Unpopular opinions on gear

[Xaeldaren]

1. Unpopular opinion;
The only thing potentially better about reverse inline headstocks is how they look, they're functionally inferior to normal inline headstocks. If you disagree, that's fine, I'll just agree with you because I don't have the energy to argue. Disagreeing also means you never played or wrote a riff where it gets in the way and stabs the back of your hand. Other guitars like LP's and many others do this too. Upper horns also can have this issue of hand stabbing. It's not a big deal until you slide right into a nerve and actually say the word ouch for the first like a kid, since you were a kid.

2. Unpopular opinion;
Bolt on necks are better than set neck and neck through. Most people don't realize that many bolt necks have better upper access to frets than a lot of neck thru and set necks.. They can also be shimmed easy and setup better than a tempermental neck thru and It's more adjustable. Plus if your neck breaks you can replace or repair it easier potentially.

3. Unpopular opinion;
Most modern distorion tones suck. People are afraid of gain and bass apparenly. They just hack off all the low and highs. "You're all worthless and weak. " Dee Snider.

4. Unpopular opinion;
Almost nobody plays with dynamics anymore and if they do it almost never translates to amp tone or breakup. An entire generation now has been kept in the dark. I blame lack of passing it on by the older generations, digital and solid state amps, lack of good setups etc.

5. Thick strings, high action, high tension springs, low profile frets, and extreme triangle action height (low at first fret, high at 24th) are best. Just becuase you can't play it and play like a weakling doesn't mean it's not better or just personal preference. If you play with no energy the amp will not recreate it. Try actually hitting the strings like you means it someday. Chug it hard and chug it well. Everyone's setup nowadays leaves them with easy playing guitars, but with weak pick attacks, and chugs always choke out leaving no energy. Combined wtih thin weak tone it's a recipe for lame.

6. Unpopular opinion;
Lowering EMG's is better than putting them as high as possible like they recommend. If you want them tighter and more dynamic in practical terms, lower them.

7. Unpopular opinion;
Never end a list on the number 6.

I agree with pretty much everything except 3. Lower gain and bass with thunderous pick attack is the way. Generate all the chunk with your picking hand.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

I agree with pretty much everything except 3. Lower gain and bass with thunderous pick attack is the way. Generate all the chunk with your picking hand.

Or imo: cut the bass going into the amp/distortion, then boost it via EQ. That's always been my way of getting a big sound while staying tight

 

[c7spheres]

I agree with pretty much everything except 3. Lower gain and bass with thunderous pick attack is the way. Generate all the chunk with your picking hand.

I think there's just a sweet spot people should try to find that feels and sounds good to them. I need that pick hand dynamic and breakup control dynamics. I like when it's setup in order to make it heavy you have to actually pick it heavy. This makes the other stuff almost automatically fall into place because it's comfortable. Like having amp channels in your pick dynamics, and trying different picks is like trying different gain, eq and compressor settings almost. With a little more gain if you go into a melody line/ solo you're normally backing off that dynamic and it heps bring it out and fill it out more. When back to heavy it compresses more too. If you don't like the compressed heavy tone then back gain off more but solo boost or eq might be wanted.

 

[Emperoff]

Or imo: cut the bass going into the amp/distortion, then boost it via EQ. That's always been my way of getting a big sound while staying tight

The character of the tone will be very different, though. Sometimes you want those crunchy low mids happening.

 

[c7spheres]

Or imo: cut the bass going into the amp/distortion, then boost it via EQ. That's always been my way of getting a big sound while staying tight

Probably has to do with if you want more eq tone or not from the amp maybe? Haven't thought about it but maybe that's why I like lowering my Emg's on my fat strings, plus the V-Twin oddity. Thanks, This helps me see and think better the differences where different means to a simlar end are in the signal path.

 

[budda]

Thick strings isnt the way to go for thick tone and definition. Ymmv.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

The character of the tone will be very different, though. Sometimes you want those crunchy low mids happening.

Ehhhh in my case I always went less for the Nu metal thicc and more of the 80s thrash chunk

 

[TedEH]

Bass is the bassists job. "Thump" and "punch" is the drums job. Guitarists focus too much on low end and insist on gobbling up the entirety of the available space - like any other team sport, you'll perform your best when you let everyone do what they're good at.

 

[Crungy]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I wish guitarists I was in bands with 20 years ago knew that lol

 

[c7spheres]

Thick strings isnt the way to go for thick tone and definition. Ymmv.

I think it really depends on how hard you play and how you set things. It's all possible really, but each has their tradeoffs imo.

Bass is the bassists job. "Thump" and "punch" is the drums job. Guitarists focus too much on low end and insist on gobbling up the entirety of the available space - like any other team sport, you'll perform your best when you let everyone do what they're good at.

I love gobs of low end, but I think many people's definition of lot's of low end nowadays means perceivable or feelable in any way on a guitar = too much.

 

[TedEH]

I think many people's definition of lot's of low end nowadays means perceivable or feelable in any way on a guitar = too much.

It might be, but it's really common to hear people talk about guitar sound in terms like "gut punching low end" and "punchy and thumpy". I've played with enough guitarists who drown the room in bass. Sound philosophy and vocabulary is super varied, so we're probably both on to something, in some way.

 

[c7spheres]

It might be, but it's really common to hear people talk about guitar sound in terms like "gut punching low end" and "punchy and thumpy". I've played with enough guitarists who drown the room in bass. Sound philosophy and vocabulary is super varied, so we're probably both on to something, in some way.

I think most the time it's the room not the guitar. If we think about it most 4x12's don;'t even go that low, the speakers don't and the cab's just aren't tuned that way. If the cab farts it's too much. They only do 100 something db. A proper bass rig can not only keep up but envelope the entire thing into deafness if wanted, so if the guitar sounds bloated maybe they actually do need more treble or mid's regardless of their low settings. I tend to think in terms of eeverything centered around a super hard hitting drummer with sub kicks so I guess that is just relative at that point making any guitar low end just part of the tone. I love low's but I still like mid's and treble too even with scooped mid settings or something.

 

[TedEH]

If we think about it most 4x12's don;'t even go that low

The recto cabs I've had to share rooms with would say otherwise. "Go that low" is a bit of a weird way to think about it - a speaker will reproduce anything you give to it, as long as it's physically able to. The specs saying the cab only "goes to 80hz" or whatever just means you're going to get distortion and roll-off past that point - I think it's measured to some specific level, like below that point you'll have at least -12db compared to the input something something. But those recto cabs can spit bass like mad if they want to - I've had some bass cabs that struggled next to those. Granted, the room makes a lot of difference too.

 

[c7spheres]

The recto cabs I've had to share rooms with would say otherwise. "Go that low" is a bit of a weird way to think about it - a speaker will reproduce anything you give to it, as long as it's physically able to. The specs saying the cab only "goes to 80hz" or whatever just means you're going to get distortion and roll-off past that point - I think it's measured to some specific level, like below that point you'll have at least -12db compared to the input something something. But those recto cabs can spit bass like mad if they want to - I've had some bass cabs that struggled next to those. Granted, the room makes a lot of difference too.

I guess I'm a freak. I had Recto cab and it couldn't keep up, I think of that as low mid's but not really lows at all. Then I got decimator subs with 4x12's with ports in them and it wasn't right in the low's because it's solidstate power rating and cutoff freq, just wasn't feeling or responding right, then I made my own cab's and was happy. I could actually reproduce my 50hz and lower at volume with tube amp driven tones instead of solid state, and without overload. Now I want to make a couple 1x15's for home use but to lazy. I love the low end. If I had to do it again and wanted the Recto cab tone I'd just keep adding cab's and amps as needed. That's really how it should be done if doing it properly but that's real expensive. 2 full stacks for a 15x15 room should work great.

 

[TedEH]

I guess that's another unpopular opinion - people care too much about "fundamental frequency" but don't actually recognize when they are or aren't hearing it. I strongly suspect that when people think they hear a lot of fundamental, they're actually hearing 1st-2nd order harmonics, and higher, and filling in the gaps in their heads. Or rather - sound is more complex than that. Standard low E is as low as 83hz, but you can cut above that point and still hear a very clear low E.

 

[Crungy]

I guess that's another unpopular opinion - people care too much about "fundamental frequency" but don't actually recognize when they are or aren't hearing it. I strongly suspect that when people think they hear a lot of fundamental, they're actually hearing 1st-2nd order harmonics, and higher, and filling in the gaps in their heads. Or rather - sound is more complex than that. Standard low E is as low as 83hz, but you can cut above that point and still hear a very clear low E.

Bass players are especially guilty of obsessing of that, I've been there before. You're absolutely right about not needing to reproduce fundamentals, especially below a regular low E.

Shit, I think Joe Walsh that said something about cutting everything below 250hz on recordings for guitar to make room for other things. I don't think I'd go that high but he knows a thing or two I'd say lol

 

[c7spheres]

I guess that's another unpopular opinion - people care too much about "fundamental frequency" but don't actually recognize when they are or aren't hearing it. I strongly suspect that when people think they hear a lot of fundamental, they're actually hearing 1st-2nd order harmonics, and higher, and filling in the gaps in their heads. Or rather - sound is more complex than that. Standard low E is as low as 83hz, but you can cut above that point and still hear a very clear low E.

True, it's just funny how everyone tunes so low but doesn't seem to like low end.

 

[Emperoff]

Bass is the bassists job. "Thump" and "punch" is the drums job. Guitarists focus too much on low end and insist on gobbling up the entirety of the available space - like any other team sport, you'll perform your best when you let everyone do what they're good at.

The "Don't compete with the bass and drums, crank the mids" has become so much of a meme that no one relizes they're drowning the fucking vocals in the process

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

The "Don't compete with the bass and drums, crank the mids" has become so much of a meme that no one relizes they're drowning the fucking vocals in the process

That and some of my favorite bass tones come from cranking the 1.3k- 1.7k range
Which is
You know
"Guitar frequencies"
Lolal

Also you're dealing with SSO. Home of the "muh instrumental versions."

 

[TedEH]

That's ok, most of the feedback I get from most of my bands is "you're all pretty good, I just wish I couldn't hear the singer".