Category: Tone Tips

Ways to Sweeten Your Guitar Tone

Today I’m gonna show you a few ways to make your guitar tone sound more sweet. Some days you want a dirty tone, but other days you want that perfect clean sound. However, sometimes when you want it clean, it can still be harsh and ice-picky to the ears. So if you want to sweeten up your tone, try these ways:

Reverb
When you are playing through a dry amp, it can often sound too in your face and abrupt. I say abrupt because when you stop playing, all the sound goes away abruptly, which isn’t always sweet to the ears. Adding reverb will give your tone a trail, and make it feel like you are playing in a bigger place. With the right amount of reverb, the tone can turn very very sweet and addicting. I would recommend a tank reverb in your amp, or a tube driven reverb, over a digital reverb. Digital in my opinion will sound too fake and 1-dimensional. Check out my article on the Best Reverb Pedals on the Market.

Pedals
Aside from reverb pedals, there are a few that will help sweeten your tone, specifically a clean boost or a compressor. I personally own the Xotic EP Booster, which adds a nice sparkle to the tone. There are many options on the market. I would also check out Echo pedals and if set properly, it can really create the ambience of soothing tones. If you are very serious about making your tone very sweet with pedals, I would recommend to go the boutique route. Also stick to analog circuitry over anything digital as it will sound warmer.

EQ-ing your Amp
A lot of the time, you can get a sweet tone from your amp (if its a tube amp) just by dialing it in correctly. If the tone is too harsh, turn the treble down a bit. Not warm enough? Boost the mids and bass a bit. Also pay attention to where the Presence is set and experiment with different levels. I would recommend that you set all the dials to noon, and then go from there. Just use your ears and see where the tone need more or less of something. Also if you are using a tube amp, let those tubes warm up a bit, as the tone will get sweeter the longer the amp is on. Here’s more on EQing in your Amp.

Hope this helps you on your way to sweeter tone!

Make your Guitar sound like a Sitar

Recently, I purchased an authentic sitar (Rikhi Ram Grand Pro Tun) hand-made in India. What a difficult instrument to learn. Once I was able to get it in tune and learn some basic notes and strumming (or striking) patterns, I quickly saw the beauty of the tone.

However, the sitar is an instrument of its own and takes years and years to master. I figured, since I was already good at guitar, how could I take the tone from a sitar, but use the guitar instead?

This was definitely a task. Once I realized that a guitar would never truely sound like a sitar, was I able to find some ways to get a similar idea of a sitar sound.

So there are a few things one can do to make their guitar sound like a sitar.

Doing it with Pedals:

There are actually two pedals on the market that I know of that turn your electric guitar into a sitar. Those would be the Ravish Sitar by ElectroHarmonix and Danelectro Sitar Swami. I’ve heard both of these pedals and found that neither really captured a sitar sound, rather they make their own sound altogether. Cool for experimenting none the less.

Doing it with Guitars:

This is the best way, as there are actually electric sitar guitars. Most notably the Jerry Jones Electric Sitar of the ’70s. These are rather expensive today, but Rogue and a few other companies made replicas for fairly cheap. If set up properly, these can sound very close to a sitar, but with a guitar twist.

Buzzing Bridge:

You can actually buy a buzz bridge to install on your guitar, and if set up properly, you can get a pretty decent sound.

So to sum things up, I would say the Electric Sitar Guitar is the best way to go if you are looking for that sitar sound on the guitar.

Make your Strat more Useable

I was getting kind of bored of my strat (its  a Fender MIJ 1968 reissue) as I found that the tone and volume knobs weren’t really providing me with many options. The volume didn’t get very quiet until about 3 on the knob, and the when the tone was lower than 6, it became quite muddy. What was I to do?

I read a bunch of articles about how MIJ strats are great instruments, though the electronics can be a bit shotty in quality. So I decided to pick up a Vintage Strat Electronics Upgrade Kit from RS Guitarworks for around $50. This included 2 vintage style pots for the volume and tone, and a paper and oil guitar cap by Jensen.

Even though this is an easy install, I decided to have my guitar tech do the work for me to ensure it was done the best possible. When I got the guitar back and plugged into my amp, boy was I surprised by the difference! The volume became way more useable, and the tone allowed for so many different “sweet spots”. Just a tiny turn on the tone knob provided new arrays of sound. Best part is that when I adjusted the volume knob, it kept the tone in tact from the tone knob! Never have I had this luxury before. This made my guitar more vintage-sounding as well.

Now when I play live, I feel like I have more tone palettes to work with, and am inspired to play much longer than before.

If you are feeling like your strat needs more usability, try upgrading the pots and cap, and you’ll definitely be surprised by the difference.

Playing your Guitar in Stereo

Feeling like your tone needs more dimension, more dynamic, and just more oomph? What you can do if you have more than one amp is to play them in stereo and you’ll get closer to that fullness you so desire. Continue reading Playing your Guitar in Stereo

Vintage Tone at a Decent Price?

Two of my favorite amps of all time would most likely be a a late 60s Marshall Superlead, and a late 50s Fender Tweed Bassman Combo, both incredible amps at the pinnacle of amazing tone. However if one were looking to acquire either of these vintage amps today, a lot of money would need to be at disposal.  I’m talking upwards to 10 grand. Do you have 10 grand lying around to purchase maybe even 1 of these amps? If so, I say do it and you won’t be sorry. But if these prices are too high for you, there is another option to retain vintage tone at prices that won’t break the bank.

So that brings me to talk about Traynor Amplification. They are a Canadian amp maker that has been around since the early days with Fender and Marshall, and were  creating similar amps at the time, using similar components that would be period correct. Is a vintage Traynor better than a vintage Fender or Marshall? No, but they do have great tone that retains that vintage vibe.

Traynor in the ’60s created the YBA-1 Bassmaster, which would be similar to a plexi or bassman. When I’ve played this amp before with some good vintage celestions, the tone was actually quite amazing. And the best part, these vintage amps are selling for around $500 today!

So I would suggest to you that if you want vintage tone at an affordable cost, check out some old Traynor amps.

How to Get Singing Sustain

Getting singing sustain on an electric guitar is no easy task, but if you follow these tips, it’ll help you get closer there.

The first thing I want to talk about before getting into the gear, is technique. This is vital in achieving those singing tones. So knowledge of soloing is necessary. Now if you can solo, the important thing is being able to do vibrato well. For those of you who don’t know what vibrato is, think of it as slightly bending a note up and down very quickly. Once you have your vibrato down, then achieving that singing sustain becomes much easier.

Now lets talk about the gear. The purest form of singing sustain comes from the right amp. This amp would ideally be a lead amp, such as a Marshall Plexi. Don’t worry if you don’t have a lead amp, as I’ll talk about pedals that can help as well. The great thing about a good tube lead amp, is the singing sustain will be more pure. On a Marshall Plexi, the louder you go, the more sustain you will get. So volume is also a key in the puzzle. Attenuators can be used if you don’t want to bother the neighbours. Also with a Marshall Plexi, you can get almost unlimited sustain without the use of any pedals.

Speaking of pedals, putting a good overdrive or fuzz pedal in front of the Marshall Plexi will make the sustain have more of a singing tone. Now this is where vibrato comes in. Once you have the sustain going well with the amp/pedals, using a lot of vibrato will make those extended notes have a singing quality, and the longer you hold it, more overtones and harmonics will start to overlay, which is another key to the puzzle. And if you keep holding the note, you can even get some nice controlled feedback.

Now if you don’t have a lead amp, you can still achieve it with pedals, though the tone won’t be as pure. But you can get it stacking a pre-amp or overdrive pedal with your favourite fuzz box or distortion pedal.

Another good technique to facilitate the singing aspect is to do a lot of bends. Bending is more reminiscent of a voice than just single notes.

So basically to sum it up, combining vibrato and bending in your solos with a good lead amp cranked running a fuzz or overdrive pedal will definitely get you closer to singing sustain.

How to use your Computer as a Guitar Amp

When it comes to getting incredible tone, I personally use a combo of analog pedals and tube amps. But this can be pretty costly, and for most people, it takes time to really build the sound they are looking for. For something easy and cheap, software rigs can give you relatively good tone. This digital platform is pretty ideal for practice and gets you a wide range of sounds. There are plenty of software out there, but of the ones I’ve tried, I like Amplitube the best, as it really tries to emulate tube tone.

How it works?
What you need is the Stealth Plug (price is around 100 bucks), which will help you be able to plug your guitar into your computer via the USB port. When Amplitube is running, you can now use your computer speakers to output the sound of the guitar.

Amplitube gives you many different amp models, cabinets, pedals and rack effects to choose from to get your desired sound. It even has a built in tuner. Basically its your one-stop-shop for an entire guitar rig.

Why its Easy
Turning on a pedal is as simple as a click of the mouse. Go from crazy distortion to sparkling cleans in seconds. Once you create a rig you like, you can save it as a preset and come back to it whenever you want.

Lets Talk Tone
I must say, it actually sounds quite good. Definitely not for a performance, but low volume jams at home are where it really shines. It kinda does have a tube-like quality to it. You can get many different tone textures to really get the sound in your head that you’re looking for.

All I can say is that for 100 bucks, its definitely worth having, plus it makes recording really easy. If you’re not happy with your tone, I say give it a shot. For the price, you won’t be disappointed.

Update: Check out Amplitube 3 Software and  iRig (connecting your guitar to iPad/iPhone).

Coily Cables and Guitar Tone

Today’s post is a short one. I wanna quickly talk about using coily cords. Many will say that it is really just cosmetic for that vintage look, but truth be told, there is an effect on tone. With coiled cables, the capacitance is raised, thus rolling off some of the high end. This is great especially if you like to crank your amps without the treble being too ear piercing.

A good way to find a good coily cable is to check your local music store and actually hold it. I say this because if the cable is heavy, then it is the right kind. There are plenty of cheap knockoffs on the market, including fender-made ones that are light and have a great deal of noise. Some good boutique coily cables are Bullet Cables and Lava Cables.

Interesting fact, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan both used coiled cables. No wonder these two guitarist have some of the most sought after tone!

The Best Univibe Pedals on the Market

If you are a fan of Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, or Robin Trower, I think you are well aware of the famous Univibe pedal. You know, the original Shin-Ei/Univox, with the foot pedal, and how acquiring one today is rare, and quite expensive. You also probably know that it is tough to find a clone pedal that recreates the authenic vintage univibe swirling tone. However, there are some great pedals out on the market that get really really close to the original. Lets take a look at what those pedals are..

1) KR Musical’s Megavibe

If you are familiar with univibe clones, you know the Megavibe. Many argue that the Megavibe gets the absolute closest to Hendrix’s Machine Gun, at least on the chorus setting. Randy Hansen (also known as the Hendrix Clone) uses a Megavibe, and many say that his tone is closest to Jimi’s. The only downside of this pedal is that they are extremely hard to obtain. You may be only able to find a used one on Ebay at inflated prices, as KR Musical seems to have been out of the scene for a little while now.

2) FoxRox Aquavibe (Review Here)

Dave Fox is known for building quality boutique vintage-esqe effects. His Aquavibe is no different, producing that vintage univibe tone, while also adding more flexibility to create different vibe tones such as the ability to change the position of the sweep. The Aquavibe has also been known to have the best vibrato out of all the univibe clones out there. Only downside is that there is about a 1 year waiting list.

3) Sweetsound Mojo/Ultravibe

Built by the late Bob Sweet, the Mojo and Ultravibe have been around for awhile, and have been a benchmark for great univibe tones. These vibes are right up there with the aqua and mega vibe.

 

4) MJM 60s Vibe

Around the forums, many have been raving about the MJM 60s Vibe. Over at MJM, the 60s Vibe has been modeled after an original univibe. Some really great tones coming from this pedal. Best part is, the MJM 60s Vibe is readily available with no waiting list.

 

5) Fulltone DejaVibe

Word around the street is that the original Deja Vibe (gold unit) has some pretty authentic univibe tones. Some have argued that this pedal is closest to the original.

 

I really believe any of these Univibe clones will make you happy, as all are close enough to the original.

Why get a Custom Guitar Neck?

Often overlooked, the neck on a guitar has a definite effect on tone. As well, having a greatneck that suits you specifically will aid in playability, essentially letting you get some sounds that you didn’t think were possible. Lets talk about why a custom neck is the way to go, and how to go about getting one.

There are custom guitar-part sites that allow you to get a custom built neck for most electric guitars. The best two companies for this are Musikraft and Warmoth. You can customize pretty much everything on the neck, so it fits your hand perfectly. Or you can get a neck that closely resembles a favorite guitar player for example.

Being a big Jimi Hendrix fan, I could see that having his guitar upside down and restrung affected his tone. Not only with the reverse headstock changing the string lengths, but also the size of his headstock. At Musikraft. you can order CBS style headstocks which are bigger and more badass. Not to mention they are a bit heavier, which is said to increase sustain of the guitar.

Another great reason to go custom is that you can choose the shape of the neck. From soft Vs to medium Cs, you can get the right neck for you. With Jimi’s style of playing, having his thumb wrap around the neck to play the low E string was a huge part of his musical style. Certain neck shapes make this more possible and comfortable.

Are you a vintage junkie, but can’t afford a vintage guitar? I’m right there with you. You can get the necks with nitro finishes and vintage sized frets.

All in all, if you’re playability doesn’t seem great on your current set up, try changing the neck, and notice a profound difference that’ll keep you playing for hours at a time.