Members Cirrus Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 But it's wierd, I think the opposite can be true. In the practice room I sometimes listen critically to the difference between one clean boost and another, a TS-9 and a TS-9 clone, the boost caused by a cranked CS-2 and that caused by a BD-2 with the gain turned right down... and sometimes they can be pretty similar, to the extent that I think to myself, "does it even matter?" Even in sound check, when I'm trying out all my pedals it's like ts-808... yep, sounds like distorted ac30... OCD... yep, sounds like distorted ac30... Rat... yep, sounds like distorted ac30... But when playing with the band I find I become really sensitive to these things - I really notice the differences and have definite preferences for each pedal in different parts of the songs. I guess when performing maybe I just become more sensitive. But I wonder if there's more to it. Maybe if two pedals make a similar sound, but one has a little notch in the midrange... and then when you're playing with a band and the bass end and treble end are masked by the other instruments, all you're left with is that midrange, maybe you notice it a lot more. Yep, I'm pondering bollocks. Has anyone else noticed this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members eti Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 You might hear the difference, but no one in the audience will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dr.Picklebottom Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 ^ exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pewtershmit Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 the audience may not be able to tell the difference, but they can certainly tell when you sound like {censored}. So there is a fine line that you, my son, must travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SnorkelMonkey Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 Also rooms can wreak havoc on your perception of tone. I've played rooms where even with the exact settings I normally use I sounded like I was using a completely different rig. I'm not sure you would "hear the difference" in a situation like that either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cirrus Posted July 20, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 you sound like {censored}. So there is a fine line that you, my son, must travel. Do you think I sound like {censored}, dad? :s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zappa74 Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 tone doesn't matter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rileykill Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 In the eye of the beholder. I use pretty much "high end" stuff in terms of pedals (Analogman, Fulltone, whatever) but the other guitarist uses a Digitech multi-fx thingy. Sounds fine in a club (and at practice in a treated room). The guitars get great separation and all the parts can be heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Amigo Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 people are stupid. not only is it better to have good tone for the audience, it makes you more confident as a player to have your ideal rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rileykill Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 but if you cant spend $1000 on a pedalboard that's ok. you can still rock out with complete abandon and be convincing. and your guitar will sound fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Amigo Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 but if you cant spend $1000 on a pedalboard that's ok. you can still rock out with complete abandon and be convincing. and your guitar will sound fine. true, you can hypothetically get away with more live, but I've used bad amps, and bad pedals live and trust me you can hear it out front, and you can definitely hear it yourself. Ideally you want to stop people in their tracks and have them {censored} their pants with awesome tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rileykill Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 true, you can hypothetically get away with more live, but I've used bad amps, and bad pedals live and trust me you can hear it out front, and you can definitely hear it yourself. Ideally you want to stop people in their tracks and have them {censored} their pants with awesome tone. Yeah I'm not trying to be argumentative and I absolutely think you should get the best gear you can afford ..... but conversely harmony central is not the real world. people can do amazing things with very little. I have complete confidence I could rock the {censored} out of a solid state peavy amp with a 12" speaker and a $100 squire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wacopacco Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 I think it's a very broad line. Sure as a player, you want to get the amps/efx/guitars that sound right for you. I'm extremely picky about what I use. All that work that goes into getting your tone definitely adds up to something. But when it comes to playing live, 99% of the audience isn't going to know the difference between a ds1 or a ts9. You (the player) will though. And that's what matters. Sure my dd7 sounds great and in a live setting, I'll put it up against a strymon anyday (though I do want the el cap, brig, and bluesky). But NOTHING has ever been able to touch my DMM. I've tried to replace it so many times, but for me it's a pedal that is as just a part of my sound as my amp/guitar is. I can't live without it. So in a live setting, even though the dd7 comes close to it, it's not the same. I think that's where we draw the line. And there's room for error sure. But it really comes down to what makes you happy. If you're content with spending $500 on a delay pedal, then fine. But just know that you are probably the only person in the room that can tell the difference between that and a $50 Behringer knockoff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members houseofglass21 Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 There's a lot of pedal players on this forum that care about the subtle nuances of their delay pedal, but not a whole lot of musicians. Anyone who gigs knows that {censored} goes right out the window when you play live. Crxsh'd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HeartfeltDawn Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 You might hear the difference, but no one in the audience will. Generalizations FTL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pewtershmit Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 Generalizations FTL. Ya when I'm in the audience I'll heckle the guitar tones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Amigo Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 There's a lot of pedal players on this forum that care about the subtle nuances of their delay pedal, but not a whole lot of musicians. Anyone who gigs knows that {censored} goes right out the window when you play live.Crxsh'd not really true, I mean, your tone and your gear define your sound. I'd like to see slayer try to rock a tele and a fender twin live. Cheap doesn't always mean bad, and can definitely work, but if you decide to bring your solid state beater amp over your ac30, it will be heard by you and your audience. I've even had people comment on my tone sounding off when I've used the wrong set up.... people notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wjbratcher Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 many discerning show-goers can tell whether they like your guitar sound or not, despite maybe not knowing anything about gear particularly. At least around here. OP, you are hearing more differences between your pedals live because you are more attuned to the band mix and which frequencies you are projecting. The contrast with the other instruments accentuates little peaks or dips at certain midrange frequencies in different TS-pedals and boosts. I can totally relate to what you are saying. When I try to "shoot out" overdrive pedals at home, they all sound roughly the same to me, once I get the amp really going. I'm not that picky about overdrives, but I wouldn't like to disappear or sound {censored}ty in a band mix. I will agree that it's hard to tell what kind of delay someone is playing when you are at a show. Delays are usually set for background ambience, and it's tough to hear little echoes from a mic'd guitar amp through the PA with a whole band playing at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Amigo Posted July 20, 2011 Members Share Posted July 20, 2011 ^^also keep in mind that many bands aren't always all playing at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spentron Posted July 21, 2011 Members Share Posted July 21, 2011 many discerning show-goers can tell whether they like your guitar sound or not, despite maybe not knowing anything about gear particularly. At least around here. Or they might like you or not, and not be able to articulate anything about why. But there are still reasons. And they may not realize how much tone affects your playing, which they may be actively critiquing. OTOH, what you want may not work as well as some other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members eti Posted July 21, 2011 Members Share Posted July 21, 2011 Ya when I'm in the audience I'll heckle the guitar tones. Oh, you're the guy yelling "Clones suck! Get a real TS9!"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Reauchambeau Posted July 21, 2011 Members Share Posted July 21, 2011 depending on the type of gigging you do, most of the room can tell desirable tone from bad tone. you, your bandmates, the soundman, and depending on the style of music you play, most of the audience is other musicians. tone is serious bidneh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ILOVEMYFENDER Posted July 21, 2011 Members Share Posted July 21, 2011 I agree that you should strive to have the best tone possible in any situation, but when you've only got certain things to work with like a $100 squire and a peavey as rileykill stated, you should be able to still put out a desirable sound. There's many famous guitarists who couldn't do that. David Gilmour wouldn't dare play with that cheap kind of gear. Not to say he's a bad guitarist by any means, but since he hasn't had the need to adapt to crappy gear for 40+ years he probably can't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mhuxtable Posted July 21, 2011 Members Share Posted July 21, 2011 Depends on your sound....if you're a straight up rock band with a little delay on leads, I don't think little nuances are a big deal...but if you create a lot of space and have a dense set up, a lot of little things can be heard hugely...at least for us that's true. The OPs point is true though...ODs can sound very similar to me too, but as soon as the band starts playing, I can hear things get lost or sound too muddy, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rileykill Posted July 21, 2011 Members Share Posted July 21, 2011 Depends on your sound....if you're a straight up rock band with a little delay on leads, I don't think little nuances are a big deal...but if you create a lot of space and have a dense set up, a lot of little things can be heard hugely...at least for us that's true. I agree with this. I guess my point is that fussing over gear only gets you so far. Just because you can't afford $200 pedals and a $1K amp that shouldn't stop you. A lot of us played for years and years on $30-50 boss and dod pedals and peavy amps and created some awesome music. It CAN be done. Really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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