How to Get the Best Amp Sound

               One of the most commonly overlooked aspects of guitar playing by both new guitar players and a fair few intermediate to advanced players is their amp sound. This may come as a surprise to a lot of people. Perhaps your amp sound is suffering as well and you may not even be aware of it.  With players focus on the sheer numbers of stomp boxes, effects pedals and modeling setups it is easy to forget the basics of your amp sound.

                I know that amp sounds have a lot of contributing factors like afore mentioned pedals. There is also the guitar sound that plays a part. The type of wood that is used in the guitars we are playing will have an effect on our amp sounds. The guitar pickups are another item that will affect the amplification sound. If we have a single coil pickup the amp sound may sound a bit more trebly. If we have double coil pickups the sound may be fatter or have more bass.  

                So what is it so many of us are missing in our amp sound? Well the simple EQ setup. The most common amp setup is with the distortion turned up to full the treble turned up to full the bass turned all the way off and the midrange turned up to full. This is a setup that I see time and time again. When I make a suggestion to adjust this and that I get a lot of resistance. People are very protective of their sound and they should be. However I would suggest you record your sound with that setup and I think you will find that adjustments are needed.

                So here is how I would suggest correcting this problem with amp sound. Do the twelve a clock setting. Meaning set everything to 12 a clock. Set the mid, treble, distortion, and bass to 12 a clock. Then slowly adjust each level. Do not set anything to zero most of all the bass. You want to have some bottom end in your sound. This will add weight and thickness to your sound. Make sure you do not set treble all the way up as well this will make your sound very weak and shrill. When you first make these adjustments your sound may not feel right. This maybe because you have become accustom to a tinnier sound, but stick with it or make small adjustments. Play with these adjustments for a while. Take your time finding your sound. Do not settle for a weak and washed out guitar sound.

                As a side note I would also suggest using this method when thinking of getting a new amp. When testing the sound of an amp set everything to 12 a clock and adjust slow and see how the sound reacts.