Clean tone
The sound of an amplified guitar with no intentional clipping, where the amplifier reproduces the string signal without adding harmonic distortion of its own.
Clean is not the absence of character. Even with the gain low, the preamp's tone stack, the speaker's colouration, the guitar's pickups and the player's attack all shape the result, which is why a clean tone can sound glassy, woody or dull depending on the chain. Headroom is the limiting factor: a clean tone only stays clean while the signal stays below the point where the amp starts to clip, so a low-wattage amp turns dirty sooner than a high-wattage one at the same setting.
Example: a funk rhythm part needs a clean tone with plenty of headroom, because any clipping would blunt the short, percussive chord attacks.
See also
Related
- PageHeadroom
- PageAmp in a box
- PageAmp stand
- PageAttenuator
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley
- PageAd-Rock
- ReferenceCircle of fifths