How To REALLY Use Overdrive (Like The Pros)

[@bloozboy5]

Outstanding advice that could have saved me a lot over the years: “Any amp you’re playing generally has one particular place where it sounds the best. Make peace with it.”

[@lovecraftmusic8717]

What Amp you struggled with and why?

[@paulreddy5452]

@@lovecraftmusic8717 Ampeg VT 22. Never been able to get a likable tone out of it.

[@DT_PDX]

Probably a dumb question, but when you’re looking for that spot on the amp, where are your volume knobs on your guitar? What role do they play for you in the dynamic of guitar volume, amp over drive, and OD pedal?

[@kekomixtli]

@@DT_PDX Not a dumb question at all. I have a Revv G20 amp and with my Les Paul studio (with passive humbuckers) I can play even at max guitar volume and more amp volume and gain before breakup. But if I plug in my Schecter SLS with active humbucker pickups, it's more difficult to tame. I have to turn down the knobs on both guitar and amp if I want a clean sound, but it gives me the advantage to get a crunchy sound if I dial the guitar knobs back up or play harder.

[@charlesycoker]

and I would add that if you are constantly fiddling with it trying to be happy with it it is not the right amp.. my constant knob twisting (and amp purchasing) stopped with a Friedman Dirty Shirley a few years back.

[@sneifert1968]

AC/DC is a classic example of guitar tone that is way less distorted than you perceive it to be.

[@squirelova1815]

I saw an AC/DC roadie/tech manager explaining just that and it was rather surprising, the amp settings that is. A few players have said the same about the relatively low level of distortion in their signal.

[@simon_patterson]

Yes!

[@djc5897]

With exception to there Let there be rock album. That guitar tone they achieved off that album is often over looked. Thats my favorite guitar tone from the Young brothers. Its their raunchiest guitar tone just pure raw-rock n roll. I use my fulltone ocd to achieve similar tones through my gibson sg standard into my blues jr v4-their amp settings were definitely not set to a clean overdrive signal im 100% sure of it from the let there be rock album

[@KelsterVonShredster]

Yep. It's called power tube distortion :-)

[@benjaminfowler4513]

Queens of the stone age as well.

[@JonWickensMusic]

Tim Pierce always surrounded by recording gear looking like he’s in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon! Love it! Haha

[@michael_caz_nyc]

I always say that. He looks like he's in the cockpit of The Recording Studio airplane or NASA Mission-control.

[@mschroeckenfuchs]

He is the Obi Wan of session players

[@nick.raptis]

He actually says that himself. He wants his gear to be lile a cockpit around him so everything is at arm's reach so he just sits down and "goes" One of his videos is dedicated exactly to that ;)

[@bbkoopmeiners8816]

@@mschroeckenfuchs does that make Rhett Luke Skywalker? He's getting lessons and he's wounded on his arm.....

[@AdventJustice]

You mean he isn’t?

[@joelshields8807]

For me, one of the unexpected treats of the KZbin guitar scene is that it gives voice to guys like Tim and Kenny Vaughan, among others - supremely talented and wise session players whose names are typically known only to those on the inside. They devoted their lives to making music sound good with no ego or expectation of stardom - it's apparent they're in it purely for love of the instrument. And yet, videos like this give the long-overdue respect they deserve.

[@scottbullard3479]

Best piece of advice: “Each amp has one place where it sounds best; make peace with it.” Thanks for that Tim and thanks for making this video, Rhett - lots of great info here 👍

[@aaronmcnair1829]

That applies, I would say even down to $30 pawn shop amps. You can't expect one Amp to do what another does, but if it makes noise, it has a place that it can sound ok, maybe not very loud, but I agree.

[@G5Hohn]

I think a big part of Tim's success is not *just* being a killer player. I think it's that he's a killer player that is super easy to work with and a heck of a great guy. In a world full of great guitar players, it's not chops that make the difference. It's temperament, personality, and professionalism. Tim sets a high bar for us all in his chops as well as all the intangibles. Great guy, great channel. I'm a big fan.

[@geraldchan7395]

Great point

[@johnmarolakos9920]

Indeed! And that goes for every industry, not only music. There's extraordinary talent everywhere. The ones who succeed, most of the time, are the consummate professionals who consistently show up on time, are pleasant to work with, conscientious communicators, humble, and dam good at what they do. That's it! The key to life if you're not going to be a monster and crush people. : )

[@glennw3909]

Anyone else appreciate Rhett’s chuckle after getting a compliment from Tim on his solo? 😃 My other take-away is, guitar tone might need more butter.

[@ImYourOverlord]

More butter is great, just like I often comment that my bass tone needs more chocolate 🤣

[@Phooey-tv5tg]

Or a bit of lubricant

[@davidjoel111]

I loved when Tim said, “when I go back to the bassman I wont remember the virtues of the Marshall”. That it so true! You get confortable to what you play, sometimes making it difficult to play something else.

[@14djfunk]

Can we all just agree that Tim Pierce is Guitar Yoda? Love his explanation of the nuances!

[@davidoreilly7328]

The best description for Tim Pierce I’ve encountered thus far

[@WarrenPostma]

Also a hella nice human.-

[@chriscam23041]

Yes!!

[@Marcells44]

Hmm, buttery this sound is Rhett!

[@paulbellamy2810]

Tim Pierce taught Yoda everything, he's that good.

[@joncaven9319]

I heard isolated guitar from some old Who recordings and was shocked at how clean and small the guitar was on its own. Fascinating stuff.

[@paulrone8280]

This is some of the best content on KZbin. I've played guitar for years and this is the best overdrive tutorial I've ever watched.

[@cliftontorrence839]

Agreed PR, after 5k videos on distortion, my take away is this: find the amps sweet spot. Play through differing volume levels and see if it's still there. Add various pedals that work well together and remember that less is more ! Think I got it? A HUGE Thank You to Rhett and Mr.Tim.

[@TheAxe4Ever]

To be a session player, you have GOT to know your shit, inside and out. You gotta know how to work on the fly and dig all these ideas and tones out of thin air. I put Tim Pierce right up there with Steve Lukather. When Tim is teaching you something.....LISTEN.

[@irishRocker1]

Yeah we know.....that's why we clicked the video man lol

[@ronaldelliott4373]

Tim and Steve. Spot on!

[@davidoreilly7328]

Any time Tim posts a video, I grab a notepad and pencil

[@valcrist7428]

Not really. The sound/recording engineer often solves the problem of even the most experienced session player is having.. in terms of tones and character of the sound coming out from the guitar, effect and amp. .The sound engineer/recording engineer always have a trick on it's sleeves every time a guitar player presented something. We can also see these in filmed recordings from the Beatles, Nirvana, Metallica, and even pop songs with guitar in it.. etc... . Most of the the legendary tones of records came from sound/recording engineers. Any professional Session Guitar player knows that.

[@maekong2010]

@@valcrist7428 Records, yes (Phil Spectre, anyone?). Guitars, no. You are paying the man for four things. His left hand, his right hand, and his ability to interpret, then transliterate an artist's vision into sound (which is a much higher ordered word than tone). The engineers do not pull their ideas out of their asses. But you are correct in that the overall amalgamated final product(ion) is solely within the domain of the engineer.

[@danielhoing]

That's a justified comment about overdrive and waited and he said what I was waiting for about Zeppelin. Its amazing how much I thought Zeppelin was about distortion in my earlier years but also brought the worst of my playing due to covering cracks in my playing. Big mistake! Best playing is done cleaner for practicing alone and improve your playing. Kick it up a notch when live , but never over do it.

[@friedrudibega6384]

I don’t think anyone loves guitar as much as Tim. Well, maybe Paul Gilbert.

[@WarrenPostma]

I sure would love to hang out with either one and drink beverages.

[@mandanglelow1442]

And me.

[@mikeraz594]

he makes great faces

[@paulcarr2207]

Bonamassa

[@SolamenteVees]

Tim just put on a mini-clinic on transparent overdrive. Great vid, Rhett. This is why I subscribe.

[@artytoney2057]

At 57 now I couldn't imagine being 16 and having all this knowledge and guidance at my fingertips, thank you guys for carrying the torch and exposing the world to so much awesome info , and dont get better than overdrive lol

[@Sean_Farmer]

Angus Young has a perfect example of a sound that many think is heavily overdriven yet isn't. When Tim started playing through that Plexi I was instantly picturing Hell's Bells.

[@mightyV444]

@spf1218 - Absolutely! I've known AC/DC for 40 years now (and 'Hell's Bells' actually was my very first single record!) but it was only fairly recently when I realised their guitar sound isn't actually that overdriven but must've just been recorded with their amps cranked up!

[@ramonw9430]

@@mightyV444 Amps cranked to the max and boosted by their Schafer wireless units. The Schafers have a sound that you can't get by driving the amp with a tube screamer or DS-1 or something like that.

[@irishRocker1]

That's because it is your ear distorting lol But, I dont agree. to me......I think of acdc as more of a classic rock sound, and have a les paul that I use for ac/dc, led zep etc. When i want higher gain like for hard rock or metal.....I use a jackson kelly with a JB4 pickup. So not heavily overdriven to me at all but maybe my frame of reference is wider with a metal background.

[@steveburchfield5576]

@@irishRocker1 probably right tims a real ac/dc style guy!!!!

[@richardhanson9971]

@@mightyV444 I saw a "Rig Rundown," and yeah, it's just a bunch of Marshall amps cranked all the way up.

[@marksmith7789]

Tim Pierce is without doubt one of my favourite guitar players, absolutely superb and that smile while plays says it all, at peace happy place. Great advice for everyone, brilliant.

[@rowbags3017]

I love watching anything with Tim in it - apart from his virtuosity and experience, the sheer enjoyment he shows when playing is second to none and totally infectious!

[@johnfrenette]

He seems like real people, you know? Super talented, super experienced, but I mean he could be a carpenter or a programmer or some other field, and he seems super nice and generous and genuine. Awesome that we live in an era where KZbin enables folks like this to share!

[@mightyV444]

Yes indeed! Tim's eyes seem to be permanently smiling! A genuine, down-to-earth and lovely guy 😊

[@redmed10]

His enjoyment of playing means that him playing on thousands of records is never like work to him.

[@nortonnewmann3711]

WOW! As a drummer, I could sit in front of that Bassman with a guitar ran through it all day! So warm sounding... IMO, the pure dialed-in Bassman sounds fantastic... the pedals added a harsh, subtle edge that took away from the "fuzzy warm sound" of the solo Bassman. JMHO...

[@Murgsmusic]

Every guitar player has had that moment. 10:15 “Wow…that’s good”

[@Ten80pete]

I only recently started watching Rhett's content, although I knew OF him through various other guitar-centered channels, and I fully appreciate and understand why he and Tim Pierce are among the most popular/revered musicians on the platform. When you're starting out green on guitar (or even some of us older players who were either self-taught and just kept doing things "incorrectly" for years) there are all these techniques and workarounds and open secrets that no one ever thinks to tell other people. You two almost base your entire channels around propagating these and dispelling myths that get stuck in the public consciousness. Phenomenal work AND phenomenal playing. Thank you both so much!

[@remicardona_poly]

Tim's cockpit was over the top years ago. But, somehow, he's managed to turn that thing up to 12! Soon he's going to hire a co-pilot and a flight engineer! Jokes aside, he's a real tone wizard. Even on my laptop speakers, that bassman and plexi sound ace. Great interview, Rhett!

[@squirelova1815]

"What's our Vector Victor?" I guess I picked the wrong week to stop quoting "Airplane". I should just go work on my "drinking problem" and disco dancing now. What? It's a place where people party under a sparkly reflective light ball, "but that's not important now."

[@danielcoleman4807]

Get the sound you like and play with guitar volume on 6 or 7 for rhythm. When you play your lead, crank guitar volume up to 10. Real pickup and amps beat anything else, in my opinion. Who needs overdrive? Listen to Dickie Betts.

[@frankdardano3182]

Tim is too cool for scool.I am close to his ability, much older ,I watch to see his smile when he hits the note he really wants. He can't hide it and it's beautiful, MY NICKNA,ME FOR TIM IS MR SMILE.BLESS YOU MR SMILE!

[@jasonkerr931]

10:12 I love it when even a pro turns their amp on and is amazed as we are at the great tone of that Marshall!

[@kochjb32]

This was a master class. Absolutely loaded with gems of knowledge only gained through years of experience! Thank you Rhett. Thank you Tim. Rhett, keep this kind of content coming…even after you can play again!

[@totallygibson1]

No pun intended? 😉

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

One of the biggest guitar tones is Molly Hatchet's Flirtin' with Disaster. Just listen to the intro and you'll hear it. Trying to cover that iconic sound was eye opening. There's not much gain. It's all volume and the midrange is really pushed to deliver that huge sound. It's probably just a Boss DS1 halfway up on the gain.

[@yurimodin7333]

sounds like a fuzz or DS-1 turned down to just the sweet spot.......I also think there is a slight octave run in parallel.

[@HooksBill]

So true about our memory hearing something different from how it actually sounds. Angus is one example. Dave Friedman pointed out the same with Jerry Cantrell's tone as well. I'm guilty. I went back and listened to some early Zeppelin and I was like, wow I've been playing it way too dirty.

[@aidenmohrmann1850]

I friggin love Tim Pierce

[@burnindownthehouse]

You know what? I used to be a pedal head concerning overdrive pedals. I tried almost everything and I had so many overdrive pedals. But you know what? After a while, another experienced guitarist said, "You have a nice Gibson Les Paul Standard. You have a great Marshall head and cabinet. You spent all of that money. Why not just go straight through the Marshall? It has a great tone on its own. That's what it was created for. They design it for great overdrive tone and great reverb. Use it." And I started doing that. It sounded great. Was I wrong to try so many overdrive and reverb pedals? No. Many of them sounded great. But I realized that going straight through the amp gave me the thickest sound. So all along I could have saved my money. BUT some of those overdrive pedals did sound good, and I still use them from time to time. They sound quite nice. So it was not wasted money. I still have them if I need them. They all have their own distinct sound.

[@pyroman6000]

I had the same epiphany a little while back, after fiddling around with multiple pedals, multiple amp setting etc, and wondering why the HELL I couldn't get the sound I wanted- that I KNEW my amp could produce... Then out of sheer frustration, I cranked the master volume way up. Ta DA!! there it was... All I needed was to push the power section of my Bassbreaker 15 harder... Didn't know whether to rejoice- or facepalm myself unconscious, lol. Even better- there was all the sustain, fatness and feedback I'd been craving too. My dirt pedals are once again banished to the drawer.

[@mandanglelow1442]

I've been playing for over 40 years and I've got some of the best equipment money can buy. both amps and guitars and also fx pedals. The reason why it's cool is because it's different. You're plugged into the Marshall and you're getting a great tone. Well, that tone is going to be that tone and only that tone, outside of your EQ knobs on the amp and the guitar. Pedals give you a chance to have similar overdrive sounds but yet not so exact, and that's really what it's all about at the end of the day is having a variety of different tones. Every song doesn't need the same sound so why not have both? 👍😎🍺🎸 👍😎🍺🎸

[@Zacharysharkhazard]

If you’re just playing blues or classic rock and don’t want multiple tones or creative soundspaces then, yeah, obviously going straight through the amp will retain the most natural tone, but imo having multiple tones that are 90-95% as good switchable at my feet is a lot more realistic for a gigging musician in contemporary bands.

[@burnindownthehouse]

@@Zacharysharkhazard Right. And that's why I kept all of my pedals. The combination of my Gibson Les Paul Standard and my Marshall head and Marshall cabinet does sound awesome, but as you said, sometimes you want a different tone for various songs. This is especially the case when covering songs. If a particular song has a flanger in it and a phaser in it and some delay or whatever, then I can bring out my pedals. It's always good to keep pedals because you never know when you might want to use them.

[@burnindownthehouse]

@@mandanglelow1442 Correct. That's why I have kept all of my pedals. Take for instance, when I cover songs, they might have a number of effects in them such as a flanger or phaser or delay, etc. So I have kept them for that purpose. Also, some songs might have a certain overdrive tone from a particular brand of pedal (such as a Boss overdrive pedal) which sounds different from the sound the amp produces, so I also keep my overdrive pedals for that purpose, too. I prefer to play stright through the amp because of that nice thick tone which is produced by the combination of my Gibson Les Paul Standard, Marchall head, and Marshall cabinet, but when I want to cover songs which require a particular sound, I will use those pedals.

[@leonardoross8133]

speaking of great tones, we need a Rhett Shull - Matthew Scott collaboration

[@jamesbuchanan1641]

Yesssssssss we sure do

[@TheDuke7997]

Love Tim’s honesty “gear will often do one thing well.” So many new players chase gear misunderstanding why it sounds good in context. I know it took me longer than it should have to realize this. Also, pickups matter when you start stacking. I have 6 different single coil guitars. Clean they can sound within microtones of each other. But how they push amps and pedals is where the individual characteristics really come out. Learn your gear first.

[@asherplatts6253]

My orange... sounds like an orange. For doom, I just put the gain at noon, and boom, electric wizard / windhand/ sleep. I can also get a really nice death metal tone, using my overdrive as an eq and clean boost. I was so happy when I figured that out.

[@darksu6947]

@@asherplatts6253 I love Orange amps. I've never met anyone that didn't like them once they sat down and played through one.

[@hussledupgamejam]

What Tim said about distortion and memory is spot on. A lot of people who I see cover Zeppelin add more gain then Page originally used. I like hearing these different versions, but I tend to see a lot of people think songs like Dazed and Confused and Communication Breakdown were high-gain

[@ImYourOverlord]

That's why my modest attempts at tone chasing involve scouring sources for all the details I can find about what gear and settings a given guitarist used on the material I want to cover, or just the sound I want to use in my own creations. It gets more tricky when not much detail is available, and studio mixing and mastering complicate matters further, so in those cases, it's trial and error to find where everything comes together just right.

[@emartinezr]

Even Jimmy Page uses more gain than he used to. What you're hearing is mostly the difference between a live tone and a studio tone.

[@BaronMcCausland]

@ 02:38 on the timeline: I totally agree!!!! Having only heard him a dozen times, Tim Pierce instantly became one of my most favorite guitarists of all time! Tim is absolutely the master of: "Just Right, Just Enough."

[@littlefury]

Man, that video has been proven invaluable to me. I made peace with the fact that my amp sounds best with its volume knob on 4 and that the pedals that I add aren't supposed to change the tonal personality, just "thicken" it, and make it a tad beefier. Thanks to you both, gentlemen.

[@davidberman1310]

You couldn’t have interviewed a better person than Tim! The best in the game at what he does.. love listening to him talk guitar!

[@tymeryder7264]

Gtreat interview. Tim is a legend. Glad you are on the mend.

[@michaelcraig9449]

With that Bassman head or Marshall head you dont need a pedal at all. It sounds old but real good old, in the best way. I would say a plexi Marshall or '65 Bassman, or even a '59 Bassman would be awesome OD. I like that tone just louder with reverb, delay, makes it real huge. I found a weird trick lately. I take a standard big Big Muff, and use it with the sustain knob all the way down, and the tone and volume most of the way up.. sounds like a real good big OD sound, not too fuzzy at all.

[@sampine5843]

Dude Rhett, Tim is so knowledgeable I love it, but you are asking the perfect questions to get it out of him. Props my man, this is a really helpful video.

[@mayuquitomayu4743]

This was an excellent instruction: extract overdrive frpm the guitar and amp alone - Fine tune your setup before adding the pedal. And the pedal will accentuate and fill the gaps, rather than create the overdrive on its own.

[@johnsheehan756]

Glad to hear your recovery is going well, Rhett. Having been on the DL List more than once over the years, I know how desperately difficult it can be to endure a forced lay off.

[@CountSpatula666]

Tim is absolutely right!! Worked with too many to count guitarists that always wanted to crank to 11!! Playing by yourself is one thing but you have to hear how it sounds in the mix. I can tell you it is night and day!!

[@arloross]

Another Great one, Rhett. And Yes, Tim Peirce is a Favorite Guitar Guru of mine also... Love that Dudes Skills, Knowledge, Humor, Stories, and Industry Wisdom that He shares.

[@ParaBellum2024]

Excellent insight from Tim. I recommend being fussy about pedals: when trying them, no matter what the reviewers say, I reject any that have too much background noise, or which alter the sound radically. One thing Tim didn't touch on was the effect of the guitar's volume control, which I find to be one of the most useful components when controlling overdrive. But it depends on the pedal: I have a 1980s Guyatone PS-015, and no matter where the guitar's volume is set, the overdrive sounds much the same, and I have an EHX Glove, which responds to guitar volume knob position and picking intensity, but isn't too compressed sounding.

[@TimmyP1955]

There's an easy cure for the way Fenders get nasty after a point - smaller coupling caps between the PI and the outputs. (Marshall did this in the front end by using smaller cathode bypass caps than Fender.)

[@TeleCustom72]

Tim's observation that an amp or pedal will have ONE great tone is spot on. For example, I've got fuzz pedals I bought with the hope of getting certain tones, but the 'best' tone those pedals had wasn't necessarily the one I wanted/expected. That is still cool and I just file them away for when I need that special tone they deliver.

[@rraff7938]

The main problem with those of us playing small venues is that you can never turn your amp up to the sweet spot. You have to use the tone from the pedals. I'd love to be able to play my DR on 7-8. But it hardly ever happens. You would also go through tubes and amps more frequently.

[@ImYourOverlord]

It can be done with a lower watt amp, sometimes. Or, use an attentuator, and crank the bejeezus out of the amp and still not blow the roof off the joint.

[@danmorrison8746]

I know I'm not exactly stepping out into new opinions on guitar tones, but that Marshall turned up and boosted is so spectacular sounding.

[@Mark95876]

Billy Corgan was once in a studio at the same time as Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi and decided to spy on him. He was shocked to see that he never had the gain on his amp higher than 6.

[@monkeysbum999]

shocked!

[@GraffitiPhysical]

The Gibson ES335 is and has to be one of the most dynamic guitars ever. You can crank them through a powerful high gain amp and you will go to another place. You can feel vibrations coming out of the F holes. Amazing instruments. I've got a 1980 model, the dot. Wonderful tone.

[@greysun5160]

It's like when you ask your cool uncle how to drive. He jumps in his 1964 perfectly serviced ferrari. Wangs it around his own awesome race track at top speed. Skids to a halt. Jumps out and shouts *Driving! Now that's driving boy!*. 😁

[@hurdygurdyguy1]

Aka Rush's Red Barechetta...

[@douglasfreeman3229]

And then you say "Uncle dearest, you did not answer my question."

[@musicboy2003]

Such a great interview! But 15 minutes in, Tim changed my life about amps and pedals. TRUTH!! Make peace with it.

[@Eric.A.Gonzalez]

Phenomenal video as always and love Tim's killer playing. Hope your shoulder is starting to get better and look forward to seeing you play again!

[@kungstu22]

Two of the greatest guys around doing what they love to do. Just perfect.

[@muchomusiclibre]

Tim sounds like a record every time he plays. He's that freaking good.

[@knutsenneundorf116]

I love that my equipment sounds different on different days. One day it sounds perfect. After the weekend it sounds weak and I have to turn the knobs a little bit, because I like it better with some treble and less mid and the pre amp distortion sounds better than with the overdrive pedal. It is absolutely amazing. btw. The more knobs the better.

[@valentinagirott]

Great to see you’re recovering! get well sooon

[@DaveWestGuitar]

I've always done it the same way, get as much gain as you can from the amp, and add as much drive as you want/need through the drive parameter on the pedal , and turn the level parameter on the pedal to the point where the volume stays the same with the pedal on or off. I know a lot of people do it differently, but this works for me.

[@benjaminhood7696]

I do it exactly the opposite. Set the drive low, use the volume on the pedal to determine how much I push the preamp section of the amp. To a preamp that is already around breakup gain, more signal (volume) --> more crunch. Shout out to the tc spark as a boost this way, the mid push setting on that pedal is magic for tightening up my marshall!

[@Nightwinflyer]

Discovering Tim Pierce was the best thing that happened to me as a player! The guys that lived what they do is rare on KZbin, and for them to share their experience and knowledge is a gift. Rhett, I give you some crap with my comments, but I do like your channel! Your playing is something I could never touch, and when you showcase it it is inspiring.

[@brianmckenzie1318]

Glad you are healing well! This was gold! I could have listened to another of hour of this type of discussion!

[@prinskipperskipple]

I love the ODR-1…and the Morning Glory. Great video.

[@HowardBaileyMusic]

When Tim says he loves refretted guitars it makes me so excited because I'm getting all new frets on four of my main gigging guitars this summer. 40 years of heavy playing has left my frets flat and beyond just dressing and a setup. I'm totally stoked to feel what these axes are going to play like after I get the work done.

[@juanantonioromeroparra9178]

Glad to see your arm getting better 💪🏽

[@Burnt_Gerbil]

His arm is fine. He broke his collar bone.

[@43loudman]

Rhett Shull , I love your channel. you hang out with the very best in the Business, TIM PIERCE is the very best session and Educational guy at this time on this planet.I am amazed that you guys share your info so freely with all of us, Thank you to all that are involved.

[@rabidbadger5260]

Make peace with the amp. Top advice.

[@matthewmuklewicz4348]

Thank You Both. I am a bass player who has never been happy with my bass tone when using overdrive or distortion. Not sure why I never thought to find the spot of break up on the amp first, just always figured it was the pedals job. First time the distortion didn’t just suck the bass out of my sound. Less is more as usual lol.

[@michaelmele4888]

I just finished physical therapy, I think Steve Vai would agree with me, be aware of your posture while you heal.

[@jwcdood6348]

What a cool guy who really knows the score...AND IS REALLY HAPPY TO SHARE IT...!

[@Telorchid]

Good ep., great to see the cast off! I’m sure Tim probably has the Danelectro Roebuck, which is their Mostortion clone. It should be noted though, that the Breakdown is based on the Univox Unidrive (and is terrific for hitting an amp’s front end, it’s just not a Mostortion circuit. And I’m sure he knows that :)

[@carlthegnarl]

This should be a pinned comment!

[@david_a_uno]

Congratulations on speedy healing!! Great that you are getting back up and running. This was such a great run-through with Tim.

[@valentinagirott]

Tim pierce the legend

[@BlackChromeJamTracks]

Yes, "Make peace with it" best advice I've heard in a long time

[@garettjackson1791]

It's like anything. Mess with it until your sound is what you want it to be.

[@jeperstone]

The most useful music video I've seen in a long time. Thank you both

[@TheFeelButton]

When I'm not driving I'm busy overdriving! Cheers Rhett and Tim!!

[@jessicaphoenix1312]

Always nice to hear about tone and sound characteristics. The thing that I struggle to find is a sound that is not too distorted and spongy, but still has the attack and response that will never fail my picking. Sometimes a lick with fast picking doesn't let me hear every string strike, yet jump out with adequate response. For me, that is the battle.

[@ToniTheRockstar]

Thank you! I've had the problem of harsh nasal tones with my od's into my marshall vintage modern, and that explanation for dialling in made lots of sense to me! Cant wait to try it out after work😃

[@TheAisleOfPlenty]

This is wild - I was just watching, before this, a video (On KZbin)of early Rush (1975) playing at a highschool for some Canadian Show and looks like Alex had the same exact set up as Tim! (or vice versa 😆) 335 plugged into a Plexi. Hard to say if it was a 50W or 100W. Couldn't tell from the video what if any pedals he had in between, but would love to see you or Tim duplicate that early Rush sound (First Album) befroe he went to the Kettner's etc. There are other early vids on KZbin where his Plexi looks massive compared to the Highschool show but still an ES-335. No wonder he had that distincitive sound. It was proabably due to that hollowbody being used in in such an overdriven way! e.g. Alvin Lee of Ten Years After. 😃

[@feeblefarmer9648]

I see that he has multiple amp heads but no one has asked what cab and speakers he is using? I'd like to know if possible.

[@brentgilbert4208]

I think I remember a video he did a long while back, where all his cabs are in his basement or garage in an isolation chamber, and mic’d up. That way he can crank his amps, without dying!

[@mediumshreddercheese]

I almost can’t believe how helpful and informative this video is!! Thanks Rhett , I’ve been missing your playing!

[@MikeSingSing]

There is so much truth in the statement that you might only dial in a minimal amount of gain from the pedal to add something. Boss BD-2s are great for that.

[@GeorgeHeil-gg6wv]

Wondering if either of you gentlemen utilize buffers before and after your effects chain or no?

[@pvbaelen]

My theory on distortion is there is a point where the more you have, the smaller your tone will be. I think that the more distortion you add, the more compressed the tone gets which results in a "smaller" sounding tone. That's why the metal guys started doing the dropped tunings. They're using extreme amounts of distortion which compresses the tone so had to use dropped tunings to try and get some heaviness back. Heavy guitar tones can be achieved with cleaner dirt settings through badass riffs, but it's whatever you prefer, or whatever works for the situation.

[@TheFizz40]

Such a good tip. Let your amp begin the to break up/distort and then factor in your overdrive pedal. I heard Piece say this years ago and it radically changed how I used all my pedals.

[@baladeva777]

Great guys really enjoyed it…Tim “needs Some glue…no ! Needs some Lubricant!” Ha! 😎🎸 and yea def learning from the Pros🙏🏽

[@johndance1362]

Thanks Rett! I'm always glad to see Tim. You guys remind me of the knowledge I once knew and new things that I failed to learn.

[@eusma75]

That Bassman by itself sounded just so tasteful…

[@michaeltaylors2456]

Well it is the basis of vintage Marshall, which is a Bassman circuit made with the roughly equivalent British parts.

[@paulcowart3174]

Yes...this is guitar 101...IMO

[@dowaliby1]

Rhett, this was most informative. You are not only a superb guitarist, but articulate and personable, as well. And this clinches it -- I've gotta get that XTS imperial overdrive I've been putting off getting.

[@paristhalheimer]

I feel like Sunshine of Your Love is not as distorted as people think.

[@t3hgir]

surely there's some analog tape saturation going on no?

[@michaeltaylors2456]

Nothing worth listening to is as distorted as we regular guitarists think it is , or is my experience anyway

[@paristhalheimer]

@@michaeltaylors2456 the song is not worth listening to, "because it is as distorted as guitarists think it is"? Your comment is not really making sense to me.

[@samedgar2283]

@@paristhalheimer I think he means all the sounds that guitarists, it really comes to the mix and they just sound cleanish

[@michaeltaylors2456]

@@paristhalheimer , most overdriven or distorted tones that we find pleasing are usually not nearly as overdriven or distorted as they appear in the mix with bass, drums, keys etc , once isolated, we usually hear a much cleaner tone than we perceived in the mix . Your favorite guitar hero’s tones typically are not as distorted as you think when trying to replicate them . Hope this helps

[@mentalcog2187]

Tim is legendary. OMG,... Love his amps! The guitar is a dynamic dream! Throw his expertise in and everything is beautiful,.. heavy sighs from all the older guitar nuts. THIS,.. was a class in sound every bit as much as over drives. Maybe more so. Truly enjoyed this vid!!!

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

I really should practice rather than watch videos like these. No matter how great a sound I could potentially get, I still play kinda shitty.

[@18JR78]

Keep watching them just practice just as much or more!

[@mathiasklein8143]

I might be wrong in this, but I think its about you finding your kind of music. What do you play that you absolutely love? I'm pretty sure that if you go from there you'll play better "without noticing". At least thats what I try to do and I enjoy it haha

[@willplayforbeer3658]

This! Same here.

[@OriginalKingRichTv]

@@mathiasklein8143 I like to play thrash metal. But when I make my own riffs. It’s so simple. How can I expand my creativity?

[@OriginalKingRichTv]

@@mathiasklein8143 ch-ch-ch-E-ch-ch-ch-F#-ch-ch-G-ch-ch-F-chakachakachaka-E. Is the usual riff I use

[@justinbeech2681]

This video was so enlightening!! Thank you Rhett , hoping you have a speedy recovery.

[@bwpm1467]

Literally knew that Tim was about to say 'early Led Zeppelin' when talking about overdrive that's not as driven as you think.

[@Darrenowsley]

Rhrett I am a Flamenco guitarist that now plays electric and just want to say how valuable you are to me Thank you so much

[@SMAAAASHTV]

Rhett: How does your setup work? Tim: First, you turn the time circuits on.

[@prairieschooner99]

Outstanding pro tips, explaining how less is often what you're really looking for in overdrive/distortion. Thank you.

[@RS2KR]

So does Tim live in his studio? How does he get out of there?

[@hurdygurdyguy1]

He presses a button (or pedal) and his chair rises through an opening into his house ...

[@RS2KR]

@@hurdygurdyguy1 that’s better than turning on a gain pedal, hitting a massive chord and being ejected from the chair through the door.

[@thefunkgodeloheem2278]

Great Lesson... never stop learning... never stop listening. Love this.

[@deadlegs187]

I don't listen to anyone talk about guitar unless they have at least 7 amps behind them

[@JorgeTheilacker]

Lol...

[@RonBaker456]

I play almost all acoustic solo but always love hearing Tim do his thing.