Joe teaches an important lesson!

[yeti]

Depending on the amp those two volume controls are worse that a pedal. Fender amps are the worst at this. Just horrible. Some Marshalls are the same way. It seems that the amp manufacturers in the high end market do a better job as of late but it still doesn't sound better then the natural amp gain one would get with driving the power tubes.

Pat, for the style of music you're playing I can see where you're coming from but even then I wouldn't dismiss pre amp gain outright. There are guys who can use it very effectively, but yes, powertube distortion is my preference as well. I'll go as far as playing with a clean sound before I use a pedal, if volume is an issue but sometimes I'll go for my old RealTube 901, set to very little gain but a higher output level. I'm convinced that I can get a similar (to my ear pleasing) preamp distortion out of almost any Fender or Marshall amp.
I believe the biggest problem is that many novices set the preamp gain to full since many amps SEEM to not sound very good with anything less. But a Boogie, Fender Rivera era BF or even Marshall can sound great with the preamp gain set to half or less. Deluxe II sounds fantastic for a MV amp.

 

[Billy Porter]

Years ago I did a festival and the band I was in was headlining. Joe B played right before us and his board (which was actually two put together) was about 3-4 feet wide, but he still used the same techniques that he talked about in this vid.

I'd have gone home :rofl

As I get older I use less and less overdrive/distortion and very rarely have the guitar volume past 8. I also play a lot further down the fretboard than I used to. Must be an age thing :hmm

 

[Cogswell]

Joe B opened for me once. Actually, he just played before me. I was at a different club. And I was just sitting in w/some friends. The next night after Joe's gig. But if you take into consideration we were in the same town & time zone, & w/in 48 hrs of one another, then yeah, he opened for me. I think he learned a lot from the experience.

 

[Ken Fortunato]

Joe B opened for me once. Actually, he just played before me. I was at a different club. And I was just sitting in w/some friends. The next night after Joe's gig. But if you take into consideration we were in the same town & time zone, & w/in 48 hrs of one another, then yeah, he opened for me. I think he learned a lot from the experience.

:wah :hmm :ganz eace2

 

[Xpensive Wino]

Joe B opened for me once. Actually, he just played before me. I was at a different club. And I was just sitting in w/some friends. The next night after Joe's gig. But if you take into consideration we were in the same town & time zone, & w/in 48 hrs of one another, then yeah, he opened for me. I think he learned a lot from the experience.

Didn't he say he wanted a pair of shoes just like yours? :hmm

 

[Elmore]

Thanks for posting! And thanks to JBLPlayer for the sage advice. I have known that the LP was versatile since I was a teenager. But the strat often got the credit as being the most versatile. I am reminded of the Mother's Finest Song "It's Whatcha Do With Whatcha Got". A simple guitar and a simple amp. And a world of tone opens up in the right hands. A great reminder of why the Les Paul is the king of guitars.

 

[J.D.]

Joe B opened for me once. Actually, he just played before me. I was at a different club. And I was just sitting in w/some friends. The next night after Joe's gig. But if you take into consideration we were in the same town & time zone, & w/in 48 hrs of one another, then yeah, he opened for me. I think he learned a lot from the experience.

LOL too good!

This thread really went south quickly. Joe simply demonstrated what the vol and tone knobs "can" do on a Les Paul guitar. Nothing more. Some fine playing that he always makes look virtually effortless, switching seamlessly between playing styles and techniques. Never said ANYTHING about amps or pedals or output or performing live or... Sheesh.

 

[Big Al]

The way I use the master control on most amps is different from the way I often see it used. On older style master volume amps without the Mesa Boogie cascaded gain circuits, I crank up the amps volume to where I like it. I then would back off on the Master Volume, which I had dimed, down a few notches to like 7.

On my Boogie type amps I find a useful grind and go for it. I like HIGH Master Volume settings with lower gain settings. Most guitarist seem to like my tone, and it is not fizzy.

I like pedals a lot. I find for amp type overdrive that there are a whole bunch that do it. I also like Fuzz and other Distortion effects and I don't use them to sound like some 50's tube amp.

Using gear correctly means getting the tone and function you seek. If I'm playing a Country gig I might grab a Tele, Fender Reverb combo amp of the right power and maybe a delay for slapback echo. You can see where this is going right?

No matter the gig I find I employ the same techniques as Joe demonstrated in the video. I don't claim there is only one gear chain that is right or best. That is up to each musician to decide for themselves.

Still knowing how to work your stuff for maximum use is smarter than blaming your gear. I have seen so many guys going for a classic tone crank up the gain to 20 and master at 2 and then bitch that the historics don't breathe like a Burst.

Now I'm not dissing that tone. It may be what you are after. If not, then it can only help to understand how to use your gear better or smarter for your expectations.

 

[yeti]

^^^^^

I think we're on the same page, BigAl.
And where did this thread go south? I musta missed that.eace2

 

[Pat Boyack]

LOL too good!

This thread really went south quickly. Joe simply demonstrated what the vol and tone knobs "can" do on a Les Paul guitar. Nothing more. Some fine playing that he always makes look virtually effortless, switching seamlessly between playing styles and techniques. Never said ANYTHING about amps or pedals or output or performing live or... Sheesh.

I can't tell you how happy I am that you are not a mod here JD.

 

[Pat Boyack]

^^^^^
And where did this thread go south? I musta missed that.eace2

First world problems.

 

[Tom Wittrock]

Depending on the amp those two volume controls are worse that a pedal. Fender amps are the worst at this. Just horrible.

IMNSHO, my Fender Super Sonic sounds fantastic. So does my Super Sonic 22. :ganz

 

[Pat Boyack]

IMNSHO, my Fender Super Sonic sounds fantastic. So does my Super Sonic 22. :ganz

I will admit I have not played those amps. eace2

 

[mistersnappy]

FWIW, I have a 100 Watt Marshall MV head from the late '70s that was in a combo back in the day. I can see how folks would think they could be "fizzy", but the trick (for me) is to find that spot where you get the regular volume and the master in sync with each other so that the MV isn't choking (?) the regular volume. I don't know the proper terminology for this. Pretty nice grind back when I used it regularly. Going by comments from folks and offers to buy the amp, it musta sounded OK.

 

[Ad_02Std]

And where did this thread go south? I musta missed that.eace2

Me too.

 

[Ad_02Std]

Great post Big Al.

 

[Ad_02Std]

Joe simply demonstrated what the vol and tone knobs "can" do on a Les Paul guitar. Nothing more. Some fine playing that he always makes look virtually effortless, switching seamlessly between playing styles and techniques. Never said ANYTHING about amps or pedals or output or performing live or... Sheesh.

Did I watch a different video? :wah

 

[Big Al]

IMNSHO, my Fender Super Sonic sounds fantastic. So does my Super Sonic 22. :ganz

Thomas, I would have to give you mucho pluses. :3zone My Prosonic had an amazingly tactile dual gain scheme much like the Super Sonic which I think is a brilliant amplifier and a true modern classic.

 

[Gold Tone]

Great clip TW thanks for posting

Yep, agreed, it's all in the hands and the vol/tone controls. I'm am always blown away at how many people never touch the tone controls...especially funny are those complaining of overly bright pickups (what you WANT in my opinion) but fail to ever touch the tone controls.

My favorite pedal...none, just the right guitar through the right amp.

Whomever posted that they don't agree the junior is a one trick pony I'm with you!! I gigged my '57 junior frequently in a Stones tribute band and could get many different tones by playing with the vol/tone controls ... never felt anything was "missing"

 

[Tom Wittrock]

I will admit I have not played those amps. eace2

I'm not sure you would like it, but I have been very happy since I got mine about 4 years ago.