# Practical use for overly bright tone - cutting through mix?



## lelouch (Jul 30, 2013)

To be brief, my Blues Jr III is a really, really, bright amp. It's so bright, that I fear for my ears whenever I try out the bridge pickup on my telecaster.

Can this tone be used to cut through the mix more easily? I heard that tones that sound really harsh and unsettling by themselves sound great in the mix...is this true? Will my guitar sound less harsh in the mix?

The thing is, is that I play in a band. But I only use the neck pickup of my telecaster to avoid the icepick. However, I so badly want to play with the bridge pickup, for versatility...and I have to wait till around 3 weeks later in order to test my theories out.

All I want is a reason to keep my BJ.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

lelouch said:


> To be brief, my Blues Jr III is a really, really, bright amp. It's so bright, that I fear for my ears whenever I try out the bridge pickup on my telecaster.
> 
> Can this tone be used to cut through the mix more easily? I heard that tones that sound really harsh and unsettling by themselves sound great in the mix...is this true? Will my guitar sound less harsh in the mix?
> 
> ...


Yes. I have two really bright amps (waaay brighter than the junior) and they sound amazing in a mix. Basement tone isn't necessarily what you want in a gig. You can always subtract treble with the tone knob for home.


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## lelouch (Jul 30, 2013)

Thank goodness, I was just about to pull my Marshall MG out and throw my BJ out into the garbage. 

Nah I kid, it's really not a bad amp. I just have a problem with it and my tele bridge pickup.

And may I ask what amps you have that are "waaay brighter than the junior"?


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

A Matchless C-30 and 66 Pro Reverb. Now that's treble. But in a good way.


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## lelouch (Jul 30, 2013)

I see. 

I kinda wish I saved my money up for one of those "reverb" amps. Super reverb, quad reverb, twin reverb, etc. But that's another story, one best saved for the amps forum.


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## LydianGuitars (Apr 18, 2013)

Cutting through the mix is all about mids and high mids. Ear bleeding highs are not part of that. 
I would try cutting a bit of treble with different pots & tone caps (in the guitar), different speakers and amp settings.


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## Morkolo (Dec 9, 2010)

Have you tried changing strings? I found my Telecaster had the same problem until I tried out some of the mellower strings, like Black Diamonds or D'Addario Pure Nickels. Might be all it needs to round off the harsh top end.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Good lord, a Telecaster bridge pickup is about the most versatile thing you can find in any guitar! Roll back your tone knob, until it's just barely on. Then come up from there in teeeny tiiiny increments. You should be able to find a sound you can use at home without hurting your ears with screech.


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## lelouch (Jul 30, 2013)

LydianGuitars said:


> Cutting through the mix is all about mids and high mids. Ear bleeding highs are not part of that.
> I would try cutting a bit of treble with different pots & tone caps (in the guitar), different speakers and amp settings.


I've always wondered...how do thrash metal bands use that scooped mid sound, and still get their guitars to cut through the mix?


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## LydianGuitars (Apr 18, 2013)

lelouch said:


> I've always wondered...how do thrash metal bands use that scooped mid sound, and still get their guitars to cut through the mix?


Studio and live and two different things.

In the studio, engineers can spend all the time in the world eq'ing each instrument so that they can be heard n the mix, making sure all the instruments have their own frequency spectrum, without trampling too much on the others.

Live, its much harder to control the overall sound. Most guitarists that use their bedroom scooped mids tone can't be heard live. I've seen enough amateur shows to testify


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## lelouch (Jul 30, 2013)

LydianGuitars said:


> Studio and live and two different things.
> 
> In the studio, engineers can spend all the time in the world eq'ing each instrument so that they can be heard n the mix, making sure all the instruments have their own frequency spectrum, without trampling too much on the others.
> 
> Live, its much harder to control the overall sound. Most guitarists that use their bedroom scooped mids tone can't be heard live. I've seen enough amateur shows to testify


Oh yeah. I guess it was kind of odd for me to assume that metal guitarists still use that scooped mids sound live, because I've never actually heard metallica or slayer or whatever live.

By the way, I have another question...how can one live with the icepick tone? 

Like, I realize that some people just don't have the money or the time to get that killer tone, but isn't playing with such a sharp sound...dangerous? Have there been any studies that show that too much treble is bad for you? Any personal experiences? 

Between a very muddy tone and a very bright tone, I'm guessing the majority would pick a very muddy tone...at least that won't hurt your ears.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

lelouch said:


> By the way, I have another question...how can one live with the icepick tone?


You don't have to, just fix it. Tone control, both amp and guitar. Both work well. You could also lower the bridge pickup. Worst case scenario pop in a cannabis rex or a darker speaker. I've used Blues Juniors lots of times as back line, they're a pretty typical EL84 amp.


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## lelouch (Jul 30, 2013)

I'll get to switching speakers eventually. But I'm far too lazy. 

Actually, I was experimenting tonight, and I found that when I max out the high mids and all the treble frequencies on my boss ge-7, with the treble on the amp set to 12 and using the neck pickup, the sound coming out of my BJ is _not that harsh. _It's less harsh compared to the sound coming out of just the amp, with no pedal and using the neck pickup. Why is this?


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

I have no experience with the blues junior, but try turning the bass all the way up and the treble all the way down, lower your gain a little. Often amp controls are interactive and don't quite do what the knobs would lead you to believe. I don't know what tele you have, but yeah, Chinese bridge pickups can be pretty harsh IME.


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

keto said:


> Good lord, a Telecaster bridge pickup is about the most versatile thing you can find in any guitar! Roll back your tone knob, until it's just barely on. Then come up from there in teeeny tiiiny increments. You should be able to find a sound you can use at home without hurting your ears with screech.


This.

The Tele is just about the only guitar with a tone knob you can actually use.


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