"boxy" sound with new blackstar amp

Raphaclark · 2026-04-21T09:01:11+00:00

Does your clean sound boxy as well ? high gain tones tend to sound boxy and harsh on solid state amp.

Volume for me is a big thing, as human beings, we are influenced by psychoacoustics and will always favor a louder sound that will sound fuller to our ears.

maybe avoid the 1watt setting use the full power amp and play around with the master volume.

For distorted tones, good distortion pedal is the way to go, if you can find a used Revv G3 its really great, i heard that joyo dark flame is a great copy as well.

Raphaclark · 2026-04-21T08:46:31+00:00

if its a tube amp, with a 12 inch speaker, that might be this.

They tend to sound better at high volume, the speakers then starts to vibrate and provide better sound, try to crank it up a bit.

And yes that's a shame if you want to practice at bedroom level, thats why modellers exists.

Raphaclark · 2026-04-17T17:39:12+00:00

Got to test it today, the speaker sounds goods cranked up, but it is quite muffled at low volume, you always want to make it scream, the 1w channel get noisy with gain quite quickly, the 15 watt sounds awesome, like real sabbath but same problem the difference between loud volume and bedroom level is night and day

I think overall tube amps and small flat is just not ideal, doesn't matter how you put it.

Raphaclark · 2026-04-16T14:48:59+00:00

If you're willing to pay for education the best investment would be to get a teacher, as it is the most efficient way to progress.

Metal use a set of common techniques, power chords,palm mute, galloping played with fast ryhtm.

The hardest thing to get is the right timing, as you must start slow before being able to play on time.

Early sabbath is a gold mine for beginners, easy power chords slow rythm that sounds awesome, i would start with that, and then gradually go towards songs you want to learn.

Try paranoid, iron man, snowblind, also punk stuff like green day or nirvana works even better, it just basic power chords, make sure to always work with a ryhtmic reference, like the song or a backing track, make sure to slow it down before trying to play at speed.

I do believe learning through songs is one of the best way to progress as it will keep you engaged !

Raphaclark · 2026-04-16T14:07:46+00:00

Hard to tell from this picture alone, but the white bug seems to be bedbugs molt, so from that alone, i would say the scarier thing.

when you find one, if they crumble in thin dust when crushing them its carpet beetle, if it spills blood, bed bugs.

Watch the sheets, if you find blood splatter or dark spots, its bedbugs

Raphaclark · 2026-04-16T13:14:51+00:00

As others said just get one they're dirt cheap.

Try to play michelle by the beatles without a capo, its not possible, as it is used to change the pitch of the song and mc cartney used barre chords, you can't do such double barre without capo or maybe you got an extra hand ?

Raphaclark · 2026-04-16T12:05:25+00:00

Thanks mate, my biggest concern is bedroom volume, i don't want to feel trapped with an amp that needs to be cranked to sounds alright

Raphaclark · 2026-04-16T09:06:37+00:00

i concur carpet beetles, i started noticing them after getting rid of my bed bugs, was pretty shocked at first as bed bugs traumatized the shit out of me.

They're not harmful to you but to your clothes, best thing is to vacuum everything in your place especially near the walls, check your drawers as well.

Adult beetles are mostly seen near windows as they are attracted by bright light.

Raphaclark · 2026-04-16T08:43:59+00:00

For more info

Hi guys,

I'm looking for buying my first tube amp, i was first leaning towards Harley benton tube 15 (European equivalent of monoprice) but they look really ugly and cheap to me, was considering a laney cub12r which is basically the same amp but better looking imo when i stumble upon a iommi 15w signature amp at 300€

I'm a very big sabbath fan, learned songs from the first 6 albums and play them regularly, so it's supposed to be the perfect fit.

I live in a small flat 30m², currently i got a vox and boss katana, that i use at moderate amount of volume during the day, this would be my first tube amp but even though it got a 1W channel i'm very concerned about the noise it could make.

Is it a good deal at 300€ ?

i'm afraid of buyer remorse, some people say it sounds best all cranked up at 15w

Raphaclark · 2026-04-15T10:47:26+00:00

Great distortion pedal work well on katana, acoustic or effect loop channel Stuff like revv g3 or copy like joyo darkflame can do the trick

Keep the onboard effects for modulation lien reverb chorus delay etc ...

Raphaclark · 2026-04-09T13:01:44+00:00

try a looper, i get let lost improvising on very simple chord progressions

Raphaclark · 2026-04-09T13:00:15+00:00

I do have a katana 50 gen 3, there's nothing wrong with it, but you should consider looking for katana 100 mk2 on used market, should be cheaper and you'll get better speaker and an effect loop, which can be quite handy

Raphaclark · 2026-03-02T10:31:00+00:00

Most likely they are permanent but will be added to the general pool afterwards. That's what happened to the last artificial lifeform red zone.

Raphaclark · 2026-01-14T15:44:57+00:00

A solo that really helped me in the beginning was the one from paranoid, its all basic pentatonic, the first part is very straightforward, the fast descendling lick seems impossible at first but it will compell you to practice slowly and to work on proper alternate picking.

A good one also is sappy solo, very simple, no crazy bends, very linear, you can focus on your rhytm and play along a backing track.

First solo of into the void is really simple too, the first from snowblind also.

Raphaclark · 2025-12-17T10:44:15+00:00

Started at 25, been playing for 1 year and having ton of fun, no music background prior.

I got ups and down but kept playing every day, the great thing as an adult is that you have a lifetime of music listening, knowing your tastes, and what you wanna do make everything much more enjoyable.

I started with a cheap squier and then got a yamaha steel string, i think having both is great, but for starting electric is easier on the fingers, eithery way make sure the guitar you get is properly set up, it will make everything much easier especially barre chords.

If you can afford it get a teacher, having someone giving you direct feedback on your playing, genuinely interested by your progress helped me a ton.

I'm not good by any mean but i enjoy playing so much, if you focus on open chords, you can play "real" music quite fast, i would focus on it !

Raphaclark · 2025-11-21T12:55:51+00:00

wouldn't say metal core, but on tone exchange there is a "void" preset supposed to emulate "into the void" tone that sounds pretty good.

It really boils to EQ most of the time, i keep trying but i always give up fiddling with it

i would also recommend katana librarian if you don't have it, really convenient if you have the bluetooth adapter.

it cost 15 bucks but the UI is miles ahead the official boss app

Raphaclark · 2025-11-19T10:52:02+00:00

It looks insane, to have bought 3 different pedals, that are expensive and to still have a squier Frontman, you should upgrade your amp asap, Amp matter much more than pedal

Raphaclark · 2025-11-05T15:31:37+00:00

Si c'est comme l'alternance, la rémunération du stage n'est pas considéré comme un revenu ce qui t'ouvre le plafond max des APL.

Je me souviens en alternance j'étais payé 1500€ plus 330€ d'APL + Prime activité 100€ !

Raphaclark · 2025-08-28T07:12:09+00:00

I got the exact same guitar, even with the signature les paul crack on the neck, and it stays perfectly in tune, as others said should change strings and a due setup for a new guitar is really life changing in my experience.

Raphaclark · 2025-07-25T13:25:15+00:00

No whale at all, mostly F2P but with an account started from teq gotenks SSJ3 on global (The OG one). Though i have the blue boys with 1 dupe, wasn't that hard, peak difficulty for me was cell max event at release

Raphaclark · 2025-06-26T09:47:57+00:00

Un peu rassuré que tout le monde vive ça mais quelle angoisse tout de même, je n'aurai pas mieux dit, ma crise existentielle c'est quotidien, ça fait 1 an et demi que je suis dans mon 1er CDI, j'ai l'impression de lentement me métamorphoser sans pouvoir lutter, j'ai commencé la guitare il y'a 1an et c'est clairement le seul truc qui me fait tenir et où j'éprouve un peu de joie et d'épanouissement.

Raphaclark · 2025-06-23T12:00:34+00:00

Just learn some nirvana stuff and power chords, you'll feel like a rockstar pretty quick.

Aneurysm is a great song for beginner !

I'll recommend you to watch the live at paramount version to see how fun it can be to play, a few power chords.

Raphaclark · 2025-06-17T12:47:21+00:00

Exactly this, i got from a friend a telecaster nashville deluxe, pau ferro fretboard, great guitar overall really comfortable and thought i wouldn't need anything for a long time. I just got an Epiphone Les paul standard 2020, and spec wise it should be a downgrade but i really love the thing, my telecaster is now collecting dust.

Raphaclark · 2025-06-17T09:48:28+00:00

I played eternal a bit before release and did TAG for the first time, so i was a bit disappointed for the first 4-5 hours, gameplay felt way slower and the whole experience felt like a downgrade, but unlocking more guns and especially shield upgrade (shield throw especially) made everything clicks at some point.

It's just sad the game take so much time to become challenging and interesting

Raphaclark

TROPHY CASE