20
votes
Accepted
Why is reverb typically called "wet' or "drippy"?
Reverb is actually the effect of playing in confined, walled spaces - the sound bounces off the walls giving a diffused sort of echo. In a wide open space there is zero reverb. (The original, now ...
- 85.7k
19
votes
Accepted
Why use delay instead of reverb?
Reverb and delay aren't completely unrelated effects - reverb can be thought of as a network of many short delays.
While reverb can provide a realistic simulation of an acoustic space, using a lot ...
- 45.7k
17
votes
How to obtain a Clean yet Distorted guitar sound?
The sounds in the songs you've listed are actually pretty different to my ears, but I'll try to generalize and go through some examples.
Here is the raw line for reference. This is a modified strat ...
- 293
16
votes
Accepted
Why does plugging headphones directly into guitar effect sound "bad"?
Guitar overdrives/fuzz boxes etc are designed to be fed to guitar amps.
This isn't even really a problem of impedance or even output voltage, it's one of EQ curve.
Guitar amps [& speakers] really ...
- 25.4k
14
votes
Accepted
Is a sustain pedal the same as a sustainer pedal?
No.
A sustain pedal is a simple switch with a piece of cable attached that the keyboard uses to emulate the function of the sustain pedal on the piano - which basically means "let ring the notes when ...
13
votes
Accepted
How should I interpret decimals in guitar tabs?
I believe that this is referring to where you would place your finger to get the desired harmonics. The harmonic that generates the major third is right before the 4th fret, which would be 3.85. 3.2 ...
- 7,399
13
votes
Accepted
What is the guitar effect being used in Fine Young Cannibals' She Drives Me Crazy?
Yeah, it's a heavy comp, but it's combined with the actual playing style, which is a really slow drag across the chord each time.
I think it's either combined with a slight delay panned half right, or ...
- 25.4k
11
votes
What can a modern DAW do with analog sounds?
All the sounds in a DAW are digital, not analog. What you're working with is a digital recording of your analog sound source (guitar, voice, whatever). Every digital effect can be used on every ...
- 6,169
10
votes
Accepted
Chorus pedal, before or after the distortion?
Of course, it is a matter of taste.
You're correct that a chorus creates multiple “voices”, but actually that's a good reason to put it after distortion! For distortion is nonlinear, ...
- 34.9k
10
votes
How to obtain a Clean yet Distorted guitar sound?
The dirt and grime that comes from distortion is a result of notes with frequency relationships beyond those that are very simple ratios (e.g. 2:1=an octave, and 3:2=a fifth) going through the ...
- 45.7k
9
votes
Accepted
Delay with your hands
I'm assuming he's talking about playing the same note, chord, or phrase more than once, possibly playing the second and subsequent repeats more and more quietly. Some kinds of delay sound can't be ...
- 53.7k
9
votes
Accepted
Is it safe to use distortion or overdrive with an acoustic amp?
It won't cause damage. The main consequence of using electric guitar effects with an acoustic amp is the sound will be different.
An amp for an electric guitar actually changes the sound a lot, both ...
- 53.7k
9
votes
Accepted
Would adding delay after the loadbox make it the same as if adding it in the effects loop?
Would having the delay after the cab sim ruin it? No
Would it sound different if the delay was in the effects loop? It depends.
It depends on what kind of delay you are using and how it is changing ...
- 53.7k
9
votes
Should I connect my multi-effects pedal to PA or Amp?
It depends, really. If you decide to connect it to the input your amp, you do want to disable the amp modelling in the pedal (assuming that's possible).
I can think of three ways to hook this up. I'...
- 53.7k
9
votes
Accepted
How do bass effects differ from guitar effects?
Sometimes it's just the color of the case, the branding (Bass Fuzz X28-B instead of just Fuzz X28), and the marketing ("As seen in Bass Magazine!").
If it goes beyond that, well obviously bass ...
- 53.7k
9
votes
Accepted
How is this octave jump achieved on electric guitar?
Pinch harmonics
In the example video, she is using a type of artificial harmonic known as a pinch harmonic, which involves simultaneously hitting the string with the pick (plectrum) and (usually the) ...
- 547
9
votes
Effect for "rounding off" guitar pick attack
I don’t think Kurt is using an effect, I think he’s using a technique. Some techniques that round out the attack include:
Plucking with fingers
Picking/plucking closer to the fingerboard
Using the ...
- 53.7k
8
votes
Is it important to add a noise gate/suppressor to a pedalboard chain?
I'm not sure this is an answer, so much as a list of things to consider…
Simple rule - more gain, more buzz.
Guitar pickups are, by their very nature, susceptible to all kinds of interference - hum ...
- 25.4k
8
votes
Glossary of Guitar Effects
Bit Crusher
Converts the sound to digital (then back to analogue) using a bit depth that is intentionally low enough to add noise and distortion to the signal due to quantisation error. This also ...
8
votes
What is the characteristic reverb effect on Fender amps?
I'm not sure what you mean by the "aggressive"sound, but yes it's a thing, and it's called spring reverb.
It's essentially a couple of transducers, connected at either end of one or more metal ...
- 805
8
votes
Accepted
Acoustic guitar with humbucker pickup sounds like an electric guitar, not acoustic
So this guitar is quite a unique model, the John Lennon signature. Its pickup is not an acoustic-guitar pickup at all but, well, basically a standard high-impedance humbucker in small format.
It's no ...
- 34.9k
8
votes
Accepted
What is meant when a guitar amplifier does or does not "take" guitar pedals?
First, an amp "taking pedals well" has little to do with modeling amps specifically or internal effects of any kind. I don't have much experience with modern modeling amps but I'd guess that they are ...
- 4,103
8
votes
Was tube screamer designed to run into already distorted tone
Since the most iconic Tube Screamer sounds I can think of (e.g., Stevie Ray Vaughan and Trey Anastasio) have been created using very clean amp sounds, and distortion/overdrive pedals were invented to ...
- 53.7k
8
votes
Why is reverb typically called "wet' or "drippy"?
In American restaurant vernacular, a food item without any added condiment [e.g. toast without butter] is "dry". If effects like reverb are viewed as audio condiments, sound without such effects ...
- 3,951
8
votes
Accepted
Effect for "rounding off" guitar pick attack
Assuming that you don't want to just replicate that exact sound in the exact position of the video.
Guitar tone control, attenuate/cut the highs
Guitar volume control (manual swell)
Volume pedal (...
- 26.1k
8
votes
Xlr output in guitar processor
XLR output is useful when connecting directly to mixing console or audio interface with XLR cable (rather than connecting to a guitar amplifier with instrument cable).
XLR connection is differential. ...
- 13.9k
7
votes
Why bass eq pedal has wider range than guitar eq
Surprisingly, a lot of a bass guitar's tone comes from the high frequencies. Without them you can end up with synthesiser-like tone - very blurry and undefined - so being able to tweak the higher ...
- 36.7k
7
votes
Accepted
Choosing a guitar stompbox for producing moderate distortion (general advice)
You'll have no idea whether you're really hearing a pedal correctly or not until you fix or replace that bad cable. The same goes for amp settings. Cranking the master volume throws off the EQ balance ...
- 53.7k
6
votes
How to obtain a Clean yet Distorted guitar sound?
In addition to the points given by topo morto: the effect that gives you pretty much “overdrive without the distortion” is a compressor. In fact, a major reason for using overdrive and ...
- 34.9k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible