Question:
Is this a good decision or will it only work well with tube amps?
I'll be using a Fender American Strat < J&H < Marshall MG30DFX
Right now, I'm pretty frusterated because 1) The feedback in my Strat is horrible except on the second and fourth positions, and 2) I'm not getting the screaming lead, hard crunch sound I want. Do you guys have any other opinions on this? Thanks a ton.
Answer:
well, might i suggest you go strat to pedal to amp?
haha, just messing w/ you
what are you EQ settings? seems like you'll have to really set up your EQ...even though i'm not sure how well the knobs react on your marshall SS
Answer:
lol..that's what I meant. ;-)
Umm...what exactly is an EQ, is that like the settings on the amp or what? And another dumb question, do you run pedals through the clean channel or overdrive channel?
Answer:
EQ stands for 'equalization' (i think). basically, these are the bass, mid, treble controls (3-band eq).
there are EQ pedals that become more specific. 7-band, 10-band EQs, etc... and i've seen some rack mounted EQs (for a PA system. 30-band EQ). they are huge.
Answer:
oh, and you run pedals through whatever channel you want to. experiment, and you can find some good results.
Answer:
Oh...hmm..well, my EQ right now is trebles all the way down, bass all the way up, and volume all the way up.
Answer:
well, with your amp, there isn't as much flexability when it comes to EQing (with only your bass and treb knobs)
the reason why you're getting mush is because you have your bass all the way up and treb all the way down. Make sure your contour knob isn't all the way up when on your overdrive channel...it cuts out more mids, which creates even more mush.
try this (from a scale of 1-10):
bass: ~5
treble: ~7
the key is to experiment with your knobs
also, i would suggest using the J&H on the clean channel because adding monster gain to monster gain doesn't not make monster tones. it makes monster crap. <---not pretty to imagine...
good luck
Answer:
Originally Posted by hardcorerocker Oh...hmm..well, my EQ right now is trebles all the way down, bass all the way up, and volume all the way up. Well there's your problem. You can't have lead crunch without treble! All the way down, wow. But yeah, kick up the treble and it won't be so muddy.
Answer:
the J&H will work well with tube or SS amps.
but it sounds like alot of your problem is EQ related. a bad EQ job will lead to feedback. The pickups in a MIA Strat should be very hum and feedback resistant.
Answer:
You need a humbucker before any power chords with distortion will sound good. This is my personal opinion, but I can't stand playing heavy distortion w/ single coils in my strat. I put a humbucker in the bridge position because there was so much ice-pick trebles that I rarely used that pickup anyway. That will get rid of the hum and sound a lot better with any distortion. As for the jeckyl and hyde, I think I remember it sounding pretty good w/ my solid state amp, but i haven't played through that amp in a while.
Answer:
Well, speaking from personal experience of playing a J&H into a Marshall MG30DFX, it doesn't sound great, but it works. I used it mostly to give myself a lead boost for solos.
I would still say put the pedal aside for a bit and get a tube amp. Yes it will be a wait as you save, but I think that you will end up a lot happier. In all my experimenting with that very amp, I was never able to get a halfway decent lead tone. With my tube amp I can get a bunch of really good ones.
Answer:
Ah man, the tube talk. I probably could buy a tube amp, but here's the thing, 1) I tried a Peavy one out one time and it didn't have all the distortion I wanted, but a pedal would help..nevermind. 2) I don't wanna keep messing with the tubes and freaking out every time someone bumps into it. Man now you have me thinking...oh why do you guys have to do this to me?? lol ;-)
Answer:
Well, you answered yourself on the first part, and for the second, you only change the tubes maybe once a year, and only really hard jolts (like falling out the back of a car) will really do damage to the tubes.
And why do we do it? Because we know that they sound better and that you will ultimately be happier if you get a tube amp.
Answer:
Originally Posted by hardcorerocker Ah man, the tube talk. I probably could buy a tube amp, but here's the thing, 1) I tried a Peavy one out one time and it didn't have all the distortion I wanted, but a pedal would help..nevermind. 2) I don't wanna keep messing with the tubes and freaking out every time someone bumps into it. Man now you have me thinking...oh why do you guys have to do this to me?? lol ;-)
As Mr. Pianoman said, you'll have to really thump a tube amp good to break the tubes. Even if you use it a lot, you won't have to change tubes all the time. My Fender Hot Rod Deluxe has the original tubes, and it's 5 years old. However, it probably wasn't used much before I got it 6 months ago.
As for the Peavy's lack of distortion, try some different tube amps. Find one you like. Just because a certain amp doesn't sound good to you doesn't mean they all are like that. Mayhaps the amp you tried wasn't meant for lead / hard rocking.
-Nick
Answer:
Originally Posted by panhead4383 You need a humbucker before any power chords with distortion will sound good. This is my personal opinion, but I can't stand playing heavy distortion w/ single coils in my strat. I put a humbucker in the bridge position because there was so much ice-pick trebles that I rarely used that pickup anyway. That will get rid of the hum and sound a lot better with any distortion. As for the jeckyl and hyde, I think I remember it sounding pretty good w/ my solid state amp, but i haven't played through that amp in a while.
apparently you never listened to Deep Purple or Hendrix (classic rockers with single coil strats) or Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi) or a plethora of other arena rock guitarists sporting strats in the 80s.