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Post by FreeRider on Apr 25, 2012 9:37:17 GMT -5
For electric I tend to gravitate towards the 10-46 gauge strings, though depending on the guitar I've gone as heavy as 11-52. Lately I've been going with D'Addario, but I still have packs of Gibson and Dean Markley laying around that I should use. For acoustic I go with 12-53 range, usually Martin or D'Addario. For picks I like Heavy, usually over 1 mm. That's too bad about Petty's guitars. I've always coveted his Rickenbacker collection. Interesting that you mention picks. I had a friend many years ago who encourage me to use these Gibson picks in a shape that are more rounded on the wide end of the pick. I'm not sure what they're called but one person referred to them as banjo picks. So the other day I found a medium to medium+ pick in the standard shape most players use and noticed that the sound was different and works well for some songs but I had a hard time staying with it because my hands are so conditioned to many years using the Gibsons. Anybody else here had similar experiences? I think I had an really old Gibson heavy pick somewhere. Since I'm not that proficient at flat picking, I don't quite notice what the difference/preference is with the more rounded part of the Gibson wide parts. Also, I don't always use the pointy tip of a pick....sometimes, I use the fat, wide part. I dunno why; sometimes it's a just a tactile "feel" thing. |
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Post by FreeRider on Apr 25, 2012 9:46:15 GMT -5
Yeah, love my setup and my tone. It took me years to get a tone I was really happy with.... Ideal sound in the studio is whatever is best for the song and interesting. The song has to be the king and every sound and performance should be dependent on what is appropriate. Add in the fact that it's subjective and art and your answer is that there is no one correct answer (imo). Ideal sound live is a bit more restrictive. You want to have great tone, obviously, but you ideally would like some diversity, depending on the style of music you play. We tend to suffer from a bit of an identity crisis between power-pop and alt-country, so I need both a good, overdriven distortion sound and more of a chimey, just-slightly overdriven sound. I also need a good boost for leads. I am able to accomplish that with the Matchless, a boost pedal and a Boss Overdrive pretty well.... Jer, what made you go with Matchless amps? There are no dealers or stores near me that carry them so I can't check them out. But I recounted earlier that Jordan Zevon told me he could get me a Matchless amp at cost after I just won his dad's Steinberger in an auction. I had no more money to spend after that acquisition and couldn't take him up on the offer! But Jordan vouched for them and said he worked there for a short time and knew the guys. In your opinion, what does the Matchless do for you and your sound. What do you like about it? |
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Jer
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Post by Jer on Apr 25, 2012 12:47:47 GMT -5
My first exposure to Matchless was seeing Slobberbone play. Last couple times I saw them they weren't using Matchless anymore, but they were a few years back. I was enamoured with the tone and control Jess had. Then I was recording in a studio that had one and that's when I just fell in love. I used that, usually paired with an AC30, on almost every song on that record.
Long story short (too late?), I was grabbing a beer in a small town a couple hours from here one afternoon, popped into the music store next to the brew pub and they had a used Chieftan sitting there. I obsessed about it for a week, then that same town happened to fall between a couple cities I was playing in the next weekend, so I stopped back in, plugged in the tele, and walked out with it. Thus ends the story of why and how I have a Matchless.
There's not a whole lot I don't like about it. Overdrive is super important to me, and Matchless has killer overdrive. That said, however, it doesn't have the crunch best achieved with a Marshall. You probably won't see many metal bands playing Matchless. It's a class A amp (like the AC30) so it's a bit "chimey." You can tone that back but if you hate it, it's not the amp for you. Like any amp - it's not appropriate for everything.
Another thing thing I like is that it's 35w. I have an early 80s JCM800 50w that I like quite a bit, but with the vol at .5 it's pretty good, but at 1 it's waaay too loud for normal practice and small bars. It's really hard to find that sweet spot unless you are playing a big room, then you have some volume leeway. 35w lets me keep all the knobs right up the middle and tweak here and there. In other words - way better control!
Other pros - the reverb is nice. And it's built with really high quality componetry. With my Marshall, I had to plug it straight into a wall or I might get nearly electrocuted when I touched a mic. Not every time, but if the place had a shotty electrical setup and I had to go into a plug wand - which a lot of the dumps I play use - I had to be careful soudchecking. That was a pain (and painful!)
But ultimately - one word - tone. It is a special amp. It sounds soooooo nice. It's fun to play when your rig sounds like that. I can point you to some new demos we have out where the Matchless is front and center and some older stuff with the one from the studio if you want.
One last note - Something happened at Matchless around 1996 where Mark Sampson, who some consider the brains behind the sound, left the company and formed Bad Cat amps (seen on stage at Slobberbone shows these days). I don't claim to know enough about the story or the company or the amps to say what the impact of his departure was, but a couple amp snobs I know were happy to see that mine was a `95, made before he left. So, take that however you want, but it might be cool to look into Bad Cat or check Ebay or your local Craigs List for a Matchless. I hardly ever see Matchless for sale. Seems like people just don't get rid of them!
Hope this helps!
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Post by FreeRider on Apr 25, 2012 14:33:58 GMT -5
Wow, thanks for the info....looks like you got a nice deal. Especially if you don't find many listed for sale! NOT cheap at all....I took a look at their website. Even the 15w amps are high priced. I don't think I'll buy another amp over 15w. I'm really using the amps for recording now, no stage performances. What's the saying? Small room, small amp; big room, big amp? Or as Keith Richards said (I think), "All you need is the right guitar through the right amp!" www.matchlessamplifiers.com/index.htmlThey have some sound clips so you can evaluate if you dig their tone and all. Maybe I can reach out to Jordan Zevon and ask him about Mark Sampson and Bad Cat amps, assuming the email addie I have for him is still good. Still don't think I could swing that price range unless it's on layaway for the next several years! |
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Jer
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Post by Jer on Apr 26, 2012 18:15:51 GMT -5
Yeah, they are really expensive. But they are really special amps. I'd be interested to hear what mr Z comes back to you with. Keep your eye out on Ebay & Craigslist. If you're patient you will find a used one! And they maintain resale value so when you find one you can check it out knowing you can always ditch it later for at least what you paid for it. At the same time, Matchless kinda kicked off the whole boutique amp thing, and there are a handful boutique shops around making really cool amps, not all as expensive as Matchless. For example, check out Swart Amp Co. I saw Steve Earle last year and the dude playing guitar for him (Chris Masterson) was playing through one and it sounded amazing. Same sort of control I was talking about with the Matchless, but some different tones too. (not cheap either, but another option). |
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Post by FreeRider on Apr 27, 2012 9:38:17 GMT -5
Interesting...these boutique amps really kind of intrigue me now. I found Jordan's old email address, I will see if he responds or something and to hear what else he was to say about his time working at Matchless.
Thanks for the info on Swart Amps....
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Post by GtrPlyr on Apr 29, 2012 9:31:07 GMT -5
I've never tried a Matchless but I do recall being impressed with the tone. There's a lot of great boutique amp companies out there right now, just too bad everything is so damn expensive. Thanks for the Townshend links freeRider. I came across the full article for the Electronic Musician interview if anyone wants to read the whole thing: www.emusician.com/news/0766/tracking-townshend/136092 |
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Post by FreeRider on Apr 29, 2012 15:11:10 GMT -5
ahh, good find on the full article!
Ok, while most of us can't afford a boutique amp, has anyone used an equalizer pedal at all in their chain of effects to try to modify tone? Does it make any difference trying to tweak it like that? Or are we just stuck with the tone controls with the amp, the tubes (assuming you have them) and our pickups?
I wish I had the time and money to experiment with all those components to find that sound and tone. Eddie Van Halen has said in early interviews about how he'd hand wrap his own pickups and experiment with trying to make his own pickups but he didn't know enough and just had a volume knob and one tone control on his home made guitars.
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Jer
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Post by Jer on Apr 29, 2012 18:48:24 GMT -5
I've been using a Boss EQ pedal forever, but more as a boost than an EQ, though I take advantage of the EQ. The pedal with each band set in the middle is no change, so everything you adjust basically just increases or decreases the level for that frequency. So I can set my mid-highs at about 7-8, set the lows, mids and highs at about 6 and it gives me the boost I need for my leads but also changes my tone a bit by drawing more sound to the mid-highs than my amp settings are giving me. It's kinda cool, and sets the leads apart from the rhythm just a bit.
For studio work you're better served by your amp than an EQ pedal, unless you just can't get there for some reason, but I've found it very valuable live.
I recently bought an MXR Line Driver on a friend's suggestion that I am trying to get used to with the thought that it will replace the EQ. It's more of a straight db boost with no EQ, and it's an MXR so it's got the metal cylindrical switch instead of the Boss flat, black plastic pedal plate, so it requires a bit more precision and force, and you lose that EQ, so I am not sure if it's going to make the cut.
One thing I have plans to experiment with is placement of the EQ and/or boost in front of or behind the overdrive. When I boost for a solo I almost always hit the OD too, getting that extra sustain and distortion. I need a better handle on the difference in tone based on the position of the pedal in the chain.
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Post by anarkissed on Apr 29, 2012 19:58:11 GMT -5
I never found the tone control on any guitar to be of any use...I always had those maxed out...Anything lower just seemed to cut gain and power...I'd prefer that those not even be on there. Similarly, I only used the volume control for convenience, and preferred to have that wide open while actually playing...That's why I always liked having a volume pedal.
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Jer
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Post by Jer on Apr 29, 2012 21:27:23 GMT -5
Yeah, Anarkissed, there is certainly an art to turning up & lettin' her rip. I tend to think a boost or volume pedal serves a much different purpose than the volume knob on the guitar. the knobs on the guitar will almost always change the tone where as the pedals will mainly just change the volume. Sometimes you want one or the other, but I suspect it would be difficult to boost for a solo using the controls on the guitar.
When I play live I almost always have the vol on the guitar at 10 and the tone at about 8 or 7. When recording, however, I get a lot more use out of the vol & tone knobs on the guitar. You can get a great distortion tone by driving the amp a bit heavier than you want it on the distortion then backing the vol on the guitar off just a bit. It takes away alot of the fuzz but leaves you with enough to keep it dirty, but some really tasty definition without some of the high-highs that come with the volume and fuzz. Another trick I learned a long, long time ago - if you like to play loud and distorted and especially if you use really hot pickups - humbuckers or p90s or whatever, your rig will feed back like crazy. Back the tone off to about 5 and it almost always takes that away, or at least makes is manageable. And when tracking bass, the tone knob can make a huge difference.
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Post by FreeRider on Apr 29, 2012 22:17:10 GMT -5
interesting thoughts, Jer. thanks for those tidbits from your experience. I've read some interviews in magazines where other guitarists talk about the importance of placement in your effects chain. so I guess it makes sense to experiment with which pedal goes where, how it changes tone, or boost.
I don't play with a band or anything, so it's good to get to hear your experiences from gigging. I suppose I don't check out enough amps (it's always hard to get a sales person to help you and there are always a bunch of show offs already plugged in, showing off, at the music stores) but what I do notice is that I always tend to hear my guitar tone getting muddied up on my Carvin 30w amp when my distortion dial is all the way up.
It seems, though, a lot of that muddiness may be the result of a few variables: the pickups, the type of tubes in the amp, the amp itself, the guitar cord/cable.....andthat's why I asked about the EQ pedal, to try and boost the higher frequencies and get away from the muddiness of humbuckers. The reason why I like the Steinberger is because it has 3 EMG pickups in it. Two are humbuckers and one is single coil and it has a surprisingly interesting tone, kind of like of being somewhere between a Les Paul and a Strat.
And speaking of cords, can anyone hear the difference with their signal if you use a so called "inferior" guitar cable versus some high end cable? Does that affect tone?
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Jer
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Post by Jer on Apr 30, 2012 11:44:15 GMT -5
Yeah, that really sucks. I do my best to avoid stepping into Guitar Center at any cost, although sometimes it's just unavoidable. They're the Wal-Mart of music stores for sure. If possible, find a locally owned store. They're worth it even if you have to drive a little further and pay a couple extra bucks. You'll get that back in customer service tenfold. Every single thing contributes to your tone, but by far it is your head/cab and pickups. Sounds obvious, but cables and tubes are the least of your issues. If your tone is killer and you want to tweak this or that, or you are hearing some minor cackling or something, check your cables and tubes, but if you're tone is muddy you need to start at the top. EMGs are well built pickups for sure, but I'd say much closer to a Strat than anything else. They are very "clean" and known especially for their clean tone where humbuckers like the Dimarzio & Seymour Duncan rock pickups or the tele single coils or the P90s might contribute more to your tone than an EMG would. I mean - of course they "contribute" but what they're giving you is a clean tone to work with, compared to other pickups. It's hard to explain, really, but I think EMGs will give you more of a true representation of what is coming from the strings and less from the guitar, if that makes any sense. With EMGs you are going to have to get most of the character from the amp, where a Dzo or SD you will get a bit more guitar body and character from that. And it kinda makes sense that they're in the Steinberger because there's very little body to that guitar (assuming it's one of the trad shapes) and that lack of shape will affect the whole strings/body > pickup > amp > tone thing. At the same time, the LP isn't known for it's clean tone, especially over the last few decades. So my guess is that you are getting really nice clean tones and a bit or reverb and/or chorus or whatever and it's probably beautiful. So back to your muddy problem, look to your overdrive on that Carvin or a distortion pedal for the answer. Start super clean then try a couple distortion boxes - depending on what kind of distortion you are after. A buddy of mine has an older carvin half stack that he swears by and he gets great tone out of it (using an old SG and maybe a pedal or 2). ANd Kirk Hammett uses EMGs exclusively I think, or used to anyhow, so you know you can get some great distortion out of them with the right rig. Even better yet - if you are using ProTools for recording check out the Waves Gtr Solo plug in. It's a cheap way to emulate a bunch of amps, cabs and pedals - not to mention it's super fun, and a great, convenient way to practice without firing up your rig. Like I said, if you are having tone issues, don't worry about the cables. At the same time, it's important to buy good quality stuff as they will be less noisy and more durable. I love ProCo cables (the ones made here in Michigan, not China). Monster makes good ones, and they're guaranteed for life, but I have monsters I've had to have replaced 3 times and ProCos that outlive them all for 1/3 the price. And just in case - it's important to use speaker cables for speakers and instrument cables for instruments. Probably goes without saying, but I see people who get lazy with that all the time. |
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Post by FreeRider on May 1, 2012 9:20:19 GMT -5
awesome, thanks for your thoughts and advice on the matter....
It's not that the Carvin sounds terribly bad when I have the distortion saturated, but I guess I'd like a more distinctive higher frequencies or something out of it. It's hard to explain what "muddiness" means to my ears, but it's how I kind of hear it with the humbuckers in the Les Paul.
As for the EMG's, you're right---much cleaner sound, given the small body, and I think I like it just because of that kind of cleaner, "brighter" sound. I can get the kind of distorted "crunch" and yet it also has that "brighter" sound, which to my ears means I'm hearing not just a lot of mid-range and low end sound but certainly the higher range. My high strings aren't getting lost in a power chord, so it's not all just the low end.
I've use Monster cables and they seem fine for me but I've also heard good things about the ProCos too; maybe I'll pick up a pair of cables.
Regarding the Guitar Center, true---I don't like going in there much. The sales staff always seem to have this hint of a smirk when you ask them for help or if you have some question. There was only one sales guy there that was really helpful but he doesn't work there anymore.
And even my local music store has gotten to be similar; granted they're always a zoo because they're also retailers for a lot of school band instruments, not just guitars and drums ....I don't quite get how these folks think this is good customer service. I mean, if I'm the manager of one of these places, and I see my sales staff ignoring people who are standing around looking to talk to a sales person, I'm getting rid of them. If no one bothers to ask, "have you been helped?", they're getting the boot from my store.
ha! Maybe I should get a bunch of like minded folks together and we open up our own local music store and drive the big chains under.
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Post by GtrPlyr on May 1, 2012 10:20:32 GMT -5
FreeRider, just wondering if you can get a good clean sound from the Carvin. If so, that coupled with an overdrive pedal might give you the clarity you need. I find Distortion gives less clarity and more mud than Overdrive.
Personally I tend to gravitate towards overdrive. I like the way it boosts and dirties up the sound while still retaining the organic character of the guitar. Unless I'm playing metal--which I haven't in many years--I pretty much stay away from distortion effects. The times when I need something a bit more raunchy than the overdrive I go to my fuzz pedal.
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Jer
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Post by Jer on May 1, 2012 14:32:24 GMT -5
I very much agree with GtrPlyr. Distortion and Fuzz occasionally have their place in the studio, but for a good, generally dirty "working" tone without the mud - overdrive is the way to go.
Get it from your amp if you can by turning up the gain - some amps have amazing overdrive (Marshall, Matchless), some not so much (Ampeg, Hiwat), but use a pedal if you can't. I have the Boss Overdrive and have used it for years to supplement the amps' overdrive at times.
I used to love my RAT pedals (another great ProCo product) back in the days when I was playing more punk stuff but it's more distortion than I need these days. I pull them out occasionally but haven't actually used one on anything in years.
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Post by anarkissed on May 1, 2012 18:59:36 GMT -5
Speaking of music stores, I always had good, friendly customer service in the local, but these were often people I either knew outside of the store, or had become acquainted with through the store...In the "big city", I often got that sort of snobby attitude that seemed to be centered on: 1)Did I know what I was doing in there? and 2)Was I really going to spend any significant money? #1 kinda irritated me, because maybe these people were really good musicians and technically savvy, but, geez, they are still working a day job at a retail store; I'm guessing they didn't have platinum albums or anything. #2 I've come across at any kind of retail...I work on commission; I get it, but, I've found it's usually a mistake to just hope for that one customer that's going to spend $10,000, instead of working those two dozen who spend a $1,000 each...
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Jer
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Post by Jer on May 2, 2012 7:06:37 GMT -5
It's not fun. My favorite is some emo-active-rock-metal dude trying to talk me into buying some strings or something that are on special or whatever - "dude - you should totally try these - they're awesome!" And I'm just thinking "Dude, I figured out what kind of stings I liked before your parents even met, and I know you work at Guitar Center and all, but there's more to playing guitar than knowing all the riffs in the Black Label Society tablature book and playing them through that Line 6 amp you got on clearance with your employee discount last month. Oh, and good luck at the Battle of the Bands next Sunday afternoon at the suburban sports bar." Not to say I'm better than anyone, but they do very often come off as elitist, and they're not. They look at me like I am just stupid, and it's not easy to deal with sometimes.
It's funny too - I get the exact same thing at some mountain bike stores around here. Same elitist "I am a bad-ass mountain biker and you may as well be riding a big wheel you are so far below me." It's infuriating.
That's exactly why it's important to support your locally-owned businesses whenever you can - whatever you are shopping for. You might save a few bucks at GC but you'll end up making up for it with better customer service in the end.
But blanket stereotypes and generalizations are bad. I have had a couple really good experiences at GC. I've bought a couple guitars there and walked out feeling good about the transaction. It all depends on the sales person you get. They're not all douchebags by any means. And the same goes for you locally-owned store. Sometimes those guys are even worse because they've been there forever and feel that additional sense of self-importance. It's great when you have a guy you like and trust, wherever they work, and can just deal with them.
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Post by FreeRider on May 3, 2012 9:40:20 GMT -5
FreeRider, just wondering if you can get a good clean sound from the Carvin. If so, that coupled with an overdrive pedal might give you the clarity you need. I find Distortion gives less clarity and more mud than Overdrive. Personally I tend to gravitate towards overdrive. I like the way it boosts and dirties up the sound while still retaining the organic character of the guitar. Unless I'm playing metal--which I haven't in many years--I pretty much stay away from distortion effects. The times when I need something a bit more raunchy than the overdrive I go to my fuzz pedal. Thanks for the advice...yeah, I think I'm with you on this...overdrive has a smoother sound, not as harsh as distortion, I guess. I very much agree with GtrPlyr. Distortion and Fuzz occasionally have their place in the studio, but for a good, generally dirty "working" tone without the mud - overdrive is the way to go. Thanks for the advice....it's comforting to see a consensus about overdrive for a clearer sound. And what's interesting is, as soon as you two started talking about an overdrive pedal, it dawned on me that I DID have one. it was when I had a cheap 10w practice amp with horrible sound and tone controls and I bought a pedal to use with it (this was way before I got the Carvin). So last night, after digging thru some boxes in the basement, I found it: A Boss Overdrive/Distortion O2 pedal! I forgot I had the thing until you guys mentioned about an overdrive pedal.... I plugged it into the Carvin last night and you guys were right; I had extra volume boost, I had better tone controls via the pedal, where I could enhance the highs to get the clarity instead of being stuck with too much low and mid range! With the Les Paul humbuckers, the Boss pedal, I played the opening riff to VH's "Unchained" and it sounded a lot closer in tone to how Eddie's sound is than before.... great suggestions, guys! |
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Post by GtrPlyr on May 3, 2012 12:42:15 GMT -5
Awesome FreeRider, glad to hear that worked out. Good thing you kept that pedal.
I used to pull out "Unchained" quite often back in the day. There's something so satisfying about playing that riff through a nicely overdriven amp.
You and Jer mentioning Boss Overdrive pedals triggered a flashback. The first Overdrive pedal I ever tried was a Boss OD. A band I was in did a short set using the house bands equipment at a local bar and the guitarist had one. I remember being tentative about using someone elses amp and pedal, but once I clicked on the OD I was hooked, especially as I was getting tones that blew my own setup away (which at the time was basically a cheap Peavey and a Boss Heavy Metal pedal.) That was probably the first time I realized what the difference between distortion and overdrive was. It wasn't long after that I got my very own overdrive pedal. Of course, Like Jer said getting the overdrive from the amp is often the best first option. Thankfully once I finally got a decent amp that was an option for me.
As for the "big chain" music store issue. I'm with you guys. I hate going into those stores where the staff are dicks and everyone in the store is noodling around on some Metallica riff or something. It's not an environment that really makes me want to stick around and buy stuff. Thankfully I have some local stores that are decent that I frequent. I still go to the chain stores on occasion, but I try to give most of my business to the smaller stores with the better vibes.
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