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  #31  
Old 12-10-2019, 11:22 AM
Song Song is offline
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  #32  
Old 12-10-2019, 07:37 PM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
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Originally Posted by 3notes View Post
I like the onboard delay. Once again, just to be clear, my amp is a Fender Champ 20. The tremolo is fantastic. The reverb is okay. The chorus is pretty good. The wah isn't bad but, even with the tones I like, they need to be pushed with the FX level, gain and volume to really get the full effect on most settings. I prefer to play at a volume of 3 or 4 and gain 3 or 4 or 5 and FX level around 5.

Can I get to a tone like John Mayer in this link.?? I'd like anyone to listen to the first 2 and half minutes. Or begin listening at about the 1:40 mark. His tone is just fantastic to me. How do I get there.?? Is his tone here what you would call clean with overdrive.?? Some reverb in there.?? He's playing with the dead doing Cold, Rain and Snow.

Also, I'd like to hear more about dynamic playing. I understand it to be technique. Harmonics. Hammer on's and pull-offs. Dynamic playing is about tone and tonal changes. Pick attack. It's how one colors their playing. Dynamics add culture to the music. Am I warm here.??.....

PLease keep this thread going. I'm learning a lot and I appreciate you all pitching in. And I really want to say this.... I'm playing really good right now. The new Yamaha electric is really just out of this world. I'm playing rythym in ways I never have before. And my melodies are prettier. I'm full on electric right now.!! Right when I didn't think there was an electric guitar made for me. Yamaha did it. And I love this little Fender amp. Powerfull.

Thanks everyone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygnOuNoBwek
A good guitar and amp will respond to your playing. So, if you pick softly you can achieve more of a clean tone. If you pick harder you can get a little bit of overdrive - assuming you have your amp setup that way.

Also, the volume knob can be used, not for volume but as a gain control. Roll your volume back to get a somewhat clean tone and then roll it to 10 for some overdrive/distortion. So you can go from soft to loud and also clean to overdriven tone just by the way you pick and using the volume control.
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  #33  
Old 12-11-2019, 08:45 AM
paulp1960 paulp1960 is offline
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Originally Posted by acoustigoat View Post
A looper. Get a simple looper pedal so you can play along with yourself. My first pedal was a very simple Ditto Looper and it's come in handy for laying down backing tracks for both electric and acoustic playing.
Of all the pedals mentioned I also think a looper is a good buy, preferably one with basic drum loops so you have something like a metronome to play along with. It's a good way to improve your timing and playing generally.
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  #34  
Old 12-11-2019, 10:30 AM
3notes 3notes is offline
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[QUOTE=Steve DeRosa;6234788]Real old-school electric guitar tone at its finest: guitar-cable-amp, onboard trem/verb, and ride the sweet spot with touch and picking dynamics alone - sad to say that's becoming largely a lost art...

These kids have it too stinkin' easy, Glenn... [QUOTE]

Steve.... That's a beautiful amp. Affordable. I'll check it out.

You are very close to the tone I've "settled on." I think I got tired of the variety of tones and chasing them all around. For a day or two I've just kept the settings on the clean side with some gain added. Let me just say for the first 4 or 5 days of playing the Pacifica I did a lot of noodling. So leaving the settings alone I can focus more on playing.

Glenn.... Thanks for your reply. It's a good one. I really like simple when it comes to this stuff. It's sort of like learning to fly RC airplanes. There's a lot involved. Plenty to learn.
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  #35  
Old 12-11-2019, 10:44 AM
3notes 3notes is offline
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Originally Posted by Dru Edwards View Post
A good guitar and amp will respond to your playing. So, if you pick softly you can achieve more of a clean tone. If you pick harder you can get a little bit of overdrive - assuming you have your amp setup that way.

Also, the volume knob can be used, not for volume but as a gain control. Roll your volume back to get a somewhat clean tone and then roll it to 10 for some overdrive/distortion. So you can go from soft to loud and also clean to overdriven tone just by the way you pick and using the volume control.
I understand this. While I'm not great at this, I do have times where I can dig in and get that desired tone. I love it when that shines through.

So you're saying use the volume knob where as I have been thinking it's gain that gets me to the dirty tone.?? What level should the gain be at if one is using volume to get dirty.?? Can you expand on this a little bit.?? Good stuff for me right here. Thanks.
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  #36  
Old 12-11-2019, 01:20 PM
Sonics Sonics is offline
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Originally Posted by 3notes View Post
I understand this. While I'm not great at this, I do have times where I can dig in and get that desired tone. I love it when that shines through.

So you're saying use the volume knob where as I have been thinking it's gain that gets me to the dirty tone.?? What level should the gain be at if one is using volume to get dirty.?? Can you expand on this a little bit.?? Good stuff for me right here. Thanks.
You can begin by setting the volume on the guitar at around 50% - 60%, then adjust the gain on your amp until you achieve breakup when you pick. Theoretically if you back the guitar volume off from this 'breakup' point your tone will clean up. Similarly if you increase the guitar volume from the 'breakup' point your tone will 'dirty up'.

Obviously how hard or soft you pick introduces 'nuance' to your tone. It's a 'feel' thing, observe...

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  #37  
Old 12-11-2019, 03:34 PM
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A compressor for home use is not all that valuable but on stage it's a must imo. The sound guy will certainly like you that's for sure. But they also don't truly ruin your dynamics. If you hit the strings softer it still comes out that way through the other side of the compressor. It 'manages' it somewhat but it's not like playing an acoustic classical guitar. Electric guitars are loud no matter what.
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  #38  
Old 12-11-2019, 07:28 PM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
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Originally Posted by Sonics View Post
You can begin by setting the volume on the guitar at around 50% - 60%, then adjust the gain on your amp until you achieve breakup when you pick. Theoretically if you back the guitar volume off from this 'breakup' point your tone will clean up. Similarly if you increase the guitar volume from the 'breakup' point your tone will 'dirty up'.

Obviously how hard or soft you pick introduces 'nuance' to your tone. It's a 'feel' thing, observe...

<<snippet video>>
+1. Set your guitar's volume knob at about 50% and then set your rhythm tone's gain with your amp. Then you can roll the guitar's volume to 100% and you've got more gain. Great tool for solos.
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  #39  
Old 12-11-2019, 10:09 PM
3notes 3notes is offline
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Sonics.... Dru.... That seems to be a really cool tip right there. Now for me, that would be thinking outside the box....

I'll try that with the volume knob. Very cool.
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  #40  
Old 12-12-2019, 07:47 PM
phcorrigan phcorrigan is offline
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Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa View Post
Smart move, and if you've got $400 here's a great starting point - handles a 600-700 seat house with no problem, powers down for home practice, and as many happy owners here on the AGF will tell you it's most likely all the amp you'll ever need with more tone than anything this inexpensive has the right to have:

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/ampl...itar-combo-amp



GC's price is $50 more, but when MF has a 15% off sale they will match the price. You can also find them on the used market, but if you buy used, based on Steve's advice to me, make sure you get the V22 Infinium, not the older V22.

I replaced the factory tubes with JJs, while I believe Steve went with something a bit more upscale.
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  #41  
Old 12-12-2019, 11:36 PM
3notes 3notes is offline
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I have found a great dirty tone by using the volume knob on the guitar as Steve and Dru had mentioned above. I can maintain that sweet driving/dirty tone at a relatively low volume too. Love it.
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  #42  
Old 12-13-2019, 07:50 PM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
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Originally Posted by 3notes View Post
I have found a great dirty tone by using the volume knob on the guitar as Steve and Dru had mentioned above. I can maintain that sweet driving/dirty tone at a relatively low volume too. Love it.
Cool! That's the way lots of rock stars did it back in the day when they used single channel amps. It's a lost art now. It works better when the amp is cranked .
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  #43  
Old 12-13-2019, 10:51 PM
3notes 3notes is offline
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Originally Posted by Dru Edwards View Post
Cool! That's the way lots of rock stars did it back in the day when they used single channel amps. It's a lost art now. It works better when the amp is cranked .
That was a great tip. And yes, I crank the volume knob to 10. Guitar volume at about half. Bass and treble at 5. Everything else off. As I play along I make real subtle changes and I'm hearing familiar tones. I just wish I could rip it. Lead style. I play a ton of single note melody's, which I really love and the electric guitar is a great tool for playing my originals. Its been about 10 days on the electric and the Larrivee acoustic hasn't seen the light of day. Rock on..... And the Champion 20 amp is loaded down with effects. I am impressed with the tones I'm hearing. Especially when using the volume knob on the guitar. Endless tones. Give Me Another Tip.... Oh ya, I forgot. The Bugera will solve all my problems.....someday. lol.

I should say this, the first 4 or 5 days on the new guitar were extremely musical. I do a ton of noodling and in those first days it was really something else. Really great. I bonded with the solid body Yamaha immediately. Now I'm back into a little funk. Rushing my fingers. Trying to rip. And I can't. So I have to slow down and play it pretty. I'm content with that. Most days.....

Playing guitar is a real challenge. On many levels. I do find the electric guitar to be much easier to play versus an acoustic guitar. I like the projection of playing electric. That word dynamic comes to mind. I really enjoy that aspect of playing electric. It's pushing me to play cleaner and that has been improving since day one.

I should say that Sweetwater did a super set-up. And the shipping was fast. I ordered at like 7:30pm on a Friday and received the guitar at 1:10pm Tuesday. Ya man. That's fast. I'm loving it.
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Last edited by 3notes; 12-13-2019 at 11:03 PM.
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  #44  
Old 12-13-2019, 11:01 PM
phcorrigan phcorrigan is offline
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Originally Posted by 3notes View Post
On many levels. I do find the electric guitar to be much easier to play versus an acoustic guitar.
I've had my Gretsch for two or three months now, and it's become the one I learn and practice on. I did my own setup and installed flatwound strings, and the guitar is just a joy to play. I still play my HD-28V, but something about the feel of the Gretsch, my first electric, makes me want to pick it up and play it.
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  #45  
Old 12-13-2019, 11:16 PM
3notes 3notes is offline
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I've had my Gretsch for two or three months now, and it's become the one I learn and practice on. I did my own setup and installed flatwound strings, and the guitar is just a joy to play. I still play my HD-28V, but something about the feel of the Gretsch, my first electric, makes me want to pick it up and play it.
Nice. I would love to have a Gretsch with a Bigsby on it.

Oh wow... I just looked at the model of your Gretsch. That's a beautiful guitar. I would love to have one just like it.!! Sweet.
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