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While we are on the subject of getting close to this sound, I know crunch when I hear it but can somebody explain it in regard to terminology / amp settings?
On my early Peavey Bandit i have: Supersat (gain), Post (vol), Bottom, Body, Edge. Keep in mind the last 3 at 12oclock position is ZERO and they cut or boost.

I know Adams sound isnt super distorted and has a decent amount of mids.

If the amp wont give me the sound I also have this pedal, Im guessing the Brit should be close for crunch? http://www.music-group.com/Categories/B ... 00/p/P0518

I know crunch when I hear it but can somebody explain it in regard to terminology / amp settings?

Crunch sound is when an amp is turned up to the point where it begins distorting. Amps did not have master volumes, so old school crunch was attained just by turning up. It involves both the power tubes distorting as well as the pre amp circuit, but not necessarily a lot. The speakers to a certain extent too, as well as output transformer saturation. Modern amps with a crunch channel and a master volume try to emulate those stages of distortion, while also offering high gain modes where the distortion is generated mostly in the pre amp.

Crunch has some clipping distortion and also the amp is compressing. However, there is also a certain cleanness to some of the overall sound. It is a loud and powerful sound. Archetypal crunch benchmark is probably ACDC. Dirt pedals and amps with dirt channles were originally trying to emulate the crunch of a non master volume amp turned up so much it distorted. Crunchy overdrive created by turning up was a kind of happy accident when people like Chuck Berry turned up their Fender Bassman etc. The amps were designed to be clean, but were pushed beyond their limits.

I you ever watch a tech bias and test your amp, you can see the 'crunch' on the oscilloscope when the amp is raised to full power. The sound wave on screen distorts and compresses at the peaks. When you hear the term 'clean headroom', it means how loud the amp can go before that happens, i.e, how loud it can get while still being technically clean.

Settings for crunch? Gain down, Master up (gain in this case is pre amp). Some amps you need to turn the bass down. Depends. A lot of players would set their amp to really overdrive when the guitar is on ten, but roll off some volume for their crunchy rhythm sound (then roll off more for clean-ish).


p.s. There is a MI Audio Crunch Box on TM at $1 reserve closing soon. Currently at five bucks. Will give you a more crunchy sound without having to turn up so much.

TLDR version: Crunch is the sound of an amp being turned up so far it can no longer be clean. Now days the sound of that happening can be approximated with pedals and dirt channels.

^ The OP plays an SS amp so the sound of the power section breaking up will sound pretty dreadful.

godgrinder wrote:^ The OP plays an SS amp so the sound of the power section breaking up will sound pretty dreadful.

Bandit init? They are not actually too bad for the time. Transtube. The katana of their day. Tried to emulate how a valve amp distorts. They did fatten up when turned up. He just wanted an explanation of crunch anyway (maybe not a complete history tho lol). Crunch Box on TM i pointed out into a Bandit? Could work better than the Bandit's dirt channel.

Hey Aquila, thanks for taking the time to explain much appreciated. Kinda what I figured but my expert terminology sucks.

I have that crunch pedal on my watch list as well as the Boss DD-3

MakoGat wrote:Hey Aquila, thanks for taking the time to explain much appreciated. Kinda what I figured but my expert terminology sucks.

I have that crunch pedal on my watch list as well as the Boss DD-3

I found it useful to myself to go over what makes the crunch sound. Every valve amp has its own flavour of crunch, but the principle is the same.

Just watched some vids of crunchy pedals into bandits. That Crunch Box will work well into this particular SS amp to bluff a good crunch sound. A tube screamer might be too thin on a SS amp.

If you have a bit more budget you could look into the new Diezel VH4 pedal. But I think the earlier Tool stuff was just a Marshall JMP so a M-style pedal should work.

I am starting to think a good test of if the dirty sound we have is 'crunch' is whether it cleans up when the guitar's volume is rolled off. I dunno. Maybe some exceptions, but a general guide perhaps. Just got me thinking about 'what is crunch?'. Yeah, a slow day at the office.

Lots of the uber-gain amps I played still cleans up quite a bit when you roll the guitar volume back, doesn't get entirely clean though.

I think I may get some crunch outa my other pedal http://www.music-group.com/Categories/B ... 00/p/P0518

If not will look for another

That's a Sansamp GT2 clone I think? Should do the job in the Brit mode.

Aquila Rossa wrote:

godgrinder wrote:^ The OP plays an SS amp so the sound of the power section breaking up will sound pretty dreadful.

Bandit init? They are not actually too bad for the time. Transtube. The katana of their day. Tried to emulate how a valve amp distorts. They did fatten up when turned up. He just wanted an explanation of crunch anyway (maybe not a complete history tho lol). Crunch Box on TM i pointed out into a Bandit? Could work better than the Bandit's dirt channel.

Nothing wrong with the Bandit. Still quite keen on one, truth be told.

The teal stripe bandit is pretty sensitive to tweek, gets quite a decent tube sound clean or dirty but also does 80s & 90s metal \m/

Never been much of a "pedal head" more using guitar controls and switching between the Les Paul and my HS tele.

Seems Ive now got pedal GAS

NOOO NOOO Nooo, thats the new Bandit, I have the original one from the early 90s man!!! OLD SCHOOL BROO

They are all pretty good