Guitar Gear: Effects & Amps (Opinions & Philosophies)

I’m a guitar player and I love guitar gear. Ever since I began playing (back in 1984), I always enjoyed checking out new gear, reading reviews and even drawing little schematics of guitar rigs. Anyone who’s been around this stuff long enough will develop some opinions and even a philosophy about gear. Here’s mine.

EFFECTS

There are a lot of different guitar effects out there. I don’t care for many of them. It’s interesting that I invested in a Fractal Axe-Fx2 which is like the ultimate source for guitar effects – given that I don’t and/or won’t use most of what’s there. I primarily bought it for the amp & speaker cab modeling…not for weirdo effects.

Here’s the one’s I don’t like: chorus, phaser, flanger, fuzz, pitch shifter / harmonizer, compressor, filter, formant, gate expander, resonator, ring modulator, vocoder, synth, tremolo.

Here’s the ones I do like: distortion, overdrive, EQ, reverb, delay, univibe and wah.

Most of the effects I want coming from the amp itself: distortion/overdrive, EQ, and spring reverb (adjusted to a subtle, light setting). I want to use a digital delay through the effects loop (mostly for my lead guitar sound). It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. A simple Boss DD-7 will suffice. Wah is an optional effect. I don’t use it a lot, but I like it. The univibe is the only modulation effect I like. Like the wah, the univibe is run as a low-level effect (between the guitar and the input of the amplifier).

So to summarize, an ideal guitar rig for me would include the following effects: (before the amp) a wah, univibe. (Amp) à distortion/overdrive, EQ, spring reverb). (effects loop) a digital delay.

AMPS

I want a modern type amp with multiple channels, and enough flexibility to dial in three basic sounds: clean, crunch rhythm & paint peeling lead. I’ve owned single channel amps, non-master volume amps, vintage style amps, etc…, and to be honest, I have no use for that gear. The amp must be able to give me my 3 basic sounds at all volume levels. I cannot use a super-loud tube amp that must be cranked all the way up to 10, and then use an overdrive pedal to get it to scream. Perhaps that kind of thing works for players who are filling 3,000 seat halls. But for me, it is totally impractical.

For my clean sound, I want the guitar strings to sound like a piano, with lots of resonance and bloom. I don’t want a thin, spanky, funk type tone. I also want zero distortion. I want each note to ring out crystal clear. The highs should be chimey but without any harshness. (No ice-pick in your ear sounds). If I’m playing complex jazz chords, I want to be able to hear each pitch in the chord.

For my crunch rhythm tone, I want an overdriven sound that’s great for power chords, double stops and riffing. Think Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, early Van Halen, ZZ Top, Bad Company, Rolling Stones, Cream, Eagles, Joe Walsh, etc. Beyond using overdrive, I’ll use the amp’s EQ and onboard spring reverb. I don’t want any modulation effects or outboard time based effects as it interferes with the sound.

For my lead guitar tone, I want a searing, liquid, paint-peeling distortion sound that has a massive amount of gain…enough that it makes playing lead guitar lines easy, with fast response, very touch sensitive and with harmonics & notes that just explode off the fingerboard – and available at all volume levels. I want a long delay available for this sound (as it adds more depth & makes everything sound smoother). As an option I’d use a univibe and/or a wah pedal. The sound is appropriate for classic rock, blues rock & hard rock. Think Neal Schon, George Lynch, (modern) David Gilmour, Steve Lukather, Nuno Bettencourt, Frank Marino, etc…

COMBO AMPS vs. HEADS AND SPEAKER CABINETS

Combo amps are better for portability. But amp heads + separate speaker cabinets sound better. Combo amps produce a focused, narrow, smaller sound. An amp head with a 2x12 or 4x12 speaker cab yields a larger, bigger, more disperse sound (which is the ideal). I prefer closed (or semi-closed) back cabinets (for better forward sound projection). 4x12 speaker cabinets are large and heavy (and as such, they’re a pain in the ass to transport). But I think a closed back 2x12 speaker cab offers a great middle ground of big sound and ease of transport.

HOW MUCH POWER IS NECESSARY?

People have told me they’ve gigged with a 15 watt amp. I don’t understand how that’s possible. I prefer tube amps with a lot of power (50 – 100 watts). In my opinion, you need at least 40 watts to have enough clean headroom when playing with an obnoxiously loud drummer. I once owned a 22 watt amp and it was not powerful enough to give me clean headroom during loud band rehearsals. If you’ve got a PA system, that may balance everything out. But for those situations where you don’t have a PA, you need the firepower of a high power amp. A 100 watt amp isn’t that much louder than a 50 watter. But the 100 watt amp offers generally better low end response. Some amps have the option to dial in various power settings.

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