Playing guitar solo's completely dry with minimum gain.

[dvscool]

The more beer I have.The more massive amounts of gain I use.....gain+delay+Crybaby+BEER=rockstar

[Newc]

I started backing off the gain a few years ago after really scrutinizing the songs I always considered to be the heaviest - namely You've Got Another Thing Coming - and specifically focused on the layers and the gain used for each layer. They're not as saturated as I had always thought, and the way the guitars and bass are stacked really makes a difference. You can also hear how each note is picked, and less emphasis is placed on hammer-ons and sweep picking.

Listening to later tracks where the guitars have tons of gain, the bass drops to more of a "drone" tone and loses the punch.

[straycat]

i play dry and clean almost all the time at home. it took a while to get used to it. i have found that i get more sustain from trying different pick up positions. these days i am almost completely a strat player. i have found some magical tones from the middle pick up. of the neck pick up sustains well, but there are a lot of great tones in the middle. playing a tele can be a challenge because the range of tones on the pick ups is EXTREME. the bridge pick up is great for hard, snappy tones and the neck pick up is great for muted, jazzier runs. the nashville tele adds the strat pick up in the middle right?

anyway, the sustain is there, it is just a bit different. notes will ring, but they won't hold a long time. it's hard to explain. with a tele, that may not be a bad idea. it may make your tone a little more "country" than "blues" though. notes will pop and sustain, but it will feel "fake" for the lack of a better term....

I remove the tone control from the middle pick up and move it to the bridge on a strat 3 single set up.
That opens up the middle pick up and gives a nice woody tone.Having tone control on the bridge gives you control on the bite of the bridge pick up.win win IMO

[Cygnus X1]

I shunned the reverb/delay years ago.
One thing about the style you are trying to achieve is to lose your
perception of those high gain amps you might be used to.
A well designed all tube (including the rectifier) amp gives up a sound that
gives the illusion you are using a compressor, reverb, and a little chorus.
But they aren't there!
It's the circuit..."singing", a pleasant controlled feedback with harmonics.

A fine Les Paul or similar might be worth a shot along with a good (ahem Spitfire) or 5E3 Deluxe.
Bassman, very old Marshalls...and AC15s or 30's all have that rep.
THATis why those "boutique" makers (including Dr. Z) get so much money
for their builds.
That organic tone that sustains without super high gain...that's it.

Billz says...those are facts!

[markD]

I remove the tone control from the middle pick up and move it to the bridge on a strat 3 single set up.
That opens up the middle pick up and gives a nice woody tone.Having tone control on the bridge gives you control on the bite of the bridge pick up.win win IMO

yeah, i have done that with most of my newer strats. it does make HUGE difference!

[jgcable]

I shunned the reverb/delay years ago.
One thing about the style you are trying to achieve is to lose your
perception of those high gain amps you might be used to.
A well designed all tube (including the rectifier) amp gives up a sound that
gives the illusion you are using a compressor, reverb, and a little chorus.
But they aren't there!
It's the circuit..."singing", a pleasant controlled feedback with harmonics.

A fine Les Paul or similar might be worth a shot along with a good (ahem Spitfire) or 5E3 Deluxe.
Bassman, very old Marshalls...and AC15s or 30's all have that rep.
THATis why those "boutique" makers (including Dr. Z) get so much money
for their builds.
That organic tone that sustains without super high gain...that's it.

Billz says...those are facts!

Yep Kevin, I am a believer. There a local guy selling a Matchless Lightning. I am tempted to check it out but I am not going to. Its Spitfire or nothing (unless its a Chieftain!!)

[Cygnus X1]

Don't wait on me!
Check out the Lighting!