Any Tips For 2 Guitar Band Setup?

D

Davus PG

Inspired
Had my first band rehearsal in our new space last night - means we can rehearse at volume through our PA and crucially means I get finally get my AX8 presets dialled in without compromise

For simplicity I stuck with one preset all night (JCM800 & ML Zilla 2x12 IR), gradually tweaking here and there. Initially I was frustrated as I felt the other guitarist's sound was a bit thicker & cutting through better than mine. He was going from the Redbox out on his H&K Tubemeister and using a couple of Tone City pedals.

By the end of the night I was much happier with my sound and it should only get better - with more time I may try a couple of different IRs etc....but it left me questioning what the correct approach should be with 2 guitar setups?

I think one area where we are undoubtedly going wrong is that we are probably too overdriven, creating individual tones that mimic the overall sound we are going for, rather than creating 2 tones that combine to make the sound we are going for.

I've suggested to the other guitarist we get together to work on this, but any tips on things to try, or frequencies to target etc to get there would be appreciated, as would any of your experiences playing in 2 guitar bands where you have a modeller and a traditional amp.

Cheers
 
Of course....I grew up on the Smith/Murray combo of LP & Strat! Problem is I mostly play a Les Paul and our other guitarist had just bought himself...a Les Paul!

I have a Strat and Tele too so worth experimenting.

Thanks for the panning tip, worth a try.
 
Also, try not to occupy the same sound space. By that I mean don't just play the same thing. Have one play low on the neck and the other high up. Work up some harmonies etc. Many bands have been successful with 2 guitar players. Make the best of it.
 
We have 2 guitars and both of us use the AX8, which is pretty sweet. Posts above are good. You seem to be on the right track in OP and I think in combo to the chord phrasing and L/R pan suggested above you need to follow your own thought and really focus on building tones together and definitely be willing to try LESS gain/distortion. Also, those bass heavy chunky tones that we love when playing on our own can really create a muddy mess in a band mix.
 
Low cut and high cut can make a big difference in how much you cut through at a given volume. And often it's what you DON'T play (or least that loudly) that will make the band sound good. Leave each other and especially the singer a lot of room. This is where both guitars need to be on the same page.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I've been trying to play something different wherever possible for quite a while now and in some sections of songs have been playing much less. Encouraging to know I'm on the right track.

The other guitarist is less experienced and has admitted he sometimes falls into the trap of playing things flat out and forgets dynamics. I'll encourage him to use the volume knob on his guitar and other pickups in some parts too as at the moment everything is full tilt, all the time.

He and I are meeting up next week to build new tones, so fingers crossed.

For those of you who have panned guitars, do you find there's any issue with leads all being down 1 side or do you go for a more subtle pan than 100%. Presumably bass and drums are down the middle? Our drummer has an electric kit which in theory makes playing with a good mix possible at any volume.
 
If I were in a band that had their own PA to work with using an AX8, I would make use of the OP's run 1 in stereo but pan over for rhythm sections then center for the solo parts adding a slight boost at 8-900 hz just to make it pop out.

Your other guitar player will be wanting an AX8 pretty quick once he hears what's going on with your sound in FOH.
 
Sixstring said:
If I were in a band that had their own PA to work with using an AX8, I would make use of the OP's run 1 in stereo but pan over for rhythm sections then center for the solo parts adding a slight boost at 8-900 hz just to make it pop out.
Click to expand...

This is something I have thought about before, but never actually got round to trying.
Can't get my head round how I'd achieve it.
If we are going to pan slightly through our mixer anyway, how would I get the AX8 to give me control of when I move into the centre?

Would I need to run stereo into the mixer and be centred on there, but use a Vol/Pan block at the end of my chain that I can engage or bypass to determine whether I'm panned or centred? Would that effect any kinds of stereo effects I use when not centred?

I'm guessing not as we wouldn't want to go for a hard L/R pan as we will only be playing in small venues, something to experiment with for sure, but any advice as to how to actually pull it off would be appreciated

*Having searched the forum, I can prob just do it with a modifier on the pan in the cab block? I had forgot that I'd need to run stereo cabs...
 
Last edited:
Just some ideas I would try if it were me:

FWIW, panning doesn't necessarily mean hard left and hard right. Just slightly off center to one side and the other can create the separation you need without the audience feeling like they're at a tennis match.

A cool thing about the AX8 is its tweakability. But this means that sometimes the very parts of the amps you're modeling (plug, play, and it works) can be dialed out in the process. Maybe try keeping it simple to begin with, then add effects, eqs, compressors, etc.

When in doubt, bump the mids way up. Those are what cut through.

You mentioned gain. I've found that the louder I play, less gain is needed (even for high gain parts). Sometimes too much gain can just flatten out your tone and it gets lost. High gain amps can still sound "high gain" when their gain isn't pegged. Try turning it down to 25-40% at high volumes and see what happens. Use higher settings for solos only.

Create your tones for the mix, not for what sounds cool when you're alone in your practice room. This means the "alone" tone may not be what you like, but if it sounds good in the mix, that's all that matters.

I've had very little success through the years at getting the other guitarist to set up their rig so that I sound better. If you can accomplish this, more power to you. Focus on your rig, and if you nail it the other guy may be posting on a forum asking people how he can sound more like you. ;)

Good Luck!
 
Thank you for the advice

Yes, I was only thinking a subtle pan - and have deliberately kept to one preset with only a drive, delay and reverb block

I suspect the gain is the biggest issue and my only concern is the overall sound as that's what the audience hears. I think our individual sounds the other night were such that either of us could stop playing and there wasn't really any difference - which obviously isn't wrong!

I'm lucky to be in a band where first & foremost we are great mates, so I'm sure we can get to an amicable solution...but one where my guitar sounds better ;)
 
Davus PG said:
This is something I have thought about before, but never actually got round to trying.
Can't get my head round how I'd achieve it.
If we are going to pan slightly through our mixer anyway, how would I get the AX8 to give me control of when I move into the centre?

Would I need to run stereo into the mixer and be centred on there, but use a Vol/Pan block at the end of my chain that I can engage or bypass to determine whether I'm panned or centred? Would that effect any kinds of stereo effects I use when not centred?

I'm guessing not as we wouldn't want to go for a hard L/R pan as we will only be playing in small venues, something to experiment with for sure, but any advice as to how to actually pull it off would be appreciated

*Having searched the forum, I can prob just do it with a modifier on the pan in the cab block? I had forgot that I'd need to run stereo cabs...
Click to expand...

Yes you would have to run a stereo send to FOH and from their pan both channels hard over. Setup the preset so you can make all the changes to your signal using scenes with modifyers to the cab and filter blocks.

You can control how much panning is going on within the preset per scene, for solos you can have a full stereo signal using whatever effect you want to make it pop or nothing for a mono sound, using a filter block for a freq boost.

Then change scenes for a rhythm tone, moving your signal slightly over using a modifier in the cab block to whatever side you wish! Totally doable with not much effort involved other then fine tuning how much pan you want for the rhythm tone 70/30 60/40 etc.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom