Live lead sound for 3 piece

[Airguitargb]

hi

 

i am in a 3 piece rock covers band and always struggling to fill out my lead sound when soloing, we sound great when its drums, bass and rythem but as soon as I go off on a solo the sound naturally sounds very thin, any idead how to beef up my sound please?

 

gear POD HD 500 Marshall DSL 50 w with 4 x 12.

 

I am aware that somewhere in the POD there is the right sound but i have played around with various delays, found patches and tweaked them, i plug in using the 4CM.

 

thanks

[KRAA!!]

Boost in the FX loop

[LSDis4me]

Fuzz and delay pedals

[jimash]

Technique. Open strings double stops octaves picking patterns . Also delay chorus etc.
But the other guys have to help too. In a band I was in the bass and drummer used to goof on me by bringing the dynamics all the way down for my solos. Bastards.
Listen to how Keith moon played the acoustic guitar parts on the cymbals.
Or how in Rush the keyboards go away for Alex.
Lots of ways to skin the cat here, but it takes cooperation.

[sameoldbluesman]

 

Technique. But the other guys have to help too. In a band I was in the bass and drummer used to goof on me by bringing the dynamics all the way down for my solos. Bastards. Listen to how Keith moon played the acoustic guitar parts on the cymbals. Or how in Rush the keyboards go away for Alex. Lots of ways to skin the cat here, but it takes cooperation.

 

A good amount of info there ^

You could also check out the Hendrix Experience and Cream (especially Cream, IMO). Ginger and Jack had a way of taking things up a level when Clapton was soloing.

I have a similar struggle in the four piece I am in, because I am the only guitarist and the keyboard player doesn't fill up as much space as I do when I am playing rhythm. Part of it is just changing what you are used to, instead of a rhythm track playing underneath, get used to the extra space.

[big_cat]

delay and verb for you. dirt and fuzz and octaves for the bassist.

[jimash]

 

A good amount of info there ^ You could also check out the Hendrix Experience and Cream (especially Cream, IMO). Ginger and Jack had a way of taking things up a level when Clapton was soloing. I have a similar struggle in the four piece I am in, because I am the only guitarist and the keyboard player doesn't fill up as much space as I do when I am playing rhythm. Part of it is just changing what you are used to, instead of a rhythm track playing underneath, get used to the extra space.

 

 

Yes. Relish the space. Make it yours. Turn it around and Don't play for a bit. Make the other guys stand up.

For Sameold's example I'll point at old Pink Floyd. Rick Wright gives Gilmour TONS of space most of the time.

[delayed delay]

^^^ all really good advice here.

Does your bass player use a fuzz pedal? If not, that would help a LOT - especially getting one with a clean blend. I strongly suggest checking out the Blakemore Effects Deus Ex - sounds AMAZING on bass.

Modulated delay, an octave pedal (MicroPog), and a good fuzz for you would help as well. I don't think you'll get all the best sounds from the POD either. Most dirt pedal emulations from digital units never sound very good; and they'll most often sound thin. (JMO)

More than anything, your technique is either your best friend or worst enemy. Single note solos will almost always sound much thinner in a 3 piece unless you're using some heavy distortion/fuzz and/or an octave pedal. As much as it's made fun of around here - layering your sound in multiple effects (if used tastefully), can really help you out. But octave chords are a huge help to any guitar player in a 3 piece, as well as open strings attached to single note solos. Just listen to some stuff by Audioslave (Like a Stone to be more specific) - a lot of times they've only got one guitar player (Morello), but the rest of the band is helping him out by what they're playing, and Morello uses a lot of different types of effects, bends, and chord shapes to help thicken out the sound. Muse is another prime example of how to make a 3 piece sound great during a guitar solo. Granted, they use a lot of looping as well, but the song "Hysteria" is a really good example of how to make a single note solo work with a lot of effects. Plus, the bassist is most certainly using fuzz to thicken things up.

Hope that helps.

[thom]

Volume, mids, dirt. It doesn't help if the rest of the band/arrangements are in your way ofcourse, but if you're not agains adding more dirt and a touch of extra volume to your tone, and you dial in your amp right...I would have no idea why you wouldn't cut through and sound meaty during lead parts.

 

You don't have to go overboard on effects if that's not your thing, it's sometimes just a matter of the right settings and technique.

 

Not that it should make a huge difference, but what guitar do you play?

 

Edit: Found the answer to that last question myself. Checked yer band. reminded me why I couldn't jive with an Epi Les Paul. And why I didn't buy a DSL50, even though I had the chance to pick one up for small change. No offence, to each their own, I'm not even saying the gtr or amp is the root of the problem here, though I'm sure a pickup upgrade wouldn't hurt. Not sure if it's bacause of your pod, but your tone sounds really generic/processed impo, and SUPER compressed. Kinda reminds me of how the old plastic zoom multi-effect sounded that the guitarist in my very first band used. So are you getting that crunch sound from the pod or from your Marshall?

[ambient]

remember that you can play lead in with a 3 piece the same as you can when you have another chordal instrument.
Just like playing a lead part as a solo acoustic player is completely different too.


All the other suggestions will help, but if you don't change your solo technique it won't be enough.

[AidyCM]

I play in drop D so I can play powerchords with my index finger and 'lead' parts with the other three- works a treat but takes a little practice. I also agree with delay/reverb for the guitar and some sort of dirt for the bass. In my band, the drummer also goes heavy on the cymbals when there's space to be filled. That's fookin' teamwork!

[stevemcb]

Lots of good advice here. Ye olde Hendrix records are a good training ground for how to play with thinner backing...

 

Partly it's the way you play, but the other guys need to step up to the plate too. As bass player in a 3-piece I often used to break out my 12-string bass (!!!) which definitely filled up a lot more sonic room than straight bass playing. But there are lots of ways for a bass player to do it without owning a 12-string. Double-stops, chords, dirt, octaver (Boss OC2 for analog and Digitech Bass Synth Wah for digital are great and cheap), the "Uniboss" method (using a Boss pedal like a chorus to split the signal and sending it off to a guitar amp as well as bass amp, the Unibass method (Akai unibass, horrendously expensive octave+4th or 5th and dirt pedal for bass, fishman have recently released something similar). Or a combo of all of the above.

 

For drummers, I always found that using the cymbals rather than the hat (or at least not a fully closed hat) took up a lot more space.

 

Steve