What Do YOU Do When You Solo? I need help!

[giltgitguy]

OK, Sounds like a dumb question. I'm a drummer who can get by on guitar, in fact I played guitar professionally for 10 yrs. or so at one time in my career. Eighteen years later, I'm playing guitar in a band again and am not so happy with falling back on my old habit of hitting my compressor and/or distortion pedal when it comes time to solo.(I'm playing a Tele through an AC30 RI.) These are the same pedals I used years ago. I know I'm probably in need of a change in gear, but also I'm wondering what other, more accomplished guys typically do. Do YOU use a boost pedal? overdrive? compressor? Just turn your guitar up? Switch channels? A combination of the above? I see guys using their tone and volume controls a lot more than I do. I used to mostly play my guitar with everything up full and rely on the pedals to change my sound. I'm sure I'm missing guitar 101 technique.

Maybe all those drummer jokes make a valid point.... You hit it with a stick. It sounds good. It feels good. Chicks dig it. Life is simple.

[Lublin]

I close my eyes and pray for the end to come as soon as possible.

[supa-fuzz]

Depends on what kind of music you play, myself I use an slight overdrive all the time when playing rhythm and then a volume boost on top of that for solos, this works for me playing rootsy/country/southern rock/jam band type of stuff.

[tbonesullivan]

usually you'd want some kind of boost, but it all depends on the kind of solo sound YOU want. You definitely want to be heard over the rest of the band, so a volume pedal in the effects loop can help.

Another thing to think about is which pickup you want to be using. You get a much smoother sound using the neck pickup, especially if you are playing up high. On the other hand if you want something more "hard rock" you will get a raunchier more powerful sound with the bridge pickup.

[GCDEF]

Depends where I am soundwise and where I need to be. I run a volume pedal in the effects loop to control overall volume, but for a solo, it may be any combination of nothing, turn the guitar up, change channels, kick on a drive pedal, use the volume pedal to raise the amp volume.

[JP~)]

work on band dynamics would be my first choice....you don't need a boost if the band can lay back some and support your solo instead of step on it. Also, you could EQ with a little more mids to help cut through the mix . If there is another guitar player...it is helpful if he can stay out of your tonal space...for, example, stay on the low strings if you are playing up top....if all else fails, cut is better then a volume boost IMHO. Don't just get a volume boost, get something that will boost your mids

[Flyin' Brian]

Originally Posted by giltgitguy

OK, Do YOU use a boost pedal? overdrive? compressor? Just turn your guitar up? Switch channels? A combination of the above? I see guys using their tone and volume controls a lot more than I do. I used to mostly play my guitar with everything up full and rely on the pedals to change my sound. I'm sure I'm missing guitar 101 technique.

Unfortunately the answer is "It depends". An answer of a choice of the above and sometimes a combination of the above is about right.

[djw]

Quick tip: Relax and turn your amp up.

Otherwise, a lot of it depends on the dynamics at work in your band. Are you all on 10 all the time? Are there quiet parts? Clean tones? Fuzz? Other guitars or keys or...? Is there open space or is the sound very dense? Are you typically a single-note soloist, or something else?

It can be struggle, but if leads are a big part of your role, then you probably have to prioritize your lead tone. This could mean a) setting your base tone as a good, bright lead tone and using your guitar's controls to duck under when playing rhythm, or b) getting an amp that has a decent solo boost feature.

A clean boost into an already driving amp mostly just increases distortion and won't help you get louder. Likewise and paradoxically, you'll get a lot better lead tone with a CLEANER tone; people like that Fender BF thing for a reason, and in this case it can really help your leads pop. Too much OD makes it hard to actually hear what you're doing.

Either way, the key really is VOLUME, and the ability get LOUD without distorting/compressing too much. This is partly so that the audience can hear you, but mostly so YOU can hear yourself well enough to not overplay. When I realized I could just turn my amp up and play in a more relaxed fashion without pounding on my strings, my leads got a lot more fun and sounded a lot better.

[EADGBE]

With a tele you may want an overdrive of some sort. A guitar with humbuckers may be better though.

[tbonesullivan]

Also remember this rule: slower and with feeling will usually reach the audience better. Shredding is impressive, but gets boring quickly.

also, if you hit a wrong note, don't panic! hold it, and bend up until it sounds good. Then they'll think you MEANT to do it.

[Agitator]

Originally Posted by giltgitguy

OK, Sounds like a dumb question. I'm a drummer who can get by on guitar, in fact I played guitar professionally for 10 yrs. or so at one time in my career. Eighteen years later, I'm playing guitar in a band again and am not so happy with falling back on my old habit of hitting my compressor and/or distortion pedal when it comes time to solo.(I'm playing a Tele through an AC30 RI.) These are the same pedals I used years ago. I know I'm probably in need of a change in gear, but also I'm wondering what other, more accomplished guys typically do. Do YOU use a boost pedal? overdrive? compressor? Just turn your guitar up? Switch channels? A combination of the above? I see guys using their tone and volume controls a lot more than I do. I used to mostly play my guitar with everything up full and rely on the pedals to change my sound. I'm sure I'm missing guitar 101 technique.

There's nothing wrong with using distortion and/or compressor for your solos. If you like the way it sounds, and it works for you, there's no reason to change.

Some buys tweak their knobs when they play, some guys don't. I hate fiddling with my knobs because I find it hard to get them set back to the correct settings when I'm done soloing. It screws me up for at least a measure or two while I'm adjusting my knobs, and I have to look down to see what I'm doing. Takes me out of the song completely. Screw that noise. I use pedals: click click, I'm done. I typically just use overdrive or distortion for solos, and hit it with a clean boost if I want a little more grit. Put some delay on it if I want a more "spacious" sound (e.g. a more dramatic sound for slow songs).

Lately, I've gotten a little more elaborate, with bypass loop pedals so I can turn two or more pedals on or off at the same time, but "back in the day" I did hundreds of gigs with some subset/combination of delay, distortion, compressor.

[FenderBigot]

As many have said above... it depends. For me it's a combination of tools/tactics. I have a boost, I have an OD with a boost (actually two) and I use my a/b/y footswithc/pedal and I use the volume controls on my guitar. It all depends on which song and which guitar I am using. With my tele, I'm all over the tone knob but with my strat the tone knobs are up all the time and I ride the volume mostly. You just need to get into the flow... there are nights I'm stompin' all night long and there are nights I'm like Mr. Beck with the volume knob.

Originally Posted by tbonesullivan

also, if you hit a wrong note, don't panic! hold it, and bend up until it sounds good. Then they'll think you MEANT to do it.

Another trick I heard somewhere from Buddy Guy or Robert Cray in an interview... if you hit a wrong note and didn't get the bend right, do it AGAIN so they think you really meant to do it!

[taez555]

Try to stop thinking, listen, feel and let it flow.

[mbargav]

I always dial in my amps with my guitar volume really low, so I always have a lot of juice on tap when I need it. I usually get what I need for solos by just turning the volume up on the guitar. I also have the guitar tone turned down a bit when I dial in the amp so I have a bit of extra treble on standby.

[FuzzGazer]

Originally Posted by Lublin

I close my eyes and pray for the end to come as soon as possible.

LOL! That was me yesterday; did not have a good guitar day...