Discussing 'sizzle'....

[toolfanem]

IMO, it's all completely subjective.

Some artists prefer to paint blurry, others like nice neat defined brushed strokes. Neither is right or wrong.

Well said. The painting analogy is a good one for this topic. I generally will avoid high end roll off whenever possible. Spend the time to find a better suited IR.

 

[Sixstring]

Well said. The painting analogy is a good one for this topic. I generally will avoid high end roll off whenever possible. Spend the time to find a better suited IR.

So what your really saying is that you like the cab to do the EQ'ing for you? Reason I ask is that some amp designers will design a circuit that will pass a lot more bandwidth then others. Even though most guitar sparkers will roll off at a given freq the amp will allow for a lot more hi end information to pass that the speaker will now cut.

On the other hand if your using an amp that doesn't pass as much bandwidth and use the same speaker now there isn't as much high end energy and the two will sound different.

This same thing can be done with IR's and amp sims in the Axe. Harmonic content, (all orders) combined + distortion (clipping) mixed with the desired amount of hi end EQ makeup fizz. How much of that fizz you want is up to the person tuning and listing to it. I don't really know what else to add to this other than identifying where it resides, how to tune it with respect to the amp and cab sims being used.

 

[Rex]

So what your really saying is that you like the cab to do the EQ'ing for you? Reason I ask is that some amp designers will design a circuit that will pass a lot more bandwidth then others. Even though most guitar sparkers will roll off at a given freq the amp will allow for a lot mor hi end information to pass that the speaker will now cut.

I won't speak for toolfanem, but for myself, I find that life goes easier when I choose the amp/IR combination as the first order of business, before EQing or other tweaking. If you first get as close as you can, the subsequent tweaks are fewer and less intrusive.

That said, you're absolutely right about fact that fizz can be throttles or emphasized in both amp and cab.

 

[clarky]

if you use the nice painting analogy pointed out earlier...
think of matching the amp and cab as laying out the principle features and proportions of your picture..
nail this and the rest is a simple matter of colouring it in..

fail to nail this, and you can end up having to force the tone with other fx blocks..

for my personal tastes.. nailing the fundamentals [just amp and cab] sets me up on a path to a better and easier to achieve tonal place..

there really is no right or wrong in all this though...
it's all about your taste.. and the way you want to translate this into the musical setting you find yourself in..

one man's fizz is another man's definition
one man's warm is another man's muddy

 

[Loquenau]

While it seems sensible that matching amp and IR is at least important, seems only one person has a clue what I'm talking about:

On the other hand if your using an amp that doesn't pass as much bandwidth and use the same speaker now there isn't as much high end energy and the two will sound different...Harmonic content, (all orders) combined + distortion (clipping) mixed with the desired amount of hi end EQ makeup fizz.

A device that doesn't produce things you have to [try to] filter out.

 

[clarky]

A device that doesn't produce things you have to [try to] filter out.

I'm not sure that this makes sense to me [unless of course I'm misunderstanding you - highly possible that I am]
cos if a device don't / can't produce something, there can't be anything to filter out..
cos it's not there in the first place..

 

[Loquenau]

cos if a device don't produce something, there can't be anything to filter out..
cos it's not there in the first place..

Exactly. Which is not the case with any existing tube overdrive designs I've heard. They produce things you both want and don't want to hear. I want one that produces only the things you want to hear. I think maybe a special sig is in order....

Except it isn't showing......

 

[ventura]

Wasn't this topic covered about 4 months or so ago?? Cool how it comes back - over and over again - on almost all gear related forums.

I for one know the difference - to my ears and of course that means IMHO/YMMV. Fizzy sucks. It's that undefined, hairy, grating, buzzy mess that hits the upper registers and makes for an ear-fatigue experience. Sizzle, on the other hand, is the sound of that dancing glassiness when things are cranked and perfectly pumped. It's an upper graininess that just tingles. I love it.

Whatever. I am surprised the Snoop Dogg references haven't kicked in yet (yo fizzle ma' shizzle, nep'tizzle).

 

[Rex]

Fizzy sucks. It's that undefined, hairy, grating, buzzy mess that hits the upper registers and makes for an ear-fatigue experience. Sizzle, on the other hand, is the sound of that dancing glassiness when things are cranked and perfectly pumped. It's an upper graininess that just tingles. I love it.

Totally true, but there's more to it. Sometimes, what sounds like sizzle at gig volume will sound like fizz at less-than-gig volume. And sometimes, what sounds like fizz when played by itself, turns into sizzle in the mix. IMO, they're both the same thing. What differentiates them is how much of it there is relative to the other components of the music.

I am surprised the Snoop Dogg references haven't kicked in yet (yo fizzle ma' shizzle, nep'tizzle).

I'm just parlayin' what I'm sayin. Truth is, all that jizzle is none o' my bizzle, unless I'm layin' down some sizzle with my strings and p'zizzle.

Snibbity diggity. Aight, yo.