The Quest for Tone ! (Page 1 of 2)

There are a bunch of ways to get that tone. For example, one of the best places to look is in the top of the gear section. There is a topic named "Joe's Big Reverbicated/delayed Tone". Here's what Joe said on how to get that sort of tone:

Hey everybody....
          Heres how you do the delay thing.. 1st ( Jim your right) you need a wet and a delay amp.. Preferably two different kinds of overdrive.  ex.Marshall/lFender or Marshall / Dumble..  Those are the two I use..  One side ( Marshall) put a DD-3 with all knobs set to 12 oclock, you may have to tweek them depending on the unit itself.. I have 6 DD-3s and they all sound a little different..Keeley makes a good version with a analog switch thats my current fav.  Next take your Fender/ Dumble style amp use a out board reverb (ex Boss digital reverb or old fender spring) or if your amp has reverb so much the better. Disclaimer: the old Fender springs are a constant battle to keep working.. They sound great but are the crutch of my existence right now.. I carry 3, two in the trailer and one on the bus.  Maybe one works right on any given day.. maybe...  So delay on one side reverb on the other.  This makes it all naturally separate both on stage and in the house..  Next is the most imortant thing.  The Delay must be run through the effects loop..  Running a delay in front the amp is extremely difficult to handle.  It runs away from you and its hard to control.  The effects loop is the only answer..  Now as far as effects loops are concerned.  Standard Marshall ones wired in series are the best..  Stay away from the ones wired parallel with all the knobs and controls and switches. They are way too much work and render poor results.. The rest is personal taste.. more subtle or wet or inbetween is up to you.. Its also important to realize that this is not my original recipe, its Eric Johnson's circa 1988.   Got to give credit were its due. Lots of racking my brain trying to figure that one out.     Thanks Joe Bonamassa

Here's what Joe said about his main home low volume set-up:

I should actually explain my home practice low volume rig..  I live in LA at a condo complex.  Very Hollywood types live here.. They have no interest in hearing the bluesboy crank up the jams late at night so I devised a rig for my house ..
1.  1987 Marshall Silver series Marshall 50 watt 1X12 combo..
2  1965 Fender Princeton Reverb or a 1957 Fender Vibrolux with a Kendrick reverb unit
3 THD Hot Plate ( for Princeton Only)
4 paired down pedal board (spare)
   AB/Both switch, Vox Wah , TS 808 RI , Fuchs Audio prototype "Creme " pedal and A boss DD-3 delay.
I get a pretty good approximation of my big rig at TV volume.. You know  watching a Law and Order Marathon and playing guitar at the same time  kinda thing. Can hear the TV and guitar at the same time.. No Broom sticks from below..( been there done that). 
Anyway.. There is always another way to get your tone..
joe bonamassa

There you go!

any opinions on which marshall 50W ? super lead plexi, silver jubilee, etc ?

thanks for the reply, yes i guess both of them would be great, however i'm going for a 2 amp setup and i need both an american and british style amp. i've already decided on a vibroverb (with ts808, a poor man's "Joe bonamassa Two-Rock set for mids"), but i'm not sure which marshall would be best for both leads and rhythm.
any thoughts are welcome !

indeed, i'm also getting it with a half power switch and master volume if i decide to go for the super lead. In addition to that, probably also a plexi shield like Joe, very handy.

is it good for rhythm too ? i'm especially looking for this kind of marshall rhythm tone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERFFXvPV9XE
at 7:20

I know,he says it's an old 100w marshall head, nothing more, but i've done some research and it's actually a 50 watt tremolo head.

those aren't sold anymore so which amp would get me closest ?

In that particular clip, the amp in question is a "black flag" vintage Marshall Superlead/Superbass 100w.  Eric DOES use a 50w OR 100w Super Tremolo for dirty rhythm or even for his main lead tone.  He's really all over the place with the old plexis but as long as it's pre 1970 and it says "Marshall" Eric uses it.

For that kind of EJ "Dirty Rhythm" you don't even need a Marshall persay, I do very well with the normal channel of my '68 Super Reverb cranked to the hilt and hit with a TS808 and Fulltone '70 fuzz.  Sadly, George Metropoulos has discontinued his Marshall plexi kits and strictly does his big $$$ custom versions now or I would recommend those.  I have a '69 Spec Superlead 100 that does that tone in spades, as well as a JTM45 Metro clone on loan from my dad that can also do that.

Okay, IMO here what I would do if you are looking to keep things in a combo format and do the Bonamassa thing:

1) Nab yourself a Marshall Silver Jubilee combo 50w (1x12 or 2x12, doesn't really matter).  You can get them for less than $1800 most of the time, and I'd probably only pay $1400-$1600 max.

2) If you already have the Vibroverb now, use that pushed with a couple of nice overdrives.  If you want to "Dumble-ize" your Fender you could slam it with any of the Dumble inspired overdrive pedals ( Fuchs Plush, Hermida Zendrive, Ethos, Jetter GSR or GSB, Barber Small Fry, Menatone Howie, OceanFX Pearl Drive, ect). 

3) Then add a nice chorus such as a TC SCF if you can afford it.  On the cheap I picked up an Ibanez CS-9 analog chorus for $60 at Guitar Center and it sounds really great.  Also Joe has been known to use the Boss chorus pedals too.

4)  Last is your delay/reverb setup.  Run a standard DD-3 or similar delay device through the Jubilee effects loop.  Then use a little reverb (3-5) from your Vibroverb and you are GOOD!

Hope this helps!

thanks man !
A fuzz on a fender sounds like the plexi ? really ? I think eric uses just the plexi distortion for his rhythm sound.

I don't have the vibroverb yet but i've got a TS808 already, and i'm actually going for 2 heads

i've got a line 6 M13 which has a few choruses that should come pretty close. That SCF mofo is 300 euros here !

Ceriatone has both a silver jubilee head and JMP super lead head. i'm torn between the two.

thanks for the reply !

i've checked it out (youtube...) sound great ! i won't be able to get my hands on one in belgium but there's an amp builder in my neighbourhood that can do anything i want...
i think a plexi or silver jubilee might still be a great choice though.