Amp settings for different guitars

[Alan Jurgens]

I started playing in January and have been learning a lot. The amp I bought is a Marshal DSL40cr. I have bought a SG Standard 61, Stratocaster American Pro, and a Custom 24-08.

My question is do you personally have different settings for each guitar on the amp, or do you set the amp up to just before breakup, and just use the tone control of each guitar? If you are changing the amp for each guitar I would assume you would do each channel too. In my case there are two channels with crunch also in each.

I am trying to learn as much as I can and am pretty much obsessed at this point.

 

[merciful-evans]

Most use the EQ and gain setting on the amp to what suits them. Then use vol (and maybe tone) to switch from rhythm to lead.
You can also preset your rhythm & lead tones on different channel of the amp and use a footswitch to change between them.

Personally I use a signal processor for my tone & always leave guitar vol and tone on full.

 

[Tahlee]

Alan, you have stumbled upon the best hobby in the world. Stick with it and playing guitar will bring you a lifetime of satisfaction.

You didn’t waste any time gathering some nice guitars!

I set my amp how I like it and then I usually leave it alone. I adjust the tone using the guitar’s tone knob. I have a few different overdrive pedals, and I have those set up to sound great with different guitars so I can kick on the appropriate one that will sound best with what I’m playing.

I have one boost pedal that I always keep on as a foundation, and that is the Xotic EP Booster. It’s based on the old Echoplex unit that Eddie Van Halen and Jimmy Page used.

 

[Alan Jurgens]

Thank you for your reply. Your answers are what I was hoping to hear. I am in the audio industry and Guitar amp setup is a different world than home audio. I've got my amp to a place where it sounds pretty good for my ability now. I am sure it could be better, but I will spend the time practicing/playing rather than chasing that until I improve. I feel like I am getting better every week and this is the first thing I have taken on that I knew little about and there is so much to learn. I've been lucky so far in that I don't have any regrets on the gear that I have bought. Really is awesome and I am all in. Taking lessons every week, reading books, and listening to anyone that cares to share.

 

[Mozzi]

My question is do you personally have different settings for each guitar on the amp, or do you set the amp up to just before breakup, and just use the tone control of each guitar? If you are changing the amp for each guitar I would assume you would do each channel too. In my case there are two channels with crunch also in each.

My favourite position is exactly this, setting the amp up on the point of break up - with the volume of the guitar rolled down a bit - so I can also turn up for full crunch, turn down for full clean and use the natural dynamics (play soft for quiet/hard for crunch). However, as guitars have different outputs, I have to make minor tweaks to the amp if I swap between guitars - sometimes adjusting the EQ too. If I don't adjust the Amp, a Hotter pickup will be full on crunch and a lower output may be too clean so rather than use the volume on the guitar to compensate for different pickup output, I prefer to change the amp so that I still have that same control on the guitar.

I guess you could have an EQ in the loop - maybe one with the option to store different settings - and use that instead of tweaking the amps EQ to suit different guitars - if you find a 'general' amp EQ doesn't suit all your guitars...

As each guitar is different, I think it makes sense to make tweaks to suit each to get the best from them rather than try and find a compromise on your settings that kinda works for all...

 

[Steve's addiction]

I have done what Mozzi suggested. Amp is set to my liking and I use a boss eq 200 with my favorite stored settings depending on the guitar to tweak my tone.

 

[Alan Jurgens]

I have done what Mozzi suggested. Amp is set to my liking and I use a boss eq 200 with my favorite stored settings depending on the guitar to tweak my tone.

That's a good idea. Do you put in front of the amp rather than FX loop?

 

[dmatthews]

There are no rules, except to say that you should listen to your ears.

 

[Ovibos]

That's a good idea. Do you put in front of the amp rather than FX loop?

EQ in front - it'll help you align the levels of your humbucker and single-coil guitars.

EQ in the loop can be used as a clean level boost for solos.

 

[Tahlee]

There are no rules, except to say that you should listen to your ears.

There is one rule about effects loops:
Do not put your wah in the loop, only put it into the front of the amp.

 

[Steve's addiction]

I don't use the effects loop. I play mostly clean so all my pedals are front of amp. EQ is the last pedal in the chain but as the other people said the beginning works too.

 

[merciful-evans]

listen to your ears.

They are always quiet

 

[Mozzi]

That's a good idea. Do you put in front of the amp rather than FX loop?

It doesn't really matter where you put your EQ. The principal is the same - whether its 'first', somewhere in the middle, or at the very end. The only thing to consider though is whether you want to EQ the sound coming out of the guitar before it goes through any effect and Amp, whether you want to EQ the sound after its had some/all effects applied and/or maybe the pre-amp EQ, or at the very end before it goes to the speakers (meaning you could be EQing the reverbs and delays too, rather than adding reverb and delay to an 'EQ'd' sound). It may well be better to set the EQ at the very front of your chain so the 'sound' directly from the guitar is going into your amp without needing to tweak amp EQ, so you know that it will pass through all the pedals in the way you want/expect - but again that's just another option. Bare in mind, if you cut the mid frequencies, you can't then put them back in afterwards with an EQ pedal. For example, if you scoop out the mids completely at the Amp, you can't add them back in with the EQ (that's the same principal wherever in the chain the EQ's are). By being first, its the only pedal you may feel you need to tweak when swapping between guitars and any pedals with tone shaping should respond pretty much as you expect.

As I said, I set my amps up with the volume on the guitar rolled down a bit anyway so I can also 'boost' by rolling the volume up a couple of notches. I do the same with the Tone control too - set up the EQ with the tone just rolled off a bit so I can boost the treble as well as roll it off.

The point is, an EQ is a great way to swap guitars without needing to constantly tweak the amp - at most, maybe just the gain. It means you can have the same amp settings for a very bright Single Coil guitar or a very dark humbucker guitar....

 

[Alan Jurgens]

This is awesome and I never thought of a use for an eq before you guys mentioned the boss with presets and volume. I checked it out and is even better than I thought it would be. I damn near chopped my fingers off making my pedal board with a circular saw a couple weeks ago. I've only got 4 pedals and a power supply and this thing is getting in expensive. Its like death by a thousand cuts. I'd say the ER bill makes my home made board the most expensive that I have seen. Upside is my right hand playing has improved greatly as that's all I've been able to do for the last two weeks.

Thank you for everyone's suggestions it's really helpful!