Amp theories...

[Empty Pockets]

People have always told me the key to tone is to base it on a good, solid clean sound and add on from there with distortion pedals or whatever. This is 'cuz, y'know, that Marshall head has some great distortion but if you can't clean it up then it's a one-trick pony or whatever...

Well, who agrees or disagrees with this? Would a Fender Twin with the right effects be able to get AS GOOD of a distortion (not THE SAME distortion, just an equally good and usable one) as, say, a JCM800 or a Rectifier or something?

 

[some_dude]

Re: Amp theories...

I believe the key to a good tone is a good dry sound. If your tone isn't that great with all your effects turned off, it probably won't be that great with them turned on.

As for clean sound, I believe in priorities. I have a friend that never uses cleans....he'll always have some sort of mild OD going on....so for him to search around for a great clean amp is time wasted that he could've been using to look for a great overdriven amp. Clean is obviously not a priority for that guy.

As for amps being one trick ponies that ether do great clean/ok dirt, or great dirt/ok clean.....there's a reason they invented channel switching amps.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Amp theories...

I've learned a few things through the years.

#1, a great clean amp is your best friend. You can play it at super low volumes for practicing, throw pedals in front of it in order to add some different vibes, and it will help you be a better player because you can't hide behind clean tones like you can saturated high gain.

#2, the best distortion is from an amp, not from pedals. As for overdrive, I've gotten myself and heard others get amazing lightly overdriven tones from their clean amps and I've heard some good distortion sounds, but the best are from an amp specifically dedicated to it. I am glad to see pedals like the Tonebones around to fill that distortion void though and I hope the technology keeps getting better and better.

#3 channel switching amps are awesome. If you buy the right amp, there won't be any sacrifices on either end of the tonal spectrum. You won't be able to find one amp to do absolutely everything, but channel switching sure beats having to carry around another amp (this coming from someone who uses two amps in his setup ). I prefer independently eq'd channels so that each can be tweaked without affecting the other.