Your Tone, Your approach on creating a tone Options

[Crazy_Diamond]

Hello Ivan,

I was browsing in your lesson and I was really amazed by the tone you get in all your lesson. I specially notice that you nailed the tone for all the RHCP lessons.

My question is how do you approach creting your tone. Since all your tone are pretty similar to the original one I would like you to explain me the procedure you follow to create your sound.

I am currently using a Fender American Standard Stratocaster (with stock pickups) throught a Line6 GuitarPort device. I can create pretty decent sound but not close to yours. I have followed your bonus lesson on the RCHP tone but I couldn't figure how did you approach to find this. I have red on the Internet that playing with the guitar volume and tone knob was really important but I don't really understand why (usually I leave everything on 10).

What I do usually to find a decent tone, is browsing trought a guiatrist equipment and match it with the gear included in Pod Farm (or Gearbox). But I don't know there is something messing.

And yes I know, a big part of the sound come from my finger.

Thanks

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[Ivan Milenkovic]

I use several different modeling software to get the tone that I want, and usually the thing that enables me to dial in the tone that I feel is nice for the lesson requires 2 things two know:

- knowing how the real gear sounds like
- knowing how the software modeling sounds like

So for example if I want to achieve similar tone of Frusciante's I start by analyzing the original tone that he has in the song, in various other songs, and I've played JMP's and JCM800's live so I know how they sound and what I need to dial in to make it look like that. It's all about those subtle nuances and the way the amp responds to playing, not that much about tone color (you can EQ the tone easily).
Then I start tweaking around Marshall modelings cause this is what he normally uses, and also Fender Bassman modelings (cause first JTM's were based on Bassman circuit). Then I try to add various other things, like Tubescreamer modeling, DS1 modelling, various compressors, booster combinations until I find the tone I like. I spend a lot of time in search for a good guitar tone, probably around 2-3 hours of constant tweaking.
I usually make a simple monitoring preset, record dry in DAW, and then I reamp the sound through various plugins: GR3, Amplitube Fender, Vintage Amp Room, TSS plugin, SimulAnalog stomp modelings, PSP Vintage Warmer compressor, AMT MultiMax, AMT MaxWarm etc.. The tone is very important to me, I spend a lot of time experimenting with plugs to find something good, and then save it. For example you have to learn how every software modeler shapes the tone and reacts to your playing, and here are some hints:

Gearbox: decent modeling, lacks low end, buzzy distortion, decent Marshall (without low end), and GREAT Bassman modeling (Tweed), goes along good with tubescreamer as booster.

GR3: great features, lots of low end, has strange octave-like overtones in some presets that are terrible, modeling is flat, needs to be amplified quite a bit, "Matching Cab" modeling is failry decent, lot better than separate cab component. Great for fusion-type sounds, with some chorus, and delay, fairly decent analog delay modeling, very good Vox modeling, Marshall is good as well, but a bit flat and compressed, Hiwatt modeling is spot on, but needs to be played loud.

Amplitube Fender: Best modeling I've heard regarding Fender amps, but it has only Fender amps. If you need Fender amp emulation - this is the one and only thing that does the job. It has great dynamics, fairly decent crunch and very good fender-like overdrive. You can tweak it too sound a bit like early Marshalls, but that's about it. You need third party plugs tho

TSS: Tubescreamer modeling plugin, best there is, it is free, and works really well

SimulAnalog SD1 and DS1 pluging: emulates SD1 and DS1 very good, SD1 is excellent, works just like the pedal



This is about it, I generally advise you to really put some time and effort in learning how the plugs react to your playing and take time to test the real gear in stores/studios. This means a lot later when you sit down and try to make it sound like a real thing.

let me know if you need anything else mate.

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[Crazy_Diamond]

Wow man ...

I thought you were only using GuitarRig and Gearbox...

Now I understand why you get such tone.

Thanks for the reply by the way...

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[Ivan Milenkovic]

No problem mate. I was using the Gearbox for many of my first lessons, probably 40 first lessons were Gearbox - driven only, and you can achieve a lot with it, so the main thing that counts is practice. Just practice the tone shaping options you have and you will become better and better.

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