If I only knew better....

MadAsAHatter

MadAsAHatter

Well-known member
When I first started playing and didn't know shit about tone or amp settings I just copied what my heroes did. The biggest thing was Bass and Treble cranked to the max and Mids turned down to negative 20. On top of that I maxed the gain because more distortion = awesomeness. That's how Metallica did it. Not knowing they did the smiley face EQ and boosted the amp because it was part of the Mesa Mark tone structure. My dumb ass just applied that to every amp I played on. Of course I thought I sounded bas ass back then. I was messing around yesterday and for shits and giggles I set my Peters amp like I did back then. OH MY GOD what a horrid, screeching sound that came from the speakers. Like a can of angry demon hornets scraping claws across a chalk board. I can only imagine hoy many ears I offended back in those days. If I could go back in time and kick the shit out of myself for thinking that sounded good in any remote way I would.

Thinking back to some other dumb shit I did not knowing any better. I didn't realize different string gauges put different amounts of tension on the neck. I would just grab any set off the rack and throw it on. Strings are strings right? Probably for the first year or so of playing I did a lot of bitch picking. I think that was more to do with being timid and lack of confidence. Though it probably set me back in progressing faster.

I probably still do some dumb shit without realizing it's dumb, but at least I broke free from the major offenders. What about the rest of you? What kind of dumb things have you done that would make you hang your head in shame if you were caught doing it now?
 
Man I remember playing shows with a lot of metal/hardcore bands in the late 90’s and early 2000’s who all did the Bass - 10 Mids - 0 Treble - 10 Gain - 10 thing (usually on Jcm 2000’s). They always sounded simultaneously like mush and screeching ear rape.

I used much worse amps (H&K solid state stuff and then the Blue Doodoo) and I did not have or understand good tone, but I had to EQ shit in a way that allowed me to hear myself against a drummer with really fucking loud Paiste cymbals and a bassist who was always turning himself up. That meant dialing in a lot of mids.

I never used tons of gain because I hated how the attack turned to mush and everything got muddy. I didn’t know about boosting at that point and nobody else I knew did either. Everyone assumed needing a little OD pedal with an amp meant the amp sucked.
 
MadAsAHatter said:
Probably for the first year or so of playing I did a lot of bitch picking
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I still don’t know what bitch picking is… someone previously described it about a year ago. I guess it doesn’t compute for me.

My dumbest thing re: guitar was stopping for 10 years and intermittently throughout the years vs stay with it even if you are in a rut. I did catch up on lots of TV though.
 
I did a show in Korea at 18 years old, while in the military, and had ordered a BOSS amp that was about the size of a toaster to do the show. It looked like a boom box. I was wearing a Cinderella T-Shirt with the sleeves cut off, shade boots, etc to look badass, yet I had an "in regs" military haircut 🤣
 
I used to cut the mids like you mentioned too. So ridiculous we all used to do it (damn you ....and Jusitce for All 🤣)

When I first started playing in 10th grade, I had no concept of gain, distortion, etc. If an amp was colored black, I just assumed it played rock and roll. So I bought some amp, plugged in my new guitar and nothing but clean came out. So I'm talking to Robert Keeley at school and told him my new amp is broke. There is no heavy sound, etc. And he said "dude that amp probably doesn't have built in distortion, you need a pedal". What the F is a pedal????

That started my journey of understanding tubes, pedals, preamps, 4x12s, etc.whixh has been a fun but often expensive ride, lol.

When it comes to music gear, it is an awesome time to be alive and tons of amazing gear out there.
 
I started out using a DOD American Metal pedal into the front end of a Gorilla combo. That is how you get bad SS clipping to clip into even worse SS clipping.
 
fek said:
I started out using a DOD American Metal pedal into the front end of a Gorilla combo. That is how you get bad SS clipping to clip into even worse SS clipping.
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You'd think they would cancel each other out, and you'd get an incredible clean tone ?
 
Funny post !
So when I was 18 I had a late 60's Fender Bassman that my mom's bf modded for me. ( Rick Erickson is his name he built the flanger you hear in Hearts Baricuda,
Modded , amps for Queensryche, Green River, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam ect ect ect. )
So he made it amassed volume added an effects loop.
I had a cab with Jbl k 120's
I did not like the sound it was too bright.
It was my first tube amp.
So I sold the cab with k 120's
Sold the head for 500 back then.
Bought a moss valve power amp, peavey rock master and a Art Dr x.
I never got paid for the speaker cab or amp 2 separate friends.
Fast fwd 25 years.
My old boss calls me and tells me he has my amp .
His son is the one who had it.
I got it back but it was broke.
Rick fixed it for me.
Very glad my stupid youth choice turned out with a happy ending.
The bassman sounds killer and takes boost very nice.
The moss valve, dr x and rock master are long gone.
Long live tube amps !
 
Shit, I didn't know anything when I started. Understanding tone didn't come until I started playing with bands and even then it was a slow pace as I never picked a tone to emulate or achieve. I was just happy playing guitar! Hell, I gigged through most of the 90s with my Dual Rec and a 4x12 with 2 pedals. No backup amp, no backup fuses or tubes!😱 Oh, the humanity!!! Before that it was a 10 space rack filled with shit and was my first lesson in tone suck :LOL:
 
romanianreaper said:
I did a show in Korea at 18 years old, while in the military, and had ordered a BOSS amp that was about the size of a toaster to do the show. It looked like a boom box. I was wearing a Cinderella T-Shirt with the sleeves cut off, shade boots, etc to look badass, yet I had an "in regs" military haircut 🤣
Click to expand...
Haha that’s hilarious…at Camp Bonifas we had a talent show at the NCO club, I had my Ibanez Destroyer and Marshall SS combo shipped over there…I did parts of Rhoads solo on Tribute.
Ahh the good ole days lol
 
You don't know what you don't know. I did a lot of dumb shit like wasting money on a Crate Half Stack haha. But we take a journey I suppose and in my younger days we did not have all this awareness of killer tones and amps and tricks and secrets. I remember getting my first real good Tube Amp. It was a Dual Rec in like 1994. I always used the "vintage voicing" instead of the "modern voicing" (which is what it was known for). I did not know how to get the tone in my head and it was the wrong amp for me really although I made it work for years. Then I discovered EL34 amps lol.

It is a fun trip though (but costly $$$$) :)
 
If only I knew how to set an overdrive pedal (drive off/low, level cranked) back in the day. That would have saved me a lot of hassle. I had alot of shitty amps with not quite enough gain to them that could have benefited from a boost/overdrive. I had a few overdrive pedals as a young guitarist, but I had no idea how to get a good sound out of them, or use them as a boost. When I finally figured it out, it was like....SHIT, why didn't I think of that??
 
Bardagh said:
Man I remember playing shows with a lot of metal/hardcore bands in the late 90’s and early 2000’s who all did the Bass - 10 Mids - 0 Treble - 10 Gain - 10 thing (usually on Jcm 2000’s). They always sounded simultaneously like mush and screeching ear rape.

I used much worse amps (H&K solid state stuff and then the Blue Doodoo) and I did not have or understand good tone, but I had to EQ shit in a way that allowed me to hear myself against a drummer with really fucking loud Paiste cymbals and a bassist who was always turning himself up. That meant dialing in a lot of mids.

I never used tons of gain because I hated how the attack turned to mush and everything got muddy. I didn’t know about boosting at that point and nobody else I knew did either. Everyone assumed needing a little OD pedal with an amp meant the amp sucked.
Click to expand...
I didn't even realize that mids meant being heard in a band context. I always scooped my mids and wondered why it was always so hard to hear my guitar, so I just cranked it up louder if the amp was powerful enough, if not I was shit outta luck, cause I wasn't about to turn up those shitty mids. My idea of good tone was always ...And Justice For All back when I was a teen. I still like it but I realize now that that kind tone doesn't work in a live band context.
 
alund said:
I still don’t know what bitch picking is… someone previously described it about a year ago. I guess it doesn’t compute for me.

My dumbest thing re: guitar was stopping for 10 years and intermittently throughout the years vs stay with it even if you are in a rut. I did catch up on lots of TV though.
Click to expand...
Me neither, what is bitch picking? Picking lightly? A lot of players play on the light side, and the guitar stays in tune better as there's no big sharp spike immediately after picking. Knowing when to pick hard and when not to is a good thing.
 
Amazingly I use to some now just pick up a guitar, practice my ass off, and could play note for note with Yngwie records and whatever else.

Now, years later, I've become educated on proper set ups and action adjustments and god help me if the action isn't exactly a certain (low) height because otherwise I utterly cannot play even a basic pentatonic lick.
 
Kidkramer71 said:
Funny post !
So when I was 18 I had a late 60's Fender Bassman that my mom's bf modded for me. ( Rick Erickson is his name he built the flanger you hear in Hearts Baricuda,
Modded , amps for Queensryche, Green River, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam ect ect ect. )
So he made it amassed volume added an effects loop.
I had a cab with Jbl k 120's
I did not like the sound it was too bright.
It was my first tube amp.
So I sold the cab with k 120's
Sold the head for 500 back then.
Bought a moss valve power amp, peavey rock master and a Art Dr x.
I never got paid for the speaker cab or amp 2 separate friends.
Fast fwd 25 years.
My old boss calls me and tells me he has my amp .
His son is the one who had it.
I got it back but it was broke.
Rick fixed it for me.
Very glad my stupid youth choice turned out with a happy ending.
The bassman sounds killer and takes boost very nice.
The moss valve, dr x and rock master are long gone.
Long live tube amps !
Click to expand...
Dude that is an amazing story! Love it! That is so cool to have the amp and someone who was able to mod it like that.
 
Things I wish I’d have known when I was 18:

- Get a good guitar where the action can be low
- Mids are the key to tone (especially in a band)
- Heavy vs light playing drives fret size
- Tube amps need to be cranked to sound what they were designed to sound best at
- Who cares what people think of your playing - play your best and with passion and you’ll be great
- Never sell old gear because you’ll eventually like it again or find a use for it
- Wear earplug when standing 2 ft from cymbals all night
- The typical audience member does hear the small playing flubs or non-ideal tone
- Have a solid reliable rig
- You don’t need as much distortion as you think
 
alund said:
I still don’t know what bitch picking is… someone previously described it about a year ago. I guess it doesn’t compute for me.

My dumbest thing re: guitar was stopping for 10 years and intermittently throughout the years vs stay with it even if you are in a rut. I did catch up on lots of TV though.
Click to expand...
anomaly said:
Me neither, what is bitch picking? Picking lightly? A lot of players play on the light side, and the guitar stays in tune better as there's no big sharp spike immediately after picking. Knowing when to pick hard and when not to is a good thing.
Click to expand...

Bitch picking is akin to "whisper vocals". It's basically having such a light pick attack that you're starving your entire chain for signal. So everything you play comes out weak, lifeless, and flaccid.

To put it another way it's like trying to fuck with a 1 inch limp dick. No one gets any pleasure from it and everyone walks away completely unsatisfied.
 
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