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Hello my friends in guitar land. The most frequent question I receive from my fellow guitar players is how do
I get my own sound. First, I would like to say that in my opinion a signature sound comes from your hands not
from your gear. And also from a picture you have in your mind of what you want your "voice" to convey. But the
idea that certain equipment will help reproduce the sound you have worked so long and hard to achieve is relevant.
So I will give you an idea of what I think is a good set-up for certain types of music and specific roles being
played in a musical setting. Please remember that I humbly submit these opinions in good fun and are based on
over 30+ years of playing live and in the studio, as well a collecting guitars and amps during those years. I
know there are plenty of guitar players out there who know a helluva lot more then I do about guitaring.
First some quickie suggestions right off the bat for you guys and gals.
Phase 1
#1. When using a wah wah and a distortion always have the wah wah before the fuzz box (how's that for old school?)
in your chain. You want to effect your guitar signal before you distort it. When using a clean boost that should
be last in your chain right after your distortion units.
#2. Use as few pedals as you can. The more effects you use the more your sound suffers. If you are using more
than 5 or 6 pedals try using an A/B switch and set up two loops to keep the chain as short as possible.
#3. If you like a tight sound, ceramic speakers are a good way to go. In general AlNiCo speakers tend to be a bit
more saggy. But there are some AlNiCo speakers that are clean too, these tend to be the higher quality ones. And
as they break in the ceramics tend to be tighter and cleaner.
#4. Lower output pickups tend to be thinner eq wise, and subsequently a hotter pickup tends to be darker sounding.
If you want to use a lower output pickup for the reason that they reproduce your playing dynamics better, you
must use a higher output amp. Again, if your guitar is a high output axe you can use a smaller amp, and still
achieve a nice fat sound.
#5.Shorter scale guitars make light gauge strings feel extra light, and consequently longer scale guitars make
light gauge strings feel a bit heavier.
This is why back in the day when light gauge strings were not readily available, guitar players preferred Gibson
guitars over Fender.
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Phase 2
Next on the cavalcade of hits, I will give you some examples of typical setups for certain types of music.
Remember you can mix and match these suggestions for your signature sound.
Clean Country Sound:
This is a sound made popular by country pickers since the 1960's. It's a clean sound, very
little if no distortion at all.
Guitars:
Fender Stratocaster, the bridge pickup for a bright twang with a bit less output and fatness then the Tele bridge
p/u. You can also get a great albeit a more modern country sound using the between the pickups sounds (2nd and 4th)
on the Strat. For all you Eastwood fans check out the Wandre and the Joey Leone Signature Models for a great bunch
of aforementioned country sounds.
Gretsch models w/ DeArmond Dynasonic pickups give you a great country sound with alot of dynamic range for subtle
to ear splitting tones. For those of you who want to dabble in some cool country tones try the Eastwood Classic 6
for a very reasonable starter country axe.
A Gibson thin line arch top like a Byrdland is also a great clean country axe, don?t believe me? Ask Roy Clark and
Hank Garland (Mr. Sugarfoot Rag). One of my idols Scotty Moore (of Elvis fame) played an L5 and an ES-295 during
his years with the King.
Amps:
The cleaner the amp the better, period. A Twin Reverb comes to mind immediately as well the solid state
high wattage steel guitar offerings from Peavey like the Nashville and Session 400. Amps with at least a 12-inch
speaker will help you get that twang. If you are the only guitar player in the band consider using an amp with a
15-inch speaker. You can also use a smaller amp at a lower volume with a mike on it.
Gritty Country Sound
Same guitars choice as above, just crank your amp up. 10 inch speakers are okay for this application. The Marshall
TSL Series, Fender Deluxe. Vibrolux, and Super Reverb will make you smile.
Heavy Rock Sound
Again I remind you I am an old school guy so I say....
Guitars:
Gibson SG w/ humbuckers is my choice for ultimate heavy rock guitar. It cuts and yet is still as fat as
your fifth grade Home Ec. teacher. Tony Iommi, Angus Young, and Glen Buxton (the most underrated heavy rock guitar
player) are shining examples of what an SG in the hands of a capable axe murderer can do. Gibson Les Paul Customs
like Steve Jones and Mick Ronson used to play also kill.
Those pointy guitars from the 80's, Jackson, Charvel, Ibanex JEM and ESP's are all a bit more edgy and hotter
then a stock SG or Les Paul.
I also love the sound of P90 equipped solid body axes for a great crunch sound, maybe a more punky sound is a
better explanation. Les Paul Jr.'s ala Johnny Thunders and Leslie West are prime examples of this guitars sound
when cranked. I am sure these guys influenced Billy Joe Armstrong in his choice de axe. Again, Eastwood offers
some great single coil guitars of this ilk, the P90 Special, Stormbird and JR Elite just to name a few.
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Amps:
Marshall, Marshall and more Marshall. The JTM 800 is numero uno in my book, as well as the JCM 900 for a more
modern shred vibe. I was also impressed with the Carvin stack offerings back in the day. THD, Randall, and
Peavey also have really good sounding shred generators in many configurations.
Rock and Alternative Sound:
This is a potpourri of suggestions, please take one and pass the rest back.
Guitars:
Well take your pick, I am just gonna rattle em off....first the off the wall ones. These are the "next big
things." Maybe? Remember Cobain's JagStang?
Gretsch solid bodies from the 70's and 80's ugly as your neighbors AMC Gremlin
Silvertone's and Danelectro's from the 60's. Link Wray, Jimmy Page, duh!
Kramer's from the 80's, Eddie something or other played one of these
Carvin solidbodies from the 80's. Still a great deal on Ebay.
Ovation guitars form the late 60's and 70's (the Deacon, the Breadwinner, and Tornado.) The pickups were
nasty sounding, but oh so cool.
Legit ones.
Fender Telecaster, Rickenbacker solid and semi-solid guitars, Gretsch arch tops, Mosrite solidbodies, and
Gibson solidbodies guitars w/ P90's.
Amps:
The Vox AC-30 is a seriously important amp in the history of rock and roll, for a very good reason, it's an
original. History tells us that early Marshall's are in essence copies of a Fender Tweed Bassman. So the Vox
is the only original amp design of the "Big Three". Best news about that is that it sounds great! The Vox
AC-15 is also a slammin' amp. Portable, strong and ballsy just like my first wife.
Fender Deluxe Reverb, crank it up and feel the magic. The singularly most versatile amplifier in the history
of guitardom. This little dynamo is IMHO the best sounding amp ever made (Blackface models produced from 1964
to 1967).
The Silvertone/Danelectro Twin Twelve. What a great/cheap amplifier should be. Two twelve inch speakers
(usually Jensen's) a killer tremolo and reverb. Most models I have seen run four 6L6's in the output section.
Although I own an early Danelectro Twin Twelve which runs a duet of 6L6's that is a great amp. Also any of the
Valco made amps will do the trick (Supro, National, Airline, Montgomery Ward).
There are so many great boutique amps out there that are really well built and versatile. They are expensive,
usually very expensive. Also they are tough to try out as many of these amps are not in music stores. Making it
hard to test drive them . And if they do have one, that's the problem they only have one, so you can't a/b them
with your favorite guitar plugged into them. Some of the ones I have either owned or played are Victoria (a
tweed Fender vibe), Matchless (some Vox like models). I also really liked the early Bedrock amps that were
basically JTM 45 clones.
Peace in the world!
- Joey Leone |
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