Oh, and just to elaborate. You don't have to use two different delay pedals. The third step is kinda optional, but it just adds a nice dimension to the overall tone. You can also achieve something similar with one delay pedal, if it can do dual delays :)
Hi there. I have a digitech obscura and polara, I have a boss dd7 also. I watched this episode and I'm thinking how to chain them together? And basing on your another episode - about reverb in between - how would you put them together as an alternative? I'm still learning..
@@Marta-nl1xe hey, As a general rule of thumb chuck your slowest delays at the end and your faster ones before it to make cascading patterns as they sync up. I run a dd7 at the very end of my chain with the speed set to its slowest setting which is like 3 seconds or something enormous when you run other delays and reverbs before that you can get a massive wall of sound which is super fun. (Your guitar can get totally lost under it which i often like) when you turn the dd7 off it continues to play out its repeats so you can disengage it, play a melody line then re engage it. This is a great trick thats like using a looper but far more interesting because its constantly changing as opposed to the same loop going round and round. Note this is only really good for playing by yourself, but hold onto that dd7 they are under rated
You should make a video with your favorite chord voicings and chord progressions for ambient music. You seem to always hit the right voicing for chords. Would love to know.
Sure! That's a great topic for a video :) I'm no theory buff, but I'll gladly share my thought process on building chords and melodies for my style of playing.
Andy Othling has a fantastic video on chord voicings for ambient playing, where he talks about separation of tones to avoid muddying, worth a watch. That said, I would love to see Stefan do one as well, as he does have awesome voicings and lovely chord tones going on.
To elaborate slightly differently on what Odin Mackay noted: If you watch some of the examples in this demo, the notes are spread out so that each chord tone is 1/2 to a full octave apart. The chord voicings come out really sparse and don't collide with each other's frequencies that way . As a cheap hack, keep the notes at least two strings apart from each other. ;)
Footnote: Andy Othling's vid on how to get a washy sound under your playing is the granddaddy of these sorts of videos and def worth a view if anyone here hasn't seen it yet. . Nice take on it, great advice to back off the mix/level.
This must be THE most awesome pedal video I've ever seen... Can't express how thankful I am Stefan! Your tonal teamwork videos are even better than the demos which are fantastic!
Peachy Reek - Oh wow! Completely floored by this comment. Thank you so much :) I really enjoy making these Tonal Teamwork videos, so I'm just super thrilled to hear that you guys actually find the tips and trick useful. Means a lot to me and keeps the motivation going at full speed
Power supply, power supply, power supply!! I started building my pedal board with Strymon pedals and a cheap Palmer power supply. My output was so noisy and it took me a while to realise the noise was coming from the power supply. As soon as I upgraded to the Zuma my issues were gone.
Great video as usual my friend! Next time on Tonal Teamwork it would be cool to see some uses of reverse delay in combination with things like octavers and modulation to create some spacey sonic textures.
Thank you, my friend. And see... now that's a GREAT idea! I use the reverse delay on my Avalanche Run all the time in conjunction with pitch or modulation effects. I'll dive into it, and see if I can dig out some cool tones for you guys :)
Stefan-I have become a quick fan of your videos. They are incredibly helpful, but the truth is your utter joy and beautiful guitar-work keep me coming back. Wishing you continued success with your channel and music.
Awesome as usual, really usefull stuff, especially the first one (i tend to be guilty if that kind of mistake). Anyway, i wanted to hear your thoughts on the Digitech obscura Delay, can it replace your catalinbread one ? Good day sir
+Guillaume Mauviette - Thank you! Happy you found the video informative and useful :) Yes, your Obscura should be able to produce a dark ambient echo tone as well.
wow Stephan. thanks so much for making this video! I've been into ambient music for years but just recently bought pedals to use with my lever harp, and was of course way too wet on my rv5 without knowing. it sounds great sometimes but I was trying to figure out how to get other more usable ambient tones. u just hit the spot head on! thanks. sb
Stefan, could you please release a record just using your Demo/Tonal Teamwork sounds? They are so calm and beautiful. It would be my go to sleeping record. Awesome video as usual ;)
Im playing songs jus like you ambient post rock kinda songs. Now im using a 2017 Squier Affinity Tele. The pickups is ok i guess. Ive been thinking of upgrading the pickups to Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound. Should i do it? Or should i buy a new guitar with humbucker pickups? Im looking at the new 2021 Squier Affinity Tele Deluxe. But honestly i dont know what i should use. I love single coil but my guitar dont have that kick sound maybe ive been using it for 6 years already. Can you help me with this?
Thanks for the demo! Your tone sounds a lot line what we can hear on ‘how strange innocence’. Any idea of the type of guitar and pick ups used? Can’t tell if it’s jag/jm or sthg else. Thx
Happy to have you here, man ❤ I don't really have music out per se. But I have some ambient sketches up that you're more than welcome to listen to here: soundcloud.com/wereverberate
Nice lesson - reinforced some things I have learned AND introduced new ways to think about stacking and playing over and through "a great blanket of ambience."
hey man! I would LOVE to see a tonal teamwork regarding non-linear reverbs (specifically gated and reverse!) and their interactions with delays. I.e. interesting interplay between different subdivisions and delay times going into a crazy gated reverb or the effect that occurs when putting different delay lines into a reverse /reverse gated reverb. I know this is pretty specific but I LOVE marrying those effects chains. videos are great!
Metaphysics - Oh wow! Thank you so much. Really pleased to hear you like the tones and the way I play :) I'm not currently in a band, but I used to be in a postrock band called Sky Architects. You can find that on Spotify, Bandcamp and iTunes. Thanks for watching and commenting. Means the world to me
No band? Well, then Stephen, get on it,- don't need many others for what you do.Doing the videos is valuable, but you should be out there, as an alternative to all the crap, everywhere.
Love your videos!! your harmonic progressions are awesome!!!!!!!! PLEASE SHARE WITH US A VIDEO OF YOUR FAVORITE CHORDS PROGRESSIONS AN CHORD INVERSIONS!!!PLEASEEEEE! I've seen too many people making reviews about pedals but the great thing about your videos is that you add a great atmosphere and a deep vibe! inspiring 100%
+Kevin Nel - The first thing I play in the video is a great example of how NOT to do it :) Less is definitely more, when it comes to this type of playing.
It of course goes after capturing sort of a Strat vibe, but it has it's own unique sound. Extremely crisp and well defined. Every single string just stands out perfectly on its own :)
Sure, man! I use tap tempo delays, but not for smeary ambient tones as in this tutorial. I set a single delay tight for more rhythmical pieces and passages that really need to be in time. For that I use the EarthQuaker Devices Avalanche Run. It's the perfect delay for me :)
this has helped me a lot. I've been trying to get a good ambient sound for a while for pads and using this as a guide has been awesome. I didn't have a second delay so I stuck a chorus block in from the Atomic Amplifire.
That's awesome to hear, man. Makes it all worth it, knowing that this little video gave you some insight into creating the sounds you hear in your head ❤
How to play Ambient, and not sound like a walk through the mall.. .The last pedals in the chain will always naturally dominate.Never take the pedal order for granted; Drives and Comps at the end,- again ,turned down, - can add requisite mojo.Wet/ Dry set ups provide great mixing options( and that doesn't mean the Dry has to be ALL "Dry"). Keep experimenting,- always.
I've been watching through your videos thinking, "I've always liked Isao Tomita, Kitaro, Jarre, and Vangelis. There must be some way of doing cool ambient and synth on guitar. I think this guy has the secret!"
I love Tonal Teamwork. At some point I get bored with watching so many pedal reviews (we run out of interesting pedals to see) but this format keeps it fresh, sharing tips and tricks is great to keep the conversation going. Anyways, I'm becoming a bigger fan of this channel every day :D
+rahzark - I totally agree! One single pedal is rarely something special on its own. The magic happens when you combine pedals in certain ways :) I'm really happy that you like this format. I truly enjoy making the Tonal Teamwork videos, so I'm stoked to hear that you find the videos helpful and interesting
Yeah man, keep em coming :D It's also super cool that you answer to almost every comment, although I'm pretty sure that will end at some point when your comment sections get out of hand ;)
rahzark - A big part of what makes this whole RU-vid channel thingy fun, is getting to know you guys and talk to you about tone and gear. So I'll definitely keep doing my best to answer as many comments as possible every single time :) So thank you for being a part of all of this. Makes it all worth it!
This isn't just a good video, I also consider it an important community service. Thank you! Your playing is always musical at the core. Heads up that Antoine Michaud and Perry Frank are a couple of other ambient guys who showcase simple pedal setups in several of their videos too. I think a lot of people who are drawn to ambient music these days get sidetracked by all of the gear demos. There are so many pedals and big boards on display, and it's easy to fall into a mindset that we're always "missing" something. But it's no coincidence that a lot of ambient stuff just sounds like mush now. I see guys with delays running into Moods, Bloopers, Microcosm, Nightsky, into more delays and reverbs. What comes out at the end usually sounds like a wall of...something. The funny thing is that there will usually be an expensive guitar/amp setup with pristine tone, or a flagship synth as the sound source, but nobody would know it from the end result. Might as well be using a $100 Casio tone. There's no way you can tell which piece of gear is doing what. But if that's what someone wants, then fine, let them go ahead and enjoy it. Thanks again, you do a great job.
Way back in the day I loved the Boss digital DD white and blue pedals. Since getting back into guitar based music, I'm so much more educated and informed (the world before the internet, unimaginable going forward), so I've gone for dark analog delay now... and now I realize... I like bright, clean, intrusive digital delay. It's part of my compositional process, it's integral to the lines I write, and not just ambience fx. So hard to find what you like, and how to work, especially with so many voices in our heads nowadays (and even more with the abundance of technological products, with HEFTY pricetags, makes it hard to try new things. Having IRL friends that are into your artform, like guitar music, or more broadly just music, helps a lot. Borrowing, lending devices/sounds is the fertility growth needs. So meet people IRL, get out, make friendships, don't social distance, it's the most evil anti-human shit imaginable.) Learn from these excellent teachers like Stephan, but stay flexible, experiment and test ideas. You may like something that everyone says is not right. Pursue what you like, what inspires you. Do everything wrong, or everything right, or things unimagined before, whatever gives you that buzz. We all know this, but we all need to be reminded, fairly constantly.
Thank you for sharing those great advices! I think your tips are a great starting point in order to introduce oneself to ambient and post-rock guitar. However, I've found the wet/dry ratio is very pedal-dependent: As example (on a plate reverb algorithm), the "30% or something" thing on my Boss RV-3 sounds way "wetter" than the same ratio on my Zoom MS-70CDR. On the other hand, and talking about the RV-3, I've found a picture from the Munaf Rayani's pedalboard on MusicRadar, in which the wet/dry ratio of his RV-3 is slightly above the 50%. So, I think the actual wet/dry ratio is very dependent on the gear and the ears (preferences and needs) of each musician.
Thanks, man! That really means a lot to me. Hope it takes your ambient tones to a new level ❤ Thanks for watching and commenting. It's much appreciated.
Bro, thank you so much for making this video, I will become a fan of you for sure. I am just starting to pick up my knowledge list where I left it, and yeah, this was one of my greatest inquiries before just now lol. I really appreciate what you've done here.
just discorvered your channel and love the tones you display. cool playing too. got inspired to change up my tones a bit and play around with the settings you described :) Cheers
Hey mate, great video and very helpful.i am seeking for a good ambient tone but you know everything end up at the amplifier.so can you tell me the position of treble and bass at this beautiful twin reverb?
Ha! Your Meet Maud settings are exactly the same as mine :-) Always love your work and thanks for the great vids. I am curious to ask you - Are you tempted by the world of DSP multi effects units? Ever thought about embracing Line 6 or others?
Awesome! We're tone twins 😊 I got nothing against Multi Effect units, but I would never switch fully to one. I have a Boss MS-3 on my board, which I use for loop switching, MIDI control and the odd special effect here and there (such as auto swell, step phasing or slicing), but I will always prefer individual pedals. Just much more hands-on and inspiring for me to mess around with. I'm not a fan of constant menu diving and patch tweaking.
The Fender Deluxe Reverb doesn't have an FX Loop so he was most likey using them in front of the amp. Most Fender amps can actually take multiple pedals in front of the amp pretty well.
Great video! I'm from México and it was a very helpful video. I have a question: Whats your opinion about Baum Guitars? I know Baum guitars are made in Denmark, but I can't find information or videos about them.
They are amazing! Expensive, but worth it. Everything is made by hand by one guy in Aarhus, Denmark where I live. It's the most clean and pristine-sounding guitars I've ever played. Give them a follow on Facebook and Instagram, and send the owner (Morten) a message if you want more info. He's super kind and would be more than willing to answer whatever questions you may have :)
+Matthew Hollingshurst - Wow! That's awesome to hear. Really happy you enjoyed the video :) The typical way to route pedals is Tuner -> Pitch Effects -> Filters -> Overdrive/Distortion/Fuzz -> Mods -> Delays -> Reverbs -> Looper. But this is just a template. One should always experiment with pedal placement. There's a tone of cool sounds to be found once you start to stray from the typical path :)
Would swells add to or detract from this? We use ambient/swell techniques on our band's slower songs. I've been using my POD's auto volume to do the swelling. Most of my patches include an analog modulated delay set for kind of a slapback at 50-90 milliseconds, followed by digital delay set to tempo followed by a hall reverb. But I will be trying your tricks as far as reverb decay etc. Thanks
This “trick” works really well with volume swells. You can increase the reverb mix if you want the swell effect to be a bit more intense, but otherwise the same approach applies whether you play rhythm, lead or swells 🤘
That's a tough one, man. But if you can afford it, I would definitely recommend you get the EQD Dispatch Master. It is the best simple one-stop ambience solution. Perfect for beginners. Regarding guitars, it all depends on what sorta sound you prefer. If you want something crystalline and shimmery, then look into single coil pickup guitars like a Telecaster or Stratocaster. If you want something a bit more full-sounding, then look into something with humbuckers or P90 pickups like a Les Paul or a Jazzmaster.
+Juani Müller - Happy you liked the video :) Baum Guitars show a lot of the build process on their Facebook and Instagram page. So I recommend you follow them there.
Always each to their own. Sound and how we perceive it is always so subjective. But of course the sound isn't horrible, I was exaggerating to get my point across. I was just trying to show how, in my early days, I would use so much reverb and delay that they would actually completely cloud and drown my playing. In retrospect, I could have shown that better with other pedals, since the Levitation is actually a fairly moderate and well-behaved reverb that never gets too out of hand or too cloudy. But it's all about context. Appropriate sounds and inappropriate sounds. And a very cloudy and hyper-wet sound is of course more than usable in the right context, which I also mention in the video. I'm happy you liked the sound though. The more we're aware of what we like, the easier it becomes for us to find our own sound. Thanks for watching and commenting. Always means a lot to me ❤
