Tight Vs Saggy (Loose) amps

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Tawlks
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Discuss. I mean more high gain here by the way. (I'm bored)

By tight/loose I mean like VHT - Tight. Mesa DR - Loose.
 
I prefer the tighter, quick response type of tone, like my Mesa/Boogie MarkIV.

I get frustrated with loose-sounding tones because to me it muddies up the notes.
 
petejt":1ubleac1 said:
I prefer the tighter, quick response type of tone, like my Mesa/Boogie MarkIV.

I get frustrated with loose-sounding tones because to me it muddies up the notes.
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I agree, my picking is fairly intricate (Without sounding arrogant) in what I do and I prefer a tight amp to articulate the notes better, not just be a blur.
 
I prefer amps to be tight but not to tight. Wizards are tight amps but Fortins are even tighter.
 
I like tighter amps than loose, certain amps like the uber aren't what I consider tight and I use a boost to make them tighter. I like amps like vht, engl and splawn better than rectifiers.
 
ZOMBIELAND":6hlvfqwu said:
I like tighter amps than loose, certain amps like the uber aren't what I consider tight and I use a boost to make them tighter. I like amps like vht, engl and splawn better than rectifiers.
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I have NOS Siemens el34s in my Uberschall and they tighten it up pretty good. This is the best sounding Uber I've ever played. I'm actually liking it without the boost even more lately. Pre-amps have the stock Sovtek LPS/9th Gen Chinese.
 
tight. really tight. i love an amplifier that is well designed and tracks well.

for solos though it also needs to be loose - nothing i hate more than fighting an amplifier to play a lead tone.
 
glpg80":1auskvyr said:
tight. really tight. i love an amplifier that is well designed and tracks well.

for solos though it also needs to be loose - nothing i hate more than fighting an amplifier to play a lead tone.
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Perfect compromise sitch.... I traded my Recto for a Knuck Tre. It is a bit tighter. But I don't think I am a bass player and try to cover that turf, and push the cab into flub zone. SLO for leads. Is there a better head for leads? I guess that depends on what you own at the moment :lol: :LOL:

AC Boost helps tighten a Rec.

Nothing worse than a bedroom player slaggin on an amp for being loose when they play with the bass cranked to the balls, trying to be Jason Newstead AND James Hetfield.... :doh:
 
Interesting topic. I didn't even realize, until recently, that an amp could have this tight or loose character. I've played mostly Fender combo amps except for the 5150 that I used to have (...and not counting the solid state stuff I had when I first started playing). It wasn't until I went to the music store to check out an Egnater Renegade and messed around with the tight/deep switch that I realized this amp character that I had been missing all along. I ended up buying a Renegade, and I have the high gain channel set to tight. I don't think I'll ever switch it back to "deep". I do, however, sometimes use the "deep" (which is the same as the "loose" we are discussing here) on my clean channel for certain tones. The next amp I buy will definitely be a tight amp.
 
I prefer my amps to be loose as it gets. The sloppier the better.
















Or maybe not....
 
I am starting to like looser amps. I find they sound bigger, and it is easy to tighten them with a boost.

You cant make a tight amp sound bigger and looser, no matter how much outboard gear you add.


That being said, I own examples of both :D
 
I like tight amps for high gain and a looser feeling amp for mid to low gain.
 
it depends on the guitar/amp combo really, but loose amps with low output humbuckers is what im liking lately, you get the big roundness and depth yet still plenty tight with a boost
 
I also seem to like slightly looser amps as of late...there is a certain depth to the sound that a tight amp can't replicate. As mentioned, if I want to get tighter, I just slam the amp with a boost. IMO, you can't do the opposite and effectively 'untighten' an amp for a GOOD looser sound.

Eric
 
ibanez4life SZ!":27vw2dj8 said:
I also seem to like slightly looser amps as of late...there is a certain depth to the sound that a tight amp can't replicate. As mentioned, if I want to get tighter, I just slam the amp with a boost. IMO, you can't do the opposite and effectively 'untighten' an amp for a GOOD looser sound.

Eric
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yes you can... its called a volume knob? :confused:
 
glpg80":1fcnffr1 said:
ibanez4life SZ!":1fcnffr1 said:
I also seem to like slightly looser amps as of late...there is a certain depth to the sound that a tight amp can't replicate. As mentioned, if I want to get tighter, I just slam the amp with a boost. IMO, you can't do the opposite and effectively 'untighten' an amp for a GOOD looser sound.

Eric
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yes you can... its called a volume knob? :confused:
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IMO you can't. To me, a 'loose' amp sounds loose because when you pick hard you can hear the amp struggling to handle the load. Tight amps sound tight because when you pick hard the amp is still well within its comfort zone. In my experience anyway.

A man's got to have at least one of each I say :thumbsup:
 
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