Suppose you use a CS Strat and up to four FX pedals to get your sound, how much of your guitar do you actually hear? In other words would swapping you guitar for a different one (a Tele or even a humbucker type) be sonically detectable? My own experience is that having used a compressor for years, deciding not to use it freed up the tone and sound of my guitars. Suddenly my PRS SE sounded quite different to my USA Tele. Just wondered if others noticed something similar..
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum
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“Theory is something that is written down after the music has been made so we can explain it to others”– Levi Clay
But perhaps more interestingly its the amp type (by which I mean fundamental design types) that has such a big impact on tone. Some years ago at the London International Music Show I saw a wonderful demo of the 'GigRig'. The guy (brilliant guitarist of course - can't recall who it was) was using 3 amps (a Fender, a Marshall & I can't recall the third), vintage fx pedals...and a single red Telecaster throughout. By using the right amp & pedal combinations he could replicate everything from Brian May to Jimmy Page to Gary Moore to Stevie Vai etc etc - all with just the Telecaster. It really opened my eyes to how surprisingly little impact the guitar you are using actually impacts on your tone, when you are playing with the right amp/effects...& know how to use them, & set them up in the right order!
I'm sure the same goes for Helix, Kemper and pretty much most stuff. Even going back a decade all my guitars sounded different going through my Line 6 Flextone 2
All sound different.
https://soundcertified.com/speaker-ohms-calculator/
Going from my Strat to my PT (Tele type with humbuckers) I have to completely redial my drive pedals.
As far as compressors go, I use a tiny bit with single coils, and even less with humbuckers. And as said above, a cheap comp kills your signal, a quality comp enhances it.
But the gentler, more subtle effects should colour tone very little - a compressor should pretty much leave the tone untouched and just effect the attack & release of the notes.
http://tertl.blogspot.com - personal blog
my favourite & most used pedal is probably the superfuzz, which means you will never know by listening to my 'art' whether i am using squier, fender, teisco or comb & paper.
i never play clean & usually after the distortion or fuzz there are modulations & verbs & echos to think about.
so i chose a guitar for neck playability & nice body shape, & effects do the rest.
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum
Of course, I expect to be savagely pilloried for this opinion.
It is an effect rather than an enhancement.
Dont assume that the price has anything to do with the designer's intention.
There are many others that are subtle, or allow unaffected blend (sometimes called "New York" compression) and that's before we get to the differences in pedals with 2 knobs or 6.
Many 2 / 3 knob pedals have set parameters for things you'd probably like to tweak. Attack, Release, and Threshold settings are so important for good compressor use.
If you find a 2 knob that just happens to sound great to you despite preset parameters then that's great. But if not, then something with better control options might be preferable.
https://soundcertified.com/speaker-ohms-calculator/
It doesn't.
Back in the day like.