Funky Clean tones for Pop kinda stuff

haaa.... cool... thanks..

that lead tone is not as clean as you think
it's a 5153Red with brt / sat / boost all on
and there's also a vol bock pumping a big ol' level boost in there too..
can't recall quite how much, but it's a lot [8db at least.. could even be as much as 12dB]

so I have a screaming hot amp, screaming even more

you need to get the input gate set up right to prevent squealing
set it up as gentle as you can get away with

also, with all that gain you need to play nice a tight, and keep the strings not sounding under control so you avoid getting buried under a load of noise and spillage..
 
clarky said:
haaa.... cool... thanks..

that lead tone is not as clean as you think
it's a 5153Red with brt / sat / boost all on
and there's also a vol bock pumping a big ol' level boost in there too..
can't recall quite how much, but it's a lot [8db at least.. could even be as much as 12dB]

so I have a screaming hot amp, screaming even more

you need to get the input gate set up right to prevent squealing
set it up as gentle as you can get away with

also, with all that gain you need to play nice a tight, and keep the strings not sounding under control so you avoid getting buried under a load of noise and spillage..
Click to expand...

Well dammit, I KNEW I needed MORE GAIN :D

Cheers Clarky, seems like I really need to start digging beyond the basic parameters in this this thing, I never really mess with vol blocks so I'll try to expand my horizons.

BTW, I was serious about the MP3/CD please let us know if it does become commercially available.
 
Just a quickie. I always thought a boost was more suited to live playing with a band. Are you saying it provides an extra tone/gain section beyond what is available from the amp/drive blocks?

Sorry, I really have very limited understanding of sound engineering beyond turning knobs which is no doubt why I struggle to get the right tones from the AFX sometimes.
 
Coldsummer said:
Cheers Clarky, seems like I really need to start digging beyond the basic parameters in this this thing, I never really mess with vol blocks so I'll try to expand my horizons.

BTW, I was serious about the MP3/CD please let us know if it does become commercially available.
Click to expand...

lil' note..
I never touch the advanced parms.. don't seem to need to..
just the regular tone stack stuff / MV / EQ page
and sometimes I'll go to the spkr page and drag the low freq spike down to a low freq [between 40Hz and 80z usually]
and that's about it

the rest is GEQ along with the best cab choice I can find for the amp

if / when [hopefully] the album is released I'll shout for sure..
 
Coldsummer said:
Just a quickie. I always thought a boost was more suited to live playing with a band. Are you saying it provides an extra tone/gain section beyond what is available from the amp/drive blocks?

Sorry, I really have very limited understanding of sound engineering beyond turning knobs which is no doubt why I struggle to get the right tones from the AFX sometimes.
Click to expand...

the boost switch in the amp block simply ups the input signal level by something like 10dB or 12dB
this will add more gain to the tone..
and to make sure... I pop a vol block in front of the amp with another boost in level..

funny though.. my drive setting is not that high...
not as high as you'd expect..
somewhere between 3.5 and 5 I think..
 
the two presets I created for the funk parts contained only an amp and a cab..
they are only for reamping..
so... if I gave you the presets as they are they'd sound real stark and dry..
all the other processing [compression, limiting, reverb etc] was done in Logic after the recording was done

you could however make a preset that contains both amps..

so.. here are the settings:
JCM800:
input drive = 2.00
bass / mid / treb all at 5.00
comp = 50%
fat / brt / sat / boost all off
pres = 5.00
depth = 3.00
mstr = 5.00
spkr: low freq = 100.0Hz
EQ page: 125 = 2.00, all other bands = 0.00

cab [mono hires] = factory 38: 4x12 1960a GM12 [RW]
mic=none
all other settings untouched


Hiwatt Normal:
input drive = 3.30
bass / mid at 5.00
treb = 7.50
comp = 0%
fat / brt / sat / boost all off
pres = 6.50
depth = 2.00
mstr = 4.40
spkr: low freq = 95.0Hz
EQ page:
63 and 250= 1.00
125 = 3.00, all other bands = 0.00

cab [mono hires] = factory 61: 4x12 25W
mic=none
all other settings untouched

suggestion:
create a preset with two amps in parallel both going into a stereo cab
pan amp1 hard left / amp2 hard right
amp1 = JCM800
amp2 = Hiwatt Normal
CabL = 1960a and pan hard left, CabR = 4x12 25W and pan hard right
set the room level between 30% and 45%, room size between 3.00 and 5.00
set delayR to max and leave delayL at min
 
Thanks for this Clarky, I appreciate your efforts on this board and read with great interest all your insights into tone creation. This was very good timing as I am working on some funk tunes for a gig next week and up till now my tones are not sounding right, cutting through or sitting where they should be in the mix. I created one using your setting here and already it is much closer than what I had and sounds really great. The tone I need is EQ'd differently though and sits higher in the mix like the 80s disco songs. I tried removing some mids but then it seemed to lose it's punch and presence. Maybe my approach is wrong?

A question
- Do you pan the amps and cabs to use this in a stereo setup or does this help with creating the sound in some way. I am using a mono setup and wondered if I should approach it differently
 
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PaulC said:
Thanks for this Clarky, I appreciate your efforts on this board and read with great interest all your insights into tone creation. This was very good timing as I am working on some funk tunes for a gig next week and up till now my tones are not sounding right, cutting through or sitting where they should be in the mix. I created one using your setting here and already it is much closer than what I had and sounds really great. The tone I need is EQ'd differently though and sits higher in the mix like the 80s disco songs. I tried removing some mids but then it seemed to lose it's punch and presence. Maybe my approach is wrong?

A question
- Do you pan the amps and cabs to use this in a stereo setup or does this help with creating the sound in some way. I am using a mono setup and wondered if I should approach it differently
Click to expand...

you need the mids cos that is your 'space' in the mix..
without them you'll vanish
maybe try a little compression before the amp

I play through a stereo rig so
amp1 is hard left, amp2 is hard right
cabs L and R are hard panned too
they combine to provide a thicker / richer tone..

in mono, maybe try just one of them and see which works best..
the JCM will be more cutting, the Hiwatt will be thicker...
 
Last edited:
just tried the TripTik Clean for a funk tone
dials in real sweet..
makes for a great alternative to the Hiwatt for that full-bodied tone
it lacks the natural punch of the clean JCM, but that's easy to sort by pushing the 2k and 4k bands a little in the amp: EQ page

those TripTik models just keep impressing me more and more
what versatile combination they are...
really superb...

from Clarky to CarolAnne: major hat tip..

EDIT:
TripTik Clean:
input drive = 5.00
bass / mid at 4.00
treb = 10.0
comp = 0%
fat / sat / boost all off, BRT = on
pres = 10.00
depth = 3.00
mstr = 3.00
spkr: low freq = 100.0Hz
EQ page:
2k=3.00
4k=4.00
all other bands = 0.00

Cab [stereo]
basketweave AX Mix left
basketweave TV Mix right
 
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King Prawn said:
What chords are you playing at 1 minute?
It sounds so damn sensual.
Click to expand...

in the key of Em

C ' ' ' / D/C ' ' ' / C ' ' ' / D ' ' ' / E ' ' ' /

the D/C is a D triad over a C bass note
this is therefore D7 in 3rd inversion
this is all diatonic to the key of Em, so the only unusual thing is that it resolves to E rather than Em
which is why it has a slightly more uplifting feeling at the end of the progression
 
I did a preset called Dial-A-Pop ABCD which sounded like a guitar plugged right into an SSL.
It's on Axe-Change. It was created under v6.00 and will require some adjustment for current firmware.
Modifiers didn't use to have SCALE or OFFSET, so set those to default values.

Axe-Change - Download Preset - DialAPop (ABCD) - by Admin M@

PS: The Jamiroquai has some grit on it... not a "clean" sound!
 
just tried this preset Matt.... cool as....

it's certainly compressed... lol...

I tried goofing with other amps
the 5153Green thru a 4x12 Basket TV Mix sounded nice..
had just a little more girth..

I totally agree with having a hint of dirt on the clean funky tones..
they kinda clean up in the mix..
sometimes I add a hint of dirt in parallel to an acoustic too for the same reason..
 
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