The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

B

BFahz

New member
Been chasing tone for 30 years now, and damn Im getting tired!

I have a Friedman Small Box w/ Friedman's 4X12 cab, a Luxxtone alder guitar w/ Arcane luxxbucker hot hum pups (around 11 DC res, which have been likened to the SD Custom 5's), and although the tone is certainly better than most, I find a certain boomy low end and compression that I find hard to get rid of and also that high end sizzle RE EVH's Plexi tone - which seems to be present in other amps like Granger, Metro, Bray, etc. - seems to be elusive.

I have a Boss GE7 EQ but that hasn't gotten me there either. Any thoughts if changing the pup out with say the im1 or '78 would make the difference versus the current Arcane luxxbucker hum pup?
 
Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

I have to say the Smit's Brownsound is a great option for EVH tones. It can cover a lot of eras. You'd have to reach out to him to see if he's still building those.

Other than that, have you considered the EVH Wolfgang? You can find them on eBay from $50-100.
 
Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

Early VH tone = Seymour Duncan SH-5 Custom.

(playing starts at about 11:00 mark)
 
Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

You want to get rid of the boomy low end and compression of the C5 type pup? Have you considered the Screamin Demon?!
 
Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

are you chasing eddies early tone or just want less bottom, less compression, and more sizzle on the top?
 
Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

I know the EVH tone is so played out in these forums... I am really chasing a tone that has a tight but clear bottom end, that mid range "chunk" and depth, and the high end sizzle/chime almost reminiscent of a single coil but thicker. Ideally, an open tone that responds to the players dymamics (not compressed) but has sustain. EVH's "Unchained" or "Ice Cream Man" tones exemplify these qualities. I was listening to Brian Setzer live the other day and he has this tone as well. George Lynch at times.

Maybe Im searching for unicorns, but I have heard it before and am hoping others know what I am talking about (albeit i am sure through tons of effects and EQ, which is in part my question along with any pups that may get closer to this as well).
 
Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

well, the Boss GE-7 is a great tool for tone shaping, how do you use it? i use it in front of the preamp with level cranked and a very tweaked sawtooth pattern, but i use that to get a high gain tone reminiscent of dimebag darrell, but it really took me months and very subtle tweaking guided by ear not yes to get the tone i wanted, before searching for another pickup first ride the GE-7 and spend your time messin with it,if you can get so close with it but still lacks something then it's time to look for another pickup
 
Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

i have no idea what that particular archane pup sounds like but for what you are trying to get, id think the '78 is a great option. bright but not harsh, wonderful chewy mids and more bottom focus than youd expect from an alnico II magnet pup
 
Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

strats and teles. i heard other people with them in les pauls but havent played one myself. i thought it sounded great though
 
Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

jeremy said:
strats and teles. i heard other people with them in les pauls but havent played one myself. i thought it sounded great though
Click to expand...

I know one dude that seemed happy with one in a mahogany super strat with maple neck and ebony board. he wasn't happy that it didn't come with a trem-spaced pickup ring or the reply he got from the custom shop when he asked about it, but that's his problem. lol! like the RTM, the 78 has seemed to be one of the ones that needed a brighter guitar to work for my goals.
 
Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

The '78 is what I was thinking as well. So I had read some good things about the MXR 10 band EQ so I picked on up and holy ****, this thing sounds great! I had read to bring down the 250 frequency to address the boominess, and it did just that. Raised the mids and highs a touch, which gave it the sizzle and chime.

I ran in the effects loop first but I actually didn't like it (similar to the GE7, which I didn't like), but I then ran in front of the SmallBox, and it sounds really good. I am using the MXR to push a touch of gain which has increased the harmonics in the amp. Been playing for three decades and never really messed around with EQs, but I am sold on the MXR!
 
Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

lol, i prefer eqs on front rather than loop, the GE-7 is good but a bit noisy the MXR 10 band is just great, you could use both of them, the mxr on front and boss on loop to tweak your tone even further
 
Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

EDX said:
lol, i prefer eqs on front rather than loop, the GE-7 is good but a bit noisy the MXR 10 band is just great, you could use both of them, the mxr on front and boss on loop to tweak your tone even further
Click to expand...

Holy **** that's a thought! I remember reading years ago how EVH maybe did the inverse? Ran the 6 or 7 band frown face in front to EQ his guitar, then after the slave, ran the 10 band with the smile or something similar before the power amp?

That may be too much to grasp for me. For now, the 10 band has solved the issue and the Arcane (Custom 5 like) pup is now clear and punchy.
 
Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

BFahz said:
Been chasing tone for 30 years now, and damn Im getting tired!
Click to expand...

No you are not. when you really get tired, you'll quit. This is an addiction. At some point, you will realize that you have hit dozens of great tones and moved on to lesser and back again. And you'll realize that you have wasted untold dollars, not to mention time. And it was all for nothing. It's an addiction. At some point you need to get over tone and move on to music. Just like an alcoholic realizes it isn't the booze - it's the clarity, or a sex addict realizes it isn't humping, it's relationships.


And just to show you how bad off you are....you have all of this:

I have a Friedman Small Box w/ Friedman's 4X12 cab, a Luxxtone alder guitar w/ Arcane luxxbucker hot hum pups (around 11 DC res, which have been likened to the SD Custom 5's), and although the tone is certainly better than most, I find a certain boomy low end and compression that I find hard to get rid of and also that high end sizzle RE EVH's Plexi tone - which seems to be present in other amps like Granger, Metro, Bray, etc. - seems to be elusive.
Click to expand...

And then you added this:

I have a Boss GE7 EQ
Click to expand...

You sir, are a lost soul. That is so messed up on so many levels I can't even describe it. I could probably dial in the tone you want with a Digitech RP250 into a Fender Blues Jr.


Chase on - but know your quest is futile, even infantile. If you have done all of that and resorted to a Boss GE-7, there is no victory. Not now, not ever. It isn't the gear. It's you.
 
Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

Which speakers are in the cab?


Edit- I would also add, Friedman small box and others are definitely in the modded category. They are far tighter, focused and compressed than actual old NMV Marshalls are.
 
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Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

Aceman said:
I could probably dial in the tone you want with a Digitech RP250 into a Fender Blues Jr.
Click to expand...

if you could dial in anything on an rp250 i wouldnt turn my nose up at, ill buy your drinks all night long
 
Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

Was gonna add a few things, but I can see this thread has reached the "#winning" level.

:lmao: :smoker:
 
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Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

Aceman, that's a helluva post and cant say I disagree with much of what you said. If someone told me that had all that equipment and couldn't find a clear, punchy and singing tone, I would think the same. I do think the Arcane pup is perhaps the source of the issue. If you read the post, I have had for years the GE7 which I tried but for whatever reason, it didn't really work so I picked up the MXR 10 band and it removed the 250 range frequency that cleared the issue.

Now am I a lost soul? Well that's sure what my wife tells me! But hey, at least this addiction is cheaper than drugs or gambling, and wont give me any STDs!
 
Re: The Chase Never Ends (Tone Question)

lol i actually tought gear addiction was far more expensive than drug addiction plus the fact that you end up hoarding bunch of things
 
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