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Getting quality sound on the cheap

DoubleCoronaDoubleCorona Posts: 65
edited February 2012 in Musicians and Gearheads
I have started playing guitar with a couple other guys. We have a smallish room with concrete walls to play in. We are all playing on fairly cheap equipment. Volume doesn't seem to be the issue, but tone clarity does. If I'm not playing too loudly by myself, I can hear chord transitions well, but when I have to crank up the volume to match the bass and vocals, that clarity goes away.
What can I do to not make the guitar sound like one continuous, non-changing mess of distortion?

Thanks
2012: Missoula MT, Orlando FL (Eddie Vedder), Jacksonville FL (Eddie Vedder), Montreal QC (RNDM)
2013: Seattle WA (RNDM), Portland OR, Spokane WA, Seattle WA
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Comments

  • RedMosquito22RedMosquito22 Posts: 8,158
    Turn the bass and vocals down.
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  • DewieCoxDewieCox Posts: 11,425
    What kinda gear you running? Maybe somebody has the same stuff and can give you better pointers from experience.


    The first thing I would do...back of the gain. 9x outta 10 people use too much for their desired application, especially when messing with covers.

    tweak the eq...I find that mids can muddy up my sound. I generally dial in the highs and lows to where I like them, then put the mids about as high as they can while maintaining the clarity I prefer.

    If you get to playing and you're not cutting through the way you like don't be afraid to tweak on the fly. You might not like the tone you get when you're playing alone, but it could be awesome when in a band situation.
  • RedMosquito22RedMosquito22 Posts: 8,158
    Well for starters make sure everyone's levels are equal before you start jamming. If it's just that your amp starts sounding like crap the louder you play I would definitely turn the gain down on your pedal/amp.

    Concrete basements aren't the ideal place. Try hanging some blankets or extra carpet in places to help absorb some of the "bad noise"
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  • All Those YesterdaysAll Those Yesterdays Posts: 2,723
    Hopefully the guitar player are not running through 15" speakers, and like to have a lot of low end in their tone. Back in the solid state bass amp days, that was my situation, and I was pretty much just playing whatever, becuase I couldn't hear myself over the guitar player. The Peavey TKO 115 (all 80 solid state watts worth) couldn't hang with the Classic 50 thru the Classic 1x15 cabinet. Ah the good old days...
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