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Guitarist doesn't know how to dial his volume knob back

#21
Yep. Mr.Baer nailed it. Point his own rig at his head and then DEFY him to play at such levels. If that doesn't work, I'm sorry but you are just playing with and overgrown four year old jerk. He won't change. And you're not very smart if you go out and buy a 14 gigawatt amp to try and keep up. Try to work with him ONCE! TELL him the story of how you turned your amp off in practice the other day. See what his reaction is. IF he thinks it's YOUR fault, get to stepping. You don't need silly little boys like that. I don't care if he's 50 years old, if he acts like that he's a silly little spoiled rotten brat!
 
#23
two fingers said:
Yep. Mr.Baer nailed it. Point his own rig at his head and then DEFY him to play at such levels. If that doesn't work, I'm sorry but you are just playing with and overgrown four year old jerk. He won't change. And you're not very smart if you go out and buy a 14 gigawatt amp to try and keep up. Try to work with him ONCE! TELL him the story of how you turned your amp off in practice the other day. See what his reaction is. IF he thinks it's YOUR fault, get to stepping. You don't need silly little boys like that. I don't care if he's 50 years old, if he acts like that he's a silly little spoiled rotten brat!
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OP: I agree with two fingers. It sounds to me like you are faced with a "lack of maturity" problem. Unless your guitarist changes quickly, the only viable solution is to replace him with someone who is more developed.
 
#24
Play a song with your volume all the way off again and see if they notice
If they don't, ask the guitarist what he thought of the bass tone on that last try
After he answers let him know that you weren't on at all

Best to use surprise examples to get points across. Consider also mentioning the safety aspect
 
#26
Our band had the same problem, except both guitar and drums were off the scale loud, drowning out bass, keyboards and rhythm guitar. The drummer wears ear plugs (go figure). We refused to turn up to compete. One night the drummer brought one of those little recording things to track our practice. He listened to it back home and, to his credit, was the first to admit that drums and guitar were far too loud, and he's made an effort to curb his volume. Guitarist came on board after listening to it as well.
 
#27
Mingo Sanders said:
I think the OP is in the UK, where they have the HSE: UK workplace noise standards.

Arguing with the guitar player can be like wrestlilng with a pig: you end up muddy and the pig rather enjoys it.
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I saw that he's in the UK but Rat Shack has stores all over the planet- Link Removed

I play guitar too, but jeez! If the guy can't bother to listen to the others in the band, he should just hit the road.
 
#30
Ever notice how someone with a complete lack of talent always seems louder? You can take 2 people, and the one who stinks will always be louder. Just an observation.
Get some quality earplugs and wear them. If this guy still won't turn down, leave the band and take your hearing with you.
 
#32
1958Bassman said:
I think that just about defines 'glaring mistakes'.
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We put together a band where guitarist had a wonderful vintage plexy full stack. It sounded amazing but blew us away with piercing volume. My 500 wattt Eden full stack couldn't keep up. We canned him and ended up with a better guitarist that could keep his jcm800 half stack in check. Great move for the band.
 
#33
Andyman001 said:
at the next practice, don't even plug-in or turn on your amp. when he asks why, tell him

(last week at practice I rolled off all my volume so my amp wasn't making any noise and his was that loud no one even noticed - his amp was doing all my bass work for me and drowning me out)

as for gear: Ashdown, Markbass, Genz Benz, Gallien Krueger, and a lot more.

at least 300 watts and your choice of 2-15's, 4-10's, 4-12's

And earplugs:)
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+1000. My guitarists learned quickly why I would just stop playing mid-song until they learned to reign it in. You just have to flat out look them in the eye and tell them they are too loud. They have to be considerate of your situation and accomodate until you can get a bigger amp. Just because one guy gets a louder amp doesn't mean he should use it as such. His choice of amp tells me he's no tone snob but it does give him the ability to achieve overdrive without having to crank it. It's not like he's playing a tube amp that needs some push to achieve it's tonal sweet spot. Just plain and simple, tell him to turn it down.
 
#34
just tell the guy to turn down. One of the reasons I left my last band was because the guys took their amps and drove them to the point where I just couldn't keep up with my own amp, and treated it like a brand new argument every time I told them to turn it down a hair. The thing is, half stacks just don't disperse very well, and most guitarists want to play a similar amp to what their gods are playing - without realizing they're playing a small club with twenty people in it... that are leaving because you're too freaking loud.
 
#36
When people get a new amp, they tend to want to dime it. If he doesn't reign in his volume after a practice or two, he will probably need a good talking too from the band. Get your bandmates on board and tell to turn down and be part of the group.

For the record Line 6 amps sound like @$$ anyway
 
#37
nordyboy said:
If you can't beat them join them, Ampeg SVT and two Berg NV412's:D
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I did that too. My Eden just couldn't get that "rock" tone. SVT over a GB 410XB, and 115XB. Rocked the house when needed - alway got great tone. However, there were times when it was appropriate for me to use a 1x12 cab (casual pizza joints, small clubs, etc.).
 
#38
bobalu said:
Our band had the same problem, except both guitar and drums were off the scale loud, drowning out bass, keyboards and rhythm guitar. The drummer wears ear plugs (go figure). We refused to turn up to compete. One night the drummer brought one of those little recording things to track our practice. He listened to it back home and, to his credit, was the first to admit that drums and guitar were far too loud, and he's made an effort to curb his volume. Guitarist came on board after listening to it as well.
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This worked for me, too. Once they hear how crappy the mix is, it will sink in. If this doesn't work, time for a replacement, because it is clear that they don't care about the sound of the group, only themselves.
 
#39
Guitardist never know how to turn down. Our guitardist just bought an attenuator. Not really sure what it does but supposedly it allows him to push his tubes (he's using a store brand 210 combo tube amp) to the max, but at a lower wattage or something like that? Beats me and I really can't tell a difference anyway.

Our Guitardist has also used an amp shield, a big piece of plexi glass in front of his amp to help with stage volume and is still told to turn down at every single venue we play. Unless they are on 11, guitardist just don't think they are getting the sound they want.

I play an Ampeg SVT 200t through and SVT 410 hln cab and often can't hear myself at rehearsal. I just put in my ear plugs and turn up half way and go with it. I like to try to "feel" what i'm playing anyway and trust the sound guys at the venues to mix the signals at the board.

Good luck, sir.
 
#40
Bottom line: Five hundred quid could potentially get you a nicer tone, but it won't get you a rig that's loud enough to beat out a dimed 100 watt half-stack. And unless you're playing in the right sort of clubs, venues won't put up with it anyway.

Playing back a recording, getting the cab pointed at his ears, scheduling a band meeting, etc., are all good ways to get a reasonable dialogue started.

But unless the guitarist is willing to change, this is going to end badly.
 

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