Hi, folks, I'm new here.  I am starting up a little garage-y type band and I'm trying to get a good clean sound out of my gear.  Something with a little bite, but not too distorted.  Something that sounds a little 60's-ish.  Most importantly, something that won't make the rest of the band continue urging me to turn on the overdrive pedal when I'm playing clean.

Anyway, here's what I'm working with:

I have a Vox modeling amp that I usually set to the AC30 sound.

I have a Danelectro DC, a Paul Westerberg signature First Act guitar, and an Epi Les Paul. 

I also have a Dano overdrive pedal and a Fuzz.  Trying not to spend any more dough on gear at the moment but if anyone has any suggestions for amp/guitar settings, or a cheap pedal or something, that would be most helpful!

Thanks,

Mikey

PS - maybe I should also mention that while I have played guitar for a few years, being the only "lead" guitarist in a band is a whole new deal for me.

for a kind of trashy sound from the experience ive had with my vt20+ go to black face turn your mids right down put the treble at just above half and bass at 8/9 oclock  put the gan on10/11oclock ish and crank it also ad some reverb 9not too much ,preferably spring if you can get hold of one or a simulation of one)

It's the AD50VT - it's a couple years old now.  It's not the one that looks like a classic Vox with the diamond cloth, it's the more modern looking one with the (ugly) silver front.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far, folks. Keep 'em coming!

 

what actual model is the amp if its the vt+ i got one in june and can recomend a few tones (alsow check out the tone room on the vox site

Does your amp have a tube power section?

If so, turn up your master volume, so you get your power section to distort just a bit. Keep your gain down, so you get a clean sound, but with some bite. Play with either the Dano, or the First Act that have single coils, and try to play with dynamics, so when you play loud your sound distorts.

Two words: tube amp. Yeah, guitars matter but what you send your signal through can be even more important. Plugging into a nice ol' tube amp and cranking up all the knobs makes the speakers break up reeeeeal nice!

Thanks for that link, I'll investigate those pedals.

The Vox amp has a bunch of amp models to choose from, like AC 15, AC 30, Tweed, Blackface, a couple that sound like different Marshalls, etc.  It also has some built-in effects like Reverb, Trem, Rotary Reverb, delay, etc.  It's pretty fun.  It also has knobs for gain, volume, treble, middle and bass.  Right now, I'm cranking up the mid and keeping the bass and treble at about half, with the gain less than half.  I like it but maybe it needs a little something... 

 

I like the AC30 sound but are garage bands known for playing Tweeds or Blackface amps? I have some options.

 

Thanks again!

North Effects [http://north-effects.co.uk/] do some great repros of 'classic' pedals; check out their site. Are you talking about playing live or recording [or both]? Not familiar with that amp - what does it allow you to do?

Mole

i am not a guitarist. gear is fine. playing clean or with overdrive is a matter of taste. if you want the 60's fuzz, try big muff, fuzz face, or go vintage with a classic maestro! as for recording, try to get your sound sources set right, put it in analog with the best mics possible, and dont mess with it too much. but then it is just me ...