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Not really. A forgiving amp can be very expressive too - you just need to play it differently.
The funny thing is that some people like to say they like unforgiving amps as if it's some sort of badge of honour, but give them a *really* unforgiving amp and they're more likely to say it doesn't sound very good...
"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
Which must explain why so many indie bands use them...
"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
Im just off to the fx section to post about a forgiving Big muff
Just to be clear, although I understand what people mean by 'unforgiving' regarding amps, it's not something I'm ever bothered by. I can generally sound equally bad through anything .
"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
The clean channel, though, was way too bold for my liking. It didn't sound like a valve amp clean, if that makes any sense and I couldn't get the sound I wanted from it so it had to go. Pity really because the lead/crunch channel was awesome.
But while we're on the topic of forgiving and unforgiving; if one wants to play their best then surely playing an unforgiving amp is the way to go? If a forgiving amp hides all the faux pas in your playing then it's logical to conclude that playing through an unforgiving amp should make you a better player, no?
There is no 'H' in Aych, you know that don't you? ~ Wife
Turns out there is an H in Haych! ~ Sporky
Bit of trading feedback here.
I'm meaning that the subtleties you get with someone playing with a touch closer to acoustic playing will not be heard as well on what I'd call a "forgiving amp"
But I detest some other other amps that are sometimes called unforgiving, especially those with strident over-pronounced midrange. I suspect I'm in something of a minority though.
I suppose in the end it's whether the amp responds the way you expect it to so it becomes easy to play.
"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 don't think it is the amps which are unforgiving, but mainly the way they are set, if they are clean and have a lot of compression, you can hear quieter sounds like finger noise more easily, but that also allows more expression as you can reproduce more sounds.
I could be wrong as some amps are inherently more compressed, but with a compressor and a noise gate, you can make unforgiving amps forgiving and vice versa.
Feedback : https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/58125/
Regardless of what it's called, I want an amp that sounds good with the controls at noon, with any pedal and any guitar. For me it's a Bad Cat/Matchless/Vox type amp.
The old Marshalls at Water Rats were great, plugged in and played.
After 15 mins with a Boogie or Fender HRD I'm ready to apply lighter fluid.
That was with the amp set quite load, and on the edge of breakup, I expect I could have found settings that were less hard to work with, but I loved the sound of it as was.