How to Play Ambient Guitar #5 - Playing Lead with Distortion (Ambient Swells, Volume Swells)

[@AgeofReason]

I have started playing along with you in these videos. I feel that these are excellent lessons given from the heart by a true master of his craft, and I appreciate all of them. Thanks for your work, and I am so glad I found your channel. After getting a guitar again after so many years, I needed this to get me out of the media mental poisoning, for surely the soul speaks when given the voice.

[@MentalFrizbee]

Killer holdsworth tones! I'v been hunting that tone for years. Thank you for a very informative video!

[@chordsoforion]

You are welcome!

[@alexanderwicked8990]

I am so happy I found your channel. Playing ambient guitar is my life goal, and I am getting inspiration and motivation by watching your videos. Thank you very much!

[@chordsoforion]

+Alexander MacLean Thanks for letting me know you are getting value out of the videos. Playing ambient guitar is a great life goal. I know you will have a lot of fun (I sure have)!

[@stevesmith3990]

Me too, I just got my first volume pedal today :)

[@chordsoforion]

Steve Smith Excellent!!!

[@kirbyculp3449]

Alexander Wicked How is your progress?

[@jerryrobinson6049]

Andre, Older guys are "Aged to perfection" Don't ya know. And he is young compared to me. He has to be hands down the best Ambient Guitar player and instructor I have come across over the years. Older guys have made all the mistakes and wrong buys. Just ask an older guitarist and they will tell you they have a basement full of mistakes and bad buys. Many others will play Ambient but are more interested is showing you what they can do vs how they do it and "what they use to do it" This is where Chords of Orion is a high cut above the others. I wish he lived across the street from me.

[@JasonVanzant]

Great video! I was thinking "that Tonebone sounds SUPER nasal in the midrange", then you put it in context with the delay and volume swells and it was like being in 1982 rocking the Vangelis! GREAT engineering/sound production!

[@chordsoforion]

Glad you liked the video and thanks for the kinds words! It's always interesting to me how tones change in the context of delay and reverb, just as you observe. The Tonebone is not always my favorite distortion, but when you need/want that mid-range "honk", it has it in spades...

[@judeworth938]

I love this series Bill...so happy I discovered you and your channel and music. From you, I am learning so much ! Thank you.

[@darrenclark6552]

9:22 one of the best most haunting pieces i have ever heard......you are a master of your craft Bill, i just gotta get some pedals and try this.

[@dontassumemyfender9866]

I love your teaching style. You have really helped me over the last year or so. I just wanted to say a big thank you. I hope you're well and Happy holidays from the UK.

[@JBrooksNYS]

Glad to see another one... Im loving these, keep them coming. "other" ambient series on youtube have kinda petered out.. nice to see something new. Im a metalhead but have been trying to learn incorporate my Hammock influences into my metal songs.

[@chordsoforion]

+KingOfKings Thanks for commenting! I have a bunch more planned over the next few months, and am always glad to consider suggestions for topics. Hmmm. Hammock and metal. I think that could be a really interesting mixture of textures and rhythms!

[@neilgroves1690]

well I just tried this after having my plexitube tonebone delivered this afternoon, all I can say is you make this stuff look wayyy easier than it actually is lol

[@neilgroves3592]

Superbly played Sir....sounds great with that drone too.

[@franciscodanconia3551]

I just found your channel, and this series is amazing. The rest of this comment is pedantic and almost entirely off topic, but it's about something people who don't play metal say about metal, that I genuinely don't understand and wonder intensely about, that you bring up every time you talk about distortion. The rest of this comment was written first, and I realized it didn't come across as constructive so I wrote this preamble, but I am much too lazy to reword it on my phone. 1:45 I'm confused as to why everyone thinks metal has scooped mids in general. Dimebag Darell is the only metal guitarist I know of who has ever done that successfully. The best metal tone I've ever managed to get was with a Boss SD-1 overdrive into the low gain input on the crunch channel of my Bugera 333 with the mids at 1 o'clock, the bass and treble knobs both straight up, the tone knob on the pedal at 1 o'clock, with the gain on both at 9 o'clock, and my Charvel's tone knob cranked almost all the way, while on the bridge humbucker. This gives the bass room to be a bass, even if I am permanently in drop C tuning. Clarity is king, heavyness comes from the riff (play Walk by Pantera on a ukulele and tell me it doesn't still make you dislocate your skull from headbanging too hard), and gain that isn't brittle sounding is all in the mid range. To anyone who read this far, I would really appreciate any insight as to where this idea comes from.

[@neilgroves3592]

i'm having a lot of fun with this lesson Bill but I gotta tell ya, it's a lot easier to get a loop running smoothly when using the volume pedal, I can't seem to get the two tone loop to sound smooth, I have a definite start and finish time to it.....

[@CarlitoxDrums]

It's just AMAZING Bill!!!! Great work!

[@chordsoforion]

+Carlos Gutiérrez Thanks Carlos!!

[@andre-michelgoulet6933]

You speak very "hip" for an older guy :P haha Very clear and intelligent explanations, you're definitely the most interesting ambient guitar guy I've seen. A lot of other youtubers ambient guitar "tips" are basically just stacking every expensive Strymon pedal...

[@robsgirl6465]

Yes indeed, André-Michel, you are 100% correct. That's why Bill's channel is the ONLY ambient guitar channel I visit. He's incredible.

[@neilgroves3592]

there are no more ambient channels needed....Bill is da bomb!!

[@awakeintulsa]

Love it! It's like Vangelis on guitar

[@chordsoforion]

Thanks!

[@andersforsell1728]

Blade runner blues on guitar!!!

[@chordsoforion]

Anders Forsell Love Blade Runner!!!!

[@rmason4358]

awakeintulsa OK, I'm going to watch the video :) Thanks. To both

[@ghuether0]

Im big into "Trance" (Armin van Buuren, Above & Beyond, Cosmic Gate, Dash Berlin, Gareth Emery, Orjan Nelson). And while im a guitarist who has been mainly influenced by rock, blues, pop, reggae, Trance is, if not equal to, maybe my favorite genre due to its atmospheric soundscapes and uplifting energy while at the same time can make you jump up and down, and knew I couldnt play it myself unless i had keyboards which made me want a synth but didnt have the funds. It was then that I realized since im a guitarist at heart, I figured id get all my pedals out and see if I can emulate that kind of sound with guitar, which I learned was possible w the combination of reverb, delay, chorus, flanger, phaser, wah, volume, and looper. Now some people may complain about the lack of the actual guitar tone and that guitar should just be guitar because its just that - guitar. But something about taking a genre of music that is electronic/synth based and being able to emulate that through guitar where it almost sounds like it is a sytnh is very interesting to me, while at the same time I do incorporate parts where I do use less effects so you can get a truer idea of the actual guitar tone. Combine best of both worlds. The only thing im missing is the trance beat that can be sped up during build ups, and the super saw effect.

[@robsgirl6465]

Jason, you said it perfectly and I feel much the same way. I've been a big fan of ambient music since the mid-1990s, but thought that sound could only be achieved through a keyboard. Like yourself, I couldn't afford a synthesizer, so I simply took to buying CDs and listening, rather than playing. And 20+ years passed me by. However, just this past week, I found Bill's channel and my mind was utterly blown! Fortunately for me, my amp has a ton of onboard effects so the only external device I use is an MXR Phase 90. I still need to get a volume pedal, though. Well, sorry to be so long-winded. Have a great week.

[@drpibisback7680]

A trance influenced post-rock band could actually be really cool.

[@neilgroves1690]

I sent the tonebone back as it was overkill for me but i'm getting some good results using a bd2 blues driver....

[@chordsoforion]

Excellent!

[@neilgroves181]

Nemesis Delay, or strymon.....I am impressed by both of them.

[@robsgirl6465]

Good morning Bill. ☺ I'm really enjoying your channel, but I've got mixed feelings about the distortion. I'm not really diggin' it for ambient soundscapes. 🎶 My Fender amp does have an overdrive channel, and I use it when playing the blues, especially when I want that gritty, John Lee Hooker, Detroit electric blues sound. However, for the most part, I tend to normally use my amp's clean channel, especially when playing jazz. 🎼🎶🎷🎺🎹🎸 But that's the beauty of my rig. 👍 With the triple Alnico pickups on my Riviera, I have literally countless tonal possibilities. Add that to the plethora of onboard effects in my Fender ultimate chorus amp, and its tonal possibilities are virtually unlimited. ❤❤❤ With that being said, and after listening to a few of your meditation videos, 🌈as well as experimenting with my own setup, I'm leaning towards a clean ambient tone rather than a distorted one. Of course, that's just my own personal taste. 👌 I've been playing the guitar since 1973, but I'm new to ambient guitar... although I'm not new to ambient music in general. I have been a HUGE fan of ambient music for many decades. In fact, back in the mid-1990s, I used to teach yoga and Zen Buddhist meditation. 🌹It was during that time when I discovered ambient music, most notably, the music of Sambhodi Prem, Steven Halpren, and Anuvida & Nik Tyndall. 🌸🍁🍂🌾🌺 I still play the blues from time to time, as well as maintaining my chair as the rhythm guitarist in the GC Swing Band, but to be completely honest, these old fingers aren't as fast as they used to be, and coming to ambient guitar just seems like the logical choice. ☺ Thank you so much for sharing your enlightened wisdom with us here; your kindness and generosity are unmatched. Have a great week, my friend!👍☺👍

[@chordsoforion]

That's the great thing about ambient guitar (or any guitar style actually) - you can create your own sound and technique for what resonates with you as an artist. Clean is good in my book!!!

[@robsgirl6465]

My thoughts exactly, Bill.👍

[@Ksamenk]

Many thanks! yes, that make lot of sense ...keep on posting these great videos...best wishes.....

[@chordsoforion]

+Ksamenk Sure thing - and thanks so much for commenting!!!

[@evaristodesaparecido8620]

FANTÁSTICO....! Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge...You are so great...! Blessings and fun and lots of love... !

[@silenceismycanvas]

Found you on spotify!

[@chordsoforion]

Awesome!!!

[@pattimichellesheaffer6732]

Awesome stuff!! Thank you. With the Strymon DIG, the only way I know of to clear the existing repeats (the guitar sounds; so you can start, say, a new chord), is to use an expression pedal that's set up to control the "Repeats" knob. That way, quickly setting the pedal set to minimum will allow existing repeats to quickly disappear, then you can return it to long repeats (via the expression pedal) and start the new chord/tone sequence. Does anyone know of another way to clear the existing repeats? If you activate then deactivate the bypass, the repeats remain, apparently - hence the need for the expression pedal I described above. Thank You!!

[@ThePedalboardOrchestra]

This is so inspirational, thank you very much!

[@donktonk1]

Hahaha indeed, I too find myself getting lost within similar loops, playing melody over the top for what seems like an eternity. A looper pedal is one of the best musical investments I have ever made. I am amazed at what kind of ideas come out of those jam sessions. Also, the sound of your guitar with both pups on and tone rolled all the way down was a total surprise to me, I will definitely experiment on my rig with similar settings. Just curious, what pickups do you have loaded? Your work is inspiring. Keep up the good work!

[@chordsoforion]

+donktonk1 Jamming is good, for sure!! As far as the guitar goes, it's a stock Carvin HF2 with Carvin's H22N and H22T "Holdsworth" pickups.

[@neilgroves181]

how do you get that tone that you are using to play over the drone at 9:34?.......sounds great, kinda like an electric violin.

[@chordsoforion]

It's just what I describe in the video up to that point - nothing more. If you go back to 2:30, I walk through the settings of the distortion and the guitar. It does not sound all that impressive until you add in the delay, which smooths everything out...

[@neilgroves3592]

go to 9:28 for the most awesome dreamy sound you ever heard :-) ..... loving that two tone drone Bill.

[@neilgroves1690]

The plexidrive tonebone i bought turned out to be way too complex for my needs and i sent it back.... I'm going to order just a plain distortion pedal....DS1 or something.

[@mrz80]

That initial distorted tone was remarkably Tom-Scholz-like, almost as if you were using a good ol' 80s staple Rockman.

[@rossonimusic]

its interesting that, Mixolidian and Doric scales kinda combine with ambient tones, they give such a "tension" and permits to flow around lol xD

[@Leirbag42069]

Thank you very much for taking the time to make these awesome videos! One question though, do you know what capacitor you have in your tone knob?

[@chordsoforion]

Good question! And I don't know. It is the stock cap that came with the guitar. I did swap out the pots for 250K CTS pots though.

[@ljupcosokolov7742]

If I am right 250K pots are used for single coils/

[@karayuschij]

It would be nice to have a preset for Amplitude or Guitar Rig for this

[@neilgroves1690]

im giving up with the distortion project, i cant get it to sound anywhere as nice as yours Bill....having better luck with chord layering though "-)

[@neilgroves3592]

Just had another crack at this Bill and got my loop sounding pretty good, I can't get that wonderful distorted flute sound from my lead playing though, I am using the OCD Fulltone pedal as I can't afford the Tonebone, could that be the problem?

[@chordsoforion]

There are a lot of variables, so could be the distortion. Could also be difference in the guitar, amp, etc.

[@adrian5b]

I'd let this guy lead me through a shroom trip

[@Massimo898]

Great video! Thanks!

[@Ksamenk]

Hi, many thanks for your videos!! Ive got a question..why you put the looper before the delay? for instance if you want to experiment with different delays for chords and solos?

[@chordsoforion]

+Ksamenk I generally prefer putting the looper in front of the delay so that the delay tails don't get cut off by the looper. But sometimes I will run the looper after the delay if the delay time is short enough. Hope this makes sense!

[@mohamadzakariya2775]

hi what you are using for nice clean chords

[@prestoncallahan7118]

What are some good scales for ambient guitar?

[@body-horrorragdolls1826]

Phrygian and major/minor

[@jacobswaim449]

Scales with wide intervals or scales that generally sound good to you. Symmetrical augmented, Messiaen modes after the third mode, harmonic major/minor variations, raga scales, and major modes are a few.

[@FlaxeMusic]

@@jacobswaim449 Scales are not inherently "wide" intervalically and you won't get anything that sounds that way by just playing them, bit of a misnomer. If you want wide intervals you either actually play wide intervals or use arbitrarily constructed arpeggios featuring large intervallic gaps. Scales are never going to get you more than 3-4 semitones of distance max.

[@mkartworkstudio9785]

Hi there! Nice tutorial! may I know what kind of amp were u using? thanks!

[@chordsoforion]

+mustaza kamal I use the Avid Eleven Rack amp modeling system. Thanks for commenting!

[@mkartworkstudio9785]

+Chords Of Orion cool! love your channel, subbed! :)

[@neilgroves1690]

Which amp modeling unit do you use Bill? And I have just been looking at the radial tonebones with a view to making a purchase so I can get the same tone as you, there are quite a few available, which one are you using in this video?

[@chordsoforion]

I was using the Eleven Rack on this video.

[@neilgroves1690]

So I could use either the Eleven rack or find a software modelling unit and that would do the same thing?.... the Eleven rack is surprisingly cheap for what it does.....I just ordered a tonebone to take part in your number 5 of the series ambient ...... should I have ordered this instead? or do I need both?

[@chrisdaviesguitar]

Jeez, this guy is so laid back, he's damn near horizontal.

[@cleanmike7312]

Where do I go to hear some of your tunes?

[@chordsoforion]

There are a ton of my songs here on the channel. In addition, I have 10 full length albums on chordsoforion.bandcamp.com . Finally, all my music is on every streaming music platform. Just search for Chords of Orion.

[@FirstLast-de7sv]

Totally off topic, but what type of New Balances are those?

[@chordsoforion]

Ah, my long worn out New Balances! They were suede minimalist walking shoes - no longer made. So comfortable.

[@sachabaptista]

The clean and disto tone (until 4min) kind of sound like Mike Oldfield.

[@chordsoforion]

I can't deny my love of Oldfield's playing!

[@sachabaptista]

I love the way he plays as well... Did you get his new album?

[@RB939393]

Would my Big Muff Pi work? Could you cover Shoegaze tones?

[@chordsoforion]

+Reid Betten First - yes, I think you could get some pretty cool ambient lead tones with a Big Muff. Classic pedal! Second - Are there any particular Shoegaze bands you are thinking of? I don't listen to a ton of "classic" Shoegaze like "My Bloody Valentine", but when I do, it seems like many of the tones fall into a few categories: 1) modified U2/The Edge kind of thing, 2) 80s British style chorused sound (think The Police) combined with a 60s psychedelic sensibility, 3) a heavier tone with lots of reverb/delay, 4) tones more similar to some of the ambient guitar range. In most cases, I feel like I am hearing a lot of Fender-ish tones (vs. Gibson). Anyone else want to comment on their experiences?

[@RB939393]

+Chords Of Orion Thank you for the quick reply! I made sure to subscribe. Would you ever consider going in depth with those tones you've listed?

[@chordsoforion]

Reid Betten Let me think about it a little. I've got a number of episodes already in the works, but I could see getting a couple of tone related episodes scheduled. Thanks for the suggestion!!

[@neilgroves181]

which component gives you that electric violin sound?

[@chordsoforion]

I would say it's a combination of the guitar and the effects used in the video: Carvin Holdsworth Fatboy HF2 Guitar Radial Tonebone Classic Wampler Ego Compressor Morley Little Alligator volume pedal Strymon DIG Dual Digital Delay Avid Eleven Rack

[@tomevans4826]

How come the delay is after the loop pedal, and not beforehand?

[@chordsoforion]

My general preference is to "delay the loop", not "loop the delay". I tend to use longer delays with lots of repeats and if the looper is after the delay, then the delays get cut off at the end of a loop.

[@tomevans4826]

Chords Of Orion oh yeah that's a fair point, i didn't consider that. Thanks :)

[@kneurotic138]

sometimes I'll play my tune with a bunch of delay and then drop in with the looper so it's already the delay behind it when it wraps around (not sure if I said that right). I've gotten the loop pretty close to seamless before, but it always sounds a little abrupt when you click the start button. That's okay though, I wasn't figuring me and my looper were going platinum anyway.

[@theboheeka]

0:27 I thought you were about to play "The Idiot Bastard Son".

[@FlaxeMusic]

To me this is emulation of a sine wave more than anything. With how singular and "blurry" the distortion sounds combined with the removal of the attack all together you're left with a tone that sounds like the synthesizer chip of an 80's Nintendo console, it's very uni-dimensional unfortunately.

[@chordsoforion]

And I love it!

[@snooze0023]

I personally like to hear more of the guitars natural tone in ambient playing. I find the tone you have got going here, removes the raw feel from the players physicality and softens to an electronic state, which for me, again personal pref makes the music a little lifeless and dull over time. I think it can be nice in the back ground but come over the top with lighter delay more natural guitar thats crisp and organic using less electronic sounds, and keeping a little closer to a guitars natural tone. Of course just an opinion.

[@chordsoforion]

Totally fair comments! Even though I tend to be more on the effected side of things (obviously), I think understanding the level of effects vs. the raw electric guitar tone is super important. Thanks for commenting!!

[@ropeswingify]

Chords Of Orion I just stumbled onto your channel this evening looking for a way to incorporate my recently purchased tc ditto into software like guitar rig plugged into ableton.. I know I know.. "why would you need to use ditto inside software that has loopers?".. cause I'm an idiot.. nuff said on that bit. (the ditto seems to suggest applying at end of chain and I don't have many stomps or outboard.. hence trying to utilize what's in my box...to out then back in.. ugh ).. Iv got a presonus sound card offering me up plenty of i/o's .. (go into software channel 1.. running through software chain and out say 3/4..into tc ditto then to new input.. say 2.. but my dyslexia starts to overtake me at that point and my noodle starts to smoke.. (could be dementia.. I'm 54) ..anyways if you've got a system of using hardware looper with software a quick how to i/o.. reply would be great. (I actually havn't seen you using software/virtual other than your avid box).. so maybe not apart of your setup.. if no ideas no worries.. I usually figure out needed path in time. I remember buying a kaos pad after reading an article quoting Brian Eno.. him saying his "korg kaos" was his favorite piece of kit.. I immediately picked up my baby daughter and went straight to guitar center and got one.. '2002'.. it was the first time I had tried to route anything.. trying to bring Reason out of the box and into the kaos pad.. routing almost killed my bebe sized brain.. not knowing anything about tip sleeve ect.. Oh my.. "why no signal.. why only one side.. what is going on.. please God.. I need sleep.. please let me hear kaos delay on that cello channel.. please"... I think I cried on my 2 yr olds lap.. Anyhow love your channel.. love that you don't apologize for your like of effects.. my friends all give me shit.. but I'm looking for a sound I havn't heard before. I sense your channel helping me in that endeavour. cheers from San Francisco.

[@clayy000]

Sounds like a Korg Miku pedal..

[@chordsoforion]

+Clayton Murray Haven't heard that one. I will check it out!

[@clayy000]

Chords Of Orion​ Have fun with that haha