This is a bright configuration that can cut through the mix, but is still generally thin. What this provides is a glassy enhancement to other Fender instruments that plug into Fender amps. Some models can put out more low end, depending on the speaker configuration and power output, but let’s just say that in general, a Fender amp is not known to typically have a lot of key midrange available. Similar to Fender guitars, the popular blackface lineup of Fender amps tends to be clean and carries an emphasis on the high-mids and treble. But if we look at a few of the classics, from Fender, Marshall, and Vox, they each have a certain sonic signature. The body woods, construction, and scale length differences between each guitar all matter.Īmps also have characteristic tones and the point of this post isn’t to attempt to cover them all in detail. Gibsons have a thicker natural tonality, which is beneficial for a number of genres. While the pickup certainly can be equalized for different response characteristics depending on how it is wound and built, overall even when you play a Gibson Les Paul acoustically without plugging in, you can hear the resonance of the instrument that is fuller in tone when compared with a Fender Stratocaster. The pay-off with single-coil Stratocasters is a beautiful and percussive attack and great note definition and clarity.Ī typical Gibson on the other hand has higher-output humbucking pickups and a stronger low-end and midrange focus. They’ll have lower output, but nice and percussive qualities with emphasis on the top end. Fenders with single coil pickups have a distinct clarity of notes from lows to highs, but overall have a somewhat mid-scooped tone. a Gibson is the obvious first area to consider. Let’s discuss a few classic examples of guitars first. Now what exactly do I mean by “general tonal characteristics”? Understanding the general tonal characteristics of your key pieces of gear will help. So how do we fix this? It’s more than just working the eq knobs to get things dialed in. Mid-scooping is essentially cutting the volume of the midrange of your guitar…even though those are the most important and primary frequencies of your instrument. Those guitar players going for a “mid-scooped” sound, which may sound awesome in their bedrooms, will often sound quite thin when placed amongst other instruments in a live setting since the primary midrange frequencies are naturally being reduced. The highs in a guitar won’t and can’t compete with the sounds produced by the drums and cymbals, nor will the bottom end frequencies of a guitar be able to compete with the powerful sound spectrum produced by a bass. The guitar’s frequencies are dominant in the midrange of tone. We’ve done a few profiles here on LegendaryTones of a few classic artists and will look to do more in the future.īut from a gear perspective, and especially for when it comes to distorted tones, let’s first think about the guitar in context of a band. So what do I suggest? I think starting with a reference artist is still a good thing to spend time studying.
#MIDS GUITAR PROFESSIONAL#
1) Make sure the artist actually uses the piece of gear and just isn’t being paid simply to endorse it, and 2) Recognize that professional artists making studio albums will get a different sound on recordings – especially if they have the benefits of big budget studio equipment that turn out great final mixes and masters. in some cases, but we need to keep in mind a couple of things. Some people use the approach of buying the gear that their favorite artists use. This can become frustrating when trying to dial in a tone you’re interested in capturing. You can find as many people who will love or hate any particular piece of gear. We recently wrote about the challenges with the Internet and its opinions. And just how we use the equipment (whether for live use or studio recording) also makes a difference in finding what works for guitarists. The problem is that there are numerous choices for gear and, and even more options for putting together the whole rig, to create an effective system that is optimized. It usually doesn’t happen this way however. If only things were so easy that we could buy the guitar we felt comfortable with, plug into an amp, maybe add a pedal or two, and then be done.