# looking for help - jumping from rhythm to lead



## lbrown1 (Mar 22, 2007)

So, I was playing on the weekend - the band I play in has a few guitarists - all of us share in lead duties...so we jump from rhythm into solos often, but one thing I noticed is that I have been having a bit of a hard time adjusting my tone on the fly to be able to punch through and be heard.....we play quite loud with 3 guitarists competing for noise space.

I don't like to fiddle with the guitar volume knob too much while playing, so I was wondering if there were common techniques / tools that could also be looked at other than stomping on the distortion pedal.....I find that I still get drowned out without doing something with the volume...

so what do you all do?....use some sort for boost? - a compressor?, or reach down and crank the volume knob on the amp? or do you more commonly use a distortion pedal and use the volume knob on the guitar?....do you commonly switch to bridge pickups?


any commentary would be helpful - thanks


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

lbrown1 said:


> So, I was playing on the weekend - the band I play in has a few guitarists - all of us share in lead duties...so we jump from rhythm into solos often, but one thing I noticed is that I have been having a bit of a hard time adjusting my tone on the fly to be able to punch through and be heard.....we play quite loud with 3 guitarists competing for noise space.
> 
> I don't like to fiddle with the guitar volume knob too much while playing, so I was wondering if there were common techniques / tools that could also be looked at other than stomping on the distortion pedal.....I find that I still get drowned out without doing something with the volume...
> 
> ...


Gee I was in the "Shwa this weekend too. Send me your contact info. I would like to get in on some playing too. 

There are lots of boost pedals etc available. I do a couple of things. I use a compressor alot. I can turn up the volume with my foot if I have too. The other thing I did was make a foot switch ( see red box that is not hooked up). I tap the send effects loop in my pedal box and run a line from it to the channel one and have the volume set higher. When I do a lead I set on the pedal and I get a nice natural distortion. Simple and no batteries.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Depending on the song and the desired tone, I'll use a clean boost (or use it to increase the overall volume of whatever follows it in the signal chain that might already be in use), compressor, distortion, amp channel switch, or volume pedal to make the jump to lead. Often, instead of an increase in volume, a change in timbre will work, so the wah-wah gets used, actively or simply cocked in one place. With the Tele, sometimes all it takes is a flip of the switch to the bridge pickup. 

I used to always use a Boss EQ to boost for leads because it allowed for a distinctly different tone (or not) when boosted. It's a good solution, and one I may return to eventually.

Peace, Mooh.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

lbrown1 said:


> So, I was playing on the weekend - the band I play in *has a few guitarists* - all of us share in lead duties


This sounds like trouble. Its hard enough to make your volume jump up enough for solos when theres one other guitarist, never mind several other guitarists. I've found that any kind of boost in front of the amp doesn't really increase the volume if you already have an overdriven tone. It just gives you more overdrive, not more volume. I've used a boost pedal in the effects loop before - this gives an actual volume boost. More recently, I've taken to rolling down the guitar volume for rythym and turning it up for leads.

You're still kinda depending on the other guitar players though. I've they are playing really loudly and not adjusting their dynamics, its still gonna be hard to stand out for solos.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

bagpipe said:


> You're still kinda depending on the other guitar players though. I've they are playing really loudly and not adjusting their dynamics, its still gonna be hard to stand out for solos.


+ 428 on that.


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## Guest (Feb 3, 2009)

With multi-guitar bands it's really important to EQ your sounds so you're not stepping on each other's sonic toes. Often the tone you'll use when playing alone in your bedroom is far to wide to work well in a band situation. You really need to carve up the spectrum ruthlessly to get it to work well and give each guitar a chance to be heard.

Your amp EQ is where you start. But I find an EQ pedal is the sonic swiss army knife that makes slicing and dicing the spectrum easy work. I highly recommend the empress effects ParaEQ w/Boost pedal. Not only can you EQ to slice through, but you can get a huge boost when engaging it giving you head slicing power like you won't believe.


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## lbrown1 (Mar 22, 2007)

thanks all - I think I'll try a combination of your suggestions with the pod.....I'll program in a "lead" patch for each guitar model that will include a channel volume boost and a flip to the bridge pickups....I'll experiment with a compressor in the effects loop as well....but might also try a little fuzz on top with an overdrive pedal

what I was previously doing was using the same POD channel, with the addition of the overdrive stomp (usually a tube screamer model) ....so the volume didn't change - it just got dirty.....so the "wall of noise" that the other 2 guitarists and bass player were creating made my leads sound like someone threw a blanket on my amp......the midrange was all but gone


thanks all


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## lbrown1 (Mar 22, 2007)

also agreed on the other players front as well.......we do sometimes have a habit of playing louder and louder as time goes on.........we do need to work on our dynamics a bit more


thanks for the tips


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

Learning how and when to turn down (and how and when to stop playing entirely) seems to be one of the more difficult things for many folks.


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