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Post subject: GT100 Tone and Effects at Low Volume
Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 7:32 am
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I am having trouble getting the right tone and effects when the volume is down, particularly when seeking sustain or distortion etc. I need too much volume for the effects to work well. Is there a setting or effect that I am missing that will help with the issue? I want to use for practice at low volume and don’t want to hurt my ears, but still want the right tone and effects. Also, the volume on some downloaded presets seem to vary and can be very limited. Any thoughts on that issue? Thanks.


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Post subject: Re: GT100 Tone and Effects at Low Volume
Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 8:04 am
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So you want to idle your Maserati down Main St, but still want the racing sounds?
The physics are against you. The high dynamic range of a guitar means that fundamental notes will predominate over harmonics and transient tones. The fundamental note is accompanied by numerous harmonic notes that are successively 1/2 the volume of the fumdamental. They are successively 1/2 and twice the frequency of the fundamental. These endless harmonics affect and shape the fundamental note to bring out the true character of the music. In order for the harmonic detail to come through, you need enough volume to bring these lesser tones up out of the noise floor to be an integral part of the note.
A compressor can improve sustain at low levels, but distortion needs enough signal to drive the tone. A low master volume and high input gain can help.


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Post subject: Re: GT100 Tone and Effects at Low Volume
Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 8:59 am
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IMO you're just experiencing the age old battle that has plagued players forever. Low volume tone is very different and IMO the reason is acoustic in nature. That is to say, the speaker needs to be pushed enough to get what u r after and that just doesn't happen till u reach a certain volume. Thats why attenuators have never been the solution. People could crank the amp and use the attenuator to lower the volume which allowed the amp to do it's thing, but the missing art of the equation is the speaker is still pushing the same amount of air. So an attenuator at bedroom volume still sounds the same in the way you are talking about, which is you don't get the punch and dynamics you do loud.


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Post subject: Re: GT100 Tone and Effects at Low Volume
Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 3:07 pm
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“A compressor can improve sustain at low levels, but distortion needs enough signal to drive the tone. A low master volume and high input gain can help.”

How do I best accomplish this with the available settings on the GT100? Thanks.


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Post subject: Re: GT100 Tone and Effects at Low Volume
Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 3:11 pm
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For example, I like to play a lot of Led Zeppelin and Ac/Dc and the effects seem to fail at lower volume levels.


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Post subject: Re: GT100 Tone and Effects at Low Volume
Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 9:01 pm
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You need adequate drive levels to make the compressor or overdrive do its thing. Turn up the guitar to drive the effects and turn down the master volume to control overall volume.


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