Power chords/Drop D/.. I need help!

[austinm08]

Right now.. I'm under the impression that distortion only sounds good if you're playing power chords.. but I feel limited sorta.. if I only play power chords. I saw a band last night and one rhythm guitarist was playing regular chords with distortion.. (I think he had the distortion going at the time).. like a Bm.. so.. I just sort of need advice on playing with distortion. Does everyone just play power chords, or also normal chords? Thanks!
Austin

 

[Myriad_Rocker]

Whatever sounds good.

For open chords, I would use less distortion. Too much = crappy

 

[austinm08]

Whatever sounds good.

For open chords, I would use less distortion. Too much = crappy

Okay. That's what I was thinking.. I always thought open chords just sounded mushed up or something with a lot of distortion. Thanks

 

[Gorty]

Right now.. I'm under the impression that distortion only sounds good if you're playing power chords.. but I feel limited sorta.. if I only play power chords. I saw a band last night and one rhythm guitarist was playing regular chords with distortion.. (I think he had the distortion going at the time).. like a Bm.. so.. I just sort of need advice on playing with distortion. Does everyone just play power chords, or also normal chords? Thanks!
Austin

Too much distortion can turn open chords etc into a horrible mush. Power chords sound great with distortion because of the Root, 5th and octave components.
I turn the volume down slightly on my guitar when I play Barre or open chords with distortion, or introduce the palm muting technique to limit the strings from ringing out too much especially in a live situation.
When recording I use a lot less distortion, it gives more definition and will sound a lot better than you think it will.
Eveyone will have their own opinions of what sounds good and how they approach this matter.

 

[austinm08]

Too much distortion can turn open chords etc into a horrible mush. Power chords sound great with distortion because of the Root, 5th and octave components.
I turn the volume down slightly on my guitar when I play Barre or open chords with distortion, especially in a live situation.

Eveyone will have their own opinions of what sounds good and how they approach this matter.

Okay.. thanks. Yeah I read up on the guy who came up with the power chord.. but I've forgotten his name already. And why it sounds 'better'.. because of what you said.. interesting. Thanks for your advice

 

[Sirnothingness]

There are not only different volumes but also different types of distortion. Eric Johnson uses distortion but sounds much different than Eddie Van Halen. And EVH didn't rely on power chords either. He had good control over his sound and played alot of triads.

 

[ermghoti]

Depends on your rig. Don't forget decent cables, either. When I finally replaced all the store-brand crap in my rig, I found I could play six note chords with full metal-type distortion, and hear each note distinctly.

 

[austinm08]

Depends on your rig. Don't forget decent cables, either. When I finally replaced all the store-brand crap in my rig, I found I could play six note chords with full metal-type distortion, and hear each note distinctly.

Wow, that's cool

 

[ggunn]

Depends on your rig. Don't forget decent cables, either. When I finally replaced all the store-brand crap in my rig, I found I could play six note chords with full metal-type distortion, and hear each note distinctly.

At the very least, I'm skeptical. I don't buy into the Monster Hype about ultrapure copper and exotic braiding adding "clarity", "transparency", "tightness", et al. I have a slew of guitar cables - old and new, cheap and moderately expensive, some homemade - and they all sound exactly alike.

As long as cables connect solidly, have sufficient shielding so they don't buzz or pick up radio stations, and don't make noise when you shake them around, cables are cables, IMNSHO.

 

[nevome]

Thats what I used to think before I did hear some high line pro-co and monster cables. Monsters are a little overpriced in my opinion, probably mostly because I can't afford them, but it is a noticable diffrenece to upgrade the cables even to something that isn't monsters.

It's funny that guitarists will often be so particular about thier pickups, strings, body/neck/fretboard woods, which dist. pedal they use, what amp, the speakers, and even the brand and type of tubes because those all affect thier tone, and then are willing to throw any old cable in there to get that tone from one place to another.

New cables, especially something in the higher quality brackets will help your distorted tones not turn to mush, be carefull though cause the monsters I borrowed from a friend also got rid of the nasal sound and opened up a fullness in my bridge pickup I didn't like.

 

[vcgeetar]

At the very least, I'm skeptical. I don't buy into the Monster Hype about ultrapure copper and exotic braiding adding "clarity", "transparency", "tightness", et al. I have a slew of guitar cables - old and new, cheap and moderately expensive, some homemade - and they all sound exactly alike.

As long as cables connect solidly, have sufficient shielding so they don't buzz or pick up radio stations, and don't make noise when you shake them around, cables are cables, IMNSHO.

Ok well the thing with cables..... yah some cables sound better than others but most people really can not honestly hear it. when it comes to recording guitar i honestly do not like the sound of several of monster and planet waves cables... yes i love mogami but thats a personal preference... i guess for cables more or less look for a nice thick guage and nice connectors... i tend to like the better conductivity of gold connectors. but no, cables are not just cables. you get a cable with a very thing guage and cheap plastic connectors its going to sound like crap and be very noisy (from a lack of shielding and added resistance from thin wires)

 

[Dumby]

Tuning! Tuning! Tuning!

It is very important when you play an open chord with lots of distortion, that your guitar be tuned with extreme accuracy. If one string is slightly sharp or flat...it should sound foul instantly and make you squint!
Here's a critical pointer; (I don't know what kind of guitar you have or someone may be able to explain it better) This use to be my problem on my old cheap guitar but here it goes.
The distance from the nut to the twelth fret, must be equal to the point it sits from the 12th fret>>>to the bridge considering the height. You can tell if it's off by playing on the same string and octave higher and check it with the tuner or see if your power chords are off from one end of the neck to the other...you've got a problem.
Maybe take your guitar in to a shop you know has a guy that can do this...Usually free if you go there alot and buy a pack of strings.
Hope this makes sense.

 

[Anomaly Design]

Also, just keep listening to new music! The more you expose yourself to the more power of creativity at your fingertips. Run across a style you don't normally listen to and maybe they hit a note you fall in love with, learn it!

Listen, Learn and Experiment!

 

[tourettes5139]

If you're looking to be able to play complex chords with some distortion, you might want to try an overdrive pedal, or something like that. In my experience, it really keeps the definition there, but you still get some pretty good crunch to it.

$0.02

 

[ggunn]

Thats what I used to think before I did hear some high line pro-co and monster cables. Monsters are a little overpriced in my opinion, probably mostly because I can't afford them, but it is a noticable diffrenece to upgrade the cables even to something that isn't monsters.

It's funny that guitarists will often be so particular about thier pickups, strings, body/neck/fretboard woods, which dist. pedal they use, what amp, the speakers, and even the brand and type of tubes because those all affect thier tone, and then are willing to throw any old cable in there to get that tone from one place to another.

New cables, especially something in the higher quality brackets will help your distorted tones not turn to mush, be carefull though cause the monsters I borrowed from a friend also got rid of the nasal sound and opened up a fullness in my bridge pickup I didn't like.

Like I said, I am skeptical. I have listened to tons of guitar cables, and I have read the results of double blind studies that show that (for example) even the goldenest of the golden ears cannot discern the diff between megaexpensive speaker cables and zipcord bought from the hardware store. I know people who plunk down the cash for this stuff swear by it, but there's a tendency for folks to justify themselves after the fact so that they don't feel ripped off.

I've read the specs and done the math, and I can tell you that ultralow capacitance wire doesn't buy you a thing, audio-wise if it moves up the 3dB rolloff point from 1 megahertz to 3 megahertz. I know that ultralow resistance doesn't buy you a thing if the impedances on each end of your transmission line are several orders of magnitude higher. Pushers of high dollar cable tout "transparency", "tightness", and other "qualities" of their products, but they are unmeasurable and unprovable (and therefore conveniently undisprovable) specs. I don't buy it.

So anyway, spend your money on this stuff if you want. I won't.

 

[austinm08]

Whoa.. that's a lot of information. Ok thanks everyone. I'll take all that into consideration

 

[dirtythermos]

Some distortions are not as muddy as others when it comes to complex chords.

Also, a chord like Am is 3 notes - A, C, and E. Try playing those notes on 3 strings, instead of six, and see if that cleans it up a bit.

In fact, you should learn all the triads on the first three strings - it will make you a better player and give you another option than bar chords.

 

[VSpaceBoy]

Some distortions are not as muddy as others when it comes to complex chords.

Agreed. Not to mention the pickup/selection. I love open suspended chords with distortion ringing out. Gish from smashing pumpkins comes to mind.

Also, try more chord voicings acrossed the neck. for instance

A chord

0
10
9
11
0
X

and in dropped D I play this alot, it adds a little sparkle to the power chord.

G (but you can move it up and down the neck)

x
6
5
3
3
3

 

[MatthewRedStars]

Like I said, I am skeptical. I have listened to tons of guitar cables, and I have read the results of double blind studies that show that (for example) even the goldenest of the golden ears cannot discern the diff between megaexpensive speaker cables and zipcord bought from the hardware store. I know people who plunk down the cash for this stuff swear by it, but there's a tendency for folks to justify themselves after the fact so that they don't feel ripped off.

I've read the specs and done the math, and I can tell you that ultralow capacitance wire doesn't buy you a thing, audio-wise if it moves up the 3dB rolloff point from 1 megahertz to 3 megahertz. I know that ultralow resistance doesn't buy you a thing if the impedances on each end of your transmission line are several orders of magnitude higher. Pushers of high dollar cable tout "transparency", "tightness", and other "qualities" of their products, but they are unmeasurable and unprovable (and therefore conveniently undisprovable) specs. I don't buy it.

So anyway, spend your money on this stuff if you want. I won't.

You are forgetting the other issue, durability. I buy expensive cables, not for the sound, but cos i never have to deal with crackles and bad connections when they are used and abused daily.

 

[ggunn]

You are forgetting the other issue, durability. I buy expensive cables, not for the sound, but cos i never have to deal with crackles and bad connections when they are used and abused daily.

Nope, I'm not. What I said was as long as cables make solid contact and don't make noise when you shake them around, they are good to go, IMO. I have a bunch of $15 guitar cables which satisfy those criteria, and some of them are ten years old.

What I am not advocating is buying into the "snake oil" claims of esoteric untestable "features" of some of the higher end cables. Monster Cable, for example, although their practice of going after everyone that uses the word "monster" in a commercial venture is enough for me to spend my money elsewhere no matter how good they are. If you don't know about this, simply google "monster cable litigation" and you'll see what I mean.