Guitar Tone In Pop/Rock Songs, Ashlee, Avril, etc?

[Tempest19]

So does anybody know what pedals or is it amps they're using to get those tones.

I'm not really clued up on guitar so I've just been using some distortion pedals but the sounds I'm getting sound too rock song and not enough pop/rock.

Any help?

Thanks,

Chris

[Tibbon]

I think it's more about the arrangement on the guitars than the gear to be truthful. Fender/Vox/Marshall/etc... they should all be able to get a good sound. You likely want something pretty bright, dynamic, and sparkly. Many people will say "class A" sound, but most amps that people think are "Class A" aren't (like the AC30... which is "mostly" Class A).

There was a HUGE thread here on Modern Pop guitar techniques a while back. You should read that. It's a lot and should answer most of your questions.

[Tempest19]

Originally Posted by Tibbon

I think it's more about the arrangement on the guitars than the gear to be truthful. Fender/Vox/Marshall/etc... they should all be able to get a good sound. You likely want something pretty bright, dynamic, and sparkly. Many people will say "class A" sound, but most amps that people think are "Class A" aren't (like the AC30... which is "mostly" Class A).

There was a HUGE thread here on Modern Pop guitar techniques a while back. You should read that. It's a lot and should answer most of your questions.

I've read the majority of that thread and I see it's mostly about layering.

I was just thinking I may be trying to add too much distortion to the guitars where in actual fact people are recording them cleaner?

In that thread they were talking bout layering a les paul with a strat, only trouble is I only have a les paul.

[Kyle S]

Originally Posted by Tempest19

I've read the majority of that thread and I see it's mostly about layering.

I was just thinking I may be trying to add too much distortion to the guitars where in actual fact people are recording them cleaner?

In that thread they were talking bout layering a les paul with a strat, only trouble is I only have a les paul.

I only have an LTD h400. I use different pickup positions, different mic placements, different rooms even to give me a compliment to whats already there. And keep in mind too and when you record a guitar track to be layered over another guitar track, as long as the track never gets its own 'solo' time - its ok (to me) if it sounds like utter shit on its own. As long as it sounds good with everything else it stays. Sometimes youd be surprised.

[DeathMonkey]

Today's pop guitar sounds seem to have to cover anywhere from the light strums to fairly heavy crunch, even in one song - Avril's guitar tones go from total light distortion pop to what would have made Metallica proud ten years ago. This can make tracking and mixing these guitar tones a pian, at least for me, lol.

A trick I've learned from producers I've worked with is to combine (even with the same amp) different levels of distortion. Recording one track EQ'ed for sparkle, one for nice clear mids, and one for more crunch allows you to add or subtract not only EQ, but distortion/crunch as well. The goal as I understand it is to be able to create the overall guitar tone, then mix in crunch on, say, choruses, without really altering the overall tone. Adding a bit of Hiwatt/AC30/Deluxe to a heavy guitar tone can really help it sparkle and sound more pop.

On the last pop record we did, I recorded three major tracks - one Marshall DSL100 for crunch, a THD BiValve for mids, and a Hiwatt for sparkle. The producer was able to maintain the same overall basic tone throughout the record, but by altering the balance between the three tracks he was able to go between an almost Beatles/Byrds sound ( say 80% Hiwatt, 15% BiValve, 5% Marshall), a Foo Fighters/Counting Crows sound ( say 25% Hiwatt, 60% Bivalve, 15% Marshall), and a more modern heavy Nickleback/Matchbox 20 sound (15% Hiwatt, 35% BiValve, 50% Marshall).

Adding parts to take advantage of this - lighter parts an octave up, for example - can help balance heavy tones to sound more pop when they need to. You can hear this on this song: Leslie Road - Promise (Producer- Bruce Dees)

I've done similar things (not as effectively, mind you, but the same idea) using just my VHT Deliverance 120 - one low gain, sparkley track, one medium gain midrange track, and one heavy, meat track. I then try to pull up the balance most appropriate to the song at the moment. I find it helps, especially when I realize the balance I have set doesn't quite match whatever layers I have put over it, and I don't want to have to rerecord the guitars. Sucking out a little distortion is just a fader away, rather switching amps or radical EQ.

There are other ways ( as stated in the other thread) - I have found this overall approach to be helpful, though, so I thought I'd mention it :)

[Tibbon]

Yes, backing off on distortion is ALWAYS a good idea IMHO. Even the heaviest song should not be using thing at a distortion of '10' unless they want it to sound like shit.


I mean some amps are made to be cranked, but you don't want other things to be at that level.

[DeathMonkey]

Originally Posted by Tibbon

Yes, backing off on distortion is ALWAYS a good idea IMHO. Even the heaviest song should not be using thing at a distortion of '10' unless they want it to sound like shit.


I mean some amps are made to be cranked, but you don't want other things to be at that level.

This is a great general rule, btw - you can always add distortion, but you can't take it away. I record a lot of metal and industrial, and people are constantly shocked when they see how little gain and low end I dial in on the amp.