# Tone for Live Playing - Tips



## RobNoiseman (Sep 3, 2014)

Hey, guys, I started using Guitar Rig 5 for jamming purposes(and gigging in the future), and I would like to receive some tips to improve my tone... Actually, these are the first tones I created using the GR, so, probably they are not really good enough, but I am open to critcs ! Feel free to share your opinion about my tone, and please, don't care too much about my playing, hahaha ! Big hug from Brazil ! 

#1: https://soundcloud.com/robson-j-nior-10/guitar-rig-5-high-gain-sound-test

#2: https://soundcloud.com/robson-j-nior-10/guitar-rig-5-high-gain-sound-test-2


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## nib2000 (Sep 3, 2014)

Hi!

I think number 1 is a pretty decent tone, what is the chain there?
#2 is too dark and muffled, feels like its gonna drown in the mix.


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## KristapsCoCoo (Sep 3, 2014)

I think you should eq them quite a bit - first one is kinda fizzy and using it live would be overkill as highs in that one would go to high in the sky and be piercing your ears quite a bit. Also a little bit of boost in lowend/low mids would fit nicely, I think.

I've recently started to HP/LP my tones at 100hz/5khz JUST FOR LIVE use, cause it sounds a lot better in live mix, so if you're looking for live tone you should try it out see how it works.


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## RobNoiseman (Sep 3, 2014)

Hey, man, thanks ! 

The chain is set like this: Compressor-Gate-TS-Ultrasonic-Cabinets&Mic(2x12 Custom)...

I will work a bit more on the second one, and I will re-post it later !


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## RobNoiseman (Sep 3, 2014)

nib2000 said:


> Hi!
> 
> I think number 1 is a pretty decent tone, what is the chain there?
> #2 is too dark and muffled, feels like its gonna drown in the mix.



Hey, man, thanks ! 

The chain is set like this: Compressor-Gate-TS-Ultrasonic-Cabinets&Mic(2x12 Custom)...

I will work a bit more on the second one, and I will re-post it later !


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## RobNoiseman (Sep 3, 2014)

KristapsCoCoo said:


> I think you should eq them quite a bit - first one is kinda fizzy and using it live would be overkill as highs in that one would go to high in the sky and be piercing your ears quite a bit. Also a little bit of boost in lowend/low mids would fit nicely, I think.
> 
> I've recently started to HP/LP my tones at 100hz/5khz JUST FOR LIVE use, cause it sounds a lot better in live mix, so if you're looking for live tone you should try it out see how it works.



Thanks, man ! I will try it, for sure ! Thanks for the advice ! I will re-post it later ! 

P.S: My guitar is a cheap S-S-S strat... It has been a really big problem avoiding the lots of treble on my sound... --'


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## RobNoiseman (Sep 3, 2014)

The first one, with some adjustments !

https://soundcloud.com/robson-j-nior-10/guitar-rig-5-high-gain-sound-test-3


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## thrashmetal85 (Oct 9, 2014)

For live you may need to lessen the bass and treble in your tone. At bedroom levels they may be OK, but speaker response and the fact that the human ear perceives mid range more articulately at lower volumes means that you could end up with a lot of unwanted boom and hiss. 

The image below indicates how the human ear perceives all frequencies between 20Hz and 20,000Hz. Grey means inaudible. 

The black line indicates where the human ear perceives that frequency as equal in volume to to the reading of 1,000Hz. So at 10dB for 1000Hz to perceive 100Hz at the same volume it has to be cranked to 30dB; 10,000Hz needs a 20dB boost. And as you see the louder 1000Hz gets the less difference there is between actual and perceived volumes.

So if you set your tone at a low volume the bass and treble get louder, quicker, when you turn up as they have been cranked to be better perceived at the lower initial volume. 

Conversely once you turn down your good live tone, you'll get bass and treble rolloff and an old timey radio tone almost.


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## Maverick187 (Oct 31, 2014)

Its hard to predict without hearing them in a live situation. What sounds good live usually sounds pretty average in a studio and vice versa. Ideally work with keeping gain lower, and keeping the bass, mid and treble fairly neutral with maybe slight boosts to treble and mid so it bites through. Is also going to depend on what kind of style you play and guitars you play through.


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## schwiz (Nov 3, 2014)

I used Guitar Rig for just shy of 3 years. Some people say you can't really get a good tone out of it, but I found that to be false. It's old technology but you can still get decent tone.

Give this signal chain a try:
Noise Reduction -> Tube Screamer -> Noise Gate -> Tube Compression -> Noise Gate -> Amp -> Cabs (4 cabs - 1 HL, 1 HR, 1 L60, 1 R60 - with different mic placements for each - I used 2 orange cabs and 2 xxl cabs) -> Reverb/Delay/Whatever -> Parametric EQ (taking out the lows and highs) -> Parametric EQ (boosting the mids) -> Noise Gate


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## SevenString (Nov 7, 2014)

I haven't listened to the clips, but here's my simple "rock guitar tone" rule of thumb, learned from over 30 years of rock and metal guitar playing:

Always use a little less distortion and a little more mids than what YOU think sounds good playing solo.

In a band context, a little less distortion and a little more mids will have a lot more clarity and punch to sound heavier.


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## GunpointMetal (Nov 9, 2014)

and dial in your live tones at live volume through something comparable to what you're playing through.


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## Senior (Nov 12, 2014)

GunpointMetal said:


> and dial in your live tones at live volume through something comparable to what you're playing through.



Surprised it took 12 posts to get to this. 

There is very little to no point in tweaking tones at low volume unless you intend to use them at low volume. This is true with real rigs, modellers, software rigs, etc. It is MUCH more true of anything that is FRFR or includes cab/mic sims. That stuff gets way out of hand fast when you crank it a few dB. 

The best way to do it (although your band members will hate you for it) is to get the band to play at full volume, crank your rig to the highest volume you will ever use, and tweak your tones that way. 

A better alternative (if you have the capability) is to record the band playing and then play it back though the PA, so you dont have to beg the band to play random crap while you tweak tones.


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## SevenString (Nov 12, 2014)

Actually, it was covered in post #8.


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## GunpointMetal (Nov 12, 2014)

#8 explained why...haha


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