2 Guitards, 2 very different eq's

megadethjohn · #1 09-25-2007, 11:00 AM

I play in a very loud aggressive metal band. Our sound is similar early Slayer, Exodus, ect...

When we started out it was me, one guitarist, drummer and singer. This guitarist, unlike most metal guitarists, has a lot of midtone growl in his sound. He doesn't do the whole 'boost bass and treble and scoop out mids'. In fact his use of eqing is not drastic at all. When he cranks his Marshall is sounds really good. Now I use a lot of low mids and High mids in my tone, have the mid-mids set flat, and slightly cut of boost the low end based on the room we're playing.

As a band we sounded really good. We could all hear each other perfectly, the crowd could always here us and we were hearing at just about every show that we had the best sound out of all the bands.

We recently picked up a new lead guitarist who smokes. He'll rip up Yngwie and old Skolnic (Testament) solos all the time. The problem is he cranks the bass and treble and scoops out all the mids. Now when we all play together he sounds good, but now the original guitarist sounds weak and tinny. We're also having trouble hearing each other. The last show we did the drummer couldn't hear anyone but me, and each guitarist claimed he could only hear the other.

One of them has to change. I've been saying that the new guy should ease up on his extreme use of bass and treble boosting. Our singer and drummer want the first guitarist to eq more like the new guy

What do you guys think?

Jimbob Jones · #2 09-25-2007, 11:14 AM

Try both, See which sounds better (record it if you have to, get outside opinions, etc)

Pilgrim · #3 09-25-2007, 11:39 AM

The guitarists need to talk about it. You're not going to solve it as a third party. But you can bring the band to a sit-down and put it on the table. Perhaps each can move a little - after all, it's a technical issue, not a personal thing - and should be kept that way.

i_got_a_mohawk · #4 09-25-2007, 11:46 AM

At least you have two guitarists willing to talk about it, recently had another guitarist join the band, and he is new to it all, so he sets up his amp like he wants, our original guitarist does it how he wants, and alltogether it sounds like ass, but neither of them are willing to believe it!

chaosMK · #5 09-25-2007, 11:51 AM

I'd go with mids on the guitars- think Lamb of God Ashes of the Wake or Gojira From Mars to Sirius. I recently saw a show where both guitarists had disgusting scooped tones. It was the worst thing I'd heard in quite some time.

If they have different channels on their amps or other ways of shaping the tone for solos etc, that might help the shredder guy to keep the solo sound he likes.

satchmo · #6 09-25-2007, 12:04 PM

If they're EQ'd the same then you'll have an even harder time hearing the difference.

Try placing the amps in different positions. A lot of the time guitarists (and I know, I am one) point their own amps at themselves and stand a foot away. This is a horrible way of doing it as it normally the person on the other side of the stage (i.e. the other guitarist) who will get the full brunt of the amp.

Also try to get the new guy to turn down the highs, it might make the whole thing less tinny.

derrico1 · #7 09-25-2007, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimbob Jones

Try both, See which sounds better (record it if you have to, get outside opinions, etc)

+1 to recording to see which combinations of tones work best with your singer. You likely won't be able to agree w/o recording, as you'll each hear different things from your stage or rehearsal room positions.

Keep in mind that to make this work, you might also need to rethink the bass tone if you're claiming a big chunk of the mids.

To streamline the process, I'd record a couple of tunes, grabbing amp sounds, but also tracking a DI from each guitar. That way, you can re-amp to experiment with different tone combinations until you find a winner.

mutedeity · #8 09-25-2007, 12:57 PM

Definitely try it both ways and I definitely think this is something you have to solve as a band. Just letting the two guitarists go at it would be a big mistake for you since them changing their sound is definitely going to affect you. Do you have a sound guy that could help you out? If so get them in to help you. Also I think some slight differences in tone between guitarists isn't a bad thing sometimes.

Poop-Loops · #9 09-25-2007, 02:19 PM

The sure fire way to settle the dispute is to have them both turn up bass and highs, but scoop the mids, and then you should turn down everything but the lows.

arai · #10 09-25-2007, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poop-Loops

The sure fire way to settle the dispute is to have them both turn up bass and highs, but scoop the mids, and then you should turn down everything but the lows.

Philbiker · #11 09-26-2007, 06:12 AM

Effing smiley eq on guitar sounds like DEEP FRIED ASS. Why would you want to cut the FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCIES OF YOUR INSRUMENT.

To put it bluntly... any guitarist who sets up his EQ that way knows nothing about his instrument.

Skel · #12 09-26-2007, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philbiker

Effing smiley eq on guitar sounds like DEEP FRIED ASS. Why would you want to cut the FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCIES OF YOUR INSRUMENT.

To put it bluntly... any guitarist who sets up his EQ that way knows nothing about his instrument.

Hmmm. I could see experimenting with this if I was using a twangy Telecaster with some kind of amp or amp modeling processor -I would never rule out anything.

But a guy like Van Halen did boost his mids and he certainly got some of the best tone I've ever heard.

This is a wild idea, but why don't you just be honest, tell both guys how you feel the EQ settings are diminshing the overall tone of the band, and see what happens.

Nappa · #13 09-26-2007, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philbiker

Effing smiley eq on guitar sounds like DEEP FRIED ASS. Why would you want to cut the FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCIES OF YOUR INSRUMENT.

To put it bluntly... any guitarist who sets up his EQ that way knows nothing about his instrument.

What about a frown eq?

Philbiker · #14 09-27-2007, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nappa

What about a frown eq?

Frown EQ is ideal for guitar!

FoHBass · #15 09-29-2007, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philbiker

Frown EQ is ideal for guitar!

I seem to remember reading where Kerry King of Slayer set up his EQ in a frown. And he's got good metal tone, IMO. Besides a smiley face isn't very metal.

Nappa · #16 09-29-2007, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FoHBass

I seem to remember reading where Kerry King of Slayer set up his EQ in a frown. And he's got good metal tone, IMO. Besides a smiley face isn't very metal.

Did he happen to use
?
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...zer?sku=151120

Skel · #17 09-29-2007, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FoHBass

I seem to remember reading where Kerry King of Slayer set up his EQ in a frown. And he's got good metal tone, IMO. Besides a smiley face isn't very metal.

Frown is what Eddie Van Halen used as well. Frown good.

Philbiker · #18 09-29-2007, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FoHBass

I seem to remember reading where Kerry King of Slayer set up his EQ in a frown. And he's got good metal tone, IMO. Besides a smiley face isn't very metal.

LOL!!!!