so what else can i do ?

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cubanorocker316

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to better the sound of your guitar, what else can you do besides change the strings and pickups ?
 
Put better pickups in your current guitar, get a new guitar altogether, adjust the tone pots on your amp, get a new amp, put some effects in your signal chain.

The possibilities are limited only by your budget.
 
ez_willis said:
Put better pickups in your current guitar, get a new guitar altogether, adjust the tone pots on your amp, get a new amp, put some effects in your signal chain.

The possibilities are limited only by your budget.
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Let me guess, you're totally broke, right?
 
ez_willis said:
Let me guess, you're totally broke, right?
Click to expand...

well lets just say i cant go out and buy a new marshall amp, but i can probably get like 150$ if that helps lol
 
Ez's right: the possibilities are endless, especially with all the variables available on an electric guitar.

But carpaljets is more right: there's no better way to improve your sound than to improve your skills. Think of all the great players, especially blues players, who made great music on crappy guitars. Whenever I start complaining about my equipment, my zen-like guitar teacher smiles knowingly and reminds me that it's a poor craftsman who blames his tools.

Besides, extra practice is a lot cheaper than new pickups.
 
I would say that your best bet is to keep the guitar you have and play the hell out of it, get used to everything about it, its strengths and weaknesses. Too many people will constantly trade off an instrument, before giving it a chance, you need to get comfortable with it!
That being said, I do have a cheap Tele copy that I put a Devil head sticker on and it becomes a badass blues machine~~ :cool:
 
A good guitarist can make a crappy guitar sound good, a crappy guitarist can make a fine instrument sound bad...enough said.
 
ez_willis said:
adjust the tone pots on your amp

The possibilities are limited only by your budget.
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I know this may sound like a newb question bt what are tone pots, and how would i go about adjusting them, do solid state amps have tone pots ? thanks


- Lou
 
Potentiometer=pot=thing under a knob. The pots don't have a dramatic influence on sound, but tone pots have capacitors soldered to the, which do. BTW, pots are pots, the only difference between a tone pot and a volume pot is the capacitor (cap).

Before that nonsense. get a screwdriver, and fiddle with the pickup height. It makes a big difference.
 
ermghoti said:
Potentiometer=pot=thing under a knob. The pots don't have a dramatic influence on sound, but tone pots have capacitors soldered to the, which do. BTW, pots are pots, the only difference between a tone pot and a volume pot is the capacitor (cap).

Before that nonsense. get a screwdriver, and fiddle with the pickup height. It makes a big difference.
Click to expand...

He asked about adjusting them, not changing them out. The answer to his question is "turn the tone knob(s)". Yes, most amps have them, marked "bass", "treble", etc.

To his original question - there is no magic bullet. As you progress as a player, you will find your own way, and the things you need to acquire to go farther in the direction you have chosen will be self-evident. It's different for everyone. If you don't have any idea what you need, then don't buy anything right now. Get as good as you can with what you've got. Never give up and you'll figure it out.

Everybody has to be bad before they can be any good, and the only way past the "suck" stage is through it. Play a lot, and often, and you'll get through it faster. Revel in your suckiness; it means you are going through it to better things!
 
The quick ones:

  • Adjust the intonation (electric).
  • Change the bridge height (electric).
  • Adjust the string height if you're getting buzzing.
  • Adjust the pickup height.
  • Replace the strings.
  • Change the gauge of the strings.

If you're feeling more adventurous:

  • Replace the nut and/or adjust height
  • Replace the bridge and/or adjust height (acoustic)
  • Add a compensated nut
  • Add a compensated bridge (acoustic only)

On my electric, reworking the intonation made a lot of difference, but it still wasn't quite right between open strings and the first fret, and I hate to compromise, so I switched to a compensated nut, and it made a world of difference.
 
ez_willis said:
... put some effects in your signal chain...
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You'll get more mileage on improving your tone by getting all of the effects OUT of your signal path, particularly if you are going into a tube amp.


Oh, and the absolute best way to make your guitar sound better is to practice making your gutiar sound better. Seriously, practice different pick attacks, change which part of your finger touches the string, or where in relation to the fret it touches, and of course you always want to pay attention to how hard you press. All these things make a difference in what comes out of the speaker. Practice them all.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
iwantmypie said:
It's all in the fingers, baby
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Truer words, blah blah blah.


Good advice there.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
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