I Loved It Loud

unix-guy said:
Huh?

It's a user posting their experience...

Also, what does "gain at noon to 2" mean? Is that on a Marshall, a Fender, the Skull Crusher? :)

Edit:

Maybe you're referring to the lyric quote at the top of the post from the KISS song I Love it Loud?
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The whole thing reads to me like someone reposting an article. Couldnt tell if it was referencing an article, was an article, or just a very journalistic approach to a post. I genuinely am wondering if Im missing some reference of some sort.

Noon to 2 meaning mid gain, e.g 5 to 7, not all the way to 10.
 
Feflicker said:
The whole thing reads to me like someone reposting an article. Couldnt tell if it was referencing an article, was an article, or just a very journalistic approach to a post. I genuinely am wondering if Im missing some reference of some sort.
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Just a well written post, in my opinion...
Feflicker said:
Noon to 2 meaning mid gain, e.g 5 to 7, not all the way to 10.
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But that's still not relevant information without knowing which amp(s) ;)
 
I think improvements to the mid to low gain sounds has been the major advancement over the Axe FX models. I never did have a problem getting either clean, or high gain, but the in-between was a challenge until the AF3 finally nailed them.
 
Diego said:
I'm 300% agree with @unix-guy. Less gain, more character in the sound and better recordings too (since that's my job)
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Don't wanna go OT but... Do you have a "way" to find the right amount of gain?
I mean it's subjective and it's too complex to minimize like this but if you have just a tip or two I'd like to hear them!

My un-educated guess would be:
  • record something in the looper / DI and while listening back (so avoiding string noise and body feeling) set the gain for the most intellegibile and "rich / uncompressed" sound, or
  • record something in the context of a mix (like a live recording of my band) and set the gain as above..

In this way it should set the sound more than the feeling... but I may be totally wrong
 
IMHO general speaking there's no "right" or "wrong" amount of gain but the "right" one for the sound you're trying to achieve and this can only made (always IMHO) by ear and training your ear to listen the detail in sound. Sometimes in studio I add what is called "air" and it's a boost around 20/22kHz and we all know that very few person can (still) listen to that frequency but it changes all the sound since you had a boost with a shelf filter. With the gain is the same (IMHO): add gain, try and then roll off if you can't listen the details of the part you're playing. The gain is the instrument not the result.
 
With more volume/loudness, i need less gain. Usually.

It depends on how the amp and guitar feels, and what my mood is on the given day.

My Cornford is usually around 4-5 on volume and 5-6 on overdrive, and MV at 2-3.
I think the "Cornrob" in the Axe has a little more gain than my amp has, but i probably need to get some new preamp tubes.

Pretty low MV, but it's a loud dry amp with a Mesa 295 into a 2x12 and a 4x12 for W/D/W, so it sounds massive when everything is on.
Cornford for Cornford tone and Cornell 45/50 Plexi for Marshall crunch, via a Radial switch and Suhr Bella and a Victory Copper combos for clean and a couple of OD pedals.

In the Axe, anything goes. And i use it when i want to play at a ear friendly volume, and have a less complex rig.
Running my Cornell 45/50 into a Suhr RL --> Axe --> Yamaha HS80 is great for my ears. NMV Plexis are loud as f... :)

The amps/fx in the Axe are outstanding imho. The feel is great.
It's just a matter of taste on what amps you would prefer when you sit down to play.
 
Maybe we are too much used to gain that we often doesn't recognize when it's too much. I drove a lot of car, some of them with a nice acceleration, dreaming to own a sport car (with a great acceleration). 3 years ago I got an EV car (ok no noise yes, but I prefer to listen to the music than to an 8V) that has an insane acceleration. Last weekend a friend of mine got a bran d new 911 and let me try it: well I can say that I wasn't impressed by the acceleration I was expecting... why? because now I'm used to acceleration. IMHO it's the same with gain: a lot of gain can help some players, but less gain can elevate a good player.
 
Started out playing Dokken-type music and that's all I did for a couple of decades. Then one morning I woke up just craving change and spent what must have been ten? years playing acoustically, classical fingerpicking. I really got into it and loved it. I was going to sell all my electrics, so I plugged one back in expecting not to be wowed by it, and instantly fell in love with them again! So, I didn't sell a one. :0) ...but, my use of gain sure plummeted! Favorite tones these days are clean with just a hint of top-end sparkle courtesy of a tiny bit of gain. Fingerpicking has so many textures and nuances for it, and with just that slight amount of gain, pick attack is right in your face. Even revisiting some of the old tunes my gain levels have been dialed back substantially. Definitely learned to appreciate articulate string definition in those years playing acoustically.

It's amazing what definition too-much gain can rob from a note. But sometimes it's necessary and I'll jump in and paddle around in sizzle for a number or two, though generally speaking in my own compositions, I don't prefer it anywhere near as much gain as I once did. Gain has its place. Even lots of it. And lots can sound good in the right composition. But less has become more with this old rocker.
 
Agree there's no "right" amount of gain.

I think the only way to approach that question is in context, listening to yourself in a mix where you want your tones to work.
 
Peavey Herman said:
Yes, a little. Still, I'll never be Richie Kotzen. I suck at it, so I should do it more, but the first times I couldn't reach/didn't wanna reach for a pick and just fingered away, I definitely noticed the reactiveness and 'touchy-feely'-ness.
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I have the exact opposite problem. I reach for a pick, try it for about five minutes, realize I suck and then go back to my fingers. I've been doing this for over 50 years.🤣
 
Diego said:
Maybe we are too much used to gain that we often doesn't recognize when it's too much. I drove a lot of car, some of them with a nice acceleration, dreaming to own a sport car (with a great acceleration). 3 years ago I got an EV car (ok no noise yes, but I prefer to listen to the music than to an 8V) that has an insane acceleration. Last weekend a friend of mine got a bran d new 911 and let me try it: well I can say that I wasn't impressed by the acceleration I was expecting... why? because now I'm used to acceleration. IMHO it's the same with gain: a lot of gain can help some players, but less gain can elevate a good player.
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Instant torque!
 
Gadget said:
I think improvements to the mid to low gain sounds has been the major advancement over the Axe FX models. I never did have a problem getting either clean, or high gain, but the in-between was a challenge until the AF3 finally nailed them.
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This was exactly why I finally bought an AF3 and something that was sorely missing in every modeler I tried before. Whatever Fractal did, they really nailed it!

Riccardo Ros said:
Don't wanna go OT but... Do you have a "way" to find the right amount of gain?
I mean it's subjective and it's too complex to minimize like this but if you have just a tip or two I'd like to hear them!
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What works for me is to dial in a little more gain than I need and dial back the guitar volume. That way, I've got a little more if/when I need it and have some control at my fingertips based on what I'm playing and hearing at the moment.
 
bebaldwin said:
I have the exact opposite problem. I reach for a pick, try it for about five minutes, realize I suck and then go back to my fingers. I've been doing this for over 50 years.🤣
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Wes Montgomery initially developed his famous thumb-playing technique because it was quieter and wouldn't disturb the neighbors when he played evenings/nights at home. :)

So 1) Whatever floats your boat and 2) Why it floats is nobody's business but your own.

I have no idea how popular Richie Kotzen is around these parts, but he's pretty great IMHO and as of 2007 has AFAIK eschewed the use of picks, if you're interested, here's a good demonstration.
 
Peavey Herman said:
Wes Montgomery initially developed his famous thumb-playing technique because it was quieter and wouldn't disturb the neighbors when he played evenings/nights at home. :)

So 1) Whatever floats your boat and 2) Why it floats is nobody's business but your own.

I have no idea how popular Richie Kotzen is around these parts, but he's pretty great IMHO and as of 2007 has AFAIK eschewed the use of picks, if you're interested, here's a good demonstration.
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Richie is pretty well known at least with guitar players. Jeff Beck did the same thing even though he used one occasionally even up to his last performance. And then there is of course Matteo Mancuso.
 
bebaldwin said:
Richie is pretty well known at least with guitar players. Jeff Beck did the same thing even though he used one occasionally even up to his last performance. And then there is of course Matteo Mancuso.
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And Lindsey Buckingham. <- That whole concert is just superb.* But Matteo Mancuso I don't know, will check him out.

*I also love how Mick Fleetwood stares/smiles into his camera every once in a while; looks charmingly silly.
 
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