Are you in a band with two guitarists? Tell me about choosing your guitar & tone.

dmn23

dmn23

Duller than cardboard
Any recommendations on how to best compliment the other guitar tone in a band?

I know some people hate the term but I'm essentially the "rhythm" guitarist in this band. I've only played with this other guy twice and he'll be handling most of the lead duties. He's brought a modded Squier '51 to rehearsal and it's a bright (but not obnoxiously so) tone. He's also not shy about going with a much higher gain sound for some songs than I'd normally choose. Or it's crystal clean.

I lean towards the just-on-the-edge-of-breakup side anyway, so maybe something slightly woolly and darker? Seems like I should leave the Strat and Tele at home and go with humbuckers or P90s.

If anyone's got a formula for this sort of thing I'm open to suggestions.
 
Last edited:
Depends on the situation. When we do the two guitar thing in Felt I usually play Les Paul's and Scott plays more strat and tele sounds but there aren't and hard and fast rules. I just like to find my own bit of sonic space and not duplicate what the other guy is doing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Depends on the kind of music. If it's a do-all band, need different guitars. Playing funk with a LP doesn't work like playing funk with a strat.

Rhythm though, eq wise, i'd think mostly even with added bass, highs rolled down a touch. If you have a pretty reactive amp, you can do alot of sounds by rolling that volume down a smidgen and back up depending on the material.
 
The other guitarist in As Rome Burns (metal project) plays active humbucker equipped baritones through a 5150. Until recently I've been using my Reverends with the P90s (Standard tuning) but now I'm using my Schecter 8 string, which has actives as well. I still primarily play in the higher register, but will occasionally dip down to reinforce some of his riffs. One reason I like the 8 string is the tension.... it has a 26.5" scale and bends have a nice, smooth feel on it.
 
It depends on if you have a dedicated rhythm player and dedicated lead player (that is what I did for years) the Rhythm player used a Mesa and it had that scooped mid Mesa sound, I used a 4 Ch Rocktron (by Bruce Egnator) head with marshal AV cabs ran a GT6 using the 4 cable method. He played Les Paul and I played a Les Paul and a strat HSS and the trick is to play 2 different parts when playing rhythms. If he is playing open chords I would play power chords if he would play power chords say a G, I would play a power chord high G otherwise it just gets to muddy if you are both playing the same thing. I like my sound like 70's-80's lead sound (he calls it sounding like a tin can) and he like this big thick nasty modern sound with all of the mids messed up....lol! It just doesn't sound right to me, but together they compliment each other.
 
My mom said my grandpa pulled a tapeworm out of my uncle's butt when he was a baby. Anyways my point is try not to fill the same EQ space.
 
I don't think the type of guitar matters, like the others said, find your own space and run with it.
 
The most important thing is to really work on dynamics. The worst offense 2 or multi guitar bands have is when one is taking a solo, the other wont lay back and the solo gets buried. This is where the guitar volume war starts. Then both play loud over the vocals. Play out front when it's appropriate and lay back when it's appropriate.
 
telecaster911 said:
The most important thing is to really work on dynamics. The worst offense 2 or multi guitar bands have is when one is taking a solo, the other wont lay back and the solo gets buried. This is where the guitar volume war starts. Then both play loud over the vocals. Play out front when it's appropriate and lay back when it's appropriate.
Click to expand...

This. It does help a lot in my band that we are VERY different players. I don't very often feel like I have to fight for the space I want because Fabian's instinct is to go for something different than I would anyway. The trick is, for each of us, figuring out when it's "too much."
 
Jeremy said:
This. It does help a lot in my band that we are VERY different players. I don't very often feel like I have to fight for the space I want because Fabian's instinct is to go for something different than I would anyway. The trick is, for each of us, figuring out when it's "too much."
Click to expand...

No doubt! The rhythm player and me worked together at our job and talked a bunch and are still great friends to this day. When we get together we know what each other is going to play and it is a good relationship that works when it comes to music. We always set-up and set our volumes and then I set my lead boost and go out and listen to it (I use a wireless) and make sure it isn't to loud to blow away everything else. Plus I don't use a big full stack any more either. I use a 25 W SS amp that will Make a Marshall full stack cry. I depend on my pedals as the amp takes them so well. Back to the discussion at hand, we worked great together and that is what has to happen to be successful I once listened to a Judas Priest interview and Glen Tippton talked about how they worked it with 2 guitars and it made great sense. Never play the same thing and you won't be a thick muddy bloody mess! :thu:
 
Only thing I can add that might not have been is complementary parts. Things that don't overlap. Kerouac kind of hit on it some as well as Mark but go for more textures if the other dude is filling up the space. Maybe work together the less is more concept where both of are playing less yet together it sounds like a lot.
 
telecaster911 said:
The most important thing is to really work on dynamics. The worst offense 2 or multi guitar bands have is when one is taking a solo, the other wont lay back and the solo gets buried. This is where the guitar volume war starts. Then both play loud over the vocals. Play out front when it's appropriate and lay back when it's appropriate.
Click to expand...

It's amazing how few guitarists understand this concept!
 
Modern Saint said:
Only thing I can add that might not have been is complementary parts. Things that don't overlap. Kerouac kind of hit on it some as well as Mark but go for more textures if the other dude is filling up the space. Maybe work together the less is more concept where both of are playing less yet together it sounds like a lot.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. :thu:
 
I played in a couple bands years ago that had two guitarists. Both worked out great because our tones were drastically different, yet complimentary, and we knew how to lay back when the other took a solo.
The singer we just fired in my current band was also a guitarist, and he was like a bull in a china shop--way too loud, stepping on everything, with a tone that was just shrill and horrible, not to mention that none of his vast collection of guitars seemed to stay in tune.
 
This is a perfect excuse to pick up an Orange amp and Les Paul. Maybe a nice custom with an all mahogany body, no maple cap. I mean, it'd be foolish not to run out and buy these things right now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top