Ambient Sound (Guitar)

[Mynor]

I'm trying to make a really good ambient sound, and I want a few more effects

Right now what I have is

Boss PH-3 Phaser
Boss DD-20 Digital Delay

I want to get the TR-2 Tremolo, to add some more sound, any other suggestions?

[RecklessXRandy]

Turn mid down.

[The Boathouse]

I keep my mids in a normal place.

I crank the reverb up on my Holy Grail pedal, using the Hall setting. Use your neck pickup, or a middle pick up. Keep it clean.

[Burn That Shit]

Get a Carbon Copy delay pedal in addition to the boss.

[mylastflight]

ill just post my rig up for a reference my band plays ambient stuff
Main guitar: G&L asat blues boy semihollow
back ups: fender mim tele modded with usa parts and Gibson Les Paul faded series

my pedal chain:
guitar->boss tu2->ernieball volume pedal->sbn screamin eagle over drive(volume on 9oclock,tone on 12 oclock,gain on 2oclock)->mxr phase 90->voodoolab tremolo (intensity Slope and Speed all the way up and volume on 3 oclock)->line 6 DL4(a for 8dotted notes in rhythm delay, b for ping pong delay for long setting,C for for modulation modeling chorus pedal)->electroharmonix holygrail reverb (hall mode 9 oclock)->electroharmonix switchblade(a channel for clean, b for gain)

Amp:
Badcat Black Cat 30r 212 Combo (it's basically vox ac30 sounding amp)
Master Volume: 8 oclock
Cut: 12 oclock
Channel A:
pentode 5 tone knob: 2nd position
Volume at 8 1/2 oclock
Channel B:
Treble: 8 oclock
Bass: 10 oclock
Volume: little past 3 oclock

not that anyone cares but i decided to type it cuz i was bored.
but for ambient sound delay and reverb is (obviously) important

[Mynor]

I know Reverb is a must, would a reverb pedal be worth it?

[mylastflight]

yeah its a big help. delay pedal and reverb is a must

[Snork]

Delay and reverb are the foundations of guitar ambience. I would recommend picking up an E-Bow, too. They take a little getting used to to use, but if you get the hang of them they're incredibly useful.

[Mynor]

I've heard a lot of negative things about the Ebow. But I'd like to try it for myself.

I tried out a boss reverb the other day, and I liked it, but I feel like it's not worth the money for the limited use.

I want to try out a Holy Grail, I've heard a lot of good things about it, but haven't heard it for myself yet.

I ended up getting the TR-2 Tremolo, and I love it, and it definitely helped with a more ambient sound.

[mylastflight]

branch off from Boss pedals and experiment with other brands like electroharmonix, lovepedal, zvex, mxr, fulltone and etc etc

[rivaldi22]

I love the Holy Grail, gives a real ghostly sound, but I have a question about it, myself. At high levels, the reverb tends to clip and get harshly distorted. I figure it's the amp (all I have at the moment is a Marshall practice amp) causing it, some limitation of either the preamp or the cabinet speaker, but yeah, I was wondering if anyone had any input on that?

[Mynor]

I'm probably gonna check out a holy grail this weekend. I have the money, maybe I'll get it. It's cheaper than the boss, and I"m convinced that it's better

[Esrb99]

what are you wanting for it? is it for live, or tracking? for tracking, I'd use the tried and true method- 57' through a solid state pre up close to grille for definition, and a cascade fathead at the room's length through a tube pre (MPA gold w/ a nos if possible is a good start.) if strictly for live/practice, I have no idea. i don't mess with pedals.

[The Boathouse]

Re: reverb clipping on the HG-

It happens. I don't fuck with the spring or flerb settings much, but on "Hall," there is noticeable distortion on the wettest end of the knob. I use this as an asset...I find it to be a very unique, useable tone in my music, and I've found that I have carved out a little tonal niche with it. Learn to use it, love it, it is not a short coming, but much like freckles on a very pretty girl, it's the last detail that makes some love and some hate it...Personally, I love it. Throw an OD pedal in front, a delay after, and you're in fucking business.

[Mynor]

I'm looking for a better ambient live sound. So yeah, pedals.

[patrickhowell]

If you want really ambient sounds, put a reverb pedal (Holy Grail is great) in front of a delay pedal.

[ShimmerAndSpill]

I have a vox ac30 so I sometimes feels that a reverb pedal is unnecessary, but it would be nice to have the ability to turn it off with my foot. I also just got a Boss DD-7 delay pedal, and I've just really been messing around with the reverse effect on it and it's a little fun. I know this sounds irrelevant, but it does allow you to produce some pretty cool ambient sounds. I still have no idea what to really do with the pedal, but so far it's fun.

[rivaldi22]

Re: reverb clipping on the HG-

It happens. I don't fuck with the spring or flerb settings much, but on "Hall," there is noticeable distortion on the wettest end of the knob. I use this as an asset...I find it to be a very unique, useable tone in my music, and I've found that I have carved out a little tonal niche with it. Learn to use it, love it, it is not a short coming, but much like freckles on a very pretty girl, it's the last detail that makes some love and some hate it...Personally, I love it. Throw an OD pedal in front, a delay after, and you're in fucking business.

Haha, I love the "it's not a bug, it's a feature" approach to it. I'm actually a lot more enthusiastic about it now, and will experiment with it once I get my space set up. Thanks!

[Mynor]

Since we're talking pedals, opinions on compression sustainers?