Guitar effects for guitarist in 3 piece

BornIn84

We're going for a big sound. any advice on good pedals, distortion etc to really fill out the sound??

punchdrunk

what kind of stuff?

BornIn84

pretty ecclectic. some heavy riff's along the lines of Muse and also some more mainstream sounds,

funkydunkey

I think i saw a Line6 XT floor board on adverts recently going cheap. the X3 is a fine floorboard. very versatile unit, and has every off the shelf effect you're likely to need. run one of those through a clean channel on a valve amp and it can sound fairly sweet! can also go straight into a PA if you're using a small set up. I tried out a Blackstar overdrive/distortion recently and was impressed. only thing you don't see many second hand yet. what kind of amp and guitar will you be using?

TheSegal

Filling out your sound is a pretty hard thing to do with just pedals! Using different frequencies in both the bass and guitar can have a pretty dramatic effect, for example you mention muse in your post, listen to the studio version of deadstar and you'll notice that the riff sounds MASSIVE due to different frequency ranges being used.

My advice to you would be to first mess with your eq settings for both the guitarist and bassist in the band and see the difference that can make, be sure to have another person listening to it rather then just your group and try and record something to help you notice if there are differences to your overall sound afterwards. Drumming is also a big area that contributes to the fullness of your sound, I have no real experience in this area so maybe someone else on the forum can help you with that.

120_Minutes

what rig do you use? when i used to do sound back in the day with a band that had one guitarist, whenever they shared a gig with a 2 guitarist band i'd run the outputs from his head to 2 cabs, one either side of the kit. simple, but it filled the sound out. plus i'd mike both cabs and run it in stereo in the pa.

500x

Hi,

I think TheSeagal's advice is excellent.

Speaking as a guitarist in a three piece, this would be my advice based on lessons I've learned regarding overdriven rhythm guitar:
- Don't scoop your mids, keep them as high as you can
- Don't dime the bass knob on your amp (tempting as it is... Let the bass guitar handle the low frequencies)
- This is probably obvious, but if you're playing in a situation where your amp is not miced, try and use as large a cabinet as possible... Ya need to move some air to sound big... At least 2x12 IMHO
- This is a personal opinion, but I find that modulation FX can sometimes make your guitar sound a little thinner than it would be without (A hint of chorus on a big overdriven guitar tone to me sounds great (Zakk Wylde?)... but since I started in the three piece I've dropped the chorus)
- If possible, roll back a bit on your typical overdrive sound... You'll be surprised how ballsy your tone can get if you move from high gain, to crunchy
- Where appropriate, the slightest bit of delay may help... but not so much as it sloppies up your rhythm playing (very personal experience speaking here ha ha)
- Maybe try altering your playing style a little... E.g. when doing power chords, try putting in the 8th note or octave, and when possible the lower 5th note... and when doing open chords, try and make every note in the range ring out
- Try using a heavier gauge string than you are used too... If using 9s, move to 10s for a bit to see if it helps
- You might even try using a heavier pick, and work on your picking technique (I'm using 3mm Stubbies now, but my picking technique is still pretty wussy)... I only realised how sugar coated my style was when I heard another guy in my band (bloody multi-talented drummers) playing my guitar through the same equipment as me

As another poster said, going direct through the PA with a POD is an option... As long as you have good monitoring etc. The POD has some settings where you can get a virtual stereo sound, which will probably sound big through a PA with a good engineer at the controls. It's not exactly very organic, but I've heard some excellent results with PODs through the desk. A POD might not give you the most absolutely authentic sounding tube guitar tone, but it'll give you excellent stereo spread... and most people listening to you won't notice or care if your tone is 'real' or not. As long as it's dryish, beefy and has good separation... Ya know how it is.

So my advice would be, as few FX as you can get away with for your style of music! If you must/need to use the FX, try and keep them as subtle as possible... I think that FX (in particular digital modulation FX) can sterilise and thin out your tone.

Again, TheSeagal is right in my opinion when talking about the rest of your band. A bass player with his amp set to as deep a tone as possible will give your overall mix balls. The bass player in a three piece is vital in shaping the band's tone as a whole. He's gotta be good, play with confidence and conviction, and not be afraid to pound it out.

A powerful drummer is essential in any rock band, but particularly in a three piece. The drummer I play with has this uncanny knack of making his tom rolls tie in exactly with the rhythm guitar parts... Hard for me to explain, I'm no drummer. The same is true for his kick drumming, He doesn't just sit on the beats, he makes it much more musical than that.

As a guitarist, playing in a three piece took a little bit of adjustment on my part. I'm still not exactly creating huge earth shaking sounds, but I'm doing better than I was when I started down this road. My playing will never be massive, unless I can sort out this decidedly unaggressive picking style of mine.

However, in my experience, playing guitar in a three piece is a brilliant feeling when you get in to it. You’ve massive responsibilities, very little room for error (believe me, I should know), but it’s really liberating and satisfying… and I do believe your playing will improve as you adjust.

Best wishes,

Tony

BornIn84

thanks lads i appreciate your input