Guitar + effects + amp settings

[parrotheada1a]

For the moment, I have a 'rule of thumb' question about settings in general. I have decent tone already I think, given my rig. Is it better to have your guitar & pedal's volume & tone settings cut down a bit versus cranked all the way? My reasoning is to allow for more 'headroom' should I need it, and less noise from the pedal chain.

[SLBluz]

That's one way of doing it. You may also want to try turning your amp up and controlling overall volume with your guitar volume control. What gear are you using and what sound/tone are you looking for?

[parrotheada1a]

My gear... 2004 Am. HSS Strat + numerous pedals + Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube 20 amp. I'm not looking to cop anyone else's tone directly... but if it works out that way YAY!! Lookout Rev Gibbons! I suppose what I'm really trying to figure out is how to reduce noise through a few pedal combinations and get it sounding better than it already does. I don't think I'm getting a lot of tone suck out of any of my FX whether on or off. My thinking is that by turning pedal volumes down a bit (mebbe 10 -20 %) pedal noise will be lessened. I have a Rocktron Hush pedal that I bought used. Thing is, I've found that it doesn't work all that well at lower volume so it's been set aside for the time being. Another idea is to just buy a MXR noise gate... though I'm thinking that it wouldn't be much different than the Rocktron unit.

[telecaster911]

I usually run pedals a touch hotter than unity gain and some much hotter if I really want to hit the front end of an amp. This is what you will want to do, especially for the dirt pedals. Never had to use a noise gate. You could always stomp on the tuner if it's really bad. I wouldn't think you would need one unless you were playing very high gain metal. Is it single coil hum?

[parrotheada1a]

Is it single coil hum?

No, more like hiss. Seems like I have too much treble or a bad ground.

[telecaster911]

With everything plugged in, including your guitar, roll the volume down on the guitar to see if it goes away. If not, proceed through the chain till you find the major offender. I usually get the most hiss from my guitar though. Sometimes an old cable. Are the time based pedals in the loop? If not, try them there. AOK