Tone! Pedals/Amps and so on

[D.K.]

To me, the finesse of the excellent Savage SE was exactly what took a bit away from the original character of the Savage 120. Just think Ritchie Blackmore's tone on the 1995 Rainbow album or the live bootlegs from that tour - that's SAVAGE.

BTW, the Egnater TOL 100 is very good and very personal, too (ask Vai), they just don't do them anymore.

[jam3v]

I owned a Savage 120 for a few months. It's definitely a great sounding, versatile amp. The problem, for me, with that amp, is that no matter how you EQ'd it, it always sounded the same. The cleans were absolutely fantastic, and it took pedals amazingly.

It was noisy as HELL though, on the gain channels. The thing sounded like a buzzsaw when it wasn't being played. I had 2 different Savage's and they both sounded that way.

I sold it and got a Mark V, which I'm very much enjoying.

[D.K.]

Well, yeah, it's a beast that has its sound, You can instantly recognize that.

In comparison, the egnater is much more versatile, but sounds "nicer" and more cultivated. Not a bad thing, just different.

[beej]

Wow, you've asked every question in the book ... a tall order. I'll put in my two cents. You're best to do research on every category to learn more.

Combo amp vs. a stack

Really, whether or not you want an integrated speaker in one package. Often the guts of the amp are the same.

Advantage is you get everything in one package. Downside is it's heavy, you're stuck with one speaker (vs mixing and matching a bunch of different speaker cabinets- open back, closed back, ported, different speakers, etc.). Sometimes tube rattle can be an issue in combos.

I tend to prefer a head plus a portable cab. I've got a big setup and a little one- I can hold the head in one hand and small 1x12 in the other. But you don't always have the choice with amps.

Pedals vs. Rack units

Obviously each rack unit is larger than a pedal (and generally more expensive), but the different approach of going with a rack tends to be more about flexibility. If you have a lot of gear, it's generally easier to wire it up with splitters, switchers, etc in a rack and wire things up to be controlled externally. You'll often see guys with MIDI floorboards designed to recall programs in the rack gear. Makes it a breeze to handle complicated switching changes from multiple units, etc.

That said, there's nothing you can do with a rack that you can't do with pedals. You just have to be creative in how you set things up. Rack gear often has the advantage of programmability, whereas most pedals are set up with settings that aren't externally controllable (other than the on/off switch). Individually, pedals are small, portable and are easy to swap for other pedals when you fancy.

Mandatory pedals

Less is more. The best tones tend to be guitar -> amp. Best advice for someone who's new is to not overuse effects. Be subtle most of the time. A bit of delay, phase, compression, etc. can be nice. Too much reverb/delay/distortion/etc and next thing you know your sound is one big wash of mess.

Start small. Experiment slowly. Learn what works. Don't just buy the pedal du jour ... it's hard to appreciate them that way.

Effects send and return/loop

It's the point in an amplifier where the preamp section meets the output section, and not all amps have it.

Some effects tend to sound better before the preamp (these tend to include Wah, compressor, phaser, overdrive). Some sound better after (usually time based effects like chorus, delay, reverb). Some have an equal place in both (clean boosts, etc.)

A lot depends on your amp, settings and what you're going for. So many classic tones were everything into a cranked amp (yep, even chorus and delay). But when you're playing with a lot of distortion, that doesn't always work so well and you'll want some things in the loop.

Again, don't just listen to everyone. Try a pedal in both places and really see what you like. I still find I'm surprised that I like something when I didn't expect to.

My best advice is to keep trying things until you fall in love with your setup (or it just works fine for your gig). When you right the right amp and clan play it at the right volume, it can be magic, even without anything else.

Don't be afraid to experiment with everything ... and nothing!

[beej]

Lonney ... that board is nuts!

[waynesworld91]

Alright guys thanks for most of the help so far! My understanding so far on terms of front/back of the amp...

You should use Time effects at the end of the setup on the front of the amp
Effects like Chorus/Flanger should go at the back of the amp

Should distortion/compression be at the front or back? And just to clarify, does putting it at the back give it a buffered signal or something and make it just sound better instead of overpowering the gain or something like that?

New questions!!

Analog and Digital...what is it and how does it effect the sound? Ups and downs? Also what exactly is "true-bypass" and "buffered?" Differences and so on.. a HUGE thanks to all of you so far this is REALLY helping!

[Spudmurphy]

To answer your question on the stereo out/splitter arrangement.

You can take a stereo lead out of the guitar and connect it to a splitter that will split the signal:-
One signal being the magnetic pickups
The second being your Piezo signal.

You then run the mags to your tube amp and the Piezo to an acoustic amp or into the P.A.

The way I split my signal is by using an EB Stereo/pan pedal 6165.

[buckethead777]

Lenny, whats the one with a swirl paint job? looks like a Keeley compressor

[marantz1300]

Go for a simple amp with great cleans and pedal or two.. You will have killer tone.

[RocketRalf]

Go for a simple amp with great cleans and pedal or two.. You will have killer tone.

That's not exactly a pedal or two

I went that route. Blues Jr, a distortion and a delay, that's it.

[marantz1300]

That's not exactly a pedal or two

I went that route. Blues Jr, a distortion and a delay, that's it.

Ha Ha.I dont use them all at once.I like a bit of choice and have some favorites. I like the Arion SAD 1 delay and either the Marshall Guv'nor,Ibanez TS9 or sometimes the Big Muff.

[radrock]

Great questions.

For me, it came down to portability. Before I moved to NYC 11 years ago, I had a 14 space rack, big pedalboard and two 2x12 speakers. This was because I had a CAR. Now I have a 1x12 combo and a medium sized pedalboard, because I need my rig to fit in the back of a Taxi. I do miss having a giant stereo sound, but my back certainly doesn't miss it.

The biggest difference is flexibility. With a rack, I undeniably had more power at my feet. I think this still rings true, although pedal technology has come a long way. The Eventide pedals are powerful tools, without taking up 2 rack spaces.

One advantage for me to downsizing to a smaller set up is the way my playing IMPROVED. I play mostly dry now with only the occasional effect to color it up. I don't sit around endless hours anymore trying to dial up the perfect this or that. I just plug in and play.

It starts with a good amp and the effects should just color the already good tone.

[jamminjim]

Guess Lenny went to the hinterlands never to be seen or heard from again..

and upon looking at his pedal board please adhere to the following...