The Parlour tone trolls are doing the tone patrol again for this month’s blog.
OK! We know how to adjust our amp. We found a great guitar that sounds awesome and responsive at any volume through the amp. We have quality lead and patch chords, and our pedals don’t suck away our tone. We have even gotten rid of the plastic bread tags, dig a little deeper in the old pockets, and bought some real guitar picks. String gauge feels great.
We plug in, turn up, and… still sound like ourselves. Not Kirk Hammett, Kerry King, Dimebag, SRV, Danny Gatton. We still sound like ourselves.
This the point that separates the men from the boys. Accept and trust your own sound. Be the best you can be.
S’later Travis
If your playing at a big show or festival, and your amp is mic’ed over a large p.a., chances are your amp wont be heard by the crowd exept through the p.a. Angle it back and face it toward you. Its a great idea if you use small amps like I do. Not so good if your playing through a stack!
Angling your amp back behind you is also great. In a small to medium sized club, the audience doesn’t get clobbered with hi-end from your amp. Its good to keep your amp from being pointed straight at the audience or the sound man. Aim it at you and all is well. Watch the volume. Hearing loss SUCKS!
S’LATER
Travis
One of the joys in the Computer Department is building new systems from scratch. Alot of you will agree that there’s no greater feeling than putting a super computer together and seeing it power up for the first time. No beeps? No error codes? Time to install your OS. Now you can sit back and watch as your newly built superbeast installs the OS in record time. After building a few of these over the last little while, we thought we would offer that service to you. Looking for a custom built pc? Come talk to me at The Parlour on Mountain Road. There’s lots of ways we can deal. Either in trades or even in layaways, we can make it happen. Have a Great Day.
Green Day Rockband
“It’s Green Day: Rock Band.” If all of those words together appeal to you, this is your game. What is worth noting is that Green Day: Rock Band is more akin to The Beatles: Rock Band than it is to Rock Band 2. This is a game about the alt-punk trio’s career, a loosely chronological journey through their best known songs. It’s set in three venues over about 15 years, and lets you play as Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tre Cool. The presentation is very similar to the Beatles version, as is the career mode. You earn photos and videos of the band as rewards for doing well on the songs.
If you like Green Day and Rock Band, go get this. If you’re getting bored of playing fake instruments or you’re just not a fan of the group, then don’t expect to be won over. It’s not as polished or as lovingly handcrafted at the Beatles: Rock Band, but a lot of the songs are way more fun to play. Now, if only there were more of them.
With the weekend around the corner, I’m in a dilemma of what to do. If the weather holds out and it isn’t too windy, I’ll be taking the rc planes to the Magnetic Hill Concert Site for some fast jet flying. Unfortunately, the Maritimes have a way of changing from sun to rain in as little time as an hour , so, if said rain were to fall, the planes will stay grounded and the PC will be fired up for some close combat in Bad Company 2 or the ancient Desert Combat. Sounds like a no lose weekend. Except, no matter what, I have to fix the car…….rain or shine. See ya next time.
Getting an over-driven tone.
You will first want to find the high gain channel on your amp. Or, if you only have one channel… TURN THAT SUCKER UP!!!
The degree of overdrive you want is a personal thing. Turning up the mids (mid range) helps the amp to overdrive any brittleness that maybe cased by turning the amp up and cranking the mids can be smoother out by rolling off some highs on the guitar controls. Remember we are using the amp and guitar as one unit. Team work here.
Bass controls on amps are used to compensate for when an amp is turned down. When cranking an amp, turn the bass down, or your tone will mush out. Adjust treble control to taste.
S’later, Travis
Getting a clean sound.
Hi from the Parlour,
Before fussing with the control knobs, lets pick a channel. If your amp only has one channel… it’s a no-brainer! If your amp has more than one pick the quietest one ( lowest gain). Turn the amp up until it distorts, then back it off until it just cleans up nicely. Now we can twiddle with knobs.
Gain (overdrive) is dependant on tone controls also. Most amps have controls that substact. Turn the treble down and the treble goes lower. You can achieve a cleaner sound by scooping mids , as well as turning your guitar’s volume down, and the amp up. Especially if you have hi gain pickups. Thanks from The Parlour.
S’later
Travis.
Welcome to our weekly Parlour blog. This week we are going to work on “working on” our tube amp etiquette. Or, how to play our tube amp. After 26 years of playing electric guitar, I have concluded that the amp and guitar are “one” instrument. We have to know how to work our amps as well as have facility playing our instrument.
Over the next few weeks we will take a break from the details of tubes, and get to know how to put them to work.
Such as ;
1.) Getting a clean sound
2.) Getting an over-driven sound
3.) Amplifier placement
4.) Tone control
5.) Trustin your tone
Thanks from everyone here at the Parlour. S’later
We are done with the subject of 6V6’s here at the Parlour. The 6V6 is the little brother of the 6L6, and is growing more and more popular among amp builders who want great tone at lower volumes. Single coil, hum-bucking, or P-90 pickups all sound great through an amp powered by these awesome tubes. Enjoy them!
in the next week’s we will look at what a vacuum tube actually is, how it works, and why transistors still cant touch them. All here at The Parlour.
’til next time, Travis
Red Dead Redemption
America, early 1900’s. The era of the cowboy is coming to an end.
When federal agents threaten his family, former outlaw John Marston is sent across the American frontier to help bring the rule of law. Experience intense gun battles, dramatic train robberies, bounty hunting and duels during a time of violent change.
Red Dead Redemption is an epic battle for survival in a beautiful open world as John Marston struggles to bury his blood-stained past, one man at a time.
Developed by Rockstar San Diego, Red Dead Redemption is now available for PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360®
Review from IGN
Red Dead Redemption is a must-play game. Rockstar has taken the Western to new heights and created one of the deepest, most fun, and most gorgeous games around. You can expect the occasional bug or visual hiccup, but you can also expect a fantastic game that offers the Western experience we’ve all been waiting for. Red Dead Redemption is a complete game in every sense — both the single player and multiplayer modes are excellent — and still manages to offer an attention to detail you rarely see from a game of this scope.
1299 Mountain Rd. Moncton NB E1C 2T9 506.384.0853
GET DIRECTIONS