Caelumamittendum - Improvising Workshop Options

[Darius Wave]

Hey Ben! Let work on the improvising field. Let's first review Your. Tell me a bit about how advanced You are in notes position all over the neck. Basic minor/ major scales and modals. What key You feel is the most friendly by far ?

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[Darius Wave]

Any type of compression (limiter, maximizer, compressor etc) changes the articulation. Distortion devices also compress the tone. This is why booster makes amps easy play same with compressors but....there is the second side...the bad side. People get used to "easy to play" tone but once going to play live at high volume all those compressors and boosters will make Your amp give a lot of noise and easily getting into feedback.

Very first kick in the a$$ most of players get in their life is the very first challenge with real amp distortion with no fx. Now most of them say "that amp doesn't sound good". Unfortunately usually the problem is not the amp but the playing itself.

We are living in the very hard times where people are getting so used to simulations and digital distortions that they can't handle real amp in lve playing situations. Before we go further You have to make some choices of who do You wan to be in the future.

Some of players are able to shred on the high gain or with booster/compressor while they can't handle natural distortion of amps...this is because if You pick softly, natural distortion will translate things just the way they are...even if the gain is a bit higher. This is the essence of word "dynamics". But everytime You plug a distortion or compressor in front of the amps distortion You will loose a lot of dynamics.

Now the real challenge is to be able to play on the drive that gives You ability to play soft as well as agressive with good translation. It will demand much more hard work from You but it gives a lot of profits. One of those is You can sound like "You" no matter what are You plugged to.


From those raw files I can tell You have a good punch in Your right hands and it it's a big shame to loose all those dynamics I can hear now but...more advanced licks will demand much more on the lower gain and this is the true challenge and playing development. Hard licks will be much harder to play and every single mistake will be unmasked. That's the cost of the truth

I'm not saying the amp + cab tone is ok but for me it already says a lot about Your playing - I a good way ALWAYS before any EQ, compressions etc it's best to find the amp. Try to show me different amp type from guitar rig...not the twang. Try to find amp with higher gain. You will notice better dynamics response anyway...but...we'll go back to the articulation thing as well.

I think You starting point is bad - too much treble cut. Buy taking away too much treble You are also taking some good and needed frequencies in the high midrange. Using Low Pass Filter gives absolutely different effect - it cuts the treble at some point but it's sor of linear cut so...some of those will not be removed completely...just a 50% less.

Even if You feel there is a bit too much treble when You listen to guitar as a solo track ,remember...in the mix this treble can hide under overhads, snare etc and it will leave only some tasty breath.

If You have a cubase SX3 try to plug "Q filter" on the insterts (end of the signal chain - after the cab simulation), press "cut" button on the right - below "high" word. You will see a point. Grab it and place on th 6.00 Hz (6 kHz). IT's a good strating point for distorted guitars. You can move this point right and left until You feel good balance. It's best to start from 12 o'clock on Your amp EQ knobs.

I know what kind of the tone You like....but as I said - it loses a lot of dynamics and details. Let's try to mess with different amp in the guitar rig


Also...reference recordings are mastered. You have to keep distance. some of those guitars from professional recordings really had some unpleasant frequencies while listening to a guitar solo....but those were gone in the mix or compressed on mastering...this is why we often feel that those professional recordings are soo smooth. I have similar headphones - yes they are god to verify unpleasant frequencies...but...here's the surprise... You don't have to cut that much treble to get rid of them. They are in the high mid range. This is why You have to cut so much to get pleasant tone...but...as mentioned...You loose the details as well.


Also...Never refer to how You hear reall amp in position other than being in front of the speaker at ears height.

Guitar players are used to listen to the amps that are not playing exactly towards their ears...like small combo on the floor or a huge cabinet but...too close behind Your back.

This way people create a distorted image of how the real amp sounds. And this causes Your need to warm-up the tone even way to much. Now amp simulation work like the amp in a studio so the ear (microphone) is right in front and next to the speaker. And this is the tone You work with eq to fit the mix!

Try different amp, set the EQ to 12 o 'clock (default eq) Send me the audio and the screen of new set-up.

We need to get good raw tone...good is equal to good for further processing, good for the mix...not necessary perfect for itself

then we could go to Low Pass Filtering...You will feel release then

Wchich cubase do You own? SX or never?

Also You have to consider that

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