Gear you like to hear but hate to use?

[Nacho8807]

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

The 6505. I love the way they sound on records, when i hear them live, or when my friends play through one. But I cannot for the life of me dial in a sound I'm 100% happy with. I just don't sound like me. It was depressing to spend $800 on one just to find this out.

 

[ItsaBass]

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

I feel that way about pretty much all effects (but not reverb and tremolo, especially if they are built in).

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

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

Les Pauls for me. Hands down. Gibson guitars in general really, I love the tones of both Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, but when I pick up a Paul or an SG, it just doesn't feel or sound right.

I think Warren's best tones were with his red Strat with Lace Sensors, especially on his slide work back then.

I also love the sound of Les Pauls and how they look but would rather play a Fender type any day. I don't hate playing Les Pauls but I'm a Fender player.

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

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

ha! lesson one

step 1 - get a slide
step 2 - grab a guitar (preferably with heavier strings and higher action)
step 3 - send everyone away for two hours
step 4 - place the slide at the 12th fret and play only the B, G & D strings. try and make the three notes ring out. move the slide around to different chords and remember that the slide should be over the fret, not between them.

repeat steps 3 & 4 until it doesnt sound like you are torturing something, then just repeat step 4 till you can play that three note major chord any where on the neck in tune and without the other strings ringing out and making everything sound like crap.

muting with left and right hand is important. slide pressure on the strings is important. keeping the slide perpendicular to the strings is important.

Also try to avoid comparing yourself to Duane, Derek, or Warren, or Sonny....

 

[Maggot]

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

I can never get into a groove with a delay pedal. Maybe if I'm slathering it on in a psychedelic manner, but either I can't figure out how to use it like normal or I just don't like the sound.

 

[Myaccount876]

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

Pointy guitars (Jackson/ESP/BC Rich/etc). The pointiest I'd go is a classic styled Flying V. I like guitars with curves, yet some of my favorite players have used pointy guitars.

 

[Archer250]

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

ha! lesson one

step 1 - get a slide
step 2 - grab a guitar (preferably with heavier strings and higher action)
step 3 - send everyone away for two hours
step 4 - place the slide at the 12th fret and play only the B, G & D strings. try and make the three notes ring out. move the slide around to different chords and remember that the slide should be over the fret, not between them.

repeat steps 3 & 4 until it doesnt sound like you are torturing something, then just repeat step 4 till you can play that three note major chord any where on the neck in tune and without the other strings ringing out and making everything sound like crap.

muting with left and right hand is important. slide pressure on the strings is important. keeping the slide perpendicular to the strings is important.

No, I have no problem with getting the slide to ring or to make a sound out of it. I have huge problems trying to sound good or even slightly melodic.

 

[Matt42]

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

I think Warren's best tones were with his red Strat with Lace Sensors, especially on his slide work back then.

I also love the sound of Les Pauls and how they look but would rather play a Fender type any day. I don't hate playing Les Pauls but I'm a Fender player.

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.

 

[Johtosotku]

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

I don't like using most guitar effects. I'll try them out for a while but usually always end up playing totally dry. Some players get good sounds with them, but I don't have the imagination or the patience.

 

[sosomething]

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

Wow guys, you've made this a great thread. It's good to know I'm not alone.

Clearly, all of our ears are more forgiving or more open-minded that our hands. But I think that's probably a good thing.

Something I'll add is that, for me at least, these preferences can change. I might find, the next time I plug into a Recto-style amp, that there is something about it I really like. Or it might be a slight tweak or variation is all it takes to make something palatable.

For example, I can't get on with traditional Strats, but something like a G&L Legacy, with a refined bridge design and the volume knob moved back a little bit, feels right as rain.

 

[Maggot]

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

It's funny that a lot of people don't get on with Marshalls. I understand, but I think if you go with them for a while, you can get into the groove. They're not particularly forgiving, and their EQ philosophy tends to favor band mixes. But it's all about learning to trust them.

Vox seem downright easy to me, with all that compression.

I generally cannot dial in a Mesa, though, although they have so many models, I'm sure I could get one of them to agree with me.

 

[jtougas]

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

Floyd Rose trems...

 

[LLL]

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

I gotta go with the Les Paul.

I've sworn off Les Pauls now after decades of having a Custom as my main and then selling off my last one (a Traditional).

Ergonomically they are poop and they've become somewhat cliche' lately.

But they sound great.

 

[treyhaislip]

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

It's funny that a lot of people don't get on with Marshalls. I understand, but I think if you go with them for a while, you can get into the groove. They're not particularly forgiving, and their EQ philosophy tends to favor band mixes. But it's all about learning to trust them.

Bob Hartman of the band Petra used Marshall's alot. He told me the first thing to do on a Marshall is leave the Bass and Trem on noon and adjust the Mid Eq all the way off and see how it is driving the tone. I tried it on a Marshall I had that I couldn't quite dial in and that helped a ton! On a side note, my favorite Eq was on a Mesa-Boogie DC5...I wish all amps had their 5 way Eq built in

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

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.

 

[DreX]

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

I can't use a wah pedal without moving my mouth to imitate the sound, hard as I try to avoid it.

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

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.

Here's Warren playing slide on his strat. Great stuff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1jpQu6qR1E

And here's Dickey with Jack Pearson (first solo on the G&L) playing through a Marshall with a strat on the same tune a few years later:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHcgmiQwEts

I love Marshalls both to hear others through and to play through myself, and I love hearing people play through Soldanos, but I have never gelled with them.

 

[treyhaislip]

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

I can't use a wah pedal without moving my mouth to imitate the sound, hard as I try to avoid it.

Haha! That's hilarious as I do the same thing! :laugh2:

Also, I've never been able to make a Tele work for me...love the way they sound when others play them but just never worked for me.

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

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

I can't use a wah pedal without moving my mouth to imitate the sound, hard as I try to avoid it.

You should get a talk box! Annoying to keep clean but super fun.

 

[Mincer]

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

Marshalls. Les Pauls. Teles. Pointies. One pickup guitars. Guitars with no tone knobs. Fuzz pedals. Jumbo acoustics. I love what other people do with them, but I can't make any of them work for me.