question

what gives you sound that sound besides technique.. is it the amp the guitar or a little combination between both?..i know some guitarists have all this distortion but manage to pull sweeps off great..ive tried sweeps with loads of distortion and it always rings out even if i have a sock or hair band on it.. is there just somtihn im missing?

Besides technique, your sound is made, shall we say, "soundier" by Mike the dorky sound tech.

im not trying to be mean but most of posts are pointless and dont answer the questions..thanx anyways

ketsueki15: what gives you sound that sound besides technique?

Answer: Well not a lot besides technique. At least not in the manner that you phrased your question. The reason you're getting ringing sounds when you're sweeping is your own technique. It's not the guitar or the amp. Sweeping is an advanced technique and either something that you can pull off or you can't. Half-assed sweeping sounds terrible. Of course, I'm not trying to discourage you. Practice makes perfect. You must mute the strings that you aren't picking in order for a sweep to sound clean. Other than that, like I said, most of your 'sound' comes from you. There's no hiding behind gobs of distortion or effects that'll save one's playing. Besides having good technique, however, obviously your tone is effected by your amp (and how you actually set the EQs) and also your guitar. Different pickups will obviously produce different sounds.

But 'that sound' that you're referring to is manifested in your own playing ability.

I think the best idea is to go for gear that compliments your already developed technique and style. Don't use something just because it sounds good if it doesn't sound you. And until you do 'know yourself' it's a good idea to practice clean :)

But yeah, there's a lot stuff that effects sound besides technique. They aren't all as important, but they still make a difference. Guitar construction (esp. wood mass and species), strings, pickups, whether or not you use a decent cable, how much you 'attack' the strings, amp eq., tone knobs, input v. output volumes, and god only knows what the limits are when you start using distortion or digital effects.

im starting to think its the cheap stock pickups that came with the guitar (b.c rich) i can play stuff sweeps on clean but then the distortion conpletly ruin it..maybe i need to lower the distortion or somthin

Its 99% equipment and 1% technique. 1,000s of people can sweep but unless you have 1,000s of dollars worth of equipment it just aint gona sound good! Sad but true :(

Learning to properly mute unplayed strings.
Lot's of guys can play fast, but playing clean is what counts. Just listen to Van Halen. Every note is planned out ahead of time and practiced until there's no unwanted noise.

Originally posted by Axl_Rose
Its 99% equipment and 1% technique. 1,000s of people can sweep but unless you have 1,000s of dollars worth of equipment it just aint gona sound good! Sad but true :(

That's not true at all. I guarantee you, if Steve Vai, gave you his equipment, and he took yours, he would still blow you out of the water with technique and sound. Technique is everything.

Originally posted by Axl_Rose
Its 99% equipment and 1% technique. 1,000s of people can sweep but unless you have 1,000s of dollars worth of equipment it just aint gona sound good! Sad but true :(

I'd definitely have to disagree here. I would say it's about 60% technique, 10% gear and 30% actually knowing how to use the gear.
No matter what kind of gear you play through, you will always sound like you. Along with technique comes the ability to make the gear work for you and to make your guitar sing...

Originally posted by SPL

I'd definitely have to disagree here. I would say it's about 60% technique, 10% gear and 30% actually knowing how to use the gear.
[/B]

Fair enough, lets say its 50/50. There is simply no way steve via could get a 10watt marshall and cheap copy guitar to sound good, its simply impossible. Eddie Van Halen is the classic example, if we had the equipment he had we wouldnt sound that bad. I know hes amazing but have you seen the lenghts he goes to to get that tone! Gear is so important.

I'm sure Steve Vai will sound amazing now matter what he plays through.

Good quality gear has potential to sound good, but it takes skill/technique to actually get it out.

A beginner violin player will not sound any better on a Stradivarius than he would on a cheapo beginners violin. I strongly believe you can think in the same way about the guitar.

Funny...you guys already beat me to it, but I was going disagree with Axl too. That's simply not true. I can take a crappy guitar and a crappy amp and sweep no problem. In fact, for a number of my home-made recordings, I use a cheap little Peavy Rage amp, 1 Sure mic, and my guitar and I get phenomenal results. Technique comprises a huge part of your sound. Think about it. How come an excellent guitarist can also make a cheap steel-string acoustic guitar sound great as well? Bottom line: if you buy an amazing guitar rig (amp, guitar, effects, etc), but you're a mediocre guitarist, it will be evident.

Originally posted by Axl_Rose

Originally posted by SPL

I'd definitely have to disagree here. I would say it's about 60% technique, 10% gear and 30% actually knowing how to use the gear.

Fair enough, lets say its 50/50. There is simply no way steve via could get a 10watt marshall and cheap copy guitar to sound good, its simply impossible. Eddie Van Halen is the classic example, if we had the equipment he had we wouldnt sound that bad. I know hes amazing but have you seen the lenghts he goes to to get that tone! Gear is so important. [/B]

Not even 50/50. My buddy, who's a great shredder, only plays high quality equipment. But when he was here, just jamming around at my house, he picked up my very first guitar that I keep for memories, a Squier Strat, and plugged it into my little Crate amp and still sounded amazing.

I'd say 99% technique, .5% gear, .5% knowing how to use the gear you've got.

Yea but the first post asked how to sound good at high distortion and played cleanly. You need to equipment to sound good in the first place, and then compressors n noise gates can further the sound quality. Fair enough its hard to sound amazing on crap equipment but with good equipment you dont have to be that good.

My guitar is the 2nd I've ever owned (my first was a 'Pan' and I smashed it in a drunken rage haha) and after 10 years it's hurting - strap attached by pulling the patch chord through it, fretboard's messed etc. I barely own an amp. I play live and I have nothing to hide behind. I'd rather it that way because generally people can tell the difference. Studio people will make anything sound good but who cares if the musicality isn't there.

Originally posted by Axl_Rose
Yea but the first post asked how to sound good at high distortion and played cleanly. You need to equipment to sound good in the first place, and then compressors n noise gates can further the sound quality. Fair enough its hard to sound amazing on crap equipment but with good equipment you dont have to be that good.

No, you do have to be that good. If you cant sweep on a $100 guitar, you wont be able to sweep on a $3000 guitar, and vice versa.

Those guitar players are good because they have great technique. If you're a bad player and you have good equipment, you'll still be a bad player. I know a buddy who has a Les Paul standard, a marshall stack, and well, he sounds like a$$ through them both. Why? Because his technique is not good.

Thanks everyone for your help..but i have once another question about soloing? say i know the E minor pent. and the E natural minor.. do they have to be in the same key to were i can switch from one to the other or does The letter in front of it mean nothin? im just sorta lost on soloing over progressions ect..

If you look at both scales, you'll notice that E Natural Minor contains all the notes of E Pentatonic Minor. So no worry about switching between them.

whats that thing with the hairband...so they dont ring out..man i hate that - i cant perfect the sound,

speaking of ringing out..my g-string rings out more when i strum each string individually [without fretting] it rings out like a vibration from the inside...how bad is that..

i dunno if its me or the guitar who do i point the finger at?