The recent TPS episode on clean amps

TimmyO

I really liked it - I think if I were playing out (haven't done for years) these days I'd be touting a loud clean amp as the base sound, which I've not done in the past.

Some nice playing too. 

breezytele

Enjoyable episode. 

In fact I always check the episode listing, even if I don’t watch the whole prog.
I must have picked up lots of useful info over the years from TPS

crunchman

Their use of an expensive valve preamp pedal to fix the Hot Rod Deluxe when a simple speaker change would do the job for a fraction of the cost does say something about their mindset.

Neilybob

Really enjoyed this episode. Made me turn off my OD pedals for at least 5mins lol

Actually I did realise I haven't heard half of my guitar clean. One to try this week. 

impmann

Hmmm. 

Tbh, the ‘bad’ sound they got from the HRD just sounded like it hadn’t been dialled in correctly. My HRD sounds gorgeous clean - but then, mine has the Celestion speaker (factory fit). Maybe that’s the difference…

Oh and the Marshall clean sounded ok. But not as fabulous as they were making it out… mainly because it was driving!!! 

TimmyO

crunchman said:

Their use of an expensive valve preamp pedal to fix the Hot Rod Deluxe when a simple speaker change would do the job for a fraction of the cost does say something about their mindset.

I think it just says something about it being a pedal focussed show, that’s all 

TimmyO

impmann said:

Hmmm. 

Tbh, the ‘bad’ sound they got from the HRD just sounded like it hadn’t been dialled in correctly. My HRD sounds gorgeous clean - but then, mine has the Celestion speaker (factory fit). Maybe that’s the difference…

Oh and the Marshall clean sounded ok. But not as fabulous as they were making it out… mainly because it was driving!!! 

Yeah there’s a video of theirs (just Mick in it) from about a year ago that’s a much better demonstration of Marshall clean - features a Super Reverb and a Plexi - it’s really good 

Dan_Halen

I think they did a really decent job. They covered a range of clean sounds, different pedals to tweak them to taste, different guitars etc. Not sure what more they could add.

I think cleans are quite hard to demo as are low gain sounds in general. They can all same a bit samey by the time they’re recorded but, playing them and especially through an amp at volume with a band, the difference in experience can be vast.

Like the Hiwatt. I’ve never heard a demo of one that makes it sound even vaguely interesting. If you just wanted that sound on a recording you could achieve something almost identical from any number of small amps. Get on on a massive stage pushing some serious air though and it makes so much more sense. It’s all about application I guess. 

ESBlonde

I’ve got an early HRD and an original 50w small box plexi, I also use extensive clean sounds and didn’t think they got the best clean sounds before showcasing the pedals to their best effect. But then that was the objective wasn’t it. They also omitted an aural exciter which when allied to a comp will cut through silky smooth.
all in all it was a good video and thought provoking. Clean tone is all too often overlooked and that’s apparent whenever I record in local studios.

jeztone2

crunchman said:

Their use of an expensive valve preamp pedal to fix the Hot Rod Deluxe when a simple speaker change would do the job for a fraction of the cost does say something about their mindset.

Especially when they poo poo’d the Tonemaster. I’d sooner gig a Boss Katana than a HRD. I’d sooner gig a Marshall MG come to think of it. As long as I had a proper cab it’d sound way better. 

soma1975

crunchman said:

Their use of an expensive valve preamp pedal to fix the Hot Rod Deluxe when a simple speaker change would do the job for a fraction of the cost does say something about their mindset.

That was hilarious. 

'Let's use a Hot Rd Deluxe because it is the ubiquitous budget gigging amp'.

'Now let's fix its tone with a £300 tube preamp that has a several month waiting list'. 

TimmyO

soma1975 said:

crunchman said:

Their use of an expensive valve preamp pedal to fix the Hot Rod Deluxe when a simple speaker change would do the job for a fraction of the cost does say something about their mindset.

That was hilarious. 

'Let's use a Hot Rd Deluxe because it is the ubiquitous budget gigging amp'.

'Now let's fix its tone with a £300 tube preamp that has a several month waiting list'. 

It wasn’t though was it - the point being made was “use a different preamp into the return” - they just happened to use that one 

impmann

soma1975 said:

crunchman said:

Their use of an expensive valve preamp pedal to fix the Hot Rod Deluxe when a simple speaker change would do the job for a fraction of the cost does say something about their mindset.

That was hilarious. 

'Let's use a Hot Rd Deluxe because it is the ubiquitous budget gigging amp'.

'Now let's fix its tone with a £300 tube preamp that has a several month waiting list'. 

'And lets not try tweaking the EQ controls on the amp to find a sweeter spot - or at least to show that they do no good in this case... Oh, and lets try an EQ pedal... and you can see that the tweeks needed are so subtle....'


Utter wank.

RocknRollDave

Clean is an area of guitar that gets surprisingly little attention.

I would be interested to know how many of us use genuinely clean settings in a live environment.

i personally don’t. I have that “just breaking up” thing that can be tamed to nearly-clean with a slight turn of the guitar’s vol pot or a lighter right hand. 

It’s rare, in my opinion, to hear a guitar sound on record that’s actually both clean and pleasing to the ear. I found that the “clean” sounds I enjoyed weren’t actually clean at all. All subjective, though, and I am sure plenty of you will disagree with me. 

One thing that grinds my gears is guitar demos - and some of the big hitters are guilty of this - that  offer just a quick “this is the clean sound”, as if it’s a contractual obligation, with no real effort to dial in a good sound - it’s that ice-pick, metallic clean that we all got the first time we cluelessly plugged in an electric guitar - then the remaining 95% of the video is taken up with OD/ distorted/ cranked/ FX-ed sounds.

Greatape

Yep, I play (mostly) with the cleanest sound I can get out of the amp du jour

CaseOfAce

Blimey - there ain't half some cork-sniffery going on in that TPS vid.
The minute the drums and bass kick in at the local club that'll all go straight out the window. 

Cirrus

I agree, the moment the drums and bass kick in I just go home.

bertie

old man alert   - what is TPS ?   :-/

RocknRollDave

bertie said:

old man alert   - what is TPS ?   :-/

That Pedal Show

Youtube channel co-hosted by ex Guitarist mag editor Mick Taylor.

bertie

@RocknRollDave ;   -   cheers  

shady

I thought it was alright. The idea they needed to dial in the HRD better would be covering old ground as they did specific episode on how to get more out of it a few years back. I mean, they have to provide different ways to skin a few cats and I reckon it highlighted potential avenues to go down.