Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

[Quencho092]

I just linked up my pre-spina tube screamer TS9>hotrod>peavey classic with the highest gain settings possible. Wow, it's alot of fun! You get like a speed rush when you play under high gain, i guess the gain covers up all of your mistakes so you have the confidence to play like a maniac.

whats everyone else's take on high gain antics...

 

[Hellion]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

My main rig is a high gain system. I have a compressor in front of the signal processor that does nothing except squeeze and boost the signal. Sometimes I can even hear the thing huff and breath a little. It doesn't seem to affect the way I play (certainly doesn't cover the mistakes!), but I've always liked the way the tone goes over the top.

 

[TheProphet]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

I find most High Gain settings to be blah, after so much, things are just plain muffled ... I like a crisp sound that lets the notes come right through

Point in Case - sticking an Xtortion in front of a 50w JCM 800 ... It just didn't do anything for me ... this is worse with Solid State setups as well


But that's just me ... I prefer a medium ammount of gain

 

[3 cent hero]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

It feels like my ears are bleeding

I like just enough gain to get some chunk in my palm mutes. Odd words from a guy who usually plays 80's metal huh? :laugh2:

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

Some of the highest gain in the past feels like I could be cut in half with it. There is a certain rush to cranking the volume on a 100 watter... it's dangerous. It's the realization that everyone within 4 miles of you can hear you if you hit a bad note :laugh2:

I'm not a huge high gainer, but I like more gain than a lot of classic rock bands.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

Without a doubt, the sickest thing I've ever been plugged into was my main Bogner 101B halfstack, on the right, and another Ecstasy halfstack on the left. I split them with a Lehle amp switcher, along with my C-5/59 loaded Les Paul Custom, and CRANKED them up to an EARSPLITTING level. Then, I walked outside the rehearsal space door, and listened from the hallway. SO LOUD, it would crush your ribcage to stand in front of it! Two 120 Watt $4000 halfstacks in stereo!
What I felt under my fingers was the equivalent of a tank running over cars! Hee Hee

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

I play a lot of high gain all the time, with my Bogner everything stays crisp and clear and my gian knob is almost at max. This tone is lush and wide open, I hit an F chord and it goes like : BHUUURRRLLLLLL!!!!!

High gain rocks! :headbang:

 

[Tom M]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

The most gain? Probably something like a Recto at GC.

The most painful, skull-crushing, distorted, chunk tone EVER? Invader + DS1 + cranked 2203 halfstack. :drool: That amp has a tone to DIE for... as well as the ability to kill you.

 

[DiminisheD-7th]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

the most gain i've played would have to be Line6 Insane on maximum gain + gain boost + "distortion pedal boost" (POD 2.0... go figure) + high compression with EMG 81 >

NO ONE needs that much gain.

 

[some_dude]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

Les Paul (bridge EMG 81) -> 200w rackmounted Rectifier......

When I dimed the master volume on that, it shook everything off the shelves and rattled the drawers out of the desk in the next room. It would tickle your feet through the floor, and you're balls actually do jiggle. You get this fuzzy feeling all over your skin, and you feel mutes smack you right in the chest.

That was with the gain on 6.....

With the gain on 10 (now using neck EMG 85) it turns into liquid tone. The notes are pulled right from under your fingers and spat back at you in the smoothest tone you've ever heard. There's no dynamics, as simply fretting the note causes it to scream out at you, but it feels as if your strings have turned to liquid and your axe spews forth fire.....no good for rhythm, but awesome for leads.

To me, gain doesn't cover mistakes very well, as it causes every little detail to be amplified for all to hear. That trick might work with a dirt box, but when every note you fret is being ripped from your fingers, you don't have time to make mistakes.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

My fave "high gain" (it is to me ) sound is the tweed 4x10 modle on my Boss GT-6 running with the volume at about 6, the poweramp volume at about 5 (100watt 6L6 based tube power amp), into my 2x12 cab and being driven by the neck Pearly Gates on my LP and boosted with my Vox Valvetone pedal with the volume set at 2 o'clock, gain at 3 o'clock and the tone at 10 o'clock.

Sustain for days.

 

[Biu]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

The most I've ever played was a Line 6 HD147 with the gain maxed out on the Insane setting. That was ridiculous and poopy sounding

I'm a pretty high-gain user. I'd say it is probably equal to or more than Iron Maiden gain on Rock in Rio.

 

[nuntius]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

Yeah line 6 Insane for me too.

Past about 4 on the gain nothing seems to happen its that mad :laugh2:

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

it'd hafta be my marshallboogie pedal, oh man, when i crank my amp with that thing, it sounds soooo sick, finger tapping just sounds like an insane solo, songs i practice become a lot lot faster, i feel like a badass. Like every other guitarist is a librarian and I'm the effing mechanical hound

 

[Grandor]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

Most gain ever played?

I used my Jb equiped les paul into a mesa boogie v-twin (cranked), to an ibanez tubescreamer (cranked)m to a v-amp2 (recto module, cranked) to a fender HR deulxe (also cranked).

It was a stupid idea cause i was bored.
But that was just stupidly hi-gain

 

[Imp]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

+ 1 man, i reckon boredom was one of the man factors in mine

EMG 81 -->HM2-->MZ2-->Big muff-->DSL 401 on light overdrive

the thing was, i liked how it sounded :laugh2: until you went to try a palm mute, which muffs won't do... it was like radio feedback tuned to a note

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

i dont know about hi gain not muffling your mistakes though. I almost always play clean/light amount of gain out of my TS9 and i find i need to focus alot on being as clean as possible in my fingerings. I figure that's because im used to playing with clean/low distortion, so when i do put on the high gain, it's really easy to play stuff fast.
ie-back in high school, we used to have this jam session every thursday. I was figuring out some lynard skynard licks off memory and i couldn't pull them off right away. I switched on the gain on the amp and it sounded perfect when i was playing quite sloppy in reality.

 

[Davey]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

just listen to my soundclips.. and stuff aint even maxed out

i dont like the overall tone of the line6 insane. i perfer the spinal puppet and the soldano to both. that is one mean tone machine

 

[aleclee]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

I've played my share of high gain beasts:

• Diezel Herbert
• Rivera KHR & KH2
• Double & Triple Rectos
• Soldano

and to be honest it's not very exciting to me any more. I'd rather get a full and ballsy tone like on Van Halen 1 than the muddy/buzzy (IMHO) tone of most modern high gain amps. Of the list above, the only one I dig is Soldano (used to own a HR50 and currently own a Decatone). The others don't work for the types of tones I prefer.

 

[Davey]

Re: Whats the highest gain you've ever played feel like?

I've played my share of high gain beasts:

• Diezel Herbert
• Rivera KHR & KH2
• Double & Triple Rectos
• Soldano

and to be honest it's not very exciting to me any more. I'd rather get a full and ballsy tone like on Van Halen 1 than the muddy/buzzy (IMHO) tone of most modern high gain amps. Of the list above, the only one I dig is Soldano (used to own a HR50 and currently own a Decatone). The others don't work for the types of tones I prefer.

wtf, the SLO100 owns you >.< lol

i have yet to meet the amp that will satisfy me.. but i havent really played many halfstacks to be exact =(