Re: Volume pedals

[Mark Sottilaro <sine@zerocrossing.net>]

On Tuesday, April 22, 2003, at 10:46 PM, erwill@cspc.us wrote:

>
> what is this thing called "tone-suck"? i've heard alot of guitarists 
> use this
> term on effects forums and whatnot, but no one bothers to explain the
> phenomenon quantitavely. is it a subjective term like "phat", or an 
> objective
> term like "punchy"?

Yeah, I've heard this "tone-suck" phrase before, and I've experienced it 
as well.  I think the biggest culpret is a cut in gain.  Lower 
volume=lower perceived bass energy.  Add a little gain, you get your 
tone back... plus some noise.  Not bad if you've got a nice strong clean 
signal.  Then again, some cheap gear does suck.  I've also experienced 
some loss in high frequency as well.  Nothing that couldn't be dialed 
back in.  Usually my complaint with most guitarists is they're TOO damn 
bright.  The worst tone suck is when you've spent too much time in front 
of a stack and you can no longer hear the high frequencies that are 
there.

Mark Sottilaro