All in Tips
Incorporating an EQ into your setup is not just a suggestion; it's necessary for a seamless recording experience.
We use an EQ in several ways, including troubleshooting problem frequencies, tone shaping, filtering, and special effects.
The EQ is at the heart of your mixing and sound sculpting process, followed by a compressor and time-based effects. While other tools may be enticing, the first steps almost always involve EQ and compression.
When I think of the passage of time, there are tools that I'm surprised haven't evolved sooner. One of those musical tools is the metronome. For many decades, the concept of what a metronome could be seemed cemented.
I'm not trying to imply that the metronome did not evolve. Metronomes with odd time signatures and programmable set lists appeared. Even though those small evolutions happened, one noticeable change hadn't occurred: Feeling a metronome instead of hearing it.
Peterson (the company known for strobe tuners) developed a vibrating accessory to a metronome that would attach to your pants. But it didn't take off for whatever reason and is now discontinued. Players didn't like attaching the vibrating accessory to their belt or felt it was limited to a physical connection to a metronome.
Practicing in modern times is much more complex than in previous eras due to our many technological distractions. As a result, concentration is constantly being pulled from the present.
The problem with so many distractions is that the human mind is not multitasking. We throw the term multi-taking around in modern times in the way of handling a lot at once.
But, the reality is our minds don't adapt to multi-taking when trying to study information or practice. Our minds don't multitask as much as they switch channels. But, when switching channels, it takes a second or two to adjust to the change. We can only do one thing at a time and focus on each independently.
The Klon Centaur pedal has achieved legendary status, with guitarists willing to pay thousands of dollars for an original created by Bill Finnegan. It has been dubbed the "holy grail" of guitar tone by many. In this article, I will examine the hype surrounding the Klon, its strengths and weaknesses, its intended uses, and its modern counterparts.
What's intriguing about the Klon is that it has become more of a brand name than a representation of its sound or design. Unfortunately, the Klon is a prime example of a brand or hype overshadowing the actual sound and purpose of the device.
At some point, almost every guitar player asks how to play the blues scale. Discussing the notes of the scale is easy, but the fingering and position can become a point of contention for many guitarists.
Why is the position and fingering of the blues scale so controversial? Part of the problem lies in the design of the instrument. The guitar can play the same pitch in different neck positions, making learning music more challenging. Finding the pitch, listening to phrasing, and considering positioning is necessary when learning music for the guitar.
When recording multiple guitars on a composition, I often find using different amps on different tracks helpful. This is because guitars are very midrange-heavy instruments. The more guitars you layer on top of each other, the more muddy things can become.
Each part can lose its identity when you start layering the same sound on top of the same sound. So I often try different guitars and amps to help each guitar part stand out as a multi-guitar layered track.
I often see guitarists switch to another pedal on their pedalboard, but in my opinion, that doesn't change the sonic imprint enough, and stacked guitars can still lose their identity.
The best way to carve out some sonic space if stacked guitars are getting a little cluttered is to use a different guitar, amp, or both.
For many decades guitarists would walk into a studio or gig and put their guitar amp on the floor without putting much thought into it. Sometimes, a guitarist would need to hear their guitar more so they would place their amp on an amp road case, chair, wooden box, or anything lying around.
There was little thought about how the guitar amp reacts sitting on a floor or on top of a road case. Guitarists would notice issues with the sound of their amp from gig to gig but often chalked that up to the venue or other circumstances.
For many studio owners specializing in recording guitar, a lot of thought goes into deciding which mics to collect.
There are some obvious choices like ribbons, dynamics, and condensers. Mics like the AEA 840, Sennheiser 906, and Soyuz Bomblet are my favorite choices for tracking guitars and guitar amps.
There will be times, though, when you need something a little more specialized and specific. Something like a Wasaphone MKII.
I spend a lot of time on stage and in the studio. Because of this, I'm always thinking about my guitar tone. For most recordings, I engineer myself. This means I have to be pretty aware of how my sound gets captured.
This goes one step further these days as I also happen to be mixing all of the music I compose. I also mix a good portion of the music I produce with other artists.
Dealing with guitar at every stage of the process, from stage to recording to mixing, has given me a broad perspective of EQ.
I thought I would share some of my findings on the subject of guitar EQ—one thing to remember about getting a tone that it's merely an audio opinion. There are many ways you can approach sound. You can watch five guitarists or engineers talk about guitar tone, and each has a different approach.
Compression is one of the most confusing effects to incorporate into your guitar chain. It’s a misunderstood effect.
What a compressor actually does isn’t all that confusing. The difficulty is in its application.
Let’s start at the beginning. A compressor’s purpose is to even out your guitar’s signal. With a clean guitar, you will see peaks in the recorded sound. Lots of peaks and valleys. The transients pop out. The difference between those peaks and valleys could sound jarring or cause overload, depending on what you’re running your signal into.
Compressors were invented to reduce the distance between peaks and valleys. This allows for a more consistent sound and has benefits like preventing tape output from overloading and digital output from clipping.
I just released a new single from my band Future Relics, a surf/sci-fi inspired instrumental project.
The direct inspiration for the music of Future Relics is movie scores from the 1950s,1960s, and 1970s. Each song is based on an imaginary film that could have come out during that time period.Here is the backstory of “The Cheat”
The year is 1968. A modern-day Robin Hood has just landed in Las Vegas. HIs plan: to cheat the cheaters from their swindled fortunes. But no plan goes without glitches. The song’s underlying question is, when does good become evil? Find out in “The Cheat.”
I grew up in the era of Tom Petty. The Heartbreakers’ music was a part of my life soundtrack as soon as MTV went live. It’s hard to pick a favorite song from Tom Petty’s catalog. Tom’s music went through various sonic journeys, just as we do in life.
I grew up in the era of Tom Petty. The Heartbreakers’ music was a part of my life soundtrack as soon as MTV went live. It’s hard to pick a favorite song from Tom Petty’s catalog. Tom’s music went through various sonic journeys, just as we do in life.
Discussing phase relationships with guitar microphones can be a complicated conversation because not all sounds that have imperfect phase sound terrible. That's a critical thought to store in your brain library.
The most significant consideration when dealing with phase is sound disappearing when listening in mono. A signal that is out of phase can disappear when played in mono.
Amp and speaker cab emulators are trending right now. A lot of musicians are recording less in commercial studios. Perhaps they can’t record a real amp in their home studio due to volume restraints.
Some guitarists are looking for solutions to loud or heavy amps. Perhaps there are volume limitations on the gig. Or guitarists are trying to have as little a footprint as possible when traveling to gigs. For these players, an amp in a pedal is appealing.
The question comes up quite a bit about what is the best wattage guitar amp to buy. It's hard to find the perfect volume amp that covers all applications. Especially if there is a wide variety of gigs, you do. Choosing an amp judging by its wattage alone may be a little misleading.
Let's try to narrow down some choices in this article.
The song “Because” by Abby Ahmad started as quite a different song then what we hear today. Its life began as a song performed and written on acoustic guitar.
Most of the time, with Abby's music, the initial presentation of the song is where we build the production. Abby's songs are ready to go upon arrival at the studio, which is a testament to both her playing and writing.
Most guitarists have heard the term b5 (flat five) when referring to the blues. Some go as far to call it the blue note. I’ve always felt the play between the major and minor 3rd to be a more significant player in the blues.
Still, the b5 does have an essential place in blues. The blues has influenced much of contemporary music. Blues is the foundation of the various styles of rock, country, and other forms of music.
Reverb is an effect guitarists use regularly but often don't understand the ins and outs of. For many, it’s an on-or-off effect on an amp. When confronted with more complex offerings of reverb they are struck with confusion.
Tips For Touring Guitarists When on tour, there is often an illusion of time. If you look at the tour book (a document handed out right before a tour that details hotels, travel, load ins, sound checks, amenities, etc.), it often appears you’ll have more time to soundcheck or run songs.
A Gig is a Gig is a Gig is a Gig, right? Well, that’s not really an accurate way to think of a career in music. When you’re younger and less experienced you tend to see every gig in the same way.
