I
think as gearheads, there’s one thing we can agree on: Gear rules, and the
more, the better. Being surrounded by gear is awesome, and many guitarists
would likely love to have enough pedals to make a “pedal angel” on the
floors of their practice rooms. The same goes for amps: having 10 amps in
the basement or rehearsal space is the best thing ever. Players everywhere wish
they could fill their spare bedrooms with classic amps and cherry-pick the finest
for any given playing situation. There aren’t many guitarists out there that don’t
dream of this exact scenario: a robust stable of gear with which to play music
until their graying days, and even beyond.
Of course, this is a tainted utopia. Time, spacial—and most of all, monetary—
constraints severely limit the arsenal of equipment we can acquire and reasonably
use. Unless a player happens to be Alex Lifeson, they can count on not having
the luxury of using a different guitar for each song. And as far as practicality is
concerned, a new guitar for each song is even more practical than a different
amp for each song—that’s just being silly.
Faced with this, there’s a good chance that most guitarists have one or two
amps, a handful of guitars and pedals. What follows is a guide on how to make
a bland amp sound like a classic with just a couple pedals.
THE WILDCARD:
THE EQUALIZER, PREFERABLY PARAMETRIC
Let’s face it, if a player owns a really mid-heavy or otherwise tonally cemented
amp, one that has a recognized sound such as a Vox, there’s no way around
using an EQ to shape the sound, and running it first in the chain. My colleague
Jamie has wrote a full article about parametric EQs. In it, he talks about the ins
and outs, so to speak, of parametric usage. I’m not going to get into the details
about how to use them, but they are a vital tool for pre-shaping your sound
before these pedals, in case the amp is lacking in some way or another.
ToneReport.com
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