How has he set the amp up to get the sound?

Lestratcaster

Right, I know what you're all thinking, why are you listening to some ginger twat with over saturated marketing and PR, but aside from this, I do like the sound he's getting from the guitar for "Thinking Out Loud". I've been trying to figure out if he's driving the amp with a distortion turned down or is a sparkly clean sound with some form of effect on there. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW8Hci4YSG4



At first it sounds like a clean sound but when he does that hammer on it sounds like its got some overdrive on there. 

Anyone know how I would set the amp up to play with a strat, might need to do this in a covers band one day!

ICBM

It's just a clean sound. His guitar isn't really in the mix at all most of the time once the band are playing, if you watch and listen carefully. You hear him at the start in the second clip and that last wap across the strings in the first one, and that's it really.

The slightly overdriven sound is the other guitarist in both clips.

Modulus_Amps

Thats just valve amp compression, it is a great thing ....except when you don't want it

Lestratcaster

Hmm I normally set it up on the red channel with the gain backed and sometimes the volume turned down. Can't get that "spack" sound he gets when he does the muted backbeat though. I tried on clean but it don't have that spangle!

Modulus_Amps

what amp you using?I would guess he is playing the blackface fender on the stage, no red channel on those.

Lestratcaster

Its a Marshall MG at the moment but looking for a tube amp next year when they bring out their new DSL line.

Modulus_Amps

well that sort of sound is Fender ballpark stuff, if you get the DSL you may want to get a EQ pedal at the same time to adjust the mids etc

Lestratcaster

EQ pedal? To adjust the mids in what way? And should I get a compressor too?

bwets

Is it not just a little bit of reverb? Sounds like you've set the amp fine. I'm sure you'll be able to get close with what you have.

Modulus_Amps

A typical Marshall has more low and high mids compared to a Fender, so you probably want to cut the mids a bit more (smiley face shape on an EQ) I don't know what the dynamic of those amps is like, if you are playing at low volumes then a compressor may help.

Lestratcaster

I have whacked the reverb up a bit but that sparklyness is missing!

Modulus_Amps

you need a bright reverb sound, a reverb pedal may give you more options than the amps built in reverb

By reducing the low mids the guitar signal will be clearer and you will hopefully start to get the "spack" you are after.

Lestratcaster

Lol that’s 3 pedals needed just to play the intro part! But yeah only other reason why I asked is cos if my sister gets married that’s one of the songs she wants played at her wedding so it’d be nice to nail the sound.

bwets

Hmm, it could be just the technique then. Keep practising and you'll get it. He's slapping his thumb down over the thicker strings. Sometimes he flicks his fingers over the thin strings too at the same time.

You don't need more pedals. And at the end of the day just get as close as you can, absolutely no one else will notice or care about the sound!

jellybelly

Nothing I hear there that isn’t the Fender Blackface Sound. I know boss do a modelling pedal that I bet would help. Otherwise turn down the mids on your clean channel and try to get the technique down, no one will care if it’s not spot on perfect!

Edit: Here’s the boss pedal. Looks cool to me, has the Blackface EQ to it and reverb built in. https://www.boss.info/us/products/fdr-1/

Lestratcaster

Oh don't worry I know how to play it and get that fingerstyle backbeat technique, its just enhancing it with the sound from the amp, the "spack" sound when he mutes the strings and the little trill thing he does after the chord progression.

Seen a few cheap reverb/compressor pedals around on Gear4music for about £25, not sure if they're good though.

jacksparrow

Eric Clapton's looking younger every year.

ICBM

jellybelly said:

Edit: Here’s the boss pedal. Looks cool to me, has the Blackface EQ to it and reverb built in. https://www.boss.info/us/products/fdr-1/

They sound excellent, but they're very badly designed from a gigging point of view.

No tremolo footswitching - you can only turn the whole 'amp' on and off. (Or reverb, although that's probably not so much an issue.)
No speaker-emulated output so you can't use it (or not without something like a Red Box) as a direct-to-PA solution.
Knobs are in the wrong positions/order to adjust the ones you're most likely to want in a hurry - gain and volume... they should be the big knobs, at the ends.

I do like them though, and I'm about to get another one.