Scott Henderson Discussion

[mikoo69]

Hi Scott,

Wondering your thought process when setting your amps. I'm trying to find the sweet spot settings of my fender deluxe reverb...so far my ears are telling me bass on 2, treble not above 4.2 otherwise it starts to get a bit shrill (midrange pot installed set to about 5.5) and volume around 6.

Il mostly curious what you're listening for when setting the volume - since it's a non master volume amp, the volume corresponds directly to the amount of crunch. I'll be pushing the amp with pedals...

It sounds relatively good from 5-8 on the volume of the amp, but wondering how I should settle on the sweet spot in that range - what am I listening for as I sweep between those values?

Same question with EQ.

Since you use an always on boost or OD pedal, do you set the amp with the pedal on?

Thanks!

[Scott Henderson]

Your settings on the HRD are about the same as mine - clean channel, volume 8 (volume control in the loop) treble 6 bass 1 mid 3 presence 8. I'm probably setting the treble higher because I roll down the tones on the guitar more than most guys do. To me, the mids on that amp are more annoying than the treble, but that's just personal taste. I do EQ amps with the RC on because it's on most of the time. I generally turn the treble up enough so that notes on my G and D string speak well and aren't woofy, and I turn the mids up until it starts sounding spiky. My HRD seems to have plenty of bass, so for the people who don't own one, 1 means off.

Sweet spots can be difficult to find, and sometimes they change with the room - one number on a knob can make a big difference, even though you can be assured that your bandmates will laugh at you for thinking that. Don't ever ask them "do you like this setting or that setting?" They might give you an answer, but they'll still think you're a nerd. That's a question for your girlfriend, who'll be grateful that you respect her opinion.

[Vinchan]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but I have a similar question

which pickup position do you use when you dial the amp's eq?

[Scott Henderson]

I use the bridge pickup to hear if high notes are fat, and the neck pickup to make sure there's no woofiness on D and G string notes.

I know this is more than you asked about, but as long as we're talking about finding sweet spots... More presence gives you fat, but too much gives you fizz. Treble conquers woof, but too much gives you shrill. Mid gives you punch, but too much gives you nasal.

Marshall users know that high presence and mid settings don't work well together, unless you're playing death metal. I either set the mid around 4 and presence at 6, or mid at 7 and presence at 3. Both are good tones, just different - the first one is more of a full range tone that I'd use when playing trio, and the second one cuts better if there's layering or comping going on under the solo. The treble comes up until the woof goes away, usually to 4 or 5, but on the HRD it's 6. That's a good example of how one number can change everything - for me the amp is unusable with the treble on 5, but at 6 it sounds great.

I don't know if this info is useful, because everyone uses different settings depending on their playing style.

[mikoo69]

Scott, this is incredibly useful so thank you very much.

BTW I use a 1965 Deluxe Reverb not a HRD. I've pretty much found the Treble at 4 and Bass at 2 is ideal, and I have a midrange pot installed to have come control over mids - set to about 5.5 though still looking for the sweetspot on that knob.

Anyway, the main thing I'm trying to determine is the volume knob (since it's non master, it's directly correlated to grit). Being that I'm pushing the amp with pedals, I set it crunchy - at least on 5, and at most on 8 - but not sure where between 5-8 is the sweetspot - any thoughts on this particular amp? I believe you have used one before.

I push it mainly with a Klon Centaur, and often a Chandler Germanium Drive which is very similar to a treble booster with more nuanced control.

Thanks! Will experiment with all the info you've provided thus far.

[Scott Henderson]

I don't know that amp - it could have a different gain structure than the HRD. I use a '71 Marshall, a Suhr SH-100, and on the road an OD-100 Classic +. I have to set the gain on those amps three different ways to get the same thing, and they're supposed to be basically the same amp. Different transformers, tubes, or whatever, it's hard to find any two amps which are exactly alike.