Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

[GuitarStv]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

The chorus effect just doesn't work for me. It sounds great when I hear it recorded, but really distracts me when I hear it and I'm playing no matter what I do. Oddly enough, phasing doesn't.

 

[MkIII Renegade]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

I can't think of anything in the guitar world that fits this description for me. A Les Paul feels less natural to me than my super strats, but I can still dig it. Likewise for Teles and even 335s. I can REALLY get into Teles for short periods of time (although I'm more of a Syd Barrett-meets-MC5 Tele abuser than a traditional player). I can bond with most any tube amp and most effects.

Generally speaking, if I love the sound, I love playing it for the hell of it in person, even if it isn't "me". I really wish I could play classical piano and keys a la Rick Wakeman, but I can't (and I do have a decent synth in my studio). But in the guitar world, I can't say I really hate using anything. It's part of the adventure.

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

Reverb. Fuzz.

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

The chorus effect just doesn't work for me. It sounds great when I hear it recorded, but really distracts me when I hear it and I'm playing no matter what I do. Oddly enough, phasing doesn't.

I'm the exact opposite. The sound of phasers distract me when the sounds goes down to an almost completely rocked back wah. I find that strange, as I love Brian May's use of a phaser in the early Queen days, like "Keep Yourself Alive", but I can't get into. Flangers however...I love them when they sound like a heavy and metallic chorus effect ala Mercyful Fate and Judas Priest's "Bloodstone". Flangers are fun when you just leave them with tamer settings.

 

[Sleepy]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

Word for word agreement on the chorus thing. Most of my favorite recorded lead tones are drowned in chorus but it just sounds unfocused and cheesy while I'm practicing.

I'll add... Volume knobs. I appreciate the tone some guys get rolling it down but I hate how a guitar feels when the pickups aren't cranked.

 

[allbutromeo]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

Wah pedals for me.
They sound SOOOOO AWESOME and are really expressive. Ever since I was a kid listening to Hendrix and Metallica and Alice in Chains or SRV or whoever, I always envied the sounds they could make. I thought it was something they were doing with their hands and I couldn't get my sister's Danelectro to make that sound no matter how hard I tried.

Then I found out what it was and immediately went to get one only to figure out that I suck at using it and it actually takes practice to use effectively. That and it kind of sucks that you have to go over to the pedal and keep your foot on it to use the effect, meaning you can't really run around on stage or do a bunch of weird poses or anything since you gotta have balance while using it.

Sure Auto wahs can rememdy that but then they never "wah" the way I need them to so I prefer the control of the traditional wahs. That and most wahs I've played don't have any kind of sweep or tone control so you're usually stuck with whatever voice it has unless you buy a model that is priced higher because of the extra features. Switching them on and off is also a B most of the time. Nothing sucks more than trying to click a wah off but you didn't press hard enough so it just sounds all harsh and nasal until you try it again. That and they are typically more fragile than other pedals I've used. I've had like 3 wah pedals and 2 broke almost immediately after getting them, and I was careful too.

The bass wah Dunlop makes has been great for me so far. Sweep and tone controls, hasn't broken, sounds awesome on bass AND guitar, and it has an auto return function so it shuts off when you take your foot off like the Morleys, so it's foolproof. You can't set it to a "sweet spot" and leave it like other people sometimes do with their wahs, but I rarely did that anyway. That new Morley Cliff Burton tribute wah looks awesome too, even has a built in fuzz you can switch on and off.

For the on/off problem I've found that taking the rubber bumpers off the front of the rocker helps since you won't have to push it as hard, it also gives slightly longer sweep, but then you have to be careful not to accidently switch it off when using it. I also prefer a wah that has an on/off LED. I'd probably switch to a morely bad horsey but I don't like how much room they takeup

 

[sosomething]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

I actually don't have any problem using a wah. I like the extra expression and vocalization you get from that effect. To me, wah is more an aspect of performance and less an effect that just sits on top of your tone than probably any other pedal you can have.

I did spring for a fancy MXR CAE Wah that has some extra stuff. 2 different footswitchable sweeps that are tailored by trim pots inside the pedal, and a boost (which I never use). I think it sounds pretty good and I find the toe button thingy really easy to switch on and off.

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

For the on/off problem I've found that taking the rubber bumpers off the front of the rocker helps since you won't have to push it as hard, it also gives slightly longer sweep, but then you have to be careful not to accidently switch it off when using it. I also prefer a wah that has an on/off LED. I'd probably switch to a morely bad horsey but I don't like how much room they takeup

Hm, never thought of that. But yeah, that's why I like the Dunlop bass wah over the Morleys. That huge metal base is just obnoxious.

 

[aleclee]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

Add me to the Strat list. I keep a Squier Strat around just to remind myself not to spand good money on one. It sounds like a Strat should and that's good enough to eliminate any GAS.

 

[GuitarGuy503]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

Delay. I had one briefly and just didn't feel like we hit it off. It didn't seem like it fit anywhere in my playing and that owning one wouldu be a total waste cuz I couldn't naturally apply it to my own stuff.

 

[VHTJay]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

Tele's and strats. Love the tone of both, but cannot get used to playing them and God knows I have tried!

 

[jeremy]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

I don't think I've ever seen him play his strat. I think he sticks to his LPs, Firebirds and 335s most of the time recently.

I've got to add Marshalls to the list, too. I've never really gelled with them.

he doesnt play it very often. used to use it on blue sky and a few others but its got the active boost circuitry which helps with the fattness. the slo doesnt hurt either. just saw the mule last night and it was all gibson (except for scofield who played his ibz 335 thing)

 

[jeremy]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

Reverb. Fuzz.

ive always liked reverb but i tried fuzz pedals for years and couldnt get along with them and couldnt figure out how anyone else did either. they sounded thin weird and annoying. with a fuzzface at least, it has everything to do with what guitar and what amp you are using. i love my sunface with the right gear (at the right temperature)

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

Strats. I can make them sound good, but lots of times I'd be going for the big neck pickup tone, hit the switch, and accidentally roll the volume down, screwing up the first part of the phrase. Tried to be careful, but it just happened too often.

 

[Matt42]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

he doesnt play it very often. used to use it on blue sky and a few others but its got the active boost circuitry which helps with the fattness. the slo doesnt hurt either. just saw the mule last night and it was all gibson (except for scofield who played his ibz 335 thing)

I'm jealous. I was hoping he'd come near by on the Sco-Mule tour, but no luck. He doesn't get up this way very often.

 

[Metalblaze]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

Marshalls! I sound like **** through them... but I love the heavy tones a lot of Metal bands get with them. And the feel is just so out of my playing style.

edit: also tone controls on guitars. I like tones like BB King's etc but I don't like when I play muting the highs.

 

[tombogiri]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

Add me to the Strat list. I keep a Squier Strat around just to remind myself not to spand good money on one. It sounds like a Strat should and that's good enough to eliminate any GAS.

I see I'm not the only one!

 

[DreX]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

I really hated Les Pauls and Teles (no gut cut, only three tone choices, single cutaway, the whole list) until I found examples that were so visually breathtaking I had to buy them, and I told my self, if I don't like playing it, I'll at least enjoy looking at it, but eventually I came to not mind the ergonomic idiosyncrasies of either. I think it was just a lack of familiarity too quickly turning into an irrational dislike of those things.

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

I play a dozen different guitar models regularly, and the only one I have not been able to totally bond with after all these years is the SG. I can't get rid of it because nothing sounds as good as my SG for basic rock like AC/DC on the bridge pickup or for early Clapton blues on the 59 neck pickup. If I could find a guitar that had exactly THAT sound, but sat on your lap like a "normal" guitar, I would ditch it in a second.

 

[Maggot]

Re: Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

Word for word agreement on the chorus thing. Most of my favorite recorded lead tones are drowned in chorus but it just sounds unfocused and cheesy while I'm practicing.

I'll add... Volume knobs. I appreciate the tone some guys get rolling it down but I hate how a guitar feels when the pickups aren't cranked.

I was the same way about volume knobs for about 30 years. Only now am I dialing it back. The secret is that you've probably been adjusting your setup for just the right amount of volume and gain. If you set it for a little TOO MUCH volume and gain, so you have to dial it back a bit to get the clarity you're used to, then it'll sound a little sweeter, you won't feel that sense of disengagement when you dial it back further, and you'll have an extra gear to kick it up to.

I discovered this the oddest way. I had the opportunity to play an encore with one of my idols, on his equipment. I went up there never having touched the guitar or amp before. At first it sounded unreasonably crunchy and crispy. Not like his sound at all. I dialed it back several notches before when starting the song and voila - sounded excellent.

I also bought a ZVex Fuzzolo, which is a pedal that uses the guitar volume as a gain control. It doesn't get much quieter when you turn the guitar volume down. It just cleans up.