Is this effect, or amp-?

[Sea Chief]

Specifically -not- the v slight delay -nor- the slight chorus (possibly evident) either.. but what is responsible for the tasty clean sound via the Dlx Reverb here? IE natural DR amp tone.. or is it a pedal of some sort do you think? I specifically mean that squashed sustained 'loaded' sound to the notes best eg is between 0.15 and 0.40..

Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm1e4DnRiAM

Ive never been a pedal guy you see just a chorus + od & never tried much else bar a delay tbh.

IE that DR cant be -that- delicious sounding straight in- can it?? (bar a slight delay).

Thx SC.

[eschertron]

Well, I think you're right in part about a pedal, because I can see him work his legs and hear a distinct click after he plays the clean lick. I hear a chorusy sound and a bit of compression, too. But who knows what he's stomping? Could be a line 6 pod...

Also note he's playing chords with open strings so that he can get a 'faux 12-string' sound from his chord voicings. That's a biggie, there! Also he is playing a Rick, so he's got that going for him as well - they just have that sound that's different from a Fender twang or a Gibson grunt. Played into an amp that's on the verge of that compressed-but-clean sound, and sounding multiples of the same note from a combination of open and fretted strings, you can get a good approximation of that sound. I personally think that's why choruses were invented and used. Because they make that sound easier to get.

[Sea Chief]

Hi eschertron-

ok so you agree its chorus (+ evident to me delay).. but, regardless of these & the gtr (yes a ricky rings a bit more than a tele say due to the slightly hollow body & hot pickups)..

but what about the squashed sound tho? & as the notes seem to sustain hugely too I was wondering if this was just a typical EG of what a compressor pedal does rather than typical natural "on-the-verge" compressed sound which I think you get on an orig DR (say vol 4.5).

It just seems slightly 'manufactured/ ott' rather than natural-amp do you think-? but still really good.

[Jazz P Bass]

A good compressor effect can accomplish all sorts of things.

Squashed is one of them.

Sustain to he** & back is another.

Depends where you set the controls.

If you take notice of some of the DSP modules on recent amps, you turn the control from Reverb , then Delay, then Chorus.
Actually they are all related to a form, one way or another, of delay.

[eschertron]

Also, don't forget that when auditioning a Youtube video you are also hearing the dynamic processing of the recording device. Most video cameras have AGC (auto gain control) which is in itself a comressor/limiter. There may be less compression standing in front of Mr Marr than from in front of the computer screen.

Still, a compressor that is flexible enough to do more than one or two tricks is a nice addition to any pedal lineup!

[Mick Bailey]

There's certainly a fair bit of compression on the clip and much more than you get from the amp. You can also hear the background noise increase when he stops playing as the gain is increased. Reminds me very much of the Hollis Flatline pedal.

[Sea Chief]

Also, don't forget that when auditioning a Youtube video you are also hearing the dynamic processing of the recording device. Most video cameras have AGC (auto gain control) which is in itself a comressor/limiter. There may be less compression standing in front of Mr Marr than from in front of the computer screen.

Still, a compressor that is flexible enough to do more than one or two tricks is a nice addition to any pedal lineup!

Yes understood the PC recording thing far from ideal.. but, even so there's such a pronounced & definite squashing and sustain that Ive not heard on any other YTube vid. The Q is whether a DR can do that, or whether its pedal.

I do notice at 2.24 when he plays the famous tremolo riff clean/ w'out tremolo, probably by just switching off the convenient DR's trem, the sound is flatter: IE not as rich, punchy/ ringy & sustained as the 0.15- 0.40 section (& much more typical of a clean DR sound before it gets gritty vol 4.5 ish) which points to me thinking he did have a pedal on for this, &, the most likely culprit (again forget the delay &/ or chorus not interested in these for here) surely therefore a 'compressor' pedal. But as Ive never even touched one let alone used one Im guessing you see.

Theyre not so cheap (for me) to just 'get one and have a go'.. and I shirk form pedals anyway being v much a purist gtr > amp 'fugazi' type approach (as much as I can do) so Im doing my research you see. If I could be certain this start bit was a compressor pedal Im defo on for one- as that sound is one Ive been itching for for many years, wout a clue how its formed.

[Sea Chief]

There's certainly a fair bit of compression on the clip and much more than you get from the amp. You can also hear the background noise increase when he stops playing as the gain is increased. Reminds me very much of the Hollis Flatline pedal.

Interesting- Ill see if theres a clip of one of these. Nailing the specific one he might have been using isnt quite my goal here, its just the general forming of the sound (the delay and/or chorus complicates it a bit to hear clearly what might be added to the DR's clean sound): IE for certain a ricko > subtle delay > DR (+subtle chorus/ not interested).

Thanks chaps- SC.

[DRH1958]

If you look closely at 0:10, he reaches for the vol or tone knob, just before they pan up to his face. He changes the guitar's settings. That alone could do a lot of it. And as eschertron points out, open strings. You don't need anything else to get the change in sound. Plus, he's playing the root at the 5th fret and moves up at the beginning and also doesn't play the treble strings for those. The strings vibrate less up there, whereas he's playing the root around the first position for the sound you are referring to and playing the treble strings.

[Sea Chief]

If you look closely at 0:10, he reaches for the vol or tone knob, just before they pan up to his face. He changes the guitar's settings. That alone could do a lot of it. And as eschertron points out, open strings. You don't need anything else to get the change in sound. Plus, he's playing the root at the 5th fret and moves up at the beginning and also doesn't play the treble strings for those. The strings vibrate less up there, whereas he's playing the root around the first position for the sound you are referring to and playing the treble strings.

Actually the sound Im on about is also before this, when he pummels the 'punk chords': its the same lovely squashed sustained sound (its just a clearer during the picking @ 0.15). In fact while he's pummelling away the volume seems (slightly unnaturally so/ IE a bit dimininished in this bit) as loud as the picking asap after from 0.15 which is, afaict, fundamentally typical of a compression pedal.. rather than the less pronounced less 'maunfactured' more subtle 'organic' as it were amp compression. To me it looks like he went for the vol knob just as habit & didnt tinker with it.

So unless Im mistaken I think Ive narrowed it to pedal, rather than amp. Altho as escherton says the fly in the soup is the cam mic automatically compresses the sound, especially so if its quite loud most annoyingly.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

[eschertron]

Anyone else have any thoughts?

I think you've summarized what a compressor does quite succinctly. Increase sustain, squash dynamics - to the point where single notes can be as loud as full-on chords, and add a bit of bloom to the sound. all this: and each pedal does it a bit differently, even with the controls available.

If it's something you want to pursue, I'm afraid you'll have to find the nearest guitar mega-mart and try a few.

[Mick Bailey]

Plenty of compressors will do the job - I mention the Flatline out of personal experience of using one for the past few years, amongst others.

[Sea Chief]

I think you've summarized what a compressor does quite succinctly. Increase sustain, squash dynamics - to the point where single notes can be as loud as full-on chords, and add a bit of bloom to the sound. all this: and each pedal does it a bit differently, even with the controls available.

If it's something you want to pursue, I'm afraid you'll have to find the nearest guitar mega-mart and try a few.

Im a bit surprised s'one not said either 'yup thats typical of a comp pedal', or 'Ive heard/ played a DR do exactly that sound, likely just the amp'.. so Im sort of doing my own research it seems, concluding after scrutinising the clip's sections it has to be a comp pedal. Im 85% sure.

As to different pedal types- again Im not going to nail that sound to a T (I need a Ricky for that), so getting near'ish is all Im expecting. So Im thinking build one- I have some bits here box/ pots etc. My diy chorus (just found ideal setting after 5 years!! RH knob max, LH knob 9'oclock: I never labelled the knobs..) is great.

Gtr mega-mart. shudder. Ive had to spend so much time listening to "crunch" solo twerpings on YTube I dont think I could even go in a gtr shop thesedays, too many memories of 80's twunts twiddling away on a stool gurning with his "axe" into a marshall. Urgh I cant think of -anything- worse!!

thanks alot for your help- might report back once Ive built one. SC.

[Chuck H]

DR's do compress. But not as much as that unless they're clipping even more than that. Maybe not even then. If you've perceived that tone from just the envelope of attack from the amp itself it would have been up loud. So then there's acoustic interaction accentuating sustain at certain frequencies as well as your ears own natural compression (look up Fletcher Munson curve). To enjoy the same "perception" quietly I think you'll need a compressor.

[riz]

He loves those all-in-one floor multi-effects processors (there's one particular model from the 90's or something, a Boss I think). Sounds to me like he's playing through it, like he always does... So yeah, if you're hearing a compressor, that's probably what you're hearing.