What does “clean” mean to you?

[marvcus]

I keep reading everyone’s opinions on good cleans and trying to line that up with what I prefer. There seems to be so much more disparity in what folks like out of a clean.

Maybe folks can use this for reference when considering future opinions on clean tones.

Me: anything thick and chimey. A little dirt. If there is a thud on low notes when plucked, that’s a good thing. Like SRV clean. I don’t really run chorus or modulation on cleans, so no need to thin it out.

I don’t like: “Hyper” cleans, like Mark IV clean. I used to run the pre on 10 to get in my zone when I had one. Hate lean, sterile cleans.

 

[RaceU4her]

this is what i had on when i opened this thread, so ill go with it

 

[ChurchHill]

Interesting question... couple of ways of looking at it. In one sense, to me, clean means whatever sound fits the song. That might be rolling back on the guitar, or it might mean a different guitar or amp. Clean could be crystal clear, but many times, there's some additional harmonic content, not necessarily breakup, but not surgical, either.

Pickups play a role in this, too. I've got some high output pups that couldn't do clean to save their lives but are just perfect for their intended use. Others are perfect clean machines but may be a little thin or brittle under higher gain. Some do both well, jack of all trades, master of none situation. And a few that are perfect for everything.

For amps, to me, there are a few different kinds of clean. There's the Roland JC120 clean, which for better or worse, is that sound. There's the Fender Twin, which is another that sound, and reissues don't sound like the old ones, IMHO. One of my favorite clean sounds is the low input on a Marshall 2204 or, for that matter, a Vox AC30 for a different British flavor. My favorite clean is an old Fender Blonde Tremolux, which to my ears is a little slice of heaven when used in a fitting context. Somewhat related to this are the speakers. My favorites for cleans include JBL K110s and Altec 417s along with many Celestions and Jensens.

I'll also add that I've found very few high gain heads that also have a good clean channel for my tastes. Exceptions would be the Shiva or XTC from Bogner, or the VH4 or Herbert from Diezel. I'm sure there are others out there, but I have the amps I do because I love the one thing they do best. Anything else is an added bonus.

I'm leaving out effects intentionally. To me, clean is about the core sound, not the effects that can be added to it.