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Joe Bonamassa Forum → Joe's Guitars, Amps and Gear → Joe's Big Reverbicated/delayed tone.
A little off-topic but how does Joe wire his heads/cabs to be switchable? In other words, Joe has 2 cabs accepting 4 different heads. Are they stereo cabs with a total of 4 inputs between the 2 cabs? Otherwise wouldn't there be some issues with impedance and "no-load problems" on the amps not in use? Joe tell me Joe..... what goes on here?
A little off-topic but how does Joe wire his heads/cabs to be switchable? In other words, Joe has 2 cabs accepting 4 different heads. Are they stereo cabs with a total of 4 inputs between the 2 cabs? Otherwise wouldn't there be some issues with impedance and "no-load problems" on the amps not in use? Joe tell me Joe..... what goes on here?
He definitely has two speakers per head and a couple amp switchers. Think of it as four different cabinets that happen to be squished into two cabs. Lol.
Does it make anyone else nervous that if you run the delay in front of the amp and have a second amp for the wet signal only, you basically spent a lot of Gs on a reverb unit? My effects loop on my JCM900 is bogus with the DD-3 so I may try the two amp setup with the delay in front approach.
I use delay in front of an amp. I have never ever had a problem with it. If it gets out of hand I turn it down. I use two amps a vox which is my wet delay amp and a twin which is my dry amp. the signal is split before the delay so the vox is the only one getting delayed.
A video from the Guitar Center Sessions where Joe discuses his current amp set up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-MvF6cYLDo
I remember Joe saying that he uses the DD-3 with all the knobs on 12 o'clock. I don't know if he uses an older or newer DD3 though.
His Coach House show on 11/10 & 11/09 he had a backup pedal board and the DD3 had most of the knobs at 11 o'clock.
He also had a Boss Chorus, Ibanex Tube Screamer and a Tremolator with a Wah. Two rented or borrowed Marshall JCM 2000's and a Marshall JMP along with his regular cabinets (but a back-up set).
Yeah, a second amp really sounds good. I don't gig with this set up, but I find that the stereo out on my Maxon AD999 works real well to spread out the delay. My two amps are set about 8' apart (THD Univalve and Fender Champ).
what valves are you running in the univalve pls
With my rig, I use any replication or modification effects in the effects loop of my Marshall JVM410H for 2 main reasons.
1. Versatility- In my effects loop right now, I have a signal chain that goes in series....MXR Phase 90>Marshall Echohead delay> Boss RC50XL Loop Station. This allows the Phaser and the Delay to be independent of the Loop Station by being first in the chain. That way I can change gain channels and effects without effecting what I am looping live. I can play a clean chord vamp, loop it, then switch to a light OD w/ the analog delay setting of the Echohead and improvise over the top in real time without changing the looped sample. With the JVM410H, it has 4 channels with 3 modes a piece, essentially being 12 independently accessed channels that have effects loop, master volume and reverb independently of one another. So if I want to switch out of the looping and effects into a dry OD tone for riffing, all it takes is one channel switch to a channel with the effects loop deselected, that way I don't have to do a Michael Flatley tap dance routine!!!
2. Tone Control- With my high gain Marshall, running the delay unit or phaser into the front end has some very undesirable tonal effects. The delay becomes very harsh and sterile sounding, in addition to being very sensitive to dynamics in my playing. If I back the Level knob on the delay down to reduce the dynamic variance, it becomes even more sterile sounding. Running through the effects loop handles both the issues and warms up the replicated signal to get that creamy subtle sound that I'm looking for.
I would love to get another JVM410 and cab to run in true stereo to really see the technique that Joe uses come to life. I have used some Line 6 amp modeling software to replicate Joe's stereo "Black Night" tone in my studio, but I want to hear how it will sound in true analog stereo with the delay/reverb panning.
Wanted to post this as it's a great piece of advice re parallel delay mixing for mono amps from someone I know and is another huge Gilmour fan...
It very much applies to JB tone too, and works with a mono rig for those of us without stereo!
In the last few years I've used:
Boss RV-3
Boss DD-2
Maxon AD-900
Blackbox Quicksilver
Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay
Trex Replica
These are some of the best delays out there, but I've always had trouble getting them to sound exactly right.Basically no matter how good a delay is, whether it's a tc2290 or a Cornish TES, David doesn't let his main signal go through it- it gets split so one side goes straight through and one side goes to a delay and then they get mixed back together.
I wanted to try this, but the first obstacle was that the delay should be set to 100% wet to sound right. My Replica doesn't do this. So I got an old Boss DD-2 again as well as a Radial Bigshot Mix pedal. !@#$%^&! It sounds great! No more crappy AD/DA conversions messing with my killer distortion sound! No more of the blurring the edges of the notes and squashing of the harmonics I've been trying so hard to accentuate. All the clarity and liveliness of the orignal signal is there, and I can just mix in as much or little delay as I want. A side benefit that I didn't expect is that the DD-2 actually sounds better at 100% wet, the delays are even warmer sounding this way.
So to everyone with a delay pedal: get a parallel mixer!
Some more observations:
If you're going for the early(pre-'75) sounds, this whole thing may not matter so much. In fact you may WANT the edges blurred and the delay to "take over" the tone. The Replica, the Quicksilver, and other analog-styled delays are great for this.Conversely I'm going for the '76-on tones and I believe parallel-mixed delay has been an integral part of DG's tone since then. The Boss DD series and the new TC Nova should work perfectly for this.
A note on the Mad Professor Delay- this pedal features built-in parallel mixing. By no coincidence this was the best-sounding delay I tried before I knew exactly what I was looking for in a delay, but I sold it to try out the Replica. The downside(to me) is that the repeats were voiced kind of dark IMO, so even though the parallel mix design is great(and should be featured in more delay pedals!) I wouldn't be surprised If I still prefer the DD-2/mixer combo over it. Hopefully I will get to compare them someday
.
The route is thus:- Radial Bigshot Mix at the end of the chain or close to it. This pedal is bypassed when bypassed . When engaged however, this pedal splits(and buffers, for those wondering) the signal in two. One side goes directly to the output; this is your main guitar sound. The other side goes to a send/return loop. This is where you put your delay. Delay should be set to 100% wet. Then there is a knob on the Bigshot that adjusts how much of the effect will be mixed back in at the output- however one whole side of the mixer is dry so even though the delay pedal is set to 100% the maximum delay you'll hear at the output is 50%- or in other words the delay would be the same volume level as the dry signal. Mine is set considerably lower than that for typical lead sounds.
The real beauty of this system though, is that your dry signal stays intact. That kickass lead tone we've worked so hard to achieve, that carefully crafted comp> distortion> EQ> tone, goes straight through the pedal to the output. Which is unlike MOST delay pedals that will convert your sonic work of art into a digtal signal before(weakly) turning it back into analog.
The parallel mix system seperates the two so your dry signal stays analog and only your effected signal gets digitized.
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Worth mentioning that we need to get a list here for quick reference as to what delays do a "true" 100% wet with no dry. These are the ones I know do "true" 100% wet.
Boss DD-2 (with dummy plug)
Boss DD-3
TC Electronics Nova Delay
Boss DD20 giga Delay
MXR Delay system II (the best delay unit EVER!!!)
TC D-two
Line 6 Echo Park
Line 6 DL4
Empress Super Delay
Diamond Memory Lane
Eventide Timefactor
Yamaha UD stomp
Skreddy Echo
TC 2290
Skrydstrup DDL Custom Delay
Providence Delay 80 (with dummy plug)
EHX Deluxe Memory Man
Ibanez DE7
I trust this assists and I hope this information helps someone!
Joe's Delayed tone so nice and digital.I have heard and want to suggest all to hear it and I hope all listeners will choose it.
I think you can hear the time set voor the delay the best in a few vid's where Joe just plays one chord very short, in an interview.....I've seen a couple....
...a pic' taken at the secret BCC gig... just thought it might be of use to the Bona-geargeeks out there!? 
http://ziydpq.bay.livefilestore.com/y1p … jpg?psid=1
...a pic' taken at the secret BCC gig... just thought it might be of use to the Bona-geargeeks out there!?
excellent shot. thanks!
Hey Joe. I just received my Custom Joe Fuzz Face and it sounds great, but I would still like more gain and distortion and I also want to get closer to your sound. I got a Fender 212 amp and I was just wondering if you could give me any suggestions or tips on what to do or to add. 
Wow, looking at Pete The Cabby's picture of Joe's pedalboard, it looks like he's got a tube screamer pedal before the Fuzz Face.
Most Fuzz Face pedal's HATE having a buffered pedal with FET switching located in front of them. I've built a variety of DIY Fuzz Face pedals and they are all very finicky about what comes before them.
Maybe Joe's Fuzz Face has a change in the Fuzz Face circuit to allow it to work better with buffered pedals? In any case, Joe somehow manages to get awesome tones out of any rig it seems.
Thought I would post Joe's cut down pedalboard from his recent Australian tour...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3319/577 … 9580_b.jpg
It's pretty much a similar board to what Pete The Cabby posted from his BCC gig, except Joe had the Mooger Fooger Ring Modulator on this board which he claimed was 'a cool pedal'.
Here is what I do for a delay tone. I got this idea from David Bray (mods marshalls).
I use a weber mass attenuator on my rig just to tame it a bit. I don't like to turn it down or you don't get the tubes going. It has a line out on it. I send it to my old roland tape delay, but anything will work. I then use another amp to run that into. I use usually a fender super or deluxe, but have used even a roland solid state and it worked ok.
This way the direct signal is straight rock n roll. Here is a video with good audio if you want to check it out.
Wow, looking at Pete The Cabby's picture of Joe's pedalboard, it looks like he's got a tube screamer pedal before the Fuzz Face. .
thanks.
I've tried the two amp Joe trick once so far (only had a big enough stage once so far!), but in a kind of reversed manner. I put the FX loop with DD3 through my Fender Blues Deville and then just used the on-board reverb on my other amp - a Bugera V55H - set-up with a more overdriven tone. I figured that the cleaner Fender tone would suit the delay more. Got to say, the rig sounded extremely sweet that night and I would definately set it up like that again. Incidentally, I also use a buffered XYZ splitter - if you're in the UK look up Buzz Electronics who are very competitively priced and produce excellent gear.
Joe Bonamassa Forum → Joe's Guitars, Amps and Gear → Joe's Big Reverbicated/delayed tone.
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