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October 2005
Posts: 4061
Location: Utah | When you're gigging and have a guitar solo in the middle of a song, what is your method of increasing the volume during the solo, and then decreasing it again afterwards?
In the good old days of all analog everything, the volume knob on the guitar worked great. But now with all the digital processing, all the volume knob on the guitar does is increase or decrease distortion in the effects modeling stage.
So far my solos are all with the electric guitar. The O is for rhythm, but the same issue would be there for any solos on the O.
Do you use a volume pedal, do you turn up/down the output volume on your effects box(es), do you use a footswitch to select different channels of your amp? Do you have a sound man that does it for you?
I think I'm in need of some better ideas. |
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Joined:
April 2006
Posts: 2491
Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Volume Pedal ,it`s US made , second to none..allways a GOOD Idea to be in charge as much as possible..
http://www.morleypedals.com/volume.html
Vic
...U might want to check their other stuff.. |
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July 2005
Posts: 1609
Location: Colorado | If no competant soundman - or no rest of the band who back off when it is your turn - then a morley volume pedal is what I used to use. |
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January 2007
Posts: 672
Location: New South Wales, Australia | I never have this problem FlySig. My incompetent bass player usually stops playing when the solo starts as he's "never sure what to play" :eek:
Think I need to find a new bass player |
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July 2005
Posts: 1609
Location: Colorado | Then let him play lead |
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December 2001
Posts: 7228
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Volume pedals, two channel amps, boosters, and a host of other "volume" related ideas are all great and work well. However, you may want to determine why your effects are controlling your volume instead of you. Loose the compressor until you need it.
You may also want to try or add a favorite trick of mine to the arsenal. Set up your non-Lead volume with the TONE control backed off. Not enough to be muddy, but just backed off. For the lead break, crank the tone open on the guitar to bite more and cut through the mix.
As for the bass player... My opinion is most of the time, he/she has one job and that's to make everyone else, and I mean EVERYONE else in the band sound good. The Bass player is the glue that connects the percussion and the lead. The string that connects the dead spots. The Bass pulls out the sound of the Kick drum and provides the fullness to the keyboards. |
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May 2005
Posts: 486
Location: North Carolina | Volume pedal. Put it at the end of the fx chain, just before the amp.
Bass player: If you have one who is that incompetent, you don't have a band. Replace him. |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | My A.R.T. mult-effects pedal has a "Boost" stomp-button for solos, but I'd prefer a volume pedal. |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | No room for a volume pedal, so I use a Keeley Blues Driver adjusted for volume more than gain. It is then a one-button stab for leads. I also have an overdrive pedal that does the same thing when I need dirt in the lead line. |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4061
Location: Utah | Originally posted by Mr. Ovation:
Volume pedals, two channel amps, boosters, and a host of other "volume" related ideas are all great and work well. However, you may want to determine why your effects are controlling your volume instead of you. Good question. I assume it is digitization and then the digital amp model. When playing electric guitar, the signal runs through Korg Toneworks PX4. The sound modeling is really very good sounding. Mind you, my gigs are in a fairly small room in the church and played through the PA, or in the big main room in the church played through the PA. No full stack of Marshalls behind me!
I've got usually a small to moderate amount of tube distortion dialed in, although on one song it is a creamy clipped rectifier sound. Turning the volume up or down on the guitar doesn't change the volume output from the PX4 noticeably, it just adds to or reduces the distortion. I assume that the PX4 is normalizing the input signal and then applying digital algorithms to add the effects.
I can turn the little dial on the PX4 to adjust the volume. It's clumsy but usable. The volume pedal is enticing, as is a Korg AX5G, which is an effects unit with built in expression pedal. It could replace the PX4 plus be used as a volume pedal. The downside is that it isn't an optical pedal, but for the price I could live with it.
Another option would be to get a tube preamp, ditch the digital box, and then use the guitar tone/volume controls as you suggested. |
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August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | The Al DiMeola sig. guitars have a 'boost' button and this can be retro fitted to guitars with an OP Pro preamp
Contact John Budny at the mothership - I checked it out last year for my '05 and I think it will cost you about $US100 for the hardware. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Originally posted by muzza:
The Al DiMeola sig. guitars have a 'boost' button and this can be retro fitted to guitars with an OP Pro preamp Sure, but that tiny little boost button may be more difficult to activate with your toe mid-song (depending upon location, of course). |
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How do you turn up the volume for your guitar solo?
