Hey all! :D Did you have a nice time over the holidays?
Anyway, to my point; I got a Marshall MG15DFX for christmas along with a new Guitar (a Daisy Rock tomboy. Haha, don't laugh, I have very small hands! She's very pretty. <3) I've been tampering with it since and trying to get a decent enough sound, but I'm kinda stuck. I thought; "Oh, wicked! Two channels! Overdrive and clean", as my old amp didn't have this, but when I play the sound is kinda.. What's the word, dull and.. "muddy"? Yepp, I was that over-excited kiddo who thought she could simply switch on the OD and have her guitar sounding like dream. Like that. *snaps fingers*
There were a few settings it suggested to try out, but all are kinda the same dull tone.. I tried it with my other guitar but it sounds just as blah. :? I'm only looking for a decent enough crunchy rocky sound, but just so you can hear what's actually going on, cause my sound is just a mess.
I'm sorry if I look like a complete and total idiot, because I am. I'm probably a young'un compared to some of you here, so you'll have to forgive it. My question is, is there anyway I can kinda "lift" my sound, perk it up a bit so it sounds a little brighter? I'm all for playing rock and roll, but with the noise that's coming outta my bedroom it's enough to scare the cats away. Yuck.
I tried to mix it up with my Digitech Hot Rod pedal and having the amp on clean, but it still sounded pretty flat.. I switched the over to the distortion and it just sounded really feedback-y and scratchy. I have a few other pedals that I'm gonna tinker with, Metal Master and Tone Driver, and also a Korg AX10G.
I just wondered if I was doing something majorly wrong which I haven't spotted yet, and if I'm missing something simple which I should be doing. Is there a few basic rules when dealing with overdrive and so forth? I watch other people play with thier distortion with their amps, and thier sound is brilliant! I'm standing there thinking; "Why do mine always sound like shit? What am I doing wrong?" I can honestly say, I have never been able to in the years I have played my guitar, had a truly "fantastic" sound. Says a lot doesn't it? >_<
I'm very sorry to ask, but any comments would be very appreciated!
Thanks bunches!
From the kid who seems to get herself lost. A lot. - Merry Belated Christmas! :lol:
Invest in an inexpensive EQ pedal like the Danelectro or Behringer. This will really help you tighten up your tone. You can also add some highs and cuts some lows if that is the tone you are after.
Just a personal opinion, but you are not gonna get great tone with Metal distortion pedals. These pedals usually sound very harsh and way over-distorted. If you really listen to recordings carefully you will realize that the pros are not using super-distortion. Try turning the gain down some, kinda hard for some folks to do.
A compression pedal will also add a lot of sparkle to your tone.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Being one of the EQ pedal conversions myself, I have to say that either the Boss or Danelectro EQ pedals will make a huge difference to your sound. I was amazed what my little Fender Frontman 15R can come out with via a Fenix Telecaster copy just by a little setting tweaking and an EQ pedal.
Basically at the moment, I'm practising Frusciante/Hendrix rhythm and lead guitar all rolled into one and both of them pretty much define that "crunchy (I assume Marshall) tone" that you want.
Remember there's a difference between muddy and bassy. If it's too tinny, distortion will only make a horrible racket (unless that's what you're looking for as a metal head :wink: ).
I go with:
Guitar on bassiest pick up selection
Tone knob about a 5/6
Drive button on the amp switched on
Drive level set to 2 and a bit out of 10
Then EQ with what's known as a scooped middle
I might post a sample with and without all these set up correctly just to prove a point (and because I'm so happy with my sound at the moment). However I would add that the Marshall MG range of amps do have a notorious reputation for being "muddy", which is unfortunate when you think about what some Marshalls can pump out!
On top of that, whilst Wes is incredibly wise, I'd think twice before getting a compression pedal. I've tried a few and taking them out of my effects loop was probably the best thing I've ever done. I used to have a load of pedals as a noob, but realised as most do, that having a long line of pedals won't be much help and certainly won't improve how good a player you are. :D
On a final note, you might want to make sure that the pick ups on your guitar aren't too far away from the strings as this will reduce output strength and clarity.
"Today is what it means to be young..."
(Radiohead, RHCP, Jimi Hendrix - the big 3)
Hi xKatex,
I also own a MG15DFX but I don't play in overdrive usually (just when I practice some solo or scales), I prefer the clean channel. This site http://www.tonesettings.com/ has several amps entries for different tones. Our amp has a couple of settings but an upper model, the MG50DFX, which is quite similar from the control knobs point of view, has a lot of them and very well structured. Really I don't use those settings, however, they teach me "how to use" the controls.
I have that amp as well. One thing you might check is to make sure that the little button that says "FDD" on the right side is pushed in. That kinda brightens the tone up and is supposed to emulate a tube sound to a degree. I know when I turn it off it sounds kinda murky.
Right now I have these settings:
Gain - 4
Bass - 4
Contour-5
Treble-6
Effect-3 (set on reverb)
My tone knob on my Tele is about the half way mark. This is just anecdotal and what I find I like the best.
The key to boosting the highs and getting a real nice crunch sound is to turn DOWN the bass, turn UP the treble and keep the mid at 5 or 6.
-=- Steve
"If the moon were made of ribs, would you eat it?"
ya, im guessing you need to adjust the EQ. i have a marshall mg15dfx too. its a great amp (love the distortion, but im not very big on effects)
I think its all been covered here.Just one more thought :idea: Sometimes if your guitar cord is going out it can cause deterioration it your tone :?:
xKatex, that amp was my very first amp as well. Your initial description and impressions of the tone are also identical to mine. I just thought the thing was really bad particularly the drive channel.
I took mine back right away and swapped straight up for the Vox Ad15 Valvetronix amp. I still play it today (roughly 2 years later) over other amps I've had and it still gives me the most options and easily achievable tones. I'm not suggesting you give up here but since you just received it as a gift you probably have some option to return or exchange for something else. I believe they are still fairly close in price so hopefully that does not create any obstacles.
Good luck.
