ES-335 and Hotrod Deville 410 - match made in hell? - Page 2

davekain · #31 09-04-2011, 07:03 PM

Not to self promote but I used an 87' ES-335 Studio through a Fender Hot Rod to record my first cd. That's it. Nothing else and I was very happy with it. I'm definitely not as tech savy as most people on this forum so I can't really give advice towards working the amp controls but I will say I think the amp and or guitar can only get you so far. A HUGE aspect will come from string choice, articulation and just how you overall play the instrument. You'd be amazed what kinds of sounds some people can get out of less than spectacular equipment.

The cd I played with this set up is this one if you wanted to check it out.

The Dave Kain Group | Citizen Kain | CD Baby

Franz 1997 · #32 09-05-2011, 03:12 AM

Nice 335 tone dave! Agreed that most of it is about strings, articulation etc. The original poster, Tony, doesn't like the sound he gets from an HRD with a 335, and of course tone is very subjective and personal. I once recorded with a fender champ and an L4 and the tone was quite good IMO, so I agree that all sorts of unlikely gear can be made to work.
But perhaps the point is that most of us know pretty quickly whether an amp can get the tone we want, and if not, it's either tweak the amp somehow or try something else - the HRD isn't a ''classic'' jazz amp by any token, although that's not to deny that it works for some people, yourself included.

tonyknight · #33 09-05-2011, 05:01 AM

The best thing about this particular thread AND thanks to all who have contributed - is that it becomes clearer and clearer that we can tweak what we have but not suddenly convert that something into something that it isn't!

I've spent over a year considering what to do with my equipment. I dropped out of the 'capitalist' market place 10 years ago so I can no longer just say 'what the hell, I'll buy it'! That's long gone.

My amp is GREAT. For someone else :-) Same for 80% of all the other equipment I own. Therefore you have all helped me realise that I should invest my money into unloading the surplus and then carefully reinvest in the right stuff for me. I'll even end up throwing in the blues-tubes for the eventual buyer!

I'm looking forward to a scaled down. lighter (!) and simplified future. And to now figuring out exactly which archtop and amp are going to suit me. Will then have to again confront that age-old question of tubes or not :-)

Thanks guys,
Cheers,
Tony

davekain · #34 09-05-2011, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franz 1997

Nice 335 tone dave! Agreed that most of it is about strings, articulation etc. The original poster, Tony, doesn't like the sound he gets from an HRD with a 335, and of course tone is very subjective and personal. I once recorded with a fender champ and an L4 and the tone was quite good IMO, so I agree that all sorts of unlikely gear can be made to work.
But perhaps the point is that most of us know pretty quickly whether an amp can get the tone we want, and if not, it's either tweak the amp somehow or try something else - the HRD isn't a ''classic'' jazz amp by any token, although that's not to deny that it works for some people, yourself included.

Well said. Basically, wish I had money so I could experiment more:-(

jorgemg1984 · #35 09-05-2011, 09:10 AM

Its very important to either tweak your amp or find an amp you really like - I have finally 3 amps I really really like and I will sell the two amps I have used the most in the last few years. To me its really worth the process of finding the right gear for you.

But its also important to be able to get a decent sound from "regular" amps. You wont be playing "jazz amps" or fender amps modded to jazz all the time right? Maybe you wont have money or you have to play in a gig / reharsal / jam session with someone else`s amp and you must know how to get a good sound from it. Thats what the old cats did!

tonyknight · #36 09-05-2011, 09:29 AM

Dave, the self-promo was well warranted! And the tone IS great. The music too!

As I've implied, I can great blues tone out of this guitar and amp. But in fairness, even when I got that, I was using the amp in it's sweetish spot with volume and master around 4-5 (couldn't go much higher without blowing the ear drums)! I am finally beginning to get a tone which will keep me going until I change the amp, but yes, it is important to get the best tone out of any amp, and I think that's why I've been a little frustrated with this particular model (not saying it's the same for all HRD - and I play a US model in France, running the amp via a very large transformer which certainly can't help).

But life's one long lesson right? If we're willing to learn anyway! I guess I've getting 'old' just not a 'cat' yet!