Making Music

[Mel81x+]

If I could ever find a reason to get one I would. Sadly my TC Elec Hall of Fame would give me dirty looks but this is one seriously good piece of tech.

[Dr. Gonzo]

I'm a simple man when it comes to reverb, I like as few knobs as possible and if I'm using any reverb at all it's either one of two situations: 1.) I'm soloing, 2.) I'm playing out of my 6505 at low volumes and just a touch of reverb from the amp's built in reverb makes the low volume sound just a biiiit bigger.

I used to have a Boss reverb pedal at some point in my life, when I was in a band and playing back home when I was younger. But generally, I prefer reverb that's built into an amp - although that's not idea if you want to kick it on for just a part of a song. I've always thought the EHX Holy Grail was very cool - but I've never owned or used one.

What's your favourite type of reverb? Like Hall. plate, room, spring, etc? I quite like spring reverb (I feel like everyone does) when it's an actual spring reverb unit and it's not digital... and when it is digital, I'm quite partial to plate reverb.

[Mel81x+]

I quite like them all but that's also because I started out liking Spring a lot and then transitioned into hall and room just because I was playing acoustic more and it sounded a lot better for what I was trying to do. I think EHX makes a great pedal but then again there is Strymon and their ridiculously good pedal as well which, if it wasn't so damn expensive, i'd have picked over the HoF and its a super versatile pedal for a lot of instruments not just guitars.

[Dr. Gonzo]

51 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

I quite like them all but that's also because I started out liking Spring a lot and then transitioned into hall and room just because I was playing acoustic more and it sounded a lot better for what I was trying to do. I think EHX makes a great pedal but then again there is Strymon and their ridiculously good pedal as well which, if it wasn't so damn expensive, i'd have picked over the HoF and its a super versatile pedal for a lot of instruments not just guitars.

I think every Strymon pedal is incredibly good quality, they look sturdy as fuck and they sound ridiculously good. But holy fuck the prices. I think the HoF is a much more reasonably priced pedal that does just about everything you'd want from the Strymon, tbh. Might not have the same exact sound characteristics as the Strymon… but in all honesty, I'm not sure if it's worth the premium compared to the HoF.

Take, for instance, my dream amp: https://www.fortinamps.com/product/mesh-amp/ (not that I'm that into Meshuggah, but that amp can basically cover the full range of all Marshall sounds - from old school 60s rock to modern day extra heavy shit... in an old school single channel Plexi style amp). That is an absolutely insane price for it. I want it so badly, but I'm sure there's other amp manufacturers out there that have their own take on a hot rodded Plexi that are less fucking insane with the prices. It may not sound as good as an amp hand built by Mike Fortin himself (which I think is crazy that I can actually buy an amp Mike Fortin worked on)… but it'd get the job done probably in a substantially similar way to the Meshuggah amp.

Having said that though, comparing pedals to amps is a bit like comparing apples to oranges. But apples and oranges are both fucking fruit, so why not compare them sometimes 

[Mel81x+]

6 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I think every Strymon pedal is incredibly good quality, they look sturdy as fuck and they sound ridiculously good. But holy fuck the prices. I think the HoF is a much more reasonably priced pedal that does just about everything you'd want from the Strymon, tbh. Might not have the same exact sound characteristics as the Strymon… but in all honesty, I'm not sure if it's worth the premium compared to the HoF.

Take, for instance, my dream amp: https://www.fortinamps.com/product/mesh-amp/ (not that I'm that into Meshuggah, but that amp can basically cover the full range of all Marshall sounds - from old school 60s rock to modern day extra heavy shit... in an old school single channel Plexi style amp). That is an absolutely insane price for it. I want it so badly, but I'm sure there's other amp manufacturers out there that have their own take on a hot rodded Plexi that are less fucking insane with the prices. It may not sound as good as an amp hand built by Mike Fortin himself (which I think is crazy that I can actually buy an amp Mike Fortin worked on)… but it'd get the job done probably in a substantially similar way to the Meshuggah amp.

Having said that though, comparing pedals to amps is a bit like comparing apples to oranges. But apples and oranges are both fucking fruit, so why not compare them sometimes 

I think when you get past using something and you start to play with it a lot the flaws slowly start to show themselves. I have two Darkglass pedals and I love them to death but if someone had offered me an MXR instead of one of the DGs I'd take it in a heartbeat now. Not that i'd ever sell any of my DGs as they are so well made I sometimes wonder what they must have been thinking when you get into them.

As for the Strymon it has a cab push button at the back to completely clean the signal before it goes into the FX block so I think thats cool and it has some very cool plates. At the end of the day its all about the sound you want and these are some very expensive investments for sure but that's the price you pay for something engineered to do a lot and take a beating.

[Dr. Gonzo]

8 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

I think when you get past using something and you start to play with it a lot the flaws slowly start to show themselves. I have two Darkglass pedals and I love them to death but if someone had offered me an MXR instead of one of the DGs I'd take it in a heartbeat now. Not that i'd ever sell any of my DGs as they are so well made I sometimes wonder what they must have been thinking when you get into them.

As for the Strymon it has a cab push button at the back to completely clean the signal before it goes into the FX block so I think thats cool and it has some very cool plates. At the end of the day its all about the sound you want and these are some very expensive investments for sure but that's the price you pay for something engineered to do a lot and take a beating.

I’ve always thought the Strymon stuff looks top of the line as far as pedals go. I’m clearly not the target market, but I think they make pedals that always compete as contenders of best pedals of their typed you’ve got the money.

They’re sort of mythical to me, tbh. I’ve only heard of how great they are, I’ve never actually gotten to play one of their pedals. I’ve seen videos that pretty clearly demonstrate that they’re top class, but I’ve never even come close to one. Even at guitar shops with good selections. And even if I did... I probably wouldn’t pay that much for a pedal, but I wish I could without thinking about it (because who doesn’t want to be rich).

So yeah, you get what you pay for - most definitely. There are some products where quality is almost just assured... but sometimes I’m not sure if the added quality is worth the premium.

Obviously that’s not the case if you’re gigging though, because then you’re willing to pay a premium for consistency and durability.

[Mel81x+]

4 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I’ve always thought the Strymon stuff looks top of the line as far as pedals go. I’m clearly not the target market, but I think they make pedals that always compete as contenders of best pedals of their typed you’ve got the money.

They’re sort of mythical to me, tbh. I’ve only heard of how great they are, I’ve never actually gotten to play one of their pedals. I’ve seen videos that pretty clearly demonstrate that they’re top class, but I’ve never even come close to one. Even at guitar shops with good selections. And even if I did... I probably wouldn’t pay that much for a pedal, but I wish I could without thinking about it (because who doesn’t want to be rich).

So yeah, you get what you pay for - most definitely. There are some products where quality is almost just assured... but sometimes I’m not sure if the added quality is worth the premium.

Obviously that’s not the case if you’re gigging though, because then you’re willing to pay a premium for consistency and durability.

I've tried a TimeLine (A grade fantastic and fun) and the BlueSky but I only really got to try it for 10 minutes before the guy had to get out of the studio. For me, the other big contributing factor to these pedals and the price is the amount of on-pedal control they give you. I always go back to my SpectraComp mini when saying this. Its a compressor pedal and it only has one knob on it so most people look at an MXR Bass Comp with all the settings and say wouldn't you want that because its has more control on-pedal and the truth is that I do think the MXR is a better Compressor but where the SpectraComp truly shines is the ability to customize the compressor block on your phone or PC and live run it back to the pedal with micro-fine adjustments so you can see how the sound is getting generated. With most of the high-end pedals you really have to have done your homework to get the sound just right or have a good understanding of what you're trying to achieve because they have no way of showing you the sound arcs or where the decay is happening or how you're losing low-end if you do X or Y. 

I come from a line of thinking that if you can set the pedal by using just the pedal its definitely a plus, I like my SpectraComp a lot because it allows some wicked customization and the knob which TCE did such a good job of integrating into whatever you wanted the pedal to really achieve. But, in the end if you're on stage or in the studio and you want to make the adjustments on the fly without having to worry about a DAW or a mobile device then the bigger companies are doing it right 100%. In the end it really boils down to budget and comfort and I am not knocking any pedals out there with the exception of some truly horrible ones haha like my EarthQuaker Tentacle which I clicked with my foot heard a sharp metallic sound then it stopped clicking and went mushy. 

Btw does anyone have anything they've recorded that they'd like to share? Always curious to hear stuff other people have played.

[Dr. Gonzo]

@Mel81x I’ll post a recording one day when I’m better at recording 

[Mel81x+]

https://reverb.com/news/reverb-to-be-acquired-by-etsy?utm_source=android-app&utm_medium=share

Interesting news. Didn't know where to post this and I am sure people on here have seen this at some point.

[Dr. Gonzo]

2 hours ago, Mel81x said:

https://reverb.com/news/reverb-to-be-acquired-by-etsy?utm_source=android-app&utm_medium=share

Interesting news. Didn't know where to post this and I am sure people on here have seen this at some point.

Oh no! I hate etsy and I loved reverb!

[Mel81x+]

10 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Oh no! I hate etsy and I loved reverb!

Apparently they're going to operate as a standalone initially but we all know the story here. One year of individual operating before Etsy starts to put its own stuff in there. Not really bothered tbh because I think Etsy will add some good support for global shopping but I am wary of the fact that Etsy also has a history of peddling garbage to its users.

[Dr. Gonzo]

3 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

Apparently they're going to operate as a standalone initially but we all know the story here. One year of individual operating before Etsy starts to put its own stuff in there. Not really bothered tbh because I think Etsy will add some good support for global shopping but I am wary of the fact that Etsy also has a history of peddling garbage to its users.

Etsy has shockingly shite customer service once you’ve actually made a purchase. Reverb has (had in a year?) actually pretty great service for both buyers and sellers.

But reading up on it, it seems as though part of operating as a standalone they’ll be keeping their customer service as is. Hopefully it stays that way.

[Mel81x+]

Just now, Dr. Gonzo said:

Etsy has shockingly shite customer service once you’ve actually made a purchase. Reverb has (had in a year?) actually pretty great service for both buyers and sellers.

But reading up on it, it seems as though part of operating as a standalone they’ll be keeping their customer service as is. Hopefully it stays that way.

i hope so too because I have my eye on something on Reverb and I am hoping I buy it before all this shit goes down.

[Dr. Gonzo]

Hey @Mel81x, do you ever use a Sans Amp with your bass? My friend left his bass at my house on Sunday, so I asked him if I could play it & I’d heard there’s a plugin that mimics the Sans Amp pedal. And HOLY FUCK it’s got a perfect bass tone (at least for me).

Before I googled “good free plugins for bass guitar” I’d never even heard of a Sans Amp.

And then I played my guitar through it and it was like pushing dogshite into my ear canals   - distinctly terrible tone (with my ESP at least)

[Mel81x+]

4 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Hey @Mel81x, do you ever use a Sans Amp with your bass? My friend left his bass at my house on Sunday, so I asked him if I could play it & I’d heard there’s a plugin that mimics the Sans Amp pedal. And HOLY FUCK it’s got a perfect bass tone (at least for me).

Before I googled “good free plugins for bass guitar” I’d never even heard of a Sans Amp.

And then I played my guitar through it and it was like pushing dogshite into my ear canals   - distinctly terrible tone (with my ESP at least)

Is it the Tech21 drive or that other piece of crap that people peddle as SansAmp I can't remember its name off the top of my head. If its Tech21 I will only say this. There isn't a single gigging bassist I know personally who has never used that pedal. It's ridiculously good for the price and is something that can shape your bass tone very well. I own one, do I use it? Not so much anymore since I have my DarkGlass now but a few years ago I never played without plugging my Bass into it.

Is it this?

[Dr. Gonzo]

34 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

Is it the Tech21 drive or that other piece of crap that people peddle as SansAmp I can't remember its name off the top of my head. If its Tech21 I will only say this. There isn't a single gigging bassist I know personally who has never used that pedal. It's ridiculously good for the price and is something that can shape your bass tone very well. I own one, do I use it? Not so much anymore since I have my DarkGlass now but a few years ago I never played without plugging my Bass into it.

Is it this?

I was playing a plug-in that’s copying it, but yeah that same pedal.

[Mel81x+]

5 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I was playing a plug-in that’s copying it, but yeah that same pedal.

You should pick up the bass as side instrument haha. Have your mate leave more stuff at your house especially if he has a Fender Precision or something of the sort.

[Mel81x+]

This is one of the reasons I always tell people who knock on acoustic/classic guitar that its such a versatile instrument for people that just want to do things on their own without the help of an entire band. Of course Gabriela has fingers that go faster than a Ferrari but that's a different discussion.

And thats a tutorial for learning the kind of rhythm they use.

[Inverted]

I loved listening to this talk from Nile Rodgers. 

Its a shame some people just associate him with endlessly strumming 4-chord progressions, because the depth of knowledge and the command of technique behind his playing is amazing to see. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

The Megadeth guitarist took people shit posting on his YouTube channel and turned it into a lesson in picking dynamics for metal heads 

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

5 hours ago, Inverted said:

I loved listening to this talk from Nile Rodgers. 

Its a shame some people just associate him with endlessly strumming 4-chord progressions, because the depth of knowledge and the command of technique behind his playing is amazing to see. 

Nile Rodgers is a fucking genius

[Mel81x+]

7 hours ago, Inverted said:

I loved listening to this talk from Nile Rodgers. 

Its a shame some people just associate him with endlessly strumming 4-chord progressions, because the depth of knowledge and the command of technique behind his playing is amazing to see. 

I really liked that. Shows some very simple changes to songs that give them more pop.

[Mel81x+]

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jul/31/woodstock-50-music-festival-officially-cancelled-weeks-before-event

Didn't really know where to put this but that's rather sad.

[Mel81x+]

Been a while since I posted in here and I’ve been on a delay learning craze the past few weeks. After spending way too much time in Logic trying blocks and then even using my Boss to do some recording I just couldn’t get things to work right so I did something I probably should have done a few months ago. I went online and brought a Strymon Timeline Delay instead of getting a modeller and I did think about it a lot and decided I can wait on the modeller because I want something that does pure delay instead of something that does everything. 

My initial thoughts are this, its a very steep learning curve but if you spend enough time with it and take the time to fiddle, fail, fiddle again and then spend some time cursing it will eventually come together. It’s also my first Strymon pedal and I am honestly very impressed with their work and craftsmanship. Would I recommend it to someone that wanted to just learn delay? No. There are pedals with far less complications associated which can do the job that this does for learning. But, if you want to get some fine tuning in your work and want something that has some very strong and unique delay this thing is almost unbeatable (logic with a better processor could potentially give it a run for its money).

The downside of course is that you have to remember all your recs and settings but if you’re used to working with stuff like an RC Looper from Boss this will feel like second nature to you. 

The other thing to say here is that after using this I am probably going to take the challenge of mastering my understanding of reverb and go for their other hot-seller BigSky around Xmas. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

1 hour ago, Mel81x said:

Been a while since I posted in here and I’ve been on a delay learning craze the past few weeks. After spending way too much time in Logic trying blocks and then even using my Boss to do some recording I just couldn’t get things to work right so I did something I probably should have done a few months ago. I went online and brought a Strymon Timeline Delay instead of getting a modeller and I did think about it a lot and decided I can wait on the modeller because I want something that does pure delay instead of something that does everything. 

My initial thoughts are this, its a very steep learning curve but if you spend enough time with it and take the time to fiddle, fail, fiddle again and then spend some time cursing it will eventually come together. It’s also my first Strymon pedal and I am honestly very impressed with their work and craftsmanship. Would I recommend it to someone that wanted to just learn delay? No. There are pedals with far less complications associated which can do the job that this does for learning. But, if you want to get some fine tuning in your work and want something that has some very strong and unique delay this thing is almost unbeatable (logic with a better processor could potentially give it a run for its money).

The downside of course is that you have to remember all your recs and settings but if you’re used to working with stuff like an RC Looper from Boss this will feel like second nature to you. 

The other thing to say here is that after using this I am probably going to take the challenge of mastering my understanding of reverb and go for their other hot-seller BigSky around Xmas. 

I take pictures of my settings on complicated shit with lots of knobs so if I ever forget (which is likely as fuck tbh), I can just look it up on my phone and go "oh yeah" and dial everything in.

Nice though. Strymon shite always looks so nice and I've heard they're some of the best pedals around.