Another one of my many effects questions

[Pointbreakd]

Ok so I went the Trey anastasio route and I hooked up 2 keeley ts9 mods into a keeley compressor, really cool sustain with controlled feedback. Its nice. But what I want now is something that will cut through all that and give a nice sparkle. Any Ideas?

[Pointbreakd]

maybe a ZVEX super hard on?

[Dan Desy]

What do you mean by "something to cut throgh all that"?
A SHO is basically a clean boost (which in my opinion you can get from much cheaper pedals). Is a boost all you're really looking for?

[Pointbreakd]

I'm not totally sure what I'm looking for....maybe its not the SHO pedal. Basically the TS9 through the Keeley comp sounds squashed to me. I mean honestly it sound really really good, but I guess I'm looking for something that will push it even farther. Its hard to explain without a soundclip. I have one clip of 2 unmodded ts-9s going into a boss CS-3, it kinda sounds like this but with my new setup theres much more character. I guess I'm looking for something to give it even more character.

http://forums.birdsandmoons.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3058

(Solo is towards the end)

[Dan Desy]

Well, I'm having trouble listening to music on the net at home for some reason. But may I ask what guitar(s)/amp(s) you play?

[Pointbreakd]

01 Mccarty


Fender Hot Rod Deville 4X10. Clean channel only

[Dan Desy]

May I suggest a different amp then? I mean, it sounds to me like your seaeching for some crunchy, pushed tones, and although you use a good amp, the HRD is only really good for cleans. I bet a Marshall, Mesa, or beter yet, some boutique job would help you out immensely in your quest.

Also, I don't think the McCarty pickups are well suited for that kind of tone. I would think about different pickups. The McCarty pickups lack clarity and definition. #10s, #7, Rio Grandes or Duncans would probably serve you well.

[Pointbreakd]

Def not buying another amp. Just got this one and I really like it. Its great for cleans yes but it handles the Ts9s very well too. Don't want to change the pickups, the guitar is somewhat new too.

[Dan Desy]

Def not buying another amp. Just got this one and I really like it. Its great for cleans yes but it handles the Ts9s very well too. Don't want to change the pickups, the guitar is somewhat new too.
Oh, you'll change the pickups, eventually... ;)

Anyway, bottom line, in my *very* humble opinion, is you're not using the right tools to get the tone you're after. Now, don't et me wrong, you have a killer guitar and a good amp, no doubt about that - just not the ones that will get you that tone. So will pedals help you acquire your tonal holy grail? ...

I'm not a huge pedal guy - I don't believe in tone shaped by pedals. I use pedals for effects only. I need to get my tone of choice with the guitar/amp first.

Sorry! ;)

[Pointbreakd]

I hear what you are saying. You're probably right about the pickups. Once we start gigging again I might make some changes. I guess its not really tone I'm talking about, I mean tone comes from your hand not your guitar so I guess its more of a certain sound I'm looking for.

[Dan Desy]

I was using tone and sound kind of interchangeably... So let mereprhase. Tone is indeed largely in the fingers. Sound however, is very much tied to the gear you have.

One last comment, the McCarty is a killer guitar, as I said, for certain types of sounds. Clean, it's great as well.

For higher gain, the McCarty pickups just don't cut it for me - especially with an IRW neck. I still love the body shape and feel of the McCarty.

[Pointbreakd]

Comp before the Ts9 doesnt work. It sounds horrible and fuzzy. Putting a comp infront of any distortion generally sounds bad to me. My reason for putting the comp after the TS9s is to sqaush the signal a bit, its a very cool effect and its quiet, little to no buzz etc with a crazy sustained sound. Do you think putting a SHO after this lineup will help poke through a bit? How about The Machine? That looks interesting

[Pointbreakd]

John,


My fault. You were 100% right. Such a simple solution. I put the Comp first in my lineup...then I put the 2 ts9s. def less sustain but its sounds sooo much better. I feel stupid