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Old 11-11-2014, 10:28 AM
johnd johnd is offline
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Default Give me some quick "how to sound like ..." tips?

I've recently got a software modelling setup on my electric guitar (a Washburn) but as a new electric player there's so many options it's hard to know where to try... there are obviously gazillions of permutations of effects and in my testing so far, it's not obvious which work until you try them... e.g. it seems to me counter-intuitive that adding overdrive/distortion on a crunch amp makes it better rather than just mushy. And some effects sound lame on their own but I hear them in real songs and they sound cool.

I don't really know where to start so I wondered if people could throw out very quick ideas of "this amp + these effects sounds a bit like this song/artist"? Like one idea per reply, nothing too complex. I don't want to copy any one artist but merely to have some starting points I can then muck about with to get my own sounds... like a little "bank" of ideas.

Since it's modelled I've got pretty much all standard effects (and a proper delay pedal which will do 1/4, dotted 1/8 or both at once) as well as classic orange+fender amps and generic clean/crunch sounds, anything non-weird should be achievable.

Thanks, in advance!
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Old 11-11-2014, 11:06 AM
blue blue is offline
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What pedal/modelling amp are you using? Recipes and Patches are all over the internet. Line6, Vox, Digi...

So what you got? And what you want? I'm a big surf/spaghetti/spy guy, so I need amazing verb, killer fuzz, tremolo... But I'm also big on AC/DC so I need a very natural SG through Marshall.

Looking for sounds without having a general idea is just a rabbithole. You end up playing with goofy phasers, echo, modulators, etc. but you rarely end up with a sound you'd want to stand on stage and play.
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Old 11-11-2014, 11:14 AM
johnd johnd is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blue View Post
What pedal/modelling amp are you using? Recipes and Patches are all over the internet. Line6, Vox, Digi...
Ah, I didn't even know "recipe" was the right word
Since it's software (Amplitube) I've got a whole bunch From Orange Tiny Terror through to Fender Twin Reverb (I think it's called), basically a wide range of standard effects and amp sounds.

Quote:
Looking for sounds without having a general idea is just a rabbithole. You end up playing with goofy phasers, echo, modulators, etc. but you rarely end up with a sound you'd want to stand on stage and play.
Well for now I do just want a starting set of "real" sounds e.g "this sounds a bit like Oasis" or whatever, so I don't end up with a random set of effects that don't work together.
Anything really, if everyone just did "this is how I try to emulate my favourite artist/song" I'd have a whole array of different things to try out.

It's a bit open-ended, view it as a "post a recipe" thread if we don't already have one of those. Simpler is better in my view, rather than 9 pedals, and nothing really harsh on the ears...
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Old 11-11-2014, 11:36 AM
blue blue is offline
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Amplitube? We don't need no stinkin' amplitube!

Just kidding. Search Amplitube forum and Amplitube settings in google. Hopefully your head will not aspolde!

Seriously. There's a ton out there! You're lucky.
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Old 11-11-2014, 12:12 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johnd View Post
...as a new electric player there's so many options it's hard to know where to try...I don't really know where to start so I wondered if people could throw out very quick ideas of "this amp + these effects sounds a bit like this song/artist"...I don't want to copy any one artist but merely to have some starting points I can then muck about with to get my own sounds... like a little "bank" of ideas...
Maybe I'm old-school in this regard, having cut my musical teeth in the good old days when it was tube amps or nothing - stompboxes were still a few years away, and your only built-in options were tremolo/reverb/ output power - but IMO I'd concentrate on "guitar + cord + amp sounds a lot like me" first; as you state, it's easy to bury yourself in effects - which do have their place - whereas, if you're really serious about your instrument, you'd be better-served developing your technique (very different than what you're used to if you're coming from acoustic) and building your tone from the bottom up. When I was actively teaching I would insist that my students turn off all effects except for a bit of reverb - just enough to give the sound a bit of "air" in a small room - and concentrate on copping the nuances of different players' styles by listening "through the music" to their personal feel/touch/technique (a trick I learned by listening to classical string players, BTW); IME if you want to sound like Slash, B.B., E.C., Jimi, or Carlos - some players you'd know immediately no matter what instrument/amp they're using - I'd focus on feeling what they feel under their fingers/pick (the real elements of their respective styles) first, and then bring in the requisite effects to fine-tune the tone. Speaking from 50+ years of experience don't rush, build a solid (and clean) technique, and first and foremost work on sounding like John - you'll be better off in the long run...
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Old 11-11-2014, 12:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa View Post
build a solid (and clean) technique, and first and foremost work on sounding like John - you'll be better off in the long run...
But on disco night you have to sound like KC and the Sunshine Band. And on 80's night you have to sound like CC Deville, etc. etc.
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Old 11-11-2014, 01:54 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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But on disco night you have to sound like KC and the Sunshine Band....
I'd sooner perform a DIY vasectomy...
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Old 11-11-2014, 03:51 PM
blue blue is offline
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I'd sooner perform a DIY vasectomy...
Maybe you should listen to Nile Rodgers work a little...
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  #9  
Old 11-12-2014, 02:13 AM
johnd johnd is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa View Post
Maybe I'm old-school in this regard, having cut my musical teeth in the good old days when it was tube amps or nothing - stompboxes were still a few years away, and your only built-in options were tremolo/reverb/ output power - but IMO I'd concentrate on "guitar + cord + amp sounds a lot like me" first; as you state, it's easy to bury yourself in effects - which do have their place - whereas, if you're really serious about your instrument, you'd be better-served developing your technique (very different than what you're used to if you're coming from acoustic) and building your tone from the bottom up. When I was actively teaching I would insist that my students turn off all effects except for a bit of reverb - just enough to give the sound a bit of "air" in a small room - and concentrate on copping the nuances of different players' styles by listening "through the music" to their personal feel/touch/technique (a trick I learned by listening to classical string players, BTW); IME if you want to sound like Slash, B.B., E.C., Jimi, or Carlos - some players you'd know immediately no matter what instrument/amp they're using - I'd focus on feeling what they feel under their fingers/pick (the real elements of their respective styles) first, and then bring in the requisite effects to fine-tune the tone. Speaking from 50+ years of experience don't rush, build a solid (and clean) technique, and first and foremost work on sounding like John - you'll be better off in the long run...
This actually ties in a lot with what I think too - I'm not enamoured with loads of effects for their own sake. It's more a)just for fun b)to deepen my knowledge - it's nice to know what the tools at my disposal are.

I definitely don't want to "copy and paste" in a load of stuff at the cost of technique or my own sound.
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  #10  
Old 11-12-2014, 08:58 AM
blue blue is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johnd View Post
This actually ties in a lot with what I think too - I'm not enamoured with loads of effects for their own sake. It's more a)just for fun b)to deepen my knowledge - it's nice to know what the tools at my disposal are.

I definitely don't want to "copy and paste" in a load of stuff at the cost of technique or my own sound.
The only problem is that being able to pull off Steve Cropper-esque technique with a tele through a blackface doesn't do didley when it comes to riding the lightning with a high gain metal amp.

There are specific techniques required to get the most out of effects that the "guitar through amp" guys can't do. Bad wah is awful. But great wah? Do you know how hard it is to play great wah? Do you think Pete is picking the same way at the beginning of Who are You as he is in My Generation? Could he get that sound without a volume pedal and a compressor regardless of how he picked?

Just like I mentioned with Nile Rodgers above. If you dismiss what is commonly called Disco, it just means you don't know the genre. Because there is great playing in the background on a lot of it. Listen to Robert Palmer's Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley (you can call it blue eyed soul if you want to instead of disco). The whole album. It's a master class on Rhythm guitar. As is everything Nile ever produced.

You have to sound good through a clean amp alone. You can't polish a turd with effects. But it goes both ways. you also can't just plug that type of playing into effects without experience and not sound like a turd
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  #11  
Old 11-12-2014, 09:20 AM
arie arie is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johnd View Post
I've recently got a software modelling setup on my electric guitar (a Washburn) but as a new electric player there's so many options it's hard to know where to try... there are obviously gazillions of permutations of effects and in my testing so far, it's not obvious which work until you try them... e.g. it seems to me counter-intuitive that adding overdrive/distortion on a crunch amp makes it better rather than just mushy. And some effects sound lame on their own but I hear them in real songs and they sound cool.

I don't really know where to start so I wondered if people could throw out very quick ideas of "this amp + these effects sounds a bit like this song/artist"? Like one idea per reply, nothing too complex. I don't want to copy any one artist but merely to have some starting points I can then muck about with to get my own sounds... like a little "bank" of ideas.

Since it's modelled I've got pretty much all standard effects (and a proper delay pedal which will do 1/4, dotted 1/8 or both at once) as well as classic orange+fender amps and generic clean/crunch sounds, anything non-weird should be achievable.

Thanks, in advance!
what artists are you trying to emulate?
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  #12  
Old 11-12-2014, 01:54 PM
redir redir is offline
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Even guitarists with signature tone like Hendrix, Garcia, Clapton etc... played with different effects and amps throughout all their career. So it's not easy to just rubber stamp their tone. You can pick out some of the obvious things like David Gilmore likes to use chorus and delay and Ron Ashton likes to use fuzz and wha and so on but like all guitarists they are always fiddling around with equipment.
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  #13  
Old 11-12-2014, 03:44 PM
batsbrew batsbrew is offline
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i've found that, more times than not, listening to a guitar player using software for a rig, trying to sound like anyone else, is missing the biggest piece of the puzzle..

moving air.
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  #14  
Old 11-12-2014, 05:30 PM
arie arie is offline
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obviously the op isn't going to exactly sound like somebody famous. that's just not going to happen, but some basic ball park advice shouldn't be a such a big deal to share.

once again op, what artist/sounds/albums, etc.. are you interested in? give us something.
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  #15  
Old 11-13-2014, 07:27 AM
johnd johnd is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by arie View Post
obviously the op isn't going to exactly sound like somebody famous. that's just not going to happen, but some basic ball park advice shouldn't be a such a big deal to share.

once again op, what artist/sounds/albums, etc.. are you interested in? give us something.
I'm not fussy really, any "classic" or very famous artists or songs - deliberately I'd like wide range rather than any genre which is why I suggest "your favourite song". Or even "post a cool setup".

But I suppose some ideas could be:

Foo fighters
Oasis
Classic Rock'n'roll like Johnny Be Good, Sweet home Alabama, Animals - House of the Rising Sun
Greenday
Weezer
Nu-metal like Linkin Park or <insert generic numetal band here>
Ting Tings
Muse
Shed Seven
Semisonic
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Last edited by johnd; 11-13-2014 at 08:14 AM.
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