Friday, April 15, 2011
Tone Tip Part 4-GET A JOB
All this experimenting with pedals, amp, and other gear will obviously cost money. While expensive gear is not everything, you do want to use stuff that is reliable and won't fall apart. Therefore, you need a way to get the money for the stuff you do need. So go get a good job so you don't have to keep bugging your parents for cash.
Tone Tips Part 3-Micing your amp
Micing your amp is something that we all overlook. We spend countless hours and money finding our sound, so you want to make sure that it is authentically reproduced when you mic your amp. The go-to mic for most is the Shure SM57. It's fairly inexpensive as far as mics go and will always sound great. At the Journey Campus, we use Sennheiser E609's to mic our amps. They are around the same price as the 57 and are designed for guitar amps. Whatever you use, placement is key. If you put the mic in the center of the speaker, you'll get a very high-end, bright sound through the system. As you move to the outer edge of the speaker, you gain bass and lose treble. Most people will place the mic somewhere in the middle, right up against the grillcloth. You can also angle the mic, placing it towards the outer edge and aiming it to the middle. As with anything, just experment. Maybe stand out in front of the main house speakers and have someone move the mic around for you. Whatever you decide, mark it with tape on your grillcloth so you'll always know where to place the mic. Never just sit your mic in front of the amp. Even if you don't necessarily care about tone, that leaves the sound guy having to totally re-adjust your EQ in the house every week. You can also experiment with using a second mic farther away from the amp. This provides a sense of room ambience for your sound, better reproducing what your ears hear. Or, if you have an open-back amp, placing a mic in the back of the amp can get some cool tones too.
-Lance
-Lance
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Tone Tips Part 2-Your Chain
The next step in finding your tone is a bit more obvious. It's the chain of guitar to pedalboard to amp. First off, do yourself a favor and play as many guitars as possible when buying a new one. And contrary to popular belief, brand and price are not everything. I've played many Mexican Fenders that sounded just as good as any American Fender. I've also played a few Squiers that seemed to be just as good as the average Mexican Fender. But consider things like wood (neck and body) and pickups. Maple fretboards produce a brighter sound than Rosewood. You wouldn't play death metal on a strat and wouldn't play blues on an Schecter with EMG pickups.
Next is your effects. This is something that is entirely based upon your opinion. Do you want pedals or multieffect pedals? Do you want your stuff on the floor or rackmount gear? The biggest thing is to consider budget. Individual pedals are great but can get really expensive really fast. Multieffect processors are cheaper and more convenient but can be limiting as far as sound possibilities. Rackmount gear (ex: TC Electronix G Force) can be extremely virsitile but fairly expensive and a pain to lug around. Again just experiment at your local music store. Do be cautious though, as you add pedals. For every pedal and inch of cable you add, you will begin to lose tone. This is because the best tone from your guitar is when it's plugged straight into your amp. Anything that comes in between (even true bypass pedals) will dilute tone. You will also want to make sure you have your pedals in the right order. Placing them out of order can make things sounds really weird. Generally, but not always, you'll want to go noise suppressor-tuner-wah-pitch shifting-boost-overdrive/distortion-delay-modulation-reverb. Volume pedals can really go anywhere, but most place them either first or right after your gain pedals. First can allow you to clean up your sound while keeping your OD pedal on because it will lower the signal going to the pedal. Putting it after your OD can allow you to lower your volume without losing gain, and allow for swells while maintaining your gain level. You want the noise suppressor (if you use one) very first so that you're only eliminating noise from the guitar. Some put it at the very end but, that can really suck a lot of tone. To me, a little hum is fine if it means my true tone still comes through. Beware for the sound guy to disagree.
Now when it comes to amps, you have enough options to make your head spin. The most common mistake that we all make in the beginning is getting the biggest, loudest amp we can get. Consider your situation. If you're playing in a small church, a Marshall stack is probably going to be overkill. However, if you're playing in a lot of different venues, you may want something with a bit more wattage. Just consider that you can always mic your amp. Personally, I prefer smaller tube amps because they will break up, giving more natural overdrive, at lower volumes. Also, make sure you use your amp to sculpt your EQ. Too many guitarists use their pedals to shape their sound, so when they go to a straight clean sound, it's fairly bland and weak (think Mark Tremonti--no offense to Alter Bridge and Creed fans). When looking between tube, solid state, modeling, and hybrid amps, just consider your budget and find the one that best fits you. (article discussing the differences to come later)
Other things to consider are things like cables and power supply. You see some people now that are playing $50 Monster cables and wiring their boards with George L or Lava cables. While these do give you a very nice tone, they get very expensive. However, don't go super cheap. Cables are the "veins" of your setup. Cheap cables will suck tone and break easily. Also, powering your pedals can effect things. A poor power supply can cause irritating hum. Batteries are great but then you're constantly changing them. The Visual Sound 1 Spot is very popular and cheap. You can power your whole board for about $30. However, I've heard some people say that it did not provide enough power. Most people seem to be very happy with the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power. These are great but a bit pricey. Personally, I use medium price range cables and a 1 Spot on my board and am satisfied with my tone. I've never had any issues with hum and major tone degradation. While better stuff would probably help, it's not worth the money to me since I'm already happy with my sound.
Lastly, look to your heroes. What are they playing? If you want to sound like Lincoln Brewster, don't buy a Les Paul. If you want to sound like Slash, a Tele into a Vox amp probably isn't the way to go. While you don't want to sound exactly like other players, you can take into account what they do to help influence your overall sound.
-Lance
Next is your effects. This is something that is entirely based upon your opinion. Do you want pedals or multieffect pedals? Do you want your stuff on the floor or rackmount gear? The biggest thing is to consider budget. Individual pedals are great but can get really expensive really fast. Multieffect processors are cheaper and more convenient but can be limiting as far as sound possibilities. Rackmount gear (ex: TC Electronix G Force) can be extremely virsitile but fairly expensive and a pain to lug around. Again just experiment at your local music store. Do be cautious though, as you add pedals. For every pedal and inch of cable you add, you will begin to lose tone. This is because the best tone from your guitar is when it's plugged straight into your amp. Anything that comes in between (even true bypass pedals) will dilute tone. You will also want to make sure you have your pedals in the right order. Placing them out of order can make things sounds really weird. Generally, but not always, you'll want to go noise suppressor-tuner-wah-pitch shifting-boost-overdrive/distortion-delay-modulation-reverb. Volume pedals can really go anywhere, but most place them either first or right after your gain pedals. First can allow you to clean up your sound while keeping your OD pedal on because it will lower the signal going to the pedal. Putting it after your OD can allow you to lower your volume without losing gain, and allow for swells while maintaining your gain level. You want the noise suppressor (if you use one) very first so that you're only eliminating noise from the guitar. Some put it at the very end but, that can really suck a lot of tone. To me, a little hum is fine if it means my true tone still comes through. Beware for the sound guy to disagree.
Now when it comes to amps, you have enough options to make your head spin. The most common mistake that we all make in the beginning is getting the biggest, loudest amp we can get. Consider your situation. If you're playing in a small church, a Marshall stack is probably going to be overkill. However, if you're playing in a lot of different venues, you may want something with a bit more wattage. Just consider that you can always mic your amp. Personally, I prefer smaller tube amps because they will break up, giving more natural overdrive, at lower volumes. Also, make sure you use your amp to sculpt your EQ. Too many guitarists use their pedals to shape their sound, so when they go to a straight clean sound, it's fairly bland and weak (think Mark Tremonti--no offense to Alter Bridge and Creed fans). When looking between tube, solid state, modeling, and hybrid amps, just consider your budget and find the one that best fits you. (article discussing the differences to come later)
Other things to consider are things like cables and power supply. You see some people now that are playing $50 Monster cables and wiring their boards with George L or Lava cables. While these do give you a very nice tone, they get very expensive. However, don't go super cheap. Cables are the "veins" of your setup. Cheap cables will suck tone and break easily. Also, powering your pedals can effect things. A poor power supply can cause irritating hum. Batteries are great but then you're constantly changing them. The Visual Sound 1 Spot is very popular and cheap. You can power your whole board for about $30. However, I've heard some people say that it did not provide enough power. Most people seem to be very happy with the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power. These are great but a bit pricey. Personally, I use medium price range cables and a 1 Spot on my board and am satisfied with my tone. I've never had any issues with hum and major tone degradation. While better stuff would probably help, it's not worth the money to me since I'm already happy with my sound.
Lastly, look to your heroes. What are they playing? If you want to sound like Lincoln Brewster, don't buy a Les Paul. If you want to sound like Slash, a Tele into a Vox amp probably isn't the way to go. While you don't want to sound exactly like other players, you can take into account what they do to help influence your overall sound.
-Lance
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Tone Tips Part 1-Before You Plug In
Many guitarists will often hammer out exercises in an attempt to play faster and longer than the next guy. Or they go the Miles Davis route and try to make a handful of notes say a lot more. Both of which are great skills to have. Playing fast can certainly evoke different emotions and sometimes a simple melody can bring people to tears. However, one very overlooked thing amongst many guitarist is their tone. But where does tone come from? Well... everything. Every aspect of your playing goes into tone.
Initially, tone begins in your head. Not to sound all "zen" but it's true. In your head, you have to be thinking of the sound you want to produce. Do you want warm? bright? twang? From there, everything else will flow. Then is your hands. Things like how you depress the strings, where your right hand is, and where in the fret you place your finger can all make a huge difference in your sound.
Next is your pick; something that far too often gets overlooked. However, I know many guitarists who are constantly trying new picks. Most of the time, the differences truly are just in our heads. But, every once in a while you stumble across one that truly makes a difference. For example, a pick made from ultex produces a really warm sound as compared to a nylon or celluloid pick. Also, thickness; a Jazz III will produce a much warmer tone than a Jim Dunlop Nylon (the grey ones). Basically, thicker pick-thicker sound. Thinner pick-thinner sound. Find the balance between sound and playability. Also, how you hold the pick affects a lot. A pick held parallel to the strings will create a harsher pick attack as opposed to angling the pick at a 45 degree angle against the string.
Also, consider your string gauge. 9-gauge strings are the industry standard. They are light and comfortable but not too flimsy. However, as string gauge increase, so does tone. Like picks, thicker string-thicker sound. Thinner strings-thinner sound. Example: Joe Satriani uses 9's as do most "shredders" who stay in standard tuning (whole other topic). John Mayer uses 11's (and has killer sound). Stevie Ray Vaughan used 13's and had one of the best tones ever IMO. Of course, he also tore his fingers to shreds on a nightly basis. Just find the balance of playability and sound. 13's may sound great but if you can't play them then go smaller. Also match your pick with the strings. I've found that thick picks do not go well with thin strings. There seems to be too much "tug" on the string. Likewise, thin picks often dont' evoke the full richness of a thick string. Just experiment. Strings are cheap. Certain gauges sound great on a Tele but too muddy on a Les Paul. Find YOUR preference.
My big thing for tone is to first make sure you love the sound you get when your guitar is unplugged. People may not always pay attention to the sound of an electric guitar unplugged but, think about it; an amp is simply making the sound of your guitar louder. If your guitar sounds bad unplugged, it will still sound bad when amplified. I, for example, bought my Telecaster because before I ever plugged it in, I loved the sound of that guitar. Remember, we play guitar. We don't play pedals.
All these things are what goes into making your sound recognizable to you. Pedals and amps simply follow and will be discussed in the next part which is later to come. Til then, hope my rambling helps!
-Lance
Initially, tone begins in your head. Not to sound all "zen" but it's true. In your head, you have to be thinking of the sound you want to produce. Do you want warm? bright? twang? From there, everything else will flow. Then is your hands. Things like how you depress the strings, where your right hand is, and where in the fret you place your finger can all make a huge difference in your sound.
Next is your pick; something that far too often gets overlooked. However, I know many guitarists who are constantly trying new picks. Most of the time, the differences truly are just in our heads. But, every once in a while you stumble across one that truly makes a difference. For example, a pick made from ultex produces a really warm sound as compared to a nylon or celluloid pick. Also, thickness; a Jazz III will produce a much warmer tone than a Jim Dunlop Nylon (the grey ones). Basically, thicker pick-thicker sound. Thinner pick-thinner sound. Find the balance between sound and playability. Also, how you hold the pick affects a lot. A pick held parallel to the strings will create a harsher pick attack as opposed to angling the pick at a 45 degree angle against the string.
Also, consider your string gauge. 9-gauge strings are the industry standard. They are light and comfortable but not too flimsy. However, as string gauge increase, so does tone. Like picks, thicker string-thicker sound. Thinner strings-thinner sound. Example: Joe Satriani uses 9's as do most "shredders" who stay in standard tuning (whole other topic). John Mayer uses 11's (and has killer sound). Stevie Ray Vaughan used 13's and had one of the best tones ever IMO. Of course, he also tore his fingers to shreds on a nightly basis. Just find the balance of playability and sound. 13's may sound great but if you can't play them then go smaller. Also match your pick with the strings. I've found that thick picks do not go well with thin strings. There seems to be too much "tug" on the string. Likewise, thin picks often dont' evoke the full richness of a thick string. Just experiment. Strings are cheap. Certain gauges sound great on a Tele but too muddy on a Les Paul. Find YOUR preference.
My big thing for tone is to first make sure you love the sound you get when your guitar is unplugged. People may not always pay attention to the sound of an electric guitar unplugged but, think about it; an amp is simply making the sound of your guitar louder. If your guitar sounds bad unplugged, it will still sound bad when amplified. I, for example, bought my Telecaster because before I ever plugged it in, I loved the sound of that guitar. Remember, we play guitar. We don't play pedals.
All these things are what goes into making your sound recognizable to you. Pedals and amps simply follow and will be discussed in the next part which is later to come. Til then, hope my rambling helps!
-Lance
Monday, April 11, 2011
What does it mean to play vertically?
Playing vertically means that with the every note we play, we give all glory and honor to God.
If you're here, more than likely you are (1) a guitarist and (2) playing in a church or religious organization. Praise and worship, as a genre, is honestly a fairly new one. As it gains popularity, we, as guitarists, are often trying to catch up with the music as it progresses. We're often told to make that cool sound off the new Hillsong CD, (you know, the one that goes duga duga duga duga) or to play more "Edge-like" (U2 reference-be warned there will be several). We then go searching eBay and Craigslist for a DD20 and a Fulldrive 2. And with our good friend YouTube, we can now quickly see what new pedal the Droff has or how Daniel Carson gets that killer tone that fills an arena with just a B string and a capo.
However, I'll be the first to admit, it's very easy to begin focusing more on the guitar and the notes, than on the reason we are playing. As worship guitarists, we have the amazing privelage of using our craft and our art to lead others in worship of our creator! How awesome is that? Think of how God took that kid learning "Smoke On the Water" in his bedroom and led you down the paths to eventually be able to give that talent back to Him.
This blog is not designed to be another TAB website. Check ultimate-guitar.com for that (cause you know we all do). This blog is intended to be a community. Bringing together musicians to share our stories of what God has done.
Are we going to talk music? Yes. Are we going to discuss pedals? Absolutely! But overall, the goal is to be there to help others along each of our individual journeys, whether that be amp discussions or passages of scripture. I hope you check back frequently as posts begins and remember, may all glory and honor be His.
-Lance
If you're here, more than likely you are (1) a guitarist and (2) playing in a church or religious organization. Praise and worship, as a genre, is honestly a fairly new one. As it gains popularity, we, as guitarists, are often trying to catch up with the music as it progresses. We're often told to make that cool sound off the new Hillsong CD, (you know, the one that goes duga duga duga duga) or to play more "Edge-like" (U2 reference-be warned there will be several). We then go searching eBay and Craigslist for a DD20 and a Fulldrive 2. And with our good friend YouTube, we can now quickly see what new pedal the Droff has or how Daniel Carson gets that killer tone that fills an arena with just a B string and a capo.
However, I'll be the first to admit, it's very easy to begin focusing more on the guitar and the notes, than on the reason we are playing. As worship guitarists, we have the amazing privelage of using our craft and our art to lead others in worship of our creator! How awesome is that? Think of how God took that kid learning "Smoke On the Water" in his bedroom and led you down the paths to eventually be able to give that talent back to Him.
This blog is not designed to be another TAB website. Check ultimate-guitar.com for that (cause you know we all do). This blog is intended to be a community. Bringing together musicians to share our stories of what God has done.
Are we going to talk music? Yes. Are we going to discuss pedals? Absolutely! But overall, the goal is to be there to help others along each of our individual journeys, whether that be amp discussions or passages of scripture. I hope you check back frequently as posts begins and remember, may all glory and honor be His.
-Lance
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