I am so poor at finding tones I like

axisus

Every so often I buy a new bit of kit in the hope that I will find what I am looking for. I never quite seem to. I am just rubbish at finding the tones I am looking for. I think that part of it is that I don't have a good ear for sound, another part is that I always seem to head for a high gain amp sound and turn the gain right up. I can't tell what works before I overcook it.

To be honest I don't think I know my arse from my elbow when it comes to a good sound. I stick on an album - Doobie Bros, Steely Dan etc, and the killer solo tone is just not something I would be aiming for. I can't tell what sounds good when I'm tweaking and generally keep sticking more of everything on!

I like your Satriani high gain sounds, singing with lots of sustain, but I also like good blues tones, SRV, Sayce etc. and just generally earthy 70s guitar sounds. 

Anyone else struggle or do you find it easy?

CoffeeAndTV

Yes, I have a similar issue.  Amped up, my guitar sounds great and I can play quite happily.  I’ve been a recent convert to Helix and I only really use one or two sounds.

The issue for me is recording, I cannot dial in a decent guitar sound for the life of me.  There’s a strange sound almost like an artifact that I cannot describe which I think is the interface I’m using.  I’ve wanted to post for help
on here but I cannot find a way to describe it and have people understand me. 

TTony

Start with a clean / neutral amp, and build from that.  But if one pedal / FX / preset isn’t working for you, try another - there’s enough choice out there.

Recording an electro acoustic also taught me that taking stuff out (frequencies) can have just as much effect as adding stuff in.  So don’t just turn all the effects up to max, twiddle some knobs to the left too (they turn both ways).

And when you find something that’s close, SAVE IT.  Use that as your new baseline.  If it’s saved, you can always go back to that if your subsequent knob-twiddling takes you somewhere that you don’t like so much.

fretmeister

CoffeeAndTV said:

Yes, I have a similar issue.  Amped up, my guitar sounds great and I can play quite happily.  I’ve been a recent convert to Helix and I only really use one or two sounds.

The issue for me is recording, I cannot dial in a decent guitar sound for the life of me.  There’s a strange sound almost like an artifact that I cannot describe which I think is the interface I’m using.  I’ve wanted to post for help
on here but I cannot find a way to describe it and have people understand me. 

Use the Helix as the interface. No need to use another one.

Try and describe the problem you are having, here and on the massive Facebook Helix group. I'm sure someone will understand.
There's 40,000 members on the facebook one. Almost guaranteed to have someone with a solution.

But - give all the info. The full signal path. Photos of the block settings, the rest of your system etc 

Blaendulais

Same here and when people lick Mick here describe the sounds i still think they are the same

fretmeister

I'm pretty good at finding sounds I like, but I can get obsessive about it, which is its own problem.

Generally I like quite a few sounds and I can find them inspirational even if they are really outside of my usual approach.
But at the same time I have been playing for 35+ years now so I definitely have my favourites.

I spend a couple of hours yesterday trying to dial in a great Fender Deluxe type tone with my Helix and studio monitors.
I gave up (again) when I realised that although I like those amps being played by other people, I much prefer Marshall flavoured clean tones that actually have some mids.

The problem was not the tone, it was that it wasn't ever going to be right for me, and I would continue to want a Marshall type instead.

I did spend ages coming up with a good Brian May tone though. I downloaded a load from the L6 custom tone site and then sort of mashed them up until I got something I was happy with. I did need to use a humbucker equipped guitar though. Singles that cannot be put into series aren't enough for that.

Nerine

No. Everyone always says my guitar/rig sounds killer. 

axisus

I also bought Amplitube when it was cheap last year, tons of stuff to tweak but I gave up in the end! There's too much!

IntoTheRough

CoffeeAndTV said:

Yes, I have a similar issue.  Amped up, my guitar sounds great and I can play quite happily.  I’ve been a recent convert to Helix and I only really use one or two sounds.

The issue for me is recording, I cannot dial in a decent guitar sound for the life of me.  There’s a strange sound almost like an artifact that I cannot describe which I think is the interface I’m using.  I’ve wanted to post for help
on here but I cannot find a way to describe it and have people understand me. 

Post it here or feel free to send me a dm to take a listen

S56035

I'm the same. I've gone through loads. I've settled on a Victory Jack amp pedal. When I had the Podgo and I've tried Garageband, Bias FX, Amplitude and like you said, too many options. I've even tried just downloading presents and actually paying for them to no avail.

BillDL

There's always going to be the issue of having set up a really good sound in one environment only to find that it sounds less good in another environment, whether it be setting up the sounds in a house and then taking the amp to a gig, or even between two different rooms in a house.  As @Ttony mentioned about saving a "baseline", my baseline on any amp is a very slight crunch with the guitar volume backed off about three notches on a P90 equipped guitar (i.e. "middle of the road output), with the tone set so that it is not too shrill or boomy with the guitar tone knob(s) backed off a few notches, and with a very small amount of reverb because I generally play with reverb on anyway.  That gives me the means to compensate for different guitar and pickup types because I still have some extra signal to add for standard single-coils and more treble available if needed.  Any additional overdrive I supply by kicking on an overdrive channel or, more commonly, applying an overdrive pedal.  If I really need to cut or boost frequencies with a particular amp or guitar I use a graphic equaliser pedal.  I don't use many effects, so perhaps achieving a variety of good usable tones is a lot easier for me than for somebody that uses more effects.

One thing that is affecting me these days is some loss of high frequencies in my hearing in the range found on the high E string above the 5th fret.  It's almost as though when I play in that area it starts to get muffled and there is a volume drop.  I would bet that I am over-compensating on the EQ at times and raising my pickups too high on the treble side.  If I played a gig it would probably slice people in half.

PolarityMan

Ive pretty recently come round to plugins that do one thing (or a handful of things) really well to avoid analysis paralysis. So for chuggy stuff I'll always reach for Archetype: Gojira, for fuzz its always archetype: Rabea etc. 

AndyJP

I don't think in terms of brands because that's a rabbit hole.  I think about EQ, headroom and Compression.

I'll think of an album tone that I like then research what's unique about it's EQ.  Is it a scooped mid, or does it have lot's of low mid range or lots of high midrange.   Will then research what gear combination has that particular EQ.  From there I'll think how much headroom I need and what level of compression.  That helped me.

For me the appeal of a digital rig is an infinite pedal board where I can model all my fav tones and not be limited by the analogue gear that I own.

Nerine

I would actually advise playing with less gain than you usually go for. 

This may help you understand the slightly more nuanced aspects of guitar sound and give more of an insight into what it is you're actually looking for. Ramping on gain and effects are hardly conducive to being heard or having a dynamic playing experience either. 

Playing with less gain will also help with technique because you'll absolutely make sure notes are hit properly to maximise sustain etc. 

Have a look at the gear some of your favourite artists use and just copy those rigs for a kick off. Especially if you're in the digital realm. 

I built one of JoBos rigs in my Fractal with Dumbles, Marshalls etc and EV loaded cabs and some choice pedals etc. 

I broke out all my best JoBo licks and quelle surprise it sounded like JoBos rig...

That said, it didn't sound like JoBo's rig if I played Slash or Zakk licks. Go figure....

thecolourbox

I do find it hard sometimes but then I operate almost exclusively in the "made up" world of digital modelling and/or playing at home. The sounds I'd like to be able to play are a bit trickier to put together (as they'd ordinarily need multiple cranked fenders or a vintage junk shop amp etc) so generally I've had to really obsessively work out those more fiddly sounds to get and have neglected to learn how to make basic generic typical sounds. So when i have to use those, on cover/composition challenges or when recording generally etc it's a lot harder for me to work out than it should be. I tend to add too much bass because that's what the specific sounds I normally like are, I don't really use drive pedals (or models thereof) very well because I don't really know how to put things together like that. 

I also don't play outloud very often now, and even before reaching this kind of set up I never really played in public very much, so I've not really had that learning experience either too put the tones together. But on the plus side, I don't really need to concern myself with how my home sounds translate to a live environment as my music doesn't really get heard on much outside of my headphones and desktop speakers.

You would think this would mean that my recorded tones on my covers and original recorded songs would be really interesting and unique, not being based on typical conventional setups etc. However sadly my voice isn't one which lends itself to being accompanied by loud fuzzy dual amp setups with octaves doubled up all over the place so my recordings tend to come with fairly bland generic guitar tones. 

spark240

TBHI have the Kemper and tend to get most of my sounds from the Morgan AC20 profile tweaked in various ways...

Snags

It's also worth remembering that you've got:

• amp in the room sound at home volume
• amp in the room sound at gigging volume
  
• mic'd amp recorded sound, which will be different from both of the above
• digital models direct to DAW via studio speakers
• digital models via FRFR mic'd
• digital models via power amp and guitar cab

All of which are potentially going to sound different, and different at different volumes.

If you don't like any of the sounds you're getting, then look at your playback system (if it's FRFR maybe you'd prefer through a real cab, or studio monitors, or headphones or ...) and also look at tutorials on how to configure your particular modeller for the playback you're using. For instance, it seems to be a common thing with modellers that if you're going direct to desk or FOH or FRFR then you might need some fairly brutal high cuts to stop it fizzing and so on.

octatonic

I teched for Larry Carlton at a guitar clinic once.

He used the same amp as everyone else, a small tube amp, I think it was a Cornell.
He was playing a borrowed 335 that I set up which he commented had a thicker neck and thinner strings that he was used to (it had 11's on it).
No pedals, amp wound up about 1/3rd of the way, with bass turned down, treble and mids up.
He had less gain than anyone else but more sustain.

He spent no more than 1 minute sorting his sound out.
He warmed up for about 20 mins, whilst chatting to me and a few other people, absolutely shredding arpeggios.
He didn't deploy any of that shredding when he went out and played and he just played... music.

He sounded godly.
It was absolutely one of the best musical experiences of my life.

The other players, all really good guitar players and instructors, sounded great until he played a few notes.
It was obvious he was just on another level.
The whole audience could see it, could hear that difference.

It was his approach, note choice, vibrato, ability to sustain notes with his hands rather than obnoxious amounts of gain and volume. It was all just really well thought out and seemed to just happen 'naturally', although I know that almost casual delivery of something absolutely amazing came from decades of dedication, playing hours a day, excellent music theory knowledge, incredible technical ability and having a defined musical personality.

I know I'll never attain that level of guitar playing, none of us will here.
But the stuff to work on is all of the above.

Worry about the gear less.
If you have the stuff in bold down then it doesn't matter so much what equipment you play.
Your musical personality will come out regardless.
Work on that.

sorbz62

I have quite recently gone from an Axe-FXII, FM3, GX100, Amplifire and others and realised that I am constantly adjusting the tones:  That sounds good.... Ooh, that sounds better ..... More Sag! .... Change IR, Change IR, Change IR ...blah, blah blah!

At home , I'm now playing my amps through a Fryette PS100 and live the band plays direct to FOH and I use a Victory V4 pedal amp, soon to be replaced by a Friedman IR-X.  I couldn't be happier.

CaseOfAce

octatonic said:

I teched for Larry Carlton at a guitar clinic once.

He used the same amp as everyone else, a small tube amp, I think it was a Cornell.
He was playing a borrowed 335 that I set up which he commented had a thicker neck and thinner strings that he was used to (it had 11's on it).
No pedals, amp wound up about 1/3rd of the way, with bass turned down, treble and mids up.
He had less gain than anyone else but more sustain.

He spent no more than 1 minute sorting his sound out.
He warmed up for about 20 mins, whilst chatting to me and a few other people, absolutely shredding arpeggios.
He didn't deploy any of that shredding when he went out and played and he just played... music.

He sounded godly.
It was absolutely one of the best musical experiences of my life.

The other players, all really good guitar players and instructors, sounded great until he played a few notes.
It was obvious he was just on another level.
The whole audience could see it, could hear that difference.

It was his approach, note choice, vibrato, ability to sustain notes with his hands rather than obnoxious amounts of gain and volume. It was all just really well thought out and seemed to just happen 'naturally', although I know that almost casual delivery of something absolutely amazing came from decades of dedication, playing hours a day, excellent music theory knowledge, incredible technical ability and having a defined musical personality.

I know I'll never attain that level of guitar playing, none of us will here.
But the stuff to work on is all of the above.

Worry about the gear less.
If you have the stuff in bold down then it doesn't matter so much what equipment you play.
Your musical personality will come out regardless.
Work on that.

Absolute gem of a post.

roberty

Great story @octatonic thanks for sharing