+CSGuitars another tip, be careful when using a clean boost as you can push to much volume into the amp and cause it to sound harsh/unclear even for metal
I don't. I only play the nastiest, greasiest, pesticide-ridden, processed guitars out there. I don't care if I get a heart attack before turning 40, it just sounds so deliciously gnarly.
+Peter DD if you cook your chicken for too long, its the same as using way too much master volume. push it too far and your 1960b marshall half stack will distort to a puddle of mud.
I'll never forget, when I first started playing guitar, I had this Green Jackson Performer superstrat I had bought from a friend and an old 10w 8" Behringer. Needless to say, hearing everything I played was close to a harrowing experience. After a while I tried investing in a new pickup, new speaker, distortion pedals, etc. and I still couldn't find out why nothing that came out of my amp sounded good to me. I had just spent a little chunk of change to improve my guitar tone and it still sounded awful. "What a stupid piece of shit" was most likely my reaction. After I had all but given up trying to get my set-up to sound good, a friend of a friend was over at my house and noticed my guitar. I told him, "it's garbage though". He laughed, plugged in the guitar, and started playing a few riffs from one of my favorite "The Haunted" albums. It sounded great! It sounded really really great! It was then I realized, I am why my guitar sounds like shit. Anyways... This is just a long winded (sorry if you read this whole thing) story that reiterates, "Learn how to make what you have sound good before you start trying to go out and buy expensive things you don't need".
I reeeeeally appreciate and learned a healthy amount from this video. I've been struggling with my tone for a while now and I think this will definitely get me on the right track. I now realize how much I've been ignoring when it comes to this instrument. Thank you thank you thank you!!!
Love your videos. I'm someone who used to take a super nice tube amp such as a Boogie...find the cleanest clean I could dial in and then ram a metal zone into it with the gain maxed. I am a recovering metal zoner in no small part to you.
+Jason Vetter It's all good, we eventually find that tone we're after. Personally, my favorite guitar tones for metal is that classic Megadeth and Iron Maiden sound. Savage, aggressive, but as clean as possible.
the part about volume depends on the pickups. on my strat turning the volume down to 8 is like a fast way to go to clean guitar (from overdrive at volume 10)
I'm just a bedroom shredder, but this made me sound a TON better! It's truly unbelievable! I thought my equipment was trash before, but lo and behold, it was the user! Imagine that. ;)
Possibly the best guitar related analogy/simile I have ever heard - guitar like/as a chicken. Why have I been so late to discovering this channel... :(
Thanks a lot for the helpful video! As a begginer who is just starting to find out about the huge difference tone can make, these kind of videos help out a lot!
Colin comes round to the damsels in distress and flailing his wooden metal sword thingy slays the sound dragon! Mighty good channel man! I've got over two decades of trying to play guitar under an outrageosly big belt buckle and I have to say that I've learned a few things, excellent things.... I thank you! "Insert Wild appluase, nude goats/women screaming here"!
this... was one of the most tongue-in-cheek, but well educating vids for new players I've seen in a long while Colin :) well done for that... lol... seriously though, yours is one of the better quality RUclips channels I subscribe to, no B/s.. no pretensions.. you are a blessing to newbies everywhere.. and with the "shitepaul series" one of the more honest :P wtg mate! this, from someone who's played for over .*coughs8 more than two decades.....:)
thanks much for posting your videos. they are very helpful to me as I am an acoustic player trying to develop my electric sound. Your analogy was good but your demonstration was even better.I hope you keep posting guitar videos. Cheers!
HA! Another good one, I picked up the 70%/80% setting of the guitar controls from a previously watched clip of yours, but that was the best amp set up configuration I've come across to date, and in the past year I've watch a lot. That will also work in the never ending change in room size and characteristics. Yet again, more common sense that isn't obvious until someone slaps you in the face with it.
Just one extra thing relevant to finding the "sweet spot" with amp controls. Some amps have interactive tone controls - meaning a high treble changes the way the bass control works. Where this is a marked effect, either set the controls by guess work to start with or set all to 12 o'clock then return them to 12 o'clock before moving on to the next. Once each is done individually, you can set them all and then probably do a small tweak!
Another nice video. :) 4:45 Interesting way to do it by manipulating the guitar's controls. I usually mess with my amp's controls more than my guitar's. I like what you said a few vids ago about not cranking the gain up all the way too, and I now see a theme in what you are doing. 6:08 Pickup selection…Definitely! On a Les Paul type setup, I tend to use the bridge pickup more often than not, but certainly the other settings have their place. The Strat HSS type and SSS type, I tend to use either the bridge or bridge/middle more often than not, and rarely the middle/neck. The other's I find little use for. The dynamics with the picking hand is a HUGE part of what I do, even though most people seem to notice the effects rather than picking. Where a lot of guitarists use the volume knob to control dynamic, I like to use palm muting to fade into the background (especially when a singer is singing) and gradually let up or immediately explode or accent a beat depending on what effect is needed. So there are grades of palm muting you can use. But also pick harmonics can be at different levels, and they too can make little accents. So just by varying the pick harmonic sound and palm muting you can gain a lot of control over your dynamics.
I love your roast chicken metaphor. It definitely makes a lot of sense to have the basic elements down before you add any embellishments. Question: In regards to how you set up you tone and volume knobs, when do you think it best to implement an overdrive pedal?
A good thing to add is even if you get say... A Joe Bonamassa brand chicken for example. The person who prepares the chicken will also make a huge difference. That is staying with your analogy anyway. My point is, if you stick a not so great player into a absolutely wonderful amp/oven like a old Marshall plexi the player/chicken will be quite rancid. Point being, practise and trying to play things' every way possible and finding what suits you as Guthrie Govan has said many a time is also a EXTREMELY important part of getting the most from the gear. You can play the same note 1000 times and 1000 ways and each one will be different. The gear needs to be good yes, but with good gear every player must be ready to support it with hands that are willing and able to cook ;-) Sorry is this gets' posted twice the first time it went weird..
I love the chicken analogy. I would take it further to say that my Dual Rec and Marshall JVM are like super gratifying deep fryers that taste so good going down and Splawns, Diezels and Fryette's are like pressure cookers that slow cook it to perfection for that fall off the bone tone XD
very true on the 'use as much as you need'..rather than turning everything right up...so many people turn the gain up full and it just gets mushy...like processed chicken i guess
I am amazed at how well you stuck to the chicken analogy, like a trooper! lol Great tips by the way, ,y sound has always been quite confused as to where it should be in relation to the lead guitarist in my band. I have now managed to strike the proper balance and our songs are sounding better than ever! Cheers dude!
yet another excellent informative video! I know Steve Morse for one very often touts the advantages and usefulness of actively using your tone and volume controls and pickup combos. its def a valid consideration in the quest to become better players and musicians. i recall in the 80's seeing many new guitars coming out with ONE paltry (poutry?) pickup and just a volume knob...it seemed a step backwards then and even more so now. your method of finding the best tone out of the amp is cool, i need to try it that way and see if i end up right where i am now or if i find something better :D many thanks!
Holy crap dude you actually made a video on the subject awesome!!! Great video I believe this is the most helpfull video on eqing and amp keep up the great work
Thanks man that was very helpful. I'm going to adjust all the controls now and maybe raise the pickups a bit higher since I'll be turning my guitar volume down a little bit.
I love my chicken and my oven, it took a while to find the right spices to make my chicken taste good and my oven cook just right but I got it now. But still from time to time I like to change the spices up a little bit to make it taste better. Lol. :-)
to my knowledge the nobs on your guitar are always the VERY LAST things you want to touch when it comes to changing the TONE of your guitar.. the signal comming from the guitar is the soul so don't choke it unless ABSOLUTELY nessesary.. correct me if i'm totally wrong here, but that's how i've learned it and it makes a lot of sense in my head.
I think that the value of using your volume and tone controls can't be underestimated. If you roll down the volume control back a few notches, there's a reduction in gain as well as volume, which I find very useful when playing live. I can go from high gain crunch to classical rock rather quickly. Plus the tone control can be rolled down to make your sound a bit more dark and broody if you're playing metal and especially on the neck pickup, make the sound very thick and vocal. Plus you can also use the controls as a boost if you set your sound in a certain way. (I won't claim I discovered this Colin here did a video on this called "In Praise of Tone Controls", I'd very much recommend that you look it up). I wouldn't say its a necessity for my personal setup, but I really think they can be brilliant tone shaping controls. Sometimes if you do it wrong then it can choke the tone a bit but that's the same with literally anything that can be used with guitar. I'd recommend you try it out it's a very cool trick.
Dad, I need money for a new amplifier. "Why?"
Well, my guitar is a chicken, see...
Divljina89 Dad, I need to turn my amp up really loud. "Why?"
Well, I'll get food poisoning...
+River Lemmond You need the oven to run hot to properly cook chicken
Get yourself a healthy chicken today with this guide on how to sound better using your existing gear.
CSGuitars So then, is that an organic, free-range guitar?
Legionary42 Well... Its a gibson... If its from the illigal-wood time, then its not organic, if its legal wood, then it is Ryan Approved!
+CSGuitars another tip, be careful when using a clean boost as you can push to much volume into the amp and cause it to sound harsh/unclear even for metal
nice video now you have a new subscriber
What about Eddie Van Halen's guitar?
Doesn't look very healthy
Huh😂😂
I'm lost what temperature do I amplify my chicken at
11. On all settings.
you can turn bass and treble to 10.5 if you want the mids to be more pronounced in your overall tone
i mean in your overall roast
I set my grill to half temperature.
To the "authentic" temperature!! Cook authentic!
I only play organic, free-range, hormone free guitars...
+Matt Bowen so acoustic??
+Matt Bowen I'm vegan.
I only play meatless, dairy-free, gluten-free guitars.
I don't. I only play the nastiest, greasiest, pesticide-ridden, processed guitars out there. I don't care if I get a heart attack before turning 40, it just sounds so deliciously gnarly.
*"How to cook your chicken* (Now with guitar analogies)"
+Peter DD if you cook your chicken for too long, its the same as using way too much master volume. push it too far and your 1960b marshall half stack will distort to a puddle of mud.
Well, my gear doesn't sound any better, but now I"m hungry.
I'll never forget, when I first started playing guitar, I had this Green Jackson Performer superstrat I had bought from a friend and an old 10w 8" Behringer. Needless to say, hearing everything I played was close to a harrowing experience. After a while I tried investing in a new pickup, new speaker, distortion pedals, etc. and I still couldn't find out why nothing that came out of my amp sounded good to me. I had just spent a little chunk of change to improve my guitar tone and it still sounded awful. "What a stupid piece of shit" was most likely my reaction.
After I had all but given up trying to get my set-up to sound good, a friend of a friend was over at my house and noticed my guitar. I told him, "it's garbage though". He laughed, plugged in the guitar, and started playing a few riffs from one of my favorite "The Haunted" albums. It sounded great! It sounded really really great!
It was then I realized, I am why my guitar sounds like shit.
Anyways... This is just a long winded (sorry if you read this whole thing) story that reiterates, "Learn how to make what you have sound good before you start trying to go out and buy expensive things you don't need".
Colin, I have learned more from your channel than an associates degree in performance guitar has taught me. Thanks man!
I think your chicken has a touch of salmonella, which in guitar speak means "Tune that thang son!" ;)
Some one please count how many times he says "chicken" xD
You could be that guy
Jacob Oland yes 25 times exactly xD if his analogy was pizza I probably would have lost it
This has got to be the most appetizing guitar lesson I've ever listened to
I love all your videos, they're very instructional and informative not to mention fun af to watch! Keep up the good work :)
I am primarily a blues player but have been watching your videos and find them highly valuable!
I reeeeeally appreciate and learned a healthy amount from this video. I've been struggling with my tone for a while now and I think this will definitely get me on the right track. I now realize how much I've been ignoring when it comes to this instrument. Thank you thank you thank you!!!
Perhaps the greatest analogy I have ever heard used for explaining how to get your sound on guitar.
Love your videos. I'm someone who used to take a super nice tube amp such as a Boogie...find the cleanest clean I could dial in and then ram a metal zone into it with the gain maxed. I am a recovering metal zoner in no small part to you.
+Jason Vetter It's all good, we eventually find that tone we're after. Personally, my favorite guitar tones for metal is that classic Megadeth and Iron Maiden sound. Savage, aggressive, but as clean as possible.
should I eat my guitar and play my chicken?
+Thiago Makluf probably (:
that was fantastic. helped me dial my amp in, and here I was going by what someone told me "just set everything half way up"
I absolutely love this guy! He gives great advice, he is super cool and his accent is amazing! He is also a pretty good guitarist too!
Thanks so much for this video Colin. I learned so much. Sometimes going back to the basics is what one actually needs.
the part about volume depends on the pickups. on my strat turning the volume down to 8 is like a fast way to go to clean guitar (from overdrive at volume 10)
Hands down the funniest and yet informative guitar video I've seen in awhile.
I could listen to your accent all day with chickens on my lap
The chicken looks well seasoned and the oven optimally tweaked and preheated. Mouth Watering. Great Advice.
I'm just a bedroom shredder, but this made me sound a TON better! It's truly unbelievable! I thought my equipment was trash before, but lo and behold, it was the user! Imagine that. ;)
This is the best analogy I've heard for a guitar rig.
Quick update: it worked great for me! Thanks man. I already described what I did in the comment on your tone control video.
I came here to learn about how to get the best out of my gear, and now i'm hungry for chicken!
Im vegetarian and i find this chickfensive :)
Possibly the best guitar related analogy/simile I have ever heard - guitar like/as a chicken.
Why have I been so late to discovering this channel... :(
I was hung up on how he really simplified roasting a while chicken.. but then it was one of the most perfect analogies I've ever heard.
I learned how to cook chicken. 10/10
Thanks a lot for the helpful video! As a begginer who is just starting to find out about the huge difference tone can make, these kind of videos help out a lot!
this is the best analogy i ever heard in my life
Colin comes round to the damsels in distress and flailing his wooden metal sword thingy slays the sound dragon! Mighty good channel man! I've got over two decades of trying to play guitar under an outrageosly big belt buckle and I have to say that I've learned a few things, excellent things.... I thank you! "Insert Wild appluase, nude goats/women screaming here"!
This is my new favourite comment.
When I was watching this, I wanted to go practice, became hungry, and wanted to go to scotland again xd amazing!
this... was one of the most tongue-in-cheek, but well educating vids for new players I've seen in a long while Colin :) well done for that... lol... seriously though, yours is one of the better quality RUclips channels I subscribe to, no B/s.. no pretensions.. you are a blessing to newbies everywhere.. and with the "shitepaul series" one of the more honest :P wtg mate! this, from someone who's played for over .*coughs8 more than two decades.....:)
Loved the dialing your amp lesson .One of the better examples around very well taught sir. Keep up the good work!
thanks much for posting your videos. they are very helpful to me as I am an acoustic player trying to develop my electric sound. Your analogy was good but your demonstration was even better.I hope you keep posting guitar videos. Cheers!
that amp eq sweep was very helpful, thanks
Your videos are the most helpful ones i have seen about gear. thanks man!
Great tutorial! I recently went through something similar with my gear this week. will do it right tonight & hone the tone!
Thank you for the video and making it very easy for newbies to understand, (like me) adjusting the amp advise, i will definitely be trying that.
HA! Another good one, I picked up the 70%/80% setting of the guitar controls from a previously watched clip of yours, but that was the best amp set up configuration I've come across to date, and in the past year I've watch a lot. That will also work in the never ending change in room size and characteristics. Yet again, more common sense that isn't obvious until someone slaps you in the face with it.
Thanks man - i never really knew how to dial in an amp before- so i've learned something today!
HAHAA, oh man, that was an awesome analogy. Thank you!
Well done sir! From a fellow Scottish brethren!
Just one extra thing relevant to finding the "sweet spot" with amp controls. Some amps have interactive tone controls - meaning a high treble changes the way the bass control works. Where this is a marked effect, either set the controls by guess work to start with or set all to 12 o'clock then return them to 12 o'clock before moving on to the next. Once each is done individually, you can set them all and then probably do a small tweak!
Nicely done. Simple and experientially oriented.
Thank you
I really like the way you explain things, really easy to follow. Thanks bro!
YES i've been looking for just this sort of video thanks for posting!
Another nice video. :)
4:45 Interesting way to do it by manipulating the guitar's controls. I usually mess with my amp's controls more than my guitar's. I like what you said a few vids ago about not cranking the gain up all the way too, and I now see a theme in what you are doing.
6:08 Pickup selection…Definitely! On a Les Paul type setup, I tend to use the bridge pickup more often than not, but certainly the other settings have their place. The Strat HSS type and SSS type, I tend to use either the bridge or bridge/middle more often than not, and rarely the middle/neck. The other's I find little use for.
The dynamics with the picking hand is a HUGE part of what I do, even though most people seem to notice the effects rather than picking. Where a lot of guitarists use the volume knob to control dynamic, I like to use palm muting to fade into the background (especially when a singer is singing) and gradually let up or immediately explode or accent a beat depending on what effect is needed. So there are grades of palm muting you can use. But also pick harmonics can be at different levels, and they too can make little accents. So just by varying the pick harmonic sound and palm muting you can gain a lot of control over your dynamics.
I love your roast chicken metaphor. It definitely makes a lot of sense to have the basic elements down before you add any embellishments. Question: In regards to how you set up you tone and volume knobs, when do you think it best to implement an overdrive pedal?
You're making me hungry with all this chicken talk
A good thing to add is even if you get say... A Joe Bonamassa brand chicken for example. The person who prepares the chicken will also make a huge difference. That is staying with your analogy anyway. My point is, if you stick a not so great player into a absolutely wonderful amp/oven like a old Marshall plexi the player/chicken will be quite rancid.
Point being, practise and trying to play things' every way possible and finding what suits you as Guthrie Govan has said many a time is also a EXTREMELY important part of getting the most from the gear. You can play the same note 1000 times and 1000 ways and each one will be different.
The gear needs to be good yes, but with good gear every player must be ready to support it with hands that are willing and able to cook ;-)
Sorry is this gets' posted twice the first time it went weird..
I love the chicken analogy. I would take it further to say that my Dual Rec and Marshall JVM are like super gratifying deep fryers that taste so good going down and Splawns, Diezels and Fryette's are like pressure cookers that slow cook it to perfection for that fall off the bone tone XD
thanks for the video! the chicken turned out delicous, my family loved it!
Think I'll take two chickens...
very true on the 'use as much as you need'..rather than turning everything right up...so many people turn the gain up full and it just gets mushy...like processed chicken i guess
I'm really quite impressed with your friendly and accurate advice having watched a few of your videos now..Subbed and liked:))
I am amazed at how well you stuck to the chicken analogy, like a trooper! lol
Great tips by the way, ,y sound has always been quite confused as to where it should be in relation to the lead guitarist in my band. I have now managed to strike the proper balance and our songs are sounding better than ever!
Cheers dude!
+3 points for Turisas shirt. Excellent video sir!
Thank you very much, because of your helpful video my chicken tastes amazing.
Screw the guitar, now I want a well-seasoned chicken
Counterproductive analogy.
care to expand on that statement?
I felt it could be explain without the analogy. That said, it made an otherwise dull video entertaining. I must try this when I get home from holiday.
yet another excellent informative video! I know Steve Morse for one very often touts the advantages and usefulness of actively using your tone and volume controls and pickup combos. its def a valid consideration in the quest to become better players and musicians. i recall in the 80's seeing many new guitars coming out with ONE paltry (poutry?) pickup and just a volume knob...it seemed a step backwards then and even more so now. your method of finding the best tone out of the amp is cool, i need to try it that way and see if i end up right where i am now or if i find something better :D many thanks!
Holy crap dude you actually made a video on the subject awesome!!! Great video I believe this is the most helpfull video on eqing and amp keep up the great work
This made me hungry for a roast chicken dinner. ...
Thank you for helpful advice, will do .
Thanks to your recipe, my guitar is finger-licking good!
Awesome and creative video dude!
Dude your video and philosophies kick mega ass!! Thanks for helping us out
Absolutely brilliant, will apply to my bass gear, though somehow my multieffect ended up in the oven after this vid and I'm still hungry for chicken!
That was an awesome lesson very clear and informative thanks man! :D
Thanks for the good advice! Will try out to find the Sweetspots on my Amp in tomorows Bandpractice :)
Keep it up!
My chicken was old and sick. Got it calibrated and rectified and it sounds very good for its price.
This is the most helpful way to teach me guitar. Talk to my stomach.
Geez, I didn't realize you were gonna go all the way with that chicken metaphor.
Hi mate ,
your videos are great keep them coming, great information
Thanks
that was very, very informative, yet so basic! great explanation, hate falling into the need more gear trap!!
i really enjoy your videos, you know what you talking about!
does that mean that gas grills and charcoal grills are the equivalent of solid state and tube amplifiers?
What would a smoker be?
+Daniel Stone vintage
love this and never loved Chicken so much,off to the Kernal for some hand battered guitar.
Good analogy, it was really helpful.
Thanks man that was very helpful. I'm going to adjust all the controls now and maybe raise the pickups a bit higher since I'll be turning my guitar volume down a little bit.
Anyone else get really hungry for chicken after watching this? LOL. I'm going to get some chicken right now!
i really like the way you explain things i would love you to go over some more amp terms and how they effect the signal chain keep up the great work
Certainly a valuable and overlooked tip to not just put your guitar on 10. Most folks just turn it right up as if that's the "on" position.
That Fab pedal is like adding shredded shit to your chicken.
How did I miss this video..... It’s finger licking good
Haha, best analogy I've ever heard by far like!
I'm now craving chicken after watching this video. I think i'll go out to dinner
I love my chicken and my oven, it took a while to find the right spices to make my chicken taste good and my oven cook just right but I got it now. But still from time to time I like to change the spices up a little bit to make it taste better. Lol. :-)
This man is making me hungry.
Tune your chicken, please
I was thinking the same thing.hahaha.
Another nice video, thanks for posting
"Tasty chicken" good name for a band
Going to start using this analogy to get new gear
Interesting metaphor - thanks!
to my knowledge the nobs on your guitar are always the VERY LAST things you want to touch when it comes to changing the TONE of your guitar.. the signal comming from the guitar is the soul so don't choke it unless ABSOLUTELY nessesary.. correct me if i'm totally wrong here, but that's how i've learned it and it makes a lot of sense in my head.
I think that the value of using your volume and tone controls can't be underestimated. If you roll down the volume control back a few notches, there's a reduction in gain as well as volume, which I find very useful when playing live. I can go from high gain crunch to classical rock rather quickly. Plus the tone control can be rolled down to make your sound a bit more dark and broody if you're playing metal and especially on the neck pickup, make the sound very thick and vocal. Plus you can also use the controls as a boost if you set your sound in a certain way. (I won't claim I discovered this Colin here did a video on this called "In Praise of Tone Controls", I'd very much recommend that you look it up). I wouldn't say its a necessity for my personal setup, but I really think they can be brilliant tone shaping controls. Sometimes if you do it wrong then it can choke the tone a bit but that's the same with literally anything that can be used with guitar. I'd recommend you try it out it's a very cool trick.
2:12 "Unfortunately, at the moment your chicken is raw, and sounds like this:" *insert non-amped guitar sfx* Ha ha ha! :D