stairway27 Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Got delivery of my DF this past weekend (Nor Cal, USA). I will save the majority of my comments for later after I've had sufficient time to play her. However, can anyone tell me what the difference is between the Classic Gibson setting and the Texas Blues setting when using Chameleon Tone mode? I can certainly hear the difference when one of the coils in the BB drops out for the Funk setting, but I can't hear what the difference is between the Classic setting and the Texas Blues setting - is this supposed to be more of a Pearly Gates type tone? If so, I'm not hearing it. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCK Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Hi stairway27. Enjoy your new guitar. I think your question is discussed in the following thread http://www.futureguitarnow.com/forum/index.php?topic=14.0. I hope you find this resource valuable. All the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypurple Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 But from elantrics diagram, I cant see what the difference is either - Gibson and Texas blues have the same coil settings dont they? Is the difference in EQ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sliptrip Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Can I ask a question? Don't you feel you are cheating yourself when you get a guitar like a dark fire? What's so ironic about this thread is that you all are using all these fancy electronics ON A LES PAUL to get a texas blues sound. I bet if Billy Gibbons or any other Texas blues player saw this thread, they would probably laugh at you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed91 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I believe that first of all, he should have tryed to ear the sound of the guitar before speaking of it... But that's just my opinion... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sliptrip Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I believe that first of all' date=' he should have tryed to ear the sound of the guitar before speaking of it... But that's just my opinion...[/quote'] well, maybe you have a point, but I feel the dark fire is just another Gibson gimmick guitar. Maybe I'm just too much of a fan of the simple setup without all these crazy effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigr726 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 SlipTrip- I completely see where you are coming from. The vast majority of my playing time is spent using my other Gibbys or Dark Fire in the "standard Les Paul mode", but, sometimes, it's just fun to fiddle with the knobs and hear a whole new sound coming from your fingers. There are probably a quite a few of us DF owners that use all the tricks up the sleeve of the DF, but I know there must be a lot like me who just find it fun to have some diversity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCK Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Can I ask a question? Don't you feel you are cheating yourself when you get a guitar like a dark fire? What's so ironic about this thread is that you all are using all these fancy electronics ON A LES PAUL to get a texas blues sound. I bet if Billy Gibbons or any other Texas blues player saw this thread' date=' they would probably laugh at you.[/quote'] Sliptrip, all bugs set aside, the idea is not so much different than coil tapping. Take a humbucker, split it via wiring into two single coils and use just one. Presto, you get the single coil sound on a LP. It'll never be the same as a Strat but will serve some purpose for those who need it. So its been done before without becoming a sacrilege. DarkFire simply attempts to do it in a more organized, diversified & automated way. When it works it promises to provide great control and options to a musician who needs just that. Perhaps a session guitarist or perhaps a hobbyist like me who can't afford to get one of everything. Anyways, blabbering on here. Key is for Gibson to get it working & delivered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgarlie Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 What does "Texas Blues" mean here? Is it Gibbon's tone or SRV? If you can get those two out of the same guitar, I will certainly buy it. I have also read articles about true "Texas Blues" tone requiring two or (preferably) three amps. Anyone got MP3 examples? Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sliptrip Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 point seen. I used to use a Line 6 Flextone amp, with an UNGODLY amount of effects, and over time I found out that I was only using 3 or 4 effects. So, I guess those things are for the experimenting type and I realized that I'm completely happy with the straight Gibson/Marshall sound. I bet if I fooled around with it and had enough expendible income, I would probably own one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stairway27 Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 Can I ask a question? Don't you feel you are cheating yourself when you get a guitar like a dark fire? What's so ironic about this thread is that you all are using all these fancy electronics ON A LES PAUL to get a texas blues sound. I bet if Billy Gibbons or any other Texas blues player saw this thread' date=' they would probably laugh at you.[/quote'] First, do I think I'm cheating myself w/ the Dark Fire? H*ll No!!! Duh, a Les Paul will never sound like a Strat or Tele, I don't care what you do to the electronics it's against the laws of physics and the known universe would implode if that happened. How do I know? I tried a set of Duncan P-Rails in my R8...nope, no Strat "quack" at all. If I want a real, honest-to-goodness Texas Blues tone, I'd fire up my EJ Strat, through a cranked up Fender or Dumble (might throw in a Tube Screamer just to piss you off). I can tell you that if I had to bring only one guitar to a cover gig where I needed a lot of different guitar tones, I'd bring the DF. Not expecting perfection from the DF, but my guess is no one dancing in the crowd would care if I was playing Sweet Home Alabama on a DF in Funk/Twang mode, but I'd sure feel better knowing that my tone was a little closer to the original record. The DF is a "tool" for expression, not for nit-picking. I would be willing to bet that the Rev. Billy G has a Dark Fire and I would also be willing to bet my entire guitar collection that if he doesn't have one, he wants one. Billy is known for trying new guitars, effects, amps, whatever is the latest and greatest. How do I know? Can you say Rockman? Or Bixonic? Can you say "Was that a Gretsch Billy was playing? Sure didn't look like Pearly Gates..." He may use Pearly through a Marshall on all the ZZ records, but he also uses a lot more than that and I dare say, that Billy has made some successful records. Let's face facts: Every electric guitar (with the exception of Rickenbackers) wants to be either a Les Paul, a Strat or a Tele or some combination thereof. Don't knock us DF owners for wanting to be first in line for the most advanced change to the holy grail of electric guitars to come down the pike since the invention of the PAF pickup. Trust me, 25-30 years from now Sliptrip you're going to wish you had one of the original DF's because they will be worth a cool fortune (think about what an original 58 Paul sells for these days) AND guitarists will still be talking about the early DFs just like we still talk about the wraparound tail piece (it wasn't perfect, but it sure had its merits). Also, I'm ok that you liking a straight Gibson/Marshall tone - I do too!! It can't be beat in my book. But do you think a guy like Da Vinci sat around and said, "You know, I really like drawing with charcoal. It's easy to use, and I can get it whenever I want, why should I try using anything else? Who wants to waste time mixing paints when I can just grab a charcoal and draw?" Nope. He was all over oil paint, sculpting in marble, water color...you name it. Point being, we all love the straight Gibson/Marshall tone, but if the DF adds a new twist on that combo, what's wrong with trying it out? If it inspires one to paint an aural Mona Lisa, I'm all for it. It might not be perfect, but the DF is a unique guitar that is the start to a million new creative possibilities...keep an open mind and it WILL set you free... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypurple Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 But getting back to the point of the thread... I dont see any difference in the two settings from the coil setup - so what is the difference between the two? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elantric Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 http://www.futureguitarnow.com/forum/index.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sliptrip Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Trust me' date=' 25-30 years from now Sliptrip you're going to wish you had one of the original DF's because they will be worth a cool fortune... [/quote'] maybe, once they fix all the problems I've heard about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gplayer100 Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 There are very significant difference in each setting of the DF guitar. The tones were worked on for some time in studio settings to match vintage guitars. Tone in a guitar is not just one thing, but a combination of things. Putting a single coil in a guitar does not give it a Fender sound. The tone is determined by three basic things. 1 The position of the transducer (pick-up) - between nut and bridge; 2 The pick-up characteristics (coil windings, wire, magnets, etc.) 3 The wood and other guitar construction details. The guitar construction imparts characteristic tone by altering the frequency response of the vibrating string. This characteristic frequency curve can be recreated accurately using very precise equalizer circuits. The DF does this primarily in the analog domain preserving the timing of the string vibrations [digital processing requires that anaolog signals are converted into digital streams, and then converted back to analog. -- This takes time and introduces a lag] DF uses two 4 band parametric equalizer circuits to mold the frequency response to exactly reproduce a guitar constructions impact on tone. The placement of the pick up coils and their construction allows the guitar to reproduce phase and other tone modifying affects. The classic sounds require the toggle switch to be in the center position, the piezo in the zero contribution position, and the tone controls at full. With so many options available to change tone in addition to the Chameleon tone position, it is very easy to get away from the classic sound by using the controls available. That is also true for any post processing that is introduced (i.e. anything the modifies the tone after the signal leaves the guitar like the amplifier you are using). The bottom line is that each chameleon tone setting is very different. There are many things in addition to the guitar itself that can impact what you actually hear. I hope this is helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simont Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 The classic sounds require the toggle switch to be in the center position' date=' the piezo in the zero contribution position, and the tone controls at full. [/b'] great article gplayer. Could you tell me, does the above toggle/piezo positioning apply to all 8 of the chameleon tones? What about the "Acoustic" tone for example.? Does that also have the piezo in the zero contribution position? cheers Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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