Hi all

[Jim]

Hi all,

 

Been a long time since I stopped by here, new job, redundancy then starting my own business have all taken their toll, oh and moving 5 times in three years hasn't helped!

 

Down to three guitars now, my gorgeous Custom Shop '68 historic Tom Murphy, my rare tele shaped ESP Eclipse and my Washburn EA18

 

Anyway, I have been reading a lot about tone lately and how Marc Bolan for instance, had killer tone using HH amps and a rangemaster, and this guy gets great tone and so on. This got me wondering about whether I should start using effects again - I haven't used any in years and then after a recent gig, this kid came up to me and asked how I got my sound. He saw I had a Les Paul and asked if they were standard pups, to which I said they were the Burstbuckers, He asked about my amp, an extremely rare 100 watt 2 x 12 Marshall Combo from 1976/7 with Svetlana tubes, and he asked what else, I siad nothing except my Audio Technica transmitter, (In fairness it gives a little boost to the signal and gives a bit of compression)

 

But that's the spound I am looking for! the kid said, What do you play? I asked. He said he had a PRS Santa Fe, I think it was a Yamaha amp and he reeled off a staggering list of FX.

 

So use a Les Paul and a Marshall I suggested, but no, his rig had cost this much, the PRS is better than the Les Paul (?! - Really??) The Yamaha has some sort of really good signal to noise ratio or something and he spent months hunting it down, and with this effect and his amp simulator he should be able to get the sound of a Les Paul and a Marshall, and went on and on. he clambered up on to the stage looking for some FX plugged in somewhere, and accused me of cheating somehow!!

 

So my noisy Marshall and my "inferior" Les paul could give him what he wants, but he will stick with his PRS and digital simulators and god only knows what else and probably end up spending more on technology to chase a sound he can't get!! I still don't get it!

 

I play Rock, have the gain on the amp at 6/7 and everything else in the middle. The volume pots on my Les Paul allows me to really clean up the sound or at about 8 get a really hard crunchy rhythm and 10 will give me the drive and bite for the solo's (Three piece band)

 

Maybe it;s my age (48) but I still don't get that kid and think I'll leave my sound pretty much as it is! And as for his comments about his PRS, they are great guitars, Carlos Santana famously stopped using anything else, and I am sure that fret access is easier, I am sure they are lighter but better? Different maybe.

 

I'll stop moaning now and play some

 

Thanks

[saturn]

Yeah. I agree with everything he just said.

[KennyF]

To each his own I suppose.

 

I'm pretty open minded when it comes to gear, but at the end of the day, I'll take a P90 equipped, wrap tail Lester and a Plexi.

[stymye]

I agree too, I think it's important to hone a good sound/tone from the amp and guitar before blanketing it with effects.

to get that les paul +marshal tone nothing beats a Les Paul+Marshal.

 

once again it's a case of someone reading way to many magazines and internet sites and falling into the gotta have gizmo mindset.