No Gain? No Problem! - Clean Tone Secrets and Tips

[@fossilmatic]

A big thing with playing clean, especially single note runs, is being aware of and utilising space in your phrasing. That’s where playing sympathetically with the rest of a band get’s really important. I’ve always thought of my guitar parts as the filigree in the architecture; kind of punctuating and accentuating the music rather than smothering it in detail.

[@lueysixty-six7300]

Some wisdom here aswell... 🙂

[@JonBrowning760]

So not using space is ok with dirt? Nonsense.

[@jfree336]

For me an amp’s clean tone is much more important than the od or high gain sounds. I can get any type of dirt with any number of pedals, but if your amp’s clean tone sucks, you’re sol.

[@cgavin1]

I wasted a lot of money on low headroom high gain amps before I realised this! Now my #1 is a 135w ultralinear Fender twin and klon. I rock that thing on 3 lol.

[@davidfaustino4476]

No you can't. No pedal will turn a 1x12 into a 4x12.

[@wcvalentine5996]

Too many players use overdrives or distortion as their main sound and many times it becomes a crutch as it makes them feel like they are playing better because the distortion masks a lot. Clean playing requires more effort and basically you are out there naked so your playing has nothing to hide behind. Totally agree with this statement

[@dannyllerenatv8635]

I think another thing a lot of people like about overdrive or distortion is the compression that comes with it as well. However, some compression + clean not only feels really good under the fingers, but you REALLY have to hone down your playing, because every single mistake now is going to be loud and clear.

[@kelalamusic9258]

Excellent video. I’m glad to see someone highlighting the beautify of clean. I truly hope that more of the younger players embrace this. For one thing it makes or, or should I say, forces you to be a better musician. There’s no overly done noise to cover up ones inept playing ability. I asked a guy one day who was wailing out so much bloody distortion if he could play clean. He couldn’t. He failed miserably. If you really want it bring out the true beauty of a guitar and increase your ability/talent as a guitarist, then learn to play clean. Much mahalo!

[@davidaraujo927]

Robert Cray has my favourite clean blues Tone...

[@justinpaquette224]

I also love his tone

[@michaelarmstrong1730]

I agree Robert Crays clean sound is solid. I do appreciate Jimmie Vaughan's tone though.

[@fellazuab]

Yeah man. That man might be the cleanest sound i've ever heard. Its incredible 😲

[@mikesharpsongs]

King of Clean

[@TraneFrancks]

There's nothing like a clean tone to expose just how poorly I'm muting my strings. _big sigh_

[@jeffdubuque5622]

high gain will expose it even more.

[@lueysixty-six7300]

@@jeffdubuque5622 agree

[@mikejones-vd3fg]

@@jeffdubuque5622 it takes skill to mute distortion effectively, but i think muting clean strings is harder, you need finer control and therefore more strength to pull of an acceptable sound. That being said practicing muting clean string only gets you good at muting clean strings, the strength might help in muting distoriton but your missing out on learning the dynamics of the distoriton which is also important.

[@troykelso]

Nigel Tufnel is a genius. Simple lines, intertwining...

[@scot-combs]

Dan and Mick once said they thought of compression as gain for a clean sound. As I've played more with it, I think they're right. The compressor gives me a bit of what gain pedals do without the drive or distortion. Great video.

[@jppagetoo]

Compression is distortion! It's not a hard clipping type but it is distortion, plain and simple.

[@edwinpringle7342]

@@jppagetoo wrong, distortion is dirty, can't be clean and dirty at the same time. It's clean drive, sustain has nothing to do with dirt and distortion has everything to do with dirt. Sorry

[@EnterJustice]

@@jppagetoo No. Distortion also tends to compress the sound a bit. Hence a compressor gives you part of what distortion gives you.

[@moustachio334]

A compressor works so well for clean solos. I used to use an MXR Dyna comp for soloing on the clean channel of Orange. It was such an articulate and beautiful lead tone. These days I’ve gotten away from distortion

[@johnbrown1851]

@@EnterJustice Yeah but it's not gritty😏

[@acrscott]

Thank you, the best lesson I’ve watched in a very long time.There are no clean pedals, the purity is wonderful. Your honesty is refreshing, like a close friend helping me to learn. Beautiful guitar, beautiful tone and beautiful person.

[@donshekn9114]

RJ is a great african american. The best.

[@jfo3000]

@@donshekn9114 I thought he was Filipino.

[@donshekn9114]

@@jfo3000 Nope, hes black. I went to HS with him.

[@ferdinoh3704]

@@donshekn9114 This is a pure racist statement. Go see a doctor. I hardly gets most racist than that.

[@donshekn9114]

@@ferdinoh3704 you don't like blacks? why are you watching his channel

[@christophervincent8420]

This is by far the best clean amp video that exists. I wish you could try the Bolnd version. You really made this video amazing. The Spinal Tap sustain and "crank" it joke in there was on point. I must have watched this dozens of times. You need to do more like this.

[@eolden7749]

Yeah I wish he would try the Twin, Super Reverb, and Princeton.

[@Thomas-pq4ys]

One of the deepest Blues players I know, Ronnie Earl, plays clean, no effects, Strat into a 410 Super, just a touch of reverb, that's it. His tone and timing are superb, and his band, so tight, dials right into his dynamics in lock-step, like they share the same brain....

[@cgavin1]

There really is nothing more beautiful than a clean guitar through a Fender amp. Not just single coils either. Humbuckers too. Out of phase clean humbuckers (of the low wind PAF type) and a hair of that lovely spring reverb is heavenly. I know you wanted to place the products in the video, but its worth mentioning that those older Fender silver and blackface amps are so valued because they do everything you tried to compensate for with the SS amp "automatically". They compress, scoop, warm up and even order harmonic the salami out of your tone, even clean.

[@dankay7982]

I like your energy, man. Combined with your voice it creates the perfect environment to just lean back for 25 minutes and learn some new stuff. Doesn't get boring, doesn't get annoying and looking at that awesome guitar also helps. Subscribed.

[@RJRonquillo]

Thanks Dan!

[@northof50now]

Came here through the Tim Pierce channel. I've been in his Master Class for the last 3 years. Thanks for the video on clean tone. I've always gravitated to "more clean" over "more OD."

[@prophetsbourne1136]

Great Video!! I found THE KEY to perfect pickup height after YEARS of searching and reading EVERYTHING! Start with pickups at 2 32nds on the Low E and 1 32nd on the High E with all 3 knobs on 10.. Then lower by Quarter Turns until your Tuner becomes absolutely stable when you strike the note at your normal picking force. I cannot remember where I got this tip but it allows me to get THE most out of each pickup and not cross into loss of sustain of wolf tones.

[@sirkayda7205]

Could've titled this video, "No Gain, No Pain".

[@yalug3478]

Nice 😂🔥

[@sirkayda7205]

@@yalug3478 - Thanks man. 😊

[@TheDynamicsDepartment]

Lmao 🤣 what a missed opportunity

[@michaeltaylors2456]

You just explained compression so very well. Over time, was the key difference, went beyond squash and lift.

[@blackiejames1843]

RJ thank you for making this video on the beauty of playing clean. Too many players use overdrives or distortion as their main sound and many times it becomes a crutch as it makes them feel like they are playing better because the distortion masks a lot. Clean playing requires more effort and basically you are out there naked so your playing has nothing to hide behind. I enjoy my various dirt pedals and they have their place however I would never play dirty all the time unless I was playing metal or some style that was build around distortion. I have always played clean using my pedal board as a color pallet. Also, thanks for letting players know about the benefits of using a compressor. I refer to my two knob Keeley as the secret weapon when asked how I get my tone. I started using it years ago while working in Nashville. I would hear the other guys getting this rich sustain and great tone and finally when I asked a fellow session guy how he got that sound he told me it was that little silver box with the two knobs and said he didn't know exactly how it worked but he kept it tuned in subtle and kept it on all the time. Thanks again for doing this video and hopefully you have opened up some new avenues for younger players.

[@rula42]

I started with Marshall "all on 10" and Power Soak, then Kitty Hawk (Mesa Boogie HiGain) and humbucker guitars...now I am happy with a Telecaster and a slightly saturated crunch type-o-sound. Maybe it's the age... 😉

[@lueysixty-six7300]

Yep, I was always hard rock Gibson>Marshall, endo' story!! But I surprised myself by buying a fender hotrod amp last year. I A-B'ed it with a Marshall and, while the M delivered the Rock crunch, the Fender's atmospheric clean tone won me over. Now I've got 3 beloved tones: Marshall Rock style (thru pedals), light overdrive where you dig in to get the gain to glisten, and straight clean like RJ did here today. Maybe a little compressor.. I'd say I spend near equal times with each tone, without having a clear winner yet. But probably the light gain is in the lead.. Just! P.S. I've even learned to turn my fuzz gains down to get waaaaay nicer and more useable tones. As a grunge child, that blows my mind! 🤯 I've found the guitar's volume knob aswell. It's a whole different animal now..

[@rula42]

@Jose Soto I totally agree - it is progress and growth...thank god. To stand still as a musician (and a human being in general) is scary and just wrong. Never stop learning

[@neonmasterva]

I'm not even old and I'm tired of too much distortion already

[@tommyschwemmer4497]

My tastes have gotten heavier as I’ve aged. I would only put overdrive on my amp, never distortion. Now I love the heavy ballsy stuff.

[@78tag]

Best description/demo of clean tone by far. Too many (almost all) guitar, amp, effects demos only want to talk about distortion. Thanks for explaining the actual sound of great clean tone so maybe more guitar players will at least consider what they are missing. I think you are right about some people's fear of clean tone exposing limited playing skills. It is easy to cover up poor playing with a lot of noise. I know I lean on distortion too much in slide playing.

[@MarkPritchardGuitar]

Nice to see a video on clean tones, nice one RJ!

[@GuyDanielsMusicEtc]

@ 8:34 RJ cool point about the pickup closeness to mid-string. But the magic of having a choice between Treb + Rhythm (+ Mid) is exactly that - the Tone. Btw IMO clean vol swells rule on Tteble. Just sayn😏

[@brandonkeller478]

Clean guitar separates the men from the boys

[@rozzer666]

I'm just a baby

[@elsemi11]

agreed but sometimes it's nice to be little boy again

[@LeviBulger]

Sure does. You know what's funny is when I played in rock/punk bands as a youth I never really had too many compliments even though some of that stuff was difficult and I actually think I was better then as a player in many ways. But now when I play surf style music (especially) or dreampop arpeggiated stuff people compliment me all the time. I only play clean these days (other than fuzz on occasion) and I think people's ears are more receptive to it. Guitar players know it's actually harder to sound good clean than with dirt

[@adriatic.vineyards]

@@LeviBulger People tend to be more impressed by simple stuff that sounds good than by complex stuff that has less immediate appeal. Can I hear some of your stuff?

[@areskochendorfer2532]

@@rozzer666 I cant get no sleep tonight

[@rickschneider3887]

Clean amps and the compressor have become my best friend! I use the compressor with a little Eq bump to boost my solos with no gain and all the wonderful Tone, punch and sustain!! I used to depend on High gain for lead tones but I learned after 35+ years of playing that I don't need it!! Great Video and wisdom R.J.!

[@reynontolentino8112]

You're not an engineer nor a scientist but you make a lot of sense. It's always both entertaining and educational watching your videos. Thanks dude!

[@squirelova1815]

Robbie Blunt had absolutely Glorious cleans. I think I can listen to cleaner tones in songs more often and for longer with far less ear fatigue.

[@JJDPROMEDIAPRODUCTION]

As a Funk, R &B, Jazz and Gospel Player, having a great Clean( full bodied) tone is paramount. 90 percent of my gigging is with the clean channel. Mastering it ( Clean channel) is essential.

[@firemarshal2629]

I’ve been playing guitar for over 20 years and didn’t really know how far I had to go until I bought a super reverb and played it for the first time straight through with no effects. Up until the i always used Marshall’s and had at least a little gain. Really humbled me but at the same time hearing how I really sounded encouraged me to continue playing clean. Helped me in the end and I encourage more people to at least practice clean every so often.

[@SarahEHowson]

Same, and my playing got a billion times better simply by turning off the overdrive channel. Although, on my channel people keep saying my playing sucks because it's not a barrage of dirty notes. (I delete the comments, ain't nobody got time to feed trolls and my playing is fine).

[@LTJR.]

The super reverb has been my go-to for probably 35 or so years.

[@savananm2504]

Literally rustling through KZbin trying to find a vid about configuring THAT tone. was shockingly surprised I couldn’t find one that was useful (for me) UNTIL I stumbled upon this video. Thank you my friend, exactly what I’m looking for ((:

[@bigblueplanet1968]

I rarely use much more overdrive than a little bit of crunch. I play a tele thru a Katana and use the onboarding effects . Its clean channel is fabulous.

[@juliancarmichael]

Really enjoyed the vibrato lesson!! I’d watch a full video on that!

[@SandauxBeats]

This is awesome!!! I'm doing this now on my records. Mas naninibago ako sa breakup sound or clean/dirt combo sound. I live in extremes back then. I'm a 90's kid who started in punk rock and classic rock. If I go dirt sound, distortion all the time. From start to finish. And then Blink 182 came along. I now have to go clean (pristine clean) in stanzas and then hit the distortion in the chorus section. And now, I'm re-learning the guitar and guitar pedals again and fell in love with reverbs, delays, modulation, fuzz, envelope filtered sounds, wahs, and overdrives. Crazy.

[@ralfettel3180]

Hi, I really enjoyed this Video. Cool, to put these little Clips from Spinal Tap, Star Wars etc. in. I like your playing and your Tone, and it´s cool to see, that a Solid State Amp can sound really warm... I play my Vox AC30 for many Years, and I never thought it´s possible to get a rich and warm Tone out of a Solid State Amp. All the best to you and Greetings from Berlin, Germany, Ralf

[@haus05]

Great video R.J.! As a 38 year old New-ish guitarist (played way back in high school for a year or so) this video is very helpful to me as there is so much tech out there now a days and it can become very confusing and Overwhelming for someone relatively new-ish to guitar . I have a deluxe reverb amp (Tube) which I purchased because I absolutely LOVE clean tone and Bluesy sounds, and in my non expert opinion this amp has the most iconic clean sound i can think of ! Thank you for making this video :) and by the way what a gorgeous Strat ! (would look mint with my Deluxe as she's got paisley tolex covering and a wheat grill) Cheers From Canada

[@johngerson7335]

"Neck shake" does a wonderful vibrato, it's just more subtle than the others. Also depends on the guitar's configuration. An SG or an L6 or Melody Maker will surprise you at how much vibe can be had from "shake" because of how small a portion of the neck is attached to the body.

[@shaunw9270]

Townshend used to shake his SG neck . Apparently back in the early days ,he shook the neck on one of his Rickenbackers so hard ,the neck broke at the heel !

[@louderthangod]

Yeah, that was a weird point he made...it made me feel like I was losing my mind. How do you not hear that? It's a great form of vibrato especially on chords and you can actually get some fairly wide vibrato too if you brace the guitar right. Jim Campilongo, Nels Cline, Julian Lage, Bill Frisell all do great jobs with this.

[@bobbyparks801]

ANGUS

[@rinkeheerema1102]

I also feel like he was not holding his guitar firmly enough while pulling on the neck. You're trying to stretch the strings so you need to hold the body steady while pulling the neck a bit

[@flamencoprof]

Hah, I've got a crappy old Teisco that had the top separating from the neck block from damage before I was given it as a piece of junk. It was my first electric, about '74. I "fixed" it with screws thru the top. Ouch. I took the vibrato bar off and got plenty by just bending the whole guitar. R. elbow on the lower bout, pelvis on the middle, LH on the neck, pull back with both arms. Not recommended tho! I did learn a lot about setup just trying to make that thing work for me.

[@klauswhitedreamer]

The clean of an electric guitar is the base and the starting point speaking about the tone ... In the last years I discovered the special beauty of the clean and I understood the art of the master Hank Marvin ... I have been a metal guitar player and a classical guitar player, I play my guitars since 30 years ago but in 2012 I bought my first American Fender Stratocaster and it's been love at first sight - since then I am totally in love with the clean ... Great video, nice Strat, be blessed ! ❤️

[@sosmooth7]

An amp without a very clean tone is absolutely useless to me! I LIVE ON CLEAN TONES! Because I live in clean tone heaven, let's face it,we can get the over driven or distortion tones with many pedals on the market. there is no other amp than Fender that accomplishes most! I don't need an amp with a lot of effects or that kind of thing,just give me a clean channel and I'll get the rest!!! P.S. B.B King never used any effects at all,in was all in his hands! Great video!!!

[@STEVELILLEY011117]

JC-40 is a brilliant amp for cleans.

[@jakehyrule7260]

There is no other amp than fender that accomplishes most=wrong

[@yippy327]

Great video, man! My favorite guitarist for many years, almost always uses a clean tone. Robert Cray is the man! Peace, man!

[@RJRonquillo]

Underrated clean tone for sure, Cray is awesome.

[@danh7739]

Your vibrato is great, excellent video. Steve Ray use to change his strings gages all the time. He'd tell his roadie to go heavier when he felt good or go lighter when his hands got tired and his fingers hurt. You've got a lot to be proud of. Good luck to all.

[@billtice5057]

Seriously I play clean more than any other way! I luv it...

[@lesterpaul9657]

What a great Video. I ' m playing now for about 40 years and I learned a couple of new things about the sweet spot of pickups for example. Greetings from germany

[@thrumbolax2851]

About time you spoke up about this, RJ, depending on what you're doing a bit of gain does often sound great, but too much sounds as if you're in the dentist's waiting room listening to some poor droog being drilled - and you're next!! Thanks for the excellent content in this video, as always - and I think Strats look better upstde-down.

[@braddietzmusic2429]

Knowing how, and feeling comfortable playing clean tone is very useful for gigging. I’ve seen guitarists (not me yet) have issues with pedalboard one the middle of a gig. Instead of stopping playing and the gig, the ability to say “screw it, I’ll try to sort this out at break time” and the player plugs directly into the amp. Very important have this workaround, no matter how prepared and how well you take care of your gear and signal chain!!!!

[@PGU13BHEI]

Try the bridge and middle pickup selector setting. Set your tone knob for the middle pickup on 5 or 6. Try this for a couple of days and let me know what you think. I was always middle and neck or just neck, but there is something about the setting I suggested that I like. I started with a thumb pick when I was six, because I could hold on to it. Eventually used a flat pick, but never the pointy end of it. Always used my fingers too. Then I saw a Brent Mason interview where he was discussing his alternate picking technique with the thumb and middle finger. Tried that and liked it but now I am moving to alternate picking with the thumb and alternate picking with index and middle fingers. I think it has made me a better flat picker for some reason, probably because I am using less attack with it to try to make it sound as good as no pick. The Stratocaster is an interesting puzzle. How best to use it is entirely up to you. Pays to have a good one to work with. Thanks for the video.

[@smokepeddler]

My playing plateaued until I purchased a 67 Pro Reverb. Sounds so beautiful clean. Playing clean helped me develop my attack and touch, making my playing much more dynamic. For so long I used a compressor and drive to hide my sloppiness.

[@TomorrowsChild77]

The problem is you have to actually be good to sound good with clean tones.

[@lamsonian]

Music, IS Good. Guitar, IS Good. Just let it BE Good, and you will sound Good. ;-)

[@edwinpringle7342]

Exactly.

[@cgavin1]

I don't really agree with that one. I mean, there is nothing more obnoxious than someone with no feel playing overdrive leads. Clean you can goof plenty, but if your phrasing is good and you are able to mix licks and riffs with the applicable chords for the key and move between major and minor fluidly, you can rock. The only other thing you need is a solid vibrato .. If you paint yourself in to a corner and can't get out of it, don't play through it, STOP, wait a couple of beats and re-enter. Most people won't notice or care and its a lot less jarring than if you try and fail to recover.

[@tomthomas8472]

Truth.

[@thodorisvlastos6304]

Playing with distortion needs it's own skills. Sometimes distortion highlights your mistakes even more.

[@utai4571]

(yeah i'm late i had to go play guitar in the middle lol) the "neck" vibrato, try it on a gibson SG! the neck joint is so far in the body that the neck is a tremolo on its own!

[@scottgeyer684]

Your observations on the differences between BB & Clapton’s vibrato techniques was revelatory for me! Been watching/listening for years, & never quite put that together - Thank you! I do it BB’s way, but am now working on EC’s, thanks to you!

[@moustachio334]

What makes SRV’s tone so special is how much headroom his amps had. Then there’s Santana’s tone on Flor d’luna, that’s a beautiful clean tone

[@eolden7749]

There is a lot of great information here kids. I don't have a band but go to blues jams anymore. The leader sometimes asks where is your dirt pedal? I tell him its in my coil'y cable. But I do use a compressor for the sustain and over the years the many things RJ teaches here. You are getting years of valuable information here. Great instructions.

[@aussie_philosopher8079]

The tone I'm getting from my new dr z Maz 18 mkii reverb head blows that tone right out of the water easily. Using a Fender 50s American original...great guitar.

[@grassmastersmith4422]

This is exactly what I've been doing. Compressor sort of does all the good things of distortion (sustain- evens out the volume of large and small strings) without distortion. Add a little reverb and you're set. You can solo or play chords.

[@timbrink]

I like how you matched Nigel's vocal note. 9:38

[@checkpointcovid8021]

The older I get the more I appreciate a clean tone from a tube guitar. Getting the clean channel to the edge of breakup is a nice place to be.

[@edwinpringle7342]

Never seen a guitar with tubes in it 😜 J.S.

[@RobFlaxMusic]

A thought on "neck wiggle vibrato": I've seen guys doing that to try and change the bowing of the guitar neck, changing the tension that way. Makes more sense on a guitar that doesn't already have a tremolo arm though!

[@Erkki_Mela]

Yes, and it does work! You have to do it against your right arm to make it work.

[@OneTinSloth1]

Rob Flax SGs do it really really well. Too well, in fact.

[@LTJR.]

Melody Maker! Or 3(loose) bolt Strat, sideways... Toward the upper and lower horns, instead of toward the front and back! And yeah that last one is tongue in cheek or tongue and groove...

[@virtuososo]

Neck shake is to a Bigsby what a Bigsby is to a fulcrum .... (and what a fulcrum is to a Floyd)

[@Pantalooj]

Great explanation and pointers for getting tone from technique. Love it

[@elipop777]

I have the tonemaster deluxe also and the clean is just fantastic. Great video! I learned a few things and really enjoyed it! Also dig the video of you and Jason lee ripping some surf tunes. So dope! Keep up the good work👍

[@mattvgyo]

Wow, just wow. That guitar is heaven. RJ is a great instructor and an amazing player.

[@MarkFromHawaii]

Lately I've been using 9.5s (D'Addario EXL120+) and really like the playability of lighter gauge strings plus just a little more sustain and intonation that 10s give. Sort of a best of both worlds.

[@jmo1366]

Same here.. Im loving the 9.5s

[@jonstephenson5436]

Great attention to detail as always! I love the Fender clean tone. I usually play blues with it. The neck shake thing only works if you kind of anchor the body of the guitar against your abdomen, and physically torque the neck a little. Sounds cool with chords. I don’t do it a lot, cuz I’ve actually heard creaking sounds around the bolt on area of the neck. Maybe it’s not very good for the truss rod and stuff? But that’s the only way I hear a perceptible vibrato from the “neck shake” thing.

[@Guitarooster52]

One of the best demonstrations of clean techniques I’ve seen. Thanks!

[@edwinpringle7342]

It's like it's squeezing the notes out of the guitar. Gotta love it. Ain't nothing like clean sustain that's one of the things I like about the sustainiac system in my schecter.

[@Bairov]

The pet peeve neck shake is subtle, but actually works up and down with a floating bridge. Try it while plunged into a strobe tuner

[@byronofcalgary6985]

adjusting SSS pickups affects the "quack" tone of the pickup combo's at pos'n 2 + 4 - - any change in side to side pickup slope can dial the "quack" back in or out - try to nail that 1st... esp so both combo's sound good = the mid pickup is key - Because the combos are hum cancelling, they are a bit subdued - raising the pickups makes the 1,3, 5 singles sound louder & the 2 + 4 combo's sound weak - you may find that low pickups is ideal

[@originalsongwriters]

I read this comment and dropped my pickups significantly lower than I had them at . . . . Your absolutely correct thank you my friend

[@theloniouscoltrane3778]

One of Sir RJ's best video post. Thanks Mr. Ronquillo 👍✌

[@SteveRockstein2]

Thanks man. After 30-years of playing this is exactly where my journey has taken me, to Cleansville, and I'm loving it. My main guitar is a L&G USA Legacy (with alnico not MFD pickups) plugged into a FRENZEL tube reverb tank/preamp feeding a FRENZEL 25-watt Deluxe head and 1x12 MESA FILLMORE cab. My ever-shrinking pedalboard is home for KEELEY Compressor Pro and a FULLTONE Full Drive 3. Some days prefer the Clean Boost of the Fulldrive over the Compressor for clean leads. Other days its the opposite. I also run a MXR Carbon Copy analog delay in the FX loop to fatten things up a little. I have my guitar heroes, many known for searing lead tones - Jimi of course being #1 - but some of my favorite cuts from him were clean tone gems like The Wind Cries Mary. And listening to Mike Bloomfield (with Al Kooper) Live at the Fillmore East still make me cry. Should I need a little ear candy I'll kick on a Fulltone Clyde Wah or my ancient Guyatone tube Tremolo for a while. They both sound fab into a clean rig. Every once in a while, when the mood hits, I'll slam the amp with distortion from the Full Drive, riding the feedback into rock glory. But its not nearly satisfying as it once was. When I play really well and really clean I feel like I've accomplished something good. This is good advice for anyone looking for a clean sound. And Vibrato! Yes! Vibrato! Not keen on that digital amp though. Admittedly, it's 90% there soundwise, so its fine for gigs where people and talking and eating. But I'm a studio rat now. So its all tube, all analog all the time. If anyone is looking for an awesome sounding, point-to-point, hand-built amp, I can't recommend Jim Frenzel' gear enough. I bought my Deluxe from him 10-years ago and never looked back. Here's a link. www.frenzeltubeamps.com/

[@edwinpringle7342]

I have a monster pedal board. I say, smoke em if you got em.

[@jameshack5966]

Best ever explanation of compression. Thanks RJ!

[@RJRonquillo]

Thanks, although i'm waiting for an audio engineer to school me

[@noonsound4894]

I get so irritated with amp reviewers that start with what they call a clean tone setting and it totally isn't. Thanks for doing this video.....👍👏

[@emreemre369]

I think the attack on the bridge is faster because the string is tighter at that point and responds more immediately.. or maybe not, 2 cents, just thinking loud. Love your vids.

[@rocknrollguitar]

Well my pickup secret, works especially well if you play a lot of diffrent styles of music. Neckpickup flush to the body Middle pickup set at about 80% hight Bridge pickup set at about 90% Never go higher, like RJ said that can influence alot. Volume at 10 Tone 1 (bridge pickup) at about 8 Tone 2 (middle/neck) at about 3 This gives you all the tonal option you'll ever need.

[@BeefNEggs057]

Is that 80% and 90% as in very close to the strings? Or closer to flush?

[@rocknrollguitar]

@@BeefNEggs057 that varies per instrument and pickup! 100% is as High to the strings as you feel comfertable with.

[@BeefNEggs057]

David Ben deWaard Oh okay got it!

[@rocknrollguitar]

I think Ill do an Instagram video with more explainings! Ill keep you posted

[@alphaclean3364]

This is exactly how I set my Les Paul with '59 PAF style humbuckers. Whenever I think I want a strat I play with this setup on the clean channel and the urge to purchase goes away

[@braddietzmusic2429]

I often play Country, sometimes Jazz. Sometimes I play with NO overdrive or boost, and straight into the amp. It’s GOOD to be able to play clean, and also to be comfortable with that tonal ballpark, and to develop your sound and variations/expressiveness with that clean tone. Also, I don’t use a compressor very often, but occasionally I like to experiment with it. My demos (depending on exactly what I’m demo-ing) are often clean tone, because I believe that choice will be MOST useful to the viewer. Good video. Thanks.

[@SpartanLaserCanon]

Man, I never thought of experimenting with a tiny bit of compression for cleans until I heard some premade tones on Bias FX 2, even a little bit of compression can change a sound. Cool video.

[@AlexG-bc7ji]

Love a good clean sound. Drive/gain/etc has its place, but cleans are their own world of cool tones. I'd kill to get the Nile Rogers sound on my guitar playing.

[@luminousswan560]

Hey RJ. This is so well done and complete, thanks. I think neck shake thing your talking about might be a technique used for getting tremolo out of a guitar not fitted with a tremolo device. The idea is to stretch and relax the strings a bit by moving the neck to and fro using the point where the neck meets the body of the guitar as a fulcrum. It's difficult, if not impossible, to do this maneuver whilst playing without the entire guitar moving around ...

[@vk2ktm]

the different tone from the different pickups is due to the harmonics present at that location. There is less physical vibration at the bridge, so they tend to wind these coils a little hotter than the neck pickups as compensation. if the fundamental vibration is the whole string wobbling back and forwards, the vibration is greatest at the 12th fret - as you correctly note, unless you are fretting the string - but that is another story. the second harmonic will have peaks at frets 6, 12 and 18, while the 4th harmonic will have peaks at frets 3, 6, 12, 15, 18 etc. (keep counting till you get the idea). the hot wind and lack of low order harmonics at the bridge is why it sounds 'bright', and their presence, along with a more balanced wind on the coil is why the neck pickup sounds 'full'

[@איתןיצחקארד]

About the 3rd method of vibrato you showed starting 18:35; the motion is more like this: by pushing the string hardly forward and backward between the frets, causing loosening and tightening the the bridge half of the string, and so the height of frequency.

[@BrandochGarage]

Great Video. I'm no pro, ahhaa, but interestingly enough, last time I cleaned up my area, I had the idea in the back of my mind to make a proper pedal board, but hadn't gotten around to it since long before Christmas. Thus, all my pedals were put away. For practice, I just have a couple of nice little tube amps I love. So I've been playing clean for the past 6 mo's mo's with nothing, no reverb, no nothing. Only yesterday, I actually put the pedals back on (a reverb, a couple of weeks a go, and then yesterday and nice crunchy boost thing, and am rediscovering the beauty of these effects on the amplifier.)

[@promisespleases]

Playing clean is becoming the main way I am playing and recording. I love the 6v6's of the century electar reissue from Epiphone; glassy and hard, but full, with colour and clarity, and just a hint of rumble: amp at 6 and Strat at 5.5, The El84's and 12ax7 of Fender's pro Jr 3 or iii is also a really nice clean tone. This time a 10" as opposed to the 15 " n the epiphone. In both amps I had to replace the tubes, and the difference was surprisingly very, very different. Good tubes make the sound awesome. I used the tube store. Many stock much of the same choice brands.

[@tjcurtin1]

Great demo, RJ - and loved the cut-ins of classic Nigel Tufnel guitar wisdom ;), and the visual whack accompaniment when the reverb got out of hand!

[@gigabloke]

RJ, you have excellent presentation skills, and very instructive too. Thank you! Subscribed.

[@ksgtrpkr]

A Fender Deluxe Reverb and RJ? I could listen to this for hours!

[@jimbeaux4988]

My two most favorite tones have been Brent Mason tele and Robert Cray for blues. Also many various R&B players. So, cleans are my wheelhouse.

[@PooNinja]

Very loud clean is the true path to enlightenment It lets you really hear how each guitar sounds and feels

[@PooNinja]

I use the corner of the butt ...not the whole 🕳 thing😂

[@gfunkk]

@@PooNinja no doubt, the corner of the end of the pick is a much rounder sound. Im also a fan of super light picks, especially for acoustic, gives that extra sparkle on the string.

[@thejonathandoan]

18:43 I tend to use a “violin” style vibrato on the upper frets, simply because it’s easier to do than on the lower frets. Keep in mind I’m a beginner/intermediate guitar player, but I’ve found it’s fairly easy for me to add some subtle vibrato when using the violin technique on the upper frets.

[@codykleinsmith]

This couldn’t have come at a better time! I was just looking into buying one of these. Thanks R.J.!

[@antoonhermans8953]

hello cody , i'm asuming you mean the fender tonemaster reverb deluxe , if so , go ahead and do it , i have mine for about 4 months now , and i'm over the moon with it , it's a perfect amp in every sence ! greetings , toon ( the Netherlands ) .

[@codykleinsmith]

antoon hermans Thanks for the input. I have a 68 DRRI that I love, but I’ve been gigging a lot more lately. I think the added features of the tonemaster would be a big plus.

[@antoonhermans8953]

@@codykleinsmith , yes , the added features make this amp perfect fot gigs and for an older person ( like me ) the lesser weight is also nice , I infact sold my expensive usa handmade tubeamp about a month ago , and i can't say i really miss it , so after almost 40 years of using tubeamps i'm a digital amp player now , pff , never tought i would be saying that.

[@JoelWetzel]

Yes. OD surely is a crutch for most, as is playing too many notes, so thank you for this video.

[@psy7251]

I usually play clean, with some spring reverb. Your video has given me the inspiration to continue, plus some humour always helps. Thank you so much for your very helpful video and insightful comments. (I also think neck shake does nothing).

[@gilleschiasson4485]

Sir, you have really done a good job at explaining clean tones. When I was a kid [and I'm old] we were told it was important to master clean tones and all that entails. I'd add an 'exciter' for clean rhythm parts.

[@robertmuehlenkamp7348]

Great Tones and I agree to everything you say except for the thing with neck bending vibrato. That works best with Teles while sitting down. The master of this sound is Bill Frisell. He creates magic tones by massaging the whole guitar.

[@jonnymak1079]

Awesome video!!! The neck pickup is definitely smoother always and deeper, yes cause of the placement

[@Tonetwisters]

Thank you. My favorite sound. I have overdrives, but seldom use them. A little bit of compression makes clean, a lot easier. I recommend this version of the Deluxe Reverb, as a back saver ... that, from someone with SIX bulging discs from carrying heavy guitar amps for years. The sound decays quicker with the bridge PUP because the elipse of the string is much smaller than at the neck position.

[@skepticalbystander]

My lord that guitar! And I'm a lefty, but the upside-down look, man...plus, I am NOT at ALL a gold top guy, this is probably one of two or three instances I've been in awe of a gold top, granted the much more extreme paint job compared to a normal sparkly gold paint job, man...that thing is sick! Love that it has a maple fretboard too! I like rosewood fretboard ok on Fenders, but any Fender I ever own will only have maple, hopefully roasted and very lightly flamed ;)

[@davidparkes7977]

Nice paint job on the strat Bro .Great vidieo.Playing clean so underated.

[@gasparepellecchia]

I love the cleanliness of the Stratocaster single coils. I love less, that is differently, the clean of les Paul. it is necessary to compress, modulate, but extend to hit the mark. and I'm looking for tips to enhance this clean Fender!

[@paulpmanhowland7818]

I prefer playing clean most of the time.

[@cgavin1]

80% of all 20th century music is clean. Its why I laugh when people say an amp is useless because its only good for clean tones.

[@HELLCHILDFAN101]

Man I been playing for 6 years and my first years where all metal then I kinda got bored of it and saw the beauty of the strat! Love the sound of single coils love the clean and mild overdrive,

[@isaacarussi5822]

@@cgavin1 agreed having an amp with pristine clean tones is very important for me. I think high gain players should take note if you have a good clean tone you can always use pedals but if your clean tone sucks you’ll never get good cleans. IMO when I see high gain players “clean” tones it makes me laugh cause it sounds like I have one of my distortion pedals on

[@mjs2016]

@@cgavin1 whoever said amps are useless don't know shit about the guitar

[@shpeen8835]

I think this guy knows what he's talking about

[@67Dimebag]

I love the Spinal Tap clips! Great video also!

[@fromcodex]

this is such a cool video, thanks for putting in the work to make this. Definitely subscribing!

[@SteveKuhMusic]

Thank you. Very helpful tips. I find myself playing clean more often than not.

[@ksgtrpkr]

Great Job RJ! You are my favorite guitarist and guitar dude on KZbin!