OK here is the scenario. My buddy's sound is awesome he has been playing for over 20 years and he sounds great. We both have the same amp and I just don't know what he does sound so much better. Do you think I need to change my string out? His tone is just much brighter and clear on everything heavy distortion and clean everything. Any ideas?
e-sand how long have you been playing? and Do yall have the same guitars?
"Failure is the key to success" Lee Wen; Champ vs Champ
e-sand how long have you been playing? and Do yall have the same guitars?
I've been playing for about 10 mos. Different guitars and different fx boards.
There are an awful lot of factors, that contribute to a sound. It starts with the player's fingers, pick, strings, tuning, pickups, playing style, guitar cable, effects, amplifier, speakers and, last but not least, technique (including his confidence in his playing).
If any one of those is different to your pal's, you'll not get the same sound as him. Don't despair, though, because on the way to finding his sound, you may just well discover your own.
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A lot of the sound is in the fingers but you shouldn't rule out equipment.
Have you tried your guitar in his amp?
Has he tried your guitar in his amp?
Has he tried your guitar in your amp?
Has he tried his guitar in your amp?
If you haven't tried these above things do so and see what happens.
If you are asking about changing the strings then you should probably be changing the strings. How long have they been on your guitar and how much have they been played? Typically if you play alot then they should be changed every couple of weeks or when they start to sound flat.
Oh yeah. welcome to GN and enjoy your stay.
Good points! I bought used. I guess I need to change my strings. Both guitars that I have are good. I have an ibanez with duncan seymore (sp?) humbucks and a custom tele by fender with the same humbucks. I think I will try the strings. What size would you recommend for good tone?
A lot of the sound is in the fingers but you shouldn't rule out equipment.
Have you tried your guitar in his amp?
Has he tried your guitar in his amp?
Has he tried your guitar in your amp?
Has he tried his guitar in your amp?
If you haven't tried these above things do so and see what happens.
If you are asking about changing the strings then you should probably be changing the strings. How long have they been on your guitar and how much have they been played? Typically if you play alot then they should be changed every couple of weeks or when they start to sound flat.
Oh yeah. welcome to GN and enjoy your stay.
Thanks. BTW I'm in a cover band. Well I was recently asked to join the band about a month ago and I'm just trying to keep up with these guys. I play rhythm.
All you can do is experiment with the strings to get the sound and feel you want.
Typical electrics have either 9's or 10's on them from the factory. Personally I like the fatter tone of the 10's but the 9's would be softer and easier to fret and will sound good also.
The key though is to figure out what is on them now and replace them with the same then experiment after that. I suggest that because if you change the size now you may need to do a setup on the guitar since it will change the neck tension.
All you can do is experiment with the strings to get the sound and feel you want.
Typical electrics have either 9's or 10's on them from the factory. Personally I like the fatter tone of the 10's but the 9's would be softer and easier to fret and will sound good also.
The key though is to figure out what is on them now and replace them with the same then experiment after that. I suggest that because if you change the size now you may need to do a setup on the guitar since it will change the neck tension.
i use 10. i tried 9 for a while, LOVED the tone, butjust not practical for me...i broke a string EVERY band practice.... they wre DR's
I love GHS boomer b52 strings, and The super slinkies.
RIP Dimebag
Everything makes a difference, but my guess is that he has spent some real time tweaking his effects board. Most of these multi-effects pedals are set at the factory to sound pretty good with most all amps.
Perhaps your buddy can help you sit down with your FX board and tweak it. There are all sorts of things you can do. You can search for particular distortions that sound good to your ear. Then, you can experiment with the amount of gain, and the EQ settings for that preset. The same with modulation effects like chorus, or phase, and time based effects like delay.
I find most FX boards are set to sound great through headphones or a small practice amp, but sound horrible at gig volumes. Lots of times you have to bring the gain way down on the distortions. Many times effects like chorus, phase, flange or tremelo have way too much depth. You pretty much have to bring everything down.
Also experiment with the tone settings on your amp. Take a look at your buddy's settings, that is a place to start.
Different strings will give you a different sound. Try each pickup and various tone settings on your guitar.
When you find a tone you like, make sure to write it down somewhere so you can go back to it. Then just work on another tone. It takes lots of time. I spent months tweaking my multi-effects pedal before I finally got the tones I really liked.
Start with one good clean tone preset and one good distortion. Go from there.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Changed my strings 10's. It definately sounds better to me. Also worked on some of my patches and they definately sound better. In the past my distortion patches have been really low bassy and muffled but the one I have now seems to be much clearer. I'm gonna keep working on it. Still trying to find the right sound for me...
Thanks for all the help and suggestions.
I don't usually recommend going to larger guage with long scale guitars like Tele's, at least above 10's, because of problems I've had with tendonitis. If you're just playing rhythm, though, and not doing a lot of bends, larger strings can help because they are stiffer and tend to fret more cleanly without the best technique. Flats and nickel strings can also help because they aren't as spikey sounding and have a nice smooth midrange.
