How to Totally Tank Your Guitar Sound!

[GuardiansGuitar]

Five Guitar-Tone Goofs to Avoid

[Originally written for Electronic Musician, 2011]

 

Today, there may be a zillion signal-processing options available to the average guitarist. Ya got your modeling software, boutique and mass-production pedals, studio processors, plug-ins, and myriad multi-effects devicesâmost of which are totally affordable and designed for all skill levels and stylistic forays. But having ultimate power doesn''t mean you have to wield it like Thor''s hammer. In fact, employing processing without forethought may actually tank your guitar tone. Here are five 'oops-inducing' sounds that you might wish to avoid.

 

SATURATION = MUSCLE

Massive applications of distortion can actually neuter a guitar sound by obscuring attack, impact, and punch. Not much machismo in fizziness, bucko! In actual fact, some of the boldest guitar tones in rock aren''t as overdriven as one might think. Check out 'Highway to Hell' by AC/DC, 'Smoke on the Water' by Deep Purple, or 'Good Times, Bad Times' by Led Zeppelin. These tunes fire off some mammoth aural wallops, but the guitars driving the grooves and energy are relatively tame from a distortion/saturation standpoint. In many cases, heaviness is a matter of dialing in guitar sounds that allow the other instruments to rage. If you slaughter the frequency spectrum with buzzy waves of searing midrange distortion, the attack of the bass, snare, and other rhythm-oriented elements may be diminished, and effectively kneecap the sonic power of your track.

 

REVERB MAKES IT BIGGER

While reverb can absolutely place a guitar sound in a huge ambient environment, too much of a good thing can wash out your track, blurring rhythmic attacks with cascading reflections and devouring a significant chunk of frequency range. Phil Spector''s classic 'Wall of Sound' productions actually took a fair bit of genius and lots of experimentation and tweaking to deliver a rollicking ambient roar with impact and clarity. Phil didn''t just crank up a cathedral reverb program to 100-percent wet and call it a day. This is definitely one of those instances where comparing your reverb-drenched guitar tracks to the guitars on a song you dig can save much embarrassment, as those guitars will likely prove to be much drier than you imagined.

 

LAYERS ARE LOVELY

Tone addicts often believe that if one guitar track is great, then doubling, tripling, or quadrupling that track will deliver tonal bliss. Well, watch those overdubs, because adding too many layers and textures to a guitar part can also weaken attack and diminish impact. A simple rule is: If you absolutely love the sound of a single guitar track, keep it lonely. Once you start piling on overdubs, you will alter the guitar''s sonic DNA, and risk destroying all that you adored about the solitary track.

 

MODULATION RULES

It''s no secret that chorus, phasing, and flanging are fabulous spices that add interest and vibe to guitar sounds. But too much goop can send listeners into an annoying carousel of swirling candy-cane sweetness that may pull their attention away from the song and the guitar part. Try blending in just a touch of modulation first, and then see how the processed guitar fits in with the stereo mix. Use only what you really need, and you''ll cook up something tasty.

 

DRY IS BORING

A great dry guitar sound that turns heads is a thing of beauty. Listen to raw guitar tracks by Rory Gallagher or any number of artists, and be astounded by the feral majesty of in-yer-face tone, attack, dynamics, and phrasing. Remember, kids, there''s a ton of vibe in your fingers if you choose to unleash it.

[KuruPrionz]

A little goes a long way.

The same is true with notes. It is easy to play a lot of notes.

There is a place for that.

It seems to be more difficult somehow to just play a few notes.

There is a place for that too.

 

Brief comments on each topic follow.

 

Saturation. However you control your volume (I use my pick, others may use their volume control), it can really make the music sound alive if you can push a note and it leaps out at you. If you lose your dynamic range, you've lost one of the most important elements of expression. I like enough saturation to get my notes to sing and growl on command. More than that and I adjust to lower the gain. Too much gain cancels the differences between guitars and amplifiers and they all sound more or less the same. Same is boring, don't be boring.

 

Reverb makes it bigger. Reverb increases the sense of distance but you are HERE. I like a bit of reverb, just turn it on and leave it low. Then it gives a sense of space without putting me "far away".

 

Layers are lovely. Long ago, a friend told me - "Whatever I play, don't play that." This is good advice to follow. That said, one of my standard recording techniques is to copy and paste several instances of the keeper track, put effects on those and use automation to bring these effected duplicate parts weaving through the mix. Because they are the same track, you don't tend to get attack blurring. A tiny bit of detuning down about 17 cents and panned left and another track detuned up about 13 or 19 cents and panned right can make a guitar sound interesting, as long as it doesn't stick around too long.

 

Modulation rules. There is a place for modulation, I am fond of the rotary speaker simulation in my Peavey Transtube EFX 258 for certain parts of songs. On the other hand, I don't care for the chorus on my Roland Cube 40 much, it sounds sort of nasally and flangy. I've always loved the sound of a clean tone from one speaker alongside a modulated tone on the other, that sounds nice and 3d. I don't leave it on, it is more like hot sauce or another spice.

 

Dry is boring. Listen to Doc Watson and other great acoustic guitarists. Dry is an effect, some use it very well. As with the others above, a little goes a long way. I've seen Richard Smith 3 times and it always sounds great.

 

Cheers and Happy Holidays to All!!! Kuru