Official Guitar, Amp, Pedals, and Gear Thread - Page 47

I have found that Bigsby's create tuning issues.

Not really - you have to press the bigsby each time you turn a peg and then check if its in tune. 

 

I have a Gretsch Duo Jet w/ bigsby and a vox ac15cc amp.  I want something like a 1/2 watt amp, the vox is too loud for apartment use.

Vox AC4 variable settings. 4 watt, 1 watt, and 1/2 watt. I love mine.

I'm having my Jazzmaster refinished in surf burst.

Very nice! Especially the amp.

Question for you good folks here- does anyone have a primer on what the various settings on guitars and amps do? I've got a MIM Strat and Roland Cube 30 which I've dicked around with, but I'd like a slightly more technical understanding so that I can dial in my tone a little more.

My technical advice: twiddle knobs until you like what you hear! It's always worked for me...

What knobs in particular do you want a better understanding of? On the Strat, the only knobs are volume, which is obvious, and tone, which controls how much treble (high end) is passed through. I believe on a standard start, the top tone knob controls the neck pickup tone, while the bottom tone knob controls middle pickup tone. Some people have these wired differently, so you can control the bridge tone as well, or have a master tone.

What knobs are on the cube 30 that you're curious about?

Most of this is done through practice (srs) with a basic subset of knowledge from experience and understanding sound.

Learn how different frequency points affect how the guitar sounds, and how cutting or boosting that changes the voicing. Trying out many different guitars--> same amp or different amps-->same guitar (even if you don't buy), can really help with understanding what causes them to sound the way they do. Also understanding frequencies that underly knob voicing on the amp.This starts with understanding what the difference 2k boost/cut has compared to one at 10k.

If you want to get geeky,
Read lots of free basic articles like these, while keeping in mind the subjectivity of tone:
Understand basic physic of frequencies and sound wavelength
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Music_p010.shtml
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/sound/u11l5b.cfm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound

Now find in-depth or more opinionated thoughts on different frequencies.
http://www.recordingeq.com/Subscribe/tip/tascam.htm
http://www.audio-production-tips.com/guitar-frequency.html#
http://www.audio-production-tips.com/graphic-equalizer.html
http://www.audio-production-tips.com/parametric-equalizer.html
ect.

If you can get a used, rack multi-point EQ (or computer simulation) and run everything else clean (not really possible with as amps and headphones have inherent voicing). Now, spend an afternoon messing around with it, you can really help in understanding the range of the different sounds and how they affect your guitars inherent voicing. Train your ears. Now, take this knowledge and run through a parametric eq, playing around not only with eq set points, but also the "width of the hump" (forget term) as you change around with different mid-set points.

tldr; My player's opinion:
Mids encompass a large swath of the fundamentals and overtone frequencies created by a guitar, and are the tonal "lifeblood" in guitar and amp voice pairings...
Shore those up first, then focus in on treble and bass, in that order.

OR Say FK my post above, & MESS with SH*T til it sounds absolute BOMB!!!>.

NO WRONGS WHEN YOUR EARS AND HANDS KNOW IT'S ALL GOOD

New pedalboard getting its live test... failed. Really should have cleaned up the wires, and my Guv'nor is throughly fucked. Halfway through had to go straight to the amp because the sound cut out - ended up being the Guv'nor's loose jack. But soon the problems will be fixed, and I will have my perfect (massive) pedalboard.

Has anybody tried a Voodoo Lab Giggity? The videos on youtube look amazing...

God I love VL. Hadn't heard the Giggity till now but it seems like a great addition to my Tele setup.

It looks pretty amazing, I've been using a Hotcake as a low gain boost/OD and I just don't love it. Everyone says it is great with AC30's but it really doesn't work as well for me as I want it to, though live it seems to stand up pretty well. Anyway, I was thinking of trying a Timmy or waiting for the new Klon but the Giggity might be worth a shot.

Have you tried Analog Man's Beano Boost? Awesome.