TAF-Bundle9 "Classic Vibe" is here.

Quote from guenterhaas

I watched the Steve Stevens-video, to get this sound there's much needed than buying some Friedman-profiles for £ 4.99.....

1) Steve Stevens is an outstanding-player, his technique, expression, emotion and clarity are hard to find even among excellent players. He is very versatile, too and if you want to sound like him, first you have to play like him. And even Steve Stevens would sound like Steve Stevens on Brian May's equipment and vice versa.

2) Besides studio-tricks like the "horse" there are high-end studio-effects added (reverb, stereo-delay, stereo-chorus and compressor on the clean guitars), the Les Paul is always tuned to Drop D.

3) Guitars are extremely important, imho much more than amps, if you don't have similar high quality-guitars, the best amp can't help you. Guys like Steve Stevens sometimes are collecting guitars and they own a few hundreds, they always will play the best of the best.

3) All together your expectations are wrong, if you think it's that easy: I'll buy the profiles of my favourite guitar-player's amp and then I'll sound like him....

Display More

If Steve Stevens sounded like Steve Stevens on Brian May's equipment and vice versa then one amp and one guitar would be all that is needed for everyone! The worst that can happen is that he is out 4.99 and the time he spent having fun playing with it.

Quote from SwAn1

If Steve Stevens sounded like Steve Stevens on Brian May's equipment and vice versa then one amp and one guitar would be all that is needed for everyone!

Basically that's true, the "tone" is coming from the player's fingers, heart, emotion, personality...not from an amp or a guitar. We sometimes have too many trees to see the forest and we concentrate too much on the technical and not on the musical side. Take a look at the great guitar-sounds in the 70's (no boutique, metal, hi-gain-amps ect.): in most cases Marshall, Vox or Fender-amps + Fender and Gibson guitars and very often no effects, just one example: the "famous" Larry Carlton-guitars on the Steely Dan-albums and Donald Fagen's "Nightfly" are made with 3 things: a Fender Deluxe from the 50's (with just volume and tone-control, nothing else), a cable and a Gibson ES-335.

For sure it's more than ok to buy the Friedman or any other packs or profiles, but nevertheless it never will sound like the original.

Quote from guenterhaas

[quote='SwAn1','index.php?page=Thread&postID=160293#post160293']but nevertheless it never will sound like the original.

While I agree with you up to a point but there is a lot of latitude in sounding like "the original"? Take this U2 song, "The Fly". Here are 5 "original versions" (in the sense that the original artist is creating different versions of the same song) in different locations and on different guitars (probably similar amps though) in different styles that sound different even though the core parts are pretty much the same:

1. The Achtung Baby studio release version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyEr_wYEM60
2. Live in Boston played with a Les Paul of some description https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEyrhdBIyD8
3. Live at Glastonbury played with a Strat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9crVHnOccqo
4. Solo acoustic version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p51GJlsZcPE
5. Live in Chicago with an acoustic run through his rig https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs4VqAeZfaY

The world only needs one Steve Stevens and one Edge (and definitely just one Bono!) but you can still cover the song and sound original.

Maybe Guenter is saying just this: no need to copy someone else's gear, better to be original (you would not sound like them anyway)

Quote from viabcroce

Maybe Guenter is saying just this: no need to copy someone else's gear, better to be original (you would not sound like them anyway)

Maybe. I am sure he can explain it further himself if he'd like to clarify. Rather than discourage them (his 2nd #3 point), I think it is totally legitimate for someone to want to figure out the guitar tones, style etc. of people that they admire and see nothing wrong with that. And a good place to start is with the gear that they use. I also disagree that largely all that is needed is one guitar and one amp (or amp profile) and a cable. And I would encourage the person who was going to by the profile to go for it and have fun working it out and go from there. For instance, I recall reading once that Steve Ray Vaughn thought it was the greatest compliment when people said he was trying to sound like Jimi Hendrix and yet he brought tremendous originality to his interpretations of songs like Little Wing.

Quote from viabcroce

Maybe Guenter is saying just this: no need to copy someone else's gear, better to be original (you would not sound like them anyway)

Exactly It started with somebody buying the Friedman-profiles and then being disappointed not to sound exactly like Steve Stevens on the video. I explained why, besides expensive studio-gear and tricks, it's also the player himself and his unique style of playing, Steve's a killer with his very unique and special skills.

Of course you can copy a guitar-player and try to sound as much as possible like him, but why? For a cover-band it'll be ok or if you're a beginner and you're looking for the first orientation. When I was a kid/teen I copied everything from Hendrix and that wasn't a bad guitar-school. But in the long run it's much better to find your own style and identity. Otherwise you'll always be a clone of somebody else, of course it is much more difficult to be unique than to copy, but sometimes it's better not to go the easy way.

I didn't say "You should have only 1 guitar and 1 amp", don't get me wrong, I just said, that a great guitar-player with his own identity sometimes doesn't need more. And a bad or midrange player never would reach his quality, even with trucks full of amps and guitars or 5.000 excellent KPA-profiles. I own a lot af gear and I like it, if you have more gear you can express yourself more and your range of sounds is getting bigger. Nevertheless to work hard on being an excellent musician is much more important than buying gear all the time.

Everything's clear?

Quote from guenterhaas

[quote='viabcroce','index.php?page=Thread&postID=160311#post160311']

Everything's clear?

This is a much better explanation than the first attempt yes. One of the reasons I take issue to the first post was that I have kids who are starting out in music and everyone starts someplace and if is often with the music of people they like and I encourage that in them and encourage the poster to have fun with Andy's profile as he explores the Steve Stevens' sound and songs.

Well all this Steve Stevens talk has made me watch a few vid on you tube about him, his gear and his playing. Must say he's become one of my favourite guitar players now it's really educated me. I knew of him before (Billy Idol, Top Gun Theme) but never really listened to him properly, but I have now and he's a great player. So thank you guys on educating me on another great player out there

I'm German and not an English native speaker, so maybe sometimes I don't choose the 100% right words and expressions, but anyway I'm glad that everything's clear now.

By the way, pack 9 "Classic Vibe" is a killer, I really love it.

Guenter, I confirm everything you wrote and I share it.
We've seen many examples of "signature sounds" got with random instruments. Clapton's roadie said he sounds the same with a Les Paul. Pastorious sounded the same regardless the bass he had in his hands, and Mike Stern at a concert in Italy had not received his instruments and played the whole set with a 100-€ Eko strato... And had his usual Stern sound.
Not to mention Benedetti Michelangeli, Uto Ughi, Salvatore Accardo, Coltrane... who are perfectly recognizable on their records for the experts regardless what they are playing on.

And SwAn, TBH I couldn't see any bad in Guenter's post... Maybe because I'm not a native speaker myself
If someone thought that the way to "sound like someone" is to use their gear, then a post like Guenter's would be not only appreciated, but necessary IMO. The consciousness that sound is in the musician's body is an important step in everyone's musical evolution.
And I'm sure he never meant that we can't get inspired or excited by what our heroes use

Quote from viabcroce

The consciousness that sound is in the musician's body is an important step in everyone's musical evolution.
And I'm sure he never meant that we can't get inspired or excited by what our heroes use

You hit the point

Of course we all have our heroes, when I first heard Hendrix I sold my tele and bought a strat immediately (I was going to school and couldn't afford to have 2 guitars). I listened to his albums for years, tried to play exactly like him (what a task....) and I started my first rock-trio, playing Hendrix, Led Zep, Deep Purple ect. and improvising a lot. Hendrix is still my favourite player, nevertheless I went my different way, listening to a lot of other music and guitar-players (Steve Howe, Larry Carlton, Jimmy Page ect.), too, later on I studied classical guitar and became a session-player.

Quote from viabcroce

And SwAn, TBH I couldn't see any bad in Guenter's post...

There are several things that bothered me that I will explain for you again. First is the statment that Steve Stevens and Brian May could switch rigs and sound like each other. While there may be some truth in this it is not that clear cut. And maybe Eric Clapton's roadie that you refer to should read Clapton's reviews like the one here http://learningguitarnow.com/b…-guitar-gibson-or-fender/ :
"... I get so many different sounds coming out of the Stratocaster that it’s hard to compare it to any other guitar. My other guitars, I only visit them from time to time. I very rarely use anything else but the Strat"

After making this Steven / May comment he then seemed to contradict him in his first #3 by saying guitars could be more important than amps in creating a sound.

Which brings us to his second #3 point and something he returns to in a later post. Let's say this guy wants to sound exactly like Steve Stevens or play in a Steve Stevens cover band. So what and what is it to anyone else? And if he wants to work to sound exactly like the original (and as I asked in my first response there can be many "originals) again so what? If the guy wants to pay 4.99 for the profile and has the chops to pull it off then great for him. And if he doesn't have the chops then instead of this elitist attitude [Edit: I should have said "my perception at the time of an elitist attitude" but is probably just a cultural/language difference] telling him that his "expectations are all wrong" I would say go for it and see what you can do.

Much of this has been clarified since but was not clear in the original post.

The XTC is so amazing. Have to say it again. I know that tool used for - at least- the last record bogners (Ubershall I think) and they layered their guitars with diezels and mesas I think, but anyways since I play the XTC I can really hear that bogner sound in the last Tool record. Really amazing tone. Thanks for this great profile!

SwAn1: I don't want to bother or offend anybody here, I just see that some guitar-players are concentrating too much on gear and technical stuff, that's all. What I wrote are basic facts about making music:

1) the most important thing is the player himself
2) imho personal identity is better than being a clone of somebody
3) it's better to improve musicals skills than mainly concentrating on gear and instruments

The guitar is more important than an amp, because it's the direct link to your body like the violin for a violin-player. I play a lot of acoustic guitars, too, the connection there is even closer.

Of course it's great to have the KPA with a lot of excellent profiles (or playing great tube-amps).

Well, i personally have to say after trying the xtc, cornell plexi, badcat, fuchs, and 65 amps profiles live through my dxr12's and adam a7x's, I am personally not liking these profiles at all, even after the "update". They sound extremely buzzy/fuzzy, with an overabundance of this low mid hump, with no detail and definition whatsoever, atleast for my tastes. extremely muddy with no clarity on all of my guitars. comparing these to some of your earlier works, such as the 1987x, jcm800 hot mod etc, its as if you threw a blanket over the cabinet and pulled a microphone back off the cabinet, just not impressed at all. Sorry for the negative review, but I have to be honest, there is just simply no comparison compared to your earlier works. If anyone is in doubt, pull up the cornell plexi or xtc and compare it to some of andys earlier profiles (1987x, jcm800 etc) and it will be like night and day, especially through a pair of good monitors or ground monitors (in my case, yamaha dxr12's)...sorry Andy

Quote from and44

Your welcome, and thanks.

It was a very popular request for a long time.

Since I did my free pack, a million years ago now it seems, I owned that XTC.. but soon after it went bad.. and ended up selling it at a ridicules cheap price. - afterwards I really missed it as those profiles were me just messing around and learning the profiler, so they don't really stand up well against i.e my latest creations. - since then however I tried to get hold of one here in the UK, (they are hard to get).. and finally my ticket was up and all is good again.. sadly.. its not mine, so I need to return it (although I don't want too) haha!

I hear you. A lot of my favorite bands use or used at some point this amp and I never really liked any other profiles of it - untill now.
I can totally see that you'd like to keep that amp

Quote from and44

Ah then I'm screwed then!.. : )

Sometimes truth is hard....