Do strings and pick-ups make a big difference?

[Sebski]

Well I've been trying to get a good guitar tone for proggy, post-hardcore-ish kinda music for a while in Amplitube 3, but it's not really working very well. I'm pretty new to the recording process. And I often see videos showing the sound of various pickups and strings.

I usally record with my Gibson Les Paul Studio and its stock pick-ups, so I'm just wondering, would getting new strings or pick-ups(any in specific) make a big difference?

 

[sggod89]

They make a HUGE difference. I honestly just recorded a band and the guitarist used a Les Paul Studio with stock pups and they sounded amazing for what they were trying to do. Sounded superb for standard tuning with overdrive (think a Blink 182 sound).

That guitar set up is optimal for a light gauge (9-42) in standard. If you want the downtuned distortion experience, you'll have to throw on some heavier string gauges.. The heavier gauges will retain clarity in the notes and chords. I'd also do some further research on pickups to achieve the desired sound you are striving for.. But you're probably looking at some EMG's or BKPs for those heavy low drop tunings.

 

[JStraitiff]

Yes it would make a huge difference. Your tone is a combination of all the parts involved in your rig and your guitar. The string material and size will change the sound that goes into the pickups, the pickups will produce a sound differently based on the core, configuration and winding. If you are looking for a particular tone you cant seem to achieve with your amp and your current pickups, it would be useful to look into new pickups. The only way you are going to know which ones work for you is to look into samples in similar rigs to yours or to play the pickups in a similar guitar to yours (at least material) through your rig. Otherwise you are just guessing and it may or may not work out for you.

 

[Choop]

Aside from amp, pickups make the biggest difference with your tone, and depending on which tuning you want you may need a new set of strings with proper gauges.

 

[KingAenarion]

The difference between new strings and old strings is HUGE. New strings sound brighter and clearer which is always a good thing in my books. If guitarists want a warmer tone I tell them to back off their tone knob (it IS there for a reason)

 

[bhakan]

Strings and pickups are extremely important. Always record with new strings, and like everyone else has said, pickups are probably the second most important part of your tone, behind your amp.

That said, I would not rush into buying new pickups. Amp sims take a lot of tweaking to sound good, and a lot of people have a crappy sound, buy a $200 pair of BKP's, and then are disappointed when there tone doesn't magically sound like Periphery. Spend a lot of time tweaking amplitube, then when you're tone is close, figure out what it's missing and buy pickups accordingly.

 

[Sebski]

Cheers guys, appreciate the explanations.

But bhakan, do you have any direction you can point me in for tweaking amplitube? I've been playing with it for a while, like trying different cabs, mic positions, mics, amp models etc. but I find it really hard to tell after a short while what sounds good or bad, and when I think I found something decent, after listening to it again after a few hours, it sounds terrible.

If you want an idea of what my guitar tone sounds like now, here's what I recorded recently. Expectations by SebYumGoong on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free
I've tried using presets I made for some other tracks I recorded where they sounded alright, but they just didn't sound good at all for this song.

 

[KingAenarion]

I'm away from my computer but I can send you some patches to play with soon.

I'll PM you probably tomorrow night

 

[Sebski]

Cheers man

 

[that short guy]

Every one above has said everything that needs to be said, I'm gonna touch on something that hasn't really been said yet

Before I say what I'm going to I need to say that I personally love my set of BKP Coldsweats, they sound amazing, and I am in no way bashing them. That being said, Just because they're better made (and priced to fit), doesn't mean they are going to sound worlds better than a set of Dimarzio's or Duncan's... if you want to jump straight to BKP's by all means go for it. but my advice is to research all the different pick ups and find wich one works best for you.

 

[ViolaceousVerdance]

Dude, "Expectations" is killer! I'm kind of confused that the tune came from the same guy that asked if strings and pick-ups make a big difference, though

 

[GATA4]

I agree that strings and pickups make a huge difference, but I also wanted to add one more thing: picks.

The difference a fresh pick and a 1-week-old pick can make in sound is rather important too. Whenever I record, I always make sure to use a fresh pick because the plectrum is nice and sharp/even, so the attack on the strings is much more pronounced and balanced (plus I find that using a fresh pick is conducive to all-around better playing as it finds the strings better). A pick that has been "broken-in" and worn down will, in comparison, produce a dull, flat sound with less character.

Once you get your amp/pickup/string config right, experiment with picks and you will be surprised with what you hear.

 

[EmpulseOrange]

Dude, "Expectations" is killer! I'm kind of confused that the tune came from the same guy that asked if strings and pick-ups make a big difference, though

My thoughts exactly.... I don't listen to this style of music often, but hey 6 mins later I kept wondering where the bad guitars were at...very nice. I think the guitars sound great within the mix, complement the other instruments. Clarity.

Do you have a perticular sound that you have in mind?

Referencing from a few songs can also help out quite a bit, just pull up a couple songs in iTunes and A/B to your tone and that should let you hear whats missing/whats too much of/etc

 

[Sebski]

Hah cheers guys, I write a lot of music but am pretty clueless when it comes to any theory, guitar knowledge, tech and anything like that. Figured it's about time to start trying to produce my own music.

Pretty glad to hear that the guitar tone doesn't sound as bad as I think it does though.

As for examples of tones I'm going for...
Corelia's tone on their EP would be pretty ideal, or I Am Abomination's tone on To Our Forefathers or anything after(not sure if they've done anything before that), or Oh, Sleeper's tone on Children of Fire, or Closure In Moscow on First Temple.

And once again, thanks for all the advice

 

[bhakan]

So I can't be of too much help with your tone, but it sounds good overall, and fits in the mix very well. The one thing that I don't like is that there seems to be something kind of weird going on in the mids. It sounds (as my best guess) like there is a certain frequency almost missing from the mids. Once you fix that (or even now), you are definitely at the point where strings and pickups will make a big difference in your tone, and probably push it from good to great.

 

[Sebski]

So I can't be of too much help with your tone, but it sounds good overall, and fits in the mix very well. The one thing that I don't like is that there seems to be something kind of weird going on in the mids. It sounds (as my best guess) like there is a certain frequency almost missing from the mids. Once you fix that (or even now), you are definitely at the point where strings and pickups will make a big difference in your tone, and probably push it from good to great.

Alright cheers I'll have a look at that.

And KingAenarion, just wondering, wouldn't mind if you still sent me some patches please.