Looking for "thin" sound

  • Thread starter Thread starter ricrac47
  • Start date Start date
R

ricrac47

New member
Hi everybody. I am in the process of recording some country music. I want my rhythem guitar to have that real thin sound that you hear so often today. Can anyone tell me how to get that sound. Are there certain guitars that sound like that ......or is it eq and other fx? Thanks for your help.

ricrac47
 
Telecaster, Boss Compressor stomp box, Fender tube amp, Resistol hat, shot of Jim Beam.

Have fun!

foo
 
ricrac,
Another cool thing for country is the "Nashville Tuning". You take the three low strings (EAD) off and replace them with lighter gauge strings tuned up an octave. Its been a while since I've done this, so perhaps someone else could suggest string gauges for this. I do remember it sounds pretty cool on country ballad rhythms, also a lot of people seem to use it for other styles as well. I've also heard it called "high-strung" guitar. For electric I'd combine what foo and Bruce have said...Tele...compressor.....clean amp or direct even....eq to thin out further if needed, Teles are quite thin to begin with, though.

peace.
 
I've found certain hollowbodies to give you a thin sound - my old Gretsch Single Aniversary can sound very thin. I second the tele suggestion as well.
 
RE: "thin sound"

Thanks everybody for your thoughts. I have a few follow up questions.
1. I usually plug direct into the Roland 1680. There are many fx patches that I can use. ie. "country guitar" When I use this fx, my solid body Ibenez sounds pretty much like my Gibson Blues Hawk. Would I be better off buying an amp and using a mic to record the guitar, with outbourd fx? I am thinking that by doing that the unique sounds of different guitars would would be more noticable. If I continue to go direct, is the Tele going to sound any different than my other two guitars? (assuming that I use the onboard fx) Using a mic just seems like a lot of work.

2. I have several compressors available. Is the Boss Stomp Box a specialty compressor, or is it just a compressor?

3. From what I have learned, the Tele that I want is the "American something Telecaster". It is a semi hollow body. People have told me to stay away from the Mexican made Teles. Any thoughts on that?

4. What is a Resistol hat?????

5. I have no questions about the Jim Beam!!!

6. Does anybody know if someone makes an effect box that can make your guitar sound like a steel pedal guitar? Maybe with a foot pedal so I can get that sliding effect.

7. I am very interested in the "Nashville tuning". If I understand the concept correctly, the EAD strings would be normal EAD strings, just lighter guage and tuned an octave higher. This may sound like a stupid question, but can that damage a guitar by puting too much force on the neck?

That's all for now. Sorry to be such a pain, but I would be a fool not to take advantage of all of the experience out here! I really am grateful for your help! When I ask these questions at some retail stores, I get the feeling that people are just pushing products. But here, I feel that I am geting honest answers!
ricrac
 
Here's what I can offer

1. Micing the real deal is always better. If you're looking for somehting quick and dirty, get a POD.
2.There is nothing mystical about the Boss compressor. Use whatever you already have.
3.If you just want it to noodle on and record the odd country track, the Mex would probably be just fine. If you're planning on heading out on tour with Reba or Shania, step up to the plate and get something a little better.
4.I don't know either, but I'm guessing it's some kind of cowboy hat to go w/ that shot o' whiskey.
5.Does sasperilla work too?
6.You can learn to imitate a pedal steel to a certain extent just by practice, but unfortunately that's as close as you can come. Try using a slide, and experimenting with double bends or hitting one note and holding it while bending another.
7.THe Nashville tuning is really great for adding texture to a song. As far as ruining the neck from too much tension, I think you misunderstood. You don't just tune the orignal strings up and octave; you REPLACE them with light gauge strings similar to the G,B, and E. So what you end up with is a basically a twelve string guitar, minus the 6 lower octave strings. Your "low" E and your "high" E will actually be the exact same note, and the exact same string gauge. All this results in much LESS tension on the neck. You will probably have to adjust the tension rod to compensate. It's not just used in country music by the way. Joe Satriani uses it ALL the time.
Good Luck.
Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
Going direct into the board bypasses a very important part of the guitar's sound, and that is the amp/speakers.
Guitar amps are set up to produce a certain tone, and not having an amp changes the sound pretty drastically.

Any compressor will do, I chose Boss because I like the sound, and my experience with Boss pedals has been they sound good and you can beat them up and they're going to come through for you. Using a stomp box is preferable in this case, because a good rackmount compressor will be too transparent for this application - you want to be able to hear the effect working.

Any Tele will do - the semi-hollow ones have a 'rounder' sound - I prefer the solid bodies.

A Resistol hat is a cowboy hat (a la John Wayne) but it is also used exclusively in this instance for catching the notes as they are dispatched from country picker heaven by the guitar gods.


Nashville tuning is (in my experience) more of an acoustic rhythm guitar thing - it gives you the texture of a 12-string, without the power.
It is more of a 'frosting' than a 'cake'

foo
 
ricrac,
There are ways you can fake steel licks on regular guitar, but that's more of a lead gtr thing and I'm presuming you're talking about rhythm. I haven't done this, but you could try tuning the guitar to an open chord and sliding with a bar, overhand, with the guitar in your lap. A real key part of the steel, though, is using the bender pedals and knee levers and swelling into the bends with a volume pedal. As far as the footpedal effect, you could use a Whammy Pedal in conjunction with string bends and volume knob swells, but it seems like an awful lot of work to get at best an imitation. As for compressors, a lot of the country guys I know use the MXR Dyna-Comp, you definitely hear that puppy working.

peace.
 
and if you are using the roland onboard effects don't be afraid to explore the gate options they have. Some of those thin you out pretty well too. In many ways it beats screwing with the EQ too much because it does not eliminate entire frequencies like an EQ tends to
 
Another 'thin' sound possiblity is to install a switch to put your pickups out of phase. This is very thin and nasely sounding, don't know of it applies to what your doing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top