Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

[guitfiddle]

A bit of an off-shoot from the simple vs tweaky amp thread.

Which way do you prefer to vary the gain while you play?

* Switch it on the fly by foot

* Use the guitar's volume(s) and tone(s)

* Combo of the two methods

I use both, but only because I use an OD pedal, and switch it on and off.

 

[formula73]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

I use both as I use the clean channel for cleans and the crunch channel for crunch but end up using the geet volume a lot on that channel to vary the amount of dirt(think AC/DC dirt up to Maiden rhythm). I rarely use the 3rd channel except for very saturated stuff and it doesn't clean up all that well.

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

Footswitch when I need to quickly change the the gain, volume for the rest of the time... which is most of the time really.
You just can't beat a good swell from clean to dirty as you go into a chorus

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

I use my pedalboard, and sometimes switch between distinct sounds, and sometimes use my guitar's volume for more subtle changes within a song. Sometimes it depends on my mood as to which one I do!

 

[korovamilkdud]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

Well I've never been able to get a totally clean sound by volume roll-off, so both (toggle switch is great for distortion vs. crunch).

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

Both! One second I gotta have those spanky Shiva cleans, and the next I've got to have that roar. No way to get that with the volume knob.

 

[cakire82]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

I don't really touch my volume knob on guitar unless I want to turn it off completely. I rather have all the controls under my feet.

 

[some_dude]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

Both.

Why limit yourself?

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

Both.

Why limit yourself?

That's what I think although I use the guitars controls more. Still, there are those "on ten" guys who need switching.

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

I said both because of pedals.

Normally I do the whole set a crunchy rhythm tone, roll back for cleans, dig in for more gain, and then use a pedal for solos

 

[James Rock]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

This brings me to another question is there a pedal that acts as a clean cut (like rolling down your volume control) so you can have that setting footswitchable.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

This brings me to another question is there a pedal that acts as a clean cut (like rolling down your volume control) so you can have that setting footswitchable.

I use my Rocktron Hex volume pedal.

It's got standard analog input/output. But I use it's stereo TRS input and run the cable to my TC Nova System. I can control volume, drive, delay mix, etc with it that way. Usually though, it's just set to volume and I like it that way.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

Both. I'll usually use pedals/amp OD to get as close as possible to the sound that I want, then use the guitar knobs while playing if anything needs just a little more tweaking. In my setup there's no way to go from a bright, sparkly clean to a volume matched thick distortion just by using your volume knob . . .

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

If I can footswitch it I will. That ensures I hit the same volume/gain boost or cut every time. Some of my volume knobs are a lil touchy, and I don't wanna miss my mark.

 

[Markk]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

Both.

Why limit yourself?

I'm a both kind of guy as well. But I wouldn't say people 'limit' themselves when they use one day, it may just be exactly the kind of sound they want to get when they use one method.

 

[Koreth]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

Both. My amp is presently set up so so channel 1 is a clear clean with no hint of breakup, channel 2 is dark and fat and on the edge and gets crunchier when I dig in, and channel 3 set up so it works for higher gain rhythms and leads. However if I want clean that's dark and fat and not bright and clear like Ch1, I'll switch to Ch2, and roll the volume back. If I want a bit of a tighter crunch than Ch2, I'll switch to Ch3 and roll the volume back. Then I have an SD-1 set as a clean boost that I can use to push any of the channels a bit more if I want to.

However, with most of the band's songs presently written as they are, I footswitch more often than I roll the volume control back. Hopefully with some of the new songs we're working on, I'll have a chance to do some more volume control stuff. It's a bit of a different tone than what's to be had through straight channel switching alone.

 

[GLJazz]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

That's what I think although I use the guitars controls more. Still, there are those "on ten" guys who need switching.

Guilty. The only thing better than ten... is eleven :headbang:


Both.

 

[Animal]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

Depends on the genre. For "stop-start" music with sharp dramatic contrasts it's almost impossible to ride the volume control.

Mr.Bungle is a fine example. Trey Spruance used a two-amp setup consisting of a Marshall half-stack (JMP?) and silver-face Twin Reverb. He could go from authentic polar opposite tones and not miss a beat, however I think he ended up eventually ditching the Marshall half-stack for touring due to the inconvenience of carting around such a cumbersome rig.

 

[jake_xms3_punk]

Re: Footswitches, or Guitar Controls?

in some songs i need to go from clean to dirt, so i just set my neck pickup volume way down so it cleans up and then just flip my toggle to go from clean to distortion, i also roll down the volume to control the gain/distortion a lot and set the pickups at different volumes for rhythm and lead breaks. i dont have a footswitch for my amp so i have to rely on my knobs a lot more.