• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Playing with one vs two guitar players?

6stringvince

6stringvince

Guest
Apr 29, 2012
269
13
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
#1
I'm in a "jam band" which has two guitar players, we play mostly jazz/rock fusion, I would say our sound is a tad on the hard side, I also find myself in charge of recording, mixing and mastering. I love what we're doing but lately I'm finding myself frustrated at mixing two guitars, things can get muddy pretty quickly, and I'm increasingly finding myself wishing we had one less guitar. Am I alone in these thoughts, or do some of you share the similar experiences? Can two guitars work or is it time to "restructure"?
Thanks for any opinions
 
#2
Depends on what they're playing and how they're playing it. Are they playing chords at the same time, or is one lead one rhythm, or both lead or what?

It can definitely be done, in some of my projects with a friend we've had 5 guitar parts at once (obviously all recorded separately) but we made it work.
 
#3
Are they using similar guitars/tones? I find that it really helps to have one guitar player rocking some sort of single coil while the other is doing the humbucking thing. Finding space for everyone is the main thing. Who's playing the melody? Who's creating the mood? These are the questions that will help create a bit more space.
 
#5
I'm just in a cover band but we only have one guitar part and it constantly sounds like we do not have a "full" sound. When the guitarist goes into a solo the soun just seems to drop. I try to play over this a bit and make up for it but I would always have two guitarists if I was going for the best sound but it really comes down to what works for you and what you can get away with. We played a late night random stop set as a three piece and it went over well. Less can be more.
 
#8
If faced w/ a 2 gtr sitch, I won't break out the fretless, they're rarely in tune with each other.
Different tones, different gtrs always help to differentiate the sound.
2 dudes thrashing away on the same chords & rhythm is pointless.


When I'm playing gtr, I prefer having someone else on one as well.
I play in mostly dropD, so the sound and positioning is different.
 
#13
6stringvince said:
I'm in a "jam band" which has two guitar players, we play mostly jazz/rock fusion, I would say our sound is a tad on the hard side, I also find myself in charge of recording, mixing and mastering. I love what we're doing but lately I'm finding myself frustrated at mixing two guitars, things can get muddy pretty quickly, and I'm increasingly finding myself wishing we had one less guitar. Am I alone in these thoughts, or do some of you share the similar experiences? Can two guitars work or is it time to "restructure"?
Thanks for any opinions
Click to expand...

Two guitars can work, if they don't sound too similar, and if they are not playing progressions that are too similar.

I play guitar in a two-guitar band. We both have great gear and great tone, but we're not twins. We have distinctly different tones.

We also arrange our parts so that we are only rarely in unison. We usually carefully pick different voicings or parts.

Two competent guitarists, both with good but distinctly different tones, arranged so they are not being musically redundant, panned slightly left/right, is the ticket to a better, easier mix.
 
#14
You can also only partially pan the guitars, one a bit left and one a bit right, rather than hard-panning them entirely to either side.

My main recommendation would be to differentiate the guitar tones as much as possible. Encourage them to experiment with EQ settings, distortion types/levels, etc., so that each gets into his own sonic space. People like to feel unique, so you can try to play on sonic characteristics that they each have and convince them to gravitate even more in those directions (for example, one of my guitarists has a distinctive, piercing, all-highs-and-mids tone with less gain, whereas the other is a grungier, higher gain, more mids and lows rhythm tone).

You can do some of this yourself on the production side, but you'll get a better end result if they participate at the source. I play in a very heavy rock/metal band, but we get nice mixes live and on record because the guitars take care to differentiate their tones.
 
#15
nojj said:
If faced w/ a 2 gtr sitch, I won't break out the fretless, they're rarely in tune with each other.
Click to expand...

I was playing fretless in a band with two guitars. We sounded quite good.

Different tones, different gtrs always help to differentiate the sound.
2 dudes thrashing away on the same chords & rhythm is pointless.
Click to expand...

+1 If youve got two gtrs there should be some difference in tone between the two and they shouldnt be playing the same parts together, IMO.

electracoyote said:
We have distinctly different tones.

We also arrange our parts so that we are only rarely in unison. We usually carefully pick different voicings or parts.

Two competent guitarists, both with good but distinctly different tones, arranged so they are not being musically redundant, panned slightly left/right, is the ticket to a better, easier mix.
Click to expand...

+1
 
#16
I love playing in 2-guitar bands, as long as the guitar players know how to do it right. As several others have noted, they have to find ways to distinguish themselves from one another. This can be done based on tone, rhythm, effects, or any combination.

For bands with "classic" lead & rhythm guitars: The "lead" player needs to understand that, when he's not soloing, he needs to play something complimentary to the rest of the band. He shouldn't just hammer the same power chords as the "rhythm" player, he should be adding fills & textures. Also, it's important to adjust the volume down when not soloing, especially if he's mirroring the rhythm player.
 
#18
A band with two guitar players depends very much on taste and arrangements in order for both parts to work well in the context of the band. And that's really with ANY act. If you watch something like The Beatles film "Let It Be", or the movie about the Funk Brothers, "Standing In The Shadows Of Motown", you notice that the guitar parts are very distinctive. That starts with musicianship and arranging.

In the case of the Funk Brothers, very often there could be THREE guitar players on a recording date. But the parts are distinctive, and that's due in large part because of the arrangements. One guitar would play a melody/solo, another would play chords/arpeggios, and another was playing a rhythmic "chop". It worked really well because of that understood arrangement/role playing.

Differing tones come into play, too. And different instruments can help as well. But even in some bands where a couple of guitarists may play a very similar instrument, sometimes playing style and personal tone choices will make all the difference that's needed.

As for recording it all? Hard panning one guitar left, and the other to the right can really help differentiate things, too.
 
#19
Joe Louvar said:
Hmm, yeah two guitars can work (unless they just totally suck) - you just need more mixing experience.
Click to expand...

Yup. That muddying up comes from improper citting of frequencies. Its nwver about boosting volume but instead about finding a frequency range for each instrument that doesn't clash with the other. There's more of course but this is the root.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back