Hi Steve,
First time I saw you may have been Ranch Rock 86’. Cipollina was just awesome look up and see and hear.
I’m still a simple 10-15 watt Fender blackface or Tweed amp player. I’ve bought of dozen dozens of pedals over years but still feel like I’m plink plink with clean times and not very smooth sounding With distortion and od tones.
I want to get away that simple note tone and get into a more elegant sound. The pick hits the string and there is a lack of the subtle warmth that others I play With have.
I have mostly a tuner > compressor > byoc Rat > analogman envelope filter > yellow sparkling od 2 > Prince of Tone > somethings swirly like a phase 90 to a mini fooger > Kealey delay > small graphic eq > simple reverb pedal > amp > Celestion vintage 10 in a an isolated box and SM57 mic > scarlet interface > laptop
And a dozen other pedals that can be subbed into the chain for what’s there already.
Strats Teles SG, Koll guitars and a Chapin Strat partscaster etc.
I could have started with: stop me if you’ve heard this one and direct to existing responses. And that is also a fine direction to send me.
See you the Fillmore!
John, CA
A lot to address there. .
Start over. Lose the pedals, get the speaker out of iso, get the guitar, amp, and speaker close enough together to all vibrate together, turn the amp up and turn the volume and tone on the guitar off.
Use the neck pickup on the Strat or SG, turn the guitar up just enough with the tone off to get a quiet volume from the amp.
What you should be listening for are those “plink clean” and “not smooth” qualities you were lamenting above.
So, is it plinky?
Is it smooth?
Dunno. .
Whatever you wound up with, make a mental note regarding the musical audio quality, and gradually open up the volume and tone controls.
I mean super gradually, really take your time, and listen to how all that pickup > Volume and tone control, one cable, > amp input interaction affects your sound and influences your touch.
ALL the good stuff is right there in it’s most elegant form with just guitar and amp in close proximity, taking advantage of the volume and tone controls on the guitar.
Anyway, run that down for a while. You’re gonna hear all the stuff you’re missing.
All those pedals and cables and iso are hiding the guitar from you.