artifex_adrift's forum posts 6

That depends, is this just raw amp or are you running anything through the front like fuzz, overdrive, or distortion?

For the really sludgy stuff you may need something else to help push the signal where you want it. I own an Orange Micro Dark and unless I crank it up really high it sounds best with something like a Big Muff or an oversaturated Iron Horse v2 to get it where I personally like it. Realistically you just have to play around until you find the sweet spot, because the pickups and speakers you're using are going to influence how that particular sound actually hits the room.

I built my own "fx loop" pedal for on-board fx that "bleed" and need to go through the front of the amp versus the fx loop (EX. ring mod for certain songs). Cost me $9 in total parts and I use it regularly. Has a "blend" knob and everything.

I try to click on the "reply to" link at the top of the forum post, and nothing happens. Glad to send admin/devs my system specs to debug.

The ability to "add item manually" isn't really prominent. If we could make it a little more obvious that you don't NEED to use a Sweetwater/Guitar Center/Reverb link to add that would be cool. It makes it seem as though that's the only way to add gear if you don't scrutinize the page. Some may notice it in an instant, but I actually put off a few additions because of it. Maybe do a 50/50 split on the screen, like an "either/or".

Speaking of Helmet, Page Hamilton actually uses quite a bit of effects on his board. You can check out his DVD/Video "Sonic Shapes", he goes over how to play with sounds using multiple effects, drone riffs, music theory. It's actually really good.

But if you're going off of studio album sound you're going to get lost in the abyss trying to copy something exactly. For example, if a guitarist uses a Marshall JCM800 on a recording, but it's a hot-rodded mod and there is a lot of track layering going on, you're not going to get that sound with a single stock amp at home.

Some argue that there are amps that are too good to put pedals in front of, other guys wouldn't have the tones they have without stacking multiple distortion pedals all dialed in at different settings.

You're obviously going to have to experiment, because buying a certain amp or pedal based on watching a demo video doesn't mean that's what you'll get. Different pickups, strings, speakers, etc., are all going to change the character of the sound you heard in the demo.

Good luck on your journey!

I've rifled up and down the range of Dunlop Tortex IIIs after switching over from standard Tortex, but the 0.6mm picks ended up being the most commonly used. Even when I play a 0.5mm pick it seems like I'm playing with a sheet of paper. Any heavier and it seems like I lose a lot of dexterity when doing tremolo and more stuttered picking patterns.