Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

[PFDarkside]

For the guys that use different guitars and pickups with the same overall rig, how do you tune the guitars and pedals/amps so that switching between them is fairly seamless? Of course you want a Les Paul to sound like a Les Paul and a Telecaster to sound like a Telecaster, but how do you switch between them without needing to twiddle a bunch of knobs?

Keep in mind that I've only ever heavily gigged with bass. That was one bass into one amp, no variance no matter where I went or what I played. Jamming with friends is just choosing a guitar, an amp and a few pedals and setting it all up and tweaking as I go.

Now that I'm starting to solidify and standardize my whole guitar rig I'm starting to see how my main guitars require vastly different settings from pedals and amps! Now I understand that my EMG loaded superstrat is going to be different than my SSL-1 loaded Strat (and in fact I usually play the hotter guitars through one amp and the rest through another) but I certainly know people use Strat/Tele/LP through a single rig.

How do you handle it? Pickup choice and height? EQ/boost? Just use only one type of guitar?

 

[Low_fidelity2100]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

For me its been less about trying to Make a seamless switch, and more about picking the right guitar for the song, so the tonal switch doesn't seem weird. To me.

I normal gig with a Tele (and backup), and a 335 clone. So they sound quite different. Definitely not interchangeable. But by choosing the right guitar, for the right song. It all makes sense. The tele is used for the majority of our stuff, so my whole rig is setup to sound great with the tele. The 335 gets used for songs in Drop-D (generally fuzzier, so the thickness of the 335, and extra mids, make sense), and anything I need a shorter scale length for (generally on the neck pickup since its clearer, and most of those songs are mostly clean anyways).

Sure there's compromises, and the 335 doesn't sound perfect at all times, since everything is setup to sound best with the tele...But I figure, at a show, a good 50%+ of the audience is drunk anyways, and even those that aren't paying much attention to my tone. So its not really a big deal. The other guitarists in the audience might notice. But the majority of the people at a show, only notice guitar changes, cause the guitar LOOKS different. haha. So it doesn't really matter a whole lot. While recording, of course you wanna make everything sound as groovy as possible. But live its mostly about doing what makes you comfortable, and keeps the show rolling along without to much lag between songs. For me at least.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

Given the chance I choose what equipment I bring around the set list picking what I know will work with a minimum of fuss. But there is always some compromise. When I was gigging heavily I even went out of my way to buy to 2 identical guitars so that I could set them up the same and switch seamlessly.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

Generally, you want to pick your guitar to get the tone, etc. that you specifically want for a particular song without needing to make any drastic changes to your rig.

 

[formula73]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

I unplug one guitar.

Then I plug in the other one.

Beyond that, just the volume and tone on the guitar.

 

[zenmindbeginner]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

I unplug one guitar.

Then I plug in the other one.

Beyond that, just the volume and tone on the guitar.

Word.

Unless I am going for a specific sound, I use the same tone for every guitar. You know you have hit the golden tone when every guitar you have sounds great through it.

 

[mantis]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

When I switch Guitars , I usually have to adjust the tone a bit. What you can do is write down the settings you like for each guitar and put that on top of your amp so when you switch , you can quickly dial in and back. Effects I don't change much if any.

 

[Zombiwoof]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

You could use an eq pedal that you could set to equalize the volume and tone for a second guitar that has more output and tonal qualities, and switch it on when you change guitars.
Al

 

[Grenade]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

My amp is dimed, I change guitars to change my tone.

 

[erksin]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

I don't consider changing a thing on any pedal or amp when changing guitars - if a guitar doesn't work for a particular situation then it's the wrong guitar. No need to make things more complicated for yourself onstage, IMO.

Guitars should sound different from one another or else why bother changing?

 

[phil_104]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

I'm gonna go a bit beyond the whole ''I just plug in a guitar thing'', even though it's what I do 99% of the time.

Let's assume I'm playing a show through a 2 channel amp that does very heavy tones. Let's also say that I am using a Les Paul with hot pickups, and a strat with vintage correct single coils. I have two very different guitars, that hit the amp in different ways. I could plug and play, but I could get more options also.

For example, I can set the clean channel and leave it, letting the natural character of the guitar shine through when playing clean. Then I can set my drive channel specifically for the LP, with a more mid scooped sound. In that case, if I want vintage type strat tones from my strat, I might be using a distortion pedal dialled in specifically for the strat, so that I can just hit it while on the clean channel to have 2 different distorted tones, each suited for the guitar in question and the sound I am going for.

Another thing I might do is to add an EQ pedal somewhere in there, to switch up my frenquencies a bit, depending on the guitar I am using, and the presets of the amp, in order to hit a few sweet spots. If my clean channel is set up fairly neutral, I can use this to give it a bit of character and shape my sound even further, once again, to suit the guitar I am playing. I might even use a slight clean boost if I find my single coils are as loud as my hot humbuckers.

So yeah, I usually just plug and play if I am doing my own material, but if I am doing a session gig, it's not impossible that you'll see me switch things around with a few key pedals to make sure that I get those key tones I am after, and that I am sitting well in the mix.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

I do nothing at all. The whole point of having different guitars is to get a different tonal response from each one. Why would I fight that by tweaking the amp?

 

[vinta9e]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

I generally try to keep the knobs on my Soldano close to noon. That does NOT make my amp's frequency response flat, but it does give a natural, balanced sound. Keep in mind other amps might need different settings for their sweet spot. I've found out that I like to set my treble at 4 for a JB, and at 6 for a Super Distortion, but other than that, I seldom turn the knobs at all.

 

[Laughing Kookaburra]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

My rig stays the same, unless I need to tweak it for the room at some point during the gig. When I play rock, my sound is pretty consistent throughout a set anyway. The second guitar onstage is going to be similar sounding, and used in the case of a broken string.

Playing blues will find me changing up the sound, but I usually do it from my guitar, such as switching pups or using the tone and volume controls. If I do change guitars, it because I want a different sound altogether, say single coil instead of bucker. Again, my amp will remain constant unless the room acoustics change a lot.

If I have a good soundman, I don't even have to worry about the room.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

I turn up bass when I come in with the Strat.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

I use one rig for super high gain stuff and one for more mid gain type stuff, and specific guitars with each amp. Amps pretty much stay set the same, I'm more likely to adjust the SHO level or the tone knob on whichever OD I'm using.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

I do nothing at all. The whole point of having different guitars is to get a different tonal response from each one. Why would I fight that by tweaking the amp?

exactly. I set it up to what sounds good through my rig, if i switch to a tele or whatever, the whole point is that there is a change.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

I don't consider changing a thing on any pedal or amp when changing guitars - if a guitar doesn't work for a particular situation then it's the wrong guitar. No need to make things more complicated for yourself onstage, IMO.

Guitars should sound different from one another or else why bother changing?

Exactly.

 

[chadd]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

I change guitars for the different tones, volume change is minor and can be addressed with my CAE boost or at the mixing board. For the clean stuff, it's a strat or tele. For jangly stuff, add the AC booster and for a little thicker jangly, I kick in the eq and LPB with the AC booster. For heavier stuff, it's les paul and (Marshall) amp gain. Fuzz is usually back to one of the single coils and a triangle buff pedal. I also have a light OD pedal that I have set up to sound better with humbuckers. It's all about finding the right tone for the song without having to fiddle with knobs between songs.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Tuning your "rig" for different guitars

if i need more of this, or less of that depending on the sound of the room, i lean back and adjust my amp knobs. If i change guitars, i try to enjoy the different colours and feel of the instrument rather than trying to get it to sound like the other one. I like playing music that is responsive to what it going on. The people, the vibe, the room, the time of night (or day). So if i change axes, then i try to embrace what it does best and enjoy playing with a new sound spectrum.