Guys, HELP ME!

C

CyanJaguar

New member
I totally hate my sound. One minute I love it and the next I hate it. IT would be easy to say "fudge it" and just go out and spend big bucks on the expensive guitar, expensive head, and expensive cab, but I am trying to keep my costs down.

PLease look at my chain and advice me how to improve my sound. I want a great metal/rock RHYTHM sound. what is my weakest link

Guitars:
cheapo Epiphone les paul 100 lefty with stock 10s
Cheapo Ibanez Grx20 Lefty with ghs boomer 11s

Rack:
Korg DTR-2 tuner into
Rocktron Pro-GAP preamp, into
Behringer dsp 2024 FX (which I really like), Into
MESA 20/20 tube poweramp

CAB:
Cheapo b-52 lg412v that actually sounded nice in the store but uses no-name 100watt speakers. I wish it had 25 watt speakers so I could introduce speaker breakup into my sound.

Now, here is the interesting situation. I have used about FIVE different preamps trying to find the right sound. And they were all lacking in some area
so now I am thinking it is not the preamp.
the digitech sounded digital
the peaey rockmaster did not have enough gain
the avt50 sonded honky
the marshall 9001 farted on the low string
and the pro-gap I am still testing out

Could it be the stock pickups in my cheap guitars?
could it be my cab?
or is it that I cant turn it up above tv levels so that I dont annoy my neighbours?

HELP!!!
 
i can't help ya, no matter how much money I spend or what equipment i use i cant get a "sound".

Maybe my sound is no sound?
 
dragonworks said:
i can't help ya, no matter how much money I spend or what equipment i use i cant get a "sound".

Maybe my sound is no sound?
Click to expand...
which is exactly why I dont want to spend big bucks, because I would hate to be out 3-4 grand and still hate my sound.
 
The #1 best tip to get a better sound is to become a better player.

Good players I've seen sound terrific no matter what gear they use. And bad players sound terrible even if they have the most cherry Les Paul and killer multi-thousand-dollar boutique amp.
 
AlChuck said:
The #1 best tip to get a better sound is to become a better player.

Good players I've seen sound terrific no matter what gear they use. And bad players sound terrible even if they have the most cherry Les Paul and killer multi-thousand-dollar boutique amp.
Click to expand...

I can understand that, but I hate the tone of a lot of famous players. For example, TSO has great players, but sometimes their tone falls short.

MAny times I dont even want to practice because I cant stand the tone.

I wish someone would be like John Kerry and say " help is on the way" :)
 
tubesrawsom said:
pickups are 50% of the sound
do you have good cables? there the viens of you chain.
Click to expand...

I really hope so because I hope to change my pickups soon. I use pretty good cables except between my guitar and my amp. It was a cheapo cable.
 
Cyan, you've got far too much crap in that chain there. Feels more like a bass guitar than a 6 string set up. How can you answer your question when you have so many variables? Take your guitar down to a music shop and play through a bunch of small, high quality (as far as your budget will go) combos. Nothing more than 30 watts. Find one you like and sell all the other crap to pay for it. then improve step by step from there. It's a matter of adjusting one variable at a time.
 
!

AlChuck said:
The #1 best tip to get a better sound is to become a better player.

Good players I've seen sound terrific no matter what gear they use. And bad players sound terrible even if they have the most cherry Les Paul and killer multi-thousand-dollar boutique amp.
Click to expand...

its true, the lead guitarist i jam with plays a guitar that he built himself and as it going into an overdrive pedal and a no-name combo amp. it sounds phenomenal.

you should go and rent a sweet guitar for a day and try it out on your setup. see if it makes a difference. get a fender american strat, or a gibson les paul. just bring your rig over to my house and you can use my guitars!
 
pickups could deffinately help, as could new strings (strings are not like a fine wine). make sure you aren't cutting your mids, put all of your settings flat (12 o'clock) and go from there. most of the time people have preconceived notions about what their eq should LOOK like, instead of listening to what their rig sounds like. also, easy on the gain, you don't need to max it out. i'm just assuming here, as i'm not sure about your current settings or musical style.
 
Garry Sharp said:
Cyan, you've got far too much crap in that chain there. Feels more like a bass guitar than a 6 string set up. How can you answer your question when you have so many variables? Take your guitar down to a music shop and play through a bunch of small, high quality (as far as your budget will go) combos. Nothing more than 30 watts. Find one you like and sell all the other crap to pay for it. then improve step by step from there. It's a matter of adjusting one variable at a time.
Click to expand...

Where is the crap? Its all necessary. I really dislike combos too.
 
heroics321 said:
pickups could deffinately help, as could new strings (strings are not like a fine wine). make sure you aren't cutting your mids, put all of your settings flat (12 o'clock) and go from there. most of the time people have preconceived notions about what their eq should LOOK like, instead of listening to what their rig sounds like. also, easy on the gain, you don't need to max it out. i'm just assuming here, as i'm not sure about your current settings or musical style.
Click to expand...


Having a recording background, I usually approach equing with an open mind. I will try everything. I am going now to GC to pick up some monster cable.
 
Why do you dislike combos? Many great guitar parts are recorded off tiny valve combos like the Gibson Goldtone or the Cornford or the fender Blues Junior.

It's you that said you're unhappy with the sound, I was just pointing out that you have a whole string of (for example the behri) so so bits and pieces in the way of what you are trying to hear. I was just suggesting you try, at no cost unless you like the results, a more straightforward route.
 
What do you love about and what do you hate about it?What kinda thing you going for?Just a guess but..the sound you don't like is prob. a bit "hard" and on the bright side with no give,kinda like playin thru a brick..but maybe not :)
Hard to tell without knowing what your going for...
 
CyanJaguar said:
Where is the crap? Its all necessary. I really dislike combos too.
Click to expand...

its all crap. simple is soo much better when it comes to guitar tone. the best advice any has given you is get better. sure the dude down at guitar center will tell you this or that will get you that punchy warm tone... but really, he's just trying to get his cut of the comission pool. honestly. get better. and then invest in a good amp.

you havent even told us what kind of music you are playing... or maybe you have... i havent read every post. anyway. the hard facts of life are, you gotta spend money to get somewhere.

if your intent on buying something... i recomend what was previously stated. sell all your shit and buy a good amp. work from there.

there are some pretty sweet boutique amps out there.

check out this website... www.tonepilot.com its a good start from some good gear. its a friend on mines website... and no im not spamming it, only trying to point you in a "tonaly" correct direction...

but still at the end of the day, no matter what gear you have, you tone can only get as good as your chops. work on those, and everything will fall into place... with a little help from you wallet.
 
I dunno... are looking for more mid tones? More bright edge? Try to describe what it is you're looking for. If you can, give an example from a recording.

Back when I was gigging in the 80's, I used my trusty XV112E (100watt combo with one 12" EV speaker) and three effects pedals - crybaby wah, digital delay and chorus. Back then I had three guitars - a LP Custom, a Strat and an Ibanez acoustic/electric (the latter DI to the PA). I'm a strong believer in the KISS theory (keep it simple stupid). The more stuff in the chain from your axe to your amp, the more things are likely to go bad. Start with a good guitar (volume and tone pots should have a smooth rolloff and not go to extremes in a fraction of a turn) and a good multichannel amp (clean and lead channels, at least). Add only the effects you need and use good cables to connect everything.
 
You've made it way too complicated for yourself by adding all that stuff in there. I'd be willing to bet you'd get a way better sound if you sold all your stuff except the guitars and used the money to buy a small tube combo, new pickups and one or two pedals.
 
CyanJaguar said:
cheapo Epiphone les paul 100 lefty with stock 10s\
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LMFAO. Are you serious?

I have never heard anyone refer to guitar strings as "stock".

Might wanna upgrade them to "Brand New" and then turn the treble on your amp down a bit since you have probably been needing to compensate for that minor* issue.

How old are those strings anyways?




*Minor meaning BIG GIANT FUCKING ISSUE.
 
AlChuck said:
The #1 best tip to get a better sound is to become a better player.

Good players I've seen sound terrific no matter what gear they use. And bad players sound terrible even if they have the most cherry Les Paul and killer multi-thousand-dollar boutique amp.
Click to expand...

I guess that settles it, I will never be a good player.
 
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