An Age Old Question never understood!

Dan Burnham · From: Greenfield, Tennessee

If the tone of the guitar and the sound of the pickup is that important to you, why don't you play it without using effects processors and just an amp with reverb?

Would it not stand to reason that using an effects processor would totally change the tone?

It seems to me that there is a double standard here and I'm not saying it's wrong. But doesn't it make since if you like the natural tone and resonation your guitar produces why would you mask it or change it other than adding reverb?

Ray Minich · From: Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra

Effects help to cover (or so I've been told) a multitude of sins ...

Randy Reeves · From: LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA

effects processors are everywhere today.
I had a nice one but gave it away.
all the sounds on it were so generic.
I didnt care for the lack of individuality.

still, I use stomp boxes.
but they are pared way down.
and with the overdrive unit I it modified to my tastes.

one reason I got a stomp box was to be enabled to play in overdrive but at bedroom sound levels.

when I can I do simply plug in and turn it up.
my overdriven tube amp is killer. when I lower the volume knob my guitar plays clean , but when I roll it up with my pinkie Im driving.

I doubt if guitarists rely on pedals to hide noise, mistakes and bad technique.

I use pedals to emphasize my playing.

Sonny Priddy · From: Elizabethtown, Kentucky, USA, R.I.P.

I Don't Use Anything But My Steel Hilton Pedal & Amp.I Like The pure Steel Sound. SONNY.

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Bob Tuttle · From: Republic, MO 65738

Rains steel, Hilton volume pedal, and Nashville 112. Best sound I've ever had in 56 years of playing.

Mark Lind-Hanson · From: Menlo Park, California, USA

How about, the sheer interest in having something that just simply sounds DIFFERENT than expected?
There's something to be said for both trends of thought.

Damien Odell · From: Springwood, New South Wales, Australia

I love the way the steel sounds straight into my amp with some fender reverb. I have no real problem with effects, I just prefer to leave those for the 6 string.

Damien

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

effects should be used to enhance playing..never to cover up a flubs or whatever..and certainly not to cover up TONE..

even more important..a player should practice with the same effects that they may use on the gig..

I can think of three effects that can be used to accent a players style or a song style..
Slap Delay , Overdrive and chorus..not to excess , but moderate to add to what you are playing..

This is not to imply that every player should use them, but if you are playing songs in a style that allows them to enhance what you are doing..use them by all means..

My view is to practice with effects, if you don't, my opinion is you should NOT use them on a gig.

I use a single slap delay of 290 ms, 45% mix...sometimes a mild chorus, and sometimes the Boss Overdrive..with the appropriate song .. My primary effects unit is the first version of the Peavey Profex.

t

Tim Jones of Kansas · From: Andover, KS, USA

All I need is a touch of reverb...my old bulky and heavy Peavey 'Austin 400' does the trick nicely.

Volume pedal optional, of course.

Tim Jones
~)A Fender 1000 and Nothin' else.(~

Dan Burnham · From: Greenfield, Tennessee

Thanks guys for the input. I appreciate the information regarding your views on effects. I agree there are certain times you will want to use effects if your playing a different style of music like rock, jazz, etc., Like many others I like the original guitar and amp with a little reverb for the basics.

Bobby Boggs · From: Upstate SC.

Ever notice how your guitar seems to have a pleasant sound with a natural reverb when unplugged?? Then plug it into and amp with no verb or effects and it sounds really dry.Why is that????........bb

Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

Good tone through effects sounds better than bad tone through effects.

David L. Donald · From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand

What Jim just said.

But also I don't want just ONE SOUND,
I want many, for many situations.

There are many types of music, and many songs.
Some call for echo, some call for dry, some call for a spacey flanger and tro amp spunds from each speaker.

if the steel sounds good,
then I can get
any acoustic environment I want ;
beside it,
on top of it,
or through it.

Or just dry.

When I practice I just use a
1960 Fender tweed Champ with a bass roll off.

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

I practice dry a lot, even unplugged in the wee hours when it's quiet enough. However, I grew up listening to Hendrix, King Crimson and such, and that stuff sounds good to me - when it's done WELL. There were a lot of big-name jazz guitarists in the 70's who recorded some really horrible sounding "overdriven" solos and wah-wah guitar because they couldn't be bothered to PRACTICE with their effects units and work with them long enough to extract the best sound - maybe their producers stuck them with it, maybe they were just indifferent. It takes several months of steady practice (at least) to start understanding the potential of a wah-wah pedal, for example.

I hear the same thing with a lot of steel guitarists, whether it's indifference or expecting talent-in-a-box I don't know. Your big tone monster guitarists like Steve Morse, Julien Kasper, Eric Johnson are insanely picky about their effects and work with them incessantly trying to extract a great sound. It's fine if you don't want to make those kinds of noises, but it's not the effect's "fault" for sounding bad.

(Most rock guitarists know that a good overdrive/distortion tone need to be EQ'd differently than a straight signal, whether through multiple amps or a graphic EQ stompbox? And you want to blend the signal with a varying amount of straight signal?)
http://www.amptone.com/truesecretofamptone.htm

Mark Edwards · From: Weatherford,Texas, USA

When I first started playing, I played out of a Profex II, on my GFI keyless D-10, Goodrich volume pedal, and Nashville 400 amp. Then I heard Gary Carpenter play out of just the Nashville 400 amp, no effects, (of course Carp is blessed with talent), and I thought that if he can get that pure steel sound without effects, then I would practice, play, practice, play until I could at least get a resemblance of the same tone. I'm not knocking effects, they have their place on certain songs i.e. Sleepwalk etc... and of course it you want a dobro effect you have it at your fingertips.

But in my opinion, I think I have come to like the straight steel sound, out of the amp, plus it has made my playing better, because I am practicing to get that tone/sustain. I also believe that whatever settings you use on your amp, has quite alot to do with the sound your getting out of your playing as well.

Rick Campbell · From: Sneedville, TN, USA

This is like saying: "if you like the way your car drives, why do you want air conditioning on it too?" While were at it, let's do away with the pedals and knee levers too.

I talented enough that I can compensate and sound equally bad with or without it.

I do agree that it can be overdone.

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Emmons Lashley Legrande D-10 8/4, Mullen D-10 8/4,Nashville 400, Profex II, Bunches of fiddles,guitars,etc....

www.racmusic.tripod.com

]http://racmusic.tripod.com

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Charles Dempsey · From: Shongaloo, LA

It is, I do, and it does. Everything you put between the guitar and the amp sucks tone. Heck, I don't like having a volume pedal in line.

Charlie

Terry Edwards · From: Florida... livin' on spongecake...

What's not to understand?

Adding effects to a guitar with good tone is ....

like adding horseradish to prime rib.

like adding a custom paint job to a '69 Camaro.

Like a beautiful woman wearing something nice.

Like...

You guys knew this right!!!

Terry

Dan Burnham · From: Greenfield, Tennessee

Terry,
I initially started this because of everybody talking about the guitar and tone. With all the talk about the sustain at the 12th fret, the length of the body the wood, etc., Effects can make almost any pedal steel sound good if it is playable and will stay in tune. Julian Tharpe seldom used effects, "Cowboy Eddie Long" like wise. For some it's like using distortion on a guitar to cover up sloppy riffs. I do agree, they can enhance and compliment the existing sound.

Charles Dempsey · From: Shongaloo, LA

Terry Edwards

quote:
Adding effects to a guitar with good tone is ....

like adding horseradish to prime rib.

like adding a custom paint job to a '69 Camaro.

Like a beautiful woman wearing something nice.

Exactly! I agree with you 100%, for all the wrong reasons

.

Charlie

Charles Davidson · From: Phenix City Alabama, USA

I heard the Big E say years ago,every time a new gadget came out he would try it.I use a delay stomp box,amp reverb,and sometimes a destortion stomp box if it is needed.I have seen a few players that prefered to play dry,and they sounded great.Whatever pleases YOU is all that matters.

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

Chip Fossa · From: Monson, MA, USA (deceased)

Steel - Blackbox - Holy Grail Reverb - Peavey 31-band equalizer - Amp [Vegas 400 or Evans FET500]. That's my rig.

I do have an old Ibanez Chorus, and sometimes play around with it [I don't use it playing out] but soon go back to playing just 'straight'.

It's amazing what you can hear when you really listen to unobstructed tone.

Marlin Smoot · From: Kansas

There may be something with the quality of the effect you use meaning; a 24 bit processor will sound better than a processor without it.

Also meaning, the better quality processer the more transparent the effect will have on your tone.

The Steel Guitar Black Box is a prime example. It does not mess with your tone, only enhances what you already have, I would think this is the kinds of outboard gear you would want. Nice sounding effects without messing with your tone.

However, there are some quality sounding effects that will mess with your tone, but that's what they are ment to do. Its the cheap ones with low quality parts that do the most damage.

Having a 'true bypass' switch in your stomp pedal will make a difference in your tone too. You want to make sure nothing gets in the way of your tone when the effect is not ingaged.

Just my 2 cents.

Mat Rhodes · From: Lexington, KY, USA

I don't play country music so my $.02 won't mean much on this thread, but clean pedal steel simply isn't acceptable in the rock, indie rock, and pop genres, at least where I live.

Sometimes a songwriter in those genres wants something less "generic"-sounding than the meat and potatoes tone. Sometimes a synth, distorted, rotary, or weird patch with lots of filtering and padding are appropriate for a song where a clean steel sound just won't cut it. It keeps me from having to compete with a keyboardist.

Matt

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