maximumpower
Danny, no problem. I love this stuff too but just can't afford it all. I really really wanted an AxeFx but couldn't justify the cost. If I added up everything I have purchased (that I am still currently using), I have spent enough to get an AxeFx :-)
I am still working on trying to get blues tone that I like. It does Texas Blue OK but there is something harsh to me that I can't get rid off unless I really cut the high end but then it sounds muddy.
I will try to get a sample up but I am not a good player and when I spend so much time to get a not so good tone, I don't feel like posting lol
Thanks everyone for the help.
Aww man, don't ever feel like that. Having a better tone will make you a better player. When my tone was bad, so was I. As soon as my tone improved, it made me feel better about the sound I got which inspired me to get better. :)
If you'd rather send me a sample in private, you can do that too. I really want to help you out if possible. That harshness may be something that:
a) shouldn't be there that we can fix
b) may be an easy tweak that you may not know how to fix where me or someone else may know.
Yeah see, that's the problem with guitar stuff. You can't afford stuff, so you buy all these things you can afford while never being happy.....at the end of it all, you spent as much or more than if you would have purchased something monstrous.
A little story for ya real quick...
When I was learning to play guitar, there were a few guys I really looked up to (well, ok, I look up to everyone...I'm pretty short lol) that really were inspiring. I remember seeing one of the guys go to his girlfriend's house. He was like the big guitar star around here. About 10 years older than me. But I was riding my bike and happened to see him. I waited outside in the distance for hours just to tell him how great he was and to ask him how I could get better.
When he came out, I got the same generic answer everyone gave. "You just gotta practice man!" I asked about special guitar stuff or amp mods, pedals...etc....I mean c'mon, the dude wasn't a rock star...he was a local hero. He barely gave me the time of day...and I guess rightfully so since I sort of stalked him that day. But I was excited...what can I say? I was like 12...a little kid just blown away by this guy with his Marshall stack, Gibson Explorer and massive sound. He had the hair and the looks and dressed really cool....he was who I wanted to be.
I was really upset at the answers he gave me. The same with reading all the guitar player mags at that time that didn't tell you about modified amps or pups or hidden pedals that made for these ferocious tones we all heard. It really was disappointing.
I remember working a job in the summer that I absolutely hated. I wanted to buy the best Marshall head money could buy when I was in 8th grade. When I got it, I wanted to throw up. It sounded horrible and I had a Crate that sounded better than that thing. I remember being so bummed, I thought of hanging myself. LOL! Ok, not really...but I was bummed!
This got me deep into tone tweaking and buying gear. I bought so much gear bro, I never had a dime because it always went towards new gear. One day I looked around my basement...and cringed at what I saw. It looked like a music store graveyard of stuff that either sounded good in the music store and sucked when I got it home, or "so and so" in "Guitar World" or some other mag was using this thing. A lot of the stuff was cheap. Some of it was pricey. But when I looked at all this gear....it made me sick. The stuff I could have bought if I would have had the right direction and know-how.
When I was finally super happy with a rig, it was insanely expensive. But it was the best money I ever spent because every time I played, I loved my tone....even if no one else did. Anything pricey that I have purchased has just about always worked for me. Don't get me wrong, some cheaper stuff can be awesome. But you usually get what you pay for with the pricier stuff. I've done the research and just did what anyone else would do....saved my money a little at a time and got it when the time was right. Looking back, I'm sorry I didn't do that more often. I spent so much on so little....if you know what I mean.
I'm not trying to talk you or anyone else into an Axe FX for God sakes...but my point is, *something* with a little weight can really pull you out of the frustration zone. It may be a red kidney bean guitar POD....or that pedal that dude used. Did you check out that tone? I know it's real metal sounding...but man, I've heard mic'd amps that couldn't stand up to that little thing.
At any rate.....blues tones are sometimes difficult tones to hone in on. Partly because that break-up you need needs to have some sort of secret sauce going on. As soon as it gets too driven or harsh, it gets synthetic and you lose the blues vibe. So if you get time....try to shoot me over something via email if you want. Or message me on here. If I can at least find out where the harshness is coming from or what area and instruct you on how to correct it, that puts you where you need to be. :) Just remember man....I don't sit here and listen to people and say to myself "he's not very good.....he should hang it up, I'm better than him". I don't think anyone on here is like that other than pistol pete. We're here to help bro....at the end of the day, we're all stuck in this big world together. Might as well make the best of it. :)
-Danny