This article explains how to thicken guitar tone. You’ve probably heard that you need to thicken your guitar tone to get the most out of your axe. But what does that even mean? Well, it’s pretty simple, really. Thicker guitar tones are those that contain a lot of low-end, as well as midrange and high-end frequencies. In other words, the more low-end, midrange, and high-end sound notes in your guitar tone, the thicker it is.
Thick guitar tones are typically achieved by using effects such as doubling, phasing, and octave effects. But while those may be effective in certain situations, they’re not the right way to thicken your tone. Instead, we’re going to focus on techniques that will help strengthen the fundamentals of your playing and produce a more robust, rounded tone. After all, the most important aspect of thicken your guitar tone is in your hands, not the effects you use.
Related Article: How to get creamy guitar tone
What You Can Do to Thicken Your Guitar Tone
There are several techniques that you can use to add definition and thickness to your guitar tone.
– Play with a heavy pick or heavier gauge strings, which will produce a fuller sound.
– Strengthen your hand muscles by practicing scales and playing through your fingers to strengthen the chords on the guitar.
– Practice shifting up and down the neck of the guitar so you get comfortable playing in different positions, which will help you create more depth in your tone.
– Keep your fingers loose and relaxed when you play chords or single notes, as tense muscles will produce a thinner tone.
**Keep these tips in mind for thicken your guitar tone, then start using them regularly to see positive results!
Boost More Low-End
One way to thicken your guitar tone is by boosting more low-end. It’s important to remember that each type of pickup will have its own unique sound. Some pickups are better for a thinner sound, while others are better for a thicker sound. So, if you want to thicken your guitar tone, you need to change pickups or pots in order to achieve it.
Achieving the desired thickness may require some experimentation with different types of pickups and pots. If you want to make sure you’re using the appropriate gear, consult a luthier or a guitar technician before making any changes.
As you experiment with different pickups and pots, one thing to keep in mind is that there’s no standard definition of what makes tones thicker or thinner. That being said, there are general rules of thumb that can help you figure out what type of pickup might be right for your playing style and desired sound. For example:
– A single-coil pickup might be best for a vintage rock sound
– Humbuckers might be best for heavy metal
Use Parallel Compression
One of the easiest ways to thicken your guitar tone is by adding parallel compression. Most often, this is done with an EQ, but you can also use a compressor as well. When you do this, you want to boost the frequencies on the lower end of your EQ and compress those frequencies slightly. This will make your tone thicker because it’s just a few notes down from the root frequency, which gives it that low-end oomph without making it muddy or unclear.
Double Your Lead Vocals
One technique you can use to thicken your guitar tone is doubling. Doubling is a recording process that involves repeating the same part over and over in order to create an echo-like effect. It’s a simple way to thicken your guitar tone as it only requires one looping track. You can hear this technique used in a lot of mainstream pop music, especially when there are vocals present.
Doubling your lead vocals will make them sound fuller, so if you want to thicken up your vocals, try doubling the lead vocal track with a slightly different pitch or dynamic. This will give you more layers of sound and make your vocals more prominent in the mix.
Boost the Sub-Basses
For starters, you’ll want to focus on the low-end of your guitar tone.
To do this, you should use a bass note (a low D on a six string guitar) or an A note for a seven string guitar) and pluck it with your thumb. Plucking the bass note will result in a deep “thud” sound. You can also experiment with picking the string with your fingers, instead of using your thumb. Doing so will produce a higher pitched sound, which may be more desirable in some situations. There are many other techniques you can use to add more depth to your tone such as playing chords on the lower strings, as well as on the higher strings; strumming open strings and muting them; and playing different notes with your left hand (i.e., if you’re right-handed).
It’s always a good idea to experiment and see what sounds best for playing in different genres or songs.
Combine Techniques with Effects
So, how do you get a thicker tone? Well, the truth is you don’t need to use any effects to thicken your guitar tone. You can simply combine techniques and play long sustain chords. To get a thicker sound with this technique, try playing two or three notes on the same string at the same time while holding them out as long as possible. Listen closely and you’ll notice that when you combine these techniques, the low-end will be reinforced more than before. For example let’s say we play a G chord (G-B-D). We would hold out those notes for as long as possible by using our fingers to press down on all three strings and then release our fingers when we want to change chords. This adds a lot of weight to your sound, which will help make it thicker. It may take some time to perfect this technique though.
There are a few different techniques you can use to thicken your tone, including:
– Tremolo Picking
– Hammer-ons and Pull-offs
– Chords with Lower Strings
– Multiple Voices on One Guitar
It’s important to know that these are not one-time fixes. You need to employ these methods on a regular basis in order for them to be effective. For example, if you’re using chords with lower strings, you need to do it for each chord progression. If you’re using tremolo picking, you should apply it the entire time you play guitar. The possibilities really are endless for how to thicken your guitar tone, but the key is consistency and diligence in practicing those techniques.
Takeaway
Tips
* Dig deep with your chords. When you dig deep, you’re not just playing the notes on the fretboard, you’re letting the string ring out and absorbing the natural resonance.
* Vary your dynamics. A lot of people play with no variation in dynamics–either they play everything extremely softly or at full volume. But adding some subtle changes yourself can add a whole other dimension to your sound.
* Experiment with different styles of picking. Flatpicking is great for country and bluegrass music, while strumming is more suited to folk and pop tunes. If you’re a rock player, forceful pickstrokes are going to be your best bet, while jazz players may want to try arpeggios and grace notes. (The good thing about modern guitars is that they allow for most any type of tone!)
How to thicken guitar tone FAQS
To get a thicker guitar tone, you need to focus on strengthening the fundamentals of your playing. First, make sure you’re using your fingers to play notes rather than using slaps or picking styles that involve only the thumb and index finger. Secondly, play through each chord with full chords and arpeggios. This will give you a fuller sound than if you just played the root note of a chord.
You can also use effects like doubling, phasing, and octave effects to create a thicker sound for your guitar tone. While these might be useful in certain situations, they’re not the right way to thicken your tone. For example, sometimes increasing a duplicate of an already-existing signal creates an interesting and thick sound but it’s not going to work as well if all you’re doing is strumming down from an open E chord to an open D chord. So instead of doubling, try sweeping or tapping into the string for more control over how you manipulate those low-end frequencies.
Delay can also be used for thickness purposes but it really depends on what type of delay effect you’re using. If you’re using it to produce slapback echo-like sounds or echo-delay sounds where each repetition sounds sort of like a double-tracked version of your original signal then.
Conclusion
There are a number of different ways you can thicken your guitar tone. What you do will depend on what type of guitar you play, what style of music you play, and how much to boost the guitar volume. Experiment with a variety of techniques and find the one that best suits your needs. It may take some trial and error, but the right technique will help your guitar to stand out above the other instruments in your mix.
You’ve got the chops, got the gear and know what to do. But sometimes you need a little help getting that perfect guitar tone. Luckily, there are lots of ways to thicken your guitar tone.
Here’s what you can do:
Boost more low-end
Use parallel compression
Double your lead vocals
Boost the sub-bass frequencies
Combine techniques
No matter how you choose to thicken your guitar tone, it’ll be a whole lot easier with these tips.
