El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

barbarianbrute

barbarianbrute

New member
i'm trying to dial in a good blues tone with my el diablo, so i recorded a couple of real quick clips on my portable recorder this morning. first of all, i recorded these this morning before work, so i'm not trying to win a grammy or anything. i know the recording is kind of crappy and the playing is very raw. i think my blues tone is starting to get better, although i'm not much of a blues player anyway. check it out and let me know what you think. (crap recording, please turn up)

clip 1 low gain

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=756092&songID=5943003

clip 2 low gain w/compression

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=756092&songID=5943486
 
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Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

Sounds very nice, very smooth yet soulful tone. Well done!
 
Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

Too much on the highs for my taste. I'd roll them down some. I only really get something that sharp and edgy when it's wide open and I really dig into it.
 
Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

I like both a lot man... nice tone, and at the risk of repeating myself: I hate you for introducing me to that amp ;).
 
Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

Skarekrough said:
Too much on the highs for my taste. I'd roll them down some. I only really get something that sharp and edgy when it's wide open and I really dig into it.
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it's funny you say that because i never use much highs. in fact, this amp doesn't typically sound trebly or anything. my eq was b=5,m=6,t=4. it actually sounds pretty midrangey to my ears. hmmm, i'm going back to listen to it. thanks for the comments, i'll work on it
 
Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

I thought it was really good, you captured that blues vibe.
 
Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

Doesn't sound too trebly at all. In fact that tone is perfect for you man. It's excellent.
 
Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

Dial it in with the neck pickup. On a Strat, that's where you'll get the best blues tone (or start of anyway). The middle is also good. I rarely use the bridge when playing blues stuff unless I'm really tearing in to it.

Sounded very smooth to me. Highs were just right. It could sound bright from the recording quality but on my speakers it doesn't. A good mic and mixer can take care of that real quick.
 
Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

The rhythm track guitar sounded nice. The lead tone wasn't doing anything for me though.
 
Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

VIBROLUX said:
The rhythm track guitar sounded nice. The lead tone wasn't doing anything for me though.
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well i wasn't using an old fender, and the rhythm was off the internet. you probably liked the rhythm because i believe it was actually done on an old fender
 
Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

barbarianbrute said:
it's funny you say that because i never use much highs. in fact, this amp doesn't typically sound trebly or anything. my eq was b=5,m=6,t=4. it actually sounds pretty midrangey to my ears. hmmm, i'm going back to listen to it. thanks for the comments, i'll work on it
Click to expand...

Okay...I think I see what's happening.

It's the guitar. Take down the volume on the bridge pickup a notch or two and start bringing the tone down on it as well.

I'm just hypothesizing you're using higher output pickups and that could likely be the result.

The more I play the less I leave the volume wide open.
 
Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

It's to gainy for my taste. I prefer a clean amp with an overdrive or just naturally driving the amp. That's just me though. To each his own.
 
Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

Skarekrough said:
Okay...I think I see what's happening.

It's the guitar. Take down the volume on the bridge pickup a notch or two and start bringing the tone down on it as well.

I'm just hypothesizing you're using higher output pickups and that could likely be the result.

The more I play the less I leave the volume wide open.
Click to expand...

i'm not so sure they're high-output pups though. they're dimarzio virtual vintage solo pickups.

blueslegend8 said:
It's to gainy for my taste. I prefer a clean amp with an overdrive or just naturally driving the amp. That's just me though. To each his own.
Click to expand...

you're right, it wasn't a clean tone. i used the gain channel, but at the lowest amount of gain i could get without losing the volume on that channel. i probably had the gain set around 9 o'clock. to me, it sounded a lot like a texas blues kind of tone. didn't srv use an overdrive pedal though?
 
Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

barbarianbrute said:
didn't srv use an overdrive pedal though?
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Yes, he did. Two of them in fact. Ibanez Tube Screamers. Both with different settings. Not sure how often he ran both at the same time. Even so, the amount of gain he had on tap was a lot less. Most of that big sound came not only from his hands, but the amps being cranked (literally) and the bigger strings (he used 13's for a while and then went to 12's).

Your tone in those clips sounds good for a rock/blues type thing. For Texas blues, just a little more sizzle is needed and a little less drive.
 
Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

ErikH said:
Yes, he did. Two of them in fact. Ibanez Tube Screamers. Both with different settings. Not sure how often he ran both at the same time. Even so, the amount of gain he had on tap was a lot less. Most of that big sound came not only from his hands, but the amps being cranked (literally) and the bigger strings (he used 13's for a while and then went to 12's).

Your tone in those clips sounds good for a rock/blues type thing. For Texas blues, just a little more sizzle is needed and a little less drive.
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how do you get the sizzle without the drive? also, i was using very little drive to begin with. if i turned the gain down any more, i woulnd't have heard much coming out of the amp. i'm a little confused then
 
Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

barbarianbrute said:
how do you get the sizzle without the drive? also, i was using very little drive to begin with. if i turned the gain down any more, i woulnd't have heard much coming out of the amp. i'm a little confused then
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Presence, some top end. You still need some drive, don't get me wrong. That's a part of it, but that amp has a little too much for the TX blues sound, even at the lowest setting.

The best way to get it, a Fender amp cranked up to the verge of breakup, and then hit with an overdrive at about 50% drive. Even an old Marshall set up the same way will do the trick.

It's hard to get some sizzle going when using the neck pickup but with the middle and bridge, that's where it can be heard.

Now, Billy Gibbons is a different story. He uses more drive than any TX blues player I've ever heard, and his style is totally different than any I've ever heard. He also uses humbuckers most of the time (though he'll play darn near anything he wants...lol) where lots of others stick with Strats, which is the direction I'm leaning in to with my descriptions.
 
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Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

ErikH said:
Presence, some top end. You still need some drive, don't get me wrong. That's a part of it, but that amp has a little too much for the TX blues sound, even at the lowest setting.

The best way to get it, a Fender amp cranked up to the verge of breakup, and then hit with an overdrive at about 50% drive. Even an old Marshall set up the same way will do the trick.

It's hard to get some sizzle going when using the neck pickup but with the middle and bridge, that's where it can be heard.

Now, Billy Gibbons is a different story. He uses more drive than any TX blues player I've ever heard, and his style is totally different than any I've ever heard. He also uses humbuckers most of the time (though he'll play darn near anything he wants...lol) where lots of others stick with Strats, which is the direction I'm leaning in to with my descriptions.
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I don't think a Strat, or which pickup it's on gets the sizzle...it's having the amp cranked to the top, and then dialed back a bit with the guitar. Listen to BB King Live at Folsom Prison some time...there is sizzle all over the guitar in that recording, and not cause of pickup choice, but for the simple fact that he has the poweramp on 10, and it makes all the difference. When you're recording, you want the amp to be sweating...no amp sounds it's best on 2 or 3, IMO, but most can be made to sound better with the right pedal. Most tube amps do, however, sound better when the gain is low and the power amp is slamming the tubes with juice.
The other thing is some good vibrato, which will take a while to dial in. A string having vibrato put on it gives up a bit of sizzle that a string bent, then released with no vibrato can't get.

That tone is good (bit boxy for my tastes), but if you record annother, put the amp's master on 10, and then crack open the gain till its good and loud without being too far over the top, then use the right touch of vibrato on your bends and held notes, and see if you can hear a difference.
 
Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

guitfiddle said:
I don't think a Strat, or which pickup it's on gets the sizzle...it's having the amp cranked to the top, and then dialed back a bit with the guitar. Listen to BB King Live at Folsom Prison some time...there is sizzle all over the guitar in that recording, and not cause of pickup choice, but for the simple fact that he has the poweramp on 10, and it makes all the difference. When you're recording, you want the amp to be sweating...no amp sounds it's best on 2 or 3, IMO, but most can be made to sound better with the right pedal. Most tube amps do, however, sound better when the gain is low and the power amp is slamming the tubes with juice.
The other thing is some good vibrato, which will take a while to dial in. A string having vibrato put on it gives up a bit of sizzle that a string bent, then released with no vibrato can't get.

That tone is good (bit boxy for my tastes), but if you record annother, put the amp's master on 10, and then crack open the gain till its good and loud without being too far over the top, then use the right touch of vibrato on your bends and held notes, and see if you can hear a difference.
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i see what you guys mean. there's no way i can crank this amp that loud because it's a friggin loud amp! but i did use the gain channel and i think that's where the problem lies. if i use the clean channel with the gain all the way up, my amp does break up a bit at higher volumes. i'm going to try it that way next time. in fact, it does seem to have quite a bit more presence on that channel.
 
Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

guitfiddle said:
...it's having the amp cranked to the top, and then dialed back a bit with the guitar.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that helps too. But not everybody has that luxury, at least I don't, so I make due with what I have and get it the best I can at lower volumes.

One pedal circuit that I found helps out a TON is the AMZ Mosfet Boost (www.muzique.com). It's a DIY pedal but he also sells circuit boards so all you need to do is solder parts in and wire it up in an enclosure. If it's too bright in your setup, changing one resistor to a lower value helps that.

I run that Mosfet Boost out front of my amp and with the Twin model, it gets that sizzle. I can set the Twin to just right at breakup and then add the boost for a little more. Add in an overdrive at 50% drive and it's TX blues all the way. The boost adds, or brings back really, the lost highs and presence that get lost in cable runs (doesn't matter how good the cable is, a good boost/buffer is better, IMO).
 
Re: El Diablo Blues Sound Clip - How's My Blues Tone Now?

so does a boost pedal pump the signal going into the amp or something? would a boost pedal help the tone at low volumes? isn't an overdrive supposed to push the amp harder at lower volumes too?
 
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