Finding good tone for rythm playing
casper leblanc
Posts: 1,246
seems to be even harder than finding a good tone for lead. Or is it just me? I don't have any effect pedals, but my new amp is very versatile. I've tried a load of different settings and they all sound good, but there's always something bothering me.
What is a good rythm tone to you guys? What settings? Strictly clean? Some small distortion? Crunchy? Neck or bridge pup? Are they're any pedals out there designed especially for rythm playing? Or is it just me?
What is a good rythm tone to you guys? What settings? Strictly clean? Some small distortion? Crunchy? Neck or bridge pup? Are they're any pedals out there designed especially for rythm playing? Or is it just me?
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Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
Teles are great for rhythm... a little bit of sparkle with a tele is a great rhythm tone.
I like just a bit of overdrive...
It does really depend on the song though.
That's basically what I'm doing. I can pull up the gain, but also have a button for 'middle boost', this gives it a heavier boost.
Problem is finding a balance between middle, treble and bass, especially at low volumes in my room, since they all influence my volume. I don't want things to sound to sharp or too heavy. Volume probably is a key player in this, right?
Rythm guitar is highly understimated in my opinion...
Yet I think the tone for rhythm playing comes from your plectrum and picking attack, ultimately, and the way you dampen or pump chords with your fretting hand.
I like just a touch of compression, SLIGHT overdrive, and maybe just a little delay/echo to fill it out.
For rhythm, less is definately more.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
It's a combination of tone, timing, string size,and how hard you attack and how many notes you play in a chord. Most rhythm players play too many notes in a chord and it gets all muddied up. Fewer notes will give you better control over your harmonics, too.
And remember that spaces in between the notes you play are just as important as the notes.
I always like to find the sweet spot where the tubes are driving when you're picking hard, but if you back off a bit of the guitar volume or pick lighter, it's clean. Once you find your bedroom setting, write it down. you kind of get used to changing volumes and tone knobs after a while. I don't use many or any effects for the most part. You would be amazed what sounds you can wrestle out of a guitar and a tube amp and your hands
It's even tougher to play rhythm in a band in a big venue at high volume, because you have to keep your head together to not play too hard or too much.
You really need to pay attention to what's going on onstage, especially locking in with the bass player and drummer, while paying attention to your tone in the monitors while your lead is coming up while you're playing a fast backbeat, and your heart is beating and air fans are blowing the pot smoke from the audience at you and making you woozy, and you didn't sleep at all on the bus the night before!
Thats why I love rock and roll!:D
Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
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Oh yeah, I don't have tubes. I just bought me a Fender Deluxe 85, which is a pretty cool transistor amp. Still getting used to it, hence my tone question.
I think I'm pretty much there though, the only knob that is still killing me is the Treble. Can't find a good position for that. Don't want to sound like I'm locked in the basement (especially combined with low bass and heavy middle - otherwise my low string are numb) but don't want to get a sound that's too sharp. Tough one. Again, no effects here.
Feel free to post your tone setting ( mine for now is bass 3 - middle 8 - treble 7 and volume on 1), I might stumble on to something good.
I'm playing through a Marshall combo with either my PRS or my Gibson...and I love the sounds I can get....their pretty beefy. As far as effects go...I don't really mess with them since I am singing all the time and playing straight rhythm. I guess what I'm saying is......simplicity is sometimes best....for me anyways.
this is what i do...
gibson sg, 62 reissue strat
boss chromatic tuner
gcb 595 q wah
boss cs 2 sustainer
mxr phase 90
boss dm 2 delay
ibanez sonic distortion
ts 808
ts10x
fender twinr everb II (loud as shit...)
i have the bas cranked up to about 8...middle at around 4, treble at around 5..perfect mix for both guitars, enough beef, not muddy, and not too trebly..perfect..
now i have a gain, volume, master volume, and stage volume (on back of amp)
stage volume all the way up (affects tone too much turned down)
gain..at like 4 or 5 depending on where im playing, so the volume is tuned up and slight push on the amp
master volume - cranked (sounds wierd i know)
channel volume - anywhere..dpending on where im playing, usually neve rmore than 3 or 4...if this gets cranked, the whoel channel becomes really disotrted and sounds like crap with my effects. if i keep itlow, i have control over how the amp is gonna distort.
presenece (is pointless) but i run that at about 4 or 5,
reverb..well its a twin reverb so usually for ryhtym i let it sit at around 3, its heaven..and it sounds great cranked as well
i always run off the tsdx on very littledistortion, volume cranked..on the setting above the ts9 setting, i believe its +..doesnt matter, always have that to push the amp at a ower volume, works well...
then i run for good rythym, the ts 808 ..and if im using my strat i ALWAYS have the sustainer on...
for lead, i just punch in the sonic distortion behind the other pedals...and its absolutely beautiful...
only problem is...well not much, only problem is i wish i could really turn up the volume to 5..it would be perfect, bt its too loud...