This Made a HUGE Difference in My Playing AND Tone

Comments · 292

• DY

  @dylanadamsguitar · 8 months ago (edited) · pinned

  <b>A couple things I wanted to clarify:</b> for those saying “just use an effects loop” or “you don’t like it because you’re using reverb wrong,” it’s not only about the distorted reverb sound. Yes, an effects loop or built-in amp reverb would fix the distorted reverb issue specifically, but the main point I’m trying to make is that * <b>any type/amount of reverb coming from an amp</b> * was a crutch for me as a player and <b>has the potential to</b> hurt the mix, regardless of where it’s placed in the signal chain or how clear/un-distorted it sounds. It was still an issue for me when I was using Fender amps with built-in reverb. I addressed this briefly from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KXBoi7lRIA&amp;t=602">10:02</a> to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KXBoi7lRIA&amp;t=642">10:42</a> in the video, but I guess I should’ve put more emphasis on that and less emphasis on the &quot;reverb pedal into distorted amp&quot; thing (though I have a feeling some people didn’t make it far enough into the video before commenting).<br><br>Second, I should have clarified in the video that I’m speaking from the perspective of my playing style, the types of tones I’m going for, and the genres I play specifically. While I believe that a lot of my points are applicable to a lot of guitarists/band mixes, I don’t claim that my statements in the video are universal truths, and I understand that effects like reverb and delay are an inherent feature of some genres of music (just like overdrive is an inherent part of most of the music I play). My overall general sentiment still stands though: turning off X effect that a guitarist relies on too much can improve their playing and tone. For me it’s reverb, but it could be any other effect for someone else.

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• SP

  @sparkomatic · 8 months ago

  I&apos;m no longer putting syrup on my pancakes.

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• 3L

  @3lackdog · 8 months ago

  The problem wasn&apos;t the reverb, but the amount of reverb being used. That&apos;s almost always the case with reverb.

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• RI

  @rickclark4714 · 8 months ago

  My guitar journey got derailed thirty years ago by a flat tire and I’ve been stuck on the side of the road since. 😂

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• HI

  @hilol5918 · 8 months ago

  I don’t even care what Dylan talks about, the best part of these videos is his playing!

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• RE

  @retromacman620 · 8 months ago

  For a lot of the songs I play I feel like I need that ambient layer. This reminded me how nice it can be to pull back sounds for a lead tone, or rhythm in the beginning. In addition I often try, and need to a little more, create vibrato and ambience as much as I can with my fingers. That old &quot;Less is more&quot; adage is always a good idea, I&apos;ll keep this video in mind this week!

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• SU

  @sunberst58 · 5 months ago (edited)

  Hey bud,<br>Wow can i relate!! I started out my years gigging with pedals. Eventually building my own pedal board. Neatly hiding the wires and finally not needing batteries! I was living large! Until one day i plugged into my amp, started playing, then quickly realizing how much i leaned on pedals.<br>That moment i put away the pedals. Now all these years later my rig is,, Always 2 amps, a Tube Screamer that sits on my amp, always on. The level up, the tone and gain off. It just seems to add a nice punch, at leasr to my ear. On the floor, a Wawa (cry baby), a rarely used talk box, and a tuner. That&apos;s it. Doing that example you did with the reverb on then off was great. While the reverb can make it sound prettier, no reverb in my opinion sounds much warmer, more clarity, and it allows your vibrato to stand out more. Plugging straight into the amp has forced me &nbsp;to become a better player. And someone ALWAYS asks what pedals i use. And are always amazed when i say and show them, none.👍✌🎸🤙🏼

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• JA

  @JamesDailydis · 8 months ago

  You really helped a lot of guitarists with this one. Great job, Dylan.

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• BW

  @bwhit716 · 8 months ago

  Agree to a point, thought the amount of reverb you were using was a tad too much for that style of playing. &nbsp;I only use a small amount of pedal reverb, way less than your demo. &nbsp;Sometimes add a quick slap back of delay, but reverb is absolute minimum.

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• RE

  @RexGuitars · 8 months ago

  Lots of options nowadays to add fx loops through load boxes. Fryette, Boss, Two Notes, Friedman, Wampler…

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• MA

  @madmatt41187 · 8 months ago

  And this is why I started running a wet dry setup. But running two amps can be a pain.

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• GL

  @glguitarman · 5 months ago

  I figured out the whole reverb/delay/modulation thing back in the 90s. I was in my 20s and looking to get into a metal cover band, because I had only been in original bands with very few gigs or success. So I started going to bars and watching what other bands were doing. Even when the bands had good guitar players, it was always difficult to hear them clearly. This was the rack years when everyone had complex systems with midi switching and effects loops. So when I got into bands and started performing myself, I went bone dry with a Boogie and a Marshall, only using time-based effects when needed &apos;as an effect&apos;, not as the basis of my tone. Best decision I could have made, my tone was pure, and my playing became clean and articulate. Only problem with this I had was with the sound guys who would often perceive this as me being &apos;louder&apos;, because there was no &apos;mush&apos; in my sound.