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Guitar Players with harsh tone!

#81
primusfan1989 said:
No its not, seeking advice on how to speak to your guitar player about improving tone without coming off like a jerk and upsetting band dynamics would be "management".... this topic really has nothing to do with the bass guitar
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Excuse me. Sorry about that. I play bass in this band but I also play guitar so guitar tone is something I'm aware of and serious about. Bass tone, too.
 
#82
51PRI said:
True.

And I know that. Even as I was thinking how harsh the guitars sound (to me, onstage with them) I think about how the isolated guitar tones from Led Zeppelin I might sound.


Absolutely. I think for one guy it's a combination of getting his hands warmed up, like you would stretch before a basketball game, and "getting his sound." The other guy doesn't typically play a lot.


We've had that issue with both guitarists when there is a sound man. He will usually have one, or the other, of them turn down so low onstage (because they are so loud out front) that we can't hear them. It's really frustrating for them. As mentioned, if they would point their amps up toward their ears they would be able to hear and not blast anyone but themselves.


I think most people in the audience don't say anything unless it's a positive. I've never had anyone say "man, you guys suck tonight...you sound like crap!" Maybe some of them think it but most responses are positive.

We played a festival gig recently in which a back line was provided. One of our guitarists took his own amp (of course) but the other guitarist played through the backline amp, a Mesa Boogie. It/he sounded like crap, at least to my ears. Then, after our set, the guitarist who owned the amp's band played and when he was "warming up" and "getting his sound" it sounded like crap to me, too.

So maybe it IS me.

So, back to my original question...what kind of earplugs or ear protection do you TB'ers suggest?
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Well, its a Boogie...many many gtrs sound poor through them. ime.

If I see one being loaded on stage, I think 'look out'
 
#83
During my sound tech years I always appreciated the guitar players who's tone was balanced. Didn't matter the genre. I loved a guitar that didn't need EQing to tame nasty spikes in the 3-4k region.
(not)Surprisingly I found the heavier bands to be more likely to have good guitar tones.
 
#84
51PRI said:
What kind of earplugs are best?

:cool:
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Either IEM's or a much cheaper version are plugs made to fit your ear. Molds are made and the last time I purchased mine there were 3 to chose from. -5, -15, -25. You need to go to a place like a hearing aid retailer and get some molds done. The harshness will be gone but so will other frequencies. It does take some getting use to.
 
#85
Stylee Mousse said:
During my sound tech years I always appreciated the guitar players who's tone was balanced. Didn't matter the genre. I loved a guitar that didn't need EQing to tame nasty spikes in the 3-4k region.
(not)Surprisingly I found the heavier bands to be more likely to have good guitar tones.
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One of our guitar players just got a new BOSS modeling pedal that allows him not to use an amp. This means that he has to have "his sound" coming through the monitors. This is a problem because his guitar is coming through the same speaker I'm trying to hear when I'm singing, and his guitar is much louder than my singing voice. However he apparently likes it and wants to incorporate it into our sound full time. I think it's mainly so he can pack up and leave more quickly at the end of the night. It never ends.
 
#86
If you don't have enough mixes to have his own, he needs to provide another source, ie an amp for his monitoring.
It's not up to you to provide it or share it especially at the detriment of your vox, backgrounds or not.
 
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#87
51PRI said:
One of our guitar players just got a new BOSS modeling pedal that allows him not to use an amp. This means that he has to have "his sound" coming through the monitors. This is a problem because his guitar is coming through the same speaker I'm trying to hear when I'm singing, and his guitar is much louder than my singing voice. However he apparently likes it and wants to incorporate it into our sound full time. I think it's mainly so he can pack up and leave more quickly at the end of the night. It never ends.
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It never does... and your suspicions are probably right on.

I just deleted a rant about my own band that you don't really need to read. Just know that I feel you here - I'm dealing with a couple of infants in my crew and one of them is a guitar diva who does stuff along the lines of what you're describing here. My guy is something of a lazy wanna-bee-otch :wideyed::wideyed::wideyed:

Your PA's #1 purpose above and beyond everything else is to support and enable your band's vocals. Guitar guy is undermining that. If you can't get guitar guy's sound out of your monitor, he has to use his own amp to monitor his sound. Period!! If he won't do that, then he needs to come up with a mixing board that has enough monitor channels to give him his own sound and leave you free to function as a singer. That's pretty much it. Do not for one second feel obligated to work around him - HE'S the problem here.
 
#88
What he needs to do is buy a separate powered speaker and put it on the floor next to the monitor that’s just for him. I have a friend that does this and it works for him. The module goes straight to the house and then also out to his powered speaker so he can hear himself.
 
#89
BassGuyFL said:
What he needs to do is buy a separate powered speaker and put it on the floor next to the monitor that’s just for him. I have a friend that does this and it works for him. The module goes straight to the house and then also out to his powered speaker so he can hear himself.
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That would be fine but then he, or another member of the band, would have to carry and set up that speaker, and if he has to do that he may as well play through a regular guitar amp. That is actually what he has been doing for the last few gigs, as something in his new setup stopped working.
 
#92
Bajo Clarkko said:
I believe Frank Zappa called that the “Ice pick in the forehead tone.”
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Garish is the polite word.

The electric guitar is as much a percussion instrument as any other instrument. The frets simply help to alter the pitch. But, trimming treble and annoying highs can actually get one to that sweet spot of great punch with tone. That's what a great amp is for. Anyone can play loud. Controlling the tone & dynamics of their playing in the moment is what makes for a great player.

I love the guitar tone on Aerosmith's Mama Kin and One Way Street.
 
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