Amp settings for "The Edge"

[Rotti]

It's in his hands. Trust me.

Sorry, this is bullshit, just like it is anytime someone says tone is "in the hands."

Skill can be in the hands, notes played articulately with great timing and dynamic attacks.

Tone is in the gear. It's physics, plain and simple.

 

[Alex C]

He does some straight in guitar playing demonstrating his rig without effects on "It Might get loud".

I think you are referring to the BBC clip, where he plays a few lines of Street without the delay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YweTGD0edD4

...on it might be loud he is using the full rig
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMw8NjCs_dg

I think he might be referring to this clip from It Might Get Loud, in which we hear "Elevation" played without any effects; essentially straight into the amp:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHlU2ukrCoU

 

[chrisjnyc]

I think he might be referring to this clip from It Might Get Loud, in which we hear "Elevation" played without any effects; essentially straight into the amp:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHlU2ukrCoU

... but that's not from It might get loud, that is from the BBC interview

 

[edo]

Good call on Desire from 2001, but how can you be certain he doesn't have the SDD-3000 on without the delay (just using the preamp)? Also he had a MXR Dyna comp in his rack back in those days.

Mxr dynacomp was only used for slide parts (later replaced with a boss cs2 for the same purpose). Sdd in bypass would add loads of crunch to the tone. Check out slane castle desire and angel of harlem, same guitar, desire is much cleaner than angel, so I suppose desire is guitar straight to amp, angel is guitar into sdd. Other examples of dry tone could be the bridge of hold me thrill me in the popmart dvd, or you can try and search for some iem recordings of soundchecks/rehearsals, you can hear him actually experimenting with the patches, quite interesting. There's tons of them - there's even a sound check from coimbra 2009 or 10 where he A/B his main rig with the axe fx ultra

 

[RoshRoslin]

Sorry, this is bullshit, just like it is anytime someone says tone is "in the hands."

Skill can be in the hands, notes played articulately with great timing and dynamic attacks.

Tone is in the gear. It's physics, plain and simple.

Ok. I'll leave you with this. I've plugged and played through Edge's rig on his guitars in the presence of Dallas and Edge. We all sounded completely different. A big part of his sound is in his hands (how he plays etc). I'd go into further detail but I'm bound by an NDA.

 

[Rotti]

Thanks, but I'm not really interested enough to ask.

I suppose if you were to step on the gas pedal in "The Edge's" car, it would rev differently than it does when he's driving, too.

 

[RoshRoslin]

Thanks, but I'm not really interested enough to ask.

I suppose if you were to step on the gas pedal in "The Edge's" car, it would rev differently than it does when he's driving, too.

noted. Youre right, you win, I tap out, you showed me. #MicDrop etc.

Back to the subject. I can't exactly remember in "it might get loud" where. I could be confusing it with the BBC clip. But if my memory serves its when all three of them are playing (not I will follow). Could be on the bonus section of the DVD. But as noted above there's plenty of pure Ac30 clips out there.

 

[jlynnb1]

Thanks, but I'm not really interested enough to ask.

I suppose if you were to step on the gas pedal in "The Edge's" car, it would rev differently than it does when he's driving, too.

as far as i know, the gas pedal on a car doesn't respond to individual touch, inflection, etc....you push it, it gives more gas. you can't deny that individual inflection, finger pressure, vibratos etc can make a rig sound entirely different depending on the player. its not theory, it can be proven without question.

now whatever you want to call it, that's up to you. if saying "tone" is in the hands bothers you so much, come up with a better term, but there's no arguing the same guitar and rig can and will sound vastly different in different hands.

 

[Rotti]

as far as i know, the gas pedal on a car doesn't respond to individual touch, inflection, etc....you push it, it gives more gas. you can't deny that individual inflection, finger pressure, vibratos etc can make a rig sound entirely different depending on the player. its not theory, it can be proven without question.

now whatever you want to call it, that's up to you. if saying "tone" is in the hands bothers you so much, come up with a better term, but there's no arguing the same guitar and rig can and will sound vastly different in different hands.

But... it does. You could ease out of the driveway or drop it in low & burn tires.

You could take #48 car and put my wife behind the wheel. No chance in Hell she'll drive it like JJ, but it doesn't magically become a different machine.

The difference is skill. Someone proficient in [skill] will get more out of the associated gear, that's "skill," the ability to use one's knowledge effectively and readily in execution or performance -or- dexterity or coordination especially in the execution of learned physical tasks.

The gear, however, will exhibit repeatable characteristics under a given controlled circumstance. You feed "X" value signal in, you get "Y" out.

Funny how it only seems to be guitarists who have this "tone in the hands" hangup. I've never heard a pianist talk about what great tone some other pianist has in his hands.

 

[barhrecords]

Tone is maybe the wrong word.

The nature of the electric guitar and amp and effects... is such that minor differences in the player result in big auditory differences.

The piano is a great example because the player can only affect the velocity of the hammer and therefore has less influence on the sound than a guitar player. The hammer material, strike angle etc. are all fixed.

Two extremely skilled guitar players playing the exact same rig with the exact same guitar and settings "can" sound completely unique. I would guess they could copy each other too, if that's what they wanted.

Iconic pro players work hard to be unique and differentiate themselves or became famous because they were inherently unique and stood out.

 

[jlynnb1]

But... it does. You could ease out of the driveway or drop it in low & burn tires.

You could take #48 car and put my wife behind the wheel. No chance in Hell she'll drive it like JJ, but it doesn't magically become a different machine.

The difference is skill. Someone proficient in [skill] will get more out of the associated gear, that's "skill," the ability to use one's knowledge effectively and readily in execution or performance -or- dexterity or coordination especially in the execution of learned physical tasks.

The gear, however, will exhibit repeatable characteristics under a given controlled circumstance. You feed "X" value signal in, you get "Y" out.

Funny how it only seems to be guitarists who have this "tone in the hands" hangup. I've never heard a pianist talk about what great tone some other pianist has in his hands.

yeah but you don't play a piano the same way you do the guitar. you hit the key, the hammer strikes the strong, there isn't true physical interaction. even at that, two pianists will sound different just based on the dynamics of their playing styles.

now add pick material, grip pressure, fretting pressure, where person strikes the strong when picking, skin condition on fingertips, vibratos touch....the guitar is an infinitely more personal and expressive instrument that highlights the individual player more than just about any other.

 

[RoshRoslin]

But... it does. You could ease out of the driveway or drop it in low & burn tires.

You could take #48 car and put my wife behind the wheel. No chance in Hell she'll drive it like JJ, but it doesn't magically become a different machine.

The difference is skill. Someone proficient in [skill] will get more out of the associated gear, that's "skill," the ability to use one's knowledge effectively and readily in execution or performance -or- dexterity or coordination especially in the execution of learned physical tasks.

The gear, however, will exhibit repeatable characteristics under a given controlled circumstance. You feed "X" value signal in, you get "Y" out.

Funny how it only seems to be guitarists who have this "tone in the hands" hangup. I've never heard a pianist talk about what great tone some other pianist has in his hands.

Ahhh... sucked back in.. I couldn't resist.

I've heard it from PLENTY of Pianists, they just don't argue about it on internet forums like guitarists do. Bill Evans seems to rank up there with someone who has the best "Tone" or "touch" on the piano according to many of my fellow working piano players. My mom can't go down to guitar center and buy a 5150 and EVH guitar and suddenly sound like Eddie. I've heard the same thing said about drummers. Their tuning, touch and control totally affects the tone of the instrument. Vinnie C.'s Sidestick tone seems to be a signature tone that a lot of drummers I know seek. John Bonham's kick drum tone seems to be another big one.

I'm curious what defines "x" in your equation. Is it just the guitar, plectrum, cable pedals etc. fed into the amp or are there other properties that one skillfully develops?

I'm hearing something more along the lines of:

X = Things that do not change.
P = Things that are repeatable, quantifiable actions that a guitarist develops. Ie. Being able to consistently play a G major scale in time, in tune, at the same volume.

Ie. X (Guitar, pickups, pedals cables) and P (Pick attack, touch, Vibrato, etc). So the equation is (X + P) = Y

Because if thats the case. The Variable P, is subject to change due to the player's skill and choices etc. Therefore I don't see how Y can ALWAYS be constant if you change P (the player).

Just my 2 cents. This argument may come down to definition of terms.

 

[GazzaBloom]

So do all Formula One racing drivers from the same team and same car get off the line at the start of race in the same way?

In the early days I seem to recall that U2 used to swap instruments to play the song ’40’...And they did on the last lef of the 360 tour, Edge plays bass and Adam plays guitar and they sure as hell sound very different.

Of course the gear is set uo the same but a percentage of the sound we hear comes from the players touch.

http://youtu.be/axEyeurOMxw

 

[Rotti]

You're sort of making my argument for me... all of those things can be lumped into either materials or skill sets (or "style" if you prefer).

A nylon pick isn't going to sound like cymbal brass just because the Edge is strumming with it. A busted Crate with a blown speaker covered in pawnshop dust isn't going to sound like a JCM800 dialed into meltdown just because Slash plugged into it. They just are what they are, and like all musical instruments (or really, like anything at all) they were chosen for the task at hand based on their inherent values.

Are we arguing semantics here? Do I need to cede "tone in the hands" just to turn around and say "yeah, but hands don't have TIMBRE for shit!"

 

[Rotti]

Ahhh... sucked back in.. I couldn't resist.

I've heard it from PLENTY of Pianists, they just don't argue about it on internet forums like guitarists do. Bill Evans seems to rank up there with someone who has the best "Tone" or "touch" on the piano according to many of my fellow working piano players. My mom can't go down to guitar center and buy a 5150 and EVH guitar and suddenly sound like Eddie. I've heard the same thing said about drummers. Their tuning, touch and control totally affects the tone of the instrument. Vinnie C.'s Sidestick tone seems to be a signature tone that a lot of drummers I know seek. John Bonham's kick drum tone seems to be another big one.

I'm curious what defines "x" in your equation. Is it just the guitar, plectrum, cable pedals etc. fed into the amp or are there other properties that one skillfully develops?

I'm hearing something more along the lines of:

X = Things that do not change.
P = Things that are repeatable, quantifiable actions that a guitarist develops. Ie. Being able to consistently play a G major scale in time, in tune, at the same volume.

Ie. X (Guitar, pickups, pedals cables) and P (Pick attack, touch, Vibrato, etc). So the equation is (X + P) = Y

Because if thats the case. The Variable P, is subject to change due to the player's skill and choices etc. Therefore I don't see how Y can ALWAYS be constant if you change P (the player).

Just my 2 cents. This argument may come down to definition of terms.

I was thinking more along the lines of an extremely controlled environment for experimentation demo, i.e., a robot playing guitar in a vacuum through said gear.
Of course one player to the next will be different, but that is my point exactly, that there is a level of skill (also style) that distinguishes one from the next, assuming the same signal chain.
I would almost buy the fingertips example, but even then, strings are fretted over fretwire, and proper execution thereof is still a learned skill.

Yes, perhaps we are arguing definitions.

 

[GazzaBloom]

Yeah but pianos don't sound as good as guitars...or look as cool as an Axe-FX

 

[RoshRoslin]

I was thinking more along the lines of an extremely controlled environment for experimentation demo, i.e., a robot playing guitar in a vacuum through said gear.
Of course one player to the next will be different, but that is my point exactly, that there is a level of skill (also style) that distinguishes one from the next, assuming the same signal chain.
I would almost buy the fingertips example, but even then, strings are fretted over fretwire, and proper execution thereof is still a learned skill.

Yes, perhaps we are arguing definitions.

Yeah I completely agree with you on the robot in a vacuum environment thing. 1k sine wave through a guitar amp can be repeatable. There are no variables that would change what pops out of the speaker.

 

[api4u]

So, anyway.... I think the OP asked if anyone could help him with getting the "cleanish/chimey core sound of the amp". Anyone got anything useful here for him? :roll

 

[J.C]

I can't believe a guitar player doesn't know that tone is in the hands, or at least 90% of the tone anyone cares about. If this is a hang up, I'll take it over the alternative.

 

[Horganovski]

I can't believe a guitar player doesn't know that tone is in the hands, or at least 90% of the tone anyone cares about. If this is a hang up, I'll take it over the alternative.

Ok, switch off your amp and lets hear your version of Pride.. or plug a Danelectro into a Pignose and lets hear some Meshuggah riffs

Of course no two players will sound the same plugged into the same rig with the same guitar, but 90% ? I think that's way off.