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What do they mean when they say "chewy?"

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It can't be a reference to Star Wanks, because then they'd have spelt it 'Chewie' - what the hell do people mean when they say an amp is 'chewy' ????

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Comments

  • I think it means it's somewhat forgiving, doesn't it?  ;)
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  • I think it means it's somewhat forgiving, doesn't it?  ;)
    I don't know. I don't think we truly got to the bottom of that one either.

    Bye!

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  • CirrusCirrus Frets: 8481
    It's not one I use myself because it curdles my blood, but...

    I take it to mean something dynamic, like a single coil, into something that's enough on the edge of breakup that the dynamic range of the guitar is expressed in variable amounts of overdrive rather than absolute volume changes - so if you dig in the note's not louder, but it's meaner sounding and then cleans up which gives a tonal shift...

    ... while at the same time having a hole in the mids somewhere, so that it's got a notched or vowely character to the tone rather than being roaring, snarly, or particularly in your face. 
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  • I've wondered about that one as well.
    Presumably it's the opposite of crunchy ;)
    So @Cirrus you reckon "chewy" is essentially "compressed"?
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  • I thought it was a thick, full sound.

    Meaty  :)
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  • CirrusCirrus Frets: 8481
    I've wondered about that one as well.
    Presumably it's the opposite of crunchy ;)
    So @Cirrus you reckon "chewy" is essentially "compressed"?
    Not just compressed - I don't think a middy PAF-loaded Les Paul is particularly chewy because the pickups themselves are compressed and have that big forward midrange so you don't get that same bite when you properly dig in for emphasis like you do with something more dynamic.

    I might be totally wrong anyway, it's just what I've taken it to mean
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  • To me, 'chewyness' always seems to go in hand with Sag.  If the amp has a lot of Sag and the power supply voltage is dropping which can soften the initial transients of the note and make the amp feel a bit softer and easier to dig into - hence the chewyness.  Conversely, a pristine amp without much Sag can feel a little stiff and the initial transients pop a bit more.  I'm sure there is a much more technical explanation but its just what I've always thought.
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  • Cirrus said:

    I might be totally wrong anyway, it's just what I've taken it to mean
    There's no wrong answer - I have no idea what a "chewy" sound is, so I'm interested in how people describe it.  Actually I suppose what you're describing is more to do with the _feel_ of an amp+guitar combo rather than directly to do with the sound itself.
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  • the amp feel a bit softer and easier to dig into - hence the chewyness..
    That makes sense - "chewy" fits with "soft and easy to dig into" (and your description is pretty similar to what cirrus was saying)
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  • Yes I always think 'chewiness' as a feel thing rather than a tone thing.  However it does seem to be one of these interchangeable terms a bit like 'creamy' but to me creamy is a tone thing and not a feel thing if that makes sense.  I completely agree they are pointless descriptions however.
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  • monquixotemonquixote Frets: 17485
    tFB Trader
    Even when I may not like the terms I have a vague idea what people mean when they say, unforgiving, transparent, bloom, etc, but I have no concept of "Chewy" at all. 
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  • To me, 'chewyness' always seems to go in hand with Sag.  If the amp has a lot of Sag and the power supply voltage is dropping which can soften the initial transients of the note and make the amp feel a bit softer and easier to dig into - hence the chewyness.  Conversely, a pristine amp without much Sag can feel a little stiff and the initial transients pop a bit more.  I'm sure there is a much more technical explanation but its just what I've always thought.

    That makes sense. 

    These words are rarely used on their own so probably depends on context too.
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  • Unless you have synthesia, using words which don't apply to sound is just pissing in the wind. A couple of gigs ago, our singer asked me for a more "slippery" sound on one song. Turns out she wanted some chorus added. I have no clue what "chewy" would mean, but to me it would be nothing to do with an amp sound, but something like a phaser or slow rotary.


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  • I can see the point of having descriptions for sounds (or amp feel) because these things are hard to describe.

    But on the other hand, it is only useful if everybody uses the same word to describe the same thing :)
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  •  
    I have no clue what "chewy" would mean, but to me it would be nothing to do with an amp sound, but something like a phaser or slow rotary.

    I would take it to be something like a lo-fi modulation sound.
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  • gordijigordiji Frets: 782

    Presumably it's the opposite of crunchy ;)
    lol awarded 
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  • chewy phasers and univibes - I think of as the tone changing like if you tried to say something whilst eating toffee.

    for an amp having a chewie sound might to be to do with it's compression.
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  • poopotpoopot Frets: 9098
    same as forgiving/unforgiving… mostly words used by folk with hearing deficiencies, don’t really know what they’re talking about and just spout bollocks instead…
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  • GrunfeldGrunfeld Frets: 4028
    chewy phasers and univibes - I think of as the tone changing like if you tried to say something whilst eating toffee.

    for an amp having a chewie sound might to be to do with it's compression.
    Agree with this. 
    Chewy univibes and phasers; definitely.
    Flangers and choruses; not so much.
    Amps?  I can't sense how it fits.


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  • Blackmore's Burn solo sound is my definition of chewy. Cleanish but overdriven. I may have the wrong end of the stick though. 


    "A city star won’t shine too far"


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