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What makes a guitar amp sound good?

Started by joecool85, October 21, 2022, 04:08:05 PM

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joecool85

We've all wondered where good guitar tone comes from.  Several forum members here, phatt, JMFahey - I'm looking at you, have said for years that it all comes down to EQ.  It turns out, this seems to be the case.  Jim Lill has started a series of "where does tone come from" videos and they are must watch videos.

Here are the two most relevant ones to this forum so far:
Amps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcBEOcPtlYk
Cabs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC96P3icayc

Jim's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/JimLill45
Life is what you make it.
Still rockin' the Dean Markley K-20X
thatraymond.com

Puguglybonehead

I haven't watched the one on cabs yet but that one about guitar amps totally nails it. The design of the tone section, the gain stages and most importantly, the speakers, make up 50% of the tone, with the guitar pickups and the player's actual style making the other 50%.

There seems to be no shortage of snake-oil salesmen out there. He needs to do one on pickups soon. (stupid quack pickup makers are one of my pet peeves) There's so much misinformation when it comes to pickups and so much bogus crap being sold with misinformed, non-scientific marketing, it's ridiculous! Definitely subscribed to his channel.

Lex

Hi, and thanx for the link.
Nice to see it here, kind of a relief for me cause Im also in the process of learning and understanding gear (and music [/sound]). But with a difference that im not a musician but a bedroom player.

I've been quiet here on the forum but reading posted stuff. Realised that I have too many questions and too little knowledge. So I would put my self in the shoes of that guy. Many of his ideas from different videos I was already preparing 'to ask..' but I figured out its better to try it my self first.
Failure is the best experience and education. 

So instead of asking '.. how to modify.." I decided to get few inexpensive amps and then to learn what I hear / why, why I like something and why I dont. Playing different guitars (thats now all the other story) through them I started to learn and understand about what I hear, and then how to change what I hear, to how I would like to hear it.
Then taking a wire out to a 12" external speaker/cab to compare what I hear .. a world of a difference and knowledge is opening. Still learning and experimenting.

Currently building a cab that will hold an exchangeable front with a 1x12" or 2x10" or 4x8". And also a cardboard test cab too.
Zoom G1/B1 xOn comes here as an inexpensive but useful tool for learning amp/cab simulations and adding some useful effects above it.

So to sum it up, for me it's: WHAT i hear, why I hear it and how to make a difference between 'good' and a 'bad' sound'.. (bad as not acceptable at the moment).


Lex

joecool85

Quote from: Lex on October 28, 2022, 03:13:34 PMHi, and thanx for the link.
Nice to see it here, kind of a relief for me cause Im also in the process of learning and understanding gear (and music [/sound]). But with a difference that im not a musician but a bedroom player.

I've been quiet here on the forum but reading posted stuff. Realised that I have too many questions and too little knowledge. So I would put my self in the shoes of that guy. Many of his ideas from different videos I was already preparing 'to ask..' but I figured out its better to try it my self first.
Failure is the best experience and education. 

So instead of asking '.. how to modify.." I decided to get few inexpensive amps and then to learn what I hear / why, why I like something and why I dont. Playing different guitars (thats now all the other story) through them I started to learn and understand about what I hear, and then how to change what I hear, to how I would like to hear it.
Then taking a wire out to a 12" external speaker/cab to compare what I hear .. a world of a difference and knowledge is opening. Still learning and experimenting.

Currently building a cab that will hold an exchangeable front with a 1x12" or 2x10" or 4x8". And also a cardboard test cab too.
Zoom G1/B1 xOn comes here as an inexpensive but useful tool for learning amp/cab simulations and adding some useful effects above it.

So to sum it up, for me it's: WHAT i hear, why I hear it and how to make a difference between 'good' and a 'bad' sound'.. (bad as not acceptable at the moment).


Lex

I'd love to hear your take on 1x12" vs 4x8".  I always thought a 4x8" would look cool and could sound really neat.  Honestly more expensive than a 1x12" though, and doing the math, it seems like it wouldn't be as loud (typically 12" speakers have MUCH better SPL than 8").
Life is what you make it.
Still rockin' the Dean Markley K-20X
thatraymond.com