Looking to improve your Guitar Tone fast and easily? Try these 5 ways to make your tone better instantly:
1) If your amp is sounding harsh or dry, add some reverb to the signal. It should sweeten things up a bit.
2) EQing – There are lots of tonal variations right on your amp. I like to start with all the knobs at 12 o’clock, and then tweak on what needs more or less of something. More on Amp EQing.
3) Guitar Volume and Tone Knob – There is so much value to the controls right on your guitar. Sounding a bit ice-picky? Slightly turn down the tone knob as you are playing. Also with great tone, your pick attack is important. It may be a quiet part of the song that requires strong pick attack, but you are holding yourself back from it being too loud. So use that guitar volume knob as you’ll get lots of tonal variations just from how you strum.
4) Make sure your guitar is well in tune! Can’t stress this enough. I’ve seen many guitarist who say they have terrible tone when really their strings are a bit out of whack. Being in tune WILL make a crappy rig sound better than being out of tune with an amazing rig.
5) If your tone is sounding dull, its probably time to change those strings. A fresh set will bring life back to your guitar. I personally like to use Pure Nickel strings. Why you ask? Well pure nickel is what they were using back in the 60s’ and 70s’, and it provides a warmer tone. (See Article: Which Guitar Strings to Use?)
Hope these 5 tips help you on your way to better tone! Also don’t forget, practice helps tone as well 😉