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guitar sound

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Brett
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August 26, 06 7:08 AM (permalink)

guitar sound

Hi all,
I hope the guitarists here can indulge me a bit.

I've been playing guitar for 25 years but as you can see by my avatar I'm primarily a bass player, then keyboard; guitar comes a distant 3rd. I've played in a fairly narrow range of styles, heavy rock and grunge. Recently I've been working on a pop/rock project and looking for clean or crunch sounds and I've realised that distortion and compression have masked rather crappy guitar technique!

I was trying to mimic a sound b_nez posted in the songs forum but when I play clean (and crunch) sounds I am getting a very strong percussion sound from the pick striking the string and I don't like it. I can distinctly hear this even when I touch the string very gently with the side of the pick. I've experimented with various combinations of hardware, settings and softer picks, but I can't effect it at all. The sound is the same on my Epiphone Les Paul and my Gibson LP both are original - no mods. Here is a link Brett's guitar (2.5Mb). This is my Gibson LP studio, Jim Dunlop 0.80mm picks, Boss GT3 using a preamp only, M-Audio FW Solo.


I'd appreciate any comments.

Thanks
Brett
post edited by Brett - August 26, 06 7:30 AM
#1

7 Replies Related Threads
    RIZZY0
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    RE: guitar sound August 26, 06 9:16 AM (permalink)
    I'm not a guitar player but I am a thinker. One thing I have tried to do is have the guitar player use just his fingers to stum if possible to soften the sound. I know Its not possible for very rythmic passage but for simple strumming it might be a thought.


    Rob
    #2
    gonzo_dog
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    RE: guitar sound August 26, 06 10:00 AM (permalink)
    Sounds fine to me. I think what you are hearing is just the nature of playing with a pick.
    #3
    Joe Bravo
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    RE: guitar sound August 26, 06 10:43 AM (permalink)
    Thin picks will make things worse. Use the front pickup and a good amp/speaker setting with a lot of midrange in the sound. If you're just using the preamp of the GT3 without an amp/speaker sim then this is the sound I would expect to hear.

    I posted this in the Songs Forum a while back. I'm using my VAmp2 set to the Marshall Plexi 100 amp (probably the only Marshall ever made that's known for its clean sound) and an open back 1-12" british speaker setting. Those big enclosed speaker cabs may sound fine for heavy rock but a single 12" in an open back is the way to go for clean sounds 90% of the time IMHO. This is just a 60-second excerpt and I've got the tone control on my 335 rolled back about halfway since its a jazz tune, but I think you can see what a pretty sound this is anyway.

    60-Second Excerpt
    post edited by Joe Bravo - August 26, 06 11:06 AM
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    Steve_Karl
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    RE: guitar sound August 26, 06 10:56 AM (permalink)
    Try lowering the pickups into the body.
    I bet you have them really close to the strings.

    Steve Karl
    https://soundcloud.com/steve_karl
    SPLAT 2017.01
    #5
    Brett
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    RE: guitar sound August 26, 06 11:41 AM (permalink)
    Hey Joe, that's great. Even though you are using stacatto (*) notes you don't get that heavy percussive pick sound, it's still a real a real note but muted. I don't remember if I had the speaker sim working but thanks for that. (is stacatto the right word?)

    I measured the pickups and the bridge p/u is barely 1mm and the neck is about 3.5mm.




    Brett

    post edited by Brett - August 26, 06 11:58 AM
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    Joe Bravo
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    RE: guitar sound August 26, 06 12:12 AM (permalink)
    is stacatto the right word?

    Duh, umm... I'm just a dumb Hungarian boy. And the only Italian girl I know won't speak to me.
    #7
    mosessepher
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    RE: guitar sound August 26, 06 5:34 PM (permalink)
    I think I know that girl. I think we all know that girl.
    #8
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