Members injected Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 You would think that overdriving anything, at least back then, would sound bad. Run a vocal mic into overdrive? Screech, loud obnoxious sound. Good for industrial death metal/angry germans screaming I guess. Distorted drums? warbly and fuzzy and unpercussive. Trumpet? Violin? Piano? All those distorted sound like crap. (i may be wrong though) But guitar.. when you run it through a good amplifier, it changes from clean full ringing tone to an over the top monster that is actually MUSICAL, like the harmonics of everything just ring with eachother.. and if you play 5th chord it gives it some kind of ballsy sound that i dont know how it exists. Even lightly overdriven guitars, like on a fender bassman or plexi, they have so much musicality and sexyness to the sound. Why does guitar sound good distorted? And why don't other instruments? ps. i might be in the wrong forum! but i like this forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mogwix Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 because guitarists are 100% ass backwards in relation to everything else that makes sense. but I agree. a good distorted guitar tone is sexy. too bad so many guitarists have awful tone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nxt Lvl Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 It's like sugar in your coffee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members injected Posted February 1, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 because guitarists are 100% ass backwards in relation to everything else that makes sense. but I agree. a good distorted guitar tone is sexy. too bad so many guitarists have awful tone Well I mean yeah, but how come it's the ONLY instrument that sounds great distorted? Why doesn't it sound like crap like it should?? And how is there so many "flavors" of distortion of varying awesomeness!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaBender Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 A little distortion from the harmonica amp ain't so bad, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members injected Posted February 1, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 A little distortion from the harmonica amp ain't so bad, either. I was reading Wikipedia. Harmonica was one of about 4 instruments that sounded good overdriven, at least in what I was reading. I don't understand why overdriving other instruments doesnt create the same ballsy tone that guitar does Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sailorman Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 I play guitar so agree with the overdriven tone=good formula. I have one of Richard Guy's 1/2 watt Gilmore Jr. amps so I can do that without killing things. A flat out, screaming B3 through an overdriven Leslie sounds great too; like the opening of 'Gimme Some Lovin' by Spencer Davis Group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Axisplayer Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 Well I mean yeah, but how come it's the ONLY instrument that sounds great distorted? You are obviously too young to have experienced a B3 over driving a Leslie. Nothing like it on earth. Listen to "Highway Star" and get back to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Axisplayer Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 like the opening of 'Gimme Some Lovin' by Spencer Davis Group. One of my favorite riffs of all time. Impossible to ignore. Absolutely defines a B3 sound... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monthlymixcd Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 I was reading Wikipedia. FWIW - I made an electric Kazoo that sounds wicked through just about any amp. Not that I need Wikipedia to tell me what sounds good distorted... but the fact is that the human ear hates perfectly flat super clean in-tune sound. It's boring. Just a hint of distortion can take something from dull to DyNo-MiTe! (Channeled JJ Walker for that one.) I would argue that ANY vocal track would benefit from just a hint of thermionic distortion. This is why we like tube pre's so much and why the good ones cost good money. As far as guitar or bass dirt goes... there are a lot of terrible distortion tones out there and finding the perfect Fuzz is even more elusive. (As someone who once owned nearly 120 guitar pedals attempting to create both I can attest.) IMHO - The best dirt comes only from glowing glass. Which glowing glass is a matter of taste. I have several tube amps (some that I've built) and particularly love my THD Univalve. If you don't have one... get one. The permutations of preamp/driver/power tubes that I can run through it (especially with the socket adapters for each) is just CrAzY. Philips 6SN7 into Telefunken EL84? Yes. ECC803S into Mullard CV4024 into Genalex grey glass KT-66. Oh GOD yes! Nothing like power tube distortion... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rezrover Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 You are obviously too young to have experienced a B3 over driving a Leslie. Nothing like it on earth. Listen to "Highway Star" and get back to me. Jon Lord played through Marshall stacks too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members injected Posted February 1, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 You are obviously too young to have experienced a B3 over driving a Leslie. Nothing like it on earth. Listen to "Highway Star" and get back to me. No, I mean I'm young yeah but I love b3's and their sound. They aren't as overdriven as what I'm saying though. A B3 will always sound like a B3. A guitar overdrive sound though.. it varies in so many ways. And besides, when I meant NOTHING sounds good distorted, i meant only a small handful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Real MC Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 Most wind instruments have inherent distortion. The timbre varies with wind pressure. If you played a trumpet at low wind pressure, the tone is much more subdued and pure. Increase the wind pressure and the timbre produces more even harmonics, much like tube overdrive but less subtle than full out rauchy guitar distortion. Same is true with percussion instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaddyDiesel Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 Most wind instruments have inherent distortion. The timbre varies with wind pressure. If you played a trumpet at low wind pressure, the tone is much more subdued and pure. Increase the wind pressure and the timbre produces more even harmonics, much like tube overdrive but less subtle than full out rauchy guitar distortion.Same is true with percussion instruments. Same goes for the wailing of a saxophone. On a differant note I have heard electric fiddles played with distortion with great success. Not to the success of a overdriven guitar and tube amp. BUt quite nice all round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sailorman Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 One of my favorite riffs of all time. Impossible to ignore. Absolutely defines a B3 sound... agreed. and difficult to reproduce; we play that song and the keyboard, a Yamaha S90ES has a decent patch, but just not the same going through the PA or a solid state keyboard amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members paulz Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 No, I mean I'm young yeah but I love b3's and their sound. They aren't as overdriven as what I'm saying though. A B3 will always sound like a B3. A guitar overdrive sound though.. it varies in so many ways.And besides, when I meant NOTHING sounds good distorted, i meant only a small handful. R U mainly a guitfiddler? - I think there's probably quite a bit of "blue honda" syndrome going on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 Because when you are starting out with a relative simple assemblage of pure tones (a guitar and organ are good examples) of which the signal is already a grouping of harmonics, overdriving adds harmonics that when then low pass filtered by the speaker that is also adding it's own harmonic series, adds musically related material. Also, there's the sustain/compression, and the changing of peak to average ratios that makes the ear feel more "satisfied". The more complex the signal, the more overwhelming and less desireable added harmonics typically are. Really, it becomes too much of a good thing, and when you start of with a complex signal, less of the distortion is as musically relative and becomes extraneous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Telecruiser Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 Distortion on guitar conveys power, authority and emotion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gruvjack Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 I've heard a Yamaha CS80 thru a Marshall. Pure badness. V. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monkeyland Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 I've heard a Yamaha CS80 thru a Marshall. Pure badness.V. a fart would sound good through a screaming marshall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhat Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 agreed. and difficult to reproduce; we play that song and the keyboard, a Yamaha S90ES has a decent patch, but just not the same going through the PA or a solid state keyboard amp. The overdrive you hear in that song is more due to the gear than any intensional desire to drive the stuff into overdrive. it was hard back in the day to get volumes up to concert levels without pushing things into distortion. Cleans were the sound of choice when gimme some lovin was on the charts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monthlymixcd Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 sound good through a screaming marshall. See edit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sailorman Posted February 1, 2010 Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 The overdrive you hear in that song is more due to the gear than any intensional desire to drive the stuff into overdrive. it was hard back in the day to get volumes up to concert levels without pushing things into distortion. Cleans were the sound of choice when gimme some lovin was on the charts. I'm not sure I agree. I'm not Steve Winwood, so I can't tell you what he was trying to achieve, but for a recording made in the studio, volume isn't an issue. Take "Whiter Shade of Pale" for instance, of the same vintage; nice clean Leslie/organ tone. Live I'm sure was a different story, but I think the distortion was used for effect in the studio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members injected Posted February 1, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 1, 2010 I've heard a Yamaha CS80 thru a Marshall. Pure badness.V. Damn, a cs-80? whered you see one of those played? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bugzie Posted February 2, 2010 Members Share Posted February 2, 2010 You are obviously too young to have experienced a B3 over driving a Leslie. Nothing like it on earth. Listen to "Highway Star" and get back to me. Axis....would you stop reminding me that I'm old! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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