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Turning the preamp control up can cause the tone to become more distorted. The preamp control is used to do this and amplifies the volume before any effects get involved. When the amp receives the guitar’s signal, it is very weak and needs to be first amplified.
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These may also be referred to as the amps “channels” instead. “Crunch” causes the tone to sound gritty and distorted, whilst “clean” leaves the tone unaffected. Many Marshall amps have two settings: clean and crunch, which can be selected using a small button.
#MARSHALL STACK MENU HOW TO#
Increasing the contour control has the same effect as lowering the mids, causing the tone to sound thinner.Ĭheck out this guide to the contour control to learn how to dial in the best setting. Lowering the contour will cause the tone to sound fuller and provide more depth. The contour control works in opposite to the mids control. A high presence setting will cause the tone to become sharper and brighter, whilst lowering it will cause it to become more mellow. Presence is used to control the treble frequencies on some Marshall amps. This is often used to add depth and liveliness to the tone to prevent it from sounding flat and dull. Reverb makes the guitar sound like it is being played in a very large room by creating an echo effect. This changes the “voice” of the amp and is found on some Marshall amplifiers, giving it two unique tones. The tilt control allows you to change the tone of the amp from normal, to favouring high treble. Chorus makes it sound like multiple guitars are playing, phaser and flanger add a “whooshing” sound, octaver changes the pitch and delay causes a note to be played repeatedly. The FX control will allow you to select digital effects such as chorus, phaser, flanger, delay and octave.
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Some Marshall amps have treble and high-treble setting that may need carefully balancing. Be careful about turning it too high or the sound may become too piercing and difficult to listen to. High treble to the treble setting, but controls the very highest frequencies. For lead guitar, the treble is often higher to allow it to cut through. Turn this up if the tone sounds muddy and undefined, and turn it down if you’re interfering with the vocalist or playing rhythm guitar. Lots of treble causes the tone to be crisp and sharp, allowing separate notes to be heard more distinctly. Treble or “treb” provides the high-range frequencies. Guitars are usually responsible for providing this kind of frequency in a band setting, whilst singers provide a lot of the treble and bass guitars of course provide the low-end to produce a balanced sound. Consider turning the mids up to provide depth to the tone. Most of the time, the mids should be mid-high to make the tone sound full. The “middle” or “mids” control adjust the mid-range frequencies. If it sounds a bit too heavy and muddy, then you’ll need to lower it. If you want a “boomy” kind of sound, then you’ll need a high bass setting. The bass setting controls the low-end frequencies that are amplified. The bass setting is part of the “equaliser” or “EQ” family of settings, as are the middle and treble controls. If you want a crystal clear tone, then have the gain as low as possible. If you’re just looking for a crunchy, crackly tone then have the gain around midway to start with. For heavy metal and rock, the gain setting will likely be quite high. The gain setting is common on solid-state Marshall amps and adjusts the level of distortion. Different amps have different controls available, so here is a list of all the most common ones you’ll find on your amp and what they actually do. Your Marshall amp will likely have around 6-8 controls you can adjust.
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