Secrets Of Building Killer Sounds In Software!, Quick and Dirty Tips and Tricks to get you to your tone!
Todd Simpson
Jul 12 2014, 05:30 AM
GMC:er
Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
SECRETS OF BUILDING KILLER TONE IN SOFTWARE!
(Overloud TH2)
PART 1 of 4
(Direct Link)
http://bitly.com/secretsoftonebuilding

LINK TO THE WIKI ARTICLE WITH THIS INFORMATION IN ONE READABLE POST:




You ever wonder why it sounds amazing when some folks make patches in guitar plugins? And sometimes it sounds less than amazing when other folks do it? There are some tips that will help get you towards TONE NIRVANA without taking endless hours away from your practice time!!!

I"m going to break down on patch and you can use these techniques in ANY PROGRAM that contains basic effects. If the program you are using does not contain effects, time to grab one that does smile.gif The usual suspects are guitar rig free amplitude free, sgear demo, TH2 demo, (I'm not going to mention lepou as it's without effects) so let's dig in!

Step 1. BEFORE YOU HIT YOUR AMP/HEAD!!!

Attached Image

*Take a look at the screen grab above. Here is what's happening in it.

THE SIGNAL CHAIN

PARAMETRIC EQ (Variable Equalizer, Knobs instead of Sliders)
*The reason to put this FIRST in your chain is to shape the tone BEFORE it hits any other processing. Look at the numbers in red in the unit. I"m boosting a bit at 742hz which gives things punch and cutting/removing a bit at 155hz which is where all the HORRIBLE MUD lives.

VARIMU COMPRESSOR (A very pricey compressor that you can read more about at this link http://www.manley.com/mslc.php)
*Look at the numbers in red. Very low "compression ratio" with a bit of "sustain". Essentially I'm using the compressor as a sort of booster so that I don't have to burn out my picking hand and it helps drive the gain.

GATE EXPANDER
( Just a fancy Noise Gate really.)
*Both of them are there just to clean up the signal.

TUBE NINE ( A Tube Screamer Overdrive clone.)
*Just like a Tube Screamer, it's there to act as a preamp and give more signal to the Amp/Head so that the drive section has more to work with and as a result, sounds MEANER!

CHR-2 (Clone of a BOSS Stereo Chorus unit.)
*Just a pinch of stereo chorus helps the tone sound big and wide and thick.

And that's it!!! Next time, THE AMP STAGE!!!

Todd

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Sep 5 2014, 12:04 AM
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
bleez
Jul 12 2014, 12:04 PM
Experienced Tone Seeker
Posts: 3.348
Joined: 4-November 11
From: Scotland
nice one duder, this is totally what Im need to get into smile.gif
I might just ditch the pod farm1, it wont even let me place an EQ or compressor before the gate, only after dry.gif

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------


You say 'minor pentatonic ' like it's a bad thing
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Carmine Marotta
Jul 13 2014, 10:56 AM
GMC:er
Posts: 57
Joined: 25-June 14
From: London UK
Thanks Todd, looking forward for next posts.
Carmine

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Todd Simpson
Jul 14 2014, 01:22 AM
GMC:er
Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
PART II
THE PRIMARY GAIN STAGE

Let's look at the AMP/HEAD gain stage. There are many ways to skin this particular cat, but here is a good place to start smile.gif

I"m using one of my fave amp heads in TH2. The "LYNCHBOX" from RANDALL. It's very versatile as it's a modular head. You can select any one of a number of different preamps for it from a drop down. As you can see, I"m using the "ULTRA XL" preamp which is based on the legendary ULTRA XL Module that is no longer made and much sought after. Which is why I love accurate software sims
smile.gif
Attached Image

Let's look at the settings.

PRE-AMP SETTINGS
(mostly eq decisions here, trust your ears!)
*These are the settings for the Ultra XL Module Only
GAIN: Gain is roofed smile.gif Of course.
BASS: Bass about half but play with it and tweak to taste.
MID: Mids about the same, tweak to taste.
TREBLE: Treble a bit on the plus side to add bite to pick strikes and BRIGHT switch is on.
LEVEL: is roofed which is just the preamp level. The master level controls the actual power amp that is in charge of volume.

AMP SETTINGS
*These are the settings for the Amp Section Only
PRESENCE:
Roofed to maximize the eq decisions.
DENSITY:
Zero. It can oversaturate the bass response pretty quickly so be careful.
MASTER:
About half but push it till it works smile.gif

The AMP STAGE is "FUN" stage IMHO, as you basically pick an amp you like and start turning knobs til your ears tell you that you've gotten it right. There are no digital readouts, no compression ratios, just knobs and switches the way God intended smile.gif

Next Up!!!! Something a bit more technical. THE CAB/MIC STAGE!!!!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Jul 14 2014, 01:27 AM
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
bleez
Jul 14 2014, 10:49 PM
Experienced Tone Seeker
Posts: 3.348
Joined: 4-November 11
From: Scotland
I downloaded the TH2 demo, so.... with ya so far smile.gif

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------


You say 'minor pentatonic ' like it's a bad thing
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Jim S.
Jul 15 2014, 12:02 PM
Learning Rock Star
Posts: 718
Joined: 7-April 13
So Todd I have found this thread and tried as many of the techniques described except the $100 varimu comp and parametric eq.

Heres a little audio file from this morning, excuse my playing it is still a lesson I have lots to work on biggrin.gif

Let me know what you think about how it fits and tone in general. Thanks Man and btw forget my message unless you have any suggestions. I have just some glitches and wire problems lol

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


This post has been edited by Jim S.: Jul 15 2014, 12:03 PM
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Todd Simpson
Jul 16 2014, 02:36 AM
GMC:er
Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Good tone there! smile.gif Sounds like a real amp!! TH2 is really good for that IMHO. It can really sound like a nice amp in a nice room with a nice mic. More to come!

BTW: The VARIMU compressor is about $4,000 new if you want to buy the hardware version. Ouch! smile.gif
Attached Image

QUOTE (Jim S. @ Jul 15 2014, 07:02 AM) *
So Todd I have found this thread and tried as many of the techniques described except the $100 varimu comp and parametric eq.

Heres a little audio file from this morning, excuse my playing it is still a lesson I have lots to work on biggrin.gif

Let me know what you think about how it fits and tone in general. Thanks Man and btw forget my message unless you have any suggestions. I have just some glitches and wire problems lol

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Todd Simpson
Jul 17 2014, 08:14 PM
GMC:er
Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
PART III
GUITAR CABS & MICS


In PART III we are diving in to the wonderful world of Guitar Cabinets and Microphones smile.gif Much of this info will translate in to the real world so hang tight!!!

CHOOSING YOUR WEAPON!

Choosing your speaker cabs is a crucial part of building your tone. If you have not done so, try to load each and every speaker cabinet and play a bit to see what each sounds like. Each has their own character. For this example, I'm going to use the

RANDALL George Lynch "Lynch Box" Cab.


and two Microphones. The AMERICAN 52 and AMERICAN 57. First up! The cab. Then we will talk mics.

Attached Image

If you double click on the cabinet in TH2, you get the pop up "contextual menu" that you see in the screen grab above. This is the SECRET SAUCE to making your tone sound like a real guitar in a nice room with nice mics, vs a fizzy/buzzy/boomy mess sad.gif So tread easy, but with purpose smile.gif Let's go through the settings.

CABINET MODEL:
This dropdown menu is where you pick your cab. Try them all! Each has it's own vibe. The best part is that you can mix and match. I typically use 2 cabs in every patch I make. It reduces the fizz/harshness typically associated with software sims in general and smooths out the top end response IMHO. But for now, just pick one you like.

*RESPIRE: The little button labled ReSPIRe is sort of like the loudness button on your stereo. It greatly enhances bass and a bit of treble. It works great when practicing, but you may want to turn it off during mix down as it can overwhelm bass frequencies in a mix.

MIC A MODEL:
This dropdown menu is where you pick your microphone. There are many to choose from and like the cabs, each is somewhat unique in terms of sound. Try them all and see which ones you like best. You get two mics per cab so finding complimentary pairs is a must. For my MIC A I'm using the American57 which is a simulation of the classic SHURE SM57.
Attached Image

*MIC PLACEMENT: Once you select your mic, click and drag it around until you find a placement that you like.

AMBIENCE TYPE
This dropdown allows you to give a little "ambience" to your tone. E.G. the sound of the room. So it let's the overall tone sound like it was recorded in a nice studio setting. Imagine the large drum room at a pricey studio with your amp sitting in the middle turned all the way up. smile.gif

MIC B MODEL:
This is the dropdown for your second mic. The second mic should compliment the first. You will learn this by trial and error and by reading about it on the web/seeing vids etc. Certain mics work well together, some don't. I"m using a American52 which is a simulation of a SHURE SM52. This is typically used to mic Kick Drums and Bass Guitar, but I LOVE using it for guitar cabs along with a SM57. It grabs the lower range that the 57 just can't get.
Attached Image

MIX:
This is sort of like a mini mixing board right here inside the plugin smile.gif Handy eh? Here you can control and blend the level of both mics. Also, you get a "Rear Mic" which is just to bring up the bass really as it's micing the back of the cab. Also, you get a free 45 degree mic which can add punch. You can put both of these at zero or mix them in to taste.

Once you are done tweaking, SAVE YOUR PRESET!!! smile.gif

NEXT UP!!!! The wonderful world of POST PROCESSING!!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Jul 17 2014, 08:38 PM
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Todd Simpson
Jul 31 2014, 01:55 AM
GMC:er
Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
SECRETS OF BUILDING KILLER TONE IN SOFTWARE!
(Overloud TH2)
PART 4 of 4

Now for our final installment. POST PROCESSING!! This is what happens AFTER the AMP/HEAD and Mic/Cabinet decisions. Here is a screen grab of the post processing rack and the entire signal chain.

Attached Image
*Here is the actual patch all of this is pulled from.
Attached File  TH_300.xml.zip ( 3.51K ) Number of downloads: 227





Let's break this down.

PARAMETRIC EQ (Variable Equalizer, Knobs instead of Sliders)
*
I've stacked 2 parametric equalizer units here. To see what each one is doing, download the patch and turn each unit off then back on. You can hear right away the impact on the tone. I"m using them to cut out some "Mud" and to limit the frequency range to about 11khz.

DIGITAL DELAY (Digital version of a Delay/Echo Unit)
*I"m again stacking 2 units here. I'm using short delay times on both which creates very little "echo" effect. Primarily, I"m using them for tone shaping to thicken things up. Again, turn them off and play, then turn them back on to hear the impact on tone.

SPRING REVERB (Based on Vintage Spring Reverb Unit)
*This is an emulation of a vintage reverb unit that actually used a physical spring to create the reverb effect. It creates a very smooth, analogue sounding reverb. I'm adding just a pinch.

PLATE REVERB (Based on Vintage Plate Reverb Unit)
*Also based on a Vintage unit, this reverb simulates a unit that originally used a physical metal plate to create the reverb effect. I'm using it to create a "room reverb" sound. In other words, I'm making it sound like the guitar cabinet is in a large studio room. This gives is a classic Metal Sound.

IN CONCLUSION

In conclusion, I hope that this thread has been useful in helping you to understand how I build my patches and hopefully to understand how you can build better patches. Download the patch from this post. Modify it, save it as your own patch. Use it as a template. It makes a great starting point smile.gif Feel free to post your results to this thread!!! I'd love to hear them!!


You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Jul 31 2014, 02:04 AM
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
bleez
Nov 4 2014, 10:41 PM
Experienced Tone Seeker
Posts: 3.348
Joined: 4-November 11
From: Scotland
I went through the steps and tried to match your settings as best I could, it came out like this :
https://soundcloud.com/bleez666/todd-patch

turned out quite good I think smile.gif
I need to go back over each stage now and play around a bit to try and be able to build my own tones.

Cool thread, Todd. Thanks duder smile.gif

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Jul 31 2014, 01:55 AM) *
In conclusion, I hope that this thread has been useful in helping you to understand how I build my patches and hopefully to understand how you can build better patches. Download the patch from this post. Modify it, save it as your own patch. Use it as a template. It makes a great starting point smile.gif [b]Feel free to post your results to this thread!!! I'd love to hear them!!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------


You say 'minor pentatonic ' like it's a bad thing
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Todd Simpson
Nov 5 2014, 02:01 AM
GMC:er
Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
NIcely done!!! Sounds quite spiff smile.gif You sir are ready to dig in and make your own killer tones!!!

Todd


QUOTE (bleez @ Nov 4 2014, 05:41 PM) *
I went through the steps and tried to match your settings as best I could, it came out like this :
https://soundcloud.com/bleez666/todd-patch

turned out quite good I think smile.gif
I need to go back over each stage now and play around a bit to try and be able to build my own tones.

Cool thread, Todd. Thanks duder smile.gif

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
bleez
Nov 22 2014, 07:09 PM
Experienced Tone Seeker
Posts: 3.348
Joined: 4-November 11
From: Scotland
hey Todd, I was using your preset from the soulful ballad collab, Ive tweaked the reverb and the delay slightly, trying to go for a vintagey gilmour-ish type of vibe.




tbh Its one of the coolest presets Ive used on TH2 as it is but I wondered if it sounds okay against this backing or if it should be tweaked any more.... not sure if it's still too reverby.
what do you think?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------


You say 'minor pentatonic ' like it's a bad thing
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Todd Simpson
Nov 23 2014, 03:56 PM
GMC:er
Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
WOW!! Nice patch!!! Would you mind sharing it in my TH2 PATCH THREAD? It's open for posting smile.gif HEre is the link to the thread.

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...2250&hl=Th2

As for reverb, sounds good to me smile.gif What you might do is make several variations of this patch and just save them in them in the same bank. That way when trying out sounds you can just click through them quickly. Thats what I will often do smile.gif

It looks like you are starting to get a good grasp of the TH2 workings! It's among the more complex sims I've ever worked with but it's also the most flexible beyond anything else I've tried. So it's my fave smile.gif It's almost a "Boutique" sim in that it's not that widely known or used. But it is used to great effect by many a player, including yourself smile.gif

Todd

QUOTE (bleez @ Nov 22 2014, 02:09 PM) *
hey Todd, I was using your preset from the soulful ballad collab, Ive tweaked the reverb and the delay slightly, trying to go for a vintagey gilmour-ish type of vibe.




tbh Its one of the coolest presets Ive used on TH2 as it is but I wondered if it sounds okay against this backing or if it should be tweaked any more.... not sure if it's still too reverby.
what do you think?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Nov 23 2014, 03:57 PM
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
bleez
Nov 24 2014, 09:26 AM
Experienced Tone Seeker
Posts: 3.348
Joined: 4-November 11
From: Scotland
thanks dude smile.gif Im going to tweak it some more, Id like to try and get it a bit fatter, its maybe a little tinny.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------


You say 'minor pentatonic ' like it's a bad thing
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Todd Simpson
Nov 24 2014, 09:51 PM
GMC:er
Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
QUICK TIP!!!! Are you using PARAMETRIC EQ at the head and the tail of the patch? You can modify the signal to thicken it up by using the parametric at the very head of the patch. That way you are boosting the signal that hits the processing.

You can add bass after the processing too, but it impacts the tone in a different way. Give it a shot smile.gif Also, post a screen shot of your patch!




QUOTE (bleez @ Nov 24 2014, 04:26 AM) *
thanks dude smile.gif Im going to tweak it some more, Id like to try and get it a bit fatter, its maybe a little tinny.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
bleez
Nov 25 2014, 11:00 PM
Experienced Tone Seeker
Posts: 3.348
Joined: 4-November 11
From: Scotland
I didnt have any EQ in the chain at all! Ive added it at the start now.
Would it also be the very last thing in the chain? after the splitter?

here's the layout I have just now, as you can see I pretty much ripped it from your soul ballad patch cool.gif
[attachment=39960:full.jpg]

Ive adjusted the delay and reverb from your collab settings and this is the section Ive mostly tampered with -

[attachment=39962:1.jpg]
The rest of the chain is more or less your soul collab patch. I tried changing the amps but in the end I just ran with your choice of amp and cab as they seemed to sound the best.


this is what its sounding like now, with the EQ at the front of the chain -

https://soundcloud.com/bleez666/59test3

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------


You say 'minor pentatonic ' like it's a bad thing
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Todd Simpson
Nov 26 2014, 06:00 AM
GMC:er
Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Digging it!! YOu can put another parametric after the mixer for final tone shaping smile.gif Keeep in mind, the parametric eq at the head of the chain will impact how the "gain" gets processed. The eq at the tail of the chain just shapes whatever is coming out. Both are handy smile.gif

You might add another AMP in the second signal patch! not that you need to, just to see the impac of running dual amps vs one amp on A and FX only on B smile.gif

Keep tweaking your brains out!! IT's the best way to learn. smile.gif

Todd

QUOTE (bleez @ Nov 25 2014, 06:00 PM) *
I didnt have any EQ in the chain at all! Ive added it at the start now.
Would it also be the very last thing in the chain? after the splitter?

here's the layout I have just now, as you can see I pretty much ripped it from your soul ballad patch cool.gif
[attachment=39960:full.jpg]

Ive adjusted the delay and reverb from your collab settings and this is the section Ive mostly tampered with -

[attachment=39962:1.jpg]
The rest of the chain is more or less your soul collab patch. I tried changing the amps but in the end I just ran with your choice of amp and cab as they seemed to sound the best.


this is what its sounding like now, with the EQ at the front of the chain -

https://soundcloud.com/bleez666/59test3

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post

Reply to this topicStart new topic
1 User(s) are reading this topic (1 Guests and 0 Anonymous Users)
0 Members:

 




RSS Lo-Fi Version Time is now: 29th March 2024 - 10:44 AM