Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

[wixedmords]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

I understand the negative point of view on this type of tone. I don't hate it, as I try to find something I like in it. I couldn't listen to it for more than a few songs.

But, I would not want it to go away. With diversity and reapproaching the envelope, new things happen.

I would hope the guys playing this stuff would keep trying new things, and they may come up with something that gains more of my interest.

EDIT: I bet DSS does a good job. I need to listen to some of his stuff.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

Different styles lend to different tones.

If you're in a classic rock band, you'll probably want a light open sounding crunch.

If you're doing country or some pop, you may want a jangly type of tone.

If you're doing jazz, you'll want an amp with lots of headroom and a smooth, balanced tone and quick response.

A lot of modern rock acts like having a thick, punchy and compressed sound. I don't need tons of gain, so my Shiva makes me happy. Bogner has amps like the Uberschall out that gets Lew's favorite "angry bees" tone (and it works for modern hard rock/metal acts like Thrice)

Amps are all about expression. If you're playing heavy metal/hardcore, you want something angry and aggressive, stuff like a Fender Bandmaster just isn't going to cut it. You'll want a Krank, ENGL, VHT, Mesa, Diezel, Framus etc...

 

[Sludgenutz]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

Should anybody use an amp in the first place?

About twenty years ago, I saw an illustration of a centuries old riot in Spain. Men were beating and bloodying each other on the streets. What were these men arguing over? Sides were drawn between finger pickers and pick users!!!:chairfall

There is always a line drawn in the sand.

 

[Tom M]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

Because sometimes its fun to do palm muted lines on the low strings and feel the notes hit you in the chest.

 

[taphappy]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

My whole idea of bumblebee tone is different from what I'm seeing here. If I got this right lots of crunch=buzzy tone

 

[JLagoon]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

I know the answer: so they don't need to use a noise gate and can bang those power chords "evenly." :laugh2:

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

When I was like 15 I thought the "distortion" setting on the Peavey Backstage Plus was the best tone evAr.

 

[itbepopples]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

I like a heavily compressed Mesa/Marshall tone. One that's super smooth for leads and another for rythym. Then, if I wanted real OD I'd just crank up my clean amp.

 

[James Rock]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

They are ok if set up right although i find if u OVER compress it makes the sound less heavy (but nu-metal players still overcompress).

 

[tone?]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

Listen when i grew up i heard some hardcore stuff as well. Accept,Annihilator Metallica, i even like hearing an occasional ramenstein riff. BUT, it doesnt mean that i think they have good tone. Although the older stuff like Accept doesnt have half the distortion as 'metal' today.

The stuff that has good tone is where you are able to actually hear the difference in what kind of pickup and guitar a player is using. When you plug into these nuclear amp machines subtle differences get drowned out.
I mean listen to ' Cause weve ended as lovers' . You can practicaly hear Becks fingers.
I understand that younger kinds arent gonna like that yet but even with Halen you can hear his fingers and all the dynamics of his guitar which is totally organic sounding and three dimensional.

I bet anything that those high gain tight ass amps can be emulated easily with other SS gear and you wont be able to tell a difference. BET. My friend does it all the time when he writes thrash songs for the hey of it.

But to emulate something like' cause weve ended as lovers' is almost impossible with SS stuff.

I also agree with someone here that said that alot of these kids started out with playing SS amps with tons of distortion at lower levers to get sustain and stuff and when they finally get a tube amp it messes with them if they dont get the same response at the same levels.

 

[iekobrid]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

I won't defend "ultra high gain" or "over compressed", but I'll tell you why someone might like a nice, tight, precision sound in an amp. Same reason I got rid of this cheap Strat:


http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=498544&songID=3582008

(Please forgive the sound quality; it's an mp3 of a ten year old mp3.)


When I kill a note, I want it dead. Its family - dead! Its neighbors - dead! Its milkman -- dead! :laugh2:

If I want to hear more of a note, I'll ~play it longer~. If I want to hear an echo of a note, I'll use reverb or delay. But if I want to put a gap between two notes or chords, I want that lack of sound to be as distinct and audible as the presence of sound on either side of it.

Like they say, it's as much about what you don't play as what you do play. It's hard to live up to that saying if what you don't play is partially obscured by what you just did play. :wink:


[And yes, I know that saying applies as much to note selection as to sense of space. ]

 

[Marcel]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

Actually, my exact words were: "I hate that tone..." :laugh2:

It's just not for me...it's an angry tone for angry kids.:laugh2:

Lew

I am an angry kid ... :laugh2:

 

[marvar]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

I agree...I hate that tone you're describing.

Corny...it's what I call "the bagful of angry bumble bees" tone.

But lots and lots of younger players are after that exact tone and that's who those amps are made for.

Lew

WoW! My drummer and I went to see a band the other night, and he used that same description of the guitar players tone! I had to agree-
He was playing a SS amp with the gain cranked, and some sort of distortion pedal, and a guitar with p-90's. Although it was loud, his leads were completely lost in the mix, totally indiscernible!
I think some players use alot of distortion because it tends to cover up sloppy playing.

 

[Animal]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

A band like Meshuggah is going to sound stupid if they plug into a stock Plexi. There's a damn good reason for having high gain, tight, and compressed amps. It has allowed for a whole new type of expression for guitar players.

 

[Animal]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

why more gain than Halen????!! more than that and it starts loosing clarity and everything you got the tubes for in the first place.

For some types of music you can't just play with a medium amount of gain. For those genres anyways they are a lot less reliant on the subtle dynamic tonal detail of the amp and more how they interact with the phrasing of the music hence 'tightness' being such a paramount feature for something like thrash metal.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

Wait, you mean there's more than one kind of distorted sound? Honestly, don't blame the amp for peoples tones . . . you can get amazing sounds out of the worst amps if you know what you're doing . . . you just have to change your playing/guitar volume and tone to match the amp that you're using. I've heard people sound super authentic and bluesy out of overdriven SS amps. I've also heard people get screaming bees sounds out of vintage tube amps (with EMGs).

 

[tone?]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

well yeah,

My friend used to have this Marshall SS 80's amp that he got a great SRV sound out of as well as Halen, Malmsteen etc... He plays awesome as well which helps!

i agree in a way but some of these uber amps are waaaay outta there. i remember going to here an Engl screamer to hear what the hype was all about. it wasnt a bad amp to my ears a little harsh but ok. the fun began when he plugged me into a head that had nuclear distortion. cant remember what it was called but i remember that when i told him to turn the distortion down i looked at it and i swear it was on like 2!!!!
i told him " you mean it is on 2 and it sounds like that???!!!"

mind you i love Lynch tones for heavy. i am not a stricly blues rock guy, but this was outta this world!! too funny.....

 

[JeffB]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

Wait, you mean there's more than one kind of distorted sound? Honestly, don't blame the amp for peoples tones . . . you can get amazing sounds out of the worst amps if you know what you're doing . . . you just have to change your playing/guitar volume and tone to match the amp that you're using. I've heard people sound super authentic and bluesy out of overdriven SS amps. I've also heard people get screaming bees sounds out of vintage tube amps (with EMGs).

^
Wisest post in the whole thread


There's way too much oversimplification here. Some of those old Fender/Gibson/Silvertone, etc etc amps get so fuzzed and farted out they sound as horrid as any "tight" amp. And I've heard some great tones out of SS and modeling amps.

An amp can be warm and tight (certain VHTs or a Splawn) or loose and buzzy (Rectifier anyone?).

Way too much oversimplification.

 

[Usurper666]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

As a “Metal Guitarist” I’m probably in the minority because I HATE scooped mids and that “modern” fizzy pre-amp distortion. I grew up on Maiden, Priest, Slayer, Morbid Angel, etc. so I’m a huge fan of cranked mids and a big, open barking crunch.

All I need is my stock Marshall 2204 and a good boost pedal and I’ve got more gain than anyone would ever need, plus I have TONE. If a Boss Metal Zone is a “Box o’ Bees” then these new “Uber Amps” are “The Hive”. Not my thing at all, I’ll stick with my old MV Marshalls.

Cheers,

CJ

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Why the heck do People like real tight/compressed amps?

A band like Meshuggah is going to sound stupid if they plug into a stock Plexi. There's a damn good reason for having high gain, tight, and compressed amps. It has allowed for a whole new type of expression for guitar players.

That band is a perfect example of that tone. But they're good at it at least. It doesn't sound like so much of a cliche as when less talented players try to copy that tone. I can't listen to Meshuggah for very long...but I was kinda impressed when I heard them recently. Sounds like they're doing their thing...it's not my thing...but it's obviously their thing so at least it's "honest".

I have to say that I dislike really angry sounding music the same way I dislike angry writing or angry depressing and irresponsibly violent movies.

Saving Private Ryan was one of the most graphically violent movies I've ever seen...but it was not irresponsible and the intent was not to glorify violence or incite people or bring out the worst in people.

I like to see art bring out the best in people...not indulge thier worst habits and worst fantiasies.

I think musicians and movie makers who make a fortune by creating works that degrade women or exploit violence and the anger of impressionable kids are making a big mistake and make this world uglier...not better.

You know: if you put garbage into your head or mind, what's going to come out will also be garbage. And this world has to much garbage already.

Lew