Back around 2003, I did a handful of gigs with Little Milton. He looked at my modest board (drive, trem, chorus, delay, wah) and said "I don't know why you need all of them "giggle boxes"." He was traveling without his amp (normally an Acoustic) and I provided him with an old twin. One night, the sound check consisted of him handing me his '64 ES345 and saying "go plug this in". In the first seconds of hearing (and feeling) that guitar thru a cranked twin, I saw what he meant - that was all he needed. I continued to use my board though, and still "giggle" at his disdain.
Giggle Boxes! Absolutely hilarious. I may have to steal that for when a friend overuses his damn ring mod pedal, very inappropriately, and makes us all laugh our tails off. Thanks!
I don't think I've ever watched this show that I didn't learn something new. I've been playing for decades, and there's just so much nuanced information, it's hard to know all there is to know. And information, like this in particular, is the stuff nobody wants to bother to share because it's not dramatic or sexy. But it's so necessary and fundamental to shaping your sound and getting the tones and performance that inspires you to play better. We're very fortunate to have you guys here to lift the veil from our eyes.
I always enjoy what you guys do. It's like the audio equivalent of watching wine tasters but without the pretention. I'm never going to buy 99.9% of the stuff you demo but I still enjoy what you're doing. You're both champions.
Thanks Simon, especially for the sans pretention bit. Lots of people think we are the worst kind of cork sniffers. I say they don't know their corks. ahaha! Mick here.
Even for someone like myself who loves messing around with pedals, this episode as always is still full of so much useful information. Must say the amount of free education you guys have give me at this point is immeasurable.
I remember Paul Gilbert used to have a signature pedal called the Detox EQ. He used that to cut the overdrive coming from his Marshalls, thereby giving him a clean sound. He now does the reverse and uses a clean amp and uses pedals to get overdrive. It shows that there is a lot of flexibility in getting the tone in our heads.
Great! I think this should be on the "essential videos list" for any guitarist, especially someone starting out. You should have a "watch this first" or whatever section in your channel: this one, the "how loud is loud and why does it matter" video and "12 ways to use your guitar volume". If people get those things first they have a great starting point. In my current band situation, I'm using a Fender Tweed Deluxe clone (that I attenuate to keep at reasonable volumes!) set to a little bit "over breakup" that I then completely control with my guitar volume. I have overdrives but only use them for specific stuff. But I still have an EQ and a buffer! And a treble bleed on my guitar.
I'm 55, just getting back into guitar, and this series has really been helping me. The work on this episode is so appreciated, as I have exactly that mindset from when I was a teenager - I could get nice distortion from my guitar and amp (a Peavey Classic I still have - is it worth reconditioning?), so why do I need pedals? I could have really used this info forty years ago from a guitar teacher. So enlightening. Thanks from the Santa Cruz Mountains in California. - Dave
I was so excited to see this episode! I fall into the "too confused to use pedals" camp. Too many knobs and I get overwhelmed. So I just cut out the middle man between guitar and amp. And to answer your question Dan, I watch because your shows generally cover concepts and are always fun and have great info. And of course, for the awesome, witty banter between Mick and Dan. But I find myself running into a lot of the problems you address in this video! So helpful and we'll explained. Thanks so much!
Always love your shows! I was a “straight in” guy, and ignorant of how to work the guitar volume/tone well. Then I figured out Fuzz a bit, and modulation. Your show has opened doors of tone for me, AND how to get there. Dissecting the “how” of certain sounds is really useful…maybe an idea for a show?
The discussion of gain staging lead me to realize what I love about my rig. It's a so-called "wet/dry" rig (I prefer "split fx"). My "wet" amp is set fairly gainy, while the "dry" is much cleaner. Everything goes into the front, so my solo boost (JHS Haunting Mids) makes the "dry" louder and the "wet" crunchier. That combo really cuts, the delay and reverb really come to life when boosted!
I'm not in the 'No pedals' clan, but you guys get the best tones IMHO when you go straight into the amp when it comes to Marshally rhythm tones. I find the difficulty is with higher gain tones, there doesn't seem to be non-tube preamp distortion pedal that gets close to an amp and I think that is where a good proportion of the 'no pedals' clan may be coming from that place. The EQ option is great , I used to play metal with a marshall and EQ 'frown' in the lower mids gave an extra bit of distortion and make the pinch harmonics pop out!
Back again 😁 I found the information in this video exactly what I needed to inspire me to try something different to enhance "My Tone" guitar direct into my amp (either Marshall or Engl). The Engl has 4-channels with two independent sets of controls, but my Marshall is a single channel... Already using a Source Audio EQ2 in front of my Marshall. Based on the information in this video on underdrive, I plan to try my Source Audio UltraWave for underdrive. Guitar --> EQ2 --> UltraWave --> Marshall. UltraWave has 37 band splitting options, 45 distortion types that can be applied to each band; optional tremolo / phase offset that can be applied to each band; Mix to recombine the bands; 8 band EQ with high pass and low pass filters; and a final EQ using the pedal knobs. If you're into dirt, it's worth a look IMO. Cheers!
I don't use pedals or effects and I plug directly to my tube amp and my volume knob is literally the only thing mess with during a performance. But I still watch and enjoy all your videos. 😊👍
Great episode! Mentioned attenuator off and more headroom, it should be the exact same headroom from the amp and maybe less headroom from the speakers getting closer to their limit. Because it's louder, it just feels like more headroom. And note how differently the players want to play depending on that volume. Point 2, in a live band or mix situation, just hi-passing the signal more can dramatically make it sound louder because it's starting to to find it's own space away from bass and drums. Try that next time you mix something, get the lead vocal not quite there, then gradually hi pass and watch the vocals start to pop out of the mix. Same idea. Beginning P90 guitar sounded fantastic, and Dan playing the LP with the MXR was a fantastic sound. Buffer and guitar volume down and retaining some highs was a great tip too. This was a really good and well thought out episode, and can't say enough about the tones you got. Cheers!
Jeebus Cripes, Mick! That intro! My Special is in for warranty repair and you bringing on such P-90 tones is just killing me. Good God, man. ❤️ The MXR is a lovely thing. What the world needs is Chase Bliss to build a similar beast with a bunch of storable presets. That would let you switch between Strat, Tele, Special and humbucker beastie with one EQ gain/boost pedal that can easily do the Full Monty. All those automated sliders and only 700 quid!
I’m not a huge fan of using a lot of effects and pedals, but I love your show!!! I watch every episode and I love watching other guitar players use pedals!
Take it you are not a tap dancer then. 🤣. Tbf that mindset is like me and gibson les pauls. Love watching other ppl play them, love the sound of them. I just cant stand playing them myself. Too heavy, controls always out of easy reach. Don't like the neck profile. And i dont like that freaking G string. 🤣🤣🤣
Love the video! It’s important to remember that it takes much more energy/power to reproduce low frequencies. Which is why bass amps that are 500-800 watts are as loud as 50 watt guitar amps. And that’s also why cutting the bass frequencies with an EQ pedal is such a good way to boost a dirty amp. The amplifier doesn’t have to use as much power reproducing the lows so it has more power to push the mids and highs louder.
You guys provide such an important resource for me and the entire community of guitarists and other musicians. I watch every episode and always learn something or reconsider something I thought I knew. I can’t thank you enough. Be happy and be well.
I played mid range Fenders for years with lots of pedals. I went to a Mesa Boogie Fillmore 25 and realize I wasted a lot of time trying to make a decent amp sound great. This video is for me now. I’m now using Tube Screamers with gain at 0 and volume at 6 to boost for solos. Digging the use of EQ and reverb for boost! Best vid ever!!!
This was great. I've only been playing electric for about two years, and it's always helpful when you guys dive into the details of gain stacking and eq a bit. On another note, I wonder if you've ever thought about cutting a shot of the db meter into the pedal cam. I have no idea how much of a pain that would be, but it would be helpful in an episode like this one. Like when you were attenuating between 10,7, and 4 db and turning the eq or boost on and off, we can't really hear the volume changes you're hearing in the room but can get a sense of reference from the meter. Certainly not meant as a criticism, just a thought. Love you guys and all you do, be well.
Mick, I was just listening to the intro playing and as soon as I heard you digging in to some single line licks, I knew it had to be the Collings. That Jr. just has a perfect voice for rock!
I'm all in for pedals but still found this very helpful. Just that bit about recapturing some of my tone when rolling off the Strat volume was worth the price of admission. Cheers!
Treble bleed might do it for ya. Something I do quite a lot and I play metal a lot of the time but I still want to be able to clean up my amp and preserve my tone.... Treble bleed definitely helped with that. Cheap and easy to do as well.... ....and... if you dont like it, easy to remove
Great video! I wouldn’t say I hate pedals as I have quite a few, but don’t seem to bond with them and am typically an amp with a little reverb kind of guy. This video will help me use the pedals I have more effectively (boost, overdrive, reverb) and highlights one I probably should have - an EQ. I really like the analogy of filling the glass with water to explain signal saturation and why things get muddy with too much signal. I wish I understood that years ago!
I use a $40 mosky spring reverb (malekko clone) at minimal settings just to 'open up' the tone of the small combos that I drive near their peaks. It works wonderfully. Timmy circuit as under- Drive in my band rig works best for me. 👍
I have to play with some reverb at very minimal settings. Not enough to make the tone "wet" but perhaps "moist" if you will lol. Just a drop, always on. ✌
I've been using a Sunface w dip switches set so it's more roll off tone than fuzz out tones Great rythmm tone w Xotic Super Clean boost for the bump and touch of echo plex
as a primarily acoustic player who knows next to nothing about pedals this video is so helpful in gaining more understanding. That show about acoustic pedals was awesome too. Thank you.
that collings always sounds fantastic. it's what inspired me to get a p90 guitar - except I'm not on collings money so I got a yamaha revstar to do the job
@@rossedwards73 - As we heard in this video.....P-90's and a Plexi are a lethal combo. Many famous guitarists love P90's....they just don't love the noise.
This is how I run my amp as well…and this is why I usually carry two to four guitars to gigs-> because they make a massive difference in sound and volume! In the same amp Settings my Les Paul is everything from Crunch to Lead while my Firebird is still clean and sparkly!!! Such a great Episode, guys!!!
Years ago I saw BB king and Albert King in smaller venues using solid state amps with no pedals. Their tone was monstrous and their playing unmatched. I was heavily influenced by seeing both these legends. I played in Blues clubs and have spent much time in recording sessions. My best recordings always were the use of a small combo using only reverb from the board and volume dimed but rolled back on my Strat.(there is an example of that on RUclips, Sessions at Bakerstreet (Infatuation)although I played a Jazzmaster with Dave Vidal pups)..Much respect for both of you for your great show and awesome playing....Simon Jarrett is a local hero here in Vancouver who not only makes pedals but uses them and has tone and technique in massive abundance.(Love that you feature him)..so the argument for or against pedals is kind of mute.I think it is just the player and what he/she hears in their own head and feels in the fingers!
I've played direct in a bunch of times and I always liked the tone but its just so... limiting, ugh. I can have my fun with it but I can't imagine gigging and making music with just one gain stage, no fuzz, no spacey delays and modulation. The thing about effects is thay you can always turn them off, you can't magically make them happen with your fingers. That's why I think people who avoid pedals ate missing out.
A single keeley Dark Side is singlehandedly replacing every pedalbon my board and I’ve essentially gone from 13 pedals way down to about 5; Dark Side with Old Blood Procession in its V1 loop, a delay, and a wah, all wired through a parralel blender for boosts, doubling my signal and controlling volume output. It’s very simple while still letting me be a madman with psychedelic effects
Great video as always! I'm in the 'no pedals' camp for most of my bands, save for one where I play direct with lots of effects and double on synths... When not using pedals, I play an Esquire straight into a dimed Carr Rambler. I play with the guitar volume and tone rolled back a bit 90% of the time and adjust my sound to the room with that setting. From there, when the guitar is flat out, I get the extra bit of volume, gain, and cut that I need for solos but I only use the guitar flat out for the loudest part(s) of the set. What you get is an infinite gradation of clean to dirty rather than stepped values but you have to have the self control to know when to open up the guitar. Having the right amp, the right amount of power, and a guitar that cleans up well is crucial. I find that an amp like the Rambler with great spring reverb and tremolo makes 'no pedals' easier because at least I still have a bit of space and movement. And man, does that reverb and bias tremolo sound great when the power section is overdriving... Cheers guys! Despite only using pedals some of the time, I love this channel and y'all have been a wealth of information over the years.
Fascinating- really love these episodes where you step us through such important fundamentals. I’m going to spend a lot of time experimenting and following along.
This was really genius and very instructive! I need to play around with this... which means I need to buy the utterly un-sexy and blandly utilitarian pedal... a graphic EQ! Probably the secret weapon of all great guitarists. I do like that you at least used one that has lots of great led lights! Well done!
You hit the proverbial nail in the first few minutes. In order to use an amp and guitar in an intuitive and holistic way you need to operate the knobs. But manufacturers seem intent on building guitars that go muddy as soon as the volume control is not on maximum. Is this to perpetuate the sale of pedals? Leave volume on 10, set your clean sound and any other tone requires a stomp on a pedal? OR ; fix the guitar so the volume acts as a volume and not a tone, then one is able to use it as intended and obtain lots of different sounds by using the volume control and separate tone control. Yes it get quieter as it cleans up for rhythm sounds but surely that’s what you want, no? Even Mr pedal manufacturer himself says in one of his videos, “The best overdrive sound you can get is from an amp!” Or something very close to that quote. Each to their own. Nice use of the EQ pedal. Bonamassa and Clapton may be in the minority but there is something magical about guitar - cable - amp and nothing else.
It’s great to keep it simple if that serves your needs. As you say, something wonderful about it. Couple of issues for today’s players - 1) It HAS to be loud. There’s no attenuation or direct application of this approach. It’s all about volume and the dynamic it creates. 2) Some people just want more variety. Otherwise we entirely agree. My only problem - Mick here - is that I’d want two or three different amps to get the variety of OD tones: a Marshall, a Fender and a Dumble. Just like Eric and Joe in fact…
Thank you gents for another wonderful deep dive. I'd like to say though, just be careful when stating that "it's the reason we don't like attenuators....once you limit the amp with an attenuator, anything you do after that just gets squashier” because while it might be true for some attenuators, not all attenuators work the same way (for example, the Fryette Powerstation has a 'constant load', as does the Boss Waza TAE, so the audible effects of 'limiting increasing as attenuation is increasing' is not an issue with those units). And to say “attenuators remove all the dynamic range” is just patently untrue. Moderate attenuation keeps the dynamic range of the amp intact… only really heavy attenuation (-10db or more) impacts dynamic range, and only by a little bit if you you measure it empirically and scientifically. (Always keep in mind that the human ears are WAY more sensitive to dynamics at louder volumes). Also worth noting is that the 'limiting artifacts' from the Ironman are not linear - in your examples there is no additional limiting from the Ironman when switching between '0' to '-4'. Only when you load it down to '-10' is there an additional -0.5db of limiting, which validates the approach of only using as little attenuation as possible on that style unit, for the most transparent overall volume reduction. Plus, Dan plays completely different riffs and with a different touch on each setting, so that muddies the waters also. Thanks again guys.. great vid!
Epic episode. I love both my amp's tone on clean and dirty channel. I use pedals to take me to places in between where the amp is not capable of taking me. I can go to Florida,California, any Crystal clear river, even London and hang out with the guys from the 60's( with fuzzes)😁 rock your ears with ear candy pedals. Its a long fun journey of discovery. One pedal may sound glorious with one amp and guitar rig and could sound meh in another amp and pedal rig combination. One has to read the manual, learn from other players videos or experience using a pedal, just listen carefully each pedal has its strengths and frequency pros. Cons are not common, since pedals these days are built so high quality. Avoid noisy pedals or use a noise gate. Pedals rock my world.
Hi Dan and Mick! Cool episode....Not sure if this is already in the comments, but another method to enable boosting/volume variations and ultimately increase dynamic range, is to take a line out from your cranked amp and re-amplify with a second amp. This is just another way to set up a wet/dry rig...amp 1 = main amp for dry, crunchy tones and amp 2 = amp for more volume (when/if needed) + for adding wet effects (when/if needed). If your main amp does not have a line out I'm sure someone must make a simple one in a box. You can put any kind of effects after amps 1's line out for boosting and other effects if required, or just use a volume pedal before the second amp.
This is the best video you’ve ever made. Educational to the extreme. I love the sound of my guitar (‘92 PRS Customer 24 and ‘87 Mesa Boogie Studio 22) and every time I put pedals in the chain it just doesn’t sound the same. So this video educated me and now I will try the various setups you went through.
When I started approaching the electric guitar I realized I didn't know anything. I started listening a lot and got my first effects pedal, a 505 zoom, v2, a digital pedal with more effects. It took me a while to understand it. Then I had a Digitech RP-500 digital processor - which I found very difficult to use. I gave it up and for a few years I switched to the classic, that is, analog effects. But also here, because I am from Romania and we don't have so many music stores in the city and they have a bigger assortment of pedals, the only solution when I want a pedal is to look at you or others who have pedals. The downside sometimes is that after they pedal it, they find that it's not what I expected, or it doesn't sound like I thought. Another problem is with amplifiers. I can't afford an amplifier on lamps and then I took one on transistors: fender champion 100. I like the way it sounds, but it's very powerful for the house. I somehow managed to make it sound slower: -I gave it to the maximum volume, and I gave the pedals almost to the minimum and that's better. My question is, how do I make a nice sound with such an amplifier (I can't use a volume attenuator, only if I change something on the amplifier maybe) and with the existing pedals. The pedals I have are: caline -Compressor, Boss- SD1, Joyo-Tauren, Joyo American, Harly Benton-Chorus, Boss-Delay DD7 and TC electronic-Hall of Fame 2. Thank you very much.
The fender champion 100 is one of the best solid state amp I had. Sold mine and kinda miss it. The idea is using it without pedals man. Just set the amps you like, turn down guitar, turn up amp and dose the amount of gain with the volume of guitar. Then add some color with built in effects.
In my personal opinion, this is the best guitar tone demo I've seen here, I also dug the way you stated your point for those we love amp gain instead of gain pedals. Very nice job!
Boosts! The only pedal you need combined with a good amp and good guitar. I'm currently loving the sound of a tumnus -> xvex channel 2 (gain about 9-10 oclock) into small tube amps. The channel two thing does great mosfet grit that sounds natural (to me) and works great with pick/volume dynamics and the tumnus does the klone thing of taming the lows and putting a bite on the top end.
Truth, I didn't know I wanted one until I found one for way below market value and said, hey I can flip that pedal for some cash. I plugged it in to test it and it hasn't left my board since.
1.) ~29:01 Mick's cutaway-look of disgust (?) when Dan "chimes in". Devastating. Hi, Mick! 2.) HBD, Dan! 3.) useful add of graphic (clipping). More! 4.) my fave music channel, hands down--thank you both & all! 5.) My rig board grew out of...my 4w 1961 Gibson Skylark GA-5 into 1x12". One knob (think "Gibson Champ"). Always-on Dyna Comp & Source Audio EQ2 sorted that and ancient orig caps! Buffered EQD Palisades overdrive & Walrus Slö complete it. Keep up the valuable & fandam videos, guys--cheers!
Fascinating. Since finding TPS about 18 months ago I went from no pedals to (number most significantly larger than 0 and constantly growing) pedals, so I’m not necessarily the target audience for this episode (anymore), but I still found these insights really interesting and am eager to try some of them. PS: I hope Dan feels better, and also HAPPY belated BIRTHDAY!!! See you ends of legs on Monday!
This is brilliant and as informative as the VCPI episode from nearly 5 years ago 👏🏼 the Reverb episode was fantastic too, you guys are in Dan's words AWESOME
I guess it depends on what you're used to. I cut me teeth on using the amp for roar and the guitar volume to control it. Consequently, the songs we played had the dynamics when I backed off between when I rolled it up full. Years later, I started using a Marshall 2 channel amp with one side set sort of hot, t'other sort of clean. The "clean" side gets the gain pedals and hey presto! instant extra channels. Sort version, if it works, it works.
I mean there are some amps that sound amazing without pedals, but they do cost a bit. So it’s normally a cheaper amp and pedals to manipulate the sound that you want to get. It’s always a compromise depending on your situation and application.
Forgot my pedalboard for a gig once and only realised after a 3 hour drive to the venue. Cranked the amp and went straight in for the night and relied on the volume knob and picking dynamics. Loved it. I still picked up my board for the next gig the following night. People say pedals may be cheating, but they sure are fun.
I am an amp overdrive player who boosts with a boss eq, a univibe/modulation off, and sometimes a little tape saturation from a Stryman Deco. That said, I am always pedal curious and love to hear how different overdrives work. I'm impressed at how the quality and range have gotten awfully close to everything I like about amp gain since I started playing in 89'.
The TC Electronic Nova System boost works on releasing attenuation. It’s a great idea. There’s an EHX pedal that is a volume knob and does the same thing. Nice job on the video.
I am primarily a single coil player with many Strats and Teles of various pickup configurations playing into a Victory amp. When playing them I tend to have anywhere from 3 to 5 pedals going. There's so much I can do with pedals to really sculpt the tone. I just got a LP Studio with 490 pickups and realized it really doesn't require pedals. I found at most I can run two light ODs and a compressor. Any more than that and it goes from balzy to mud. If I could really crank my amp I don't think I'd even need OD. So I get both sides of the argument. That's the magic of guitar. No matter what you want you can get with the right combination of guitar, pedals and amp and truly Own Your Tone.
The first time I watched one of your vids where you explain underdriving it was truly a revelation. And again, you've clearly illustrated what can be done (or un-done :) ). Brilliant! Also helps to get us out of our ruts from time to time.
Good stuff. Dan ... I use an under drive but I find it works best as follows- Amp at gigging level with first boost pedal giving awesome tone and guitar volume on 7. Turn guitar up for a solo and it takes heads off in the front row. Kick in second boost pedal very slightly under driven but with a different eq and a hint more drive and turn guitar up to 9 or 10. Result controllable solo with more harmonics kicking through the mix better.
For underdrive, there’s also the Mad Professor Orange Underdrive (no specific reference to Orange amps intended, it’s not an amp in a box pedal). It allows you to drop output and there’s a 3 band eq. It works great - you really can get Fendery cleans out of a cranked Marshall. I have it and love it, but I’m not 100% sold on the technique in all applications - sometimes it sounds just as good if I just turn down my guitar volume.
EQ pedals are seriously underrated. I have one in my effects loop and don't even use it often, but it's always there if it's needed, usually to cope with a difficult room. Set flat, they make great volume boosts if you don't want to use your overdrives for that. Great episode, guys.
Per usual, that was a great episode. And personally, I love the Collings and Butters, so their extended screen time gets a massive 👍’s from me. All my love, just got the shirt you’re wearing (Mick) in the mail Wednesday (along with another). Hope all is well.
OK you guys are incredimanazing. The timing of this video is perfect, because it was just what I needed to find a "lost tone" I had but didn't know where it went. I have a Vox ac ac4TV / 2016-era white version I picked up for cheap a few months ago. The day I got it, it made this incredible sound, like an EL84 crying out in pain and melting all over the floor (it sounded awesome, in case that's not clear.) I had it dialed in for about an hour and then did something and lost it. It still sounded good and could do all kinds of clean to crunch tones, but not what I wanted. Watching this video sparked a realization of how this little amp sounded so great, and within about 10 minutes of fiddling I a) had it back and b) now know how it got there so I know I won't lose it again. I used your other trick of using a pedal as an input attenuator and got he Vox up to the point that it wouldn't go louder (but was still apartment volume), then I could get into and out of the saturated sound with the volume on my les paul. I think the key to getting to do this is a 12ax7 boost pedal (the Flat 4 from Vox' tone garage series) with its gain up at about 7, that has just the right EQ profile to make this amp do that. (The Flat 4 has been completely underwhelming otherwise). Thanks! Now that my arms are tired I'll watch the rest of the vid.
My Daughter bought me a boss EQ 200 it's awesome you can make your own presets. I normally don't use a lot of gain I use a boss BD2 set at ten o'clock which is ideal for me personally . Great show again .
I've built a buffer (input and output at the end of the chain) for my pedalboard for less than 60 pounds and it makes a HUGE difference. Sound is suddenly clearer and brighter. Awesome tone investment.
This is fascinating to me, not because I don't like pedals, but because I'm just barely learning what they do. I've only played guitar for a couple years, and I'm playing mostly open chords, and whenever I have much distortion (I've got a digital multi-effect pedal that I've borrowed, and a TC Electronics MojoMojo) it gets muddy very quickly. I like the kind of tones that are right on the edge of fuzz, just a little bit of dirt rubbed on it. It also makes a big difference that I have small kids, and I really can't ever crank my amp, so I use the pedals to kind of imitate that sound, but at a Living Room volume. Neat stuff!
First off, happy belated birthday Dan! My birthday is today, so this was a great way to start off my day! Some fantastic tones today. Mick, that Collings is just magic every time you play it. It sounded phenomenal today. Cheers.
Really fascinating stuff, gents. The way you can shape the specific frequencies that you boost with the eq pedal, that's brilliant, never thought of that.
I forgot the point of this episode when there was a couple of minutes of playing that Marshall at 100 dB without pedals. I just sipped my coffee, closed my eyes and enjoyed the tones. The EQ giving a nice helping hand to the Marshall though, just bringing out new colors that are the same goodness, but even nicer. Hey, happy to see the Ironman step in a couple of times lately! Loved the introduction at NAMM when Mick was working for Anderton's. But the fact still remains that the loudness feels good and attenuation takes a bit of that away. Especially when the amp is not really distorting that hard and the experience comes from the amp just breathing loud. Even though it makes it more usable. The boost was very necessary attenuated in my opinion, the lower volume made it sound weak when it wasn't that distorted. Some [amps] are gonna love a bit more push in their bottom end.
Thanks for this and your other episodes. You really help us all find the tone we are looking for and save us a bunch of money. I would add a couple things. A treble bleed circuit will allow you to keep the high end when you turn the guitar volume down and, for those of us where the edge of break up is our high gain tone, it’s ok to have the level of distortion lessen with volume roll off much like the tone at the very beginning of the video. Cheers from across the pond.
Guys best comment about the show yesterday. I gave Rob Fetters one of your Fuzz shirts because he has been using mine a bunch in his videos. He saw the TPS sticker in the bag and said: "Man I love those guys they are so happy and motivated in their videos. Been loving watching them over the last year." As a drummer all my life and only doing guitar since I started making amps, my feeling is that I misunderstood pedals, sequence and other things that I have learned since covid and now I feel good about my choices and setup. Mick does this mean you are on board with the buffer show :) ?
I love pedals, but I really needed this episode! I've recently bought a Marshall Origin 20, and I struggle to get a solo boost from it as there's no headroom in the master (very different to my usual Fender Blues Deluxe). All I needed from you guys was a reminder of the idea of taking away! I can stick a volume pot in the effects loop to switch in a volume DIP, and just run the master flat out. Great episode as ever!
I hate pedals... ..because I don't know what to do with them.. ..so I watch That Pedal Show :D Honestly, I've been binge watching TPS and I learned so much in just a week. It revamped my interest in learning how to play the guitar. Bought my first guitar (acoustic dreadnaught) about 15 years ago, but never got far (life threw lemons by the truckload at me back then). Recently I was gifted a Strat clone by my neighbor, so I wanted to gain some knowledge about electric guitars. That's when I found this channel, and realized how little I knew and smacked myself for giving up on learning how to play. I'm 45 now, so I have some catching up to do.. ;) My skill level is far from even thinking about using pedals, but the knowledge you guys share is clean and without distortion. You are my 'drive pedal'!
My colleague is arguing for me for a big bonus at the end of the next financial year because of a piece of work that we are doing together. I think I'm going to use that money to order myself a Collings - 1 to commemorate that piece of work that I'm so passionate about and 2 because it's just... so beautiful and I love hearing Mick play it.
So, I love guitars so let's say I'm a tiny bit biased, but treating yourself with a nice one seems like such a good decision compared to what many people spend their money on (cars, electronic equipment, etc.), for which resale value drops like a rock. And by the way I'm not a guitar collector, I have one electric (an American pro I Strat with Am Original pickups), 1 Norman Acoustic and 1 classical guitar. Go for it! ;)
I mostly play straight in to my amp. I do have a pedalboard and play with it sometimes to find new ind interesting sounds. I don’t understand the hate pedals thing. One can use them or not use them. Listen to others who use them or don’t. It’s all just a bunch of stuff to get a sound or feeling that works for you. I’m just glad it’s all here for us to play/create with.
This is great stuff that I haven't seen covered elsewhere; great job! I can say I've never been a great fan of effects when used as an effect, or rather only rarely, when used for just the right effect, like the Leslie in Cream's "Badge". For me, the meat and taters is what happens with a guitar, an amp and a room, but nothing here really goes beyond that. We're manipulating gain, level, headroom, EQ and eventually reflections, but these are all things that occur naturally, without the need/presence of a pedal. After all, as Maestro Jimmy Page tells us, 'distance makes depth'; mic distance is the first 'effect'. I got a lot of mileage from 'early reflections', even before it was a preset in the Alesis MidiVerb IV. Strictly speaking, echoes, tremolo and wah can also be reproduced without external electronic devices, but they read as effects, and particularly so, once modulation is introduced. Until convolution came along, good, short room reverbs were hard to produce digitally, but imo, they're absolutely key to getting great electric guitar sounds, especially when working 'in the box'.
So educational; thank you for what you do. There is one consequence of pedals that could be mentioned. Every pedal and every cable added, does something to the signal reaching the amp. Once in a while I play through a pedal or two, or three, and then just unplug the cable going into the last pedal in the chain and plug it straight into the guitar. It's only then that you can hear the extra frequencies and detail that is being lost (even though subtle) by putting pedals and the necessary extra cabling, in the path of the guitar and the amp. One pedal doesn't seem as bad, but once it's more than two or three, it just changes and loses something. I have found this to be true of even buffered pedals. The compromise can be mitigated somewhat, but I've never been able to get the same sound. I've even tried the same cable lengths for a pedals/no pedals comparison. It's just a bit of a compromise I guess. I'd be interested to see a video where you address this. For anyone interested, compare the sound of a cable going straight into the amp with the cable going through the pedals (with them off) at unity volume. Listen carefully; It can be pretty eye-opening. Thanks guys...
You must be new Robert, welcome! Yes indeed. ‘Tone suck’ is a massive deal in our world, and it’s why Dan started his company, TheGigRig, and why he builds the stuff he builds. Cheers!
@@ThatPedalShow Thank you for the reply~ sounds like you've covered that subject (well) before, lol. I have seen a few of your vids in the past and am blown away over how many episodes you have now. I am fascinated by the knowledge both of you have; encyclopedic really. It also seems like you have great fun, and love what you do which makes it a real pleasure to watch. :) Keep on keeping on...
Great show guys, as usual! :) This one hit home particularly as I too prefer to get (most of) my sound from the amps and then use minimal pedals to address some of the issues that you dealt with here. Many thanks :)
My JTM45 is my pedal platform, and chosen with deliberation as such. I never used that many pedals though, and occasionally only a couple if that was all I needed for a particular situation. Minimal, though, and usually just drive, boost and delay - done. Simple needs, really. An EQ seems a good idea, mostly to shape the tone for a particular room, and I gave a hankering for something like a vibe, although I've never used one - strange, that. Enjoying that Collings 290 again - lovely sound, pretty guitar. Apparently, they're about 3 1/2 grand, ouch. My desire for one has quickly assumed near carnallity so I sure hope my ship comes in before I burst.
You guys are great! You should do a series of amp exploration: each episode take an amp and dig deep into it as for what it can do and what type of guitars and effects go well. It will be most useful as a reference 👍. Thanks!
This may be VCQ fodder, but on the EQ pedal topic - if spike the high frequencies and volume and click it on, am I "Treble Boosting" in a Rangemaster sense, or am I just "Boosting Treble"?
Thanks Dan & Mick - I bought the JHS 3 Series reverb based on your video (and previous videos featuring reverb). I use a Strymon Iridium into studio monitors which sounds dry even with a little analog delay (I sold an AC15 which had spring reverb as it was too loud for my tiny practice room). I now find that I prefer room (or hall) reverb to spring, particularly for recording. I was thinking about getting a J Rockett Boing, Catalinbread Topanga or MXR M300, but find that the simple JHS can do everything from slapback and room to spacey hall. Thanks again! Sav.
![Six Secrets Of Sustain For Electric Guitar [And Quite A Bit On Feedback Too] - That Pedal Show](/img/1.gif)
Back around 2003, I did a handful of gigs with Little Milton. He looked at my modest board (drive, trem, chorus, delay, wah) and said "I don't know why you need all of them "giggle boxes"." He was traveling without his amp (normally an Acoustic) and I provided him with an old twin. One night, the sound check consisted of him handing me his '64 ES345 and saying "go plug this in". In the first seconds of hearing (and feeling) that guitar thru a cranked twin, I saw what he meant - that was all he needed. I continued to use my board though, and still "giggle" at his disdain.
Giggle Boxes! Absolutely hilarious. I may have to steal that for when a friend overuses his damn ring mod pedal, very inappropriately, and makes us all laugh our tails off. Thanks!
I don't think I've ever watched this show that I didn't learn something new. I've been playing for decades, and there's just so much nuanced information, it's hard to know all there is to know. And information, like this in particular, is the stuff nobody wants to bother to share because it's not dramatic or sexy. But it's so necessary and fundamental to shaping your sound and getting the tones and performance that inspires you to play better. We're very fortunate to have you guys here to lift the veil from our eyes.
Thank you Dave, that’s great to hear!
I always enjoy what you guys do. It's like the audio equivalent of watching wine tasters but without the pretention. I'm never going to buy 99.9% of the stuff you demo but I still enjoy what you're doing. You're both champions.
Thanks Simon, especially for the sans pretention bit. Lots of people think we are the worst kind of cork sniffers. I say they don't know their corks. ahaha! Mick here.
@@ThatPedalShow They need more.... TONE CORK. (you had to know that was coming)
I wish Mick would play the Collings more…But if he did it wouldn’t be so special when he does. You have a point.
I don’t like the Collings, reminds me of the one I sold. Tried to buy it back a few years later, without luck. Open wound!
Even for someone like myself who loves messing around with pedals, this episode as always is still full of so much useful information.
Must say the amount of free education you guys have give me at this point is immeasurable.
Totally agree, it would have been so useful to see this episode before all of the other ones.
I remember Paul Gilbert used to have a signature pedal called the Detox EQ. He used that to cut the overdrive coming from his Marshalls, thereby giving him a clean sound. He now does the reverse and uses a clean amp and uses pedals to get overdrive. It shows that there is a lot of flexibility in getting the tone in our heads.
Great! I think this should be on the "essential videos list" for any guitarist, especially someone starting out. You should have a "watch this first" or whatever section in your channel: this one, the "how loud is loud and why does it matter" video and "12 ways to use your guitar volume". If people get those things first they have a great starting point.
In my current band situation, I'm using a Fender Tweed Deluxe clone (that I attenuate to keep at reasonable volumes!) set to a little bit "over breakup" that I then completely control with my guitar volume. I have overdrives but only use them for specific stuff. But I still have an EQ and a buffer! And a treble bleed on my guitar.
This intro from Mick is pure gold, how many sounds you can get with just a simple volume/eq addition to your signal! Congrats guys!
I'm 55, just getting back into guitar, and this series has really been helping me. The work on this episode is so appreciated, as I have exactly that mindset from when I was a teenager - I could get nice distortion from my guitar and amp (a Peavey Classic I still have - is it worth reconditioning?), so why do I need pedals? I could have really used this info forty years ago from a guitar teacher. So enlightening. Thanks from the Santa Cruz Mountains in California. - Dave
I was so excited to see this episode! I fall into the "too confused to use pedals" camp. Too many knobs and I get overwhelmed. So I just cut out the middle man between guitar and amp. And to answer your question Dan, I watch because your shows generally cover concepts and are always fun and have great info. And of course, for the awesome, witty banter between Mick and Dan.
But I find myself running into a lot of the problems you address in this video! So helpful and we'll explained. Thanks so much!
Chers Rick, thanks for that!
Time begets experience experience begets wisdom wisdom eradicates confusion. Don't worry it'll come. Just keep playing.
It only takes a few knobs to trigger my "Curly" reflex. Moe shows up and says "Why don't you get a toupee with some brains in it"?
Always love your shows! I was a “straight in” guy, and ignorant of how to work the guitar volume/tone well. Then I figured out Fuzz a bit, and modulation.
Your show has opened doors of tone for me, AND how to get there. Dissecting the “how” of certain sounds is really useful…maybe an idea for a show?
‘That Show.’
That’s the one they can watch.
Just saying.
Hahahahaha!
Dan’s blonde Tele when Mick cranked up the Marshall around 39:58, such a great tone!
The discussion of gain staging lead me to realize what I love about my rig. It's a so-called "wet/dry" rig (I prefer "split fx"). My "wet" amp is set fairly gainy, while the "dry" is much cleaner. Everything goes into the front, so my solo boost (JHS Haunting Mids) makes the "dry" louder and the "wet" crunchier. That combo really cuts, the delay and reverb really come to life when boosted!
I haven't gotten into the pedal part yet and I'm obsessed enough with pedals, but that Jr on 10 straight into the Marshall is glorious!
I'm not in the 'No pedals' clan, but you guys get the best tones IMHO when you go straight into the amp when it comes to Marshally rhythm tones. I find the difficulty is with higher gain tones, there doesn't seem to be non-tube preamp distortion pedal that gets close to an amp and I think that is where a good proportion of the 'no pedals' clan may be coming from that place. The EQ option is great , I used to play metal with a marshall and EQ 'frown' in the lower mids gave an extra bit of distortion and make the pinch harmonics pop out!
Back again 😁 I found the information in this video exactly what I needed to inspire me to try something different to enhance "My Tone" guitar direct into my amp (either Marshall or Engl). The Engl has 4-channels with two independent sets of controls, but my Marshall is a single channel...
Already using a Source Audio EQ2 in front of my Marshall.
Based on the information in this video on underdrive, I plan to try my Source Audio UltraWave for underdrive.
Guitar --> EQ2 --> UltraWave --> Marshall.
UltraWave has 37 band splitting options, 45 distortion types that can be applied to each band; optional tremolo / phase offset that can be applied to each band; Mix to recombine the bands; 8 band EQ with high pass and low pass filters; and a final EQ using the pedal knobs. If you're into dirt, it's worth a look IMO.
Cheers!
I don't use pedals or effects and I plug directly to my tube amp and my volume knob is literally the only thing mess with during a performance.
But I still watch and enjoy all your videos.
😊👍
Great episode! Mentioned attenuator off and more headroom, it should be the exact same headroom from the amp and maybe less headroom from the speakers getting closer to their limit. Because it's louder, it just feels like more headroom. And note how differently the players want to play depending on that volume. Point 2, in a live band or mix situation, just hi-passing the signal more can dramatically make it sound louder because it's starting to to find it's own space away from bass and drums. Try that next time you mix something, get the lead vocal not quite there, then gradually hi pass and watch the vocals start to pop out of the mix. Same idea.
Beginning P90 guitar sounded fantastic, and Dan playing the LP with the MXR was a fantastic sound. Buffer and guitar volume down and retaining some highs was a great tip too. This was a really good and well thought out episode, and can't say enough about the tones you got. Cheers!
Jeebus Cripes, Mick! That intro! My Special is in for warranty repair and you bringing on such P-90 tones is just killing me. Good God, man. ❤️ The MXR is a lovely thing. What the world needs is Chase Bliss to build a similar beast with a bunch of storable presets. That would let you switch between Strat, Tele, Special and humbucker beastie with one EQ gain/boost pedal that can easily do the Full Monty. All those automated sliders and only 700 quid!
I’m not a huge fan of using a lot of effects and pedals, but I love your show!!! I watch every episode and I love watching other guitar players use pedals!
Take it you are not a tap dancer then. 🤣. Tbf that mindset is like me and gibson les pauls. Love watching other ppl play them, love the sound of them. I just cant stand playing them myself. Too heavy, controls always out of easy reach. Don't like the neck profile. And i dont like that freaking G string. 🤣🤣🤣
Love the video! It’s important to remember that it takes much more energy/power to reproduce low frequencies. Which is why bass amps that are 500-800 watts are as loud as 50 watt guitar amps. And that’s also why cutting the bass frequencies with an EQ pedal is such a good way to boost a dirty amp. The amplifier doesn’t have to use as much power reproducing the lows so it has more power to push the mids and highs louder.
You guys provide such an important resource for me and the entire community of guitarists and other musicians. I watch every episode and always learn something or reconsider something I thought I knew. I can’t thank you enough. Be happy and be well.
Ah, cheers bud 🤓🙏
I played mid range Fenders for years with lots of pedals. I went to a Mesa Boogie Fillmore 25 and realize I wasted a lot of time trying to make a decent amp sound great. This video is for me now. I’m now using Tube Screamers with gain at 0 and volume at 6 to boost for solos. Digging the use of EQ and reverb for boost! Best vid ever!!!
one great amp with 3 pedals > 1 decent amp with 10 pedals
This was great. I've only been playing electric for about two years, and it's always helpful when you guys dive into the details of gain stacking and eq a bit.
On another note, I wonder if you've ever thought about cutting a shot of the db meter into the pedal cam. I have no idea how much of a pain that would be, but it would be helpful in an episode like this one. Like when you were attenuating between 10,7, and 4 db and turning the eq or boost on and off, we can't really hear the volume changes you're hearing in the room but can get a sense of reference from the meter. Certainly not meant as a criticism, just a thought.
Love you guys and all you do, be well.
Mick, I was just listening to the intro playing and as soon as I heard you digging in to some single line licks, I knew it had to be the Collings. That Jr. just has a perfect voice for rock!
I'm all in for pedals but still found this very helpful. Just that bit about recapturing some of my tone when rolling off the Strat volume was worth the price of admission. Cheers!
Treble bleed might do it for ya.
Something I do quite a lot and I play metal a lot of the time but I still want to be able to clean up my amp and preserve my tone....
Treble bleed definitely helped with that.
Cheap and easy to do as well....
....and... if you dont like it, easy to remove
Probably your best video yet. Very informative and interesting. Wish I could’ve learned all of this 30 years ago
Great video! I wouldn’t say I hate pedals as I have quite a few, but don’t seem to bond with them and am typically an amp with a little reverb kind of guy. This video will help me use the pedals I have more effectively (boost, overdrive, reverb) and highlights one I probably should have - an EQ. I really like the analogy of filling the glass with water to explain signal saturation and why things get muddy with too much signal. I wish I understood that years ago!
I use a $40 mosky spring reverb (malekko clone) at minimal settings just to 'open up' the tone of the small combos that I drive near their peaks. It works wonderfully. Timmy circuit as under- Drive in my band rig works best for me. 👍
I have to play with some reverb at very minimal settings. Not enough to make the tone "wet" but perhaps "moist" if you will lol. Just a drop, always on. ✌
Mosky spring reverb is great value for money. And cool little pedal. I have it little bit above the minimal.
I've been using a Sunface w dip switches set so it's more roll off tone than fuzz out tones Great rythmm tone w Xotic Super Clean boost for the bump and touch of echo plex
as a primarily acoustic player who knows next to nothing about pedals this video is so helpful in gaining more understanding. That show about acoustic pedals was awesome too. Thank you.
You’re most welcome 🙏
that collings always sounds fantastic. it's what inspired me to get a p90 guitar - except I'm not on collings money so I got a yamaha revstar to do the job
Awesome Matt, hope it's bringing you plenty of inspiration. I actually think Dan's 61 Junior is the best sounding electric guitar any of us owns!
Revstars are great!
The late Melvyn Hiscock used to refer to the P90 as “God’s own pickup.” I picked up a PRS SE One for a song; it’s still one of my favourite guitars.
@@rossedwards73 - As we heard in this video.....P-90's and a Plexi are a lethal combo. Many famous guitarists love P90's....they just don't love the noise.
This is how I run my amp as well…and this is why I usually carry two to four guitars to gigs-> because they make a massive difference in sound and volume! In the same amp Settings my Les Paul is everything from Crunch to Lead while my Firebird is still clean and sparkly!!! Such a great Episode, guys!!!
Years ago I saw BB king and Albert King in smaller venues using solid state amps with no pedals. Their tone was monstrous and their playing unmatched. I was heavily influenced by seeing both these legends. I played in Blues clubs and have spent much time in recording sessions. My best recordings always were the use of a small combo using only reverb from the board and volume dimed but rolled back on my Strat.(there is an example of that on RUclips, Sessions at Bakerstreet (Infatuation)although I played a Jazzmaster with Dave Vidal pups)..Much respect for both of you for your great show and awesome playing....Simon Jarrett is a local hero here in Vancouver who not only makes pedals but uses them and has tone and technique in massive abundance.(Love that you feature him)..so the argument for or against pedals is kind of mute.I think it is just the player and what he/she hears in their own head and feels in the fingers!
I've played direct in a bunch of times and I always liked the tone but its just so... limiting, ugh. I can have my fun with it but I can't imagine gigging and making music with just one gain stage, no fuzz, no spacey delays and modulation. The thing about effects is thay you can always turn them off, you can't magically make them happen with your fingers. That's why I think people who avoid pedals ate missing out.
A single keeley Dark Side is singlehandedly replacing every pedalbon my board and I’ve essentially gone from 13 pedals way down to about 5; Dark Side with Old Blood Procession in its V1 loop, a delay, and a wah, all wired through a parralel blender for boosts, doubling my signal and controlling volume output. It’s very simple while still letting me be a madman with psychedelic effects
Likewise :) I'm down to 5 plus a Dark Side.
Great video as always! I'm in the 'no pedals' camp for most of my bands, save for one where I play direct with lots of effects and double on synths...
When not using pedals, I play an Esquire straight into a dimed Carr Rambler. I play with the guitar volume and tone rolled back a bit 90% of the time and adjust my sound to the room with that setting. From there, when the guitar is flat out, I get the extra bit of volume, gain, and cut that I need for solos but I only use the guitar flat out for the loudest part(s) of the set. What you get is an infinite gradation of clean to dirty rather than stepped values but you have to have the self control to know when to open up the guitar. Having the right amp, the right amount of power, and a guitar that cleans up well is crucial.
I find that an amp like the Rambler with great spring reverb and tremolo makes 'no pedals' easier because at least I still have a bit of space and movement. And man, does that reverb and bias tremolo sound great when the power section is overdriving...
Cheers guys! Despite only using pedals some of the time, I love this channel and y'all have been a wealth of information over the years.
Fascinating- really love these episodes where you step us through such important fundamentals. I’m going to spend a lot of time experimenting and following along.
This was really genius and very instructive! I need to play around with this... which means I need to buy the utterly un-sexy and blandly utilitarian pedal... a graphic EQ! Probably the secret weapon of all great guitarists. I do like that you at least used one that has lots of great led lights! Well done!
You hit the proverbial nail in the first few minutes. In order to use an amp and guitar in an intuitive and holistic way you need to operate the knobs. But manufacturers seem intent on building guitars that go muddy as soon as the volume control is not on maximum. Is this to perpetuate the sale of pedals? Leave volume on 10, set your clean sound and any other tone requires a stomp on a pedal?
OR ; fix the guitar so the volume acts as a volume and not a tone, then one is able to use it as intended and obtain lots of different sounds by using the volume control and separate tone control. Yes it get quieter as it cleans up for rhythm sounds but surely that’s what you want, no? Even Mr pedal manufacturer himself says in one of his videos, “The best overdrive sound you can get is from an amp!” Or something very close to that quote.
Each to their own.
Nice use of the EQ pedal.
Bonamassa and Clapton may be in the minority but there is something magical about guitar - cable - amp and nothing else.
It’s great to keep it simple if that serves your needs. As you say, something wonderful about it. Couple of issues for today’s players - 1) It HAS to be loud. There’s no attenuation or direct application of this approach. It’s all about volume and the dynamic it creates. 2) Some people just want more variety. Otherwise we entirely agree. My only problem - Mick here - is that I’d want two or three different amps to get the variety of OD tones: a Marshall, a Fender and a Dumble. Just like Eric and Joe in fact…
Thank you gents for another wonderful deep dive. I'd like to say though, just be careful when stating that "it's the reason we don't like attenuators....once you limit the amp with an attenuator, anything you do after that just gets squashier” because while it might be true for some attenuators, not all attenuators work the same way (for example, the Fryette Powerstation has a 'constant load', as does the Boss Waza TAE, so the audible effects of 'limiting increasing as attenuation is increasing' is not an issue with those units). And to say “attenuators remove all the dynamic range” is just patently untrue. Moderate attenuation keeps the dynamic range of the amp intact… only really heavy attenuation (-10db or more) impacts dynamic range, and only by a little bit if you you measure it empirically and scientifically. (Always keep in mind that the human ears are WAY more sensitive to dynamics at louder volumes).
Also worth noting is that the 'limiting artifacts' from the Ironman are not linear - in your examples there is no additional limiting from the Ironman when switching between '0' to '-4'. Only when you load it down to '-10' is there an additional -0.5db of limiting, which validates the approach of only using as little attenuation as possible on that style unit, for the most transparent overall volume reduction.
Plus, Dan plays completely different riffs and with a different touch on each setting, so that muddies the waters also.
Thanks again guys.. great vid!
Epic episode. I love both my amp's tone on clean and dirty channel. I use pedals to take me to places in between where the amp is not capable of taking me. I can go to Florida,California, any Crystal clear river, even London and hang out with the guys from the 60's( with fuzzes)😁 rock your ears with ear candy pedals. Its a long fun journey of discovery. One pedal may sound glorious with one amp and guitar rig and could sound meh in another amp and pedal rig combination.
One has to read the manual, learn from other players videos or experience using a pedal, just listen carefully each pedal has its strengths and frequency pros. Cons are not common, since pedals these days are built so high quality. Avoid noisy pedals or use a noise gate. Pedals rock my world.
Hi Dan and Mick! Cool episode....Not sure if this is already in the comments, but another method to enable boosting/volume variations and ultimately increase dynamic range, is to take a line out from your cranked amp and re-amplify with a second amp. This is just another way to set up a wet/dry rig...amp 1 = main amp for dry, crunchy tones and amp 2 = amp for more volume (when/if needed) + for adding wet effects (when/if needed). If your main amp does not have a line out I'm sure someone must make a simple one in a box. You can put any kind of effects after amps 1's line out for boosting and other effects if required, or just use a volume pedal before the second amp.
This is the best video you’ve ever made. Educational to the extreme. I love the sound of my guitar (‘92 PRS Customer 24 and ‘87 Mesa Boogie Studio 22) and every time I put pedals in the chain it just doesn’t sound the same. So this video educated me and now I will try the various setups you went through.
When I started approaching the electric guitar I realized I didn't know anything. I started listening a lot and got my first effects pedal, a 505 zoom, v2, a digital pedal with more effects. It took me a while to understand it. Then I had a Digitech RP-500 digital processor - which I found very difficult to use. I gave it up and for a few years I switched to the classic, that is, analog effects. But also here, because I am from Romania and we don't have so many music stores in the city and they have a bigger assortment of pedals, the only solution when I want a pedal is to look at you or others who have pedals. The downside sometimes is that after they pedal it, they find that it's not what I expected, or it doesn't sound like I thought. Another problem is with amplifiers. I can't afford an amplifier on lamps and then I took one on transistors: fender champion 100. I like the way it sounds, but it's very powerful for the house. I somehow managed to make it sound slower: -I gave it to the maximum volume, and I gave the pedals almost to the minimum and that's better. My question is, how do I make a nice sound with such an amplifier (I can't use a volume attenuator, only if I change something on the amplifier maybe) and with the existing pedals. The pedals I have are: caline -Compressor, Boss- SD1, Joyo-Tauren, Joyo American, Harly Benton-Chorus, Boss-Delay DD7 and TC electronic-Hall of Fame 2. Thank you very much.
The fender champion 100 is one of the best solid state amp I had. Sold mine and kinda miss it. The idea is using it without pedals man. Just set the amps you like, turn down guitar, turn up amp and dose the amount of gain with the volume of guitar. Then add some color with built in effects.
In my personal opinion, this is the best guitar tone demo I've seen here, I also dug the way you stated your point for those we love amp gain instead of gain pedals.
Very nice job!
Boosts! The only pedal you need combined with a good amp and good guitar.
I'm currently loving the sound of a tumnus -> xvex channel 2 (gain about 9-10 oclock) into small tube amps. The channel two thing does great mosfet grit that sounds natural (to me) and works great with pick/volume dynamics and the tumnus does the klone thing of taming the lows and putting a bite on the top end.
Truth, I didn't know I wanted one until I found one for way below market value and said, hey I can flip that pedal for some cash. I plugged it in to test it and it hasn't left my board since.
1.) ~29:01 Mick's cutaway-look of disgust (?) when Dan "chimes in". Devastating. Hi, Mick!
2.) HBD, Dan!
3.) useful add of graphic (clipping). More!
4.) my fave music channel, hands down--thank you both & all!
5.) My rig board grew out of...my 4w 1961 Gibson Skylark GA-5 into 1x12". One knob (think "Gibson Champ").
Always-on Dyna Comp & Source Audio EQ2 sorted that and ancient orig caps!
Buffered EQD Palisades overdrive & Walrus Slö complete it.
Keep up the valuable & fandam videos, guys--cheers!
Fascinating.
Since finding TPS about 18 months ago I went from no pedals to (number most significantly larger than 0 and constantly growing) pedals, so I’m not necessarily the target audience for this episode (anymore), but I still found these insights really interesting and am eager to try some of them.
PS: I hope Dan feels better, and also HAPPY belated BIRTHDAY!!!
See you ends of legs on Monday!
This is brilliant and as informative as the VCPI episode from nearly 5 years ago 👏🏼 the Reverb episode was fantastic too, you guys are in Dan's words AWESOME
I guess it depends on what you're used to. I cut me teeth on using the amp for roar and the guitar volume to control it. Consequently, the songs we played had the dynamics when I backed off between when I rolled it up full.
Years later, I started using a Marshall 2 channel amp with one side set sort of hot, t'other sort of clean. The "clean" side gets the gain pedals and hey presto! instant extra channels.
Sort version, if it works, it works.
I mean there are some amps that sound amazing without pedals, but they do cost a bit. So it’s normally a cheaper amp and pedals to manipulate the sound that you want to get. It’s always a compromise depending on your situation and application.
Forgot my pedalboard for a gig once and only realised after a 3 hour drive to the venue. Cranked the amp and went straight in for the night and relied on the volume knob and picking dynamics. Loved it.
I still picked up my board for the next gig the following night. People say pedals may be cheating, but they sure are fun.
I am an amp overdrive player who boosts with a boss eq, a univibe/modulation off, and sometimes a little tape saturation from a Stryman Deco. That said, I am always pedal curious and love to hear how different overdrives work. I'm impressed at how the quality and range have gotten awfully close to everything I like about amp gain since I started playing in 89'.
The TC Electronic Nova System boost works on releasing attenuation. It’s a great idea. There’s an EHX pedal that is a volume knob and does the same thing. Nice job on the video.
I am primarily a single coil player with many Strats and Teles of various pickup configurations playing into a Victory amp. When playing them I tend to have anywhere from 3 to 5 pedals going. There's so much I can do with pedals to really sculpt the tone.
I just got a LP Studio with 490 pickups and realized it really doesn't require pedals. I found at most I can run two light ODs and a compressor. Any more than that and it goes from balzy to mud. If I could really crank my amp I don't think I'd even need OD. So I get both sides of the argument.
That's the magic of guitar. No matter what you want you can get with the right combination of guitar, pedals and amp and truly Own Your Tone.
The first time I watched one of your vids where you explain underdriving it was truly a revelation.
And again, you've clearly illustrated what can be done (or un-done :) ).
Brilliant!
Also helps to get us out of our ruts from time to time.
Good stuff. Dan ... I use an under drive but I find it works best as follows- Amp at gigging level with first boost pedal giving awesome tone and guitar volume on 7. Turn guitar up for a solo and it takes heads off in the front row. Kick in second boost pedal very slightly under driven but with a different eq and a hint more drive and turn guitar up to 9 or 10. Result controllable solo with more harmonics kicking through the mix better.
The sounds you achieved to make with only an EQ pedal are marvelous, so straightforward but so effective!
You two are a great team. I hope you keep it going forever.
At the risk of a philosophical excursion, nothing lasts forever. So we stop worrying about that and enjoy this moment. Cheers!
For underdrive, there’s also the Mad Professor Orange Underdrive (no specific reference to Orange amps intended, it’s not an amp in a box pedal). It allows you to drop output and there’s a 3 band eq. It works great - you really can get Fendery cleans out of a cranked Marshall. I have it and love it, but I’m not 100% sold on the technique in all applications - sometimes it sounds just as good if I just turn down my guitar volume.
EQ pedals are seriously underrated. I have one in my effects loop and don't even use it often, but it's always there if it's needed, usually to cope with a difficult room. Set flat, they make great volume boosts if you don't want to use your overdrives for that. Great episode, guys.
"Imagine Mark on the road!" Classic reference from classic clip! Thanks as always 😄
Per usual, that was a great episode. And personally, I love the Collings and Butters, so their extended screen time gets a massive 👍’s from me. All my love, just got the shirt you’re wearing (Mick) in the mail Wednesday (along with another). Hope all is well.
Regarding the blinding LEDs on the MXR: you can actually remove the individual LEDs without opening the pedal.
Great vid, thanks for sharing.
OK you guys are incredimanazing. The timing of this video is perfect, because it was just what I needed to find a "lost tone" I had but didn't know where it went. I have a Vox ac ac4TV / 2016-era white version I picked up for cheap a few months ago. The day I got it, it made this incredible sound, like an EL84 crying out in pain and melting all over the floor (it sounded awesome, in case that's not clear.) I had it dialed in for about an hour and then did something and lost it. It still sounded good and could do all kinds of clean to crunch tones, but not what I wanted.
Watching this video sparked a realization of how this little amp sounded so great, and within about 10 minutes of fiddling I a) had it back and b) now know how it got there so I know I won't lose it again. I used your other trick of using a pedal as an input attenuator and got he Vox up to the point that it wouldn't go louder (but was still apartment volume), then I could get into and out of the saturated sound with the volume on my les paul.
I think the key to getting to do this is a 12ax7 boost pedal (the Flat 4 from Vox' tone garage series) with its gain up at about 7, that has just the right EQ profile to make this amp do that. (The Flat 4 has been completely underwhelming otherwise).
Thanks! Now that my arms are tired I'll watch the rest of the vid.
Out of curiosity what were the amp setttings?
My Daughter bought me a boss EQ 200 it's awesome you can make your own presets. I normally don't use a lot of gain I use a boss BD2 set at ten o'clock which is ideal for me personally . Great show again .
Same. The Boss EQ is great, and quiet.
The grin on Mick's face when Dan answers ""get louder" (13:07) is priceless... like a kid in a candy store.
This episode is a great example of why I love TPS. Thank you for the deep dive.
I've built a buffer (input and output at the end of the chain) for my pedalboard for less than 60 pounds and it makes a HUGE difference. Sound is suddenly clearer and brighter. Awesome tone investment.
This is fascinating to me, not because I don't like pedals, but because I'm just barely learning what they do. I've only played guitar for a couple years, and I'm playing mostly open chords, and whenever I have much distortion (I've got a digital multi-effect pedal that I've borrowed, and a TC Electronics MojoMojo) it gets muddy very quickly. I like the kind of tones that are right on the edge of fuzz, just a little bit of dirt rubbed on it. It also makes a big difference that I have small kids, and I really can't ever crank my amp, so I use the pedals to kind of imitate that sound, but at a Living Room volume. Neat stuff!
First off, happy belated birthday Dan! My birthday is today, so this was a great way to start off my day! Some fantastic tones today. Mick, that Collings is just magic every time you play it. It sounded phenomenal today. Cheers.
Really fascinating stuff, gents. The way you can shape the specific frequencies that you boost with the eq pedal, that's brilliant, never thought of that.
I forgot the point of this episode when there was a couple of minutes of playing that Marshall at 100 dB without pedals. I just sipped my coffee, closed my eyes and enjoyed the tones. The EQ giving a nice helping hand to the Marshall though, just bringing out new colors that are the same goodness, but even nicer.
Hey, happy to see the Ironman step in a couple of times lately! Loved the introduction at NAMM when Mick was working for Anderton's. But the fact still remains that the loudness feels good and attenuation takes a bit of that away. Especially when the amp is not really distorting that hard and the experience comes from the amp just breathing loud. Even though it makes it more usable. The boost was very necessary attenuated in my opinion, the lower volume made it sound weak when it wasn't that distorted.
Some [amps] are gonna love a bit more push in their bottom end.
Thanks for this and your other episodes. You really help us all find the tone we are looking for and save us a bunch of money. I would add a couple things. A treble bleed circuit will allow you to keep the high end when you turn the guitar volume down and, for those of us where the edge of break up is our high gain tone, it’s ok to have the level of distortion lessen with volume roll off much like the tone at the very beginning of the video. Cheers from across the pond.
Love the graphics boys! Great “B roll” to help tell the story.
Guys best comment about the show yesterday. I gave Rob Fetters one of your Fuzz shirts because he has been using mine a bunch in his videos. He saw the TPS sticker in the bag and said: "Man I love those guys they are so happy and motivated in their videos. Been loving watching them over the last year."
As a drummer all my life and only doing guitar since I started making amps, my feeling is that I misunderstood pedals, sequence and other things that I have learned since covid and now I feel good about my choices and setup.
Mick does this mean you are on board with the buffer show :) ?
I love pedals, but I really needed this episode! I've recently bought a Marshall Origin 20, and I struggle to get a solo boost from it as there's no headroom in the master (very different to my usual Fender Blues Deluxe). All I needed from you guys was a reminder of the idea of taking away! I can stick a volume pot in the effects loop to switch in a volume DIP, and just run the master flat out. Great episode as ever!
I hate pedals... ..because I don't know what to do with them..
..so I watch That Pedal Show :D
Honestly, I've been binge watching TPS and I learned so much in just a week. It revamped my interest in learning how to play the guitar.
Bought my first guitar (acoustic dreadnaught) about 15 years ago, but never got far (life threw lemons by the truckload at me back then). Recently I was gifted a Strat clone by my neighbor, so I wanted to gain some knowledge about electric guitars. That's when I found this channel, and realized how little I knew and smacked myself for giving up on learning how to play.
I'm 45 now, so I have some catching up to do.. ;) My skill level is far from even thinking about using pedals, but the knowledge you guys share is clean and without distortion. You are my 'drive pedal'!
Wonderful to have you here Dimitri! Welcome back to the fold and good luck!
My colleague is arguing for me for a big bonus at the end of the next financial year because of a piece of work that we are doing together. I think I'm going to use that money to order myself a Collings - 1 to commemorate that piece of work that I'm so passionate about and 2 because it's just... so beautiful and I love hearing Mick play it.
Good to see people doing well. Get it!
Badass and well earned my guy! Those are the coworkers you really hope for
So, I love guitars so let's say I'm a tiny bit biased, but treating yourself with a nice one seems like such a good decision compared to what many people spend their money on (cars, electronic equipment, etc.), for which resale value drops like a rock. And by the way I'm not a guitar collector, I have one electric (an American pro I Strat with Am Original pickups), 1 Norman Acoustic and 1 classical guitar. Go for it! ;)
Argue for that bonus yourself!
I mostly play straight in to my amp. I do have a pedalboard and play with it sometimes to find new ind interesting sounds. I don’t understand the hate pedals thing. One can use them or not use them. Listen to others who use them or don’t. It’s all just a bunch of stuff to get a sound or feeling that works for you. I’m just glad it’s all here for us to play/create with.
18:14 “They’re gonna love a bit of a push in the bottom end”
Just me? 👀 haha
This is great stuff that I haven't seen covered elsewhere; great job! I can say I've never been a great fan of effects when used as an effect, or rather only rarely, when used for just the right effect, like the Leslie in Cream's "Badge". For me, the meat and taters is what happens with a guitar, an amp and a room, but nothing here really goes beyond that. We're manipulating gain, level, headroom, EQ and eventually reflections, but these are all things that occur naturally, without the need/presence of a pedal. After all, as Maestro Jimmy Page tells us, 'distance makes depth'; mic distance is the first 'effect'. I got a lot of mileage from 'early reflections', even before it was a preset in the Alesis MidiVerb IV. Strictly speaking, echoes, tremolo and wah can also be reproduced without external electronic devices, but they read as effects, and particularly so, once modulation is introduced. Until convolution came along, good, short room reverbs were hard to produce digitally, but imo, they're absolutely key to getting great electric guitar sounds, especially when working 'in the box'.
Damn, some top shelf tones going on in this video. Great stuff as always guys!
So educational; thank you for what you do. There is one consequence of pedals that could be mentioned. Every pedal and every cable added, does something to the signal reaching the amp. Once in a while I play through a pedal or two, or three, and then just unplug the cable going into the last pedal in the chain and plug it straight into the guitar. It's only then that you can hear the extra frequencies and detail that is being lost (even though subtle) by putting pedals and the necessary extra cabling, in the path of the guitar and the amp.
One pedal doesn't seem as bad, but once it's more than two or three, it just changes and loses something. I have found this to be true of even buffered pedals. The compromise can be mitigated somewhat, but I've never been able to get the same sound. I've even tried the same cable lengths for a pedals/no pedals comparison. It's just a bit of a compromise I guess. I'd be interested to see a video where you address this. For anyone interested, compare the sound of a cable going straight into the amp with the cable going through the pedals (with them off) at unity volume. Listen carefully; It can be pretty eye-opening. Thanks guys...
You must be new Robert, welcome! Yes indeed. ‘Tone suck’ is a massive deal in our world, and it’s why Dan started his company, TheGigRig, and why he builds the stuff he builds. Cheers!
@@ThatPedalShow Thank you for the reply~ sounds like you've covered that subject (well) before, lol. I have seen a few of your vids in the past and am blown away over how many episodes you have now. I am fascinated by the knowledge both of you have; encyclopedic really. It also seems like you have great fun, and love what you do which makes it a real pleasure to watch. :) Keep on keeping on...
Brilliant concepts here! Even for us folks who always use pedals! Lots of stuff in this I would have never thought to use before. This is great!
Incredible discussion. You guys are dripping with knowledge about amps and pedals and guitars. What a lovely job you have!
this was so incredibly helpful. currently working this out.
Great show guys, as usual! :) This one hit home particularly as I too prefer to get (most of) my sound from the amps and then use minimal pedals to address some of the issues that you dealt with here. Many thanks :)
My JTM45 is my pedal platform, and chosen with deliberation as such. I never used that many pedals though, and occasionally only a couple if that was all I needed for a particular situation. Minimal, though, and usually just drive, boost and delay - done. Simple needs, really. An EQ seems a good idea, mostly to shape the tone for a particular room, and I gave a hankering for something like a vibe, although I've never used one - strange, that.
Enjoying that Collings 290 again - lovely sound, pretty guitar. Apparently, they're about 3 1/2 grand, ouch. My desire for one has quickly assumed near carnallity so I sure hope my ship comes in before I burst.
You guys are great! You should do a series of amp exploration: each episode take an amp and dig deep into it as for what it can do and what type of guitars and effects go well. It will be most useful as a reference 👍. Thanks!
Happy Friday guys! Very cool idea for an episode. Many creativity points and sunshine stickers for you both 😊
This sounds like the episode for me. I'll look forward to watching with a beer in the sun later.
I turn the amp to lead volume, then turn on the graphic and turn the graphic down rhythm volume. Just then turn off the graphic for solo volume
Good way to use that So almost like an underdrive
What a great video Guys I always learn something new when you guys do these videos.
Good one! I used to sneak over to my amp and reduce the attenuation for solos, great idea to be able to do it remotely!
This may be VCQ fodder, but on the EQ pedal topic - if spike the high frequencies and volume and click it on, am I "Treble Boosting" in a Rangemaster sense, or am I just "Boosting Treble"?
Just wanted to say that I'll watch this after I get off of work. Cheers from the USA
That collings and the Marshall is a killer combo regardless of the pedals in between!
Yeah baby!
Thanks Dan & Mick - I bought the JHS 3 Series reverb based on your video (and previous videos featuring reverb).
I use a Strymon Iridium into studio monitors which sounds dry even with a little analog delay (I sold an AC15 which had spring reverb as it was too loud for my tiny practice room).
I now find that I prefer room (or hall) reverb to spring, particularly for recording.
I was thinking about getting a J Rockett Boing, Catalinbread Topanga or MXR M300, but find that the simple JHS can do everything from slapback and room to spacey hall.
Thanks again! Sav.