U2start.com | U2 & Guitar Gear: Q & A

Very nice--what do you think of the MM4? Have been eyeing one for a bit.

And what are the DBA pedals like? Have you been able to get the Boots sound out of them?

anstratdubh1979

15 years

Now I am not going all John Frusciante, and actually using all of those effects all at once... I use what the gig requires. Sometimes more... sometimes merely an overdrive and delay.

Right now, on the pedalboard are:

Digitech WH-1 Whammy
Visual Sound Route 66
Boss OD-2r
Sobbat DB-1 Drivebreaker
Death By Audio Harmonic Transformer
Death By Audio "Supersonic Fuzz Gun"
Line 6 MM4 - Modulation modeler
Line 6 DL 4 - Delay Modeler
Line 6 Verbzilla

MultiEffects units can be as useful as individual pedals but they can be constricting too. You can get lots in one unit but the be tied to using an OD or Distortion that you are not so stoked about, because that is what the unit has in it. But such are the compromises of life.

What unit are you getting? the M13 has a lot of great effects/tones.

WojBhoy

15 years

Originally posted by vanquish:Thanks, but yea i'll need a little more technical advice, as i'm trying to get correct intonation.
And the intonation procedure requires constant retuning of the strings with each adjustment to the saddles. Which makes using the right tuning technique important.

I know re. intonation etc., I simply meant tuning in general - like Alex said, if you want it done quickly and properly, go to a guitar tech; I got my Les Paul set-up and correctly 'bridged up' for about £20, and that was including a change of swings.

Originally posted by thechicken:I agree with you on the scale thing...C and D suggest G/Em as a key. Let's just not forget that music is not science. It could be an E Major chord, as in many other songs with C, D and E, all major.
Just to add a little theory discussion in here.

Definitely - music isn't a science, it's much more!

but with regard to Numb though, I play E5, or sometimes just good old Em lol.

anstratdubh1979

15 years

Originally posted by AAV711:Very nice--what do you think of the MM4? Have been eyeing one for a bit.

And what are the DBA pedals like? Have you been able to get the Boots sound out of them?

MM4 is great. There is a lot of effects for the price. The only downside is that you can only use one effect at a time; so you can layer two effects at once. the effects sound great. I've nothing but good things to say about the MM4.

You can get "Bootswith the Fuzz Gun. There seems to be a filter sound in Boots. I think that the Digitech SynthWah is what he may be using for that. I've one of those on the way.

One can get "Get On Your Boots", "No Line On The Horizon" * / **, "Fez/Being Born"* and "Moment of Surrender"** tones.

One can get the siren sound, like the tone that Edge has been using between "City of Blinding Lights" into "Vertigo" during the U2:360 tour by using the Supersonic Fuzz Gun.

Here's a pic of Supersonic Fuzz Gun:

And here is the latest addition... Death By Audio "Harmonic Transformer". I've heard that this has been part of the solo tone for "UltraViolet" during the U2:360 tour. I think that it is also part of the "Get On Your Boots" tones. (But that is unconfirmed):

sources:
* MARCH 2009 - ROLLING STONE
** OCTOBER 2008 - Q MAGAZINE

AAV711

15 years

Is the Transformer a sustain-like pedal? If I wanted a good Fuzz pedal without going as expensive/intense as the DBA SFG, what would you recommend?

And have you tried the Line6 Fm4? Is it pretty similar to the MM4?

RattleandHum1988

15 years

Originally posted by anstratdubh1979:Now I am not going all John Frusciante, and actually using all of those effects all at once... I use what the gig requires. Sometimes more... sometimes merely an overdrive and delay.

Right now, on the pedalboard are:
Digitech WH-1 Whammy
Visual Sound Route 66
Boss OD-2r
Sobbat DB-1 Drivebreaker
Death By Audio Harmonic Transformer
Death By Audio "Supersonic Fuzz Gun"
Line 6 MM4 - Modulation modeler
Line 6 DL 4 - Delay Modeler
Line 6 Verbzilla

MultiEffects units can be as useful as individual pedals but they can be constricting too. You can get lots in one unit but the be tied to using an OD or Distortion that you are not so stoked about, because that is what the unit has in it. But such are the compromises of life.

What unit are you getting? the M13 has a lot of great effects/tones.

I'll be getting the M13. I've tried the Tonelab LE, didn't need all the amp modellers, sampled a few digitech ones, and few boss ones, but the M13 seems like the way to go, everyone keeps raving about them, and it has the things that i'm looking for in terms of effects. you are right about how they can be constricting, although right now for me a multi-fx is better than spending money putting together a well-made board. I'll be selling a bunch of pedals around christmas time that you may be interested in, you seem to be a pedal junkie like myself

vanquish

15 years

Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:[..]

The way to tell if a string is in proper intonation, is tune the open string so it's in tune, then play the note on the 12th fret of the same string, and if it also says it's in tune then you're good.

Yes, I know that. Again the problem is that depending on whether the guitar is leaning slightly backwards etc. the pitch of the strings change, so it can be in tune if its perfectly perpendicular to the ground, but if I lean it back against my chest the same string will become slightly sharp or flat, which makes adjusting intonation a bitch.

I think i'll just go to a guitar tech. Hopefully they get it perfectly intoned (ie. every chromatic note on the fretboard is in pitch) cause i'm not paying $75 bucks for some guy to do whatever I could do except in less time.

What about yours Harry, does it play every note at the correct pitch if u check using an electronic tuner?

WojBhoy

15 years

Originally posted by vanquish:What about yours Harry, does it play every note at the correct pitch if u check using an electronic tuner?

Yeah pretty much - I'm going by my Explorer here, seeing as it's the guitar I play the most and is of the best quality. The Les Paul is an arse to tune and goes out of tune easily because of the components used, i.e. shit bridge etc. It's a Chinese-made Epiphone whereas my Explorer is a Korean-made one, and people often talk about the differences in quality between the two places of manufacture but it is very noticeable.

vanquish

15 years

Originally posted by WojBhoy:[..]
Yeah pretty much - I'm going by my Explorer here, seeing as it's the guitar I play the most and is of the best quality. The Les Paul is an arse to tune and goes out of tune easily because of the components used, i.e. shit bridge etc. It's a Chinese-made Epiphone whereas my Explorer is a Korean-made one, and people often talk about the differences in quality between the two places of manufacture but it is very noticeable.

Ic, i'm getting it set-up tommorow morning by a professional so I'll see if the international shipping has damaged its playability. I was talking to some guitar technician on the phone today and he seems to think the fact that my tuning changes depending on whether the guitar is leaning forwards or backwards is a neck problem and requires trussroad adjustment.

Another question for you, how the hell do you manage to play the damned thing standing up?
Did you reposition the mounting points for the strap?

Cos mine is unplayable with the strap, the neck is nowhere near horizontal, I can't see the fretboard (have to look in the mirror and play, which is confusing lol, or play by feel) and the strap hurts my shoulder (despite using a shoulder pad )

WojBhoy

15 years

Originally posted by vanquish:Ic, i'm getting it set-up tommorow morning by a professional so I'll see if the international shipping has damaged its playability. I was talking to some guitar technician on the phone today and he seems to think the fact that my tuning changes depending on whether the guitar is leaning forwards or backwards is a neck problem and requires trussroad adjustment.

Another question for you, how the hell do you manage to play the damned thing standing up?
Did you reposition the mounting points for the strap?

Cos mine is unplayable with the strap, the neck is nowhere near horizontal, I can't see the fretboard (have to look in the mirror and play, which is confusing lol, or play by feel) and the strap hurts my shoulder (despite using a shoulder pad )

I know people do reposition the mounting points - a couple of reviews that I found when first looking into buying one mentioned that he moved the 'neck-point' to in between the cutaway and the neck, and one who placed it on the reverse of the body, in similar to something such as a Casino. However, I've not changed anything, nor do I intend to for the moment - the only thing I'm considering is investing in a locking strap, because the original owner had installed locking-points and left them on when I bought it (along with the original 'points'). I sometimes find my strap slips off at the point by the neck if I elevate the angle too much when I play. The only problem I do get is that sometimes my left shoulder starts to twinge when I tune it standing up, but I put this down to the fact I'm regularly switching between 3 different-shaped/weighted guitars, and so each time I change my shoulders are having to adjust. As for actually playing it whilst standing, I have no problems whatsoever - I can't say I've ever had any problems such as what you've mentioned to be honest

vanquish

15 years

Originally posted by WojBhoy:[..]
I know people do reposition the mounting points - a couple of reviews that I found when first looking into buying one mentioned that he moved the 'neck-point' to in between the cutaway and the neck, and one who placed it on the reverse of the body, in similar to something such as a Casino. However, I've not changed anything, nor do I intend to for the moment - the only thing I'm considering is investing in a locking strap, because the original owner had installed locking-points and left them on when I bought it (along with the original 'points'). I sometimes find my strap slips off at the point by the neck if I elevate the angle too much when I play. The only problem I do get is that sometimes my left shoulder starts to twinge when I tune it standing up, but I put this down to the fact I'm regularly switching between 3 different-shaped/weighted guitars, and so each time I change my shoulders are having to adjust. As for actually playing it whilst standing, I have no problems whatsoever - I can't say I've ever had any problems such as what you've mentioned to be honest

Oh ok, maybe i'm just wearing the strap wrong then.
So can you see the fretboard while standing up? or do you just play by feel?

WojBhoy

15 years

Originally posted by vanquish:Oh ok, maybe i'm just wearing the strap wrong then.
So can you see the fretboard while standing up? or do you just play by feel?

Could well be - might be worth messing around with the length to see if that makes any difference. The strap I have isn't the longest, but I have it pulled as long as possible so the guitar sits as low as it can, partly due to the fact that I've got a big frame in the torso/shoulders area, so I need it as long as possible just to make it comfortable to play. And re. playing, both - I can see the fretboard perfectly well when standing up, but often is the case that I'll memorise parts or just make stuff up, and so there's no particular need to look at the frets

EDIT - Anyone got any thoughts on the Boss ME-20 or the Korg AX-3000G? I'm looking for a decent affordable multi-FX pedal and with both retailing at £140 or so, they fit the bill - just wondered if anyone's got anything to say for or against either or know anything about 'em? I'd think they both come from good stock, as it were, but reputation alone doesn't necessarily mean it'll live up to good billing...what with all you lot yacking on about the M13, I had a look too but at £349 a time, I can't afford that, nor can the family lol

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