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Post subject: Glassy
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 4:27 pm
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Here's a question I thought for years that I knew the answer to.
What does "glassy" mean when referring to guitar amplifiers?
I've always used that term to describe a clean tone that was bright and clear with enough high freq content that it almost bordered on ice pick but not quite. Like a brittle edge on top. I recently had a conversation which has me doubting that definition after all these years.

I know desriptive terms and jargon relating to tone are often subject to interpretation but could I get something of a consensus on this one?

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Post subject: Re: Glassy
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 4:39 pm
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I've always thought of it as the ability to produce harmonics at volume cleanly. Almost a bell like tone. A former guitarist I worked with played an all harmonic lead part as kind of an effect layered into a song we did once with his Tele through his Hot Rod Deville. It was beautiful and haunting. Almost like a musical representation of ice slowly cracking. That would be my definition and standard of being able to reproduce "glassy" highs. However, I'm a bassist. So I'd take that with a grain of salt... or a whole shaker.

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Post subject: Re: Glassy
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 5:49 pm
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BMW-KTM wrote:
...I've always used that term to describe a clean tone that was bright and clear with enough high freq content that it almost bordered on ice pick but not quite. Like a brittle edge on top...


That sounds about right to me. I think of the higher keys on a piano, or wind chimes made of glass, or the sound of glass breaking. :idea:

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Post subject: Re: Glassy
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 5:52 pm
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I've thought "glassy" referred to unwanted tube microphonics.
Hit the tubes with a pencil, then discard and replace any glassy ones.


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