my Soul is alien.

Lacan

New Member
I wish to make an over-driven [guitar] tone that has no dirt.

For it to have the native qualities of an acoustic instrument, of common synth tones, of most sounds: natural blending with other sounds, the possibility of volume dynamics, and whether compressed no change of timbre at different levels.

Example to look to: the sound of an electric motor has energy and force behind it, it is even yet flowing, and it sounds musical.

An over-driven tone sounds
like a broken motor - messy, un-musical.


I request those without appropriate technical know-how to refrain from comment.
 
Overdriven = pushed beyond intended limits (at least in the beginning of amplification)

Pushed beyond intended limits = clipping (dirt (distortion))

Clipping (distortion) = harmonically rich (musical) noise

Seems to me you want a clean amp at loud volume? Or maybe a fuzz type distortion?


Post a link or clip?
 
Guessing here, because the word overdriven infers pushed to distortion in the wave, but perhaps something like a bowed string tone (E-Bowish) sound? Have you heard a guitar sound like this somewhere else? You mention synths, which often use a square wave tone.

Trying to understand your alien soul, any help getting there?
 
Example to look to: the sound of an electric motor has energy and force behind it, it is even yet flowing, and it sounds musical.
An electric motor generates its own tone from the rotation of the parts. There is nothing consistently generating that physicality on guitar except for an e-bow or similar.
 
I wish to make an over-driven [guitar] tone that has no dirt.

For it to have the native qualities of an acoustic instrument, of common synth tones, of most sounds: natural blending with other sounds, the possibility of volume dynamics, and whether compressed no change of timbre at different levels.

Example to look to: the sound of an electric motor has energy and force behind it, it is even yet flowing, and it sounds musical.

An over-driven tone sounds
like a broken motor - messy, un-musical.


I request those without appropriate technical know-how to refrain from comment.

What acoustic instrument has no change of timbre at different levels? Even the simplest instruments like a recorder sound different depending on hard you blow into them.
 
Dirt is an unavoidable consequence of overdriving a signal.

You say you want it to have the native qualities of an acoustic instrument and of synth tones. But acoustic instruments and synthesizers have very different native qualities.

If you want no change of timbre at different levels, then you have to throttle volume after the tone is generated. Bowed instruments change their timbre when played louder. Electric motors produce a constant sound with zero dynamics.

It's not completely clear what you're looking for, but I think @FractalAudio may be onto something. Look into guitar synthesis.
 
Sounds like you want a guitar synth. Try the Roland stuff.
This is what I was thinking as well.
I'd recommend the roland gr-55, together with something like the Fishman triple play, which you can use to play external synths, and mix it in with your guitar tone. The roland units really shine for this, but any decent external synth will give you great results. I have an idea of what you are looking for, I used a VG-99 before the axe, and always loved the new and exciting sounds I could create from the unit, that were heavy and 'driven' yet sounded nothing like a guitar. Also there are some synth pedals from electro harmonix I believe that offer that kind of thing. The axe fx does it as well, but if my feeling is correct, a gr-55 is the unit you are looking for
 
Agree w/ the idea of a guitar synth, but without sound samples nobody really knows what you're looking for. An "overdriven tone that has no dirt" is an oxymoron.
 
If you had audio examples of guitar sounds (or synth sounds) you enjoy, people here might be able to help articulate where those sounds are coming from.
 
I think I've once heard it say that compression is like overdrive, only for clean tones. Since an overdriven guitar signal also compresses maybe that's what you're looking after?
 
If you are not looking for a tightly compressed signal, then what you are really after is guitar synth tones.

An overdriven guitar sound with no dirt is like driving a car with both drive and reverse gears simultaneously selected- it's an impossibility. By definition, overdrive of a guitar into an amp produces distortion, even if it's subtle distortion.

If you have a sound clip of what you are trying to achieve, we can help you further.
 
He's basically looking for synth tones, played with a guitar.

I'm guessing something with about 3 oscillators, with detune and noise and a sub oscillator for thickness.

He/she basically wants a virus ti, blofeld or gr55, played with a hexaphonic pickup
 
@Lacan from one alien to another...try a whole bunch of compressors in parallel set to different settings...it's overdriven, flexing sagging pulling tugging on itself, but no dirt...


Parallel compression.png
 

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  • Clean Overdrive.syx
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In summation:

But for shattersquare (who is laughably not alien, holmes), I expected your answers. A box of rocks, and one sharp edge regarding a trivial element.

To give perspective:

Why do you not understand women?

You listen with Man ears.

yek listens with yek ears. He listens to the structure of things, though his agenda is to keep the, and hence his, status quo.


Happy fifth anniversary, meine Freunde.


[high] gain electric guitar needing to be in a mix to sound good is cheating, fraudulent. Needing to be at volume to sound good is cheating, fraudulent. These are malarky you have gullibly taken as gospel.
 
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