Gear revelations: Had any lately?

[TheMagicEight]

In the past few weeks / month, I've realized a few things that I feel have helped me in my never-ending tone quest. I thought it would be cool to hear what other people have learned - what sort of "Aha!" moments other players were having - in addition to sharing mine.

Mine are:
1. I don't care for ceramic pickups for getting awesome, smooth lead tones. Alnico all the way.
2. Thin strings don't sound as good as thick strings. End of story.
3. 25w G12Ms sound great at low volumes, but with the amps I have, break up too much at higher volumes to sound amazing.
4. Mesa V30s are much, much better than regular V30s.
5. Uberschall with Uberkab is incredible.
6. Low action doesn't equal the best tone.
7. Low pass filters are necessary for distorted rhythm guitars on recordings.

Please, post away!

 

[Tawlks]

I'm gonna bump this out of sympathy. I'd like to see some replies. I have nothing to comment though.

 

[troublehead]

I recently discovered the greatness of the Duncan Distortion in a Les Paul and also the benefits of lining cabs with acoustical foam.

 

[glpg80]

im sure mine dont count. i hate/dispise every amplifier made on the face of the earth and am too tired to even start my list lol.

on the upside, since the 2 years i have been here:

i have learned alot about mics
rack setup do's and donts (big plus to tone merchants, zachman, many others)
Brad has one of the nicest houses i have ever seen and also one of the coolest tattoos
you can make anything sound good, but excellent gear does not drain you of energy as quick/make you feel like you have been ran over by a truck, and makes getting decent tones, easier.
make your own damn cables. you save a shit ton of money.
GC is a great vault for good unknown gear because no-one in the store knows what they trade in.
i will always purchase all gear from now on inside the forums at all costs.

there is no way i am getting into the tonal side of things in the list, but those are the biggies

 

[SkyhighRocks]

Yes...I don't need all the shit that I currently have. That's why I'm selling most of it.

 

[zewango]

I love my 101b that is all

 

[Mudder]

Don't be afraid to run into the low input on your amp, then boost.

 

[Stratboy151]

that unless im a millionaire and can try every amp ever made im never gonna be happy with my tone.

 

[TheMagicEight]

I recently discovered [...] the benefits of lining cabs with acoustical foam.

Cool! What are they?

you can make anything sound good, but excellent gear does not drain you of energy as quick/make you feel like you have been ran over by a truck, and makes getting decent tones, easier.

Words to live by, it seems, especially with speaker cabinets. I'd feel much more at ease with a Bogner 4x12 and solid state head than a Bogner head and Marshall MG or Basson 4x12.

I love my 101b that is all

Amen!

that unless im a millionaire and can try every amp ever made im never gonna be happy with my tone.

I thought the same thing a little while ago until messing with speakers. I think they are vastly overlooked in the tone quest, and far too important for this to be the case. Anyway, if you've not messed with speakers, it would be worth a shot IMO; if you have, then best of luck to you in becoming a millionaire!

 

[rsm]

The biggest gear revaltion I had was several years ago when I finally fugured out that I dig Rickenbacker guitars and basses and Vox amps, this allowed me to focus on finding and getting my core tones (still working on playing technique which is lotsa fun with arthritis kicking in ) and stop chasing alot of other gear. I still read about other gear, but coming to terms with what I really dig allowed me to sell off gear out side of this (for the most part) and focus on gear that let's me get the tones in my head through several different form factors with variations on the core tones.

Now I have more Rick and Vox gear than I need but I'm still GASing for more Ricks and Vox that I don't really need...

Lately: I'm not really an effects guy, or so I thought and tell myself, but I'm just digging this Nova System the second time around, so much so that I'm GASing for a G-System. I just hope it isn't a passing phase. As soon as I buy one though, they'll announce the G-System II

 

[jet66]

1. I have a bad feeling that one or more of the following will be seeing a large part of my disposable income in the next year or so: Suhr, Splawn, Mako, and Fulltone.
2. I may have to break down and sell some stuff I don't really use to make room, although I hate to do it.

 

[Devilinside]

That one amp regardless of what it is, will never sound as good as 2 that compliment each other well!

 

[BSS]

I came home from a business trip and plugged into my Jet City after not touching a guitar for a week, and smiled! It sounded awesome. Sometimes, you just need some time away...

 

[Digital Jams]

This year I have come to these conclusions,

Stomp time based fx cannot compete with the good rack units.
God damn k100s suck for what I am looking for.
Ratt's Lost Weekend is almost in tempo with the classic RT Pacino vid.
Funny how everyone piles on him but every modded marshall is still compared to Mark's work
Every shredder here should have a Yngwie strat or clone of one.
I am SO done with $$$$$$$ pretty guitars.

 

[amiller]

I've got an XTC 101b going into a Bogner 4x12 loaded with v30s. I've also got a Mesa Lonestar going into a Legacy 4x12 loaded with greenbacks. Did a bunch of comparisons today and...damn...I'm dig'n the Lonestar with the Legacy much more than the XTC.

 

[Bishop5150]

I've come to the realization that I have serious GAS and that it's never gonna be quenched as long as I read this forum
I guess I'm making up for lost time. I basically played the same setup from 93' to 05'. 2 guitars, my old 5150 halfstack, a Rocktron Intellifex, BOSS EQ, MIDI Controller and a wah. Thats a long time to play the same rig. In my defense my ex wife sucked the life and money out of me during that time so I couldn't really indulge. I met my current wife in 05' and she supported me in updating and modernizing my rig. Which consisted of going to a TC G-Major, a GCX loop switcher and Ground Control Pro. Man I love that woman In the last year though I've been out of control and bought 9 guitars, a 5150 III halfstack, a G-System and a few pedals to compliment everything. I thought I was good and technically I am but I'm having serious GAS for an AXE-FX Ultra and a Herbert. Neither of which will happen anytime soon. Probably the Axe before the Herbert. But I'm drooling over both.

 

[Strat+Marshall]

1. Bigger strings DO NOT sound better, especially with Les Pauls.
2. I don't like SD JB pickups. I never really dug them but I have a completely blind test now to back it up.
3. Screw pole pieces are meant to be adjusted. I always do it when I throw a humbucker in a guitar but I just bought two used humbuckers that had not been adjusted from the factory. When I first loaded them in they sounded dull and unimpressive, raised up the screws and got a whole new response.

 

[glpg80]

1. Bigger strings DO NOT sound better, especially with Les Pauls.
2. I don't like SD JB pickups. I never really dug them but I have a completely blind test now to back it up.
3. Screw pole pieces are meant to be adjusted. I always do it when I throw a humbucker in a guitar but I just bought two used humbuckers that had not been adjusted from the factory. When I first loaded them in they sounded dull and unimpressive, raised up the screws and got a whole new response.

did you notice any inhierent noise issues after breaking the wax?

 

[Strat+Marshall]

1. Bigger strings DO NOT sound better, especially with Les Pauls.
2. I don't like SD JB pickups. I never really dug them but I have a completely blind test now to back it up.
3. Screw pole pieces are meant to be adjusted. I always do it when I throw a humbucker in a guitar but I just bought two used humbuckers that had not been adjusted from the factory. When I first loaded them in they sounded dull and unimpressive, raised up the screws and got a whole new response.

did you notice any inhierent noise issues after breaking the wax?

No, none at all. I have only really seen a handfull of pickups out of hundreds/thousands that were truly uncontrollable microphonic. If somebody doesn't know how to control a guitar they can make any pickup squeal with enough gain and volume. I don't think raising the poles on a newer potted pickup could turn one from good to bad. Either way it is worth the risk.

 

[Nigel Tufnel]

+1 on the pole pieces. I just had a wonderful tone change out of a set of pickups just by tweaking the bridge poles. I had gotten into the habit of raising the poles on the bridge a little as I like a nice clear attack. It works great with many pickups but not on these, lowering the poles back near stock made this thing into a fat crunchy and articulate monster, it was kind of harsh with my "regular" pole setup. That's what I'm getting at I guess, we all kind of get in the rut of our "regular" setups but not every piece of gear is the same, adjust your pickups before you write them off. I've always dialed in pickup height and such but I did indeed get stubborn about pole pieces and a little thing like that about made me ditch a killer pickup.