Advice for a beginner. One man band.

[Theminstrel12]

Hey guys after careful consideration and wandering.. I settled on a VOX AC-15. So far... it sounds good and keeps me excited but I have a few questions.

Thus far, it seems thought I am just getting a really bright sound instead of a warm deep tone. I am using a Blues Driver and plugging in my Godin. Is there a way to make it sounds deeper and more full?

Here is a video of me playing a song of mine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAfsZIgGvoo

My second question is... I am still a little confused about what Pickup to grab for my acoustic guitar.. I will be plugging the acoustic into the VOX. How can I get the best sound with the VOX with an acoustic guitar? I was suggested a Rare Earth pickup... but with or without the preamp?

I appreciate anyone who can help my deficiency in guitar technology.. I highly admire all of you. Thank a ton!

-Devin Doucet

[syrynx]

Devin, the clip sounds very good to my ears, both through my laptop speakers and through my decent Sennheiser headphones. But your ears are the ones that matter! Fortunately, you have lots of options for dialing back the brightness.

TL;DR / Executive Summary:

All of the controls in the signal chain interact with each other. Turn knobs until it sounds right.

Long story: The tone controls in your signal chain are obvious tools for rolling off highs. But every volume or gain control in the signal path also affects the timbre of the final sound, by increasing or decreasing the harmonics generated by distortion in subsequent stages. The greater the distortion in a particular stage, the more pronounced the harmonics will be, and the brighter the overall sound.

I suggest beginning closest to the source, with the guitar's volume control. Turning it down will reduce the harmonics generated in all subsequent stages of Blues Driver and amplifier. It will also subtly roll off the highs available for amplification, by increasing loading on the pickup.

Then I suggest turning the volume back up to where it was and turning down the guitar's tone control. This reduces the highs available for amplification much more drastically than reducing volume, both directly and by increasing pickup loading.

Comparing the results of just these two control changes should give you some ideas about how to proceed further. You might find it necessary to increase the amp volume to compensate for changes in the guitar's controls.

The Blues Driver's Gain control primarily affects the harmonic generation in the pedal itself. Its Level control affects the amount of harmonic generation in the amplifier. The pedal's Tone control affects not only the harmonics generated in the pedal, but also harmonics generated in the amplifier.

There are no hard and fast rules regarding control settings; each of us hears magic in different sounds. But there is a general principle which I personally follow:

The higher the level of total distortion desired, the more important it is to roll off highs early in the signal chain-- preferably with a tone control in the guitar itself. The reason for this is that, due to string inharmonicity, harmonics generated by the strings themselves will not be in tune with the mathematically perfect harmonics generated in the amplification chain. At high gain, the results can be really ugly, because in addition to the harmonic distortion which pleases our ears, intermodulation distortion will occur in the amplifier. The resulting timbres might please some metal heads, but they don't please me!

I suggest that you record your playing, making written notes of the guitar, pedal and amp settings for each recording. Listen to each recording once, then put it away for a few weeks while you continue the process with different settings. I watched all of your YouTube clips; I think you're a very good musician with very good ears. I'm confident that eventually you'll hear the magic you're seeking.

Originally Posted by Theminstrel12

My second question is... I am still a little confused about what Pickup to grab for my acoustic guitar.. I will be plugging the acoustic into the VOX. How can I get the best sound with the VOX with an acoustic guitar? I was suggested a Rare Earth pickup... but with or without the preamp?

My own sound hole pickups are all ancient and long out of production. The only currently available pickup I've personally tried is a Lace California Acoustic, which I tested in a music store in a Little Martin (LXM) through a Fishman Loudbox Mini. It sounded very, very good to me, and if I needed another sound hole pickup this one would head my short list.

Coincidentally, the pickup in Matt Lorenz's Japanese copy of a Harmony Stella appears to me to be a Lace California Acoustic. Pause this clip somewhere between 0:06 and 0:10...



...and compare what you see with the photo on the Lace California Acoustic Guitar Pickup page. (I have no connection with the maker or any seller.)

However, I think it possible that you might find both adjustable pole pieces and a volume control to be helpful in achieving the sound you seek, and the Lace CA doesn't offer either. While I've not tried one myself, I've read glowing reviews of the DiMarzio DP138, which has both, and isn't much more expensive than the Lace. (I have no connection with the maker or any seller.)

But I'm only guessing; only you can choose the right one. In an ideal world, you could take your guitar and amp into a local store and try them all. I guess the best we can do in the real world is order a pickup from a vendor with a reasonable return policy, check it out, and return it if it doesn't satisfy; then rinse and repeat until one does satisfy.

Good luck, and I'd be very interested to know what you choose. I also would like to hear more of your music.

[Theminstrel12]

Originally Posted by syrynx

Devin, the clip sounds very good to my ears, both through my laptop speakers and through my decent Sennheiser headphones. But your ears are the ones that matter! Fortunately, you have lots of options for dialing back the brightness.

TL;DR / Executive Summary:

All of the controls in the signal chain interact with each other. Turn knobs until it sounds right.

Long story: The tone controls in your signal chain are obvious tools for rolling off highs. But every volume or gain control in the signal path also affects the timbre of the final sound, by increasing or decreasing the harmonics generated by distortion in subsequent stages. The greater the distortion in a particular stage, the more pronounced the harmonics will be, and the brighter the overall sound.

I suggest beginning closest to the source, with the guitar's volume control. Turning it down will reduce the harmonics generated in all subsequent stages of Blues Driver and amplifier. It will also subtly roll off the highs available for amplification, by increasing loading on the pickup.

Then I suggest turning the volume back up to where it was and turning down the guitar's tone control. This reduces the highs available for amplification much more drastically than reducing volume, both directly and by increasing pickup loading.

Comparing the results of just these two control changes should give you some ideas about how to proceed further. You might find it necessary to increase the amp volume to compensate for changes in the guitar's controls.

The Blues Driver's Gain control primarily affects the harmonic generation in the pedal itself. Its Level control affects the amount of harmonic generation in the amplifier. The pedal's Tone control affects not only the harmonics generated in the pedal, but also harmonics generated in the amplifier.

There are no hard and fast rules regarding control settings; each of us hears magic in different sounds. But there is a general principle which I personally follow:

The higher the level of total distortion desired, the more important it is to roll off highs early in the signal chain-- preferably with a tone control in the guitar itself. The reason for this is that, due to string inharmonicity, harmonics generated by the strings themselves will not be in tune with the mathematically perfect harmonics generated in the amplification chain. At high gain, the results can be really ugly, because in addition to the harmonic distortion which pleases our ears, intermodulation distortion will occur in the amplifier. The resulting timbres might please some metal heads, but they don't please me!

I suggest that you record your playing, making written notes of the guitar, pedal and amp settings for each recording. Listen to each recording once, then put it away for a few weeks while you continue the process with different settings. I watched all of your YouTube clips; I think you're a very good musician with very good ears. I'm confident that eventually you'll hear the magic you're seeking.



My own sound hole pickups are all ancient and long out of production. The only currently available pickup I've personally tried is a Lace California Acoustic, which I tested in a music store in a Little Martin (LXM) through a Fishman Loudbox Mini. It sounded very, very good to me, and if I needed another sound hole pickup this one would head my short list.

Coincidentally, the pickup in Matt Lorenz's Japanese copy of a Harmony Stella appears to me to be a Lace California Acoustic. Pause this clip somewhere between 0:06 and 0:10...



...and compare what you see with the photo on the Lace California Acoustic Guitar Pickup page. (I have no connection with the maker or any seller.)

However, I think it possible that you might find both adjustable pole pieces and a volume control to be helpful in achieving the sound you seek, and the Lace CA doesn't offer either. While I've not tried one myself, I've read glowing reviews of the DiMarzio DP138, which has both, and isn't much more expensive than the Lace. (I have no connection with the maker or any seller.)

But I'm only guessing; only you can choose the right one. In an ideal world, you could take your guitar and amp into a local store and try them all. I guess the best we can do in the real world is order a pickup from a vendor with a reasonable return policy, check it out, and return it if it doesn't satisfy; then rinse and repeat until one does satisfy.

Good luck, and I'd be very interested to know what you choose. I also would like to hear more of your music.

Wow thank you for all the advice.. You've been so helpful. I am going to try that all with my amp today.

I actually checked in with Matt and he mentioned that he purchased a used Fishman some years ago but doesn't remember what model. But it's definitely a Fishman. Hmmm... I really wonder what the rare earth is going to sound like. There is one for 170 that I think I'll try out.

Thanks again for helping me out! And thanks for your compliments!

[syrynx]

Originally Posted by Theminstrel12

I actually checked in with Matt and he mentioned that he purchased a used Fishman some years ago but doesn't remember what model. But it's definitely a Fishman. Hmmm... I really wonder what the rare earth is going to sound like. There is one for 170 that I think I'll try out.

It'll probably sound splendid, but probably won't sound exactly like Matt's. Fishman "re-voiced" and re-styled the Rare Earth pickups seven or eight years ago. The square ends of Matt's pickup and absence of the Fishman name identify it as an older one. For more on the history of Fishman Rare Earth pickups, and a couple of video clips, see this post. The second clip features the ~$170 pickup you're considering.

FWIW, Fishman's NEO-D02 lacks the virtues of the Rare Earth Humbucking's built-in preamp (and the hassle of changing its batteries), for about half the price of the RE HB.

Originally Posted by Theminstrel12

Thanks again for helping me out! And thanks for your compliments!

Purely selfish on my part; I like your music, and want to hear more of it.