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Guitarist plays too loud

#241
inthevelvet said:
+1
The thread title that would really catch attention(but never happen) is "Guitar player not loud enough, and refuses to take solos"...lol
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I'm almost ready to post it. Shoot, we were recording a B-side for our EP the other day and LG comes up to play his part and just drops the catchiest little riff I've ever heard. We were all completely amazed. Nobody had ever heard it before. It had never been high enough in the mix for anybody to notice. Then again his cab is an Ampeg and his nicest instrument is a Fender P. His Tele is a Squier. So I guess he's used to our lot in life and is just doing what he knows with his guitar. I am constantly telling him to turn up though.

Our keyboardist's resume is also mostly as a bassist. I guess our band is a bit of a "what if bassists ruled the world" experiment. I do love that both of these guys fully grasp what not to do.
 
#242
Thankful birds said:
I also find that an amp stand works wonders to keep the volume down. A lot of guitarists can't hear their amp because it's on the ground and facing forward. Getting the amp off the ground and tilted helps it to act as a monitor. I also think it sounds better.
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This, we did in rehearsal room in a rock band I was in. We set the volume whenever any amp was on the floor. The we installed special wall racks that could be move to a height. The main yardstick was : Stand up and be playing, and the the speakers CONE should be at an direct angle into each players ear. We automtaically lowered all volume by a half. Beats me, why amps should be made like that today. Tilting a speaker on the floor upwards doesn't help either, the signal is always sent indirectly. If there's 90 degree, and your ear is the first to hit ANY volume, you be that even the most adamant guitarist will suffer and turn it down I wonder why they don't build amps like they build small PA's, you know these with a speaker stand ( a stick) on them and adjustable height. Makes sense. The you could turn it 45 degrees have two in stereo and the guitarist in between. No one else gets the blast.

Or as the keyboardplayer earlite. Let everyone have IEM and decide which blast they will have.

----

I think it's all associated to these getto blaster and boom bbox things. You walk around just ANNOYING your neighborhood and bragging how much bass you pump out. Same with car stereos. Sometimes you'll hear the thump from the car stereo before you even hear the actual car coming up. But then again, if you're a pedestrian, it's not that annoying but for more than a couple of seconds. Maybe OT, but I think it's related. Macho, juvenile thing, to just show off to OTHERS of what kind of loudness your gear can muster out.
 
#243
But hands yo your hearts gentlemen, isn't it MOSTLY in rock or even heavy rock scenarios? While we've heard of a few coutnry players playing clean, I think most guitarist wants their power amp tubes to distort and must run them at a certain level. I've never played with fusion or jazz guitarists, at least live, that plays way too loud all of the time.

On gig, such things, as smoking pot and drinking beer BEFORE the gig can absolute dim your volume judgement seriously. All instruments.
 
#244
I think it's this "in the genes heritage" that still lingers on when you're a grown up:

Take ANY below 3 year old kid. The first time he ever sees or watch any acoustic instrument (say a drumkit) in real life his eyes glows like on christmas like "what on earth is that great drumkit" and provided no one else has played it for him before, the dad sits the baby on the drum stool with him watchin and holding the body steadily behind, and watch what happens, when the dad shows how to play and holding the sticks:

The first hit will be modest and faint, but the second hit that is produced by the baby is with ALL FORCE the kid can muster, resulting in a loud bang or crash, and you immediately see the kid DROOL and have a large laugh, and smile on his face...the epitome of rock'n'roll. If someone else had played it to him when he was standing in front of the kit, he would've be scared to death and run for his mother, crying. But if he makes the noise himself...go figure, he doesn't care what anyone else thinks.

That barbarian within us all.
 
#247
Okay I also have a question that goes directly with the original. I'm in a cover band that plays a wide variety of rock and we are all new but I wouldn't say we are bad musicians. Our singer has been around for a while and he knows his stuff. Anyway, our lead guitar player is very good. He is only 18, but he has figured out basically every Van Halen song (including Eruption), and countless other difficult songs solely by ear. He insists that he can't hear himself so he always turns up way too loud. We use mikes on amps through a PA also. He has a line 6 75watt and a very nice line 6 pod. His complaint is that other people are too loud in his monitor. We always go into practice saying that we should be quieter, but we are all miserable by the end due to the volume.

Sorry for the book.

My question is does this sound like selfishness or does he have a case?
 
#250
Jake8cake said:
Okay I also have a question that goes directly with the original. I'm in a cover band that plays a wide variety of rock and we are all new but I wouldn't say we are bad musicians. Our singer has been around for a while and he knows his stuff. Anyway, our lead guitar player is very good. He is only 18, but he has figured out basically every Van Halen song (including Eruption), and countless other difficult songs solely by ear. He insists that he can't hear himself so he always turns up way too loud. We use mikes on amps through a PA also. He has a line 6 75watt and a very nice line 6 pod. His complaint is that other people are too loud in his monitor. We always go into practice saying that we should be quieter, but we are all miserable by the end due to the volume.

Sorry for the book.

My question is does this sound like selfishness or does he have a case?
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Find a safe and secure way to place his amp near his face. It works 99% of the time.
 
#253
Jake8cake said:
My question is does this sound like selfishness or does he have a case?
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A little of A and a little of B.

Used to use both PODs and Line 6 combos. They are designed to give you the sound of the RECORDED amplifier, which means a lot of the nasty little EQ spikes and harshness that allows a guitar amp to cut through live are lost in their sound. So you (me) turn up.

And up.

And up.

And then they sound like crap, because, well, Solid State.

Aim the speaker at his head. I was in a couple church bands during that period, and it was SOP for all guitar amps. Solves both problems almost instantly. You'll find he may also radically re-EQ his sound. In my case, I was actually able to play LOUDER because I had a nice sound that sat in the mix and didn't annoy the vocalists.

But if he is unwilling to aim it at his head, and he makes the rest of the band miserable, boot him. Life is too short to play with selfish jerks who can easily ruin your hearing for the rest of your life. His comfort < your hearing.
 
#254
sevenyearsdown said:
All guitar players in rock bands play too loud. : )
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Unfortunately in out band I can hardly ever hear that lead guitar! I'm constantly telling him to turn up! He has a half stack we should be basicly being drowned out by him but you can barely hear him! Might have something to do with all those pedals he is running his signal through! Or the ohms are not matched properly on the head to the cab!! Not sure though but the rhythm guitarist drowns him out with a 25watt combo!! I should also note he plays with a crappy B.C. Rich guitar not sure if that's the problem either.
 
#255
Our LG plays pretty quietly.. especially at practice, I/we can barely hear him. Super nice guy, good guitar player.. he can hear himself fine because he stands in front of his amp and doesnt want to be too loud.

I thought I was the only one with a nice polite guitar player..... you know, that allows the true core instrument of any band to make it's mark... BASS. LOL
 

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