Thanks guys for your replies. Im a total newb when comes to electric guitars, amps, pedals etc so really helps getting a starting point. Will have a bit of a play today and as you have both mentioned, try and dial in the sound that i am looking for. Maybe worth switching to just one pick up to begin with so not having to deal with two different volume and tone settings??
I have been using an audio interface (Motu M2) and Garage Band to play with various distortions. I am having trouble getting a good sound that I like though. It could be just my poor guitar skills, but I am not sure how to adjust things. It sounds like I am getting a lot of noise and its hard to get the notes to come through. Could be open strings sounding through and maybe I need to work on muting strings?
Should I be adjusting the gain on my guitar? on the M2? in Garage Band? the noise gate on Garageband? Or just improve my playing?
Any tips on how to improve the sound with distortion and clarity of the songs coming through.
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So the tube-screamer is like a crunch effect?
The Tube Screamer is a mid-booster overdrive. Like any overdrive and many distortions, it could be used to create a âcrunchyâ tone if used, for instance, on a clean amp.
Or, by cranking up the gain and/or using it on an already overdriven amp, it can be used to create more high-gain lead-type guitar sounds.
Cheers,
Keith
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How about the Line 6 Pod or Behringer v-amp as relatively cheap ways of getting a lot of tonal flexibility?
Yes, multifx systems are always good for that and I suggest them as a good way for a beginner to learn about effects and how to use them.
As well as the ones you mentioned, there units from Zoom, Boss, Valeton, Nux and others.
Also many amps, like the Boss Katana, Yamaha THR, some Blackstar ranges, Fender Mustang ,etc. have a bunch of built-in effects.
Cheers,
Keith
I have a Peavey Studio 110 from 1981. Still works but doesnât seem to do much. is it worth adding pedals, or should I just get a new amp? Also, Iâm still on an acoustic with built in electronics, going to get an electric soon. Thanks community 
@LindaJoyce
I love my pedals but I have been having a power supply problem , (I think.) I had one pedal and it was making horrible noises coming out of my amp.
I have been thinking about a new amp. Im curious to how you do.
Good luck
Hi Linda,
Does the reverb still work in your amp? If so, you should be able to do plenty with that amp. There sure are a lot of knobs to tweak!
I would get a new amp. You can get a great practice amp like a Fender Mustang or Boss Katana for around the same price as a couple of decent pedals.
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I just bought a G1x FOUR FX processor and itâs pretty awesome for beginners. Endless digital tones to mess with, rhythm pedal, drum backing tracks with adjustable bpm, looper and costs less than $100. My first pedal and probably wouldnât want it any other way, also using a boss katana mini amp which is plenty of power without blowing down my walls haha.
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This lesson is so useful, tanks a lot!
Bought me a used Fender GT 40 Amp with App control, sooo nice!
Great pedal primer! Lots of potential for fun! Should place this lesson in grade 1.
Some dumb questions- I have a Boss Katana, and for metal riffs I have been using any of the settings above the clean setting, and turning the gain up to about the 3 oâclock position. But the amp has a distortion effect (or booster I should say), so should I be using all three together (channel + gain + distortion)? It seems like to get a basic distorted sound, I am using the gain at 3/4 max already, and it seems like I canât go much higher if I wanted. Honestly, once gain is up at 3/4 max, seems like any of the channels (crunch, lead, brown) all sound pretty much exactly the same, so I donât know if I have the settings all out of whack and if thereâs an optimal setting that I am grossly neglecting out of ignorance. And it should be noted that I play at bedroom volume, so is there just not much discernable change in sound at low volume?
The gain setting may not make much change after 3-oâclock if the guitar output level is high enough to fully overdrive the amp at the settings you are on. This is because once one of the gain stages is producing flattened tops and bottoms on the signal, there is nothing left that can change by driving it harder. There may be some small changes in other gain stages, but those will likely be subtle and not something you will hear without paying a lot of attention.
Similarly, for the overdrive or boost effect (I assume it is like a pedal inserted in the signal chain) adding it may not make much change to what you hear for the reason above. Overdrives and distortion pedals usually also shape the EQ, so they can have a distinct effect on the final tone.
What you are describing is pretty much how metal is set up. Filtering (EQ) will change some of the tone but the distortion itself is kind of stuck at max. I recommend you try playing with the gain a bit by taking it down to where you start to hear moving from clean to distortion and then listen to how you can change the sound by playing hard or soft. This point of light distortion will be different from amp to amp model and also across different pickups.
For me, I set my guitar volume about 7, then tune the gain to the edge of distortion, then nudge other stuff around to get the sound I like. The nudging can be done with guitar volume, gain, tone, playing har or soft, etc. This is where I find a lot of interesting sounds.
For the Katana and most modeler amps, the master volume will set how loud it is without messing with the distortion. For a tube amp, it is different because the volume will often change the tone a bit or change the distortion on the final stage because it is not running with as much signal and the final stage was contributing to the distortion.
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This is helpful. Thank you.
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This, you need a good starting point and your guitar should never be set to full volume. Most people never seem to use the volume on their guitar and itâs one of the best ways to change tone.
@artax_2 Stacy once you get a sound you like try turning the volume down on your guitar a little at a time and see how much it changes the tone.