding doesn't make the 'noise' signals bounce away, it actually absorbs the noise. The conductive material in the cavities attracts the signal and sends it to ground rather than letting it float around your pick ups. There are a lot of different methods to shield your guitar, so do your research. You can probably start and stop at GuitarNuts.com. GuitarNuts has been offering tips and guidance for shielding and pickup re-wiring for years, and they're a great resource. I've rewired more than my fair share of instruments using their diagrams, check them out!
Pedal board config
Heres a real example from a customer that had horrible noise issues with his Body Rot II. His pedal signal chain was a GE7 EQ to 'scoop' his tone, then running into the Body Rot II, then some reverb and delay. Here is exactly what I told him via Email:
One thing I would recommend right off the bat- put the GE7 at the end of your chain (before your delay or reverb) to sculpt your entire tone. If not at the end, certainly after the BRII. Essentially the BRII will take the boosted signals produced by the GE7 and distort it. Causing noise when there otherwise not be any.
With the tone 'scooped' by the EQ, the highs are boosted, then feeding those boosted highs into the BR2 to further boost and distort, caused hellacious noise. Simply moving the EQ cured his problems.
Another common noise causing problem the fact we use the volume knob on our distortion pedals as a master volume. Yes its handier to use the volume control on your pedal to turn your amp up and down, but its causing more noise than you need to hear. Let the amp do the heavy lifting. Set your pedals volume to the same level on or off (unity gain-ish) and use your amp to give you more volume when you need it, this will clean you up greatly.
The obvious
Do you have any computer monitors in the room- the older big monitors, not a flat panel? If so, you're probably going to get noise.
Any fluorescent lighting in the room, either overhead or on a wall? If so, you're probably going to get noise. Even the new compact fluorescent bulbs that are going to be the only types of bulb we can buy in the near future are noisy. The best cure for both the old monitor noise and the fluorescent light noise is to shield your guitar, but even the best of shielding can't eliminate the noise those sources cause.
One last thought- noise gates are always useful in high gain situation. Sometimes there's just no way around them.
Dennis M.
Dennis Mollan is the founder of Pro Tone Pedals. With 20 years experience as a practicing guitarist coupled with his formal education in music theory and audio engineering Dennis has become a noted resource in all things rock guitar related. Pro Tone Pedals was founded in 2004 to provide hand built high quality guitar effects to modern hard rock guitarists. In the five years following, the Dallas Texas based company has had the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in modern rock music.
Pro Tone Pedals have been on tour and in the studio with Velvet Revolver, Alice In Chains, Camp Freddy, Flickerstick, Ministry, Peter Murphy, Rusty Cooley, Richie Kotzen, Jeff Loomis, Nevermore, Prong, Mission UK, Poison, Overkill, Fear Factory, Mob research, and the Cult.
Website: http://www.ProTonePedals.com
Blog http://blog.ProTonePedals.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dennis_Mollan
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Guitars, amps and effects
Yowza! Did you hear that hideous noise? It sounded like a combination of nails on a chalkboard, a cat in a dryer, and a baby wailing at the top of his lungs. Do you have any idea of what made that awful sound? As a long-time musician, I think I may have the answer for you. It's a guitarist fiddling for the first time with his new amp.
Before I bought my first amp, I wouldn't have thought that a human could produce such a horribly wretched sound. But, now I know better. In the process of finding the perfect settings for your guitar and amp, you are sure to discover all kinds of disagreeable screeches and squeals, shrieks and screams. And, believe it or not, these unpleasant and often other-worldly sounds are all part of the learning experience.
I've often been asked to give beginners online advice on how to dial in their amps and guitar settings. For a number of reasons, this is no easy task. As you know, the experience of sound is totally subjective. What I may like, you may not. This said, it's hard to give definitive advice about guitar and amp settings.
So much is involved in getting the sound just right for your tastes-including the room you're playing in, the gauge of your strings, the guitar you're jamming on, and the type of amp itself. All of these come together to create a playground for experimentation: a place where you can twist this knob here and turn that knob there and, before you know it, you're a musical stylist, an expert in designing the perfect sound.
I can, however, offer a few general tips that might help out as you begin playing with your amp.
Always start with your dials pointing to 12 o'clock and twist and turn from there. 12 o'clock will give you the baseline to work from and you can let your ears tell you what does and doesn't work from there.
No matter how many other bells and whistles your amp has, you're almost always looking at a four basic areas you'll be most interested in learning how to manipulate:
Treble Adjusting this setting will affect the amount of high end in your sound. If you go big with treble, you'll end up with a very sharp and crisp sound. However, if you go too big, you'll likely end up with a harsh sound.
Middle The mids can be the most important setting to your overall sound. Adjusting these settings can really impact the overall character of your sound. Low settings can give you the classic rock-n-roll sound, while higher mids will take you down the honky-tonk, bluesy path. Play around with the mids to really see how much change you can create in your sound with the simple twist of a knob!
Bass If you like that deep, booming sound, you'll definitely want to go fat on your bass. On smaller amps, however, you might not be able to get the full effect of the bass simply because of their size. But, no matter how you like it, be sure to see how the bass and treble can work with one another to create your ideal sound.
EQ / Filter / Tone/ Contour They're called by different names on various amps, but they all do the basically the same thing: adjust all of your basic settings (e.g., treble, mids, and bass) with one knob. If you want to find out what the maker of your amp considers "correct" settings, play with these knobs to hear how your treble, mids, and bass all can work together for radically differing results.
If you've got a valve (tube) amp, be sure to:
always replace the whole set when even just one tube blows
never move your amp while it's still hot
be extra careful that you line up he pins in each tube perfectly with their corresponding holes on the amp
To make sure you keep your amp in top condition, be sure to:
keep your amp in a dry location
always use the best quality leads (guitar, speaker, microphone, and effects)
always have your amp serviced by a capable technician
In the end, you have to know this one rule of amps: there is no right or wrong way to set it up. If you like what you hear, you've done a great job. If you don't like what you hear, remember the settings and the sound and don't dial those in again. Experiment, experiment, experiment and have fun!
Jon Butt is the publisher of Musical Instruments Guide , a free resource dedicated to all things musical. From electric guitars to drum sets, tubas to bagpipes, and every musical accessory in-between, the http://www.the-musical-instruments-guide.com/guitars.html">Musical Instruments Guide is packed full of informative articles, find top-rated musical instruments and online merchants
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jon_Butt
Before I bought my first amp, I wouldn't have thought that a human could produce such a horribly wretched sound. But, now I know better. In the process of finding the perfect settings for your guitar and amp, you are sure to discover all kinds of disagreeable screeches and squeals, shrieks and screams. And, believe it or not, these unpleasant and often other-worldly sounds are all part of the learning experience.
I've often been asked to give beginners online advice on how to dial in their amps and guitar settings. For a number of reasons, this is no easy task. As you know, the experience of sound is totally subjective. What I may like, you may not. This said, it's hard to give definitive advice about guitar and amp settings.
So much is involved in getting the sound just right for your tastes-including the room you're playing in, the gauge of your strings, the guitar you're jamming on, and the type of amp itself. All of these come together to create a playground for experimentation: a place where you can twist this knob here and turn that knob there and, before you know it, you're a musical stylist, an expert in designing the perfect sound.
I can, however, offer a few general tips that might help out as you begin playing with your amp.
Always start with your dials pointing to 12 o'clock and twist and turn from there. 12 o'clock will give you the baseline to work from and you can let your ears tell you what does and doesn't work from there.
No matter how many other bells and whistles your amp has, you're almost always looking at a four basic areas you'll be most interested in learning how to manipulate:
Treble Adjusting this setting will affect the amount of high end in your sound. If you go big with treble, you'll end up with a very sharp and crisp sound. However, if you go too big, you'll likely end up with a harsh sound.
Middle The mids can be the most important setting to your overall sound. Adjusting these settings can really impact the overall character of your sound. Low settings can give you the classic rock-n-roll sound, while higher mids will take you down the honky-tonk, bluesy path. Play around with the mids to really see how much change you can create in your sound with the simple twist of a knob!
Bass If you like that deep, booming sound, you'll definitely want to go fat on your bass. On smaller amps, however, you might not be able to get the full effect of the bass simply because of their size. But, no matter how you like it, be sure to see how the bass and treble can work with one another to create your ideal sound.
EQ / Filter / Tone/ Contour They're called by different names on various amps, but they all do the basically the same thing: adjust all of your basic settings (e.g., treble, mids, and bass) with one knob. If you want to find out what the maker of your amp considers "correct" settings, play with these knobs to hear how your treble, mids, and bass all can work together for radically differing results.
If you've got a valve (tube) amp, be sure to:
always replace the whole set when even just one tube blows
never move your amp while it's still hot
be extra careful that you line up he pins in each tube perfectly with their corresponding holes on the amp
To make sure you keep your amp in top condition, be sure to:
keep your amp in a dry location
always use the best quality leads (guitar, speaker, microphone, and effects)
always have your amp serviced by a capable technician
In the end, you have to know this one rule of amps: there is no right or wrong way to set it up. If you like what you hear, you've done a great job. If you don't like what you hear, remember the settings and the sound and don't dial those in again. Experiment, experiment, experiment and have fun!
Jon Butt is the publisher of Musical Instruments Guide , a free resource dedicated to all things musical. From electric guitars to drum sets, tubas to bagpipes, and every musical accessory in-between, the http://www.the-musical-instruments-guide.com/guitars.html">Musical Instruments Guide is packed full of informative articles, find top-rated musical instruments and online merchants
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jon_Butt
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