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Cant get clean sound from LP


gibsonrene

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Hmmmm, well maybe it's more a definition of what YOU consider "clean?" There's Roland Jazz Chorus "clean" (probably one of

the cleanest sounding amps, made...which is solid state). Then there's Fender clean, which naturally has a bit of "grit,"

to it. Marshall clean, has it's own characteristics, as do Vox, Orange, Hiwatt, etc., etc., etc! You may simply need to

turn down the volume knob, slightly, on your guitar, to get the cleanest tone. That often takes the grittier edge off the

tone, without reducing the volume all that much. "Pure clean" seems (for some of us) less desirable, as it can sound "sterile!"

 

I really don't think it's your Les Paul, per se'!

 

Hope you get it figured out, to your own satisfaction. [thumbup]

 

CB

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... You may simply need to turn down the volume knob, slightly, on your guitar, to get the cleanest tone. That often takes the grittier edge off the tone, without reducing the volume all that much. "Pure clean" seems (for some of us) less desirable, as it can sound "sterile!"

 

I really don't think it's your Les Paul, per se'!

 

Hope you get it figured out, to your own satisfaction. [thumbup]

 

CB

Yep - way to go! [thumbup] Most Gibson humbuckers with typical height adjustment are capable of overdriving any valve/tube amp's input stage. The resulting grid current causes harsh, crunchy edges at the signal peaks. You may raise the amp volume after turning down the volume on the guitar. This sort of gain staging may offer most volume with least distortion.

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As mentioned, 'clean' means different things to different people....:blink:

 

A Marshall and a Les Paul is an iconic combination favoured by many rock etc players....[thumbup]

 

One kind of opposite might be a Strat/Tele through a Fender Deluxe...

 

Some folks would venture into pedal territory to achieve a clean sound to contrast their O/D tones

 

Another option is coil tap to emulate a single coil p/u....

 

V

 

:-({|=

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Hi Gibsonrene,

I think the first thing you should do is to watch this tone tutorial by Joe Bonamassa:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkGCvLstPrE

 

If after watching that you still can't get the sound your after then to put it bluntly you really need to consider your choice of guitar and amp combinations, you've maybe got the wrong amp and possibly the wrong guitar and amp for what your hoping to achieve. Most players consider the Les Paul/Marshall combination to be the classic set up but I'm guessing your looking for something different.

 

Good luck,

Ian

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Guest Farnsbarns

Assuming you've tried turning the preamp gain down a little, and tried lowing pups and all the obvious stuff. What are the pups in your standard? They will be far hotter than a strat but you should be able to get a clean sound.

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Maybe the pickups are too close to the strings?

Lower them, don't be afraid slam those suckers down.

Easy those adjustement screws are there to use them.

I think factory spec is a bit too high in most cases, they sound overall much better a bit further away from the strings.

Normally the action is too low for my taste, but that's just my opinion.

 

That should give you a more defined, rich and harmonic sound.

 

BUT BEWARE!!!

 

A Les Paul with HUMBUCKERS will never sound like a Stat with single coils on a clean setting (not even with split coils, IMO again).

 

And maybe try some other amp brands as others pointet out, Iwould start with Fender.

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Guest Farnsbarns

The best thing that video of JB demonstrates is just how low his neck pup is adjusted, even visible in the thumbnail for the video.

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The best thing that video of JB demonstrates is just how low his neck pup is adjusted, even visible in the thumbnail for the video.

 

Some of us have been using guitars like that for decades.

 

rct

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Gibsonrene,

 

It could also be needs some tweeking in the setup of the guitar. I've seen Gibson's that weren't able to get the pickups adjusted no matter how low they were. Then for example to see that the neck had too much relief, then once the neck was adjusted, action adjusted, Pickups height to recommended starting points of neck pup at 3/32 and bridge at 4/64 with E strings pressed at last fret between polepiece and bottom of string. It may not play clean with the volume and tone at 10 but when they are rolled off, and some quite a bit, the clean sound is there. Just a thought.... when was the last time you had your amp serviced or tubes checked also.

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...It may not play clean with the volume and tone at 10 but when they are rolled off...the clean sound is there...

This (allied with too-high p'ups) would be my first thought.

Roll the Vol down to 6; tone down to, say, 8 and see what happens.

 

Pip.

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Humbuckers, especially hotter ones like 498T, BB3 or JB, will always be very gainy compared to a single coiled Strat. The difference is quite striking.

 

However, have you experimented with the middle pickup position on your LP? Yes your clean channel will need to be set up with almost zero pre-amp gain (if it has it) but the best cleans that can be had with an LP are in that middle position IMO. Mix that with time based, modulation or compression effects and you'll have some exquisite clean playing options in your locker that are, frankly, far warmer than your average harsh, thin-sounding Strat or Tele.

 

The other thing to consider is volume and headroom. Are you cranking your power tubes too much to get the volume you want? If so, you need to get a different amp and use pedals for you dirt.

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Mr Lester Polsfuss seemed to get pretty clean tone out of his LP's..

 

and he used many different LP's over the years.

 

clean tone has to be hiding in there somewhere.

 

 

The main thing that Lester kept a secret from Gibson was his pickups. He used Low Impedance pickups for his signature sound & kept it a secret until 1968 when he thought he would retire. At that point, he presented his secret of his "Les Paul Sound" to the owners of Gibson, they were amazed by the incredible tone harmonics & sustain. Gibson started plans for a new line of Low Impedance Les Pauls, but it was already too late. Guitarists like Eric Clapton, etc.... had already discovered the tone a humbucker could get when plugged into a Marshall stack with high gain............. there was no turning back. Few people had any interest in Les Paul's unique tone.

 

Here are a couple Les Paul Recordings, one 1973 like Les used up until he pass away & a 2013 (40 years apart) Les Paul Recording II that was reissued after he passed.

 

DSC09232_zps53469ff0.jpg

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Hi Gibsonrene,

I think the first thing you should do is to watch this tone tutorial by Joe Bonamassa:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkGCvLstPrE

 

If after watching that you still can't get the sound your after then to put it bluntly you really need to consider your choice of guitar and amp combinations, you've maybe got the wrong amp and possibly the wrong guitar and amp for what your hoping to achieve. Most players consider the Les Paul/Marshall combination to be the classic set up but I'm guessing your looking for something different.

 

Good luck,

Ian

 

 

What I like in that demo, besides his playing and tonal demonstrations, is in his last statement, which is essentially...

Learn the guitar's tonal possibilities, alone, before you even go to a pedal. It's what we HAD to do, when I was

young, as "pedals" were (almost) non-existent, save a "Fuzz" and Wah-wah! Even those, came later. You cranked the

amp, to it's "sweet spot" (volume and tone), then controlled everything at the guitar. When we did use pedals, it

was for specific "effect," and not for "tone!"

 

CB

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