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Re: distortion, overdrive,fuzz,crunch,special sauce, secret goo
with this conversation it occurs to me ive been playing acoustic only, i
dont know what happened...though once a week i pickup my electric, plug it
in distort the shit out of it and play a mean chord.Then i turn off my amp
hang the guitar on the wall and go to sleep.It must be cold turkey...
www.myspace.com/luisangulocom
--- On Fri, 12/19/08, Krispen Hartung <info@krispenhartung.com> wrote:
> From: Krispen Hartung <info@krispenhartung.com>
> Subject: Re: distortion, overdrive,fuzz,crunch,special sauce, secret goo
> To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
> Date: Friday, December 19, 2008, 1:00 PM
> Great post,Bill.
>
> I can't say for certain, but the tilting point for me
> choosing to use and play with less distortion, was after I
> got into more genres (jazz, country, bluegrass, worldbeat,
> etc) that used more clean tones, and it occurred to me that
> distortion or high gain can easily be used as a articulation
> crutch. It did not take me long to realize that, given any
> prior, rippin' solo I had done using high gain and
> distortion, during my fusion/hard rock/progressive rock
> days, if I had tried to articulate the same or similar solo
> using a clean tone, it sounded like crap, sloppy, etc. I
> realized how much I was relying gain to play fast and still
> sound good. And I have tested this with
> guitarists...someone will play a really fast and impressive
> solo, and then I ask them to turn to the clean channel, and
> the result is, most of the time, not good. With high gain,
> you have this amazing compression and sensitivity of the
> strings that allows you to play very fast and
> fluid...mistakes in articulation are sort of
> "smoothed" over so that they aren't apparent.
> In fact, I recall not even having to use a pick. With that
> much gain, you can basically finger the runs, using hammer
> ons and pull offs, and it still doesn't sound have bad.
>
>
> Now, I am only speaking for myself here and not saying that
> anyone who uses a lot of gain is using it as a crutch. That
> would be an unfair assumption. I am not trying to start a
> flame war here to slam those guitarists who like to use a
> lot o again. But I am stating what I think is a fact about
> what high gain allows you to do on the guitar because of the
> compression, overtones, sensitivity, etc, vs. if you were
> playing clean. And for me, it started to feel like cheating
> and forced me to start practicing the guitar clean, to see
> what I was really capable of in terms of my articulation and
> control of the instrument. The guitarists that really gain
> (no pun intended) my respect are those who can go back and
> forth and still main their articulation - Nels, for
> instance, but also many others, like Metheny, Fripp,
> Mclaughlin, Beck, and many others. That is why I promote
> students to start with the acoustic guitar and gain a level
> of mastery on it before moving to the electric and a lot of
> distortion. In fact, my father never let me buy an electric
> guitar and amp, until I had taken a few years of classical
> guitar lessons and proved that I could play a handful of
> songs with just the acoustic guitar, with no aid of
> technology. I suspect that has molded my outlook on this a
> bit. It was as if I heard to earn the right to play an
> electric guitar and take advantage of all that technology,
> effects, etc.
>
> Kris
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> "The massive distortion gets on my nerves after a
> while"
>
> I agree Krispen, I find that the distortion tone is often
> times the make or break point for me, of whether an artist
> really speaks to me, or not. Using distortion for many
> guitarists represents their lead voice, and in a way
> it's analogues to what a sax player develops, when
> choosing an instrument, thickness of reeds, and embouchure.
> Nels Kline has a great sense of effects application, and at
> the same time his heavy distortion sounds can get pretty
> abrasive to my ears. Which I'm sure is the point. As
> they say one man's pudding is another man's poison.
> Give me a Scott Henderson, David Gilmour, Carlos Santana or
> Jeff Beck any day of the week as their tones are always
> stellar. I think the danger with heavy distortion is that it
> can obscure a players personality and rob them of dynamic
> range, not to mention making for a muddy sometimes
> indistinct tone. I also realize that when you are trying to
> create sonic mayhem, distortion and fuzz can be your best
> friends.
>
> [snip]
>
>
>
> Bill
>
>
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> From: Krispen Hartung [mailto:info@krispenhartung.com]
> Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2008 4:37 PM
> To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
> Subject: Re: One Guitarist, One Drummer was: Altered
> Tunings
>
>
>
> Heh heh...yes. Sorry. John Morris is someone I work with.
> That was a habit based typo. :) I meant Joe. Damn, good
> catch! No one else got that?
>
>
>
> Kris
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