ShortScale.org

i've been thinking about this lately. mainly inspired by an unsuccessful last attempt at using a trem pedal.

i hear these nice trem sounds in songs and youtube demos, thinking "must try that sounds really good"

i try it and can never get the same kinda sounds, either too subtle or too much or just it doesn't feel right.

have you ever had a similar problem, post it here.

maybe you wanted that great delayed sound you heard somewhere and you couldn't get past U2-isms.

I used to have a Zvex Fuzz Factory that I couldn't, for the life of me, get a half decent sound out of. The self oscillation stuff was fun for a little bit but not really useable in any context. The fuzz sounds were also massively disappointing.

Who knows, maybe I was using it wrong, but for the price it is vastly overrated.

For years I just couldn't get along with any distortion pedals at all. When I first bought the Classic 30 all I had was that Danelectro Molten Metal pedal pack in terms of distortion which came with a crazy OTT metal dist with octave down effect and this little mini-amp pedal which had a speaker in it but turned into a distortion when used in a chain. It had no controls at all, but when I plugged it in I fucking loved it. That was my only distortion for years. Just my Danelectro U2 into the Dano mini-amp, into the Classic 30.

I just find distortions "difficult" for some reason. They just never sound right, and I always wonder if I'm just not using the controls right or if I just don't like the sound of most of them. Even now the only real distortions I use are the fuzz and overdrive on the Holy Stain and my French Toast.

EHX Little Big Muff Pi..... had this with my Peavey Classic 30 and could not get anything suitable.... I swore off BMP's because that experience.... after yrs of hating the LBMP I finally built a proper BMP and am hooked.......


and Delay's are lost on me... I got a Hardwire DL-8 and if its ever used its for a looper

I think partly the problem is when you hear songs they have been produced in quality studios and matching that sound with a £40 pedal is not going to be easy, if possible at all.
Demo's have to be put down to other gear used and the player.

Distortion and Overdrive are definitely the ones i've struggled with. What i found was some pedals shine at bedroom volume and others at gig volume yet rarely do both well. A good example of this is the Tubescreamer- bland and uninspiring at low volume but once you start cranking amps i think its great.
People over dial the gain a lot too and lose definition and i think some people would be surprised just how little saturation a lot of bands actually use.

Flanger. As much as I tried to get along with it, I just couldnt. I think it came down to my style of playing, no matter what I tried it always sounded terrible.

I remember when I first got a digital delay I found it fun to play with but for making music I couldn't make it work. Analog delays, on the other hand, work really well for me.

Flangers - I find the ones that just sound like an aeroplane taking off are pretty much useless unless you want your guitar to sound like a plane taking off. I like ones that are much more subtle that add a bit of dimension to your sound, kind of like a chorus but a bit more interesting. Plus I like to pretend i'm John McGeogh from Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Autowah, I can't do nothing with them. I've tried because I actually like the effect but it's a mess when i use it.

I actually get a better fake autowah sound with phasers and delay.

johnnyseven wrote:I remember when I first got a digital delay I found it fun to play with but for making music I couldn't make it work. Analog delays, on the other hand, work really well for me.

How do they differ, other than the fidelity of the repeats?

I think it has something to do with the decay on the repeat making it sound softer and more natural. The delayed sounds seem to sit behind what i'm playing rather than standing out too much in the sound. This could be a load of balls that I tell myself to subconsciously jusify buying a Maxon AD999 though.

There's days when nothing sounds good and I want to throw all my pedals out.

That normally happens to me after being in a cramped rehearsal room for 3 hours and my hearing is shot. I have to remind myself that a true representation of their sound is what they sounded like at the beginning of rehearsal not after i've had hours of crashing cymbals chiming in my eardrums.

johnnyseven wrote:That normally happens to me after being in a cramped rehearsal room for 3 hours and my hearing is shot. I have to remind myself that a true representation of their sound is what they sounded like at the beginning of rehearsal not after i've had hours of crashing cymbals chiming in my eardrums.

Earplugs.

Hmm not a pedal but I'm never quite satisfied with dirt pedals through my Fender Musicmaster bass amp, especially my harmonic perc. It might be the volume I play at home or my amps ironic lack of much bottom end....It might need a touch of reverb. Cleans are lovely though.

I think I may be a hopeless fender/singlecoil through beefy Marshall type amp person at heart. Considering selling on the amp but don't want to make a hasty decision. The tone goes super trebly from anywhere above 2... am wondering if I should just throw money at this amp guru guy to check if all is good and if it can be made better. That would be a hundred quid I expect....

I bought a Keeley-modded Blues Driver a couple of years back. Tried it out at home and noted the settings for a nice boost for solos (inasmuch as I can do them), took it along to the rehearsal room, stepped on it at the appropriate moment and hey presto - my guitar completely disappeared. Sold it shortly afterwards.

Dave wrote:Hmm not a pedal but I'm never quite satisfied with dirt pedals through my Fender Musicmaster bass amp, especially my harmonic perc. It might be the volume I play at home or my amps ironic lack of much bottom end....It might need a touch of reverb. Cleans are lovely though.

I think I may be a hopeless fender/singlecoil through beefy Marshall type amp person at heart. Considering selling on the amp but don't want to make a hasty decision. The tone goes super trebly from anywhere above 2... am wondering if I should just throw money at this amp guru guy to check if all is good and if it can be made better. That would be a hundred quid I expect....

Hmmm. The Harmonic Percolator into the Musicmaster Bass amp is a sound I love. I usually use the perc with the clipping diodes disengaged though.

My amp has had the speaker swapped for a Celestion Century Vintage (the neodynium magnet one) which results in much more volume and clarity. It's also had the Harvard tone circuit mod, so the tone control is usable.

timhulio wrote:Hmmm. The Harmonic Percolator into the Musicmaster Bass amp is a sound I love. I usually use the perc with the clipping diodes disengaged though.

My amp has had the speaker swapped for a Celestion Century Vintage (the neodynium magnet one) which results in much more volume and clarity. It's also had the Harvard tone circuit mod, so the tone control is usable.

Tim - been meaning to get in touch about your mods - are these doable by a layman with guidence or would I need a guru to do it?

Will look up the Harvard mod and Stewart said he's got a fuse thingy to send me too..

Yeah I have a spare fuse holder too. Ah I think I gave it to someone (could have been Stewart akshully).

Here's the tone mod:
http://hasserl.com/Amp_Mod_Docs/Fender/ ... ne_mod.pdf

It's doable, but if you've no experience of fiddling around in amps, perhaps get someone else to do it. My Dad likes fiddling with high voltages, so he added the fuse holder to mine.

timhulio wrote:Yeah I have a spare fuse holder too. Ah I think I gave it to someone (could have been Stewart akshully).

Here's the tone mod:
http://hasserl.com/Amp_Mod_Docs/Fender/ ... ne_mod.pdf

It's doable, but if you've no experience of fiddling around in amps, perhaps get someone else to do it. My Dad likes fiddling with high voltages, so he added the fuse holder to mine.

Ace link, thanks Tim. I see this guy has another mod for giving the amp a bit more bottom end which I definitely would want as well. In principal both mods look easily doable but am scared off by draining capacitors and standing on rubber mats with one hand in my back pocket.