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Anyone use effects to alter where your guitar sits in a mix?

I've been listening to a lot of Grails lately and I was thinking that it would be great to experience those crazy mixes live.

I'm a big fan of using filters to push certain frequencies.

You gonna go to the the Grails show this tour?

hazelwould wrote:Anyone use effects to alter where your guitar sits in a mix?

I've been listening to a lot of Grails lately and I was thinking that it would be great to experience those crazy mixes live.

Sorry, don't get the question really: focus on recordings or live? EQing/Filtering post recording?
In the recording case i normally tune the sound of the amp (w/ the pedal) to the sound i want and that sits best in the mix. Post recording EQing is not really working for me*.

*A bit unrelated sidenote: perhaps some people remember my problem with recording an acoustic guitar and how it sits in the mix: after a lot of time trying to eq the shit out of my favorite take, i decided to rerecord it with a metal pick, just one mic and that on the 12th fret. That got me that thin sound that cut through the mix like i wanted it to.
"Fix it in the mix" is bullshit. Record it, like you want it to sound in the mix. /rant

Never heard grails - you got any good examples? I don't know exactly what you mean but it sounds intriguing!

the mixing and overall production on grails' records is unbeatable imo.

univalve wrote:Record it, like you want it to sound in the mix. /rant

very wise words.
though of course using effects and EQ to place where something sits is incredibly important. reverb, delay, compression, EQ/filtering all do wonders. edit: even some amount of post-processed distortion or grit can help a particular instrument sit better in the mix (doesn't have to be guitar, by the way).

hazelwould wrote:Anyone use effects to alter where your guitar sits in a mix?

maybe i'm misunderstanding the post but this is what i assumed effects were for in general

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW3H5eSVU4g[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=083OK17rZuA[/youtube]

The way his guitar sits in the back when needed. I meant more with the context of consciously using effects live to make your guitar sound like its coming from another room, or just terror in your face upfront rip. And being aware of the desired effect. Understanding the impact of tone, and texture regarding your sound.

It's not something I've seen done really well live, or maybe I've never paid much attention to it. The sound is usually what it is, and sits where it sits in a mix.

I love the Fuzzhugger Magic Meter for moving my guitar around in a live mix when I'm playing with other people. The three band cut/boost on that thing gives you a ton of flexibility. Great tool to have in the tackle box.

Not sure if I've ever executed it, but I've always wanted to put a muffled fuzz, perhaps with less volume on my board to sort of fall back in the mix, basically just to fill space so the other instruments can do fun things. I try to accomplish that live with a midrangy distortion for up front and a fuzz for falling back... Not sure how effective it is though. Probably a bit more useful when there are other instruments than guitar, bass, and drums,

Good EQing makes a lot of difference. I've been messing around in Ableton using this chart as a reference, and it does wonders.

^^^ Very cool.

Ibanez LF7

AndyTran wrote:Ibanez LF7

For the live aspect def! Good call! I use this to get my basslines thin and in the back (volume is below unity). For the chorus i just disable it to get the normal, full sound.

patrick wrote:Good EQing makes a lot of difference. I've been messing around in Ableton using this chart as a reference, and it does wonders.

This is an awesome article, thank you for posting.