A few months ago, I got to play through a Schaffer. Definitely added to the vibe in a way that straight dirt boxes don't.
hard to describe. Lovegun succinctly describes how it works but it added a cool squish to the feel as well as tweaking EQ a bit. The result was that even through a Hot Rod Deluxe, it was easy to get a Malcolm Young thing going on. It doesn't add a ton of dirt itself but shapes the EQ to give a very pleasant sounding overdrive out of the amp.Thats cool! I had never heard of a Schaffer before this article. Can you describe what it added in tone please?
Throughout my life I've often wondered what the point is obsessing over tone is, artists themselves don't know what their "tone" is. They could describe it with words, sure, if they absolutely needed to but most of them and us just just fiddle with knobs until we like the sound. I can understand buying for instance an SG Standard if you want to follow the ac/dc sound, but the truth is that there's so many other things that affect the sound that it's kind of worthless to obsess over a certain wiring system.
this isn't a jab at this thread of at guitars players in general, it's just my 2 cents.
Ive always wondered what was so special about the Ac/dc sound. If it was "mixed" that way or what ever. All other sounds from artists I understand and usually easy to replicate. So the elusiveness of the sound that should be so easy to get just with volume wasent there. So just curious![]()
I wouldn't even describe it as an overdrive. It's more of a compressor/EQ. Also, the Schaffer boxes being made today aren't actually wireless. You just plug in more like you would with a preamp.I still dont really understand it. Its a wireless guitar system used as an overdrive?

Interesting. I always thought he just went straight in.
Throughout my life I've often wondered what the point is obsessing over tone is
Originally yes, and at some stage for live he got a wireless to avoid the issue with tripping up everyone except Phil Rudd. I'm sure at that stage they tweaked the settings so it sounded good live. Maybe at some later recording date they realised that the sound it got was necessary for the proper tone, or maybe Angus actually plays in the studio like he does on stage and needed the freedom there too.