Sometimes I listen too closely to all of you

[misterwhizzy]

I've been trying to play cleaner and work on technique, but yesterday I just cranked up the gain and had way more fun playing. Sometimes less actually is not more.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I like gain too.

What amp are you playing?

 

[Mincer]

Working on technique isn't always 'fun', but in the end the tone is cleaner and more precise, even with distortion.

 

[Securb]

You do you, my friend. I try to spend a considerable time working on technique and expanding my musical vocabulary. I also spend time overdriving the VOX with my Tele and just letting it all fall where it will. It depends on what I need to get done for either band at the moment.

 

[misterwhizzy]

Don't get me wrong. It was more of just a chance to have fun and take a day off work, so to speak, which is sometimes what we got into music for to begin with.

And to answer your question, Rex Rocker, yesterday I was going into my Revv G4 pedal on the blue aggression setting with gain at about 2:00 into my Origin 50 to a Greenback-loaded 2x12. I feel like the blue aggression gets gainier than regular without getting into too-noisy-and-hairy territory like the red. And it stays very, very tight without needing a boost whatsoever.

 

[misterwhizzy]

Oh, cool, we can't edit posts anymore?

I meant to say that the G4 is going into the effects loop return of the amp. In front sounds very, very bad.

 

[Seashore]

Oh, cool, we can't edit posts anymore?

I meant to say that the G4 is going into the effects loop return of the amp. In front sounds very, very bad.

Huh, that's good to know. I've been looking around for a better high gain distortion to put in front of my Traynor - no effects loop. The Revv stuff was on my list, but if it can't go in front of a clean amp then it's not what I need.

The most fun I've had lately is playing 90s-style death metal riffs through the HM2 sound on my HX Effects. All work and no play, etc etc.

 

[misterwhizzy]

I think the G4 can go in front of amps. I just think the preamp of the Origin delivers very, very bright tones and cuts a ton of bass. I've seen the entirety of YouTube get great tones with it straight into the frontend of different amps, but it just didn't work for me. I can't speak highly enough of the Revv stuff I've played. I almost bought a G3 on Reverb last night, as a matter of fact, but I'm trying to respect the spending freeze we have going on in the house right now.

Edit: After looking for an example, both Leon Todd and Ola set it up into the effects return, but Rabea goes frontend in this video.

 

[Seashore]

I think the G4 can go in front of amps. I just think the preamp of the Origin delivers very, very bright tones and cuts a ton of bass. I've seen the entirety of YouTube get great tones with it straight into the frontend of different amps, but it just didn't work for me. I can't speak highly enough of the Revv stuff I've played. I almost bought a G3 on Reverb last night, as a matter of fact, but I'm trying to respect the spending freeze we have going on in the house right now.

Edit: After looking for an example, both Leon Todd and Ola set it up into the effects return, but Rabea goes frontend in this video.

Thanks for this - I've been leaning towards the G3 based on descriptions but now I think I'm sold on the G4. I hear you on the spending freeze though. Kinda in that boat myself.

 

[Mincer]

Oh, cool, we can't edit posts anymore?

I meant to say that the G4 is going into the effects loop return of the amp. In front sounds very, very bad.

One of the 'features' of the forum software that was broken on the last update. Sometimes it works, but mostly it doesn't.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Personally nothing sounds & feels better than cranking up the gain on my amps. Plus playing w /oodles of gain is an art in of itself. Nothing more hilarious than having a dedicated classical/acoustic player plug into your (dimed) high gain amp and try to do his thing.... :lmao:

 

[Chistopher]

I think the idea of "less is more" with regards to gain is more directed to the people who haven't considered that their gain knobs can be rolled down. Also it kinda more applies to transistors than tubes. A tube generally sounds better louder, a transistor generally sounds worst, even without distortion becoming a factor.

I'm starting to discover that gain levels are all made up anyway. Just because one pedal doesn't clip as hard as another doesn't mean it's "cleaner".

 

[ErikH]

Forcing oneself to play with less gain and cleaner sound also can reveal places in technique that could be improved on. I made myself play with less gain which revealed some slop I needed to clean up. When I started playing with the worship band at church I was making myself use even less gain, even all clean. The benefits of all that is when I play with the blues band or cover band where we use a lot of drive, or use more overdrive with the worship band, my playing is cleaner and more defined. Even playing at home fiddling around I'll have little to no drive unless I'm really working on a song that has drive. But even then, sometimes working out parts with little drive can help me get them to sound better because I may hear something wrong that can get hidden in distortion.

 

[misterwhizzy]

I get it. Working on technique is better with less gain. And I fully subscribe to that school of that. Without exception. And when hearing the cab miced up, it almost always sounds like there's way more distortion than I hear in the room. I'm not talking about any of that.

I'm just saying that sometimes, adding a pile of distortion just lets your fingers loosen up a bit. And that's more inspiring and fun. Sometimes.

 

[ErikH]

I can see that too. Depends on what I'm doing. If I'm playing along to Dokken or Ratt or something like that, for sure. Otherwise I'm keeping it dialed back a lot.

 

[Mincer]

I always practice with a dead clean tone to practice techniques like efficiency of picking and tone.

 

[Cynical]

The idea of "practice with less gain" has always seemed counter-productive to me. If you're going to be playing a part with high gain, that's how you should be practicing it IMO; higher gain comes with different technical challenges than lower gain (on muting in particular), and there's no reason to try to make a part sound great with no distortion if you're only ever going to play it with tons of distortion.

The Army likes to say "train like you fight"; for guitarists, that translates to "practice like you play".

 

[Chistopher]

You gotta do both. If you don't practice with low gain you'll struggle with picking dynamics and legato, if you don't practice with high gain you'll never pay attention to muting and string noise.

 

[Cynical]

If you're only ever going to play a part with high gain, why do you need good picking dynamics or "clean" legato with it? You're practicing a skill that's completely unneeded. That's a pure waste of practicing time.

 

[Chistopher]

Why get good at anything I suppose. If the skill level you are currently at is enough to spark you joy in playing, no need to go any further. Sometimes I play to have fun, sometimes I play to get better. No harm in doing either.