Going to be recording in a couple days, and I've been without a good amp for the most part because my VHT is now in the shop (I bet that makes you guys happy, there WAS something wrong with it, which is a good thing) so I'm onto a different question: What would I boost/cut/add to my sound that would give me that seemingly fluid tone that bands like Necrophagist get. It's smooth for legato, yet has that slight percussive sound when doing alternate picking. Any tips?
How to get that smooth lead tone
- Thread starter Ambivalent
- Start date
paladin shredder
Member
the player has to play it smoothly... obviously 
but as long as thats not an issue then heres my advise:
i think of it like a vocal track eq wise. i usually don't scoop out any mids like a regular guitar track. i usually put a little bit of compression on it with a 3:1 ratio/slow attack/quick release, with a nice stereo delay that goes on for 2-3 seconds or so. mmm, tasty!
but as long as thats not an issue then heres my advise:i think of it like a vocal track eq wise. i usually don't scoop out any mids like a regular guitar track. i usually put a little bit of compression on it with a 3:1 ratio/slow attack/quick release, with a nice stereo delay that goes on for 2-3 seconds or so. mmm, tasty!
in all honesty, i find that "smooth" tone to come more from the guitar, the pick, and the player than from any particular setting on an amp or EQ
TravisW
Member
gorath23
Member
- Feb 6, 2008
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Really? My settings are normally opposite, quick attack, slow release, just to draw that sustain out.
paladin shredder
Member
i know it sounds kind of backwards, but i'm not trying to change the dynamics too much, just enough to make the notes jump out a bit more. for me, this setting has a pretty cool effect on solos.
Eh, the neck pickup could be described as smooth, but while I use it enough to justify having one, I usually prefer the snarl and clarity of the bridge pickup, and find the neck to sound too neo-classical on fast licks uke: For me, the definition of smooth lead tone is anything John Petrucci did with his Mark series amps (usually the Mark IIc+); although I find most of their stuff to be annoyingly self-indulgent, Liquid Tension Experiment's "Biaxident" has some of the most beautiful lead playing I've ever heard, in terms of tone, technique, and note choice - it wins on all counts as far as I'm concerned! Too bad all Petrucci can do these days is wank
uke: For me, the definition of smooth lead tone is anything John Petrucci did with his Mark series amps (usually the Mark IIc+); although I find most of their stuff to be annoyingly self-indulgent, Liquid Tension Experiment's "Biaxident" has some of the most beautiful lead playing I've ever heard, in terms of tone, technique, and note choice - it wins on all counts as far as I'm concerned! Too bad all Petrucci can do these days is wank 
spioraid
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Eh, the neck pickup could be described as smooth, but while I use it enough to justify having one, I usually prefer the snarl and clarity of the bridge pickup, and find the neck to sound too neo-classical on fast licks
I know! Seriously. Talent wise he's still way up top, but what he plays and how he plays it has really gone down hill. I found a lot of the themes in Systematic Chaos to be lifted from other bands
Yeah, Biaxident is an amazing song though.Yeah, DT has always had a bad habit of wearing their influences WAY too prominently (Home and 46-and-two, anyone? :Smug: ), so I'm not surprised (I barely listened to SC at all, I'm so done with that band). And to speak more generally about the topic at hand, the key to a smooth lead tone I've found is tons o' mids, cuz they tend to dull the pick attack (dull being a relative term, of course, and for the sake of smoothness, it's a good thing )
)Straight stainless steel frets, flawless technique and control and a good guitar setup! My best results recording solos have been through a 10" speaker with a big kick between 500Hz-2KHz on a 10-band in the loop of a Cornford Richie Kotzen head, using the neck pickup on a Caparison Horus. Turned out super bitey and agressive sounding!
Oh dude, Biaxident is my FAVORITE song from LTE. I actually have the start time of the song on my iPod at right when that groove in the middle of the song comes in and the end time is...at the end of it, haha. Amazing musicianship in that portion of the song, and great groove too
~006
~006
