Blues Deluxe Settings

I just got a Fender Blues Deluxe amp. Does anyone have a good basic setting for a good blues sound with some sustain? The two high strings seem to be a little dull and everything else not quite right. Oh yea, I'm playing a Les Paul. Thanks

Originally Posted by: garacerI just got a Fender Blues Deluxe amp. Does anyone have a good basic setting for a good blues sound with some sustain? The two high strings seem to be a little dull and everything else not quite right. Oh yea, I'm playing a Les Paul. Thanks

In a way, impossible to answer. It has to sound good to your ear and that's a bit hard to do over this here intarweb... :D

However, I am a tone monkey and have been told that I teak good tone out of just about every amp I've played. It's not a special talent, I just screw around until I like it. That's the point, I will forever tweak and am never 100% satisfied but always in a range that I like for tone.

However, some things I do to set up my tone.

First, I do not start with a distorted/overdriven sound. That comes later. I do my Hi/Mid/Low adjustments clean. Thing is, the tone setting on a Les Paul is going to be different than a Strat. So I never actually care about a 'standard setting' for me. Back to the point, I strum open E, G and D and tweak the clean open chords. It lets you know that you are balancing the brighter end with the beefier end. Specifically, an open G should should both robust and slightly shimmery since it is striking all the strings.

Once I have the clean tone at a place I find pleasant, I factor in the overdrive stuff. I find that adding the dirt does change the tone dynamic a little so I tweak some more. However, when adding overdrive, I tend to not use open chords to set the tone but focus on bar chords and lead stuff.

Thing is, If I told you my setting, it might sound horrible when you set it up. It's equipment, pick ups and how you play.

I'd told it before but I did a guitar player competition (popular in the 80's). Everyone had to use the same Ampeg solid state amp set up. Not a great amp. In addition to the amp on stage, there was a combo version of the same the in 'practice room' back stage. When I practiced prior to the competition, I was bumrushed by half of the 20 participants asking how I set it up. I'd played through this amp at the local store a ton of times so I knew what I needed to do. So, everyone used my set up that asked me.

Funny think, in watching a play back video later at the local store, one of the sales guys asked what I did for my tone...I said I plugged straight in to the amp, the guy before me already set my tone set up. Yet, I apparently sounded better than most of the others.

Key to this is not what I sounded like but that what is good for me may not be good for you. We play differently. Most importantly is having a tried and true method of getting there.

The tone is honestly in your fingers and at a certain point you start sounding the same through pretty much anything you play. Granted, some amps are clearly better than others and in live and studio situations the better quality the amp; the better off you are. However, I tell people time and time again that if you want to get the tone you are searching for it starts with "you." No matter how hard you try you simply won't get the tone you want until you yourself have the skill and feel of that style and vibe. You could put Eddie Van Halen through any amp and he will sound like Eddie. You can plug Bill Frisell into any amp and he will sound like Bill Frisell. Listen to a 3 year old banging the strings on a guitar non-sensically and it will sound, well, non-sensical no matter the amp.

This isn't to distract you from thinking you can't get the tone you want from the gear you have. From working in music stores to playing gigs and producing music, I have seen the same thing over and over. It starts with you, and your feel and skill level. From there, you can make anything work. Now go practice!!! :D