GAS in context

[MrMenturm]

I honestly wonder what some of these TGP guys are looking for. My guess is that whatever it is is not to be found in an amplifier.

I think a lot of people - not really just TGP in particularly - get caught up in an idealized notion of a "rig" ... so they construct these elaborate plans to build the perfect rig, recycle their gear, get all the components for it, and then realize... "oh hang on, I can't do this one thing... start again...."

Rinse and repeat.

I think it's connected to a lack of confidence in your playing. I know when I'm feeling like a right old average spanner, I get temptations to rejig my rig. Now I've been playing guitar 8, nearly 9 years. I've had perhaps about 6 to 7 amps, gone through tons of pedals, and basically I'm near enough back where I started at the moment - Laney VH100R.

Guitars are the one thing I don't really explore that much. I've only ever had four guitars in my entire history of playing, which judging by some other people, is a really low amount.

[guitargeek62]

I really fancy trying a Mesa Express 25

You'd love it.

I honestly wonder what some of these TGP guys are looking for. My guess is that whatever it is is not to be found in an amplifier.

I've owned quite a lot of amps, I used to buy broken vintage ones and sort-of collect them for a bit before they became expensive, but even then I'm not sure I've had as many as that TGP chap. And if you only count the ones I've actually used for making music with, really not many at all over twenty-five years... maybe twenty, but I doubt even that.

I also see amps as more of a tool, or as a box to make things louder with knobs on. Of course there are some that suit me more than others, and a few I really don't like at all, but if it's loud enough and has usable controls it will do fine really.

That surprises me quite a bit actually, I'd have thought you'd put more of a focus on the amp as part of the 'Tone' than most would?

To me, the guitar is surprisingly unimportant from a tonal point, sure - they affect how & what you might play, but they're rarely the core component of a sound. Amps seems to be a lot more varied in how they react (some just seem lifeless at any volume/setting) and sound, regardless of what you're using or how it's set. For that reason alone, I put more of an emphasis on the amp as part of the sound.



*edit* All that said, in a blind test a lot of amps (and guitars/pedals/anything) would fool most people into thinking they were something else methinks

[ICBM]

That surprises me quite a bit actually, I'd have thought you'd put more of a focus on the amp as part of the 'Tone' than most would?

Yes and no. It's not that I can't hear the tone differences or don't like one amp more than another, it's just that it's not that important to me as a player. As long as it has enough power to get the sort of sound I want at a usable volume and enough controls to dial in a good tone, it's fine. I get a lot of my more distinct sounds from pedals.

My amp shopping has generally been more feature-driven than tone-driven. I've used amps as diverse as a Peavey Backstage and a Mesa Trem-o-verb (for different bands!), but I think the only one I've ever really used for its distinctive tone at a particular volume (how many guitarists think of amps probably) was an original Fender Tweed Champ... and to be honest, that was as much to do with seeing 'Ritchie Valens' using one in La Bamba! Since I was in a 50s rock'n'roll band at the time. I later used a Mesa DC-5 in a similar band ... just because it was the only amp I had at the time. It sounded fine.

To me, the guitar is surprisingly unimportant from a tonal point, sure - they affect how & what you might play, but they're rarely the core component of a sound.

Same here - it affects how you play, but the tone itself can be modified into something that sounds quite similar no matter what you use.

So if it's not really the amp, and not really the guitar - and not even really pedals either, again I have favourites but it's just not that critical as long as I can get a given amount of distortion and a roughly similar tone - what is it?

The whole lot together. But control is the key, for me. More is better. The amps I struggle with are those with minimal controls and too low an output power to be forced to do something different with a pedal, although oddly...

Amps seems to be a lot more varied in how they react (some just seem lifeless at any volume/setting) and sound, regardless of what you're using or how it's set.

... all digital modelers I've tried fall into this category, despite usually having *more* control options than any analogue amp. It's just that the inherent tone quality is wrong. I'd pick almost any bog-standard analogue solid-state amp over any modeler, as long as I could use a pedal or two as well. I know very well that most people are the other way round though.

*edit* All that said, in a blind test a lot of amps (and guitars/pedals/anything) would fool most people into thinking they were something else methinks

Exactly. At the end of the day it's the player and their ability to dial in what they want that counts. There's far too much emphasis on the exact 'sound' and not enough on the quality of the *tone*, in my opinion.

[Dave_Mc]

I honestly wonder what some of these TGP guys are looking for. My guess is that whatever it is is not to be found in an amplifier.

that'd be my (non-professional) assessment of the situation... I mean, sure, some things are a piece of crap. If you have a beginner SS amp, then upgrade that thing ASAP. But if you've had a soldano, a diezel, a Mesa and an Engl (I realise those aren't TGP-type things, but they're the things I know), assuming they suit the music you play, and none of those work for you... hmmm.

[guitargeek62]

Exactly. At the end of the day it's the player and their ability to dial in what they want that counts. There's far too much emphasis on the exact 'sound' and not enough on the quality of the *tone*, in my opinion.

Wholeheartedly agree with your entire response, but especially this! A lot of people forget the impact of theroom, the mic, the mixer, and the post-processing too when they're chasing Grail-Tones, it's never going to be exact, so just find a setup that works for you, and stick to it!

I'm becoming quite minimalist in terms of my rig, drive pedals will always come and go, but an M9 needs to be added to cover everything* else for effects. I've got no real plans** to have any more than 2/3 guitars around at a time anymore, but I'd still like a Fuchs Blackjack 21 at some point as it seems to be wishlist of amp features and tonal range all in one lovely little unit, with the added 'mojo'*** of being boutique!

* let's face it, it basically can for 95% of players.
** lot's of GAS though, but likely unrequited.
*** This is another huuuuuge part of a players perception of their sound.

[cacofonix]

I think that ^ is the point. Whilst my amps all satisfy me for tone, they don't sit right in the context. The Nomad is without doubt the best sounding amp I ever heard. But it's a 4x10 so is cumbersome and heavy.

The Stiletto is without a doubt the best sounding amp I have ever heard, but it has no reverb, and the cab is separate, and I want an idealised "can carry the whole rig in one journey" kind of thing.

The Hurricane is without a doubt the best sounding amp I have ever heard, but I don't know if it will cut it in a gig situation - I'll find out next Sunday.

The Peavey is without a doubt the best sounding amp I have ever heard, but it is proper heavy. I think if it was made of lead, it might be a bit lighter, but it wouldn't sound as good.

So it isn't really the sound, though most amps I have heard leave me cold, particularly high gain ones, it is more the way I want to use an amp.