| Yowza! Did you hear that hideous noise? It sounded | | | | too big, you'll likely end up with a harsh sound. Middle |
| like a combination of nails on a chalkboard, a cat in a | | | | The mids can be the most important setting to your |
| dryer, and a baby wailing at the top of his lungs. Do | | | | overall sound. Adjusting these settings can really |
| you have any idea of what made that awful sound? | | | | impact the overall character of your sound. Low |
| As a long-time musician, I think I may have the answer | | | | settings can give you the classic rock-n-roll sound, |
| for you. It's a guitarist fiddling for the first time with his | | | | while higher mids will take you down the honky-tonk, |
| new amp.Before I bought my first amp, I wouldn't have | | | | bluesy path. Play around with the mids to really see |
| thought that a human could produce such a horribly | | | | how much change you can create in your sound with |
| wretched sound. But, now I know better. In the process | | | | the simple twist of a knob!Bass |
| of finding the perfect settings for your guitar and amp, | | | | If you like that deep, booming sound, you'll definitely |
| you are sure to discover all kinds of disagreeable | | | | want to go fat on your bass. On smaller amps, |
| screeches and squeals, shrieks and screams. And, | | | | however, you might not be able to get the full effect |
| believe it or not, these unpleasant and often | | | | of the bass simply because of their size. But, no |
| other-worldly sounds are all part of the learning | | | | matter how you like it, be sure to see how the bass |
| experience.I've often been asked to give beginners | | | | and treble can work with one another to create your |
| online advice on how to dial in their amps and guitar | | | | ideal sound.EQ / Filter / Tone/ Contour |
| settings. For a number of reasons, this is no easy task. | | | | They're called by different names on various amps, |
| As you know, the experience of sound is totally | | | | but they all do the basically the same thing: adjust all of |
| subjective. What I may like, you may not. This said, it's | | | | your basic settings (e.g., treble, mids, and bass) with |
| hard to give definitive advice about guitar and amp | | | | one knob. If you want to find out what the maker of |
| settings.So much is involved in getting the sound just | | | | your amp considers "correct" settings, play with these |
| right for your tastes-including the room you're playing in, | | | | knobs to hear how your treble, mids, and bass all can |
| the gauge of your strings, the guitar you're jamming on, | | | | work together for radically differing results.If you've got |
| and the type of amp itself. All of these come together | | | | a valve (tube) amp, be sure to:always replace the |
| to create a playground for experimentation: a place | | | | whole set when even just one tube blowsnever move |
| where you can twist this knob here and turn that knob | | | | your amp while it's still hotbe extra careful that you line |
| there and, before you know it, you're a musical stylist, | | | | up he pins in each tube perfectly with their |
| an expert in designing the perfect sound.I can, | | | | corresponding holes on the ampTo make sure you |
| however, offer a few general tips that might help out | | | | keep your amp in top condition, be sure to:keep your |
| as you begin playing with your amp.Always start with | | | | amp in a dry locationalways use the best quality leads |
| your dials pointing to 12 o'clock and twist and turn from | | | | (guitar, speaker, microphone, and effects)always have |
| there. 12 o'clock will give you the baseline to work from | | | | your amp serviced by a capable technicianIn the end, |
| and you can let your ears tell you what does and | | | | you have to know this one rule of amps: there is no |
| doesn't work from there.No matter how many other | | | | right or wrong way to set it up. If you like what you |
| bells and whistles your amp has, you're almost always | | | | hear, you've done a great job. If you don't like what |
| looking at a four basic areas you'll be most interested | | | | you hear, remember the settings and the sound and |
| in learning how to manipulate:Treble | | | | don't dial those in again. Experiment, experiment, |
| Adjusting this setting will affect the amount of high | | | | experiment and have fun!Jon Butt is the publisher of |
| end in your sound. If you go big with treble, you'll end up | | | | Musical Instruments Guide , a free resource dedicated |
| with a very sharp and crisp sound. However, if you go | | | | to all things musical. |