Filling out your live sound when you're a guitarist down

CountryDave · June 2023

What @fretmeister said.
Played a number of gigs when a 2nd guitarist couldn’t make it.
The gap gives the song space to breathe and unless you are playing a full set of Status Quo to a Quo audience, very few will notice
The listeners mind tends to fill any major gaps anyway.

Roland · June 2023

CountryDave said:

What @fretmeister said.
Played a number of gigs when a 2nd guitarist couldn’t make it.
The gap gives the song space to breathe and unless you are playing a full set of Status Quo to a Quo audience, very few will notice
The listeners mind tends to fill any major gaps anyway.

My band once did a rehearsal without me. Apparently they sang the guitar solos.

Fully agree about giving the songs space to breathe.

fretmeister · June 2023

I think I also need to mention the unmentionable.

If you get the arrangement right and you like it better that way...

Image: https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.mogicons.com%2Fshare%2Fkeeping-secret-253.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=fcc2ca1b644d21d9fd355f7ab9ecc7ff26cf90b29c721a917f443e6e6855c8fd&ipo=images

you'll only be splitting gig money between fewer people...

Jonathangus · June 2023

fretmeister said:

I think I also need to mention the unmentionable.

If you get the arrangement right and you like it better that way...

you'll only be splitting gig money between fewer people...

1 - the guy who's not there? It's kinda his band.
2 - what is this 'gig money' of which you speak?

fretmeister · June 2023

Was.

Was his band!

ESBlonde · June 2023

Less is more, you can sound full with the audio spectrum occupied by just bass drums and guitar, loads of bands have done this successfully. You might have to modify some lead breaks and add double stops or tri tones, cut the length etc. again simplify and be melodic.

Finally if the material and musicians ability allow add more vocals even double up a line here and there or simple harmony or odd words shouted from the back line all help orchestrate the piece.

RickLucas · June 2023

I've been gigging recently in a three-piece format and have been enjoying the change.

axisus · June 2023

I've always preferred one guitarist to two live. I think that the Iron Maiden 3 guitarist thing is a bit silly

Rkphilpot · June 2023

But also - enjoy the space. So many bands follow a wall of noise approach that frankly gets damn tiring for every song. Enjoy the space and us it to give the tunes more variety.

This!! We spent a year trying to get two guitars to sound good. It was only when our other guitarist decided he didn't want to start gigging and walked away that we played with one guitar. The space was so good, the dynamics so much more pronounced. I don't think I'd go back now. Granted it does make some songs more difficult or impossible to cover. But mostly it is fine and can really open up the sound.

The guitar is a mid range instrument. Let the Bass do the heaving lifting of the low end.

ICBM · June 2023

Delay and some reverb will help, but more importantly you just need to rejig your guitar parts for the context - playing long noodly solos over (what are now non-existent) rhythm chords doesn't really work.

Listen to a lot of power-trio music and you'll be able to work it out. I went from being a lead guitarist to a sole guitarist in a former band, and in the end I much preferred it. I did use more effects, but it wasn't the most important difference.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

Filling out your live sound when you're a guitarist down

Comments