BEGINNERS: Your Amp is Adjustable

[Russ]

OMG!!!!!

So I was watching Griff's latest E-mail about a Clapton interview about tone, back in the 1960's when my dipstick bulb turned about as bright as the sun! :

I've been on 5th string barre chords since the middle of February. I know. I know. Its not a race. I'm not trying to make it. The thing is, I really hated the way my chords were sounding, so it was taking that much longer. Not so much that I was screwing them up, but more of a dislike of the pitch. The chords sounded like nails on a chalk board as far as I was concerned. Even my cat who loves listening to me practice, would leave the room. I decided I just had to muddle my way through until I could make them sound nice.

Well, as I said, I was watching Clapton when it hit me. He was talking about the neck pup being bass and turning up or down the tone knobs, etc. etc...
You should have seen me. I looked down at my floor amp, my brain (duh) bulb came on and just sunk my head into my hand in self embarrassment.

OK Genius. If you don't like the tone (or pitch) of the chords you're playing, mess with the bass, mid and treble knobs of your amp until you like the chord. 

Wow! :-X I'd gotten so used to liking the sound of my amp, that it completely left my brain cells to adjust the amp.

Ok, so here's my warning. When I get around to posting my lesson recordings, they probably won't sound anything like anyone else' lessons. That's Ok though. If everything sounded the same, there wouldn't be a point in doing things like this.

 

[Marv]

Don't feel bad, Russ.  Griff says the most important notes for you to learn from are the ones you play that sound bad.  You just learned a really good lesson. 

For me, with a limited number of licks and tricks in my bag, variety from song to song often comes from switching amp models (I have a Fender Mustang modelling amp), effects, pickup volume and tone, amp volume and tone, etc.  What I actually play is often very much the same.

One fun thing I like to do on occasion is find a lick or two in a recording I like and record it.  Often, this will be an attempt to replicate someone else's tone here in the virtual jam room.  (That same tone may not fit in a subsequent recording, but it is perfect for that backing track.)

I then repeatedly play the lick, tinkering with all of the above settings to see how close I can come to the tone played in the song.  I often record them side by side using Audacity and play them back until it's really hard to tell the difference.

Sometimes I don't have all the tools or the knowledge required to do it.  Other times I am able to come remarkably close.  In my case, I save and name an amp preset once I capture a particular tone.  For example, I have a "Clapton - Cocaine" tone.

If you don't have the ability to do that, writing it all down works.

So maybe that's something else to take out of Griff's lesson.  Not only can and should we steal someone's licks, we can also steal some of their tone.

Tinker with this every once in awhile and you'll become a master of your gear.

 

[henryj]

One of the reason I like my humbucker guitars.  Between the amp settings on my basic fender no frills amps and the guitar settings I can get an unbelievable range of tones and effects without pedals or other computer controlled effects.

Before you drop a wad on pedals and stuff learn to use the knobs you already own.

Try it you'll like it.