Thoughts On Gain, EQ & Audibility When Playing Solos

Published on 23 Aug 2019

In this episode we stumble around a general discussion on being heard when playing solos. A friend of Dan’s had asked him what he needed to think about tonally when starting to play guitar solos: it sparked an idea for a show.
Many of the concepts we touch on here have been covered in previous episodes, but they’re always worth a re-look for the already-initiated and close to invaluable for anyone new to the subject. Gain, EQ, volume… and a bit on delay, rounded up with five tips for better solo tones.
Enjoy the episode!

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Pedals & stuff in this episode…

• TheGigRig Three2One


• Fulltone OCD
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USA:
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• Suhr Riot
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• J Rockett Touch OD
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• Boss GE-7
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• Fender Engager Boost
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• RYRA Klone
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• Wampler Mini Ego Compressor
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• MXR Carbon Copy
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• TC Electronic Flashback Mini
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• Jam Pedals Ripple
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• TC Electronic Polytune 2 Mini Noir
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TheGigRig G2


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Interesting bits and go-to sections…
- Intro playing: 0:00
- What are we doing Dan?: 03:46
- It’s all about the solo though… 5:58
- What amp’s are we using today?: 06:25
- Who is playing what gear? 6:45
- Let’s start from the top..: 07:20
- You need to be heard – add more, or shape: 08:06
- The sound needs to be good!: 09:33
- How do I make my solo audible?: 10:39
- The old school way: just turn your guitar, with the 335: 12:20
- …and with Dan’s Tele: 15:35
- What happens when we adjust the guitar volume?: 19:02
- What about when you use multiple pedals? 20:46
- A bit of Suhr Riot fun: 21:42
- And boosting that? 23:00
- Adjusting audibility with EQ: 28:04
- Lower gain? 30:15
- Why don’t we have a GE7 on our board?: 30:34
- Shaping gain stages? 31:10
- Using a Klon-type pedal to shape your audibility: 31:20 (33:30)
- And with more gain… 35:30
- What about clean sounds?: 37:20
- Compressor for clean lead: 40:15
- Using a compressor with gain: 41:42
- Using delay to add texture for your solo: 44:21
- Analog delay staying out of the way: 45:12
- And with shorter delay times for punch: 48:18
- Now with longer digital delays: 50:40 (51:43)
- And in summary? 54:22
- Thank you!: 58:58
- Jamming: 59:40

Guitars in this episode:
• Fender American Vintage ’62 Stratocaster watch Mick’s video at
• Fender Custom Shop 1963 Telecaster - watch Dan’s video at
• Gibson Memphis 1958 ES-335 – no video yet

Amps in this episode
• Vox AC15C1 with Celestion G12M Greenback
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• Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III with Celestion G12P-80
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