General Tone Tips

[OctopusRider]

Re: General Tone Tips

If you must use reverb, use as little as possible. Too much reverb can cover you up in the mix.

[Desert]

Re: General Tone Tips

Wellllllllll
......

8) If you want to develop great tone/feel in the long run, stop using distortion and play clean. Distortion covers up many technique errors guitarists make, and therefore you never get great at playing. Practice clean for a while, get the technique down, then go back to your effects. It'll sound a ton better than it used to!

Huge!!!

[guitfiddle]

Re: General Tone Tips

Try different tunings. Open ones, classic ones, mirrored 5th/4ths etc. This will give you a better control and over your instrument.
Different tunings give different inspiration and playing possibilities too. Some guy/guys in the past tuned the guitar to E, and this shouldn't be a limiting factor.

+1

Try this one...especially with a 12-string.

Take the b string(s) off. Put the high e string(s) where the b string(s) goes.

Now tune it: C-G-D-A-E. This takes heavy strings.

Now you have an octave mandolin on the G-E strings, and a mandocello on the C-A strings.

Fun stuff, if you play mando/bouzouki.

[juice]

Re: General Tone Tips

Wellllllllll

1) Get to know the tone knob and how it works

2) Pedals really aren't as important as some people think... they will suck your guitar's soul. try less pedals and more amp volume

3) Tube amp> solid state amp

4) Learn the things that make solos beautiful--bends, slides, harmonies, squealies, etc

5) It will never sound good unless you play the right notes, so learn at least a little theory (which everyone does whether they know it or not)

6) The amp type matters 100 times more than the type of guitar

7) Remember to change your strings. It makes a world of difference. Washing hands before and wiping frets down afterwards add life to your strings

8) If you want to develop great tone/feel in the long run, stop using distortion and play clean. Distortion covers up many technique errors guitarists make, and therefore you never get great at playing. Practice clean for a while, get the technique down, then go back to your effects. It'll sound a ton better than it used to!

[Lazarus1140]

Re: General Tone Tips

Learn to play with your toes for a meatier tone than you could ever get with your fingers.

That's why the smoother passages are called legatoe.
Arm got fingers - leg got toes.

[tone4days]

Re: General Tone Tips

the only way to get killer tones is to be a killer player in the first place.

no wonder my riff recordings suck

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: General Tone Tips

I'd like to redact anything I've ever said on the topic of tone and say, as many people have always said... it really just is in your hands. Working as a producer/engineer with many different guitarists and trying to get the best tones possible, it becomes increasingly obvious that the only way to get killer tones is to be a killer player in the first place.

My hands just sound a certain way, naturally. Regardless of what I play, I've got a slightly rounded top end, really 'squishy' but tight palm mutes, and an overall smoothness to the tone that just just inherently in my playing - it's 100% because that's the kind of sound that I hear in my head, and my hands have been subconsciously trained to facilitate that kind of tone.

For a more natural chorus sound in recordings, double track your guitar part, but in between strum some cowboy chords or whatever with a large amount of strength, this should put your guitar a few cents out of tune, creating a more believable sound of two different guitars playing in unison.

Sorry, but being out of tune is something you should strive to avoid with most all recording situations.

The best way to make a recording sound bigger/wider is to double track incredibly tightly and just pan in either direction.

[Ninja Monkey]

Re: General Tone Tips

For a more natural chorus sound in recordings, double track your guitar part, but in between strum some cowboy chords or whatever with a large amount of strength, this should put your guitar a few cents out of tune, creating a more believable sound of two different guitars playing in unison.

[B2D]

Re: General Tone Tips

fuel your rig from the blood of dead hookers

That really did make me LOL.

[metalmachine]

Re: General Tone Tips

fuel your rig from the blood of dead hookers

[B2D]

Re: General Tone Tips

When it comes to hard rock, use slightly less gain than you think you need and then use slightly more volume than you think you need. Instant tonal improvement. This works especially well with hot pickups, too.

[mojoman]

Re: General Tone Tips

Even though good gear can help get you good Tone, but IMO a lot of the Tone comes from the guitarists fingers. When you use a lot of distortion it tends to covers things up.

Even if you play Rock & Metal try practicing your scales and riffs with a nice fat clean Tone. You will be able to hear all the subtle little things that are going on between you and your guitar (including your mistakes). It may help you clean up some things that you might have been missing otherwise and help you achieve better overall Tone??

[daemon barbeque]

Re: General Tone Tips

Try different tunings. Open ones, classic ones, mirrored 5th/4ths etc. This will give you a better control and over your instrument.
Different tunings give different inspiration and playing possibilities too. Some guy/guys in the past tuned the guitar to E, and this shouldn't be a limiting factor.

[lyongraulty]

Re: General Tone Tips

listen

[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.