Chickenwings
Alnico 6/8
For the last few years i have been using less and less gear to get the sounds i like onstage by relying more on nice sensitive, nuanced amps (fenders mostly) and the volume controls on my guitar. The difficult thing of course is to get the right amount of overdrive at stage volumes.
I spent a long tine using just one fuzz pedal, then after making a couple of prototypes, settled on a special home recipe overdrive. This was good, because i enjoyed having reverb from the amp (and trem sometimes). However i still wanted more responsiveness, nuance and harmonic clarity.
Anyways, a few weeks back ordered and received a beautiful hand built amp. Loosely based on a JTM bluesbreaker, but with the addition of a master volume control. No reverb, no trem. Just pure sweet, rich all tube tone.
Ive used it at a bunch of gigs already thru a 2x12 cab and been loving the simplicty of just plugging straight in. It is so rich and nuanced, i don't miss the reverb. It makes me sound better, and it has the benefit of making me play better also. It is clear enough that i can hear every note and nuance whether i'm gently stroking the strings for complex chords on the neck pickup, grinding out some crunchy riffey, or slicing some lead lines thru the band mix.
So last week i thought, i'll just bring along my NKT275 fuzz face to give myself a little extra grunt and fuzz texture when required. Its a really nice pedal as anyone who has used one will tell you. I used it for about 30 seconds until the into of the song was over, then switched it off. Next set break i removed it and went back to a single cable straight into the amp. I actually prefer the tone with literally nothing between me and the amp, it feels like diodes, transistors or anything between the guitar and the tubes is just getting in the way of what i want to do expressively.
So yeah. Just a little anecdote about how i got past the need (or desire) to use pedals.
With the right guitar and amp combination for the job at hand, there is nothing more needed.
I'm not saying ill never use pedals or effects again and i know that for a lot of sonic textures and ambiance various effects are a must (especially in the studio). I also recognize that for a lot of players various effects are an integral part of their creative process. For me personally tho, right now and for the bulk of things i play live, they are no longer necessary or missed.
I spent a long tine using just one fuzz pedal, then after making a couple of prototypes, settled on a special home recipe overdrive. This was good, because i enjoyed having reverb from the amp (and trem sometimes). However i still wanted more responsiveness, nuance and harmonic clarity.
Anyways, a few weeks back ordered and received a beautiful hand built amp. Loosely based on a JTM bluesbreaker, but with the addition of a master volume control. No reverb, no trem. Just pure sweet, rich all tube tone.
Ive used it at a bunch of gigs already thru a 2x12 cab and been loving the simplicty of just plugging straight in. It is so rich and nuanced, i don't miss the reverb. It makes me sound better, and it has the benefit of making me play better also. It is clear enough that i can hear every note and nuance whether i'm gently stroking the strings for complex chords on the neck pickup, grinding out some crunchy riffey, or slicing some lead lines thru the band mix.
So last week i thought, i'll just bring along my NKT275 fuzz face to give myself a little extra grunt and fuzz texture when required. Its a really nice pedal as anyone who has used one will tell you. I used it for about 30 seconds until the into of the song was over, then switched it off. Next set break i removed it and went back to a single cable straight into the amp. I actually prefer the tone with literally nothing between me and the amp, it feels like diodes, transistors or anything between the guitar and the tubes is just getting in the way of what i want to do expressively.
So yeah. Just a little anecdote about how i got past the need (or desire) to use pedals.
With the right guitar and amp combination for the job at hand, there is nothing more needed.
I'm not saying ill never use pedals or effects again and i know that for a lot of sonic textures and ambiance various effects are a must (especially in the studio). I also recognize that for a lot of players various effects are an integral part of their creative process. For me personally tho, right now and for the bulk of things i play live, they are no longer necessary or missed.
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I did the same sometime ago.
