General Tone Tips

[Vetteboy]

Re: General Tone Tips

Back off that gain - you surely don't need it on 10 - and rejoice on how sloppy you actually play!

Time to practice a bit more on the clean channel!

It took me YEARS to realize this. So true! Even on the heaviest stuff I play the gain rarely goes above 6-7 these days, and it's still more than adequate.

The biggest thing I've been doing in the last year or two is minimizing equipment. I used to have a whole ton of pedals, stereo chorus/delay, all kinds of fancy crap. It was fun, complicated, flashy, and I thought it sounded 'huge'. But if you really just open the amp up and let it do its thing, you don't need a ton of effects to get a big sound - it's really just the opposite.

That's the biggest reason why I was so impressed with the Valve Junior...I spied it after lamenting over the lack of simple amps at a local store, without all the effects and stuff built-in. Being able to have such organic control over the sound really makes a difference instead of squashing it with stereo chorus on your 2x12 combo.

edit: same goes for recording. Almost everything I record is totally dry coming out of the amp, with the occasional exception for a classic tremolo/spring reverb. Add your delay and reverb later in the mix to really allow the guitar to stand out.

I also noticed a difference in clarity by simply changing picks. Going from a full-size normal pick to one of the little jazz picks really got rid of a lot of extraneous noise that I didn't even notice, but I can still dig in and get great attack when I want it.

[Brett Valentine]

Re: General Tone Tips

If you use any pick in the standard "Fender" shape, learn to play the rounded corners as well as the pointy one. The rounded corners give you a smoother attack and a fuller, warmer tone.

[sonnyblu]

Re: General Tone Tips

Don't forget to pee before you start the next set...

[Brett Valentine]

Re: General Tone Tips

don't forget to pee before you start the next set...

++1!!

[caucajun]

Re: General Tone Tips

if you like the sound you get from a cheap guitar, amp or pedal......it's ok to use them....however....the more of them you stack up......the more OOGE is going to end up in your sound.

whatever you DO skimp on........don't skimp on the cord.....spend the money.

[super rad stuff]

Re: General Tone Tips

Throw your Metalzone in the trash

Throw your metalzone in the trash.

but i just got my metalzone!!!!

play with your tone and volume knobs as much as possible, your gear is alot more versatile than you might think if you don't.

also, try varying your pick attack and where you strum/pick to try and get different tones. that's helped out my playing more than anything else.

[KingMixer]

Re: General Tone Tips

2. If you want to play "Blues" like Clapton, then you have to use a Strat with single coil pickups loaded flipped around like "Blacky". This is why Hendrix got his blues sound. He played left handed with a Strat strung upside down. They didn't make left handed Stats back then. Hendrix used alot of different Strats and they all basically sounded the same when he played them. Hendrix could have played a $50 guitar and made it sound good.

You could play some blues like clapton with a strat, but you definately don't need it. His best work was in his years using His SG, 335, and even and occasional Les Paul.

[Frantic_Rock]

Re: General Tone Tips

Try tuning the low E quite a bit flat . This is because when you pick it hard - it will go sharper. (experiment. depends how hard u play)
Tune the A a little bit less flat, but still flat.
Tune the D EVER SO SLIGHTLY flat.

Tune the G - right on the money.
Tune the B - EVER SO SLIGHTLY sharp.
Tune the high E - a bit more sharp than the B

This is similar to the concept of "temperment" and will help your guitar stay in tune better with other instruments. Got this concept from EJ video. It works good. I always tune like this now. Never right on the money for all strings.

Its a pain to explain it to other guitar players you play with, who have no idea what you are talking about.

[nuntius]

Re: General Tone Tips

"The left hand makes the virtuoso, but the right hand makes the artist"---Paganini.

That's a brilliant quote.

I'd argue that experimenting with picking dynamics and plectrums etc on a clean channel or, even better, an acoustic guitar will help you appreciate tone a lot. Tone is so affected by the attack of a player, hit your strings hard, then hit them soft - the tone changes quite a bit, and you don't even have to fiddle with your controls.

[StrangeSound]

Re: General Tone Tips

That's a brilliant quote.

I'd argue that experimenting with picking dynamics and plectrums etc on a clean channel or, even better, an acoustic guitar will help you appreciate tone a lot. Tone is so affected by the attack of a player, hit your strings hard, then hit them soft - the tone changes quite a bit, and you don't even have to fiddle with your controls.

Hey Nun, great to see ya!

I agree with the quote, I'm very busy nowadays to get more control over the right hand and the coordination aswell, that's one long road for me.

[super rad stuff]

Re: General Tone Tips

Try tuning the low E quite a bit flat . This is because when you pick it hard - it will go sharper. (experiment. depends how hard u play)
Tune the A a little bit less flat, but still flat.
Tune the D EVER SO SLIGHTLY flat.

Tune the G - right on the money.
Tune the B - EVER SO SLIGHTLY sharp.
Tune the high E - a bit more sharp than the B

This is similar to the concept of "temperment" and will help your guitar stay in tune better with other instruments. Got this concept from EJ video. It works good. I always tune like this now. Never right on the money for all strings.

Its a pain to explain it to other guitar players you play with, who have no idea what you are talking about.

i've read about this before. i've tried to do this before(but at the time i had no tuner, and currently i've got none again) without success, but i can see it working in the right context. what would you say about a compensated nut however?

[ES350]

Re: General Tone Tips

Re the Paganini quote; I heard that from my grand uncle, who gave me my first lessons. I think it's really true though and the players that I always return to are the people with that sort of articulation and tone that comes from how you play a note; they always sound like themselves, unique individuals. Of course, vibrato and release, etc. are in the left, but the color is in the right...

[Diocletian]

Re: General Tone Tips

i've read about this before. i've tried to do this before(but at the time i had no tuner, and currently i've got none again) without success, but i can see it working in the right context. what would you say about a compensated nut however?

You do realise there's a tuner built into the Toneport? Top right hand corner - the tuning fork icon.

[super rad stuff]

Re: General Tone Tips

i know but yea

[Ninja Monkey]

Re: General Tone Tips

Make sure whenever you are mic'ing anything at a home studio that there are no little kids(read "hyper crazy people") running amok anywhere near where you're recording, trust me.