4 Essential Tone Tips For Pedal And Amp Settings 4 Essential Tone Tips For Pedal And Amp Settings ‘Ahhh guitar gear... the drug of choice for many a guitarist, most especially myself. I'd go as far as to say I'm practically a HOARDER of guitar gear (much to my wife's chagrin, but that's another conversation...) In being a self-proclaimed victim of G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome), I've made more than a few impulse purchases, and eventually found myself sitting on a mountain of gear that | WANTED but didn't necessarily NEED. That's how it always goes, doesn't it? But the silver lining in this, is that | learned a VAST amount of information on what is actually needed to create “the sound”. You know, that sound you hear in your head when you think of your ideal, powerful, rockstar tone! And today, we're going to cover the topic of amps and pedal settings. Most particularly, dialing in the proper tone on your amp when using pedals in front of it NOTE: This lesson is going to rely primarily on what's covered in the video portion. What's contained here in the reference material is more of a summary. So be sure to watch the video for all the juicy details! Alright let's ROCKI! 1.) Understand And Use EQ Most amps and pedals come equipped with EQ (aka Equalization). The purpose of EQ is to balance the frequencies within your guitar signal ‘There are essentially 3 frequencies you need to know about: bass (lows), middle (mids), and treble (highs). Before anything else, the first thing you should dial on your amp is your EQ. And if you're using pedals with your amp, be sure to pay attention to how the EQ on your amp is working with the EQ dialed in on your pedals. 2.) When In Doubt, Add Volume Volume is often overlooked as an important “tone sculptor” for your amp and pedal tones. a Copyright © 2019 we Guitar Mastery Method Guitar Mastery Method All ights Reserved www.GuitarMasteryMethod.com VIP CLUB4 Essential Tone Tips For Pedal And Amp Settings Page:2 When you raise the volume on your amp (especially a tube-driven amp), you're actually adding more than just volume level, you're also adding gain, compression, and sometimes EQ! Therefore, it's important to really listen to what happens when you crank the volume on your amp (or pedals). Even if you don't think your ear is “fine-tuned” to be able to detect these things (trust me, | understand that feeling), still give it a chance and try your best to hear what else is going on. ‘You might surprise yourself! 3.) Gain Isn't Meant To Be Cranked! | know it’s tough, but when dialing in your monster guitar tone that beckons the pantheon of rock gods and goddesses, fight the urge to crank that gain knob! Once your EQ and volume levels are dialed in to your satisfaction, NOW would be the time to slowly bring gain into the mix. It might come as a surprise, but even the most powerful and iconic guitar tones that you know and love didn't require a whole lot of gain to create that sound! The “trick” is that gain actually reacts best when the proper EQ and volume are already dialed in. This allows the gain to contribute the most to your overall tone, and you'll find that you can even find the heaviest, most saturated tones before you even reach 12 0' clock on your diall 4.) Think In Terms Of The Band Mix Let's face it, as guitar players we get a bad rep sometimes. Most particulerly, people claim we're “too loud", compared to the rest of the band members. | could sit here and say “you're welcome” to those people, since we're gracing them with the very voice of Valhalla from our electric axes, but they often have a point... sometimes. This typically happens because when we're at home rippin’ and havin’ a grand ole time, there aren't any limits to what our guitar sound can be However, when the time comes to play with a band, more often than not the sound we heard at home gets completely drowned out or twisted to sound like something much less pleasant. This is because we don't think about how our guitar tone is supposed to fit in a band mix. In this context, EQ plays the MOST IMPORTANT role in how well your guitar will slice through a band imix like a lightning-charged axe cutting through the heavens! So be sure to prioritize your EQ settings when you're ready to rock with a band. a Copyright © 2019 we Guitar Mastery Method Guitar Mastery Method All ights Reserved www.GuitarMasteryMethod.com VIP CLUB