The Friendly 12bar Blues Guitar Forum

Sounds like you are really zeroing in on a new tone there, VB. When you first posted that you had purchased the Tonelab LE I thought, "Doesn't he already have a Vox VT-15 like mine?" With all those amp models and effects available I was wondering why you felt a need for the Tonelab. But... as I researched the Tonelab a bit more I could see that it has MUCH more to choose from than the Vox. Have you searched through all the possibilities yet... will you ever be able to? This tone sounds really nice, it really brings out a vintage Strat sound. It's a good sound for you but I would guess that you aren't through just yet... am I correct?

12bar wrote:You're getting close to Clapton's 80's tone!

If I've managed to be that successful I'm more than a little happy!

12bar wrote:Nothing beats a true tube amp played loud, even my small Fender Champ sounds so great when I have the chance to play it (it has no phone out!).
Once the kids are out (in maybe 20 years? ) I'll have my own music room!

True - very true. Though I really need four or five tube amps for a nice wide range of essential tones - hmmm - I think that might stretch even Sandra's tolerance for my obsession .. no ... hobby.

Golfxzq wrote: Sounds like you are really zeroing in on a new tone there, VB. When you first posted that you had purchased the Tonelab LE I thought, "Doesn't he already have a Vox VT-15 like mine?" With all those amp models and effects available I was wondering why you felt a need for the Tonelab. But... as I researched the Tonelab a bit more I could see that it has MUCH more to choose from than the Vox. Have you searched through all the possibilities yet... will you ever be able to? This tone sounds really nice, it really brings out a vintage Strat sound. It's a good sound for you but I would guess that you aren't through just yet... am I correct?

Yes, I did wonder a bit at the time whether I was just duplicating what I already had by getting the LE - but second hand there was a fair chance of selling it on at cost if it didn't work out. For not only did I have the AD15VT you mentioned - I also had the Vox Tonelab ST. Fortunately the LE has turned out, for me, to have so much extra - the fact that some of the tones I'm getting are making it sound a bit like I'm a real guitarist playing a real guitar has me in shock and is a bonus I was not expecting.

The Tonelab LE does have more of an issue with single coil noise than the ST - there is a noise reduction facilty but I've not looked at that yet - TBH I think I'd rather have more of the guitars tone getting through with a bit of noise than the tone being squashed and changed by NR.

I have so far only scratched the surface I think of what the LE can do. I've played around with 4 of the 16 basic amp types (Vox AC30, Marshall JTM-45, Fender 59 Bassman, and Fender Twin Reverb). I've done an even more limited look at different cab emulations with these. I've added some reverb and a gentle touch of drive. This most recent attempt with the Fendery sound and the Strat is my first real move into trying to bring more of the pedal / modulation / delay elements in.

But with 11 reverb types and 11 delay types with 5 or 6 parameters that can be adjusted for each gives me a feeling this is a long term project particularly when you add in all the pedal and modulation effect and their parameters. I shudder to think how many permutations there are. But if the sounds I'm getting so far are anything to go by I'm happy to make that long journey. I'm finding too with it letting so much of the guitars tone through I really need an amp/cab/reverb setting that is tweaked a bit to suit each of the individual 4 electrics guitars I use.

It is better for my current set up for doing direct recordings though - I can't really get either of my amps (AC4TV, AD15VT) to be neutral enough to let the LEs real sound through.

Just as an indication of the size of the thing (4.2kg weight I've noticed!!!) - this is the LE next to the ST:-

Just so you know your not alone in the vastness of these kind of products, the software I use, Guitar rig 4 has; 15 different amps, control room with 5 different cabinets, 48 effects pedals, 5 modifiers, 25 guitar and bass cabinets, 9 adjustable microphones with 4 rotary speakers, hundreds of presets and tools to tweak your sound.
The combinations are literally endless so finding the right sound takes forever, thankfully I've got a dozen or so presets saved that I really like and use often so I don't have to do too much to find the right sound for the song I'm playing, but when I do venture out to find a new sound....bot does it leave you scratching your head after a while.

I just got Guitar Rig 4 Pro (50% off sale) and I'm completely buried in the possibilities. I don't know that much about tone to start with - so I guess I should see this as an opportunity to learn.

Do we have enough Guitar Rig users to start a separate thread? I think HBL and a couple of others tried it and rejected it. Are others using it?

I think we should start a new thread, don't want to hijack other peoples topics. I'm not sure about others using it, I know the seasoned players have their tube amps and so have the amazing sounds that come with them, but my budget won't stretch to one so GR4 is the best I can do.

Ho there

Ok... seasoned player, yes I guess
Tube amp.. Yup got one or two
Full tube amp... got one

Modeling and fx... looking at the current population, I'm about the godfather of modeling on this forum

So... whattaya youngster cooking up ?