Article on setting up tone on Fender amps

Joe E · Post by **Joe E** » 2 Mar 2004 7:43 am

Here is a neat article on getting the Fender Tone out of the amp and some technical reasons why.
http://www.custom-sounds.com/magic6.htm

Joe
www.jujukings.com

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 2 Mar 2004 8:39 am

Just remember...they're not talking about settings for a pedal steel guitar, but for a straight guitar. (Bass on "2"? ...'ya gotta be kiddin' me!)

Those settings might work for Robert Randolph, but not for the rest of us.

C Dixon · Post by **C Dixon** » 2 Mar 2004 8:55 am

dittos Donny,

Also, Fender has always used a special log taper on their controls. In essence MOST of the "steam" was out of them once they were moved beyond 3.

Leo had this done on purpose IMO, because the other amplifier manufacturers were using more linear tone controls in that era. This meant that a Fender gave the same boost in tone (be it treble, mid or bass) at 2 as most others got at 8 or 9.

This psychologically, led a given player to believe the Fender was a better amp. Proof was the common statement,

"I got more power on my Fender at a volume setting of 3 than yours is at 8!"

Course if you had turned both amps to full volume, a 50 Watt Fender was NO louder than a 50 watt Gibson. Watts are watts are watts

Ah for the tricks advertisers and designers do to garner sales. But then some say this is "genious". Could be. Not sure.

carl

WWJD[This message was edited by C Dixon on 02 March 2004 at 08:58 AM.]

Dave Van Allen · Post by **Dave Van Allen** » 2 Mar 2004 9:33 am

Just crank it up and play the dern thing...

wwjd

Joe E · Post by **Joe E** » 2 Mar 2004 9:39 am

Sorry Guys, I should have said for 6 string players. I don't play pedal steel anymore, so I forget about the variences between the two.

Joe

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 2 Mar 2004 2:06 pm

Quite alright, Joe!

Sometimes beginners take things quite literally though, and I just didn't want some "newbie" steeler thinkin'..."Is this how a steel's really s'posed to sound?"

Fuller steel sounds for the steel are in vogue, now. It's almost like steelers went from "bright and twangy" to "smooth and mellow" in the last 40 years, and country lead players did just the opposite! (LOL!) [This message was edited by Donny Hinson on 02 March 2004 at 02:07 PM.]

Dennis Detweiler · Post by **Dennis Detweiler** » 2 Mar 2004 4:14 pm

All knobs right!

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 2 Mar 2004 4:35 pm

Just turn the knobs until it sounds pleasing to your ears.

Andy Greatrix · Post by **Andy Greatrix** » 4 Mar 2004 11:14 pm

I tried these settings on a Traynor YCV80 amp (with 2x12inch speakers)with my musicman stingray six string guitar. I couldn't believe how good it sounded. It also sounds good with my MSA semi-classic with BL pickup. Thanks for the idea.

Jody Carver · Post by **Jody Carver** » 14 Mar 2004 5:09 pm

The points that Mr.Dixon posts are partially
true. Most all Fender amps gave their best when the gain is set at three,and Mr.Dixon states that when the amp such as a Fender is
increased in volume it ( Fender) is no different in gain than as Mr.Dixon states "as
a Gibson". I beg to differ with Mr. Dixon Sir
There is NO SOUND like a FENDER SOUND and all things considered Fender leaves all the
others at the starting gate.

I have been using that so called "steam" all of my life and I havent run out of steam as yet,,maybe soon but not yet.

didnt mean to take issue with you Mr.Dixon. But being a Fender fan all of my life,your comments woke
me up. Watts are Watts true...but a Fender is
whats watt.

and will be forever at least in my lifetime.

Mark Herrick · Post by **Mark Herrick** » 15 Mar 2004 2:19 pm

Go to this page and download the "Tone Stack Calculator" to see the frequency response curves of some common amps. You can also change values of various components to see how that affects the curve. Note the big midrange dip in the Fender curve.
http://www.duncanamps.com/software.html

On my Custom Vibrasonic, with my Mullen, I have the Bass and Mid pretty much cranked and Treble between 3 and 4. This sounds pretty good for the Mullen, but might sound like **** with an Emmons P/P. I think Gene is right, you cannot make a blanket statement about how the controls on an amp should be set. Every guitar is going to require different settings.

Mike Simpson · Post by **Mike Simpson** » 17 Mar 2004 7:21 pm

I tried these settings on my 65 super reverb and it is not for me. A little too much drive at 6 and too thin with the bass on 2 compared to what I am used to hearing. I like mine set 5-5-4-4-3-0-0 with the bright switch off. (for regular 6 string guitar) Set at bright-6-6-3-2-2-0-0 my lap steel would break glass.

I downloaded the tone stack calculator and maybe it's just me but I don't get it. When you move the sliders the curve changes but what does that have to do anything? It makes the generalization that all fender tone circuits are the same, are they? The tone of my 51 Deluxe, 52 Pro, Super Reverbs, Princeton reverb and Dual Showman Reverb are all different. Can they be represented as 1 type of tone circuit?

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 18 Mar 2004 6:29 pm

Mike, here's how to see what a "tone stack" does. Start the little Tone Stack Calculator program (Fender tab) and set the controls as follows...

Bass-10
Middle-0
Treble-10

First, notice the big dip in the middle. That's what gives Fenders their unique sound, and that's why they work well with the steel guitar.

Now, notice how the bass end of the curve goes down if you lower the bass, and how the middle of the curve goes up if you raise the middle. But when you lower the treble, something different happens! Along with the treble going down, the "dip" in the middle goes to the right! This is what's called the "mid shift". On the Fender amps, the mid dip shifts as the treble control is changed. On most Peavey amps, the mid shift is a seperate control, and the treble control doesn't "shift" the mids. This is one of the things that gives each amp different dynamics, and it's why some people still prefer the old Fender amps.

Next, notice that if all the tone controls are set to "0", there's no output at all!

Lastly, notice that if the bass and treble are set to "0", and the mids are turned all the way up, you have almost a "flat" (even) frequency response. This is what audiophiles (they used to be called "hi-fi nuts") love, and what musicians hate, in an amp.

So you see, the amp you use (and how you set it) can be absolutely critical to how your guitar sounds.

Mike Simpson · Post by **Mike Simpson** » 18 Mar 2004 10:33 pm

Thanks Donny, I knew I was missing something. I never really thought about the tone controls altering the response pattern in that way. I have been trying to learn more about amps, I bought a couple of books and have made a few minor repairs.

Jody Carver · Post by **Jody Carver** » 19 Mar 2004 5:07 am

Donny is correct

Its a Fender Kind of Thing

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 19 Mar 2004 10:33 am

It makes a big difference which kind of speaker you play through. On my Twin with two 12s it might be bass 10, mid 5.5, treble 2. For my Dual with a 15", it might be bass 6, mid 8, treble 3. It's all good on those big ole Fenders.