Anyone EQ-matched their guitars?

phil92

Experienced
I mainly play two music man JPX guitars; a six string in gorgeous Barolo and a seven string in Chocolate Sparkle or some-such, equally gorgeous, but this one has a maple neck as opposed to the mahogany of the six string and I find it's missing some lower mids that make the tone nice and thick on the six string.

So last night I was going back and forth between those two guitars and thought I'd try an EQ or tone match to bring the seven string closer to the six.

I'd be curious to know if anyone has done a similar thing and how.
 
Dimarzio 7 string pickups are voiced completely different than their 6 string versions

So a 7 string CL/LF is voiced different across all the strings than the 6 string versions- that might have something to do with it too

Valid point.
 
I think that mahogany don't adds liow mids compared to maple, it misses the fast attack in the higher mids, so it seems fatter and the tone seems to sustain longer. If that's true, the mbc would be the right 'eq', because you need to change the dynamic behavior. Dial that attack away in the higher mids.
 
Yep. For playing solo, I’ve even matched the magnetic pickup on my acoustic with different pickups on my telecaster and run it through a parallel signal chain with an amp and cab, so I can bring in an “additional guitar” along with the acoustic sound on bigger choruses, etc. I just used the tonematch block.
 
the first thing I tried was to match it using a spectrum analyzer and a parametric EQ. To get the analyzer looking pretty close for both guitars, I had to use pretty extreme settings in the PEQ; a boost of ~4.5dB at 300Hz, a hefty cut at 700, another boost at 2k... and to my ears it didn't sound natural anymore.
So I had another attempt using my ears and shaping the tone more to taste rather than trying to replicate the 6 string tone. Ended up with a shelf of -2dB at 125Hz, +3dB @ 350, +2 @ 700, +2.5 @1400. Way more natural sounding, tightened up the tone and had a nice midrange snarl to it.

I just used the tonematch block.


have to try to try the tone match block next and see what that will give me.... How exactly did you approach that?
 
Tonematch is like a very accurate, many-band EQ, specifically made for making one tone sound like another.

In the case I mentioned above, I put a tonematch block in line (same place you would put an EQ block - before the amps/drives/compressors in the chain). I plugged in one guitar and recorded the “source” (the guitar I wanted to actually use live), then plugged in the other guitar and recorded the “reference” what I wanted it to sound like”. Then I hit “match” and voila!

In my case, since I was trying to match two totally different types of guitars (acoustic & electric), I had to try it multiple times with different pickup settings, to figure out what sounded the most authentic.
 
I prefer to let each guitar speak in its own unique voice. Otherwise it defeats the purpose of having a differently voiced guitar.

If the goal is more uniformity between instruments, then I would find a set of 7 string pickups similarly voiced to my 6 string pickups. That's the simpler route that's more mistake proof for that goal.
 
I prefer to let each guitar speak in its own unique voice. Otherwise it defeats the purpose of having a differently voiced guitar.

If the goal is more uniformity between instruments, then I would find a set of 7 string pickups similarly voiced to my 6 string pickups. That's the simpler route that's more mistake proof for that goal.

The goal in this instance ist just to bring the 7 string version of basically the same guitar closer in tone for one particular patch.

A PEQ block brings me close enough and doesn’t cost me a thing. A set of pickups would though, right?
 
The goal in this instance ist just to bring the 7 string version of basically the same guitar closer in tone for one particular patch.

A PEQ block brings me close enough and doesn’t cost me a thing. A set of pickups would though, right?
As long as you don't miss a toe tap, you are correct.

If you are paying x dollars for a Fractal and Y dollars for a 7 string, what's another few dollars for a set of pickups that better matches the 6 string pickup character than a PEQ block ever could? It's not like another set of pickups would approach the prices of the other two things
 
The OP is about EQ/tone matching guitars (for whatever their reason - convenience, fun, because the Axe can ...)

Using another guitar or buying another set of pickups is not what he's asking...
 
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As long as you don't miss a toe tap, you are correct.

If you are paying x dollars for a Fractal and Y dollars for a 7 string, what's another few dollars for a set of pickups that better matches the 6 string pickup character than a PEQ block ever could? It's not like another set of pickups would approach the prices of the other two things

and then I quickly swap them out for the next patch or scene?

I am not trying to turn one guitar into another, I have a tone with one that I want to get closer to with the other.

So let me ask you, do you ever touch the tone controls on your amp blocks? Or do you just use a different guitar and/or amp?
 
Just try using the tone match block like mentioned above. If it works for you, that's all you need to do.
:)
 
I did briefly last night; it was a desaster 😆 so I quit that nonsense and got to practicing instead
You might need to high and low cut it a bit to get it not to be so out of control.
When I get home tonight, I will try and match my Strat to my 8. I haven't done it in a long while.
 
and then I quickly swap them out for the next patch or scene?

I am not trying to turn one guitar into another, I have a tone with one that I want to get closer...
If you are applying EQ to make one guitar sound close to another, why would you then want it to sound different?

Me, I just embrace the differences of the guitars. If there's too much gain, I use my volume knob. If there's too much flub, I roll the bass off at the guitar with a tone control.

YMMV
 
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