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Start from the sourceĮvery guitar tech has a story of a client coming in and saying "my guitar sounds bad, fix it" and then letting on that the strings haven't been changed since the guitar was new!įresh strings sound and feel better to most players – if your guitar isn't inspiring you or doesn't feel great, check them. So here is some practical advice you can use to improve your current situation without spending money you don't need to spend. Their needs, fingers, ears and wallet are all different from yours. Tweak it, by all means - we all have room for improvement and we all like to grow to accommodate new styles, but don't let anyone tell you it's wrong. If your rig feels amazing under your fingers and responds in a way that inspires creativity, you're ahead of the game, so don't change it! If your rig sounds good in a range of styles, you're doing better than most. If your rig is reliable, transportable and makes you want to play, that's a good start. The most important thing to realise about your equipment and your tone is that it is a means to an end not the end in itself. (I take nothing away from stereo rack systems by the way they are pretty much a necessity for certain genres). It's very easy to become insecure about a rig that may actually be working very well for you – "is my amp hand-wired and does it matter?", "I like diode-based distortion, is this bad?", "I have a great pedalboard which I love but 'Moneybags666' says I need a stereo rack system" – that it's a wonder any of us get round to playing at all! In the information age we are overwhelmed with opinions pointing us in several different directions at once.
#Guitar rig 5 player van halen tone how to
Some spend so much time trading gear that they never learn how to get the best out of what they already have.
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Many players know roughly what sound they want but are completely overwhelmed with choice when it comes to getting it.
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