Throughout the history of electric guitars, many of the most colorful and characteristic sounds are made up of various monoblock effects – wah pedal, phaser, chrome, envelope filtering, Faz and so on. More importantly, these excellent effects are the gateway to the new world of sound. Anyone can use them, and with the right equipment, timing and/or technology, you can get a unique sound. Although it is worthwhile to listen to this tone, it is a personal taste problem. (It is still a sentence, the quality of the tone is very subjective). But if most people agree with it, you may become a new legend.
There are countless creative guitarists in the world who have redefine the music we hear today and the guitar performance through their unique effects and performances. For example, Keith Richard’s riff and Jimi Hendrix’s ruinous solo. So today, let’s learn how to inspire your performance through the effects.
1.Lowering the volume of the effect will make the sound different
At the low volume setting, the effects of the vacuum tube speaker can be mimicked using two effects. Both Boost and compression enhance the dynamics of the sound, making it ideal for low-volume home exercises. Boost makes the sound a bit harder, while compression reduces the high-frequency attack of the sound, making it ideal for playing blues and rock.
2.Make sure your SOLO can be heard
If you want SOLO to stand out in music, it is obviously not the only answer to stepping on the high gain effect. In fact, the higher the gain on the effect, the greater the compression. The dynamics of the sound are naturally less, and the audience is less able to hear your performance. Therefore, the incentive and equalization effects are likely to be your loyal friends. They not only enhance the existing things in the sound, but also reduce the low frequency and improve the intermediate frequency and high frequency.
3.Avoid the sound being “eaten”
If you have an effect board that is much larger than others, it is full of multiple effects and long lines, then you must pay attention to the problem of signal loss. It is also known as the “eat sound”. Using long wires to connect effects can lose high frequencies and fidelity in the sound. Although there are some help with the Buffer class effects, some effects in the bypass mode will polish the sounds, causing them to have an effect on the sound. Without True Bypass it would be even worse. Therefore, the “eat sound” problem when the effect is off is really worth paying attention to, and using true True Bypass will be a good way to avoid this problem. Shorter wires can be used if possible.
4.Practice sound is not equal to the performance sound
Have you ever encountered this situation: during the performance, we tend to follow the speaker parameters in the home practice, although we have adjusted the parameters to the same level, but always feel that it does not sound right. Don’t worry, this will give you an answer. Normally, the volume of the speaker will not be too large when practicing at home, and the volume of the show or rehearsal will be too large. The louder the volume, the higher the frequency and the intermediate frequency of the tone become apparent. This point is related to the frequency perception of your ears at certain decibel levels, and you can search for the Fletcher-Munson curve under test. So during the show and rehearsal, we can slightly lower the high frequency and low frequency to ensure that the front audience and your teammates can hear good sounds.
5.Don’t be obsessed with whether the sound is “heavier” or not .
There is no doubt that high-gain sound is the best choice for metal music, but you need to use it correctly. A high-gain tone cuts the top and bottom of the signal and compresses it. This will limit the sound you hear, especially the old-fashioned metal with a slightly weaker mid-range style. So, there are two factors that can improve this problem: compression and equalization. At this point, you need to balance some of the sounds. It is a good choice to add some intermediate frequencies. This will make your performance clearer.
6.”Tame” your gain
About this, Daniel Steinhardt from the guitar website The GigRig suggested:“Just a little bit of gain back will make you sound better. Of course, sometimes the gain is very suitable, especially the very turbid and heavy effect. But you spend a lot of money to buy a good guitar, a good speaker, but sometimes too much gain will make you unable to hear the sound of the guitar itself.So properly attenuating some of the gains will allow you to hear the sound of the guitar itself better.
7.Buy a good effect power supply
Who wants to invest the hard-earned money in a power source instead of a new one? But this is probably one of the smartest investments you have ever made. A good quality power supply is the foundation of a good tone, and a good voltage will make your tone more stable.
8.Don’t always turn the volume up
I believe everyone has heard about the potential between finger control and guitar volume. Obviously this theory also applies to effects. Robert Keeley from the famous effects brand Keeley Effects said: “I noticed a problem. Many guitars are not louder and sound better. If you slightly weaken the signal on some effects, there will be some different effects. ”
9.Use compression
This “negligible” effect has many uses. Placed at the beginning of the effect chain, it can be used as a volume stimulus; When placed at the end of the effect chain, a smooth signal is provided when the effect is switched.
10.Find the “sweet spot” of wah
What is the best sweet spot? It’s just that everything is just right, not much more. We can also find it on the wah, and slowly step on it, you will know. You can listen to Mick Ronson’s solo in David Bowie’s classic “Moonage Daydream”.