-
What is it about a particular guitar and amp that just work/sound better together? Case in point...a D'Angelico SS w/HB's and a Quilter SuperBlock US. For the life of me I can't find my sound with these two. Everyone has their own sound - agreed. But, I fussed with the amp models and onboard EQ and it all lacked. I thought the strings are wrong. I thought the reverb is no good and maybe I'll add better pedals. I added an EQ pedal and fussed with that for hours. All to no avail...just a blah sound to my ears. Then I powered on my old Roland Cube 30 and placed it on the JC clean setting and honest to Pete the guitar not only sounded great, but it actually played better! I didn't need different strings or another pedal - it was all there. Amazing! It's like the two found their match.
So the question I pose is this...what is it about the circuitry between a particular amp and guitar that could be so right or so wrong?
-
08-24-2025 08:10 PM
-
Which speaker/cab were you using with the SuperBlock? It's a bright-voiced amp, whereas, in my experience, the Cubes have a strong bass end. I sold my Cube 30 to an accordionist maybe 15 years ago and he used it until permanently incapacitated by long Covid in 2020. My Cube 60 is in common use in a training locale; it's so bass-heavy that I rather bring in my personal gear every time.
-
This is very personal but, for me, also speaker size, aswell as string gauge and winding, matter... I've got a couple of 12" amps and a couple of 8" amps and I get my favourite sounds with the 8" amps, coupled with heavy gauge (13-56, or so) flat wound strings on any of my guitars (infact, I favour 23.5 scale lenght guitars so I can put heavy flats and still have a relatively "soft" action. This way I get warm/wooddy, yet cristal-clear, sharply defined Jazz-tone. Whereas I enjoy my 12" amps more with lighter gauge strings (again, preferably flats).
-
Good question...I left out important details. I am using the line out feature into a UA interface/Ableton Live for both the Roland and Quilter. We could get lost in discussions over cabinet sims. And, who knows, maybe the Quilter cabsim isn't as good as some others and that's why my ears dislike the sound. But, the more interesting thing to me is the way a guitar feels in response to an amp. The pre-amp section of the Roland interacts in a more lively manner with the guitar creating a more lively experience when playing. But, now we are into the electronics interplay between the guitar and amp, and that's considerably more technical I'm guessing.
-
playing jazz standards outside. Ibanez gb10 , a Hendrickson jazz amp with holy grail reverb and a line out.
inside, L5 Wes.
-
I have a Quilter Aviator Cub (same thing as a Super Block, but with more power). I've tried the line out into my DAW. It sounds OK, but I don't think it really is a "cab sim" (in the sense of being an IR model of a particular speaker/cab/mic combination). It think it's just a high-cut filter. It definitely sounds better (to my tastes) using a speaker plug-in. That said, it was just an experiment. I record direct with both amp and cabinet plug-ins (lately, S-Gear, though for many years I just used the ones that come with GarageBand).
Originally Posted by Braunny46
Speaking of amp and guitar combinations ... I recently picked up an ABY switch to try combining the inputs. I used it on a (blues) gig last week with the tweed and BF settings. I was using a Les Paul withP90s. The tweed input alone can somewhat over-emphasize the P90s' slightly nasal mid-range character, and the BF alone can be a little thin. The two together is goldilocks.
-
Thanks John. TC makes an IR loader that I thought of trying. Place it in the effects loop, and maybe it changes the character of the Quilter (on the line out at least).
-
Mine is old school - '63 175 and 3 knob Minibrute III.
My Crate Limo is pretty darned good with the 175. Battery powered so minimal hassle.
Sorry about the rotated pic.
-
Amen
-
I don't think the perfect guitar/amp combination for everyone has ever existed. What sounds blah to you might sound wonderful to me, and vice versa. If such a perfect combo existed, there would be no need for so many guitars and amps. Just one of each would be sufficient. But here we are, with a seemingly infinite variety of amps, guitars, strings, picks, and everything else. We vote with our walets, and use whatever sounds best to us. Think of it as a feature, not a bug.
-
Love that onion dome headstock. Killer rig you have there. Originally Posted by spencer096
Amen
-
Originally Posted by spencer096
Amen
Hooray for Brad Nickerson! Originally Posted by DawgBone
-
There are other considerations on the amp/guitar chemistry. Since I have little or no interest in recording (I spent 15 years of my life working in studios in Hollywood, first in records at the Sound Factory on Selma and Ivar, then film re-recording mixer at Fox and Group IV), 99% of my focus is on live performance. I was fortunate to find my working guitar, a 1990 Benedetto Cremona with a floating Bartolini P/U. So, the guitar is a given, I am totally content with it.
For several years and I found my tone happy place with a Evans JE112 lined out to FOH. Scott builds a fantastic amp and stands behind his product.
However, life has a way of throwing curve balls. About three years ago I hit a cow while riding my Ducati up in the high country. The 38 lbs Evans was/is a challenge to haul around to some venues, so I bought a Quilter Cub. Did many gigs with it. But it was lacking...something.
Recently I purchased a Koch Jupiter Junior and I'm really, really thrilled with it. It bridges the gap between the Evans and the Quilter. So much so I sold the Cub to a friend that wanted one. I still have the Evans and play out with it at some venues. I like the "hybrid" concept of the Koch and the tubes in the pre-amp and power amp sound really much warmer than the Cub and very, very close to the Evans.
-
What is it about a particular guitar and amp that just work/sound better together?
Sometimes just looking like they go together goes a long way.
-
That is a great looking Super! Originally Posted by pauln
What is it about a particular guitar and amp that just work/sound better together?
Sometimes just looking like they go together goes a long way.
-
Thanks, it looked like the dog's breakfast when I got it. The Tolex that Fender used in the 60s was manufactured by General Tire - a rubber product subject to long term dry rot.
I planned on recovering it but once I had removed the shaggy slouchy stuff, removed the epoxy-like glue, and sanded it down to bare pine, I decided to attempt refinishing it (my first ever refinishing). I figured if I goofed it up I would revert back to the recovering plan.
My goal was to match the wood tone finish to the guitar by mixing two stains; I like how it came out. It's a 1965 with the early very heavy ceramic speakers (felt like each one weighed 15 lbs.) - now has 15 foot three prong cord, death cap mod, filter caps replaced... very fine sounding amp.
-
Is the dry rot sun/heat induced? I've seen some shredded cabs but my '60's Twin has held up great. Originally Posted by pauln
-
It spent its life before I got it in New Mexico, very low humidity. Maybe that? Originally Posted by DawgBone
-
And....it IS a pine cab. WoW
-
Maybe? I've had mine for ten years in TX but I bought it in FL. I usually hose it down with some armor all once a year to get the road dust out of the tolex. I can't seem to even scuff mine let alone tear it. Originally Posted by pauln
-
I place an IR loader pedal in the effects loop of quilter USSB.
Surprisingly - I loved the bass BN15-300X 15" with the tweed amp.
I am going to experiment more with bass amp speaker/cabinets. Pretty cool.Last edited by Braunny46; 09-02-2025 at 08:39 PM.
-
I feel Fender tweed amps (like deluxe 5e3 and champ 5f1), without eq, are easier to dial in with single coil guitars, but you can find good sounds with humbuckers too.
(but you can change a coupling cap value to make it more humbucker friendly).
On amps with eq, I usually dial down the bass knob when I switch from single coil to humbucker guitar.
-
I have two main amplifiers. One is a 5E3 circuit which has the Mission Amps Humbucker I and II mods, which allows one to use the volume control of the unused channel to roll down the bass frequencies. Really helpful. Flip a switch and it's stock 5E3.
The other is a Toob BG+ Metro and a Raw Dawg EG-250, which is a wonderful sounding combination and has been flattering to all of my guitars so far. It has a bit of Twin-ishness to the sound, even without 2 12" speakers.
With each of those I have been able to find a sweet spot with my Teles, Strat, ES-175, GB10, carvetop with floater. Just takes a little knob twiddling.
Reply With Quote
Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
Today, 05:20 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos