Transparent overdrive/effect, what is it?

[zedsnotdead]

Ok, so does it even exist such a thing?
I mean, what is the "transparency"? For some is like having a "clean signal" blending with the ouput. FOr others is like a pedal that pushes "more" of your amps natural sound.

what do you think?

[jkokura]

I think the term is a little silly, but the essential interpretation I've understood thus far is: I turn 'it' on and it doesn't change the sound of my amp or guitar, it just adds more.

For example, a transparent delay would be a delay that still sounds like your original signal, but then repeats. However, it gets a little tricky when people apply it to a distortion/overdrive box. I'm not sure how you could ever call something like that a 'transparent' effect.

Jacob

[brucer]

Hmmm ... picking up where Jacob left off: I guess I've always interpreted a transparent overdrive as one that reproduces the sound of my guitar into my cranked amp, but at a lower volume.   I guess that would only apply to non-master volume amps (that's all I have) where I need a pedal to push the initial gain stage?  Distortion?  That's something I always use a pedal for. I don't play well enough to crank my amp that loud and I'm usually after a specific distortion tone (e.g. muff).   Just my thoughts.

[GermanCdn]

Isn't a transparent OD just a marketing term developed after an overdrive was developed with less of a mid hump than a TS (thanks Paul C, though I'm pretty sure it's Danelectro's fault for marketing their Timmy clone as the Transparent OD)? 

Like Jacob said, to call anything you build to change the sound of your guitar running to your amp "transparent" is moderately laughable.

[GrindCustoms]

Funny that boutique builders define the tonal properties or characteristics of their product refering to a term brought by a company selling 40$ pedals... Marketing is a beast on it's own, use a term that you can't really explain but that most people will acknowledge to it... and you got a hype.

In that vein of terms to describe the sound of effects, «Organic» is one that makes me laugh... never thought that a jar of earth would sound good if you plugged into it...

[mattc]

It all depends on the terroir of that jar of earth!

[GrindCustoms]

It all depends on the terroir of that jar of earth!

Agreed.

[lars]

A TS-808 in an acrylic enclosure...

[selfdestroyer]

I have come to the conclusion that trying to describe effects is like describing wine or a cigar. We use words like overtones, undertones, oaky, woody, earthy etc.. I think for us humans to describe something we need to use other senses and words we are familiar with. I have talked to a lot of people from players to builders and engineers and they all have their choice of "buzzwords" they use to describe a sound or feeling with a piece of hardware. I do find it funny when people use words like "amp like" or "transparent" but have no idea why they used that word. I once had a player tell me he loved ** pedal because it was so transparent. When I asked him what he meant by that it followed with 5 minutes of "well, umm, you know, umm" kind of talk.

I have described fuzz as harsh, broken, buzzy, smooth, face melting, baby making etc...

Cody

[GrindCustoms]

baby making etc...

Hahahaha!

Wich one was that?

One term that i find nice for fuzz, is the Velcro Fuzz... FY-2!

[davent]

baby making etc...

Hahahaha!

Wich one was that?

Yeah, i'd like to avoid that one before it's too late...

[GrindCustoms]

baby making etc...

Hahahaha!

Wich one was that?

Yeah, i'd like to avoid that one before it's too late...

*High Five*

[lincolnic]

I once had a player tell me he loved ** pedal because it was so transparent. When I asked him what he meant by that it followed with 5 minutes of "well, umm, you know, umm" kind of talk.

I get this all the time. A little while ago I was talking about records with a client, who specifically mentioned that certain albums sounded "analog" to him. When I asked him what he meant, I got a similar response.

[RobA]

[...]
.. who specifically mentioned that certain albums sounded "analog" to him. ...

Those with pops and scratches.

...
In that vein of terms to describe the sound of effects, «Organic» is one that makes me laugh... never thought that a jar of earth would sound good if you plugged into it...

Whenever I hear "organic" used to describe something I instantly think "what's a carbon atom got to do with it." There's also the fact that I hated my organic chem class, so calling something organic doesn't exactly bring up nice associations for me.

[culturejam]

For me, "transparent" is basically a clean boost (when it comes to "drive" circuits). I don't know how it could mean anything else and stay within the realm of reality.

Funny that boutique builders define the tonal properties or characteristics of their product refering to a term brought by a company selling 40$ pedals...

To be fair, the Timmy was never marketed* as "transparent". The fans of the pedal started to describe it as such, ant the term sort of took on a life of its own.

* Really, the Tim/Timmy were never really marketed at all. 100% of the "marketing" I've seen for those products has been customer testimonials.