I'd heard before that some amps were more revealing of bad technique than others, so like the sound and feel of them actually mean you have to play "properly" through them almost like another instrument.
I'd not experienced it though, until my current squeeze, the Mooer Little Monster Bassman, which i bought hoping it would sound like a better version of the digital version on the g3 (the one i use for fretboard challenge recordings). When i play well and adapt to it, then it does sound good, not the same as what I wanted but good. But if I'm just noodling, or trying to learn or improvise, the tone seems to suffer.
On the flip side, when i had a Blackstar ht5, that seemed to mask my shortcomings regardless of whether I was playing properly or not.
Anybody else had this kind of thing? I don't know if its the style of the amp, the lack of eq or reverb, or what, but interesting all the same
Comments
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I'm not quite sure that physics supports the idea of an unforgiving or even less forgiving amp.
It could just be I'm a rubbish player and the amp isn't right :P
soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
As Fiftyshadesofjay says, it's the lack of compression, the transient attack and the way the tone gets brighter as you dig in which makes these amps unforgiving. Also, when they break up they go directly from very clean to very harsh with nothing in between.
By comparison, all valve amps are slightly compressed (or very compressed), have a softer transient response and get more middy rather than brighter when you dig in, and break up in a naturally more progressive and controllable way, so they sound more 'musical'.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
But they just sound so nice! Very much the sledgehammer in a velvet glove.
Big solid-state amps are too cheap to afford the glove .
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
Mine's more the ham fisted iron gloved sledgehammer
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
I like the big solid-state amps, and you can do something with them if you set them up right. When they're dialed in they're not so fussy regarding technique - the tone doesn't change much with volume, which directly correlates to playing dynamics... which is why I like them. Valve amps are all much easier to set up - even Boogies, which are some of the hardest - even if they still reveal playing mistakes and are harder to control the responsiveness, because the tone does change more with volume.
I don't think any of us pick amps intentionally to make us sound bad, it's just what suits you and which you find easiest to get the sounds out of that you want that's different.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
.i found years ago when i first started playing i had a Maine transistor amp ...and for me where i was standing was perfect ..it made me sound good and play well...so we played and nobody could hear it......a bit later on a go a boogie MK2B..used it in rehearsal and hated it ..made me sound sloppy but seen as i had bought it i thought i better use it......at the end of the night i was complemented on my sound ..i still thought i played sloppy ..lol..
It's taken me a long time to get to the stage where I have a setup which allows me to play clean electric guitar as effortlessly as an acoustic. My current pickup and amp combination allows me to do just that.
For unforgiving try playing a ceramic bridge humbucker clean through an early Mark series Boogie, then you'll know what we're talking about.