So damn confused

[jamesy_pwd]

hello all,
im really really confused, course im getting told about 1 million different things.

for starters, alot of people say, dont turn your presence up much on your 6505 much course it will sound solid statey and harsh, i kinda agree with that, but some people say, ITS A MUST TO HAVE YOUR PRESENCE HIGH!. wah :S

also, some people swear by OD's for the 6505's, get one they say, but then people say it will take your low end out of your sound, :S huh, why would i want that? dont people want a big bottom end? (well, not for solo's, but thats not what i want it for), also, when you "boost" your amps signal, (turn down the gain and max out the level and turn gain down on pedal) isnt that the same sorta thing as just turning up the pre? or does it create a different sound?

also, when i go into guitar shops and say im looking at getting an overdrive they say, but the 6505 already has wayyy more gain then you need, what do you need it for, then i feel like an idiot and walk out. one more n00b thing, is like, u say u boost your amp, (alex from whitechapel for e.g) is that pedal left on all the time? or is it just used as a solo boost..... like coz i really dont know anymore, im just so confused :S

sorry for writing so much just need this sorted!

 

[petereanima]

also, some people swear by OD's for the 6505's, get one they say, but then people say it will take your low end out of your sound, :S huh, why would i want that? dont people want a big bottom end? (well, not for solo's, but thats not what i want it for),

yes, it DOES cut the low-end, BUT: it cuts the over-amount of bass-freqs coming from your guitar/pickups - so a tighter (and "tight" in this regards means nothing but "less bass-frequencies") signal comes to you amp, and you can use the Bass & Deep knobs of your amp more than before.

also: a big bottom end sounds great when you play alone, but in a band situation you will always fight with your bassist because these are HIS freqs mainly.

also, when you "boost" your amps signal, (turn down the gain and max out the level and turn gain down on pedal) isnt that the same sorta thing as just turning up the pre? or does it create a different sound?

its different, because its a different signal coming to your amp - try it out and you will note the difference! the signal and therefor the sound is more cutting and sharper than before. this is very helpfull in a band situation, especcially on "darker" voiced amps!

also, when i go into guitar shops and say im looking at getting an overdrive they say, but the 6505 already has wayyy more gain then you need, what do you need it for, then i feel like an idiot and walk out.

thats becasue there are mostly IDIOTS working in guitar shops. yes, your amp HAS more gain than you would ever need, but is all of that gain usefull? no, it gets muddy as hell (also beause of the too much bass-freqs, as mentioned before) and mostly doesnt sound that good. when you use a TS as a boost, you turn your gain back on the amp, because you dont need that much distortion.

for the idiots @ the shops: ask them to try it out, and if they cant hear a difference, they have the wrong job, period.

one more n00b thing, is like, u say u boost your amp, (alex from whitechapel for e.g) is that pedal left on all the time? or is it just used as a solo boost..... like coz i really dont know anymore, im just so confused :S

to your likings, but most people leave it on all the time (so do i), because i use this for my rythm sound and solo-sound. for a solo boost only, i would recommend an EQ pedal (and just raise the volume on it, maybe mids also).

sorry for writing so much just need this sorted!

thats what this section is here for!


i really would recommend you trying it, you will immediately notice the difference! if you dont want to spend much money, get a Digitech Bad Monkey - cheap but solid TS-clone and can be bought for 30,- or soemthing. turn gain all the way down or set to 8:30 - maximum 9:00 (to your likings), the tone knob just to your likings (i have mine around 10:00 clock, thats where mine is about neutral), and level (volume) either all the way up, or to your likings (i have mine around 2:00).

 

[jamesy_pwd]

i officially love you forever lol. im pumped to go try one out, been wanting to try one out for a while y'know, but for the past 2 weeks now (grr) its been at the tech being modded, getting the bias mod done and getting a master volume put in (its after post gain so HELLO ATTENUATION!) thanks again

 

[petereanima]

no problem!

and props for getting the bias-mod, you amp gets even more awesome than before!

 

[warlock7strEMG]

hey man its all good, you sound just like me about 2 years ago, i had all the same questions you have right now!!! haha.

basically when it comes down to how you set your presence and do you or dont you need a boost/od pedal, its all personal preference honestly. just let your ears lead u in the right direction.

your presence, resonance and other settings might vary depending on what guitar and/cab you use and whatnot. for example, with a darker sounding guitar and/or cab might have you may finding using a little more presence. or with an over sized cab you may find you need less resonance or bass.....

me personally i find that too much presence or resonance is not a good thing. i prefer moderate setting with 6505/6505+'s. i dont really like to go much passed the infamous 666 settings with them....EQ, presence, resonance and gain all at 6(maybe a little less gain with a boost/od pedal, i ll explain this in a sec). i find that you get the most balanced, clear crushing tone with these settings....minimal flubbiness and harshness, just pure raw, ballsy heaviness that cuts and sits in the mix just right!!!

now for the boost/OD explaination.......when you use an overdrive pedal to boost your rhythm tone, yes it is left on all the time. and its not so much boosting the gain, in most cases its not really boosting gain at all. with a Tubescreamer, or an OD of this nature, youre gettin several things happen to your tone......
-added compression: this allows you to run the amps gain much lower without losing the responsiveness and fluid feel that you get from using alot of gain, so in turn you get better clarity from the decreased preamp gain without losing sustain, pick attack and the ability to pull off pinch harmonics with ease; as a matter of fact the OD actually improves all those things even with the decreased preamp gain.
-high frequency cut: this eleminates alot of the frequencies that cause sizzles in the 6505 and pretty much any other high gain amp, which makes your tone less harsh on the high end and also helps with clarity
-low frequency cut: this doesnt completely remove your bass, but it more or less trims the fat, giving you a tighter, quicker response that is noticed most in chuggy stop/start type rhythms. in metal guitar you want thick midrange and low mids, you typically really dont want big bass anyway, this muddies things up so the low cut helps with clarity too.

now alot of people prefer using the pricier OD pedals, which do have a better sound in a way but its somewhat subtle, esp when using with a high gain amp as a boost. i recommend the Ibanez TS7 OR Digitech Bad Monkey, either can be had new for $40-50.

if you do wanna try the OD pedal thing, good settings to use with either pedal are: drive at 0, level at 8 to 10 and tone(bass and treble on the Bad Monkey) at 5 or 6. do this on the lead channel with the aforementioned 666 settings(decrease the pre gain to about 4-5 tho) and you will see what all the hype is with boosted high gain tone

hope this was helpful, sorry so long winded!!!!!

 

[Zehailiu]

Ditto the above.
One thing I learned about ODs is that not all of them cuts or boosts the same frequencies. Like mentioned the compression will smooth out some of the top and most ODs will cut some of the bottom, but the extend of the compression and the bottom cut is different from pedal to pedal.
The TS7 I have also seem to add a big boost to the mids, especially the high mids.
It brings out the mid character of the amp, guitar and pick attack.
For my mesa this is good, because it has a very pleasant mid range, but for my peavey preamp, this isn't so good, the peavey has a WEIRDass midrange that I really don't want to boost.

Good luck pedal huntin'!

 

[7 Dying Trees]

as stated, for 6505's, the treble isn't great past 4 or 5, if you want high end, keep treble at 4, and use the presence, works much better.

Also, boosting it, tightens it up, it adds some sparkle too, makes it clearer, especially in recording.

Another thing to do is to retube it with some good tubes, and get the bias mod done to it, both things will make a difference and turn it into a granny raping village plunderer

 

[warlock7strEMG]

Ditto the above.
One thing I learned about ODs is that not all of them cuts or boosts the same frequencies. Like mentioned the compression will smooth out some of the top and most ODs will cut some of the bottom, but the extend of the compression and the bottom cut is different from pedal to pedal.
The TS7 I have also seem to add a big boost to the mids, especially the high mids.
It brings out the mid character of the amp, guitar and pick attack.
For my mesa this is good, because it has a very pleasant mid range, but for my peavey preamp, this isn't so good, the peavey has a WEIRDass midrange that I really don't want to boost.

Good luck pedal huntin'!

you are correct sir, i didnt even think about this fact!!! i guess im gettin tired haha. now that u mention it the TS7 does boost the high mids a bit more whereas the TS808 and OD9(my personal fave, will own one soon!!!) tend to give a somewhat rounder boost, focused slightly more on the lower mids if anything. this compliments the midrange of the 6505+ and my Peavey Butcher very nicely. this also seems true for the Bad Monkey if i recall correctly, which makes sense considering its more or less modeled after the TS808

 

[jamesy_pwd]

thanks guys! helped HEAPS, i cant WAIT to get my amp back, the guys had it for 2 weeks and im seriously starting to have withdrawal's haha so much for the "10 day turnaround!" -_- ahwell, patience.

 

[budda]

Use your ears to decide what sounds good to you. You'll know you should change your settings if a few people come up to you and tell you that it sounds bad

 

[Jogeta]

i've posted this somewhere in a different thread but...
if you have a 6505 or 6505+ and dig the tones that Suecof and co. have been laying down recently then try these settings!

\m/