The Gain + Reverb dilemma

eclecticsynergy said:
Some major players use a single delay (fairly short & quiet) as an always-on for live work. It works well and becomes invisible in a band mix, adding richness without being audible in itself except after a sudden stop, or when the guitar is on its own. Kind of like the secret ingredient in a recipe which, while not directly recognizable, still adds something.
A viable & useful trick - especially for one-guitar bands. But they don't record that way.
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I have been using my Carbon Copy by MXR this way. It's set for almost no repeat and barely noticeable when picking, but letting off or stopping a note quickly reveals a slight “tail” as the note dies.

I also have a TC Hall Of Fame reverb with the tone print function. J.D. Simo has a downloadable print named Simoverb that is supposed to diminish the reverb effects when playing with gain on your amp.
If someone here has tried using this print, please let me in on the secret of getting it to work correctly.


Stratstrangler
 
I used to hate an amp's reverb. But in the last few years I'm enjoying using it sparingly. Lately, I've been getting into reverb pedals. But it is tricky to setup reverb on a single channel amp if you want a dimensional clean tone versus a spacious overdriven tone. Some multichannel amps adjust the amps global reverb settings automatically when transitioning from a clean channel to a dirty channel. My Fryette Memphis 30 and Rivera Quiana does that. Lots of Mesa's have individual reverb controls per channel.

Another solution that will not kill your primary tone but let you control or add more ambience is a wet and dry rig.
 
RVA said:
I continue to struggle with how gain sounds with reverb at higher volumes. I find my sound flat without reverb, and delay is no substitute. Howver gain, especially gain from pedals, produces an unpleasing "echo", for lack of a better description.

I have seen this issue written about before. Anyone here struggle with this issue or was able to find a solution?
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I'm with you. I hate the dryness I dealt with running a 2203. I love a wittle reverb and use it regularly.

My DSL40C'S have digital reverb, so no issue there. I'd say maybe you need a less sensitive reverb tank...???
 
So for the last 3 weeks, since I broke my foot, I have not used my pedalboard as I have had to play sitting down, so it's been: '79 LPC > cord > Mk. 5.

Been running the red channel Mk 5 (extreme) mode with the gain at about 9:00 (I know that sounds low but the thing has more gain at 9 than most amps do wound all the way up, and at that setting it's possible to roll back into completely clean with the guitar volume). Anyway, it has served as a nice reminder of just how nice it is sometimes to plug straight into an amp and control everything with the guitar's volume and tones. There's a tactile feedback you don't get with the pedals hooked up, and using the mode with no negative feedback turns the amp into a very harsh critic of any mistakes I make. Good situation for practicing and perfecting, and with nothing in the way you really get the "pure" tone of the guitar.

And I started messing about with the reverb over the last couple of days, which is something I don't typically do. First impression, as always, was that I didn't like it at all, but I kept trying and found a nice balance with the amp on the edge of breakup where the reverb added a nice bit of body. Have to say I would never use it with a band or for recording but in giving it a small bit of second chance I found a few places where it could be nice. I did end up going back to 'verbless after a bit but I'm trying to figure it out after basically swearing off it 25+ years ago.
 
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