Guitarists tone

5string5fingers · #1 07-24-2009, 10:42 PM

The guitarist that I play with pretty much exclusively uses his bridge pickup and I personally think it sounds awful. It's so thin and brittle,too much treble and twang. Any body elses guitarist do this? Is this a guitard thing?

SpamBot · #2 07-24-2009, 10:45 PM

This is, unfortunately, common. 212 horizontal cab (Most combos) or 412 cab, pointed at knees, combined with appropriate amount of treble at guitarist's ears (Incredibly off-axis) = Too much treble EVERYWHERE ELSE. Have him stand across the room and/or tilt back his cab.

5string5fingers · #3 07-24-2009, 10:58 PM

Ok. Because the guitarist/drummer I played with before,a good friend of mine back home,he was the opposite but he also played a lot of hardcore/screamo crap so he usually had more mids and bass cranked up on his amp and used both or neck pickup. So I haven't been around too many guitarists to know if it's a common practice.

earthlypunk · #4 07-24-2009, 11:04 PM

yep, most guitards seem to forget that their guitars have a tone control that has a setting other than all the way and that their guitars have (maybe) a pickup other than the bridge.

Treble can be a great thing when it's used properly but all treble all the time wears on the ears mighty quick. If your guitarist wants lots of highs go for a more "shimmering" high sound and mess with the amp and guitar tone controls until you can find a nice balanced sound with the highs prominently featured in it but not overpowering it either.

...or you could just unplug him!

xgator4u · #5 07-24-2009, 11:09 PM

HMMM, Maybe that's why they ARE guitards.

5string5fingers · #6 07-24-2009, 11:30 PM

I've also wondered if every guitarist expects you to know THIER chords in a song.

Uribam · #7 07-25-2009, 04:17 AM

Now I don't want this to come off as bragging or something stupid like that, but here goes anyway. I'm the proud owner of a 91 Gibson Les Paul. The poor thing. It never gets played. I'm a bassist through and through, but if you could buy that guitar for $600 wouldn't you? So every once in awhile I'll pick it up and play through my bass rig, which doesn't do it much justice, I know. Usually when I play, it's 80% rhythm pickup, 20% mixed. It's got a crack in the headstock at the base of it up between the first sets and second sets of tuners to the binding now, how sad. Lovely guitar though..... still sounds great.

Wasted Bassist · #8 07-25-2009, 04:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5string5fingers

I've also wondered if every guitarist expects you to know THIER chords in a song.

Their chords? You mean the chord proggression of each song? Damn skippy you should know the chord proggression (and no... not just the root counts...).

Arranger · #9 07-25-2009, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uribam

Now I don't want this to come off as bragging or something stupid like that, but here goes anyway. I'm the proud owner of a 91 Gibson Les Paul. The poor thing. It never gets played. I'm a bassist through and through, but if you could buy that guitar for $600 wouldn't you? So every once in awhile I'll pick it up and play through my bass rig, which doesn't do it much justice, I know. Usually when I play, it's 80% rhythm pickup, 20% mixed. It's got a crack in the headstock at the base of it up between the first sets and second sets of tuners to the binding now, how sad. Lovely guitar though..... still sounds great.

God. We must share a common ancestry. I have a Gibson SG that I pound on the rhythm pickup through a bass amp. I guess it's all about baritone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpamBot

This is, unfortunately, common. 212 horizontal cab (Most combos) or 412 cab, pointed at knees, combined with appropriate amount of treble at guitarist's ears (Incredibly off-axis) = Too much treble EVERYWHERE ELSE. Have him stand across the room and/or tilt back his cab.

Yea - get him to point that cabinet right at his own ears so that razor saws his own head off. Problem solved.

vbasscustom · #10 07-25-2009, 01:08 PM

no, they just turn the amps up to 11.

"dude, that is my tone man"

totallybacan · #11 07-25-2009, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vbasscustom

no, they just turn the amps up to 11.

"dude, that is my tone man"

HAHAHAHA spinal tap was on yesterday haha. good memories.

smithal3 · #12 07-25-2009, 01:23 PM

Keep in mind that many of us really appreciate a lower tone (we do play the bass after all). And while we each have our own idea of what "our tone" sounds like, I'm sure there are some guitarists who disagree with your tone, just like I'm sure there are bassists who disagree with the guitarist's tone.

Just because we don't like their tone doesn't mean that they don't, we all have individual flavors.

For instance, I play in a band with a guy who plays a Les Paul with Elixers (strings) and a Marshall half stack. I would MUCH RATHER him play with a Fender Strat with Ernie Ball (strings) and a Fender half stack (he has both), because in my mind the tone sounds 3x's better, but its his tone that he wants so I let it go.

Greevus · #13 07-25-2009, 01:29 PM

I'm a guitarist also so I'll chime in. Most heavy bands use the guitar's bridge pickup only, with all mids rolled off and tons of bass and treble. It gives you "chunk" and thickness. The bass, weirdly enough, supplies the mids and most of us vary in our bass and treble positions. Guitars distort much better with the bridge pickup and the highs added. Some guitars sound good with adding the neck pickup, but in my twenty plus years of playing, you just don't see it much. Really depends on your exact style and sound. I would think your guitarist needs some better pickups, amps, cab, or combo of the three. Not his setting to me.

spigmu · #14 07-25-2009, 03:33 PM

The problem as I see it is that only the bridge pickup gives the certain response and character desired (not "tone" as in treble/bass necessarily). When you have an amp with knobs like "Presence", "Attack" "Cut", well who doesn't want more of all those, so waaannnng go those knobs without a care to what they're doing.

I've seen many incredible guitarists who used their bridge pickup 90% of the time, and every time I glanced over to their amp settings it was treble cut back, any high boosts (as on Fenders) not engaged.

5string5fingers · #15 07-25-2009, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greevus

I'm a guitarist also so I'll chime in. Most heavy bands use the guitar's bridge pickup only, with all mids rolled off and tons of bass and treble. It gives you "chunk" and thickness. The bass, weirdly enough, supplies the mids and most of us vary in our bass and treble positions. Guitars distort much better with the bridge pickup and the highs added. Some guitars sound good with adding the neck pickup, but in my twenty plus years of playing, you just don't see it much. Really depends on your exact style and sound. I would think your guitarist needs some better pickups, amps, cab, or combo of the three. Not his setting to me.

He has a little bit of everything dialed in..a little bit of mids, more bass than mids, and treble about as much as bass. He was using a really crappy amp at the time,his line 6 has been out for a while now for a blown capacitor. His guitars are nice, fender strat,ibanez RG5EX1,epi les paul standard. So i dont think its the guitars. I dont think he's got them EQ'd right. It sounds good distorted but clean with bridge pickup only I think sounds bad.