Tight Vs Saggy (Loose) amps

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tawlks
  • Start date Start date
Tight FTW


Although, I do like some sag for lightly broken up type stuff
 
psychodave":2cr4davr said:
It all depends on what I want to play. When I modded my Marshall, I added a knob that adjusts the "feel" of the amp (thanks Mike Fortin :thumbsup: ). The knob adjusts how tight the amp gets and feels. I can make it real chewy like scorpions tone, or I can dial it to be stupid tight to track as fast as I can play. :rock:
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HHhhhmmmmm.............. a "tight" control?? very interesting................... dam :lol: :LOL:
 
JTyson":272ukwlq said:
psychodave":272ukwlq said:
It all depends on what I want to play. When I modded my Marshall, I added a knob that adjusts the "feel" of the amp (thanks Mike Fortin :thumbsup: ). The knob adjusts how tight the amp gets and feels. I can make it real chewy like scorpions tone, or I can dial it to be stupid tight to track as fast as I can play. :rock:
Click to expand...
HHhhhmmmmm.............. a "tight" control?? very interesting................... dam :lol: :LOL:
Click to expand...
Got get one of them installed on my old lady...oh honey.... :scared:
 
tight for me..

I don't understand why people always use the VHT as a baseline for "tightness"

I've played a few VHT's/Fryette's and they didn't even feel that tight/dry? :confused:

I guess I'm so used to playing tight amps then.

I always set my amps to be really dry when I'm practicing so I can hear every nuance when I'm playing to get my picking down perfectly
 
Shiny_Surface":1z97tggo said:
Too far in either direction sounds bad to me imo.
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yes........my Engls were SUPER TIGHT!!
Sounded great for metal though..... :rock:

Diezel Herebert...........PERFECT!!

Tight....yet brutal! :thumbsup:
 
Khoi":2eppyyyo said:
I always set my amps to be really dry when I'm practicing so I can hear every nuance when I'm playing to get my picking down perfectly
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Same, I, unlike most metal guitarrists I know use the minimum amount of gain to get the required sound when playing heavy stuff, and I practice/learn with overdrive off, I often just plug into the MG practice amp, clean channel, great tone doesn't matter that much when learning.
 
There are many other factors to consider. I have played some very tight amps that I did not care for and some that I did and vice versa. My Wizard is very tight yet there is an openess to it's tone. I like amps that have alot of depth and more dimension to their tone. Harmonic complexity. A super tight amp can be a sterile cold turd with no dimension or complexity. Yet there are amps that have a little more sag that are also cold and sterile. A Cornford MK50H is nice for leads. It is not an Uber tight amp in the bass voicing. I also prefer a more open sounding amp and using an OD to tighten the tone a little. An amp can have one aspect in it's voicing that is tight, and one that is not. What about an amp that has a losser bass response, but it's mids and trebs are tighter? Tighter bass but looser mids and trebs. Is the OP looking for a super tight good amp recommendation?
 
Khoi":uonyfcic said:
tight for me..

I don't understand why people always use the VHT as a baseline for "tightness"
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I have to agree based on the UL I used to own.
 
JTyson":2cudse72 said:
HHhhhmmmmm.............. a "tight" control?? very interesting................... dam :lol: :LOL:
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yeah, its called birth control :lol: :LOL:
 
glpg80":1tir2fpd 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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This, right here, exactly. I like a loose, more fluid lead tone where the notes blend better but I HATE when my notes get muddy and squished together on the rhythm side....If that makes any sense :lol: :LOL:
 
My Uberschall is the perfect balance for me. Tracks very well with some nice compression on anything at or above half on the master.

BTW, don't confuse loose with compressed. :thumbsup:

My SLO and K-Tre' are the tightest amps I own. My Early DR and Road King are my loosest, but I can live with both of them.
 
Death by Uberschall":3cttatlb said:
My SLO and K-Tre' are the tightest amps I own.
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I amazed that you can describe a SLO100 as tight. It is one of the loosest amps I have owned.
(I have owned 7 SLO's)
 
for some reason, it dosent bother me if an amp is a little loose for lead work. I like em tight for rhythm work though
 
johnnyjellybean":3h1u0q4p said:
Death by Uberschall":3h1u0q4p said:
My SLO and K-Tre' are the tightest amps I own.
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I amazed that you can describe a SLO100 as tight. It is one of the loosest amps I have owned.
(I have owned 7 SLO's)
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Mine is very tight, have to crank the crap out of it to get any kind of power section compression going. :confused:

I've never heard anybody call a SLO "loose".
 
Shask":3uo50iuv said:
You cant make a tight amp sound bigger and looser, no matter how much outboard gear you add.
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Well, you can sorta try.


To let the cat out of the bag, I have a fuzz pedal now that I use with my MarkIV for looser-style tones. It probably does the job a bit too well because I'm fighting against the looseness, everything just blurts out and sputters if I play too hard and intricate. I'm used to thundering on those low strings- but as it's been said how a looser sound works best for leads, well, the fuzz is better suited to single notes and on the upper strings. It doesn't get cloudy like on the lower strings, it has this great warmth and butteryness. Speaking of which........... ;)




I should do a clip when I get back home. I need to practice though.
 
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