Don’t know your bucket brigade from your mid-hump? Are you perplexed by the term plexi? Look no further – this article will break down some of the jargon commonly used in the guitar world.
As with all niche interests, the guitar world is littered with all manner of ‘jargon’ that can be sometimes difficult to understand. Let’s be honest, for us guitarists, the guitar might be everything to us, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a niche by general standards! In no particular order, let’s take a look at some common terms in the guitar world that might need some explanation for those new (or not so new) to the bottomless pit that is guitars and guitar-related language!
Bucket Brigade:
A bucket brigade delay (BBD) is a reference to the analog chip found in analog delay pedals. Like many things in the guitar world, this old technology has been superseded by digital versions, but the warmth of the analog chip is well loved and still used in guitar pedals.
BBD chips served as the foundation for a wide range of iconic effects from the late 1970s to the middle of the 1980s. These include delay pedals like the Ibanez AD9, the Boss DM-2 delay, and the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man.
Pedal Platform: this refers to an amplifier with high headroom that will handle effects pedals well without ‘breaking up’ (overdriving) before desired.
Plexi: a reference, specifically, to the Marshall Super Lead 100 (1959SLP), but often used to describe different Marshall Amps too. The name refers to the gold plexiglass faceplate installed on Marshalls specifically in the late 1960s.
Mid hump: usually a reference to the Ibanez tube-screamer (and overdrives with similar circuits) because of a characteristic boost of the mid-range frequencies in the tone of this pedal.
Scooped: The antithesis of the above, a ‘scooped’ tone is one in which the midrange frequencies have been heavily cut. It is usually (though not exclusively) talking about distorted tones too. The ‘scoop’ refers to the visual appearance of removing the midrange frequencies on a graphic equaliser: as though someone came along and ‘scooped’ them out. Tone-wise, think early Metallica/Pantera/every teenage guitar player with their first Boss Metal-Zone.
US/California cleans: The Fender amps of the 1960s (think the Twin, Super Reverb and Deluxe Reverb) (check out our amp article here) are well known for their lush clean tone. These amps were made in Fullerton, California, at the Fender factory, hence the name.
Dimed: An amp, usually an older non-master volume one, turned up full.
Non-master Volume: An amp that has no master volume control. Amps with no master volume require A LOT of volume in order to be able to overdrive naturally, hence the introduction of a preamp volume (or gain control) as well as a master volume in a lot of more modern amps to allow for natural amp distortion at reasonable volumes.
Edge of Breakup: A tube amp that is just beginning to get a little bit of overdrive, or ‘hair’, on the tone. A lot of guitar players like this because the tone feels clean, but the bit of overdrive can help with the sustain and ‘bloom’ of the notes.
Four-cable Method: Used especially when talking about connecting multi-effects or modelling units, this refers to utilising the effects-loop of an amp in a set-up. This setup requires a cable from guitar to unit, the unit to the amp input, and one each to and from the effects send and return on the amp (hence four cables).
FRFR: Short for Full-Range Frequency Response, and refers to speakers like a PA speaker. Generally, guitar speakers do not reproduce all frequencies, which imparts a tonal signature. When plugging a modeller into a PA speaker, or an FRFR speaker, relevant adjustments sometimes need to be made.
Transparent (overdrive): Overdrives that do not have too much colour in their tone are often referred to as being ‘transparent’. Arguably, all overdrives ‘colour’ the tone by the nature of what they do… so a transparent overdrive seems like an oxymoron. Refer to your favourite guitar pedal online forum for a heated debate!
True Bypass: Pedals that are wired such that the guitar signal bypasses the circuitry of the pedal completely when the pedal is switched off. This was a selling point for boutique pedals for a while, but too many true bypass pedals in a row on your pedal board actually have an adverse affect on your guitar signal as it increases the effective length of the distance between guitar and amp. This often results in a reduction of treble frequencies in guitar tone/
Buffered Bypass: The answer to the above problem is buffers, which effectively act like a signal boost. Some pedals (like Boss) have buffers built into their input section, which works to boost the resistance on the signal at the input stage of the pedal. Some of these buffers are high quality and sound great (See Klon, below). Some of these buffers are not so good.
Dumble: The ‘holy grail’ of guitar amps – the two most famous models being the Overdrive Special and the Steel String Singer. Alexander Dumble was a master amp builder, and somewhat of a recluse, who has built amps for some of the greatest guitar players in history (SRV, Larry Carlton, Robben Ford) and who’s amps are now used by such luminaries as John Mayer, Keith Urban and Joe Bonamassa. The rarity of these amps makes them fetch astronomical prices on the used market (we’re literally talking about $100k +) though there are plenty of great copies and modern versions of these rare beasts such as Fuchs, Two Rock, and Ceriatone.
Pre-CBS: Any Fender products (especially guitars) made before 1965. In that year, the CBS Company bought Fender and began to mass produce more instruments, moving away from the hand-made nature of the instruments up to that point. Fender guitars made in the first 15 years of Fender’s life as a company (1950-65) are seen by collectors as the best era for the company.
Treble-bleed: A capacitor is added to the volume knob on the guitar to allow for treble frequencies to get through when the volume pot is turned down. Without this circuit, a lot of guitar pickups become much darker sounding as your turn down the pickup volume. This is again another topic of hot debate in online forums. Some people love ‘em, some people hate ‘em.
PAF: A reference to the Seth Lover designed humbucking pickups in early Gibson solid body electrics, especially the holy grail era 1958, 1959 and 1960 sunburst Les Paul’s. ‘PAF’ refers to the ‘Patent Applied For’ sticker on the back of these pickups.
Silicon/Germanium: Fuzz pedals mostly come with one of these two transistors as part of the circuit. Germanium is a wonderful warm tone which cleans up nicely with guitar volume changes but is very susceptible to temperature, pedal placement order and power which affect the tone (rather drastically in some cases). Silicon is a much more stable transistor but has a harsher and more extreme tone. Both are different, appreciated for different tones, and still commonly used.
Load Box: Guitar amplifier circuits require the resistance of a speaker as part of the safe operation of the amp. A load box such as the Universal Audio Ox allows for the disconnection of the speaker to connect the amp to a direct line out or speaker simulator without causing any damage to the amp.
Klon/Klone: (Pronounced summarily liked klondike). The most controversial pedal overdrive in history, mostly because of the mythical status it has acquired. Similar to Alexander Dumble, Bill Finnegan (who made the original Klon Centaur in the 1990s) was somewhat of a recluse who hand-built his original Klon pedals by hand. He also used a goop to cover up the circuit in his pedals in order to protect his circuit. These pedals being used by very well-known players including Jeff Beck and John Mayer, and as well as Finnegan ceasing production (until he started building them again under the name KTR recently), saw them begin to collect insane prices on the secondhand market. The Centaur circuit included a high-quality buffer, and this pedal was often used as an ‘always on’ secret sauce to a lot of players’ tone. A ‘Klone’ is the generic term used for any modern pedals that are a copy of this mythical overdrive circuit (eg J Rockett Archer, EHX Soul Food or Wampler Tumnus), though the name comes from a specific ‘klone’, the RYRA Klone. Again, some people love ‘em, some don’t understand the hype. Either way, the original silver Klon Centaurs are a good investment if the prices keep going the way they have been!
This is just a small selection of the jargon used in guitar circles. Hopefully, now you are better equipped to understand what people are yelling at each other on the latest online guitar or pedal forum. Now you can understand what people are talking about when they refer to a pedal platform or a klone.
There are so many different words and phrases used that perhaps a second list will be warranted! Watch this space.
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