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New! User's Group
Blues Tone
There are a lot of great blues tones out there. This article will give you ideas that will help you craft a blues tone that is uniquely you.
Electric blues guitar rigs range from minimal to fairly elaborate. A single coil pickup guitar and a tweed amp can often times provide a blues tone that's tuff to beat. But what if you want to expand your tonal possibilities using effects? A good blues overdrive pedal, applied properly, can really enhance your tone.
If you are new to guitar effects, you may want to read the Effects 101 section of the Tech Info page.
The most popular non-linear effect for blues is overdrive, because we don't want to add too much distortion to the signal. We just want to add a little bite or grit to the guitar's natural tone.
So how do we go about crafting a nice blues tone? Well, here is a signal path diagram that provides a good starting point:
Electric blues guitar rigs range from minimal to fairly elaborate. A single coil pickup guitar and a tweed amp can often times provide a blues tone that's tuff to beat. But what if you want to expand your tonal possibilities using effects? A good blues overdrive pedal, applied properly, can really enhance your tone.
If you are new to guitar effects, you may want to read the Effects 101 section of the Tech Info page.
The most popular non-linear effect for blues is overdrive, because we don't want to add too much distortion to the signal. We just want to add a little bite or grit to the guitar's natural tone.
So how do we go about crafting a nice blues tone? Well, here is a signal path diagram that provides a good starting point:
Guitar
Compression
Non-linear
Reverb
Amplifier
The setup doesn't have to be this complicated. In fact, simpler is often times better. For example, you may plug a guitar into a Texas Dirt and into a tweed combo amplifier. Here is an example recording using this set-up:
Audio Sample
Here are some final thoughts. The two endpoints are very important! Once you have a guitar you like, it is important that it be equipped with good pickups. Single coil pickups work well for blues, but there are also others that work well. Also, try using the neck pickup. The amplifier's speakers have a huge impact on your overall tone. Last, the warmth of a tube amplifier is really great for blues, especially a tweed combo.
We hope this information was helpful. Best of luck crafting your tone!
Audio Sample
Here are some final thoughts. The two endpoints are very important! Once you have a guitar you like, it is important that it be equipped with good pickups. Single coil pickups work well for blues, but there are also others that work well. Also, try using the neck pickup. The amplifier's speakers have a huge impact on your overall tone. Last, the warmth of a tube amplifier is really great for blues, especially a tweed combo.
We hope this information was helpful. Best of luck crafting your tone!