Getting the right guitar tone is mostly an exercise in removing things.
Too much gain removes definition.
Too much bass removes space.
Too much treble removes skin from the listener.
A heavy guitar does not need to sound enormous on its own. It needs to sound correct when the bass, drums, vocals and everything else are trying to occupy the same piece of air.
I used to chase guitar tones in isolation.
That was the mistake.
A magnificent soloed guitar tone can become an indistinct lump the moment the rest of the arrangement arrives.
Now I start with less gain than feels sensible, tighten the low end, leave room for the bass to do its job and listen to the guitar in context.
If the riff sounds heavier when I reduce the distortion, I have not made it less heavy.
I have merely allowed the notes to survive.
Distortion is very good at hiding poor decisions.
Unfortunately, it also hides good ones.
#GuitarTone #ProgressiveMetal #MusicProduction #SHANNOW