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I wish someone made a "de-jangler" pedal. I am not Peter Buck, and I am tired of sounding like him every time I play clean. So now is your chance to rescue me from what Steve has called that "dinky" guitar tone.

I mostly play a semi-hollow body Epiphone with humbucking pickups thru a Fender HotRod Deluxe. I bought a Boss equalizer pedal to try and shape the tone but I am not having much success. Dinky dink dink. Perhaps a compressor pedal? Help. I suck at this kind of thing. I am just looking for a full, clean, slightly overdriven tone without the dink.

Do you use the neck pickup? Not both, just the neck. That usually makes things significantly less jangly.

Is the Fender amp a master volume type amplifier? I play a fender tweed type amplifier (Victoria Double Deluxe) and I just turn it up and when I want clean I go back on the guitar's volume knob. This gives you a little darker clean sound. It also allows you to be more expressive with your playing.

If your amp has a master volume, you can max out the master and bring up the pre until you get a little dirt. Then play with the guitar's volume knob.

Al

not to be obvious, but why dont you try a different guitar? i smashed up my ric because of that, now i have a strat that doenst sound like that. my amp has always been the same. i got it when i was 10. its a matchless.

I don't think the guitar is the problem. I agree with the post that told you to mess around with your preamp and master volume controls, assuming the Hot Rod Deluxe has a master volume.

A clean boost pedal may also help. There are a lot of them out there. My only experience is with the Z. Vex Super Hard On/Super Duper, which are wonderful and would most likely help you get the tone you want (the Hot Rod Deluxe is a tube amp, yes?).

Good luck!

you could buy new pickups,try heavier strings, try flatwound strings,use heaviar pick, strum near the neck, buy a different amp, buy a different guitar, turn your tone knob, change the cap on your tone knob, get new hands,

varidrive wrote:change the cap on your tone knob

Yes, do this. Get either jet-black or hot-red.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

I will try using the neck only, though this can sound rather fey. Isn't "fey" just a euphemism for gay? Anyway...

Yes, it's a master-type amp, so I will try messing with the volume controls. This sounds promising.

I like the mellow sound of the Epiphone hollow. I also play an Epiphone Les Paul, which actually can also sound rather dinky. It must be a problem with the way I am contolling the volume, and not the guitar. And I hate fender guitars. They feel like broomsticks with strings attached.

I use medium gauge strings to begin with (alternate tunings, need low end tension). Prosthetics are rather expensive. I am a fan of orange. Hot red is for pansies.

If you put new pickups in either of those guitars, I think you will notice your tone greatly improved. I would suggest a pickup with alnico 2 magnets. It gives a smooth, creamy tone with plenty of bass; no shrill top end, no Ric style jangling goin' on. The Seymour Duncan Custom Custom or APH2 are what I would recommend. You seriously need to get rid of those stock Epi pickups.

tipcat wrote:

I will try using the neck only, though this can sound rather fey. Isn't "fey" just a euphemism for gay?

fey:

Pronunciation: 'fA

1 a chiefly Scottish : fated to die : DOOMED b : marked by a foreboding of death or calamity

2 a : able to see into the future : VISIONARY b : marked by an otherworldly air or attitude c : CRAZY, TOUCHED

3 a : PRECIOUS 3 b : UNCONVENTIONAL, CAMPY

don't underestimate that fey guitar tone.

-Tom