Ed Cherry’s guitar amp “re-set advice”

[Navdeep_Singh]

From Ed Cherry, an excellent reminder about the sheer joy of playing and how it can be enhanced by the sheer simplicity of a clear, transparent guitar uncluttered, unmediated tone:

“To my guitar buddies out there..
Plug straight into your amp,no reverb,etc..what a beautiful tone...if you have a nice vintage tube amp with good speakers.( or any good quality amp with good speakers ,or 'speaker')For me it's been so long without the straight tone,I forgot how beautiful that sound can be..”

[AllanAllen]

That’s all I ever do. Ain’t I special.

[sgosnell]

I own 4 pedals. A Boss GE-7 that was thrown in with the purchase of my vibrolux, a Joyo American Sound, a Nocturne JR Barnyard, and a TC HOF Mini reverb. Now and then I remember that I have them, and pull one or more out to try. I soon put them back in storage. The reverb pedal can be useful with some amps, but I seldom use those amps. Futzing with pedals is more trouble than it's worth to me. It's entirely possible that I'm just not advanced enough to appreciate pedals, but I am what I am.

[ccroft]

It's OK to enjoy both. I used a lot of pedals in the past. I built up a new board some 5 years ago, but I never use it. I love a good arch top going direct.

The 'need for pedals' seems to say there's something wrong with the sound of a naked guitar. I actually really like that. I don't think it needs any 'help'.

Other instruments don't seem to have the same thing. Imagine if you played a Steinway, just didn't like the sound and decided to stuff the sound holes with toilet paper rolls, or something. Or how 'bout "I can't gig with this thing tonight. Time for a string change!"

[BreckerFan]

I've spent all my gear money on quality guitars and quality amps. Don't feel the need for pedals as a result.

I saw Rosenwinkel and Bernstein at the Vanguard back in the summer and it was funny because they're like the complete opposite ends of the jazz tone spectrum. I've seen Rosenwinkel play archtops, semi hollows, and various solid bodies including Les Pauls and SGs. He always sounded the same because the guitar functions more as a controller for the effects to produce the tone. Bernstein plays one guitar and with his setup you really hear the character of the guitar come through (which is AMAZING, one of the best sounding guitars I've ever heard).

Both cool sounds, but I like the simplicity of guitar straight into the amp. I know generally what my sound is going to be even when I'm plugging in to bad house amps.

[zephyrregent]

I'm 73 and have never used a pedal but just ordered a Junior Barnyard. I am just trying to capture a certain tone on 50's solo guitar recordings, no distortion. It seems the consensus here and on Google AI generated answers is that it will produce an octal tube sound from a Henriksen (JazzAmp12 and Blu 6).

[floatingpickup]

I respect Ed Cherry’s opinion (and his playing) but I have never been satisfied playing through an amp without Reverb. I don’t use any pedals, but all of my current amps have on-board Reverb.
Keith

[rpjazzguitar]

I heard Ed Cherry at Smalls, sitting in front close enough to reach out and touch the guitar (which I didn't). He sounded great. I was especially impressed with his comping. Great chord sequences and impeccable time. Guitar tone supported all of that. I don't recall thinking it was dry at all.

I mostly play a semi and I find that I need to process the tone to get comfortable. For big band, I add some reverb, but not to the extent that the audience leaves to go surfing. I also add some harmonizer on zero, which sounds like a bit of chorusing. It shouldn't be necessary and maybe it shouldn't work (because it can add some distortion if you play too hard), but I prefer the thicker sound. I have another setting on my pedalboard that adds even more -- and I use the wetter sound for some solos. No complaints even on the older fashioned charts.

I have the impression that the dryer sound works better on archtops, which aren't as dry to begin with. In fact, my all time favorite comping sounds were from archtops, probably with a bit of reverb and nothing else.

[andrew]

When I'm playing jazz, I use one pedal max: Electro-Harmonix Hum Debugger. (Single coils and a town full of old, dirty power wiring aren't the friendliest combo). A pinch of Reverb (built into the amp).

In other styles of music, I'm not above a small pedalboard (3-4 pedals max). But they all have to be pretty simple, no complicated submenus. Reverb, tremolo, slap back for country, wah-wah for Motown.

[Jx30510]

I'd suggest just one pedal, the Benson Preamp.
Well... It's not really a pedal, it's like having a second amp under your foot. But it's still a pedal

I love good effects to sculpt my sound (delay, univibe, reverb..) but I 'm not really a jazz player. My biggest influences are David Gilmour and Wes Montgomery. Hendrix and John Scofield. Django Reinhardt and Jimmy Page.
So YMMV

[Litterick]

Most of my playing goes straight into the amp.

Every six weeks, I borrow one or two pedals from the Music and Electronics Library in Auckland. I use them sparingly. My favourite pedal is a home-made flanger.

[brent.h]

I can't remember who said this to me when I was 16 (probably the guitar store owner): "Kid, you should play good before getting a pedal."

I'm 40 now, and still don't think I play good, and that I'm not qualified enough to own one.

A few years back, I attended audio school. Bought a Macbook, an SSL audio interface, a 57... Really starter kit stuff for music production. I got really curious about pedals because I was in an environment that was really encouraging with the use of gear and stuff. So I went ahead and got a Zoom G5N. Used it a couple of times for assignments... and that was it. It's still sitting in the case today.

I don't use the pedal while playing because I don't feel talented enough to handle it. And as result, I got pretty used to listening to my raw guitar sound coming out my Roland JC 22 or listening to the DI on headphones (was pretty brutal and unforgiving when I first started doing this).

I do mess around with my JC 22's reverb and chorus maybe once every 4 to 5 months. They're nice sounding, but I dunno, I feel like they take something away from my sound instead of enhancing it. I mess around for about 15-20mins then I'm done and I need get back to that 'bone dry' sound which I prefer.

[omphalopsychos]

Remember ed did a lot of records with insane amounts of chorus and delay.

He hasn’t been gigging since his knee surgery afaik but even just before that he was still doing the reverb with some delay.

I agree with everything but I like some reverb. Other than that a great guitar with great pickups needs nothing else.

[lammie200]

I am a straight plug-in guy (with a little reverb) although I occasionally try pedals. I always play with 2 amps, so I need to split the signal somehow. Right now I have a TC Electronics Stereo Chorus + Flanger thingy going on to do that. The actual effects settings (very little gain) that I use barely affect the sound. Now that said, I am fighting going down the rabbit hole of thinking about some kind of distortion pedal for more aggressive stuff. I am still putting that off, fortunately. But I have tried it a few times. The desire hasn’t stuck yet.

[AKA]

Take all proclamations with a grain of salt. Just a grain. Some may say a pinch. No. Never more than a grain.

AKA

[2bornot2bop]

Agreed. Zero pedals. No reverb.

[213Cobra]

Sometimes, one input, one knob is all you need. 1990s Big Industries Ronnie Montrose amp. 9V, clean to about 11:30 on the knob; dirt after that. -Phil

[TF]

I like chorus. My cheap Fender Champion 50XL amp (recommend) has it built-in, and you can dial in just a subliminal amount if you want it.

[jim777]

I ALWAYS have a tuner in my chain. I honestly don't think I have ever been 100% happy with any of the 100+ guitars that have come and gone over the years in regards to tuning. I generally settle for 'pretty close' but I think it must be a mental issue on my part . So yeah, guitar -> tuner -> Boogie most of the time for solidbodies.

[MiniMerckx.22]

I don't really think of reverb as an effect as it basically just creates (at fairly low settings) in a small room what naturally happens in a larger room. I am not at all a big fan of pedals but I have two clean boosts that friends gave me that work quite well, again at very low settings for adding warmth to a SS amp. I believe in general that the cleaner the amp, the worse "effects" sound. I would stab my mother if she used delay with a clean amp.

[stevo58]

I just sold off all my pedals, none of which I’ve used in at least ten years. I kept a Strymon Flint (because it has Fender Harmonic Vibrato, the best of all possible tremolos), a Sarno Earth Drive, and a Lehle volume pedal (sometimes I play pedal steel - badly). I still won’t use them, but I figure I can hang on to that many. Sold the pedal boards, too. Somehow I had accumulated four of them.

My ES-125 straight into my tweed Pro sounds best to me.

[jads57]

It’s all valid when trying to find your own voice and signature. Especially since there are so many variables.
But I get the case that playing naked without anything is very humbling and telling about one’s own abilities.

I guess that for me would be in a smaller duo trio type setting.
Some of the earlier Gibson Amps GA40 with a 2 speakers 12”& 8” would be by favorite for that. Im sure some boutique amps are also like that as well nowadays.

[lammie200]

...But I get the case that playing naked without anything is very humbling and telling about one’s own abilities...

I used to think that effects would mask my discrepancies as a player. But, for me, effects just force me to adapt my abilities to using them to my satisfaction. That can be challenging in and of itself. In other words, there is good (and bad) in everything. That said, I am not very fond of things like arpeggiator effects if they take over to the point where I would be playing practically nothing and filling a room full of noise. That's a thing. And with all that said, I still use effects very sparingly if at all.

[SierraTango]

I was blessed to meet Joe Pass at Group IV Studios in Hollywood where I was on staff as a post-production mixer. This was late 1980's. He walked in with a 175 in a gigbag over his shoulder, and carried a Polytone. One patch cord. Angel Ballister, the mixer on Joe's sessions didn't add anything other than some plate reverb to the mix from the Trident desk to the Studer tape machine.

Guess I was impressed enough to give up stompboxes after that. Also, if I'm gonna plug my Bob built 1990 Benedetto Cremona into a amp, I don't want to go through a lot of signal processing to hear it. So maybe a touch of reverb on the amp and a patch cord works best for me.

I do respect players that have mastered all the devices though.

[Spook410]

It's a thing in all forums on all topics: 'Look what a purist I am..'.

Meh. Guess I like futzing about with gear more than most.

I really enjoy playing unplugged and am fortunate to own several guitars, flat top and archtop, well suited to that.

Also enjoy plugging into a combo amp though I won't buy any more tube amps. Too heavy. Too hard to maintain. My '81 Fender Concert weighs 80 pounds and stays in the garage because it isn't worth moving it.

Then there is the rapidly evolving world of amp tech. Modelers. Speaker IR's. Reverbs. Delays. Loopers. All leveraging ever increasing processing speed and capacity. Fun stuff and quite practical. And it keeps getting cheaper and better. Doesn't mean you have to go ambient. Easy to get a clear, clean tone making the most of a good guitar. Then, when in the mood, you can head down the rabbit hole to try new sounds.

Be a purist all you want. Define what that means however you want. Music is such a personal experience. However, being a purist is not the path for me. Gear is an entertaining part of the hobby and I'm going to take full advantage.