Sample Settings To Get The Best Sound Out Of Your Amplifier

Here I'll give you a few good sample settings to put on your amplifier (amp). Of course they will vary from amp to amp, but never the less, the principles are still the same. Combinations are endless when comes to setting up your amp. You can spend hours fiddling with your settings. So I've decided give you a few of my settings. These settings are my winning formula and worked for me every time. They are as follows:

Settings for playing clean alternate

Settings for controlled distortion

Settings for sharp leads

You can use these settings as a basic fundamental. Adjust your amp to the settings that suits you best. Once you have the basic sound covered, then you can work on some more new settings of your own.

With such a wide range of sound possibilities, it is clearly important that you should be able to produce the kind of sound appropriate to the kind of music you are playing. With a thorough understanding of the way your equipment works, you should be able to produce any kind of sound that you need.

Settings:
Six different but widely used amplifier settings are shown below for you to try out for yourself. Although they won't necessarily sound the same from one model to another, the fundamental principals will apply to most types of valve amplifiers. As always, though, you should spend some time experimenting for yourself until you find settings that are best suited to your own playing and music.

Neutral Settings:
All of the controls are set in central position, producing a clean sound, with little or no distortion. Such a sound would be appropriate for straightforward rhythm or chord work in most styles of music. You can use the master volume control to alter the volume without changing the nature of the sound.

Treble-Heavy Settings:
Boosting the treble control produces a brighter, cutting, ringing sound. However, it also increases the overall volume of the sound, so the master volume needs to be reduced to compensate. Adding treble (and a touch of mid range) may be needed to create a flat sound in a heavily sound-obsorbent atmosphere, or when using certain types of humbucker pickups.

Bass Heavy Settings:
Boosting the bass control produces a deeper, fuller sound. Again you may need to compensate by reducing the master level volume. Bass levels vary depending on the kind of loudspeaker you use. Smaller speakers with a limited low-frequency response can benefit from extra bass, although too much can cause distortion.

Gently Distortion
In valve preamplifiers, boosting the input volume will cause a gradual distortion of the sound. As this boosts the overall volume, the master volume will have to come down to compensate. With the tone controls even, this usually makes a good, general lead-guitar setting.

Crunch:
With the input volume on high, the preamplifier distorts. The increase in treble produces a cutting sound. This kind of effect only really works when using a valve amplifier. This setting can also increase feedback, whether you want it or not. This can sometimes be controlled by setting back the treble on the guitar's control panel.

Mute Distortion:
With the input volume still set so the maximum reducing the treble and midrange creates a "muffled" sound which can provide an extremely effective "bluesy" lead effect when played with a valve overdrive and possibly also using the rhythm pickup.

Also keep in mind when you come to set up your amp:

	Leads require a lot of treble, middle and hardly any bass.
	Rhythm requires half-treble, no middle and full bass.
	Distortion requires you to adjust your settings to how you like the sound. I prefer full bass, no middle and ¾ treble. The amount of distortion always VARIES!