Multiple amps or multiple effects

[Bob Arbogast]

Lately I've been playing more blues than anything, just plugging my guitar (Tele or '51 or Starfire) straight in to the amp (Hot Fudge or "Pro" Fudge). But the other day I watched and listened to Julian Coryell with Aimee Mann. I was duly impressed not only by his licks and hooks, but also -- maybe especially -- by his palette of tones.

On the one hand, I like using different amps for different tones (so much so that I have only one effects box, a cheapo Epi distortion), but I wonder if I ought to start assembling a collection of boxes for those times when I want to get out of the blues box.

What are your thoughts on this topic in general? And what are the basic types of boxes you think are indispensable? (I'm not asking for specifics, such as Direct Drive vs. Full Drive; just the general types.)

Thanks.

Bob Arbogast

[Ben Harmless]

My picks, in order of what I'd probably use, would be the following (assuming there's reverb already available):

1. De.......lay - you can do amazing things with just this effect
2. Volume pedal (assuming you haven't perfected swells with your knob)
3. Another distortion box
4. Wah
5. Trem
6. Phaser
7. Other weird time-based modulation effects

...Of course, I've only got the delay, but doing sound for a living, this is the order of things I've been impressed with the operation of - and this includes working with Aimee and her band a couple of months ago - a good show, and I was thinking the same thing about those guitar tones. A good amount of those were just skillful manipulation of a Memory Man delay.

[Daddy Elmis]

I like Ben's list, but I'd put a Univibe-type effect in the 5th position ahead of the Trem. I found the 'vibe to be a very useful effect in lots of situations -- most of them not close to the Hendrix realm.

and FWIW, I use multiple amps and multiple effects.

[J. Hayes]

I always put my volume pedal last in the chain before it goes to the amp. All your effects (especially compression) will work and sound better if your guitar volume knob's all the way on. Plus, between songs you can kick it back to eliminate any buzz you might have going.....JH in Va.

[halouis]

I love the richness and complexity of multiple amps. but a fe FX are cool too. For my live rig ever since our new bass player came in the band and had an extra JCM800 2205 stack, I'm running a stereo rig. his JCM on stage right, and my JMP 2204 stage left. I have a digitech delay that splits the signal to them. which i kick in occasionally on a lead. I set the JCM to be a bit mid scooped, and my JMP to be mid bumped. so its a nice wide spectrum of sound.

[Jean-Baptiste]

Ben's pretty much nailed it. Can't think of anything else you'd really need. On the subject of volume pedals, they come in two flavours - high impedance (straight from the guitar) and low impedance (at the end of your signal chain-right before the amp). If you're running lots of effects, it's nice to have both.

I'm with you on the multi-amp setup, Bob, and I've been collecting OD pedals for years. What sounds great with one amp may sound dreadful with another, so it's nice to have as wide a variety as possible to choose from. There are so many manufacturers out there and so many players who are constantly flipping their gear, that I've almost never had to buy anything new.

I've got a few pedals that don't work very well with any of my current amps, but I paid so little for them that I'm keeping them around just in case I come across another amp.

Whenever I drag home a new amplifier, I blow the dust off the collection and test them all. A fun way to pass the time on a rainy weekend afternoon, and especially rewarding when you stumble upon a new combination that works!

[JohnnyCrash]

In my last band I had a ton of effects. The band before that NO effects.

My vote goes for having two amps, instead of more pedals.

FOR INSTANCE
You can use an EQ to give you big chorus chord swells, but kicking a second amp on will give you a nice blended "wall" of sound... w/ EQ you're still limited to the amp's flavor being tweaked as opposed to the layers of two distinct amps.

Layered guitar tracks are important in recordings, why simulate it with an EQ pedal?

IT ALSO DEPENDS
You mentioned blues, so I gather you are not really into things like Delay, etc? It depends on what your going to play.

I own effects, JUST IN CASE something calls for something trippy, but I'm more of a plug and play kinda guy, so 2 amps is my vote.

[Twang]

Get a MuRF....neither your sound or your life will ever be the same




...by saying that I am obviously in the pedal sonic palette group.

Pedals are fun. Plug and play is fun. If you don't have the pedals you only have half the fun

[size=2]only marginally sarcastic. ymmv[/size]

for inspiration : http://nelscline.com/tech.html

[telewacked]

.but hate taking up so much stage real estate and 2 channels on the board (or 2 mics). That said, has anyone ever tried two amps with a pan pedal? I should just buy one and try it, but first hand advice would be appreciated.
I'm dying to try a gig with my new Winfield Thomas November thru 2-12" Celestion V30/G12H on one side and my SFDR on the other.

[telel6s]

Good general advice but you can do some spacier effects by putting a volume pedal before a delay, AutoWah/Filter, or other effects that react based on the input level.

[BB]

Originally Posted by Bob Arbogast

Lately I've been playing more blues than anything, just plugging my guitar (Tele or '51 or Starfire) straight in to the amp (Hot Fudge or "Pro" Fudge). But the other day I watched and listened to Julian Coryell with Aimee Mann. I was duly impressed not only by his licks and hooks, but also -- maybe especially -- by his palette of tones.

On the one hand, I like using different amps for different tones (so much so that I have only one effects box, a cheapo Epi distortion), but I wonder if I ought to start assembling a collection of boxes for those times when I want to get out of the blues box.

What are your thoughts on this topic in general? And what are the basic types of boxes you think are indispensable? (I'm not asking for specifics, such as Direct Drive vs. Full Drive; just the general types.)

Thanks.

Bob Arbogast

Bob, I'm in a similar place. Blues is my love. Plugging straight in to a nice tube amp and reveling in the wonderful tones and shading is very rewarding. On the other hand, most of what I play with others requires various textures and tones. What works for me is a low gain overdrive, a higher gain overdrive, analog delay for slap back, digital delay for longer, modulated delays and a volume pedal.

The big keys are the delays and volume pedal. The VP allows swells, pedal steel tones, faux ebow legatto lines, violin, flute and cello shadings. Running the digital delay after the volume pedal allows the delays to taper off gradually. Also, running two amps really helps the ambient spread.

This works for me, allowing a wide variety of tones. From U-2ish type rhythms to sound effects to various stringed and wind instrument tones.

It's also a nice change to go from the other world tones of processed guitar to straight, gut bucket blues tone in the same song.

You have wonderful amps and guitars Bob. A nice delay, volume pedal and another overdrive would go a long way in helping acheive the tones you're after.

[Smokin' Joe Picante]

For me, in the studio multiple amps are great for a ton of stuff, but I can't justify the expense and trouble of jumping through those hoops for most of the live work I do (without a roadie !!)

I'm most of the way done making a pretty tweaked out pedal board. I like having the tonal variations of a bunch of overdrives/distorion boxes right at my feet. This also allows me to get a pretty big chunk of whatever I need tonewise regardless of what amp I'm playing through. I have played enough gigs with the pedals to ballpark gain settings pretty quick whether I'm using my Rivera, HiWatt, or Bassman. Whichever amp is brought to the gig.

Also, this is great for gigs where you have to use "who knows what" for backline gear, and days where you have multilple gigs right after each other at different locales and teardown/setup time is crucial. I just drag the pedal board and my guitars around and can get "my sound" or pretty darn close as long as the backline amp is decent.