New Amp - Boland - By Parkway

[Ken McLaren]

Right on parkway, I'll check it out when I can..

[parkway]

Right on parkway, I'll check it out when I can..

Thanks Ken. Your insights will help. My fear is that what I've created on my 1st two tries -
Legion X1 and Boland might sound acceptable/good to my ears on my end with my equipment setup
-and trying to down play the hiss problems inherent to the Behringer GuitarLInk unit
- but they might sound a bit weak to other setups.

As I continue creating amp heads the methodology will become less hit / miss and more of a systematic following of the MMJ's tutorial and your explanation of frequencies and tone distortion which in turn should result in a gradual improvement in the final product.


[by the way - found another way to reduce the hiss- 1.) Turn on amp - kick up the main volume to a 7, turn back gain to a 1 or 2 and the Level to a 2 2.) hook up Behringer 3.) Turn on Reaper 4.) Turn the Level -next to Gain to 0 then back to 2. #4 results in an immediate reduction in hiss]

Brett

[Ken McLaren]

hmm.. Worrying about what others think of your heads...
Let me tell you a story..
I was making head after head, they all started to have the same sort of style, and thats good, but I wanted more original sounding heads. So what I did was make heads that I would NEVER use. That trick worked and my heads started to sound a little different than the usual I was putting out. I kept thinking with each of them, I can do better than that! That was just because I didn't like the sound. So I had to fight the urge to change and tinker with them. What we did was rapid release so I didn't have time to make changes. Anyways, I released them thinking people are going to friggin hate these. Some did, but others swear by them...

That was the Preampus classic hybrid line with 160,000+ downloads and counting...

So the moral is, make sure its safe with volume levels and then release... Every single person even in the same genre has a different idea of tone and releasing stuff that only you think sounds good, could be alienating others that want something different.. You really never know, what people are looking for...

One of the single most important factors that developers forget is, the feel of the head. After speaking with people who like the Preampus stuff, they have said time and again, its the feel of the head. Afterall, thats what brings out the performance from someone, its not always just tone..

[dennyps4]

Great way to think when building. I have yet to do it. But anyway, I can extend another way to look at it. You need to be like a restaurant. You want to make a sauce that will appeal to the masses but still have a sauce to offer that you personally like too. People will keep coming back if the sauce is good and consistent, right? Amps are like food, we eat the same ones all the time, but it nice to try something different and new once and awhile. I'm equating amps to food, that' scary, you know where my interest lies.

[parkway]

hmm.. Worrying about what others think of your heads...
Let me tell you a story..
I was making head after head, they all started to have the same sort of style, and thats good, but I wanted more original sounding heads. So what I did was make heads that I would NEVER use. That trick worked and my heads started to sound a little different than the usual I was putting out. I kept thinking with each of them, I can do better than that! That was just because I didn't like the sound. So I had to fight the urge to change and tinker with them. What we did was rapid release so I didn't have time to make changes. Anyways, I released them thinking people are going to friggin hate these. Some did, but others swear by them...

That was the Preampus classic hybrid line with 160,000+ downloads and counting...

So the moral is, make sure its safe with volume levels and then release... Every single person even in the same genre has a different idea of tone and releasing stuff that only you think sounds good, could be alienating others that want something different.. You really never know, what people are looking for...

One of the single most important factors that developers forget is, the feel of the head. After speaking with people who like the Preampus stuff, they have said time and again, its the feel of the head. Afterall, thats what brings out the performance from someone, its not always just tone..

Not so much worrying. In a way trying to play catch-up. Remember the discussion regarding having actual experience in the studio and understanding the underbelly of frequencies? I missed that chapter altogether so in essence everything that I've learned about frequencies and tone have come from world of Head Case. I know if I like a particular sound or not but because everyone's setup is a little bit different then the result of the amp head developed would be a little different. So in effect I'm trying to get a sense of baseline. Not sure whether I'm spinning my wheels needlessly on this one or not.

On the other hand I see your reasoning on stepping outside of the comfort zone and going with amp designs that may not hit the right note in your personal sound palette..."and releasing stuff that only you think sounds good, could be alienating others that want something different.. You really never know, what people are looking for".

Makes perfect sense. Thanks for sharing the wisdom!

Brett

[parkway]

Great way to think when building. I have yet to do it. But anyway, I can extend another way to look at it. You need to be like a restaurant. You want to make a sauce that will appeal to the masses but still have a sauce to offer that you personally like too. People will keep coming back if the sauce is good and consistent, right? Amps are like food, we eat the same ones all the time, but it nice to try something different and new once and awhile. I'm equating amps to food, that' scary, you know where my interest lies.

buffalo bob's spicy amps with a side of mesquite cabs [haha!]

parkway

[sjc]

Speaking of different...If you're familiar with the classic hybrid line then you'll understand this next statement: I love Ken's PeckerHead.


Downloading your amp know, will give it a spin!

~scott

[dennyps4]

Is all good Boland. I don't know squat about frequencies. Back to the food, I make my tones like I cook, just throw it all in with a little of this and a little of that and hope for the best. Sometimes it tastes like poop, but most of the time is tastes pretty damn good. It's all in the ear of the beholder. lol

[parkway]

Is all good Boland. I don't know squat about frequencies. Back to the food, I make my tones like I cook, just throw it all in with a little of this and a little of that and hope for the best. Sometimes it tastes like poop, but most of the time is tastes pretty damn good. It's all in the ear of the beholder. lol

I like your philosophy!

Brett

[Ken McLaren]

At the end of the day, its all about playability because the user is going to EQ th4e track 9 out of 10 times anyways. Plus the overall tone will change instantly by just changing cabs. So I concentrate more on the feel of the amp.

That all comes from the distortion, which is influenced by the frequencies being fed into it.
Remember lows into distortion (Stomps, gain stage, boost, and poweramp) = FUZZ..

Now about my Pecker head, you know I didn't like my pecker head at first, and then it grew. Now I love my Pecker head and play with it every chance I get. My pecker head has a feel to it that is alien at first, but once it grows, it becomes all to familiar...
hahah
[Promotion mode on]
Speaking of Pecker head..Its brother Knuckle Head got a great quote from the lead singer of the Yard Birds..
He's using Knuckle Head on this track..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4nadsU6Vj4&feature=plcp

Andy Mitchell
The Yard birds/Andy Mitchell Band
€
I've been using digital modeling for many years, and have used most of the best-known hardware and software. Without exception I have been left uninspired by the quality of tone. I discovered Acmebargig's free amp suite and was genuinely blown away by the sheer quality of the amp models... Very "real" and three-dimensional, with exceptional clarity, particularly on the lower gain "edge of breakup" tones, where most modeling software fails in my experience.

Official Band sites
http://andymitchellmusic.com/
http://www.theyardbirds.com/


[Promotion mode off]

Its all about feel IMO, when you switch from one amp to another you should naturally start playing things a little differently, thats where a lot of fail miserably. The tone may be great, but tone is not the only question, you still have to bring the performace out of the user, and IMO tone alone dopes not do that..

[atalwar]

Thx parkway, i'll check it out tomm,
Ran outta guitar strings ;(

[parkway]

Thx parkway, i'll check it out tomm,
Ran outta guitar strings ;(

I understand. Mine are sounding pretty dead. Lately I've been ordering them from Sweetwater because
1.) They're cheap
2.) They don't charge tax or shipping
3.) They send candy with all their orders...no it's true...candy!

Brett

[sjc]

Brett, I think you did a nice job. I was playing around with it and then was kicking in the stomps and it was really good. Added a little more grit with skull od pedal and really enjoyed it. Keep it up man, for sure

~scott

[dennyps4]

I like my peckerhead too Ken have had it for years. Feel is what it is all about, no feel, no inspiration, it's like wearing pants with no underwear, it's feels ok, but it just isn't right. If you have to turn knobs all day to get a tone, it's not worth it. That's why I love acmebargig heads. I load em up, and 9 out of 10 times I don't touch anything, I leave everything @ 12:00, and just play. Same with my Marshall but everything @ 1:00, a little higher, that and my volume knob, and it's good. That's quality. If Andy Mitchell gives it props, that should be all you need to hear.

[sjc]

Speaking of Pecker head..Its brother Knuckle Head got a great quote from the lead singer of the Yard Birds..
He's using Knuckle Head on this track..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4nadsU6Vj4&feature=plcp

Andy Mitchell
The Yard birds/Andy Mitchell Band

Excellent tune, man! Glad you posted that!! Guitar sounds really good.

~scott

[parkway]

Brett, I think you did a nice job. I was playing around with it and then was kicking in the stomps and it was really good. Added a little more grit with skull od pedal and really enjoyed it. Keep it up man, for sure

~scott

Hey Scott,

Thanks much for the bump. One thing I noticed in hind site. Not sure - but I think the Gain is a little weak on this one [ or was it Legion X1??] I think I might know what's causing this. I was working on my next amp today and I found that depending on how I had my cuts setup the Gain was strengthened or weakened. I'm trying to systematically get a feel of what connects to what in the work flow from the pedals to the pre-cuts all the way to the poweramp. The other thing I'm doing is looking under the hood on the amp heads that have already been done and then comparing what I find there to the MMJ's tutorial and Ken's posting on frequency / tone / distortion.

Thanks again!

Brett

[Ken McLaren]

If you remove too many lows, gain will suffer. So just crank the gain amount right?... Wrong, it gets replaced with hiss...
Its a balancing act sort of...Lows to gain amount..

I find starting with a good crunch, then adding the pedal, or boost, will bring the gain into the region you want. It also leaves you with a little more room on the amp to have the lows, which are crazy important for a good crunch/acdc type of sound. This way you can use the pedal/boost to remove the lows so that your sound when going for high gain does not turn into a fuzz box. Yet when the pedal/boost is off, you still end up with a nice natural type amp sound for open chord rock..

[parkway]

If you remove too many lows, gain will suffer. So just crank the gain amount right?... Wrong, it gets replaced with hiss...
Its a balancing act sort of...Lows to gain amount..

I find starting with a good crunch, then adding the pedal, or boost, will bring the gain into the region you want. It also leaves you with a little more room on the amp to have the lows, which are crazy important for a good crunch/acdc type of sound. This way you can use the pedal/boost to remove the lows so that your sound when going for high gain does not turn into a fuzz box. Yet when the pedal/boost is off, you still end up with a nice natural type amp sound for open chord rock..

Thank you Ken,

Between the suggestions from you and others + other material I'm little by little getting my head wrapped around HC.
The last couple of days I've been taking apart amp heads that are focused on the Marshall sound, Fender sound etc.. so I can kind of see the lines of thought that went into these.

I'm thinking part of the challenge for me is getting the right idea or vision of the order of operations. I know your vision with HC is not to get stuck on a set path because then you miss all the "accidental genius" discoveries along the way...but if I've got a general map I'm following then at least I know I'm pretty close to where I need to be to create something I have in my head.

Question: is the purpose of the pedal in Headcase Builder in part to see how your amp head that your're creating will interact with distortion pedals and how the sound will be effected?

Brett

[sjc]

I look at the od pedals in the builder as additional tone shapers. You can boost with them, over drive with them, and tone shape. I think the way you can affect the frequencies with them is great and you can do it without adding distortion if you want to. Great way to customize an amp.

~Scott

[parkway]

I look at the od pedals in the builder as additional tone shapers. You can boost with them, over drive with them, and tone shape. I think the way you can affect the frequencies with them is great and you can do it without adding distortion if you want to. Great way to customize an amp.

~Scott

Thanks Scott

You guys are going to have me on the road to audio and frequency based wellness in no time!

Brett

[Ken McLaren]

Sometimes people want to put a specific type of OD pedal with a particular type of amp sound. These OD pedals allow you to do that. They carry on into the suite and the loner as well. So whatever you do to the pedals in head case builder, is also done to them in the suite and loner..

Whether you use them as overdrives, fuzz boxes, distortion pedals, or as just tone shapers/saturators, they are there for all those purposes..Wait until we open the customization of all the stomps..

[mriesenb]

I like my peckerhead too Ken have had it for years. Feel is what it is all about, no feel, no inspiration, it's like wearing pants with no underwear, it's feels ok, but it just isn't right. If you have to turn knobs all day to get a tone, it's not worth it. That's why I love acmebargig heads. I load em up, and 9 out of 10 times I don't touch anything, I leave everything @ 12:00, and just play. Same with my Marshall but everything @ 1:00, a little higher, that and my volume knob, and it's good. That's quality. If Andy Mitchell gives it props, that should be all you need to hear.

Love the Pecker, but I use MeatHead for a lot of stuff. I think I used it on my ABG song as well. Unfortunately it's not in the regular suite, I see, but maybe Ken can give it away as a freebee?

Cheers,

Michael

[Ken McLaren]

I plan on doing the whole preampus line for for head case.. If I can ever get to it.. haha

[parkway]

If you remove too many lows, gain will suffer. So just crank the gain amount right?... Wrong, it gets replaced with hiss...
Its a balancing act sort of...Lows to gain amount..

I find starting with a good crunch, then adding the pedal, or boost, will bring the gain into the region you want. It also leaves you with a little more room on the amp to have the lows, which are crazy important for a good crunch/acdc type of sound. This way you can use the pedal/boost to remove the lows so that your sound when going for high gain does not turn into a fuzz box. Yet when the pedal/boost is off, you still end up with a nice natural type amp sound for open chord rock..

Ken,

I'm working on another amp. I'm starting off with one the test amps I've created and am taking what I've learned in the last couple of days to create one that will have the clean and dirt channel.

Here's what I'm running into: I'm getting what I want out of the dirt channel...but nothing out of the clean channel. Reaper is showing audio output...I just can't hear anything. Any idea on what might be causing this?

Thanks,

Brett

[Ken McLaren]

I have never seen that, so I need to get a copy of the HCB file to try and find the cause..