Okay, I have been playing a year so far and am still having ton's of fun. So far so good. I have been playing electric a bit more recently (okay, a lot more) and have encountered some questions and issues. I would appreciate any comments any of you guru's would like to offer:
- I have a MIM Fender Fat Strat that's pretty much stock. I love the cleans but the stock humbucker is junky to say the least. I was wondering if I should make the following modifications to it:
Replace the Neck Single-coil with a Texas Special (a buddy has one laying around)
Replace the Middle with a SD Hotrail (bucker in a Single space)
Replace the Bridge with a good bucker.
This would (theoretically) allow me to maintain nice clean tones with the neck coil but also give me some better crunch by having a twin-bucker sound option.
- My fender hot rod deluxe is just awesome. Creamy tones, blows everything else I have tried away. The downside is that it doesn't do heavy tones very well. If any of you HRD owners out there know of a pedal that does "crunch" well with this amp, please let me know.
- Speaking of pedals: I have heard that leaving your pedals plugged in will drain the batteries even if the stomp switch is "off" Does anyone know if you have to unplug both the input AND the output to not drain them? Or just one side?
- Do those AC adapter jobs really make noise on your pedals? I have heard that they can.
Now to the comment portion of my post. These are just comments that I think could help folks in the future:
1) Tube amps just sound better. Period. I know this is obvious to most but in case someone needs more affirmation
2) That Line 6 spider II has an "insane" mode that is pretty hard to beat. A lot of my "metal tone" issues come from tone-chasing that damn amp. That amp generally blows but it makes an awesome heavy sound. We have a buddy who has a modified marshall tube amp and has spend 5 years and $5,000 trying to get a similar tone. If you want a heavy sound and don't want to spend a lot, buy one of them thangs.
3) PODxt's are gimicky junk. If you want to play space age, effect laden crazyness, get one. If you want to record with one, get one. But if you really want that "like butta" sound, pass on it. I bought one thinking I would get 8 pedals in one and be able to plug it into my HRD and get the above mentioned line 6 spider insane tone. WRONG all all counts. Plug it into a SS amp 'cause it just sucks the life out of my tube amp. Don't get me wrong, I am gonna keep it. When I feel like playing a U2 song or something "spacey" sounding, its the bomb.
So in summary, It appears I have heading down the path that many others have already wandered. Lessons learned: There is no shortcut to great tone. Trial and error, no "easy solutions". Big pain in the ass pedal board. patience. a truckload of 9v batteries. expensive tube gear.
But holy cow, the difference is HUGE.
Thanks for letting me ramble and I appreciate any comments, questions, replies, rants, etc.
Phinnin
Pretty interesting post.
I have a DiMarzio HB in the bridge position on my 91' Strat. I bought my guitar used and am not sure of the exact model pickup. But it is awesome with distortion, just perfect. I really love it. So consider DiMarzio. At the neck I have a Seymour Duncan, I am not too crazy about it. A little flabby sounding to my ears. Sounds pretty clean though. And in the middle a stock single coil which I do like. It has a nice bite and edge to it.
I dunno, I think I would prefer mine with a single coil at the neck, but I really don't mess with my guitars. I don't mind a little hum from single coils, I like the clarity they have.
But that's me and means nothing. :D
I run a Zoom GFX-1 into my HRD and get great distortions. I really prefer Zoom distortions to all others. The GFX-1 has a wide selection of distortion models, Marshall, Peavey, Vox, American Blues, Overdrive, Fuzz, Metal, Lead, .... they all can be easily tweaked to sound good to my ears. For $100 this is a darn good multi-efx pedal. Add a good EQ pedal and you can really get some pretty awesome tones.
But again, that's me.
Everybody argues about tube versus solid state all the times. Each has advantages and disadvantages, there is no right or wrong with either type of amp.
And everybody has different tastes. Some people probably love the PODXTLive, some hate it. To each his or her own.
I have been very interested in some of these modeling pedals lately. I just want to try them out. I might try the Behringer V Amp 2. I listened to one about 2 weeks ago, not too bad.
I've got a bag full of pedals that I've tried over the years. Sometimes I dig one out and try it again. If this V Amp 2 doesn't do it for me, it will join the others in the bag. But I never throw a pedal out. It may sound much better 5 years from now. :D
Half the fun is trying all this stuff out.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Wes,
Your points are all good ones. And you are right that all of this is subjective and there may be folks who prefer SS to tube sound. There are others who love the POD more then thier spouses I am sure. Hell, I like the POD. Its a great tool for a specific purpose. BUT, having said all of that; I think many people will understand what I mean when I say I think tubes just sound better. So all my questions and comments are based from being in that camp.
I have noticed that individual pedals preserve that "tube" sound better then the POD. So I think, for now, I will continue to head that way.
Any input on the AC adapter thing? Should I buy one or stick with batteries?
On the pickup thing: I will definitely consider DiMarzio. I wasn't set on SD, was just using them for an example. I was just wondering if I could get a 2 bucker + Single Coil option to work well.
I would appreciate any comments any of you guru's would like to offerI'm not a guru, I just have an opinion on lotsa things. :wink:
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This would (theoretically) allow me to maintain nice clean tones with the neck coil but also give me some better crunch by having a twin-bucker sound option.As Tom Petty would say, "The sky (is) the limit." If you put new humbuckers in it, you could also add some switching options to each 'bucker while you've got it "unwired.". There are a bunch of ideas for mods at this site: http://www.guitarnuts.com/index.php .
- Speaking of pedals: I have heard that leaving your pedals plugged in will drain the batteries even if the stomp switch is "off" Does anyone know if you have to unplug both the input AND the output to not drain them? Or just one side?Generally the input side. Many pedals have a stereo jack, wired as a switch, for an input.
- Do those AC adapter jobs really make noise on your pedals? I have heard that they can. Some might, but I've had good results with the Visual Sound "1 Spot." No hum, and it doesn't occupy more than one outlet. With the extension cable(s), you can power more than one effect, too. http://www.visualsound.net/pa.htm
Danelectro calls their DA-1 adapter the "Zero Humâ„¢," and those work pretty well, too. I have one with each of the DJC packs (five mini-pedals) that I own, plus an 18-volt DA-2 to run my Dunlop Uni-Vibe. (Same center-negative barrel plug, and well-marked so "somebody" doesn't plug it into a 9V pedal.)
As long as I'm lecturing on adapters. I may as well point you to Andreas' rant about polarity: http://www.stinkfoot.se/andreas/diy/power/pnppower.htm . You may already know about that; if not, it might save a "smoke test" somewhere down the road. :shock:
"My opinions are my own. Nobody else wants them." :P
I have noticed one thing about music thus far. Everything is soooo subjective that people learn to NOT give opinions. My teacher won't profess one, my guitar set-up/repair guy won't profess one, even the local music store guys say little.
I know that ultimately my ear is the one that matters but like so many other things, companies profit more from putting out 20 products knowing that 10 of them are junk. I just want help sifting down a bit.
So bring on your opinions. Its all gold to me.
Phinnin
Doug is correct, you usually have to unplug the input or your battery will drain. Another thing I love about the GFX-1 is that it has a on-off switch, so you don't have to unplug the input.
I prefer AC adaptors over batteries. Batteries are just expensive, and I have had them go bad at gigs where a pedal might be on for several hours. I have a cheap Pedalboard from Pinnacle. I even did one of the reviews. As you can see, I've had it for nearly a year now and have had absolutely no problems with it whatsoever. I do not get any hum or noise at all.
This thing must be popular, the price has gone up about $15 since I got mine. Completely silent, couldn't be happier.
And that brings up something. I own lots of different gear. I am always reading reviews where people say they have big problems with the same exact gear I own. I almost NEVER have a problem with anything I own. All I can say is this:
READ THE MANUAL DUMMY!
That is not directed toward anyone in particular. But really, I am always reading reviews where people say their gear quit the first time they used it, or makes noise, or picks up radio stations, and on and on.....
I never have these problems. Seriously. And I am not that lucky either. So I believe these folks are doing something wrong.
Yeah, if you stick the Speaker Out from your amp (instead of the Line Out) into a channel on your brand new PA mixer, you are gonna blow the mixer. The problem isn't the equipment, it is the operator.
Open the manual and spend 10 minutes reading for heaven's sake. Sheesh.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
I like tube amps.
I dont like solid state.
if everyone had a modeler would we all sound the same?
I like stomp box pedals.
Ive had mine altered to suit my tastes.
it took me five years to find my tone.
some pedals eat batteries.
some dont.
my Boss Giga Delay eats batteries as fast as I put them in. with this pedal I use a wallwart. besure the external power source has the correct positive negative configuration or you will destroy your pedal.
my Tubescreamer is battery friendly. I use only Duracell for that pedal. I can hear a difference.
unplug the input sides of pedals.
turn your amp (tube) to standby before turning off.
warm up your tube amp with the standby switch OFF. that way your tubes will last longer.
Im full of opinions today. sorry.
