I am a mid gain addict

[70strathead]

my whole rule of thumb is I like to keep where your hands and ability to use the volumes knob on your guitar effectively are determining the amount of gain u need for certain things...its a feel and sound thing, and if i feel like there is too much soup to control, I level it off to a point where notes can be felt and heard with individualism and clarity.

How many of you can actually play blistering runs on an acoustic without thinking and go to a saturated ampliflier and feel the same vibe?


not me..!~

I feel the same about gain, I like just enough, rather than more than enough.
But I find I can play just as fast and as clean with a nice clean electric sound as I can with an overdrive sound....gain just brings on the nice long sustain.

I know what u mean cause i used to fall into that as well. But i got lazy about plugging to an amp and got used to noodling unplugged picking all the notes so that i can hear consistency, then as soon as i hit a loud gainy amp, it was like taming an elephant..the approach changes is I'll I'm saying...believe me though I love the getting that hang time with a saturated amp, theres nothing better to balance a tough day at the office!

 

[Mokaccino]

Yes, I admit it.

I could even add "low to mid gain addict".

I respect those who dig the high gain amps and stuff, but since I got my Express 5:50, I am asking myself why did I ever consider playing with LESS gain before that?

I find myself using the crunch more than anything. I like it dirty, slobby, and I'm not sorry about it. Some might say I am an old fart - you're probably right - but the more I play, the less gain I use, and I can rock hard anyway. Groove, dude, groove.

Y'all have a nice friday. It's not a rant, it's a statement.

I would strongly reccomend seeking out a Suhr Badger

You'll shit when you hear how good that little bastard sounds in the on the edge to just slightly crunchy dept. The Power Scaling is pretty much Genius too

And I guess this bad boy Badger is pretty expensive huh... I'll have to try one, now I think my Express sounds good most of the time, but when going into crunch mode, you can feel the compression. I mean, it's nit picking right, but the more I get old, the more I want the real thing ya know, I want my amp to overdrive without too much compression, if not at all. I want it raw, rude and nasty, scary even. Rock n roll I guess.

 

[Mokaccino]

Oh my God, just went to Suhr website and I did listen to those clips... WOW (read: jaw dropped on the floor)

And the prices aren't that bad - I mean it's always expensive, but I thought it was going to be a lot more expensive than the prices I saw...

If I had to pick up a Suhr amp, I'd be really confused which one between the Badger and the OD100... Damn they sound good...

Hey thanks for the input my brothers, ans especially for the mid-gain love...

 

[Mokaccino]

Ok my friends, you have to hear this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBUxUB-6qjw

Now I totally want that amp! I gotta find somebody in Montreal to get me one! This little head is AWESOME. And can get pretty scary too.

 

[* velcro-fly *]

Oh my God, just went to Suhr website and I did listen to those clips... WOW (read: jaw dropped on the floor)

And the prices aren't that bad - I mean it's always expensive, but I thought it was going to be a lot more expensive than the prices I saw...

If I had to pick up a Suhr amp, I'd be really confused which one between the Badger and the OD100... Damn they sound good...

Hey thanks for the input my brothers, ans especially for the mid-gain love...

$1300 - 1400 on the used market...well worth it.

I played a Swart Atomic Space Tone this morning that just blew my mind

 

[Odin]

Yes, I admit it.

I could even add "low to mid gain addict".

I respect those who dig the high gain amps and stuff, but since I got my Express 5:50, I am asking myself why did I ever consider playing with LESS gain before that?

I find myself using the crunch more than anything. I like it dirty, slobby, and I'm not sorry about it. Some might say I am an old fart - you're probably right - but the more I play, the less gain I use, and I can rock hard anyway. Groove, dude, groove.

Y'all have a nice friday. It's not a rant, it's a statement.

Me too.

 

[* velcro-fly *]

I like a nice ballsy UNCOMPRESSED rock tone where you can hear the notes ring out.

So, a year later where are we finding these tones (or not) ????

 

[Digital Jams]

I like a nice ballsy UNCOMPRESSED rock tone where you can hear the notes ring out.

So, a year later where are we finding these tones (or not) ????

Fucking Marshalls gunned and eyeliner bitches

 

[kannibul]

Yes, I admit it.

I could even add "low to mid gain addict".

I respect those who dig the high gain amps and stuff, but since I got my Express 5:50, I am asking myself why did I ever consider playing with LESS gain before that?

I find myself using the crunch more than anything. I like it dirty, slobby, and I'm not sorry about it. Some might say I am an old fart - you're probably right - but the more I play, the less gain I use, and I can rock hard anyway. Groove, dude, groove.

Y'all have a nice friday. It's not a rant, it's a statement.

Ultra high gain has it's place, but mid gain is where the real "tone" is, IMO...

Some of the cleaner tones have a lot of balls to it - baraccuda - it sounds like some pretty low gain...tons of balls.

 

[Mokaccino]

Even though I no longer have the Express, I still find myself lowering down the gain. I just got my hands on a Traynor YCS90 combo and man this little devil rocks. The gain on the dirt channel is approx. at noon and with a little guitar volume work, I get all I need in terms of "gain". And the clean channel has that "brit" switch that reminds me a lot of the green channel on DSL amps: instant AC/DC.

No one ever talks about Traynors in here but those Custom Specials are worth every dollar, and they are cheap - around $900. I got rid of my Spider Valve and got me the YCS90 - 4x 5881, 3x 12AX7, 2x12 Neodymium G12 Century and the weight is around 50 which is great for a 2x12, easily portable, selectable 90w Class AB - 25w Class A.

This amp covers with ease any top 40 set list, from Metallica to Beatles. Clean tones are those of Fender and dirt channel get meaner than a JCM800, I will never need that much gain anyway. Small and portable rig for any working musician like me, guitar in one hand and amp in the other.

So yes, I am still a mid gain addict and still work to achieve "my kind of tone". Hell, I even convinced the other guitar player in my band to lower the gain on his amp, results are gonna be so much better, clearer and guitars won't be lost in a puddle of mud. And the amp stays on the 25w, the tone is much better there than on the 90w setting and I don't need more than 25w, I'm always mic'ed anyway.

 

[thegame]

99 % of amps get muddy when you pour on the gain. If the amp allows you to strip away some low freqs before the gain stages, then its possible to have an ultra high gain sound with all the definition you'd ever need. "Typical" Marshall won't do that.

 

[kannibul]

99 % of amps get muddy when you pour on the gain. If the amp allows you to strip away some low freqs before the gain stages, then its possible to have an ultra high gain sound with all the definition you'd ever need. "Typical" Marshall won't do that.

I agree, which is why I beleive the Boss SD-1 has a bit of a bass roll-off.

While the "pureist" in me says simpler amps are better (Plexi, in particular), I prefer running higher gain amps at a lower level...plus knowing I have OMGUBERMETALZ at the touch of a dail gives me warm fuzzies.

JVM satisfies that need...

 

[ratter]

I dunno...threads pop up like this from time to time with everybody giving the low-gain love, but yet 95% of the clips that people post are what I would consider pretty high gain. Does not compute. Maybe the mid-gainers just aren't the guys that post clips?

 

[Odin]

 

[rupe]

I'm another one in the "mid-gain" camp. I hate the mushed out high gain tones that I hear from so many bands these days...dynamics are apparently a lost art.

I was on a Jackson/Charvel forum the other day where somebody was asking what mod his ADA MP-1 would need to get enough gain to cover 80's metal!!! The stock unit has way more gain than what is necessary to do 80's metal...I just don't get what people are "hearing" when they say things like that.

 

[thegame]

99 % of amps get muddy when you pour on the gain. If the amp allows you to strip away some low freqs before the gain stages, then its possible to have an ultra high gain sound with all the definition you'd ever need. "Typical" Marshall won't do that.

I agree, which is why I beleive the Boss SD-1 has a bit of a bass roll-off.

While the "pureist" in me says simpler amps are better (Plexi, in particular), I prefer running higher gain amps at a lower level...plus knowing I have OMGUBERMETALZ at the touch of a dail gives me warm fuzzies.

JVM satisfies that need...

Yup, pedals will do that but even better if you can do it at the amp. Very few amps have this ability.

 

[thegame]

I'm another one in the "mid-gain" camp. I hate the mushed out high gain tones that I hear from so many bands these days...dynamics are apparently a lost art.

I was on a Jackson/Charvel forum the other day where somebody was asking what mod his ADA MP-1 would need to get enough gain to cover 80's metal!!! The stock unit has way more gain than what is necessary to do 80's metal...I just don't get what people are "hearing" when they say things like that.

More than likely they are experiencing alot of gain in these units, but not alot of front end "pushed" overdrive built into it. Therefore even though an ADA has lots of gain, it doesn't 'feel' very hot or lively, in the way a lower gain amp would with a overdrive pedal driving it. Big difference between overdrive vs. gain.

 

[anomaly]

I like it all. clean, slightly dirty, low gain rock tone, high gain, Pantera!...

 

[Mokaccino]

I dunno...threads pop up like this from time to time with everybody giving the low-gain love, but yet 95% of the clips that people post are what I would consider pretty high gain. Does not compute. Maybe the mid-gainers just aren't the guys that post clips?

Maybe you are just right my friend

 

[kannibul]

I dunno...threads pop up like this from time to time with everybody giving the low-gain love, but yet 95% of the clips that people post are what I would consider pretty high gain. Does not compute. Maybe the mid-gainers just aren't the guys that post clips?

Gain "in the room" and gain "on tape" tend to be very different - much more shows up on tape..