#16
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The biggest clarity killer is bass. If your guitar sounds great when you play alone but gets lots in the band, quite often it is because you've got a lot of bass and lower mids. To cut through, you need upper mids and high-end. To start, roll your bass control way down. If you have it up, you are competing with the bass guitar, keyboards, and drum kit. Roll it down and, as others have said, concentrate on mids. See if this doesn't make you cut better.
Bob
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"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' " Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (my website) |
#17
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Yeah, I really caught that bug some time ago......was very active on a couple of amp-building forums. Currently have a 18-watt (2 x EL84s) circuit as well. Also a 4 x EL84 "Trainwreck"-style circuit, along with a Blackface (2 x 6L6), and "Dumble-inspired" 2 x 6V6 22-watter, and a single-ended 6V6. Lots of fun, but it got expensive, and once built....where the heck am I going to put all these amps?
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#18
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2. He has made many of the same good suggestions as have others in this thread. He is not sure what is going on, but he seems to feel that the sound-mix still needs a lot of tweaking on the PA side of things. I think there is something more fundamental about my tone. 3. Great idea. I will see if he is open to trying that. |
#19
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#20
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#21
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Let me also just say: THANK YOU to everyone for their helpful thoughts.
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#22
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Hi Paul, have you tried a boost pedal through the effects loop for your solos? I use the MXR Micro Amp and it gives a clean volume boost for my solos.
Aside from that, as mentioned, you need to know how the audience hears you so get a buddy to listen to see if you're cutting through. EQ will do wonders. Perhaps try adding some mids. For Solos: |
#23
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[QUOTE=Paultergeist;5808949]
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If you can't hear it, it's irrelevant how close to "the record" the tone is . A well played in the pocket cleanish solo, is going to serve the song the band and the audience, much much much more so, than a dead on tone wise --- by gosh and by golly--- solo Lots of good suggestions and to add to what Bob W said above understand besides bass tending to muddy clarity, distortion also tends to muddy and move the sound back in the mix and the sound stage Quote:
For example As per Bobs statement consider that you might want to EQ a bass roll off " first" then send that signal to the compressor So as to not be compressing (and raising) the problem low mid and bass frequencies.
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Enjoy the Journey.... Kev... KevWind at Soundcloud KevWind at YouYube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...EZxkPKyieOTgRD System : Studio system Avid Carbon interface , PT Ultimate 2023.12 -Mid 2020 iMac 27" 3.8GHz 8-core i7 10th Gen ,, Ventura 13.2.1 Mobile MBP M1 Pro , PT Ultimate 2023.12 Ventura 12.2.1 |
#24
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I think several others have given great advice. I too struggled with this issue until I learned that there are two tones for my guitar that sound good. 1- when I'm playing by myself and 2-when I'm playing in our band. When I'm by myself, I can turn up the bass, turn down the mids, turn down the treble etc and it sounds good but gets totally lost in a band mix. I use a Fender Bassman which is an ultra clean amp.
I now try to go the Jerry Garcia route only in terms of cutting through the mix. Obviously nobody can argue that Jerry's guitar didn't cut right through that huge band mix without any ear piercing volume. I now have my treble and bass set to zero. I boost my mids to about 5-6 but also play with it for each setting we're playing in and my presence knob goes from about 2-5. I use my tone knob on the guitars quite a bit to cut out any ice pick type of stuff and I not only cut through without having to turn up to ear piercing volume but my tone sounds pretty good. A little dirt and it still works, heavier distortion and sometimes I have a hard time cutting through without cranking it up too loud.
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I'm into acoustic guitars, MM & PRS, my kids, Technics decks, Titleist, Reggae music, KY Bourbon, fine rum and chrome pans from Trini. |
#25
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This is excellent advice!
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Gibson ES-335 Studio 2016; Furch OM34sr 2015; Fender MiJ Geddy Lee Jazz bass, 2009; Taylor 414CE 2005; Guild D35 NT 1976; Fender MIM Classic 60s Tele 2008; Fender US Standard Strat 1992; G&L ASAT classic hollowbody 2005; Ibanez RG350MDX 2010(?); Ibanez Musician fretless, 1980s; Seymour Duncan Tube 84-40; Vox AC4TV; Ex-pat Brit in Sweden
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#26
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Perhaps the other guitarist is burying your sound with his playing. You might want to look at the musical arrangement before getting into changing gear.
This sort of thing happens more than you might think. |
#27
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Try this experiment: borrow a Strat or a Tele, use your boost, eq, etc., pedals just like you've been doing, and see if you can hear yourself better in the mix now.
As others have said, your problem is almost certainly due to an excess of your mids and low mids which are competing with the other band members' mids and low mids in the same frequency range. Fender single-coil guitars are known for their ability to cut through a mix. They may sound comparatively thin on their own, but they stand out nicely within a band context. |
#28
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The question no one else has asked is what amp are you using. You say you've built a few yourself, but which ones? There's big differences in respective tone stacks that can make a difference in your ability to project your tone and be heard clearly. For instance, a Super Reverb sounds amazing solo but gets easily buried in a busy mix, while a tweed Bassman or Vox can really cut right through when needed.
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"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." -Zig Ziglar Acoustics 2013 Guild F30 Standard 2012 Yamaha LL16 2007 Seagull S12 1991 Yairi DY 50 Electrics Epiphone Les Paul Standard Fender Am. Standard Telecaster Gibson ES-335 Gibson Firebird |
#29
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#30
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I have also, however, used the Trainwreck-modeled circuit (4 x EL84s) to try something different which I thought was most-different from the Champ circuit. (Also once played the 2 x 6V6 "Dumble-esc" circuit, but that seemed too gain-y). Let me say "Thanks" once again to everyone for their helpful replies. |