Technical data

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Academy of Tone
™
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AMP1
™
’s four channels were constructed separately and were optimally
matched to each other in terms of frequency. With the effective 3-band EQ,
the overall sound can be quickly and easily adapted to suit your amp cab
and your band’s sound. The biggest advantage of this is when playing live,
where you would otherwise have to adjust four tonal settings. Using the
CUSTOM CONTROL
™
, you can add nuanced timbres to each individual
sound. For me, AMP1
™
’s Vintage Channel is the reference point to which
I adjust all my other sounds. You can also achieve beautiful clean sounds
through this channel by backing off the volume pot on your guitar.
To make the sounds match perfectly, I first select the VINTAGE Channel,
and then switch to the CLEAN Channel. Then I use CUSTOM CONTROL
™
Clean Tone to adjust the sounds to each other.
AMP1
™
CUSTOM CONTROL
™
TONE:
When you turn the CLEAN TONE anticlockwise, you’ll get the typical
“Californian” clean sounds for country and funk, with plenty of fullness
in the Mids. This works particularly well with single coil pickups. If your
guitar has humbuckers and you want pearly clean tones, use it in
“split coil” mode or turn the CUSTOM CONTROL
™
clockwise. With the
Clean Tone turned all the way down, most humbuckers will deliver bal-
anced, warm, rounded jazz tones.
If you turn the Classic Tone control anticlockwise, you’ll get classic
sounds, while turning it clockwise will result in more modern tones.
I would advise you to turn these down slightly if you’re using single
coils, or up a bit if you’re using humbuckers. MODERN TONE is a totally
extreme control, which will give you two completely different –
and seemingly incompatible – tonal options. Turned down, you get
creamy, warm, singing Classic Lead Sounds that don’t grate at all – in
the style of Gary Moore or Eric Johnson. Turning it up gives you the ex-
act opposite: the world of metal, featuring ultra-modern metal sounds
with extreme amounts of bite and dry bass that’ll make classic rock
fans’ hair stand on end, but will bring a massive smile to the faces of
metalheads. Here, you must show your own colours!
Mastering different sounds
Modern amps often let you save a range of different sounds that can then be accessed by footswitch. When the need arises, and with skilful use, this
variety can really enrich a band’s sound. Right now, such a wealth of sounds is in demand with guitar players in cover bands, who need to be able to
accurately reproduce the widest variety of music styles authentically. From personal experience, I can say that a small but perfectly functioning set of
sounds is usually better than an elaborate tap dance on the pedalboard. On top of that, each sound requires a different playing style, and each of these
has to be mastered first. It takes a long time for a player to really get to know the varied playing styles, and to be “in control” of the numerous sounds
and playing techniques. Because of that, you shouldn’t get too stressed – you want to focus on actually playing the guitar, and not on chasing as many
sounds as possible.
While watching some live bands I’ve noticed how the guitars simply disappear when the rest of the band starts playing too, even though the players
on stage can still hear their own sound loud and clear. In particular, the channel switch between Overdrive and Clean – which is something virtually
every player uses – seems to cause problems. The reason for this is very simple: the frequency spectrum varies too much. While the Clean sound works,
the Overdrive sound disappears – in this case, lots of the Mids are normally missing. If the Overdrive sounds full and fat, but clean tones are thin, then
there’s too many Highs and, at the same time, too few Mids. Tones that sound amazing when the guitarist plays unaccompanied often sound thin and
lack substance in a full-band context.
Stompboxes and overdrive pedals have never been more popular. The main reason for this is that they actually work! If you run a pedal through a clean
or slightly overdriven amp, then the frequency settings you’ve chosen on the amp will remain largely and noticeably intact and audible. The main reason
for this is that you don’t need to change the tonal settings on the amp at all. The sound changes from the pedal stay within the acceptable range, with-
out changing the frequency spectrum of the amp.