The opening jam goes with the montage scene, where the hard-drinking detective starts getting himself back in shape, ready to take on the Big Boss, single-handed.
For some reason I’m still chortling at this comment. There’s a hard-drinking detective...and he’s getting himself back in shape...disclaimer: I’ve had a gin.
Just work it out by ear with trial and error. It might take you a while at first, but with practise it becomes easier. Start by finding the root notes, then fill out triads. Major and minor chords are pretty simple, but eventually you can learn to quickly recognise even complex jazzy chords.
When I first started getting my feet wet in mixing, I was told "cut to make things sound better; boost to make things sound different." The idea of listening while you are playing and understanding where you sit in the band cannot be overstated.
The section on EQ and rolling off the bottom end is so spot on. This is why I love Reverend guitars and their bass contour knob allowing you to roll off bottom end directly from the guitar. The rarely used Fender TBX tone knob is also great for doing this. I don't know why more guitar makers don't switch to a bottom tone roll off instead of the standard treble reduction. I've almost never needed less treble in a live situation and it's always the low frequency that get in the way.
Yes, more backing tracks please! Your thoughts at the end about dispensing with “lead/rhythm” distinctions is spot on. Swervedriver from Oxford are masters at using two guitars and effects to create brilliant textural and dynamic guitar interplay. They have also been doing wet-dry for decades. If you were ever able to get Adam Franklin and/ or Jimmy Hartridge on the show it would blow my tiny mind. They are likely a major inspiration to many pedal-heads out there.
Great video...As a bassist I spend a lot of time trying to convince guitarists to lose their bottom end...it's just not needed...especially Les Paul players.....I have some lovely sounding OD's that I use with my strat ( when pretending to be a guitarist!) that sound awesome in the bedroom and not so good in the mix. My boss OS2 sounds less good in the bedroom but great in the mix...horses for courses and the use of backing tracks works so well demonstrating this.
bassmandudge you are SO right! There’s a world of difference between the home player and the gigging player......everything I do is aimed at gigging, but so much stuff on the inter web is aimed at the home player...........these two numpties, sorry, geniuses get it right for both! Love it 😊👍
Dave Weckl once said you should be able to play in time and with consistency to a metronome,- then turn it down, not lose the beat, turn it back up and still be just as much in time as before. Being a metal rhythm guitar player is very much about that. Steady as a rock even in the midst of headbanging, windmilling, jumping from monitors etc.,- you shouldn´t lose a single sixteenth. If you do you´re just not good enough. Back to practice. With a metronome going mind you.
I agree, whoever said it, likewise with bass-the drums are the rock thrown into the water, the bass is the ripple and the guitar is the splash. That’s how I like it anyway.
That "overdrive as pad" thing is more or less what I do with my slide playing when with a band, or even acoustically with a singer-songwriter folkie artist, which I've been lucky to do on stage a few times now. Just quietly fill out the chords with long, sustained slides. It's dead easy to do, which is perfect for someone of my limited ability, and sounds great.
As a sound engineer the comment about the 200Hz to 300Hz low midrange frequencies and room resonance is so important. These are frequencies that pile up very easily and muddy up a mix extremely fast, and in both live and studio mixes I will cut some of these from almost every track, often very drastically. A lot of microphones have a natural resonance around 300Hz which really doesn't help! Also, that backing track sounds killer and I had to go and buy it. It's gonna be a lot of fun improvising some stuff over it
Dan is full of useful methods to extract unique and sonically satisfying sound from the guitar. Mick is always there with a solid and complimentary sound that contributes to the magic of That Pedal Show. Cheers to both for the lovely content.
As a guy that plays primarily in a modern praise and worship context I think that learning different chord voicings and thinking about where I sit in the mix has opened new worlds up to me. Great episode !!!
Having "big ears" is so very important when playing in a band. Carlos Santana came to mind as I watched this. His rhythm guitar work from the early years of the group was simply perfect.
Honestly brings to mind Angus and Malcolm Young. Some of the rhythm layers they created were simply brilliant. Shoot to thrill, Have a Drink On me, For Those About to Rock, and many, many more. They all used that method. Makes the sound broader and fuller. Great tips lads. It's amazing what effective tidbits you always bring to light. Keep it up!
With reference to your first point - best piece of guitar tuition I ever had, was when I joined a previous incarnation of my current band. We had just finished rehearsing a pretty basic soul classic and I was feeling quite pleased with myself. I turned to receive the thumbs up from the others, at which point I noticed the drummer (a brick-layer in the local steelworks) glaring at me. "Just listen to the f*@^ing snare" he snarled, as he proceeded to count us in again. I have done ever since and we are regularly congratulated on how tight our rhythm section is!! Once again, thanks for some more great advice that (this time), doesn't cost a fortune!
I thought this subject was something that I was pretty good at. The reason why I watched was a.) I'm a huge fan of the show, and b.) I thought it would help me explain these concepts to my students better. Thank you for reminding me that I know nothing (which is always good). This whole thing was awesome, and I learned some cool new tricks. This is hands down my favorite episode. Much respect to both of you!
Malcolm here. A couple of things, absolutely loved the underboost bit. Mick, fan noise and hum are rock and roll, they tell me the digital world is silent...who wants silent? Top episode 😎👍
And a final comment.........”stop thinking about it as rhythm and lead guitar, just guitar parts in the song” YES! Absolutely spot on.........this has been one of the most enjoyable videos you’ve done guys..........loved it, and got lots of ideas from it! 😎😎😎👍
Aces guys! As a veteran who's been gigging now 50 years (and the first 40 strictly rhythm) I still learn things from you. As in all types of musicianship, listening is the key. IMO As a rhythm player also pay attention to the snare as there is where the drummer may "laying back" in the beat. If you fight him there, you will lose.
My Boss ME-70 had this ‘Hum->Sing Coil’ setting that was a savior for fitting my Blues Jr into our band mix in smaller settings. Sure it’s just an EQ with light compression, but… Turned my Fuzz and TS into very usable tones behind singer.
Honestly, this is what makes me smile the most. Just turn the gain way up, volume down, hit a chord and let it sustain as a pad. With a nice tone that fits well, it’s zero work to play, but really adds to a song.
1. Dan and Mick. Nerds, yes, which is great, but most of all two truly awesome musicians. 2. 36.30 Yeah! 36.40 YEAH! Harmonic tremolo. Moving the whole track, still solid and clean. Wow. 3. Not sure if you think its a good idea. But how interesting it would be to hear you have a go each on a backing track then listen, compare, discuss and take off on massive tangents.
From about 33 min. to around 40 min was pure bliss. Such awesome sounds and awesome playing guys. Big bravo to whoever made that backing track for you too.
Great subject. I think most of us naturally go straight for that killer lead tone but rhythm is actually more import. If only my lunch break was 49 minutes long ;)
Playing rhythm gets me more opportunity to play. A lot of the band leaders I play with want a tight band where much of the time we do runs and fancy parts together. Thanks for covering playing with two guitars and not doubling.
I know I'm a bit late on this, but the walrus monument tremolo LFO can be reset by tapping once on the tempo switch. Helps to sync up with the band with just one tap 👍
I think you guys know this and it's probably been said many times. But we need more episodes like this putting everything into perspective with a track. Easier said than done I know.
As a TPS “newbie” (I’ve been watching about nine weeks), I can confirm that this show does wonders for a man’s marriage. Nine weeks ago, I’d never used a pedal. I now have more pedals than Imelda Marcos had shoes, and the glances of admiration from my wife when I engage with finding tone and texture from my playing have reinstated me as the guitar-playing-rock-god of my household. And my kids think I’m pretty cool, too. Many, many thanks!
Ha! We’re too complex and long winded for most people. Most people just want answers, and we’re here week in week out saying there really aren’t any. :0)
@@ThatPedalShow This is true of so many things. There are no answers, just better questions. And nuance. And complexity. Very much appreciate the TPS formula.
This is great! Pete Townsend in a live setting with The Who is a master class on effective rhythm guitar. Especially with inversions and staying in the pocket.
We rhythm players really appreciate this episode. I've been experimenting more with modulation in recent months and it's fascinating and rewarding. The Walrus Monument V. 2 is a great pedal, but I'm even happier with my EQD Aqueduct vibrato.
I love the concept of there being no such thing as lead or rhythm guitar, there’s just parts. I’m not in a band right now, but I was a while back, and that’s exactly the mentality me and the other guitar player took. Neither of us considered ourselves the “lead guitar player” or “rhythm guitar player”. One of us would write a riff and the other would come up with something to complement and/or highlight it. Depending on the song either of us could have been considered the “lead player”. It made the song the important thing instead of our own egos.
Recently moved from Berlin to Kentucky - and got to bond with new friends over TPS. Thanks for bringing us together guys. Awesome playing - look forward to playing more here and putting this all into practice. :)
TPS has evolved to become so much more than a pedal show, which is awesome in my opinion, always something cool to watch and learn. Cheers guys, keep em coming.
This is one of the best episodes I've watched. Super useful! Many of the things you talk about, I found out myself through years of playing in bands and jams. Magic begins when you start to connect brain, ears and heart.
After less than ten minutes, I find this episode very inspiring! I struggle sometimes with my rhythm playing. Sometimes I find myself thinking "man, this is f*cking boring", and this will help me think a bit differently and do something else. Also, less notes per chord is a good idea, I don't have to play the whole chord, I remind myself of that sometimes.
Totally agree with your initial point about there being no lead and no rhythm, just guitar parts. Always winds me up at a gig when the soundman asks “Which one of you is lead?” It’s a bit like the Matrix, “there is no lead, you will see it is not the string that bends, only yourself”
Wow - you guys are getting more & more creative. Great intro & playing together. Love how you both Leave Space for each other, to sit in the mix. Makes me want to purchase a Tech 21 Q-Strip.
Brilliant! Sending this video combined with the other one about playing two guitars together is the most polite way to tell the other guitarist in your band “get your shit together and stop ruining my day, mate”.
the playing in this show was GILGAMESH!!! Mick your lead over Dans rythem took my breath dude...best episode ever...tons of great tips....love backing tracks...love D&M drive...going to buy one in fall.
One of the best episodes of late and I am in a way still considered new to guitar. So new as I have not learned my first song. I see how textures can be created and I have been watching since the old channel when I was trying to teach my self.
Awesome pedals? - Check. Great backing track? - Check. Clickbaity title? - Check. Content that I crave? - Check. No mumbo jumbo about impedance & other nerding? - Check. Killer tones - You betcha! Would love to see the Fender Pinwheel on a Pick N Mix.
Mic - thank you for always paying attention to the background noise and trying to minimize it. But I’ll bet it bothers you more than it bothers us. You’re doing an awesome job man. Keep it up.
Your absolutely right about the bass level on your guitar amp. I play a 59" Bassman reissue and I have my bass level at 0. Their is plenty of bass in my tone.
Barely 2 minutes and already I know this is going to be an epic show. Fantastic. Please do more pedal show's with backing tracks. Let us hear how they sound in a mix.
Great episode but I nearly fell off my chair when Mick said "it's just a bit of overdrive and delay - you don't need to worry about that'. You've changed! Hehe
It seems that Fraser is really earning his keep. The audio is very clean and the backing track was perfectly suitable to show off rhythm concepts. Thanks for the video.
He is a splendid human. Hopefully he’ll be up for being revealed at some point. He is destined for better things than TPS - hopefully we can help him on his way!
Man, loved those swells with the delay!! That's going to make some really fun stuff to loop and jam over. Thanks so much for explaining that! You guys are great, thanks for all the love.
Why is after watching this episode, I feel like my IQ dropped 40pts..."remember what we said...forget it", "mindless rhythm", "i have a real nasally annoying voice...everyone loves it".... really loving the "making it fit" series. This is awesome. Really gives context to so many previous episodes that you guys have done over the years. Truly grateful. Thanks guys!
Dan, Mick and Fraser: that was great (again!) this week. The tracks and the playing - especially at the trem and modulation parts - were so good. Could have listened to that for hours.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! There is so much wisdom and advice in this video and I’m so glad you’re doing more of these videos on rhythm guitar. More please! One side note, I learned the lesson about not being in the singer’s frequency range when my band got rid of our singer, a guy, and got a new one, a woman. With her on the mic, there is so much more room for the guitar - it’s amazing how that works!
I'm actually watching this one after watching the last q&a you did and it's great, this is something that comes with time unless both players have experience, a few things that I would like to point out is definitely communication like you said in the q&a is key, FEELING your playing and the others guitar to me this is a big part, learning the songs is another thing so that both know where to do their own things, another thing is get your own tone even if the other person don't like it, you be you.
This episode was a lot of fun! Super informative. The use of the backing track was super useful to illustrate each point, and having the two guitars together to give full context of a mix helped to hit the nail in the head. Something really inspired me above all else, which was not to overthink the parts, chord voicings and stuff. Each part, as simple as they may be, can complement the song in a very cool way, even if all a person can do is hit a chord and let the delay or trem take care of the job. All of us want to improve and play cool intricate parts, but sometimes the simple straightforward thing is the most appropriate thing to do.
Totally Mick here. I think the simple straightforward thing is usually most appropriate... especially where there is vocals. You’ll note I don’t play much math-rock. Ha!
I think some of the best "two guitarists in a band" examples are on Drums and Wires and Black Sea by XTC. Andy and Dave play around, against, between and together. Sometimes they play entirely different chords that blend together and make one big, meaty complex one. Roads Girdle the Globe still gives me goose bumps when those two parts crash against each other.
Loved the tips, but putting them in context by playing together and using backing tracks made this one of your best shows. Fun. Useful. Inspiring. Also congrats to Frazier who has produced a bass riff that many of us will be humming to ourselves for years to come!
I think the important thing to remember with syncopated delay parts is that the spaces you leave between notes is almost as important as the ones you hit! Some great points in here 🔥 Great stuff team!
One of my favourite of your recent episodes (not that any of them have been bad) some really cool sounds, and a couple of ideas I hadn't really thought about, especially the underdrive with the boost.
Frazer--great job on the backing track! Even after hearing it 1000x, it was still a slick progression for the listener to hear and the boys to play along to.
Great show! Made me think. Tip of the hat to Frasier for the awesome backing tracks. I hope you enjoyed making this video as much as I enjoyed watching it.
When I was a young player at 14 I was listening to Van Halen and all I wanted to do was learn to play Eruption (nothing wrong with that, but there's more to music than that). Then I fell under the wing of a older, seasoned musician who had been a session and touring player with Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, etc. He saw that I had raw talent but needed some direction, so we started getting together a couple of times a week. He also gave me two records... "Time Loves A Hero" by Little Feat and "Blow By Blow" by Jeff Beck. "Listen to these over and over. You won't get it at first but when you do, everything will change for you. It's all about playing what's right and leaving out what ain't" he said. I did as I was told and, true to what he said, I didn't know what to make of things at first. The opening track on "Time Loves A Hero" nearly made my head explode. Eventually it sank in and I began to see playing in a whole new light. As you guys mentioned in the video, he recorded every time we played together and would ask me how I thought I sounded and then play back the track of me to really hear. He always said, "The tape don't lie!" Yes, this was back in the days of LP's and reel to reel recording. Eventually I became the guitarist in his band and got the chance to play with a band full of people twice my age and in that situation, you are forced to find a way to make things work. What an education. The moral is it'll about parts, fitting in space and time, listening, and "mixing yourself" while you play.
Darin Ames what a great story and thanks for sharing. Everything you say is on the money; playing music has always been about the parts and how different instruments interact with one another, but that’s a really hard lesson to learn if you play on your own in a bedroom.
Great topic! Very helpful and it gets our creative juices flowing. Watching this show I’m taken back to your episode with Ed O’brien and all the creative soundscapes he adds to the Radiohead sound.
