Ghosting; Love it or Hate it?
Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 8:02 pm
Hello fellow Marshall heads!
When you play an overdriven plexi through a good cabinet, a very unique sound occurs when you play the the D, G, and B strings near the 9th-20th fret area, especially near the 12th fret. You know the sound I'm speaking of... a curious undertone that rumbles when you solo, you feel it in your chest when you play a unison bend or harmonized bend, or any two notes together in this area of the fret board. If you really want a solo to exhibit this sound, use the neck pickup and turn the un-used channel volume all the way up as well as the channel you're plugged into. Old Voxes do this too, just in a slightly different way.
It's called GHOSTING and I love it! I have always found this sound to be very pleasing and I want to hear it when I'm playing licks or solos near the middle of the fret board. I intentionally turn up the volume on the un-used channel when I solo or riff on the neck pickup, although it sounds good on the bridge pup too. For me, channel 2 is the un-used channel 80% of the time and once the tubes warm up and I've played for a couple minutes, I just dime both volume knobs and savor the bloom of each note.
I always thought this was desired by every guitarist, until I joined guitar and amp forums and was shocked to read of people trying to get rid of this natural occurrence or remedy the "problem". Anyone is entitled to their own taste preferences, but I do not understand this. I'm not talking about loose low-end cone flap that some of the small 1" voice coil speakers have, I mean GHOST NOTES. Personally, I think it sounds great with the nature of a very throaty, midrange focused cabinet. My new Metropoulos cab with 25W Greenbacks really ghosts well, even when attenuated significantly. I can't wait to hear that sound when the speakers break in and loosen up fully.
Any way, love it or hate it? Your opinions please
When you play an overdriven plexi through a good cabinet, a very unique sound occurs when you play the the D, G, and B strings near the 9th-20th fret area, especially near the 12th fret. You know the sound I'm speaking of... a curious undertone that rumbles when you solo, you feel it in your chest when you play a unison bend or harmonized bend, or any two notes together in this area of the fret board. If you really want a solo to exhibit this sound, use the neck pickup and turn the un-used channel volume all the way up as well as the channel you're plugged into. Old Voxes do this too, just in a slightly different way.
It's called GHOSTING and I love it! I have always found this sound to be very pleasing and I want to hear it when I'm playing licks or solos near the middle of the fret board. I intentionally turn up the volume on the un-used channel when I solo or riff on the neck pickup, although it sounds good on the bridge pup too. For me, channel 2 is the un-used channel 80% of the time and once the tubes warm up and I've played for a couple minutes, I just dime both volume knobs and savor the bloom of each note.
I always thought this was desired by every guitarist, until I joined guitar and amp forums and was shocked to read of people trying to get rid of this natural occurrence or remedy the "problem". Anyone is entitled to their own taste preferences, but I do not understand this. I'm not talking about loose low-end cone flap that some of the small 1" voice coil speakers have, I mean GHOST NOTES. Personally, I think it sounds great with the nature of a very throaty, midrange focused cabinet. My new Metropoulos cab with 25W Greenbacks really ghosts well, even when attenuated significantly. I can't wait to hear that sound when the speakers break in and loosen up fully.
Any way, love it or hate it? Your opinions please
