[volfan]

I've been a newb at several thing at different times in my life, and one of the things I have learned about learning is that it pays to ask questions and listen to the people who can already do what you want to do. By the same token, this is the internet and the existence of FAQs and things can greatly reduce the amount of inane questions posed by a beginner. In other words, I will probably have 1000 questions as I learn, and I hope to gain some valuable knowledge here, but feel free to point me to a FAQ or resource somewhere that can answer a question.
Oh, and all apologies in advance because my questions will probably be pretty basic to those of you who can already put three chords together.

Having said all that, I guess this is as good a place to start as any.

As I said in my intro, I'm not one of the folks who's picking up guitar again after a sabbatical, I'm an absolute beginner at guitar. It's something I've wanted to do forever and I finally decided there was no time like the present. I bought a Strat Pack from GC as a starter "kit". (I did play drums for a few years (no laughing!) so I understand basic music theory already.....so I guess I have that going for me.)

My question is this. Even though I've been playing for...ummm...4 days now, I've begun to wonder why a chord that I play sounds different than when I hear that same chord in the original song. I'm not talking about being able to play a song, (I have a lot of work to do before I can do that) but take the beginning of Hells Bells, for example....mine just sounds hollow or flat or something. I assume this is because of the effects that are used by whomever played the given original song. Is there a guide, or is there some sort of "default" effect that a lot of bands use? I read the thread here about the Roland Micro Cube, and it piqued my interest. On the other hand, I keep telling myself I should keep learning on what I have because I just started and don't need to be buying additional equipment yet. Walk before you try to run, so to speak. But, by the same token, when I learn a riff I would like it to have the same....feel...as the original.

Forgive my verboseness, but I'm quite excited about all this. *grin*

[hursty]

hello there i no exactly what your going threw iv been playing for a year and decided to walk , i just look for tunes that dont use much effects just good clean sounds brilliant feeling when you get it going and saves alot of money gear

[TwistedLefty]

Funny you should mention Angus and effects because he uses absolutely none. His tone comes from his SG and Marshall 100 watt heads running at 1/2 volume
http://guitargeek.com/rigview/312/
another example that the tone is in your Hand, the guitar and amp work together as one instrument and not separately.

[volfan]

Originally Posted by TwistedLefty

Funny you should mention Angus and effects because he uses absolutely none. His tone comes from his SG and Marshall 100 watt heads running at 1/2 volume

another example that the tone is in your Hand, the guitar and amp work together as one instrument and not separately.

I love this place already.

[fly135]

Trying to recreate the sounds of your favorite artists is a nearly insurmountable task, especially as a beginner. MultiFX pedals usually have amp models so you can approximate the sound of say a Marshall stack. How well modelers work is a bit subjective and dependant on a lot of other factors, such as pups, control settings, and of course your technique.

You can get yourself a MultiFX unit and start your own personal exploration of tone. Some people prefer separate pedals, but as a beginner it's a lot more cost effective to get a Multifx box. They come with and without expression pedals, which are used for wah, volume, pitch bending, or other FX level control.

Other then the expression pedal and the overall quality of sound there are two big differentiating factors with multifx pedals.

First, the cheaper pedals usually have all the parameters lumped into a couple of dials and a few buttons. The parameters are lumped into a single display with confusing short names. They are usually more confusing and difficult to recreate settings unless you are diligent writing them down. The advantage is they are cheaper and let you get your foot in the door for learning the various FX.

The second more expensive type usually have separate on/off switches for each type of effect. Also they will frequently have separate controls, clearly labeled for each type of setting.

I have a couple of cheap Korg multifx I like. The AX3G and the AX5G (with expression pedal). The more expensive units that are popular are the Pod XT Live, Boss GT8, Boss ME50. These units are a few hundred dollars more expensive.

[allthumbs]

We just had a conversation about this point here.
Why the perfect tone can be so hard to find.

[chuckswood2001]

u will have a prob getting the same sound, the amps that come with these starter kits are awful, ive tried a few of them all have real bad sound, take ur guitar to a guitar shop and try it on a couple good amps and u will hear the diff, these pro's try many diff guitar amp combo's before they get one that sounds like they want it to, even if u can find a good used amp it will make a diff, i found a univox amp made back in early 70's at a yard sale for 5 bucks that sounds great (case needs some hard work but has great sound) so try ur guitar on a couple diff amps and see what u think


Chuck