How to apprach a potentially awkward subject with other guitarist?

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  • Was it a one guitar band before? Maybe he thought he had to fill the spaces which he doesn't now - I always find it hard to say anything to the other guitarist but if it comes from the bass player or drummer it' doesn't seem so "know it all" 
    Yes it was and i think this could well be part of the problem. We had these couple of gigs on the cards pretty soon after i joined so i have actually only written one song with them and the rest are their previous 3 piece songs. Interestingly he did say last night that in the song we have written since i joined that he would only play guitar in certain parts and just concentrate on singing in other parts so i do think he is listening and thinking about the sound so the situation might change as we write more stuff as a four piece
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  • I think some of the problem also is that he doesnt recognise the difference between how a guitar sounds on its own and how it sounds in a band. On its own his sound is massive but in a band it just gets swallowed up. Bit like a EHX big muff, sounds massive on its own but easily lost in a band mix.

    He also seems to set his eq with his eyes not his ears. I had a blast through his rig a while ago and adjusted the eq (with his permission). He came back in the room and looked at the dials and said ‘you cant set those there!’ Without even hearing/playing it!
    If he’s setting the amp by sight, can you just not pull the knobs off the bass and gain physically turn them down, and put the knobs back to where they look right for him ? 
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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    Show him this thread...
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  • WeZ84WeZ84 Frets: 154
    Try listening to a recording from a gig or rehearsal together so you can both hear the full band mix.
    Sometimes the full mix that the audience hear is different to what the band can hear on stage

    Or maybe at a rehearsal, do two recordings of the same song - one with his current settings and one with your suggested settings so he can hear the difference
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  • Just tell him he's excess to requirements. And wish him well. 
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  • ShrewsShrews Frets: 2958
    ESBlonde said:
    Record the live sound and get everyone to critique thier own sound and suggest ways to improve it for the sake of the band.
    Puts everyone on an even footing and gets the subject broached and out in the open. Don't be the one to say 'that sounds shit', rather what can we do to improve our live sound chaps.

    +1

    Surely, every band (and band member) should be open to constructive criticism if you want to improve as a band.  No nastiness, just helping each other out.

    When I become good enough to be in a band, this is the kind of band I'd like to be in.

    Let's face it, if the band was good enough to sign a record deal, then a whole array of people will be getting involved to give band members constructive criticism.


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  • revsorgrevsorg Frets: 874
    I wonder if you recorded the whole band on separate channels of a DAW then look at the mix and at each instrument through a spectrum analyzer. This should show overlapping frequencies of the various instruments. It might offer you a kind of non judgemental third party perspective that will seem a bit less like criticism.
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  • vizviz Frets: 10644
    Get the drummer to tell him, surely
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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  • viz said:
    Get the drummer to tell him, surely
    It would be too much detailed information for a drummer to remember. 
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • Mark1960Mark1960 Frets: 326
    Let it lie, and wait for somebody else to bring it up. If it's that obvious it will soon be spotted. if it's not that obvious then it doesn't really matter in the overall scheme of things. However you bring it up it won't end well.
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  • I'd tell him, but don't be a dick about it. I'd want my other guitarist (if I was in a 2 guitar band) to tell me if it was the other round. If you leave it can you live with it for a prolonged period?
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  • Or to play devils advocate (and I should stress this is exaggerated to give some perspective) ....in an originals band no one in the audience gives a flying fuck about the guitar tone anyway so what does it matter?

    I say that as someone in an originals band btw :)


    ဈǝᴉʇsɐoʇǝsǝǝɥɔဪቌ
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  • BarneyBarney Frets: 614
    Tape a rehearsal and listen back ..he will probably realise himself that way 
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  • gusman2xgusman2x Frets: 919
    If all was equal, then being diplomatic would be fine. However, you're the new guy, so if it was me I'd let it lie for a bit. If it's an atrocious problem, then it will present itself fully at some point then it will be dealt with.

    I have a similar situation at the moment where there's this new guitarist that's joined our band, and he's a great player, but his tone is like an ice pick, cuts though everything. Oh wait....
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  • FuengiFuengi Frets: 2849
    Never been in a band, is it considered I'll manners to adjust his amp and tone controls while he's playing? 

    A simple "there we go, that's better" would surely go down really well?  :open_mouth: 


    I work alone. 
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  • Maybe it says more about me than anything else, but...  If an original music band doesn't talk to each other and discuss how things are put together, then it will probably never achieve anything that makes them all happy as 3/4/5 egos with their own, unshared, thoughts play in splendid isolation doing their own thing and wishing the others would be more sympathetic to their own ideas and playing.

    That's why some bands only improve after getting a producer (old school, not someone with a deck and a laptop) in to help them. It's a counselling job, sometimes - pointing out the obvious to people so everyone else can keep their hands clean.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71956
    I wouldn’t do anything - just use a sound which complements and contrasts with his. Unless he’s loud enough to make the whole mix muddy, I would take it as an opportunity to use his sound as a canvas on which to project your clearer, more defined parts. Two-guitar bands work best when the guitar sounds are very different from each other, unless you’re specifically going for a Thin Lizzy-type twin-lead thing.

    "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

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • ICBM said:
    I wouldn’t do anything - just use a sound which complements and contrasts with his. Unless he’s loud enough to make the whole mix muddy, I would take it as an opportunity to use his sound as a canvas on which to project your clearer, more defined parts. Two-guitar bands work best when the guitar sounds are very different from each other, unless you’re specifically going for a Thin Lizzy-type twin-lead thing.
    This might work if you (the OP) can accept it. The risk I can see is the other guitarist decides to change his parts as a result, because he prefers something else in his head. Then you're back where you started - sounding like a band that never talks about how to complement (and compliment!) each other! 

    It's enough to make you become a solo performer...   ;)
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  • Modulus_AmpsModulus_Amps Frets: 2569
    tFB Trader
    Don't ignore it, it will not go away.
    maybe have a chat with other members about the sound/tones... they may all be thinking you are too bright and the two of you need to meet in the middle.
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  • John_AJohn_A Frets: 3775
    I certainly wouldn't be adverse to some advice that would make me sound better, just put a positive spin on it:

    "great riff!  I think it would be better with less gain so it comes through clearer, that way everyone would be better able to hear how great it is"

    Also be open to the idea that you may be wrong too, it may sound better as it is so when you go though the process have the rest of the band there too for comment
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