So - I have been playing live regularly for years and one thing that still eludes me a bit is how to set up your amp (or Helix in this case but same issue with my Victory) so that the the positions other than bridge pickup don't sound muffled.
Or how do you get that balance so if you set up so it sounds great on the neck pickup but is too bright on the bridge etc. I do ride the vol to control this and sometimes the tone (I have Thornbuckers on one guitar and TV Jones on the other).
Being in covers bands for years now I use a range of sounds and during a gig it sometimes feels like a blanket has been put over the speaker if I change from bridge to anywhere else. I have also rolled back on the gain more and more over the years for definition (usually I'm in dual guitar bands with me as lead guitarist).
Comments
For my covers band, where I might need a jangly rhythm on the neck pickup and a fat lead for the bridge I've finally given in and use a different drive pedal for the bridge pickup, and a boost in front of both.
In my case, I'm using a Marshall Drivemaster set warm and fat for the bridge pickup and a TS-type for all other positions, which is cleaner or at any rate less grainy than the Drivemaster at similar gain levels. If I need more gain I can kick in the boost, whatever drive pedal or pickup I'm using.
All this is in conjunction with a treble pass cap on the guitar's volume pot, so I can clean up without mud for almost acoustic-like tones.
It sounds crazy having a different drive pedal for the bridge pickup, but it's totally instinctive to use and I can finally relax and play without any tonal compromises.
The only Victory amps I've played sounded like they had a blanket over them though, maybe that's part of the problem?
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
1. Adjust the height of each pickup for the best sound, which in my case means not too close to the strings.
2. Adjust the two ends of each pickup to get the best balance across the strings.
3. Then go back and adjust pickup heights relative to each other for the best balance of volumes.
4. Rinse and repeat to fine tune.
Now with single coils there’s a lot more to consider. That’s partly because there can be bigger tonal and volume difference between pickups, and also because there more higher frequencies to get right. This is particularly true of a covers band where you need quite a wide range of sounds. I can see why Brett Mason had a middle pickup fitted on a separate volume control so that he could bleed it into his other sounds. My steps:
1. Choose the right pickups. This is expensive. The secondhand market is your friend. It’s also time consuming, not just changing pickups, but going around the height/balance loop.
2. Choose the right pots, capacitors and treble bleeds. This is less expensive, but also time consuming.
I know that I harp on about it, but my choice for a Telecaster in a covers band is a Strat type neck pickup, and a tapped neck pickup which give both fat and thin Tele sounds. Then use a 5-way switch for pickup combinations: bridge, tapped bridge, both in parallel, neck, both in series. Even with that I find myself riding the tone control because the amp is set so that the neck and the tapped bridge can deliver a bright sound when needed, and tamed when not.
My LP and my Tele are the best-balanced guitars I've ever owned if I'm switching between pickups within a particular style, but when you need a big fat bridge pickup tone and a scooped funk neck pickup tone you're going to have to tread on a footswitch or two, so you may as well set them up to be the best they can, with no compromises.
On a guitar with separate controls you can do it by turning down the tone on the bridge pickup and the volume on the neck a bit as well.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I replaced the pickups in my PRS S2 Custom 24. Not because they were unbalanced, but because I found them too focused and 'metal'. I find the Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz are well balanced and work well together in that guitar, and give it a gainy but more loose bluesy feel.
A tone control on the bridge pickup of a stratocaster is your friend.
When end I was gigging with my strat I thought of it as having graduations of tone and this wasn’t an issue. With twin pick up guitars I’m more aware of that contrast.
Been uploading old tracks I recorded ages ago and hopefully some new noodles here.