Cut through the mix

[witeter]

I second all of the above-get together with your fellow guitarist and find out where you complement each other with your setups. And yes with less gain you will actually get a heavier chunkier tone, especially at gigging volumes.

I havent got experience with the painkiller bridge only the neck. I have it installed in a mahogany body-maple neck bolt on. I believe that jackson is alder body -maple neck bolt on. I imagine it would accentuate the treble end, so depends if thats what you are after.

[GuitarIv]

Thank you all! :D

[JJretroTONEGOD]

ok this is just my take on the subject,

small amps are perfect for cutting through and also sitting in the mix, I like using a Fender Champion 600 or basically a small class A valve amp with a small speaker, also mic it off axis and ideally use a ribbon mic or sm57 if you can't get one. It will never loose its place in the mix and from my experience will almost always sound better than a 4x12 cab which is great live but not in a recording studio. The orange PPC112 cab is great for recording as well

[gwEm]

Live I always use the absolute minimum bass that I need for a full sound. When recording, I often cut this back even further, depending on the circumstances.

[GuitarIv]

One thing I have always noticed when watching live gigs, or playing them myself, the less distortion one has, the better you can hear everything. Most Funk or Classic Rock bands I saw had a very transparent sound, but it also always depends on the location and the sound technician the house provides I guess. I have also noticed that running the amp through the Sound System of the venue oddly adds further distortion to the sound, so I guess that justifies the argument with using less gain and bass. I played a big gig with my ex Pop Rock band once, only using a Tubescreamer for Overdrive through the clean channel of a Marshall, and I wasn't satisfied with the tone I heard on stage, because it had too little gain for my taste. Then I saw the Video a friend of mine did and the sound was perfectly fine, the TS had more gain through the Sound System then I heard on stage. Explanations?

[gwEm]

When stuff is really LOUD, its hard to make too many audio judgements when you are standing on stage close to the speakers. The different frequencies in the sound roll off differently as you move away from the stage to the audience. Also the stage monitors (if present) can sound different to the speakers pointing into the audience.

A good sound is a rare and amazing thing. Often I set up the mix myself from the stage. This is a bad thing to do for sure.. but certainly its better than being $%&#ed over by a bad sound guy, of which there are many.

[GuitarIv]

True that. Out of 20 Gigs, I played maybe 2 where the sound guy knew what he was doing and managed to set up a good overall sound.

[GuitarIv]

Btw:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNaknTgIbIg

Opeth. I don't know how they manage to get such a good livesound...

[gwEm]

recalling this thread i thought i would experiment this weekend at a gig. BG52 set up for the very merest crunch - cut right through the mix with minimal volume. even less gain than i normally use and it worked out amazingly.

[GuitarIv]

Nice! What equipment did you exactly use? :)

[gwEm]

Stratele (with skull and cross bones graphic, you can search for it on here) with Irish Tour neck, and BG52 bridge

Korg Pitchblack

modded DOD 250

Tech 21 Sansamp British

Direct into desk with reverb added there.

[jpfamps]

I played a big gig with my ex Pop Rock band once, only using a Tubescreamer for Overdrive through the clean channel of a Marshall, and I wasn't satisfied with the tone I heard on stage, because it had too little gain for my taste.

This is a big mistake I think most guitarists have been guilty of at some stage; ie adjusting their amp so it sounds good to them on stage.

Unfortunately it's FOH that really matters, and the two aren't always compatible.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

I love the way clean-ish guitars cut through the mix like that, just shows every mistake of the playing (for me it's a lot!)

[GuitarIv]

Well I guess by now it's clear: less gain is more gain. :P

[Alex]

I can only add that sometimes it is important to think as a band and not as individuals. So often everybody adjusts everything on their equipment to their personal likings and so feel they hear themselves. Especially if you add a keyboard in the mix this won't work - you need to make adjustments as a band and mix everything properly with clear roles.

If you know the band HIM, a lot of their keyboards are really quite trebly and high, so they don't conflict with the guitar sounds. I noticed this most when hearing their sound check before a concert once years ago (it was a festival; I would never willingly visit a HIM-only concert). You don't necessarily notice this in their recordings.
A good example is here, but it's really all over many of their songs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P-gzn2LY5E&feature=BFa&list=AL94UKMTqg-9CuU9e6pcLJYq981Fcp4rXz