Technical data

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Level
Frequency
20 Hz 50 Hz 80 Hz
100 Hz 200 Hz 400 Hz
1 kHz 2 kHz 4 kHz 8 kHz
16 kHz 20 kHz
Bass Drum
Bass
Guitar
Vocals
Cymbals
Your tone in the band
I want to use these pages to give you some tips on how to sound better
– and more at home – in your band. In short, how you arrive at ‘your’
tone. A tone that sounds great in your living room at low volumes will
generally not work in a band context. Why?
Well, it’s because many instruments are being used simultaneously in
the band. Their frequencies all overlap, and only the distinctive parts of
the sonic spectrum will come through.
Indeed, there are loads of different roles in bands, so the “frequency
soup” differs depending on the group.
That said, most bands don’t just have bass and drums, but more common fea-
tures that we have to take into consideration in order to master any situation.
For me, AC/DC is a great example of how a band’s sound works. With two
guitars, bass, drums and vocals, you get the feeling that this is a band whose
guitars always sound amazing.
The reason for that is simple: the two guitars have plenty of space because
all the other instruments are secondary to them and give them plenty of
room, frequency-wise, in the mix. AC/DC’s sound was probably created and
refined through trial and error in the rehearsal room. So you can see that
every great sounding group has developed their own recipe for their own
band sound, and you’ll find that in every genre – from jazz to metal.
Not enough Mids
Sounds that you’ve created at home (i.e. on your own, without fellow musi-
cians) just don't cut the mustard in a band context. Tones that sounded fat,
bold and aggressive when you were playing at home use exactly the same
frequencies as the bass and drums, and so won’t stand out at all.
Tip:
Use less Bass. Turn the Mids up, and even decrease the Highs to experience a
different sort of High with AMP1
™
’s CUSTOM CONTROL
™
.
You’ll still need to make sure these agree with the other instruments in the
band, though.
Hint: The classic EQs on guitar amps make the Mids disappear when you turn
the Highs up, and add Mids when you decrease the Highs.
In contrast, the controls on AMP1
™
’s 3-band EQ do not influence each
other. This makes searching for the best sound settings much easier. The
EQ should be used for adjusting to speakers and space, and for setting the
basic character of the channels, it is better to use the Custom Controls. Once
you’ve found a great tone, you can remember the settings like a numerical
code. My code is 5-5-5 (Bass-Middle-Treble).
Chiming Highs:
In a band context, clean tones often sound too thin. Because of the overlap
of Mids from the other instruments, the only Highs we hear are piercing.
Here, it can often help simply to turn up the Mids or backing off the Highs.
For AMP1
™
’s CLEAN Channel, I designed a special Character Control that
allows you to enjoy the stable Mids you know from classic guitar combo
amps. To access it, just turn the Clean Tone 29 CUSTOM CONTROL
™
anticlockwise – depending on your speakers, of course, you might want to
turn it up a bit more. The Middle control should not be at less than 5.
Thumping bass vs. smaller tones
It often happens that the bass and guitars are using similar frequencies.
This can lead to rumbling and throbbing sounds. Test things out a bit, and
try turning your Bass control up and down in a band context. If nothing’s
rumbling, then you can play with plenty of bass. This’ll make the guitar
sound bigger…
If your bassist allows it, try turning his 120Hz control down. Any rum-
bling should disappear completely, and you’ll have a super fat tone!
To get a better feeling of frequencies and how they overlap, you can also
try playing your guitar along to a backing track. You should set your amp
up so that it sounds good with the backing track and cuts through the
mix.
When the backing track stops, you might be surprised at how your dry
tone sounds. It should be noted that the recorded signal – in comparison
with a live band, whether onstage or in the practice room – will have
been thinned out, and the frequencies processed, at the mixing stage.
It’s worth experimenting with the tone controls on occasion, until you
find your perfect sound for your situation (be that in the band or record-
ing at home).
Academy of Tone
™