That noise you hear in your head...

Doc_Savage

right,

Everyone that plays guitar seriously has a noise or sound in their head that you chase every time you play! Wether it be your equipment technique or attitude you never seem to get it right!

i've strayed from my usual string manufacturer(Elixir) to GHS boomers and the difference is astounding! i'm now further away from the sound in my head than ever.. the boomers dont respond as serenely as the elixirs and they're not as comfortable to play either.. bear in mind they're heavy ass strings(56's & 60's respectively).

i'm steadily changing the approach i use with amplification too.. i now tend to back off on the guitars volume in order to find a mellow drive that retains enough bite to snarl when i attack the strings.. it used to be a case of guitar flat out and the amp gain at 80% now the gain sits at about 40% yet i can get more distortion than i could before! the volume is near flat out by the way!

i've all but abandonned effects.. only using them if i get bored.. and at that it's just delay and chorus! i'm trying out as many amps as i can in order to find that sound in my head and the closest i've come is a vox ad120 vt



tube amps dont really do it for me if the only thing they've got going for them is the fact that the are tube!
the vox has a vibe.. it talks to me!
the only other amp to ever do that was a mates Jcm800 combo (which i'm still trying to persuade him to sell to me!)

guitar wise my explorer fits me better than ever and i couldn't be happier with it!



SO.. how have the boardsters dealt with that sound in their head and has anyone actually cought up with it?

Doctor J

Yes. For distorted chug I've been entirely satisfied with the Ampeg VH140C. It's actually a 140 watt 2x12" solid state combo. Many years ago a friend of mine and I spent a day in town looking for an amp. We went into every shop and nothing sounded just right until we stumbled upon the Ampeg in Waltons. I didn't even know they made guitar amps at the time. We tried it out and it was perfect. It has the sweetest distorted channel for chugging. If Ampeg could put that circuit into a pedal they'd make an absolute fortune. So, long story short, my friend bought it and then, when he emigrated, sold it on to me.

Add my Eggle TI Legend with a JB in the bridge and that's the tone right there. The Eggle has more pronounced mids than my other guitars and it just sounds so, so nice. It is all I need, which is why I have pretty much zero interest in amp GAS, thankfully

feylya

My ltd M-100 and my Randall and that's a nice tone right there. Put my LTD H207 through it and play the bottom string and your bowels will rumble...

Karl Hungus

Ah yes, the noise in my head. Quite a din at times. I think to myself sometimes that I'm going out of my mind, only for a voice to tell me "Good idea, it's getting a little crowded in here."

Anyway, the noise in my head, as relating to guitars, well I think that I've just one piece missing. The right amp. Guitars, my J Custom and my Stealth are definetly the guitars for that sound, and the good old Roland Microcube is about as close as possible for a little practice amp.

Last year however, I tried out an Engl Fireball, and the voices in my head cried out in chorus "Yes! That's the one! That's what we've been talking about all this time! Get it!" So, I've been dying to get it since.

RustinPeace

My voices are way too loud.
But I like them,they make me buy nice things.
Ordering an LTD EC1000 a week today.

Doc_Savage

has anyone adapted their playing style to change their sound?

RustinPeace

Doc_Savage wrote:

has anyone adapted their playing style to change their sound?

Yeah I kinda did,up untill recently I never really recorded my self doing improv.
But for the past couple of weeks I've recorded my self over a backing track and pick things I do that I don't like and things I do that I do like and work from there.
It seems to really help my playing so far.

Doc_Savage

it's probably one of the best ways to improve your playing!