It's the tremolo! That's what I've been looking for in my cleans. It's the subtle movement warming up my clean sound that I've been wanting but couldn't find. You guys blew my mind!
Ok, you've been kind enough to placate me with a response before, but you really need to do an amp basics show! Covering the signature styles of different power amp valves, EL34s 6V6s etc.. ideally with a like for like example in a single type of amplifier (Morgan RCA35, Victory V40, boogie mk 5 etc) and a discussion on class A, A/B, cathode bias etc. I'm not saying it would be sexy but it's at least as important V C P I !
Amps are at least as broad a subject as pedals are, and the show has plenty more pedal concepts to cover before leaving the titular subject. What is need is a “That Amp Show,” and I hope to start one if I ever learn to play well enough.
Hi Rob, of course I agree. There are loads of amps that deserve their own analysis. But in the show there is a certain level of understanding that has not been explained. They will quite regularly throw in "this is a classic EL34 sound" or 'Not really class A" or 'blah blah something about biassing". It's accepted that we have this frame of reference, and I certainly don't. They have done a few amp based shows before but not on these specifics. I've tried a few youtube videos on the subject and they are either just some dude playing into the same amp and switching out the valves for 2min, or they are eyewateringly boring with some dude with a scope playing nothing. What is needed is Dan and Mick witting banter on the subject! If you were desperate to have it reference back into pedals, you could add a section on tremble boosters into classic amps. Catlinbread does this with two pedals, the Sabbracadabra Sabbath Pedal(tremble booster into an amp inspired by a Laney) and the Galileo Bryan May pedal (tremble booster into AC30)
One thing I have to say: That Pedal Show for me is like a large book to consolidate if I am writing music and having a sound in my head. That book guide me on my way to find the tools to shape the sound to the sound that's in my head already. It's like a shortcut for me. So Dan and Mick! THANK YOU ;) Greetz from Belgium!
Thank you Koen - that’s a pretty serious compliment! But even better is that we’re helping you to get where you want to be. That is our primary motivation for doing any of this. Help the world sound better and play more!
You don’t need a compressor in 3 situations: 1: you have active pickups. Active pickups are already compressed, and a compressor will squash the sound too much. 2: you are playing heavily distorted, like for metal. 3: you are playing a tube amp above 70 percent volume, because tubes naturally compress as they reach the limit of their volume threshold. Otherwise, I’d agree, but for every rule there are exceptions.
One of the best shows. Lots to "take away".....with the highlight of "When The Wife Asks Why You Need Another Guitar......."........absolute classic with the proper response shown to us. I have heard other very experienced guitarists say that they leave an overdrive pedal on with low, low gain.....a pedal that gives a sparkle or sprinkles some magic ferry dust on the tone....when i get my Tumnus I will try this.
I've only been playing about 6 months, but I can't thank you two guys and this show enough for keeping me inspired with ideas as well as teaching me how to set up my gear. Keep up the great work because I can't stop watching!
I watched this episode about 6x's now, and my latest-takeaway is: I need a J. Rockett Blue Note Overdrive, a Barber Gain Changer or a Sarno Music Solutions Earth Drive for a Mild Transparent Drive and also a Diamond Tremolo with Tap Tempo. You Guys are just so Passionate & Influential ( you are killing my bank account ). I can watch you two 24/7/365
The sound at 31:32, perfectly clean, but with delay and tremolo giving it all kinds of I dunno, special sauce, is so great and the type of thing I struggle to get with my own playing. Good stuff.
Fantastic show guys! I never thought a show with the word "Clean" in it could be so interesting and informative. I learned SO much! PS Yes! Bring in a 335!
Great video. I've been playing clean (with 30 pedals on my board) for a few years now, I recently found my dream amp, a JC-160. I've found that a lot of my guitars don't work well with it as it doesn't hide anything, I think that is possibly why so many guitarists shy away from a true clean sound. My Rickenbacker 360 is the perfect match for the JC though.
Its high time 'that pedal show' fans blow the namedrop horn for dan and mick!!Awesome playing.especially when you both go into 'blues' mode.Thanks for all the lovely vids.Cheers from India.
Great Episode. That's some of the most tasteful playing I've heard from you guys.... nice! The other day I heard the isolated lead track from Knoplfer's "Sultans of Swing". I was quite surprised at how much "hair" was on that track. For many, that track epitomizes that pristine clean Strat quack tone but it's not as clean as one would think. GIlmour is pushing the Chandler Tube Driver in "Shine On" before it gets to the Phaser (at lest on the live versions). It's amazing how much these clean sounds actually have some saturation/mild OD on them. Looking forward to Part 2.
+Nasser Sharaf Absolutely right on the 'not really 'clean'' thing! And thank you for the kind words on the playing. When the sounds are good, we play better. That seems to be how it works. Thanks for watching!
Hello guys. Just a comment on "bleed caps". I first heard about the mod from an article in Guitar Player mag written by Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and tried it the next day. It took some playing around with values but I finally found one that did what I had gotten a glimpse of right from Jump Street. That effect was that when turned up, especially for leads most of which are one or two simultaneous notes (lower electrical output than for 5 or 6 notes) I wanted my guitar to push the amp hard for a sense of power and majesty but when turned down, notably for comping I wanted to compensate for the increased output and drop level fast but still wanted to cut through and be heard but without stepping on others instruments including vocals. Finding the subjectively right value made that possible which freed me considerably from always needing to be near any pedals or fumbling for which switch. It's all just "right there" and anymore I can barely get by without it. It is a mod everyone should try just because it is so easy and so powerful and so easily removed if it doesn't suit one's style. I just wanted to reinforce that short moment in this video to encourage players to check it out. It's rather a biggy.
One of your best videos yet! And that says quite a lot. And to all of you watching.. Please sponsor these guys on patreon to help them keep up the best channel on youtube.
just remember that there are three different treble bleed designs, cap alone, cap and resistor in parallel, and cap and resistor in series. Each has a different amount of effect and makes a huge difference on which guitar pick-up your using. Tone control wiring (50's Les paul vs modern) in other words where your tone pot is connected either to the hot lug or the wiper of the volume control can also be a great way to get a clean tone. I love the vintage wiring on the Les Paul/P90 because the tone control can also clean up the sound. Love your show guys! I started using a Wampler Plexi-drive for my clean tone because of your show!!! Brilliant.
What an education, alright I am not a musical prodigy to say the least, but this has changed my whole approach to so called clean sounds. Thank you so much both of you, all the best from Adelaide, regards Tom Adair
A video on 'odd mods' would be fun. Anything other than the standard chorus flanger phaser reverb delay. You wouldn't have to go really in-depth. Just play them and have fun. Maybe a new format - gear demo episode about 10 minutes? I enjoy just watching you two have fun. Thanks again! And make sure you turn them all on at once at the end hahaha!
THANKS A LOT! I own a JC77 and this is just the info I needed! Not exactly the same amp, but I believe the same principle still applies. Compressor + OD in lo gain seems like the way to go for me. I will experiment with the Comp after the OD to try and simulate a amp compressing the signal. Maybe even after the whole chain.
Guess its never to late to comment. Im in bed, a bit sick, so pay all my attention to listening. Really interesting, cause I normally like almost all the tones you dial in, with clean tones, not so much. Its kind of its own thing to get good clean tones, amp, the right speaker, really work with the pick up hight etc. If you get it right you dont NEED compressor (thats where I jumped out of bed) And clean tones for sure dont cover up :-) Make a new one, I would love to see/hear more.
I got excited with the Steve Rothery reference, my all time number one influence. Pretty sure he was a big Laney guy for a while too, he's had one of the Roland 120's in his arsenal for as long as I can remember. Thanks for yet another great show guy! Regards from NZ
I only home record these days using software and plugins but thank you for the tip on adding a tiny amount of tremolo to my clean guitar sound. Might just be the best thing i've learned this year in getting an interesting clean sound. Love the program which is without doubt the most informative and passionate show about guitar tones on the planet
Hey guys ! Love your videos, and I look forward to every Friday. I was just curious if you would ever consider having a small segment of your videos on noise suppressors. I know it's sort of a dull subject, but I think it would be nice to hear your opinion/the technical aspect behind them explained. Regardless, I thank you for making videos on all the different sorts of pedals, I've truly learned a lot from your channel. Thank you and take care !
You guys have done more for my tone than anyone or anything. Wish I could play in a band with the two of you. That would be some super fun jamming! (for me that is)
Love the Clean Tone show. Regarding the Timmon's Clean from a Distortion pedal thing... I've been doing that with the Way Huge Pork Loin - which is functionally similar to a Sparkle Drive - being that it has parallel boosted clean and soft clipping overdrives. Works great to leave it on all the time. More "Glass" to steal a term from Lovepedal.
Thank you so much for this channel :) I've only been playing e-guitar for a couple of years (acoustic before) and the way you disect the whole amp types, clean, pedals thing in a fun and musical way is brilliant. I can start reducing the guesswork and begin building sounds that make sense ;)
I could listen to you guys play clean riffs all day. Those parts after you first kicked on the tremolo could make a great basis for a post-rock album (esp the Tele parts). Also, you need to buy a 335. Came for the information, stayed for the music.
Fantastic job again! I'm very grateful for the addition of the 335. I would absolutely love to hear your take on the classic jazz box clean tones. I mean the dark woody tones of a Gibson ES-175 for example.
In my combo amp, the highs are rolled out almost the way Dan explained right after Mick explaining the treble bleed. Then, at my treble cabinet, I do the opposite: the capacitor is in series with the mid-treble horn. Depending on the sound I'm using, that mid-treble horn may be the main role or a secondary role, rolling back its volume to a subtle level. But I'm still (and always) learning. That pedal show is a great channel. That white Gretsch sound remids me some Don Felder chorusy tones. It has something ethereal to it. The most beautiful sounds (in my opinion) came from that white Gretsch, but the sound that made me shiver (what is desirable, like a dog or wolf ear feeling) was that red B.B. King Gibson. It's something that I have to learn how to model into instruments, effects, settings, amps and playing technique. I know it's impossible to do with 100 per cent of the audience at the same time, but it can be optimized to reach almost each one at a time (not by annoyance, lol - at myself -, but by surprise). Nobody has invented the shivering pedal. Cheers!!! Luke
When Mick brings out the Gretsch at 24 mins in, my eyes lit up! That guitar + Super = simply magnificent clean-ness! The Hamstead trem is so smoof too 😍
what a great show! after reading the title I expected it to be a little bit boring but it's full of interesting content...great thoughts about dynamics. and i love the tremolo too!
You guys did convince me to buy a tremelo pedal. I just ordered the EarthQuaker Devices Night Wire V2 Tremolo Pedal. It's pretty sweet with some very unique features. I'd love to see you guys review it!
Totally agree with Mick's reasoning on the treble bleed mod-In a foreground-background situation. The attenuation of treble makes sense when backing down on the volume pot
Thank you Dan and Mick for taking the time to make these videos. I can watch this channel feeling glad that we speak the same musical language lol. Cheers!!!!!!
HBE Detox EQ does a masterful job of cleaning up an overdriven tone. I learned of this from listening to Paul Gilbert and do exactly the same thing now. Detox EQ -> BMC Lithium O/D -> Marshall DSL 100 (green crunch channel just breaking up). Doesnt give me a complete clean sound but I can use my git volume to control it if need be but the above gives me a base line cleanish tone.
Guys, love the videos, this one in particular. Mick, the 335 is a part of you and sounded fantastic in all amps, even the jc. I have a couple of those, an old head version and and old combo. They don't hum, but they hiss like there's no tomorrow. Something odd with them, when they are pushed, they kind of warm up, it's like the fletcher-munsen effect, but in reverse. And the hiss stays the same, and in a room, it sounds like god at that one sound (and yes, only works with humbuckers). And really enjoyed the tremolo stuff too. Just great... keep up the good work. You could do a video on a how you are recording the stuff, particularly regarding what you are doing to phase align the mics (and those are?), like just physical positioning or daw cheating. Always sounds great, which is kind of funny. You guys could play so real turds and they always sound good, which says more for your guys than the actual gear you are using. Love the show, always give the viewers ideas on how they can use their existing gear in a better way. The JHS Morning Glory is also a fantastic "clean" pedal. Maybe another "clean" show is adding pedals to make a better clean sound, even though they are meant for something else, like a fuzz as you mentioned. Thanks!
Greg Koch is from my home state! I've was lucky enough to see him play last summer, met him and bought his DVD "Vivid Gristle". Super cool guy and great player. Also, his Gristle King pedal is the staple of my board.
Great Info. ( as always ). I Love playing Clean, especially with Modulation Pedals. That Chorus & Flanger (at-the-end) sounded fantastic. You chose 3 Great Amps - today. We all know which of your amp's Sound the Best with Drive Pedals: "Sheriff 44" (it blows me away, every time, every episode). Just Massive. Thanks Again for all you do to Educate & Inform.
I knew it before watching this that I loved the JC-120 but this confirmed it all and now I just have to get one to replace my little Cube 20 XL :D Love your shows!
You guys should do a TPS special on amplifiers. Explaining class A/class A/B, differences between different tubes, and differences between cathode bias and fixed bias.
I have a Gibson ES Artist, which has a built in compressor, active tone controls too. The clean sound through my 66 Vibrolux is just so sweet. Hard to beat it
+Dirk Staudt Mick here. That guitar has something so special. But it'd be nothing if wasn't for Dan having grown with it and let it become 'his' guitar. So cool when it happens like that. Hooray!
In my opinion ...normally at telecasters ... the neck PU stands a little bit lost in the shadow beside the twang monster in the treble position and the wonderful quacky middle position. At Dan`s Telecaster and its neck- PU I recognize a fine definition on the top-end -frequencies without any harshness...wonderful. ;-) please excuse me, if I wrote some mistakes.. english is not my native language Greetings from Switzerland
Guys, just wanted to say *thank you so much* for this video, it opened up a whole new world of clean sounds on my existing gear. I knew the distort-and-reduce-volume technique before but never used it, because my amp has 3 channels including beautiful clean, so I thought: why bother. It never occured to me to use it for *compression*. Tried it: what a different sound! Also tried the low and slow tremolo for movement that then got me tinkering with my BOSS PS-5 and I found out I could use it for a short delay + mild chorus effect. All 3 combined with some reverb: just WOW, I had no idea my gear could THAT sound. Very inspiring! Awesome! Thank you!
Loved the show guys. LMAO when Dan mentioned explaining why you need another guitar to ones wife. Absolutely stellar. For me its explaining why I need another bleeding amp. Loved the inclusion of fixed and cathode biased amps. Care to expand on that in later episodes? In all of you past installments you guys haven't compared real single coils vs. noise cancelling single coils for either strats or tele's. That might be a good comparison others would like to hear against your backdrop of pedals.
+londog2010 Hello, yes perhaps we can do something on fixed and cathode bias.... we have the Victory Sheriff 44 that has both options, and there are some new amps from Stone Deaf that have the option too. Could be interesting!
You can use the overdrive channel on a cheap solid state amp to get pretty decent clean sounds as well. I have a Fender 25r that the trick works pretty well on. The clean channel sounds sterile but the overdrive circuit with the gain turned down acts very tube-like with the dynamics. Very cool show guys thanks,
That 335 straight into the super reverb.... a thing of beauty..... would have loved to had heard a touch of trem to add a hint of movement... but that said, killer!
+Lawrence Gillespie Hey Lawrence, it's new! Demo'd it on the Andertons channel, couldn't believe how good it was. Thought it might be a one off. Tried another - just as good! Kerching. :0)
Great show on clean sounds. For funk I like SS amps for consistent and transparent HI-FI sounds, but hearing an amp like the Super is a thing of beauty. You have clean, but there is a lovely personality there. Also, in funk, the range of tones can go from a spanky single coil sound to a slightly nasty humbucker sound like the Scofield sounds you were getting with the 335 OD into the Fender. I'd say this show displayed more tonal nuance between different guitars than any other. Clean doesn't lie.
I'm about half way through, but before I forget... I've read so many comments about treble bleed modding and people calling it an absolutely essential mod. With the way I've been playing recently (mostly playing chords in a loop and then playing lead over the top), I actually like the fact that the treble gets rolled off when I lower my volume. That way the chords sit there nicely in the background and when I raise the volume on my guitar slightly, the lead parts are more easily heard without having to add a whole lot of volume. It basically negates the need for something like a Tube Screamer or other boost that targets specific frequencies (though they are still viable options if that is the tone you're after). Edit: Ah, Mick just said it. Good Work, Mick!
napalmhardcore I like both so I have a push/pull that switches between a treble bleed or not. When I met Vai a few years ago he had the same thing on Evo.
Great video . The treble bleed's correct name is a "Treble bleed bypass capacitor" . The numbered Les Paul Deluxe's that Pete Townshend used in the 70's were all fitted with this popular mod of the mid 70's . Very interesting how many makers now , including Fender wire this in as standard on a lot of new models now .
+Shaun W hi Shaun, Dan here, the treble bleed mod I like also has a resistor in parallel with the capacitor so that the treble from the cap acting as s high pass filter also changes in level in conjunction with the resistance to ground from the potentiometer. It’s a very cool mod
One of my favorite things to do on Friday's. Great show. Cheers. btw - My ocd want to smack the camera on the right (facing Dan) with its dead pixel. It always winds up right on Dan's nose. Hah!
Clean tone confessions from a filth merchant: On our Halloween gig we threw in "Wipe Out" early on to try and wake the crowd up. As I was using an amp stand and could therefore reach my amp controls quickly, I reached back and absolutely cranked the reverb on my '74 Princeton Reverb. No other effects bar a Spark Boost Mini for the solos, and away you go. I was playing my Yamaha SGV-800 (Halloween - Weirdly shaped guitar excuse) and the Surf was strong ;-)
Hi there good people! 19:04 Just for the record... I believe, when the term "bleed" is used in sound engineering in general, it always implies that the frequencies still pass through whatever may block them (a common example would be a drums mic bleed). In other words, in our case "treble bleed" means "high pass" - the treble is passing through the volume pot and is not attenuated to the ground. So "no treble bleed" is what actually happens without the mod, not with it. I also want to grab this opportunity and just let you know that it's been about a week now i watch videos of yours like every single day and it's come to be a very happy place for me. I have not only confirmed things i already knew or heard about but i also learned a ton. I'm building a board in fact (thats how i stumbled upon your channel) and your information is gold. So, thanks a lot for these videos and keep up the good work and vibes!
loving this episode! have you guys come across a pedal by mad professor called the underdrive (I think) that cleans up a distorted tone I assume much like doing the whole treble bleed mod rolling back volume. Would be interested in seeing what you guys make of it.
You guys are the best! You're talking about higher headroom amps, please do a show about the Fender Deluxe and it's children (deluxe reverb reissue and 68 custom deluxe reverb)....probably one of the most recorded amps ever...Keep up the good work!!!!
Awesome episode guys! I have trouble getting the clean tone in my AC30 to be loud enough/ stand out in the mix without turning the drive pedals down too low, so I'm thinking of getting a compressor in the loop to help boost the tone. I just think the compressor might help the clean to stand out more. The Xotic Sp is probably top of my want/need list :D
It's the tremolo! That's what I've been looking for in my cleans. It's the subtle movement warming up my clean sound that I've been wanting but couldn't find. You guys blew my mind!
Just bought a T-shirt! Glad we can support the show in a small way, guys. Looking forward to watching this over lunch!
Ok, you've been kind enough to placate me with a response before, but you really need to do an amp basics show! Covering the signature styles of different power amp valves, EL34s 6V6s etc.. ideally with a like for like example in a single type of amplifier (Morgan RCA35, Victory V40, boogie mk 5 etc) and a discussion on class A, A/B, cathode bias etc. I'm not saying it would be sexy but it's at least as important V C P I !
Agreed!
Amps are at least as broad a subject as pedals are, and the show has plenty more pedal concepts to cover before leaving the titular subject. What is need is a “That Amp Show,” and I hope to start one if I ever learn to play well enough.
Hi Rob, of course I agree. There are loads of amps that deserve their own analysis. But in the show there is a certain level of understanding that has not been explained. They will quite regularly throw in "this is a classic EL34 sound" or 'Not really class A" or 'blah blah something about biassing". It's accepted that we have this frame of reference, and I certainly don't. They have done a few amp based shows before but not on these specifics. I've tried a few youtube videos on the subject and they are either just some dude playing into the same amp and switching out the valves for 2min, or they are eyewateringly boring with some dude with a scope playing nothing. What is needed is Dan and Mick witting banter on the subject!
If you were desperate to have it reference back into pedals, you could add a section on tremble boosters into classic amps. Catlinbread does this with two pedals, the Sabbracadabra Sabbath Pedal(tremble booster into an amp inspired by a Laney) and the Galileo Bryan May pedal (tremble booster into AC30)
One thing I have to say:
That Pedal Show for me is like a large book to consolidate if I am writing music and having a sound in my head. That book guide me on my way to find the tools to shape the sound to the sound that's in my head already. It's like a shortcut for me.
So Dan and Mick! THANK YOU ;)
Greetz from Belgium!
Thank you Koen - that’s a pretty serious compliment! But even better is that we’re helping you to get where you want to be. That is our primary motivation for doing any of this. Help the world sound better and play more!
1 minute in and I'm already cacking myself with excitement; Gregory Kochery and the Pedal Show! HYPE
The sound of the jazz chorus and the compressor just makes me smile!
You don’t need a compressor in 3 situations: 1: you have active pickups. Active pickups are already compressed, and a compressor will squash the sound too much. 2: you are playing heavily distorted, like for metal. 3: you are playing a tube amp above 70 percent volume, because tubes naturally compress as they reach the limit of their volume threshold. Otherwise, I’d agree, but for every rule there are exceptions.
This episode is about clean tones, not heavy distortion and cranking tubes amps past 70%.
One of the best shows. Lots to "take away".....with the highlight of "When The Wife Asks Why You Need Another Guitar......."........absolute classic with the proper response shown to us.
I have heard other very experienced guitarists say that they leave an overdrive pedal on with low, low gain.....a pedal that gives a sparkle or sprinkles some magic ferry dust on the tone....when i get my Tumnus I will try this.
I've only been playing about 6 months, but I can't thank you two guys and this show enough for keeping me inspired with ideas as well as teaching me how to set up my gear. Keep up the great work because I can't stop watching!
One of my favourite episodes to date. I found the use of OD and just a touch of trem particularly interesting. Thanks guys!
video on "always on" pedals and how they can be used to condition a clean sound?
predicted the future!
Greg Koch - The Gristle King himself! Cannot wait. One of my favs ... dig it!
I watched this episode about 6x's now, and my latest-takeaway is: I need a J. Rockett Blue Note Overdrive, a Barber Gain Changer or a Sarno Music Solutions Earth Drive for a Mild Transparent Drive and also a Diamond Tremolo with Tap Tempo. You Guys are just so Passionate & Influential ( you are killing my bank account ). I can watch you two 24/7/365
How could you both possibly know I needed an episode on this topic? Magic? Thanks for the great work and the effort!
The sound at 31:32, perfectly clean, but with delay and tremolo giving it all kinds of I dunno, special sauce, is so great and the type of thing I struggle to get with my own playing. Good stuff.
I could listen to Dan and Mick play and talk about gear all day long! Makes me love Fridays even more.
Awesome clean stuff. Great topic! Maybe something about John Mayer, Srv, Hendrix cleans and their overdriven sounds.
Most of those players are hardly clean.
Andreas Høvenhoff Hald i agree and mb they werent that clean but they all had there moments
#NIHILISTLIVESMATTER Your honestly the most chill/cool dude here mate. Carry on with the cool coments and you will go so far in this world 👍
Ty Tabor from King's X also used the LAB amps but with a strat with that mid boost circuit built-in . One of my favorite tones ever!
That's an all time favourite tone of mine too. Ty is a legend.
Already my favorite episode. Chock-a-block full of my favorite sounds and tones.
Fantastic show guys! I never thought a show with the word "Clean" in it could be so interesting and informative. I learned SO much!
PS Yes! Bring in a 335!
we need a Danish Pete rig rundown, because his black strat is epic, and now that 335... What else has he got ???
a new purple tele that is also very special
Moltisanti DH
Stephan Rose do you know anything about that tele? It sounds great
finally got part of your wish
Great video. I've been playing clean (with 30 pedals on my board) for a few years now, I recently found my dream amp, a JC-160. I've found that a lot of my guitars don't work well with it as it doesn't hide anything, I think that is possibly why so many guitarists shy away from a true clean sound. My Rickenbacker 360 is the perfect match for the JC though.
RIC 360 + JC = Sound Of God
Its high time 'that pedal show' fans blow the namedrop horn for dan and mick!!Awesome playing.especially when you both go into 'blues' mode.Thanks for all the lovely vids.Cheers from India.
Thanks for doing this vid guys, I was definately one of the peeps who asked for this video. some fantastic info in here.
seriously it's a great show have watched for a few years now you both know what your talking about
Great Episode. That's some of the most tasteful playing I've heard from you guys.... nice!
The other day I heard the isolated lead track from Knoplfer's "Sultans of Swing". I was quite surprised at how much "hair" was on that track. For many, that track epitomizes that pristine clean Strat quack tone but it's not as clean as one would think. GIlmour is pushing the Chandler Tube Driver in "Shine On" before it gets to the Phaser (at lest on the live versions). It's amazing how much these clean sounds actually have some saturation/mild OD on them.
Looking forward to Part 2.
+Nasser Sharaf Absolutely right on the 'not really 'clean'' thing! And thank you for the kind words on the playing. When the sounds are good, we play better. That seems to be how it works. Thanks for watching!
Hello guys. Just a comment on "bleed caps". I first heard about the mod from an article in Guitar Player mag written by Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and tried it the next day. It took some playing around with values but I finally found one that did what I had gotten a glimpse of right from Jump Street. That effect was that when turned up, especially for leads most of which are one or two simultaneous notes (lower electrical output than for 5 or 6 notes) I wanted my guitar to push the amp hard for a sense of power and majesty but when turned down, notably for comping I wanted to compensate for the increased output and drop level fast but still wanted to cut through and be heard but without stepping on others instruments including vocals.
Finding the subjectively right value made that possible which freed me considerably from always needing to be near any pedals or fumbling for which switch. It's all just "right there" and anymore I can barely get by without it. It is a mod everyone should try just because it is so easy and so powerful and so easily removed if it doesn't suit one's style. I just wanted to reinforce that short moment in this video to encourage players to check it out. It's rather a biggy.
I listen to your show at work and it makes my work day much happier. Thank you
One of your best videos yet! And that says quite a lot. And to all of you watching.. Please sponsor these guys on patreon to help them keep up the best channel on youtube.
just remember that there are three different treble bleed designs, cap alone, cap and resistor in parallel, and cap and resistor in series. Each has a different amount of effect and makes a huge difference on which guitar pick-up your using. Tone control wiring (50's Les paul vs modern) in other words where your tone pot is connected either to the hot lug or the wiper of the volume control can also be a great way to get a clean tone. I love the vintage wiring on the Les Paul/P90 because the tone control can also clean up the sound. Love your show guys! I started using a Wampler Plexi-drive for my clean tone because of your show!!! Brilliant.
that sound at 31.40 onwards is amazing, would never have thought of using tremolo as such a subtle effect. Another great video, thank you
What an education, alright I am not a musical prodigy to say the least, but this has changed my whole approach to so called clean sounds. Thank you so much both of you, all the best from Adelaide, regards Tom Adair
A video on 'odd mods' would be fun. Anything other than the standard chorus flanger phaser reverb delay. You wouldn't have to go really in-depth. Just play them and have fun. Maybe a new format - gear demo episode about 10 minutes? I enjoy just watching you two have fun. Thanks again! And make sure you turn them all on at once at the end hahaha!
THANKS A LOT! I own a JC77 and this is just the info I needed! Not exactly the same amp, but I believe the same principle still applies. Compressor + OD in lo gain seems like the way to go for me. I will experiment with the Comp after the OD to try and simulate a amp compressing the signal. Maybe even after the whole chain.
Guess its never to late to comment. Im in bed, a bit sick, so pay all my attention to listening. Really interesting, cause I normally like almost all the tones you dial in, with clean tones, not so much. Its kind of its own thing to get good clean tones, amp, the right speaker, really work with the pick up hight etc. If you get it right you dont NEED compressor (thats where I jumped out of bed) And clean tones for sure dont cover up :-) Make a new one, I would love to see/hear more.
I got excited with the Steve Rothery reference, my all time number one influence. Pretty sure he was a big Laney guy for a while too, he's had one of the Roland 120's in his arsenal for as long as I can remember. Thanks for yet another great show guy! Regards from NZ
Treble-bleed: you should say that a 0.001cap can be virtually useless on a linear pot whereas you can get some excellent results with an audio pot.
I only home record these days using software and plugins but thank you for the tip on adding a tiny amount of tremolo to my clean guitar sound. Might just be the best thing i've learned this year in getting an interesting clean sound. Love the program which is without doubt the most informative and passionate show about guitar tones on the planet
Hey guys !
Love your videos, and I look forward to every Friday.
I was just curious if you would ever consider having a small segment of your videos on noise suppressors. I know it's sort of a dull subject, but I think it would be nice to hear your opinion/the technical aspect behind them explained.
Regardless, I thank you for making videos on all the different sorts of pedals, I've truly learned a lot from your channel.
Thank you and take care !
You guys have done more for my tone than anyone or anything. Wish I could play in a band with the two of you. That would be some super fun jamming! (for me that is)
Love the Clean Tone show. Regarding the Timmon's Clean from a Distortion pedal thing... I've been doing that with the Way Huge Pork Loin - which is functionally similar to a Sparkle Drive - being that it has parallel boosted clean and soft clipping overdrives. Works great to leave it on all the time. More "Glass" to steal a term from Lovepedal.
Thank you so much for this channel :) I've only been playing e-guitar for a couple of years (acoustic before) and the way you disect the whole amp types, clean, pedals thing in a fun and musical way is brilliant. I can start reducing the guesswork and begin building sounds that make sense ;)
+Mark Tiramani ah, cheers M ;)
I could listen to you guys play clean riffs all day. Those parts after you first kicked on the tremolo could make a great basis for a post-rock album (esp the Tele parts). Also, you need to buy a 335. Came for the information, stayed for the music.
Fantastic job again! I'm very grateful for the addition of the 335. I would absolutely love to hear your take on the classic jazz box clean tones. I mean the dark woody tones of a Gibson ES-175 for example.
Man you guys don't know how much I love watching your videos. They are all great.
+therangersinger Hooray! Glad you're enjoining it!
When can we expect "Thoughts on clean sounds:part deux" of this fine show?
In my combo amp, the highs are rolled out almost the way Dan explained right after Mick explaining the treble bleed. Then, at my treble cabinet, I do the opposite: the capacitor is in series with the mid-treble horn. Depending on the sound I'm using, that mid-treble horn may be the main role or a secondary role, rolling back its volume to a subtle level. But I'm still (and always) learning. That pedal show is a great channel.
That white Gretsch sound remids me some Don Felder chorusy tones. It has something ethereal to it.
The most beautiful sounds (in my opinion) came from that white Gretsch, but the sound that made me shiver (what is desirable, like a dog or wolf ear feeling) was that red B.B. King Gibson. It's something that I have to learn how to model into instruments, effects, settings, amps and playing technique. I know it's impossible to do with 100 per cent of the audience at the same time, but it can be optimized to reach almost each one at a time (not by annoyance, lol - at myself -, but by surprise). Nobody has invented the shivering pedal.
Cheers!!!
Luke
When Mick brings out the Gretsch at 24 mins in, my eyes lit up! That guitar + Super = simply magnificent clean-ness! The Hamstead trem is so smoof too 😍
The whole video I was waiting for Daniel to reference Steven Wilson and his 'lonely' clean sound - which I believe is light compression plus vibrato.
Please, please, pretty please, do make a T-Shirt just saying:
What's humming Dan?
gay
@@stevebartos2761 Yes,,seriously do people actually have a life???
what a great show! after reading the title I expected it to be a little bit boring but it's full of interesting content...great thoughts about dynamics. and i love the tremolo too!
+banjoplayerx cheers B :)
That slightly dirty sound with the tremolo into de Vox+Fender was glorious. Really awesome with both the Gretsch and the Telecaster.
Damn, thank you!
You guys did convince me to buy a tremelo pedal. I just ordered the EarthQuaker Devices Night Wire V2 Tremolo Pedal. It's pretty sweet with some very unique features. I'd love to see you guys review it!
Thanks for reminding me that I've forgotten how to play anything from "Cut the Cake" but the intro Dan!
Totally agree with Mick's reasoning on the treble bleed mod-In a foreground-background situation. The attenuation of treble makes sense when backing down on the volume pot
Thank you Dan and Mick for taking the time to make these videos. I can watch this channel feeling glad that we speak the same musical language lol. Cheers!!!!!!
+Al Verdura Tone Junkie you're so welcome :)
Dan is always wearing that same long sleeve sweater! lol GREAT episode! One of my all-time favs. thx guys
HBE Detox EQ does a masterful job of cleaning up an overdriven tone. I learned of this from listening to Paul Gilbert and do exactly the same thing now. Detox EQ -> BMC Lithium O/D -> Marshall DSL 100 (green crunch channel just breaking up). Doesnt give me a complete clean sound but I can use my git volume to control it if need be but the above gives me a base line cleanish tone.
les paul cleans are underrated
Yes, they are, especially when you pair them with a Fender Twin Reverb.
Guys, love the videos, this one in particular. Mick, the 335 is a part of you and sounded fantastic in all amps, even the jc. I have a couple of those, an old head version and and old combo. They don't hum, but they hiss like there's no tomorrow. Something odd with them, when they are pushed, they kind of warm up, it's like the fletcher-munsen effect, but in reverse. And the hiss stays the same, and in a room, it sounds like god at that one sound (and yes, only works with humbuckers). And really enjoyed the tremolo stuff too. Just great... keep up the good work. You could do a video on a how you are recording the stuff, particularly regarding what you are doing to phase align the mics (and those are?), like just physical positioning or daw cheating. Always sounds great, which is kind of funny. You guys could play so real turds and they always sound good, which says more for your guys than the actual gear you are using. Love the show, always give the viewers ideas on how they can use their existing gear in a better way. The JHS Morning Glory is also a fantastic "clean" pedal. Maybe another "clean" show is adding pedals to make a better clean sound, even though they are meant for something else, like a fuzz as you mentioned. Thanks!
Greg Koch is from my home state! I've was lucky enough to see him play last summer, met him and bought his DVD "Vivid Gristle". Super cool guy and great player. Also, his Gristle King pedal is the staple of my board.
Great Info. ( as always ). I Love playing Clean, especially with Modulation Pedals. That Chorus & Flanger (at-the-end) sounded fantastic. You chose 3 Great Amps - today. We all know which of your amp's Sound the Best with Drive Pedals: "Sheriff 44" (it blows me away, every time, every episode). Just Massive. Thanks Again for all you do to Educate & Inform.
Thanks for such powerful tricks, I've squeezed several types of new-to-me great sounds out of my gear. Loving this show!
I knew it before watching this that I loved the JC-120 but this confirmed it all and now I just have to get one to replace my little Cube 20 XL :D
Love your shows!
Always a highlight of my week. Thank you, guys.
brilliant video! unbelievable sounds you guys get!
Love the discussion, really helps reinforce everything I am doing with clean tones. You missed shout out to the Police and the amazing Andy Summers.
Listening to Stevie Ray Vaughan play Tin Pan Alley makes me want to explore clean tones. And practice. Great show. Thanks.
+Chris Collins Ahahaha! Us too. Try Lenny and Riviera Paradise too... :0)
Great videos you guys put out. I'm really starting to understand why sometimes my guitar sounds crap. Thanks for the education series.
A lot of inspired and very beautiful licks in this episode, Mick
Thanks so much for overdrive relief in the middle! I needed that.
I've been a solid state guy for 25 years but that Super Reverb sounds beautiful
Mick, your playing has improved so much lately! Keep it up, guys!
You guys should do a TPS special on amplifiers. Explaining class A/class A/B, differences between different tubes, and differences between cathode bias and fixed bias.
When is Part 2 coming? Marshal clean tones? Other amps?
I have a Gibson ES Artist, which has a built in compressor, active tone controls too. The clean sound through my 66 Vibrolux is just so sweet. Hard to beat it
The tone of Dan´s Telecaster with the AC 30 and the Hamstead Tremolo at 23:32 ... beautiful
+Dirk Staudt Mick here. That guitar has something so special. But it'd be nothing if wasn't for Dan having grown with it and let it become 'his' guitar. So cool when it happens like that. Hooray!
In my opinion ...normally at telecasters ... the neck PU stands a little bit lost in the shadow beside the twang monster in the treble position and the wonderful quacky middle position. At Dan`s Telecaster and its neck- PU I recognize a fine definition on the top-end -frequencies without any harshness...wonderful.
;-) please excuse me, if I wrote some mistakes.. english is not my native language
Greetings from Switzerland
Guys, just wanted to say *thank you so much* for this video, it opened up a whole new world of clean sounds on my existing gear. I knew the distort-and-reduce-volume technique before but never used it, because my amp has 3 channels including beautiful clean, so I thought: why bother. It never occured to me to use it for *compression*. Tried it: what a different sound! Also tried the low and slow tremolo for movement that then got me tinkering with my BOSS PS-5 and I found out I could use it for a short delay + mild chorus effect. All 3 combined with some reverb: just WOW, I had no idea my gear could THAT sound. Very inspiring! Awesome! Thank you!
+René That's so cool René. If you're inspired, our job is done. For now.... :0)
Loved the show guys. LMAO when Dan mentioned explaining why you need another guitar to ones wife. Absolutely stellar. For me its explaining why I need another bleeding amp. Loved the inclusion of fixed and cathode biased amps. Care to expand on that in later episodes? In all of you past installments you guys haven't compared real single coils vs. noise cancelling single coils for either strats or tele's. That might be a good comparison others would like to hear against your backdrop of pedals.
+londog2010 Hello, yes perhaps we can do something on fixed and cathode bias.... we have the Victory Sheriff 44 that has both options, and there are some new amps from Stone Deaf that have the option too. Could be interesting!
You can use the overdrive channel on a cheap solid state amp to get pretty decent clean sounds as well. I have a Fender 25r that the trick works pretty well on. The clean channel sounds sterile but the overdrive circuit with the gain turned down acts very tube-like with the dynamics. Very cool show guys thanks,
Super clean sounds are popular in metal intros (think metallica) and progressive metals clean lines. Post rock, ambient. etc,
Finally Mick is playing a guitar I own myself!
The Gretsch is an awesome choice! I totally love the sound!
That 335 straight into the super reverb.... a thing of beauty..... would have loved to had heard a touch of trem to add a hint of movement... but that said, killer!
Great demo of clean tones. I don't remember ever seeing Mick's Gretsch before. It sounds great. Loving filtertron style pickups these days.
+Lawrence Gillespie Hey Lawrence, it's new! Demo'd it on the Andertons channel, couldn't believe how good it was. Thought it might be a one off. Tried another - just as good! Kerching. :0)
Great show on clean sounds. For funk I like SS amps for consistent and transparent HI-FI sounds, but hearing an amp like the Super is a thing of beauty. You have clean, but there is a lovely personality there. Also, in funk, the range of tones can go from a spanky single coil sound to a slightly nasty humbucker sound like the Scofield sounds you were getting with the 335 OD into the Fender. I'd say this show displayed more tonal nuance between different guitars than any other. Clean doesn't lie.
+jbognap Cheers Jbog. We hope it's a subject we come back to many times!
I'm about half way through, but before I forget...
I've read so many comments about treble bleed modding and people calling it an absolutely essential mod. With the way I've been playing recently (mostly playing chords in a loop and then playing lead over the top), I actually like the fact that the treble gets rolled off when I lower my volume. That way the chords sit there nicely in the background and when I raise the volume on my guitar slightly, the lead parts are more easily heard without having to add a whole lot of volume. It basically negates the need for something like a Tube Screamer or other boost that targets specific frequencies (though they are still viable options if that is the tone you're after).
Edit: Ah, Mick just said it. Good Work, Mick!
+napalmhardcore Me too - Mick here. I say that a bit later on.... thanks for watching!
You got credit it my edit :)
napalmhardcore I like both so I have a push/pull that switches between a treble bleed or not. When I met Vai a few years ago he had the same thing on Evo.
That's an appealing idea. Best of both worlds :)
Great video . The treble bleed's correct name is a "Treble bleed bypass capacitor" . The numbered Les Paul Deluxe's that Pete Townshend used in the 70's were all fitted with this popular mod of the mid 70's . Very interesting how many makers now , including Fender wire this in as standard on a lot of new models now .
+Shaun W hi Shaun, Dan here, the treble bleed mod I like also has a resistor in parallel with the capacitor so that the treble from the cap acting as s high pass filter also changes in level in conjunction with the resistance to ground from the potentiometer. It’s a very cool mod
One of my favorite things to do on Friday's. Great show. Cheers.
btw - My ocd want to smack the camera on the right (facing Dan) with its dead pixel. It always winds up right on Dan's nose. Hah!
+Stratomacaster We've just got new cameras. Old ones will go for repair! In fact last week's vid was with the new cams...
You guys could film on a set of 15 year old Sony handycams and it wouldn't matter. Great content is great content - dead pixels and all.
I am really curious about you guys trying the new Friedman BE-OD pedal. I heard it on a local store and I think is unbelievable! :D
20:40 was some of the most amazing tone I've ever heard!
Clean tone confessions from a filth merchant: On our Halloween gig we threw in "Wipe Out" early on to try and wake the crowd up. As I was using an amp stand and could therefore reach my amp controls quickly, I reached back and absolutely cranked the reverb on my '74 Princeton Reverb. No other effects bar a Spark Boost Mini for the solos, and away you go. I was playing my Yamaha SGV-800 (Halloween - Weirdly shaped guitar excuse) and the Surf was strong ;-)
+Steve Kellett Everything about this is awesome Steve, particularly the SGV. What a splendid thing! Thanks for watching!
I've been gassing for a 335 for a while, too, and DPH's dot neck sounds sooooo dang sweet!
Also looking forward to the Mansquatch making an appearance on the show!
Brilliant episode, guys.
Hi there good people! 19:04 Just for the record... I believe, when the term "bleed" is used in sound engineering in general, it always implies that the frequencies still pass through whatever may block them (a common example would be a drums mic bleed). In other words, in our case "treble bleed" means "high pass" - the treble is passing through the volume pot and is not attenuated to the ground. So "no treble bleed" is what actually happens without the mod, not with it.
I also want to grab this opportunity and just let you know that it's been about a week now i watch videos of yours like every single day and it's come to be a very happy place for me. I have not only confirmed things i already knew or heard about but i also learned a ton. I'm building a board in fact (thats how i stumbled upon your channel) and your information is gold.
So, thanks a lot for these videos and keep up the good work and vibes!
loving this episode! have you guys come across a pedal by mad professor called the underdrive (I think) that cleans up a distorted tone I assume much like doing the whole treble bleed mod rolling back volume. Would be interested in seeing what you guys make of it.
My favorite compressors are overdrive pedals for clean tone. I also find that the clean sound from an overdrive works best at high, gig level volumes
One of your best videos Dan and Mick, extremely informative. I'll need to reassess my amp sound :-)
The Fender Super has a stunning sound. Clean tone to die for.
You guys are the best! You're talking about higher headroom amps, please do a show about the Fender Deluxe and it's children (deluxe reverb reissue and 68 custom deluxe reverb)....probably one of the most recorded amps ever...Keep up the good work!!!!
Awesome episode guys! I have trouble getting the clean tone in my AC30 to be loud enough/ stand out in the mix without turning the drive pedals down too low, so I'm thinking of getting a compressor in the loop to help boost the tone. I just think the compressor might help the clean to stand out more. The Xotic Sp is probably top of my want/need list :D