That Pedal Show - Balancing Dynamics With Clean & Drive Sounds Into Big & Little Amps
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- čas přidán 21. 07. 2024
- Welcome to That Pedal Show! Please subscribe to our channel and visit our store www.thatpedalshowstore.com
Life too short for long CZcams videos? Please see the ‘Interesting bits and go-to sections’ information below.
In this episode we discuss the massive subject of balancing clean and dirty sounds in terms of volume and feel. It’s really all about gain structure and amp headroom - topics that we’ve touched on in many videos to date because they are absolutely fundamental to electric guitar tone.
We use a Marshall Class 5 combo and a 1987x half stack - 5 and 50-watt amps respectively to - to help illustrate the concepts discussed, hopefully offering some useful advice and pointers along the way. Enjoy the episode!
Pedals in this episode…
• TheGigRig Three2One
bit.ly/2fW8XJP
• Boss BD-2 (old Keeley mod) but try the Waza Craft Blues Driver…
UK & Europe: bit.ly/2fBdXnz
USA: bit.ly/3xoje7X
• Kingsley Page V2 Tube Boost
www.kingsleyamplifiers.com
• Keeley D&M Drive
UK & Europe: bit.ly/2oTblU1
USA: bit.ly/3E2Eqmw
Australia: bit.ly/2pUDUAE
• Origin Effects Cali 76 Compact Deluxe Compressor
UK & Europe: bit.ly/2cbsLUm
Australia: bit.ly/2rPSRWo
USA: bit.ly/323rheM
• Providence Chrono Delay
UK & Europe bit.ly/2cw8jis
• MXR M300 Reverb
UK & Europe: bit.ly/2hLvESX
USA: bit.ly/3yo9D1c
• Strymon TimeLine
UK & Europe: bit.ly/2fzulGD
USA: imp.i114863.net/6jXzV
Australia: bit.ly/2pSEFKm
• The GigRig G2: bit.ly/2h8xSay
* Why do we have preferred retailer links? Find out here: www.thatpedalshow.com/partners
Amps in this episde:
• Marshall Class 5 combo (version 1)
• Marshall 1987x & 1960AX 4x12 cabinet (with Celestion G12M Greenback speakers)
UK & Europe: bit.ly/31eVWmc
USA That Pedal Shop: bit.ly/3v3Xazc
Interesting bits and go-to sections…
- Intro & background: 00:00
- What are we doing today? 3:24
- Today’s amps - Big Jim & Little Jim: 5:34 (playing at 6:15)
- 5-watt and 50-watt ‘clean’ sounds: 7:00
- Today’s amp volume settings: 8:30
- Kingsley Page OD set dirty-ish, intro Big & Little Jim: 10:30
- … and then much louder with less gain: 13:38
- Using an OD pedal for dynamic ‘clean’ sounds: 14:56
- But what if I only have one amp? 17:36
- What happens when you crank Little Jim? 18:35
- Keeley-modded BD-2 with Big & Little Jim: 19:55
- What about getting more of a volume boost? 22:35
- Heavier gains and balancing volume: 24:55
- Compression pedal with Big & Little Jim: 35:50
- Guitars disappearing with fuzz? 41:38
- …and sitting under vocals? 42:38
- …but then the solo comes: 43:04
Guitars in this episode
• Fender Custom Shop ’63 Telecaster - watch Dan’s video at bit.ly/2dlZJ6K
- Fender American Vintage ’62 Stratocaster - watch Mick’s video at bit.ly/2cQv3yT
We hope you enjoy this video. Please subscribe to our channel.
You may even want to buy a T-shirt to support our efforts www.thatpedalshowstore.com
We are also on Patreon - crowdfunding for creatives
/ thatpedalshow
Please visit our preferred retailers!
UK & Europe: Andertons Music bit.ly/2cRvIvt
Australia: Pedal Empire bit.ly/2mWmJQf
USA: That Pedal Shop www.thatpedalshop.com/ - Hudba
I propose a "Full Band Friday" to demonstrate how these ideas sit in the mix
+geetarbube We really, really, really want to do this, and we currently have some ambitious plans to realise it. Bit of cash to raise and a whole new world of pain... but it's going to happen, er, hopefully this year. Cheers!
Great idea. I hope it happens, and I'm curious as to who the band members will be. Hopefully the latter will be a pleasant surprise.
Marillion's a full band. Steve Rothery is a GigRig client. JUST SAYING.
here here!
I was asking the same and just noticed you asked about it too. That would be great.
Mick, as an audio engineer I always appreciate when you correct "sound guy" to "engineer"
Dan's comments on recording his gig where he didn't turn up all night points out something I think is important. Almost every paid gig I've played in the last 20 years, my amp has been mic'd and the signal sent through the PA. So, sometimes when you step on a pedal and your sound "goes away" to your ears... through the PA is isn't necessarily the case... although on stage is often the worst place to know for sure. If you run back to your amp and turn it up... the sound guy reacts... now, the battle is on. we've gotten to the point where we make the sound guy a part of the band, make them come to rehearsals, know the songs, when to turn things up or down, etc.and I "trust" that even if I'm having a problem hearing my stage volume correctly, they're making sure the audience isn't having the same problem. It let's me choose all my settings for pedals and amp volume in rehearsal, and be confident they are working for live use. Great episode again guys! My favorite youtube channel!
As a sound guy, I couldn't agree more. Getting a good monitor mix can help, but it's tough if you don't have the budget for the equipment and a guy to take care of it.
+1
Happy sound engineer = better tone
Especially if the cab is mic'd, you don't want to pick a fight with the person that controls the master fader. You will always loose.
Bravo, Guys!
THIS is what really keeps me coming back to your show. Thanx, once again, for this extremely valuable discussion/instruction - keep up the good work and keep'em coming!
J.
Y'all, there aren't that many channels that are consistently raising the bar on their content value like yours. This was absolutely brilliant. You're like the Bill Nye The Science Guy(s) of this stuff. Rich in info, but delivered so everyone watching want to hang out with you after the video's over. So good.
+Articulate Guitar ah man, that's so nice, thank you :)
You're welcome! Cheers!
Mick always wears slightly darker jeans than Dan. I don't know why I noticed this. Great show this week!
Patrick Carroll a discussion on 'pants' between Dan and Mick would be fun....
William Or who wears them in the relationship :)
The age-old question: Does pant color affect tone?
You've unlocked it! It's how they send coded messages to Tom Hanks characters.
Always important to have your own tone. Especially with denim!
You boys are superb. Another triumph of an episode. I've commented before on other TPS vids that I'm not a pedal guy (rack and midi more my thing) but I've learned more from you two in the past year than from anywhere else, to the point that it has changed how I approach my tone. Thanks so much!
One of the best, if not the best episode, because it answered so many of the questions I'm dealing with week in week out. Thank you so much!
All time favorite episode for me. Answered some questions and found the process/demonstrations really engrossing. Well done gents, well done!
Mick..you're so good at responding to the changes when Dan makes a change, and vice versa. Love your show.
BD-2 chapter about 20:20, “Limiting rather than compressing.” Love this. One little thing said so nonchalant, but a huge concept. Awesome as always, thank you D&M.
Hellecasters' Menage: The Beak/The Claw...LOVE IT!!! Continue to enjoy the shows; keep up the great work!
jimmy
Probably my favourite episode ever. Great show guys!!
I'm completley fascinated, how you two hit the spot! Thanks for that! Very, very interesting!
This is great! This is something which I feel many of my fellow bedroom noodlers might face in terms of balancing gain contra clean sounds :) Thanks for making these vidd guys! I for one really feel my playing and tonal understanding develop every week!
+Otto Billström That's excellent Otto, thanks for saying that. It's why we're here!
Not missed one of these for well over a year now, LOVE IT
Even on holiday, I can't miss this. Watching from sunny corfu in a water park 😎
Hey Guys,
Been a fan of the show for a while but it's my first time commenting as I was an acoustic player for 11 years and just got my first electric (SG Junior). I love all of your shows and learn something from each one, but this one's particularly applicable to me as you do a lot of rhythm playing demos which is largely what I do as a singer-songwriter who starts on the acoustic and beefs up his songs later, and the different ways to achieve a very palatable rhythm crunch tone depending on what amp you're going through is fascinating--and I learn very easily what's too loud/overkill, lol. Thanks again for catering to noobs and vets alike.
Great video, the points made about dynamics, headroom, etc. aren't just a live problem, they're huge to good recording too. "The volume is in the mix" as they say, and what you think is loud is not loud until you get all those instruments with their frequencies and amplitudes jumbled up in that thing we call music.
I'm amazed how most of the mastering I do involves lowering the volume to make the whole mix sound louder. It's counter-intuitive when you haven't mapped out your frequencies and gave each instrument their own space. Like that 'perfect tone' we're all chasing, we also strive for the elusive 'perfect mix'.
Cheers Lads!
This is something I've been wondering about because I just started running my amount clean and using a distortion pedal. The dynamic is so different from running my amp dirty! Thanks for the info, guys!
This is so true. I usually have to keep my dirty channel turned up substantially louder than my clean channel just to handle this type of thing. It sound loud by itself, but once you mix it into a full band mix it disappears long before the clean tone does.
This is an episode I need to see again, and I believe play along to fully appreciate. I love these slightly more esoteric shows.
Love the show, guys! Could you do an episode on dialing in amplifiers for best pedal interaction?
Cheers!
Awesome video guys..these types of situations happen to me all the time..Depending on room , audience noise, band mates etc. You really don't get an actual "sound check" until the show begins..takes a couple songs for everyone involved to get used to the volume and properly adjust accordingly..which at times can be difficult at times..I guess making sure you have a "Big Jim" or a loud enough amp with a good amount of headroom to play with makes it easier. Thanks again guys, really love your show!
Brilliant! Dan, Mick, been watching all this time and you finally, somehow, squeeze a motorcycle reference into your show!
Seriously helpful video. Cheers!
By the way. Check out Keith Code's "No BS" bike, at California Superbike School. That will really mess you up!
Ahhh that point of using an always on to make your higher wattage amp behave like a lower wattage amp was so on point. That is exactly what I do.
Thank you guys for making these episode, they are truly informative!
I always love watching your videos, but there are certain ones I will watch over and over and over again. This is one of those episodes. Thanks!
Others I return to time and time again: pedal order basics, yes you do need an EQ pedal, better lead tones, four guitars and three classic overdrives, delay uses and misuses, & thoughts on clean tones. There are more, but that's just off the top of my head.
+Kyle B Excellent, thank you Kyle!
Very informative guys. I can see where comparisons between low and high headroom amps in gig situations could go on forever. Also explains why the mid-boost switch on my amp does more for lifting my solos than any of my pedals when I'm gigging live.
Great episode guys! Really informative. I'm using a 15 watt Orange so very little headroom.
The amp is mid heavy so does cut in the mix for rhythm, but there is still no where to go for solos. Best thing I've found is the Orange two stroke which has allowed me to boost the specific frequency where the rest of the band are least prevalent and cut bass or fizz as needed
Great show as always! I like that little Jim "in particularly". Cheers!
Nice one Dan! 16:25 “ so when I dig in with the Page on.......” and then plays the gentlest passage all video 😜🤣 EXACTLY the sort of thing I do all the time...........🙄🤪
I'd love to see more episodes that entirely focus on one classic amp like the hot rod deluxe episode. A twin reverb episode would be great
Great show.....great points, amazing how many times this happens when you see bands, or during rehearsals.
Ooh. The Claw! I always wanted to learn that but found it too intimidating. That Jerry Donohue clip is one I watch often and the one I show people when I try to convince them that country guitar can be really technical and cool. Well done, Mick!
Great episode, agreed with all your points. The amp comparison part at the begining was fascinating.
Any way the best idea is to set up your pedals at a full band practice. The gain sounds you get at home playing alone usually don't have a lot of use in a band situation. Playing at home I used to cut the middle and treble on my amp and pedals. Now I'm a lot more "trebley" when playing with a band.
Fascinating video as always! I love that you upload just in time for my lunch break every Friday, it's become part of my routine :)
+Callum Excellent! Chicken sandwich today?
That Pedal Show Actually today was a quintessential cheese and cucumber sarny, feeling very fancy!
This episode has really helped me with a major problem I've been experiencing. I have a Vox AC15. I love it! But there's so little headroom from my preferred basic sound into a dramatic lead.
You've given me lots of food for thought as to how best I can get round this.
Thank you! So useful.
+TheImmediate Less bass, less gain. More upper mids. Or... get an AC30. Sorry!
+TheImmediate Less bass, less gain. More upper mids. Or... get an AC30. Erm, you could also try a more efficient speaker (if it's a Greenback currently, change it for a blue.) Sorry to cost you money. :0)
I think I'll be OK with the 15, for now. Just important to not drive the normal channel too hard, prior to a boost. Seems obvious, but it definitely took watching this for me to realise. Can't wait to give it a go later. Which is the real beauty of your show! Thanks x
No answers, just better questions. This episode proved that point.
Great episode guys! There is just so much going on with tone and levels, where to start. My main rig is rack mounted gear and a few pedals. Many years ago I suffered from the "bedroom tone syndrome". My rig sounded great at home and larger than life when it was my turn at soundcheck. Sadly, it just didnt cut in a mix. I suffered from lack of mids primarily. I have since learned the difference between gig and bedroom tones. You guys have certainly made me aware of many more aspects, behaviors and psycho acoustic phenomena of different amps and pedals. So much going on that a one size fits all approach is just not possible. You clearly discuss and demonstrate many aspects of tone and many different variables involved.
"No answers just better questions" sums it up perfectly! Many great things to experiment with and contemplate. The cool thing is every piece in the signal chain makes a difference.
About 40 minutes into the video I was wondering if you lost your horn. Funny how with all you guys were talking about that entered my thoughts.
Mick, I've been riding for about 40 years, when I mention counter steering with my fellow riders they are amazed when they try it. Everyone does it intuitively but it is mostly the bike doing it for them. Most think it is leaning the bike it what makes the bike turn. Counter steering actually puts the horse in front of the cart and gets things happening much faster and more precise.
Thanks once again for another thought provoking Saturday morning coffee hour!
See you next week! Who am I kidding, ill be tuning in to this video and some of your others much sooner.
Cheers!
Chris
+Christopher Hamm Thanks for the feedback and observations Chris! Surprising how the counter steering thing has resonated. See you next week!
This was a great topic. Not many people have discussed how to balance your different tones. One topic that I have read about was ear plugs for protecting ears during a gig or practice with a band. Not many people have talked about this. Hearing is a vital things for guitarist. Any recommendations or input on this would really help.
+Richard Mendez Hi Richard. Dan and I both hate in-ears and ear plugs in general. Perhaps we need to test ourselves to find some that we can live with! Thanks for watching.
That Pedal Show I've played with wedges and in-ears, and I always hated in-ears and had to always take one out to get any feel or room ambiance. And then I started to play with two amps in stereo (or dual mono with different mic positioning) and split mics to my own mixer. In-ears now make sense, and super wide panned amps makes playing in a live setting really inspiring and fun again. I use Shure e315's. I'd love to dive into some JH Audio buds, but I'd also like another guitar soooooo ...
If you do that, I WILL be watching as i'm not a fan of in-ears or plugs at all. What? Pardon? Eh?
I've been using earplugs since 1991 while playing and working at gigs I wasn't mixing. Absolutely saved my hearing. I run US operations for a German loudspeaker company and use earplugs at every demo I do and every flight I take. Since 1997 I've been wearing earplugs molded to my ears with a choice of level attenuation (-9db, -15db & -25db). They are the best compromise of protection vs comfort vs frequency response I have found. in-ears are great if you can rely on the close mic'd sound and/or mix in an ambient mic.
Get some molded ones. It'll still feel funny the first times, but now it's perfectly fine and gig are actually more enjoyable
Next to "how to set up your amp to take drive pedals", this is probably the most important gear video.
Thank yall heartily!
Best wishes,
-GC
Just got my D&M Drive from Keeley a couple days ago....looking forward to plugging into it this weekend!!
Sort of related, not quite clean and dirty balance, but... Jimmy Herring uses like 5 or 6 volume pedals to control mix in monitors of his band mates levels. Thought that was really cool! But I'm still struggling with the actual topic at hand. Thanks guys, still working it out!
Great topic guys I agree you can't cover this one enough! Full band Friday to demo would be great, plus the chance to hear something other than the usual pub band standards.
Great video as always fellas!
Great video! Headroom plays such a large part in this and you did a good job of explaining this.
I leave a katana always on before my drives, and match the katana volume to my OD808, then match my harlot and cali76 to that volume. The reason I do it in this order is because the tube screamer dictates the level because it pushes the amp. since I need to set it much higher to sound good (because it pushes the amp) I'd get a volume drop if I turn it off. All of the other pedals are fairly forgiving when I comes to volume unity. plus, everything just sounds better with a katana before it. So the katana is my new "unity volume" clean sound."
I don't like the cali76 at the end to control levels because I feel that it takes something away when trying to drive my amp with the tube screamer. I use a one channel studio pro 35 and jeep it clean. I've done this for years and it works very well. and since the boost is on before my other drives, it doesn't make it any louder (bc of the lack of headroom).
I think OD sound a little louder than clean anyway for the reasons you mentioned. for solos I use a ge7, boost mids, cut lows, boost volume.
Every time I watch you guys I think ," Would I rather be able to play like Dan or Mick ?" The answer is always , both !! Great video and very helpful. (By the way, I use a DOD Preamp 250 as my always on pedal )
+Chris Munro ah, cheers mate, that's very kind. Yeah, the old DOD pedals are fantastic
Another excellent show and a particularly helpful one as well, so thank you. BTW on premiere guitar's rig rundown for Shane Theroit playing on the Hall and Oates tour, he has a D&M Drive on his board and says it sounds great. COOL!!
Mick's playing at the beginning is awesome!
Thanks for sharing all your knowledge ❤ Greetings from Chile
Great show and episode Dan & Mick, keep up the amazing work!
An idea for an episode: Could you shed some light on comparing the distortion produced by overdriving pre-amp vs power-amp.
A lot of guys comment about the smoother/more melodic quality of a power-amp-generated distortion with the caveat of needing to crank up your amp to get the power tubes to that point. In contrast, pre-amp is expected to be harsher.
It would also be great if you could show how one can achieve that power-amp distortion with different types of amps, especially small amps and even Class A amps.
I have a THD Univalve and have been meaning to experiment with it for a while now.
Thank you so much!
Where possible I use 2 amps at once. One clean the other dirty. I also ride the volume on the guitar. Dirt is like bourbon, best served in moderation. Great insights today from you both.
The incredible adventures of Little Jim and Big Jim. Nice prog chaps!
I would love to see a video about pick attack and transient response of different amps and pedals. I have noticed that sometimes I feel like my fingers are working harder with certain amps and certain pedal combinations and I haven't understood it. How do different amps and pedals affect not just the tone but the feel of playing?
This is very informative guys, thank you very much for this. Here are my takeaways from this.
I have no switching system at the moment, so all of my pedal chain cascades into the next pedal in line, and I think I'm going to try cascading my light overdrive, which I use for more clean tones into The metal muff which I use for more full spectrum heavy overdrive. Low everything in terms of settings on the light overdrive, just because I only want to lightly limit the signal when I dig in, keep it mostly clean, and then set the metal muff to A slightly louder setting, all while keeping as much headroom as possible on my amp, so that it properly sounds louder when I step up
Thanks again guys!
Boj here, Hello! Great video again guys. This is something I've been struggling with on and off for years. Some gigs I think I've cracked the secret then others I feel i'm back to square one. I sit right in the middle of those 2 amps today with a 25w Mesa mk5:25 and sometimes I feel there is enough clean headroom and I get my chumey pushed clean I want then come crunch time me gainier sounds sink. Hopefully this video will help me become more consistent. Thanks.
+-b0j- That's the EXACT issue b0j. The crunch gain tone needs to be waaaay louder and much less bassy than you'd think, in order to cut through. Cheers!
Always struggled with this subject and my solution has been to give up trying to get stuff I use at home to sound the same as it does on stage. Horses for courses, that's how I see it. But at least now I understand why. I love Fridays.
Hey gents a real warm salute... and with happy, happy clapping hands abound... Exciting collab on your new D&M DRIVE pedal- it was just what I’ve been trying to find for when I find/stream sound samples wanting the audio material to be as dynamic and with a depth of substance so I can further my scope and reach in terms of what I can work with. The D&D lets me round out with accurate dynamics so any clip is 9 times out of 10 fair game. I had thought samples and headaches where synonymous but alas I guess not.
This pedal got me out of the jam of haven found some great, really cool sample but begrudgingly couldn’t work it in because dynamically the source’s sound quality was just not, well, it was’t quite sound. The D&M pedal fixes up my samples. Coming from an array of original sources - some streaming on CZcams, for example which had been recorded on a tape deck fifty years ago all the way to a download from archive.org of a mid-range flat wav file from last weeks’ world news desk - both sources/samples can now co-exist together now with the confidence of quality and dynamics at one’s side. This opens up my creative process which now I consider your pedal up there creatively as a favorite delay or a ring mod which I usually use after the D&D. So with some snak attack skills you’ve found your way right justified on my board. Dig the orange looks good with that four letter M word synonymous with ring mod/synth heads abound. After thinking on what and how the D&D effects my creative process (get it, effects, haha), ok well after some thinking it calls to mind a talking point on a musician today and the speed at which we produce music and a little idea to help along the way can be a “for example” in which the reason for me posting this thanks and kudos may be of some use.
If a pedal can make for today’s musician who has a globally rich set of stylings to make all their own - if a pedal can make for today’s musician who has a deeply plush line of artists and artistic works so to respectively make part of their makeup than as the world is teaming with those bonded by musical love and musical creation than something that can connect these illustrious dots as sources sample to sourced sample, mixed looped, fixed in time for the next step - and many people indeed I see are connecting such dots... than that, this is exciting - is the potential for something totally awesome to happen!
The mind swims about and around the ways musician’s are interwoven with each other in a global community and each of us all carry respectfully parts and people diving downward through musical history into a excited force where making music is an act of blurring the lines - some of our best jams we say that a kind of jazzy thing, other musician chums in, yeah and with some blues, and yeah back to first revealer, fusion? A laugh is cast out as a expunged release of the band’s shared unknowingness for a label. It’s places along the way where we dscover music. Such is the thing that gets me out of bed. I had a friend who would fall in love with guitars. After my third delay and ring oscillator and first real great reverb, I get his lament as something real. They are alive like the D&D. And for the remaining rant of this post I’ll hit upon today’s musician and the creative space and such we all share.
Thankful guys for a channel where a little write up on music making today can find its place somewhere other than a blog. I think any comments upon comments and so on come to our attention if anyone has ideas on this or something else. Very cool how my interest in pedals has me as an active viewer here to find they made with in collaboration a totally needed music pedal mussing on the market and in some small way, helped my aesthetics in how the pedal has cast light into a aspect of music creation which will unitedly lead me back to a topic on THUS channel as a new leaning into my process manifest in me telling my studio partner, hey I need that analogman pedal there, yeah... haha
Another notable perk for those on the fence for picking up the D&D is if but one reason: WE ALL make music faster than anytime ever before, period. And this kind of tool is key to living with a value for choice musicality. And not just commercial and pro or old and phony stuff here at all. It just boiled down to that one thing we just love so much: music. A music that is flushed out, creatively speaking, is going to be in one form, maybe ten ways, well, it will be dynamic.
If my new album seems to be asking me, “what’s the release date again?” before I’ve picked up my drum sticks then I must be a musician maker today. If after last nights set I opened a document file on my iPad, making notes some clear, some not so far of a theme for an album... a few images collages and tied in part by a photo placed in, wondering, “I bet this’d look good on a 7inch.” A few searches and its priced out, a few songs unplaced that may work - tomorrow we start on the 7inch... must be making music today, in this world of ours. Bring it to the band and finances, hell a schedule for production could be mapped out, like how they used to at Columbia Studios - for the surprise of discovery let’s just finish by March though in line with Columbia is something maybe. If it is churning, casting, caught air under wing so fast it defies bpm, we’ll make note at next take when we look down. Onward today we go...
So with my process as I approach my music making - I make an array of source audio samples uniform sending them through this little dynamic box with these two guy’s mugs on it! I. An rest assured knowing the quality is there. I can restaurant it will be there tomorrow. And I can rest assure that years from now the dust of time will settle on such loops-of-sampling’s will smile back at me with the same glimmer and spark as yesterday.
The line is blurry between stage and studio so make that mid-set, smoke-drenched jam crawl out the pocket of your rhythms jacket titled, its the album track, track just as strange and sweetly so it sleeps between tomorrow’s new release so your song’s restful, recharge, renewing your listener, soul drenched laugh, belly, blue blistering awesome, songs singing so softly, soft so silent so can to their slow sweet way renew well crafted, attenuated eardrums dropped in gray and with depth of heart so that you wake up as their dream and you wake up as there’s.
As always, always all the time, cook with optimal ingredients. And, put your best foot forward, but don’t trip.
Best show yet, gentlemen. Use Dan first before Mick on your D&M pedals folks, if your need more cut through. Great advice on simultaneously using two amps of different wattage.
John Cipollina had a crystalline, ringing, spiky sound with tremendous dynamic range. For that exact reason (the dynamics), it turned out to be impossible to record him with any degree of fidelity. No one who didn’t actually hear JC play through his unique rig could really imagine what it sounded like.
Trying to balance with the other guitarist in my band, this video is super relevant. thanks!
This is really relevant to a current experience I'm having. I got the D&M after playing it into some high headroom/power amps in a couple of stores and it sounded absolutely killer! Got it home and put it in front of my 5w Laney Class A head which is what I mainly use for practise and the compression-on-compression just didn't work as well as really 'open' drive pedals or boosts in that rig. Still delighted with it, but it's a great demonstration that there isn't such thing as just 'the best' full stop; it's all about best for the rig and situation.
+Bernard Mills yep, absolutely. As we bang on about all the time, Mick and I are into amps with character, but loads of headroom. Wether it's the Hampstead, Two Rock, Big Jim, Super, V40 D, the D&M sounds mega into all of them. But a working 5 watt amp needs something to move past the compression. Mick's side with plenty of top end dialled in will sound great but for my dude you'll need to turn the Gain right down, then use it as more of a full frequency boost. :)
That Pedal Show - Big cudos and thanks to both you and Mick for a great show and equally for the way you engage like this with your viewers. Hugely appreciated.
Hey guys, I was watching the Hall and Oates rig rundown and the guitar player had the D&M Drive on his pedal board. Congratulations, your pedal is a hit!
+Chris Hepburn We were so stoked when we heard Shane is using it! Ever seen Live From Daryl's House? It's sooooo cool! Happy days. :0)
That Pedal Show Ya, I love Live From Daryl's House, great videos for sure. Awesome episode today by the way, learned alot! Cheers.
Love hearing the different combos on Big Jim vs. Little Jim! Really helpful info/techniques when moving out of the bedroom into different environments/setups as well.
On the subject of amps, any chance of doing a quick video on the Two Rock SP35? I can't find one to try around here locally and would love to get some more info/specific sounds from the one you guys use. Thanks for the great content as always :)
+Brian Tobia Ahhhhh. I'm in the process of moving it on (Mick here) to fund my Classic Reverb Signature. We've used it in quite a few shows. I'll just say that it's the best guitar amplifier I have ever owned if you like big, bold clean tones, moving into strong-mid type light OD. Best loop I've ever had too and the best reverb. Some people don't love the strength and immediacy of the Two Rock sound, compared to Blackface Fender which is usually a little softer in the mids and flubs out on the bass more quickly. But honestly, if I could only keep one of my amps, it would be that over everything else. Hope that helps.
Ahh bummer, should have asked sooner :) That helps a ton though, thank you so much! I've loved it on every episode you guys have recorded with it. The reverb is unreal and I love the cleans you get out of it. Sounds like a great pairing for pedals too with the loop (which is what I'm looking for). How do you find it compared to the classic reverb signature? Big difference or what really stands out when moving up to that model?
I remember seeing a Reverb vid of J Mascis discussing how he got dynamics and a sense of volume difference with his Big Muffs, it was interesting to see that he always had a foundation drive on limiting the volume on his amp so when he switches to the Muff, he gets more out of it.
+Justin Garcia yes! I've seen that vid, it's great!
Because you two have pointed this out in the past, I try to use the concept when I balance out the output volumes of my different pedals. It CAN me a mystery for sure, matching clean to dirty.
I think......that Lil' Jimmy may have cluttered that point a bit. But it finally did come across.
Not used to hearing sounds from the show that aren't pretty awesome. (which they sort of weren't with the 5w Marshall)
Otherwise another good episode as usual.
Cheers
regardless of amp, guitar, band size, sound technician, room size..I always keep my guitars volume, floating around 5!
You will always have that extra volume on tap!
38:50 Most important insight of the entire video if you're gigging! Something you have to experience, unless you learn about it on CZcams!
Brilliant episode chaps! As a user of an old BadCat Hot Cat 15 this all makes sense to me. Funnily enough I have the BD2 on the whole time and use a clean boost for solos. I am also going to experiment with a TC Hypergravity for level boost/sustain as cranking what can be a very loud amp really isn't an option. Took a bit of effort technique wise, but weaning myself off overdrive/high gain has really worked and brought out/enabled the dynamics. Oh and people can hear me in the mix! Keep up the good work!
+Green Man Music Nice one - what a cool amp that is! Thanks for watching!
Great show boys so much information. I completely understood all of this.My problem is i have a 4 channel amp with 3 modes of gain stages to each one plus a volume bump to the clean channel mode changes. So you can imagine the fun i have. Cheers :D
so I play in a small church stage, and constantly battle with the increase for solos, and leads, and just to be heard sometimes.. . yet never wanting to be over the top.. I've heard you guys mention the less is more, and eq, eq, eq.. to get there... yet I don't think I ever really "got it" till now... lol.... anyways, is there a quick way to figure out how to be heard in a solo, when your in the moment?..... I don't usually get much of a chance to practice those moments beforehand...... love you guys for all the wisdom that you share with us !
I use a volume pedal to even out the disparities between clean and distorted sounds. The volume pedal is a key component for on the fly “mixing.” Would love to hear you guys talk about volume pedal incorporation! Cheers
I'm the kind of player that usually prefers to have all the sounds I get to be at a uniform volume, so this episode was particularly fascinating and enlightening. thanks a ton, gentlemen.
Great show! Needed a fuller summary at the end for thick headed me!! Motorbike Mick ... look at the relationship between the front and rear tire contact patches as you countersteer (Look down from above.). Push right, the front tire contact patch moves right in relationship to the rear tire contact patch, hence the bike goes right. Why does the contact patch move right ... there is trail in the geometry on a motorbike front fork. Now that we've cleared that up... summary for how to setup your 50 - 100 watt amp for balancing dynamics. Is it ... use a good compressor for your clean max volume, use different boost and overdrive pedals to limit your crunch and lead sounds ... set your amp to limit/distort as much as you want for your loudest sound, probably lead, set your crunch pedal output level for crunch volume, set compressor output level for clean volume??? Awesome show!! Keep it up!!
+William Wagnon Wow, thanks William. That almost makes total sense. :0)
All of the above, RE your observations on the episode summary. Really, the take-away point is that the audibility and transient response of clean and dirty sounds are very different, and what might sound 'loud' sometimes isn't. So a combination of Drive, EQ and compression can help you balance it all out. Hope that helps!
Yes, thanks. Everything makes sense. I guess I was looking for a 'formula' to balance out my setup, but it's not always that easy. There are a lot of tools that can be used depending on the situation. You just need to understand them and apply them correctly. Love the show! Cheers!
Very helpful as usual guys. If I may give a tip this vid would even be better if at the end you do a recap by summarising the issues and solutions. This for guys like me whose hard drive can't process all the info :)
Just ordered a D and M drive from Andertons . Excited because I also own a class 5 and sounded great together in the video. Little Jim is going to have a new pal.
+Chris Bailey yes! Cheers Chris :)
That Pedal Show came today and it's me who needs to
thank you. One of the very rare occasions when you get a pedal and it exceeds your expectations. By
far the best OD I have ever played and the range is insane
Awesome video this week! I saw a comment below about doing an episode about mix in a live band context. In the meantime, is it possible to do something with just a backing track? I'd be interested in how you would go about EQing your sound in a full band that included vocals and keys/synth (that usually hogs all the midrange).
"Life too short for long CZcams videos?"
LIFE CAN WAIT UNTIL I AM DONE WATCHING THE WHOLE VIDEO, dammit !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
+Nonah Yobusiness Well thank you. :0)
Couldn't tell it better! Haha!
Ever since I got my treble bleed mod done now I just set it so I can back off for clean and turn it up into drive. That way I get a volume boost and dirt together and to top it off its a smooth roll in. I was a set on ten and forget it intill the mod now everything's perfect.
I kid you not, I was just talking with some like-minded folks about dynamics, compression, and drives. You pair always have impeccable timing...
+Zac F Yeah baby!
I find that I mostly end up with Drive into Boost on the D&M by the time I've finished searching for a sound OR when I'm going for a solo lift.
Motorcycle counter steering > it 's the gyroscope effect in action. As soon a you apply a twisting force i.e. leaning on the right bar, you get a force at 90°. You're wheel doesn't actually get to face left but ... well you know how it feels.
Same. I leave my drive pedal On > into a small 12 wattish amp. Guitar volume low for clean sounds, turn up to r0ck and stack another pedal if necessary to cut through the mix. Here some gigs won't pay you (by contract) if you exceed 87 dB (i.e. wedding gig volume.) I have found that with dynamics a band can sound pretty good, even better sometimes playing quietly, esp. the vocals and guitar!!
+Wade Liddell 87dB. Not being funny, that would be the end of guitar for me. (Mick here). Good luck!
That Pedal Show Cheers Mick! I don't blame you! I just adapt to the gig, and re: 87dB a blender is pretty loud ; p
D&M Drive together with the Page... 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 A match made in heaven...!!! 🤘🤘🤘
I've heard that about Big Jim, he can take it all and loves it all.
Dat opening solo! Good stuff...
You should leave the SPL meter on the board at all times: it really helps in all your videos to know what level a particular amp/pedal/PU is having on sound levels. You probably won't have as many questions as to whether this or that is appropriate for bedroom, small club, halls etc. etc. Thanks and great shows!
Great video! Could you all do a video on multiple guitar players in a band and how they should set up their EQ? Or if you are in a band how you should EQ if the other guy doesn't want to change his tone because its set up "perfectly"?
I ran into this problem when I joined a band and got into the gig and I got lost in the mix due to having three guitarists.
You all produce great videos but I only stick around for the full video when I am learning about stuff like this or proper uses of different pedal types.
+Joseph Connor There's no 'should' really. It's all just about making the whole thing work together. Bluntly, if you're in a band where somebody is saying 'my sound is perfect, please fit around me', then it all sounds a bit one way! One approach might be to record the band as best you can and listen back. Even better, if you can multitrack and experiment with EQ balance on each of the guitars you'll probably learn a lot. Two things are for certain: too much gain and too much bass will make guitars sounds indistinct and hard to mix. Might be a good place to start! Good luck!
Always struggled with this problem. Very helpful episode Gentlemen.
+simon french And I still do Simon (Mick here). But these days I know what to do about it thanks to Dan. I've literally never had such good sounds since hanging out with him. Happy days!
That Pedal Show ...and thanks to TPS, we can all benefit from Dan's knowledge and experience. Kinda like 'Charlie says' for guitarists :-)
I play acoustic with a mag pup and electric guitar through the same rig. I seem to only like the compressor with the acoustic. The electric gets occasional EQ for cleaner stuff. But my rigging amp has huge headroom. I also have a little 5 watt tube head and it is certainly a different beast. I really have to ride my volume and tone controls on the guitar to get along with it.
a highly educational video. much appreciated. I'd be curious for a video on speaker cabinets- for example- big Jim into a 4x12, 2x12 and 1x12 cabinet, ideally the same wood, definitely the same speaker of a similar year. 1 mic on 1 speaker for each cab. Curious just how different that mic'd speaker would sound between the 3 cabinets, at all levels of clean-drive. I know 4x12s have more bass because of.. more.. room in the cabinet to push more air? But as far as recording 1 speaker out of the 4, or 2, or 1, how different it would really sound. Also curious how different a 1x12 vs 2x12 arrangement would sound. We're so used to 4x12 vs 1x12.
Spot on about the motorcycle riding. Most people don't even realizing it when they're riding. :-)
Great show! I have the exact same big Jim setup (4x12 greenbacks and all). I have tried two different compressors and found that both sounded very boomy with that rig (even playing a strat). Have you found the same? Or maybe I'm using the wrong pedals. I will try the BD2 trick for limiting, but I do like a compressed clean sound, just can't seem to get it to work with the big Jim rig. Any advice highly appreciated. Thanks!
Looking at the walls of your video room, and all those pedals... how about giving them away in a worldwide competition? A true fan of your channel.
Headroom. = Going from a Vox AC4C1 to a Mesa 5:50 Exp+
I find that a BB Pre always on does what you described. Its always better to have your sound progress somewhat "naturally" to bloom into an obvious related sound rather than this whole new different kind of sound/over-gained squashed madness that happens with compressed OD. Deep and endless subject that might be demonstrated well if you guys had a band in house. But maybe with a track to play along with. Great subject.
+Denis M Cheers Denis. We're discussing the band thing.... but we need a bigger boat! It will happen... :0)
The approach at 16:15 is the one I most commonly use, I try to find a balanced clean/crunch breakup sound for my lower output pickups with the volume knob on the guitar at 7 or 8. Except I will dial all the way up to lead levels of gain in the preamp, those 2 or 3 notches of volume I spared earlier on my guitar pot are the 'lead sound' area.
I generally use the amp for all of my drive sounds so this is how I will generally set up amps. Last one I used that wasn't mine was a Mesa Mk3, I was riding the gain at around 8/10, brutal drive. Cleans up beautifully from nothing other than turning the volume down on your guitar.
+iNfx1 That's great when it works for you, happy days! I had a MkIII (Mick here) in my early days. Killer amp!
Yeah, beauty! Though, little bit of sticky/resistive pot syndrome, which is especially annoying for Mesa level tweakery. I have a Mesa V-Twin Mk1 at home, can't afford my own Mesa, but that pedal is absolutely one of those heavy duty valve preamp beasts that hovers in the £180-250 zone (have you guys ever had one on the show?) Goes nicely into the FX return of my little Ibanez 15W 112 for home noodles and small gigs. Breathing Mesa lately! Great stuff!
That intro ( with Mick playing ). That " Tone " - How can anyone say: the Tone on a Strat is not just . . . off-the-charts ? Nothing compares in my opinion. Most versatile guitar - ever made. ( Rock, Blues, Funk, Jazz, Reggae ). If I did not Own a Stratocaster, Id' run-right-out and buy one. Great info guys.
+Michael Caz Thank you Michael. I don't know what it is, but Strats are just 'home' to me. I'm free when I play one. It's weird, and brilliant. Thank you for the kind words!
Not just the Tone - You are really an Excellent Player. I enjoy listening to you play.
On my fender drri side I have my Wampler euphoria as a always on pedal! On my Friedman pink taco side it's already compressing so I don't need a always on pedal, although my Tumnus usually stays on though my Friedman. Haha Great episode guys!
I saw a D & M Drive on a Premier Guitar Rig Run Down for Hall And Oats this week. cool
+Franklin Brenes Woop!
If you are looking for guitarists with clean tones there is Richard Thompson. Certainly not uneffected, but often clean as a whistle. And a superlative guitarist. No one sounds like RT.
Oh goody, new That Pedal Show video, it must be Friday then. :0)