Jump to content

How to get a dream pop ish sound?


Fersnachi

Recommended Posts

  • Members

my two cents:

 

I've owned the Classic Player Jazzmaster and wasn't particularly fond of the tremolo or the pickups, which were hotter & thicker sounding than most HB's, which was a definite no-no. Any attempt at clarity was riddled with muddiness, also the sustain was the worst I've heard on any guitar. Then there's the CIJ ones with Strat pickups underneath the pickup covers, and the AVRI ones which are closest to the real deal but out of most folks' price range. What's been working perfectly for me as far as doing shoegaze & dream-pop is a Gretsch Electromatic Pro Jet, the one with the Bigsby. The bridge pickup has infinitely more in the way of clarity & despite being a mini-HB, sounds way more like a single coil than some actual single coils do. The Bigsby is the main draw & is a lot more comfortable to work with, especially after several hours of playing. I skip out on any modulation or chorus/flanging & just ride the tremolo ever so slightly throughout playing, which gives a modulated sound without the need for extra pedals. The set neck & shorter scale on the Gretsch are two other major pluses in my book, as well. I would like to get an RV-5 to send the reverb & distortion into full-blown noiseouts...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

For My Bloody Valentine tones: metal distortion, extreme volume, lots of whammy, reverb if you got it, tremolo pedal

 

For Slowdive type tones: tremolo, chorus, and reverb with any type of guitar, really.

 

 

Keep in mind, true dream pop modulation effects are playing technique and not pedals. Strumming eighths and sixteenths while holding the whammy bar and playing lots of open chords, using alternate tunings, all that contributes to the sound and sounds a lot more authentic than throwing on a flange or a chorus pedal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I kinda go for somewhere in-between the two, if I'm in the mood for that sort of sound. I'll use an MXR distortion + which has its Big Muff moments, but with a ton more note-to-note clarity for the dream-pop moments. Not as a result of lowering the guitar's volume, but 100% from the picking dynamics alone. The gain never exceeds 50%, which is plenty of fuzz anyhow. I'll alternate between shoegaze & dream pop, and then some sludgy fuzzed out stoner rock, and then stuff that sounds like Jeff Buckley, and then something else entirely. A friend called yesterday & said he wanted to do this shoegaze-ish project & the sound isn't too hard to pull off with minimal effects. Going the Serena-Maneesh route, however, would require tons & tons of effects...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...