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I've talked about tremolo as a musical feature before, this time I want to go into more detail.

First things first, let's sort out the guitarists: I don't mean using the tremolo arm/whammy bar or whatever you want to call it ("handle" as my girlfriend called it - and no she won't be picking up my guitars for a while). The whammy bar creates a vibrato feature, not a tremolo. Vibrato alters pitch.

Amplitude  read more »

As well as composing and recording, I play guitar in a band, playing a mixture of covers and our own originals. We don't stick too closely to the originals when we cover them, realising that we only have four members (guitar, bass, drums and vocals) so many songs have to be stripped down to work.

Going from a song that has many parts to a cover version with only four instruments can leave you feeling a bit naked when playing live. It doesn't help that as guitarist, I often have to play several parts at the same time.  read more »

Budget or not

I subscribe to the view that you almost always get what you pay for at the lower end of the market. So it's nice to come across something cheap that works well.

The compressor

I bought a compressor the other day, but not for use as a studio compressor. I bought it as an effect for my guitar rig.
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The main function of a compressor is to reduce dynamic range. They're not just used to increase perceived volume so you can achieve the loudest CD on the planet. That's in itself is worth remembering.

Most have a make-up gain/volume knob. The most common setting is to have the compressor set to reduce the volume above the threshold, resulting in the peaks being levelled out. That reduces the overall volume of the signal, so the make-up gain is increased to "make-up" the difference.  read more »

Which is louder, the hard-struck ringing chord or the palm-mute?

I answer both to that question. Let's look in some more detail.
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Try to emulate a bass guitar using another instrument

Which Type?  read more »

Which type?

Firstly, I'd want to decide which type of guitar to emulate and then understand as much as I can about that instrument particular type of instrument and how it's played. Actually, that can be said of emulating any instrument. Take note of the instrument's range and where its tonality changes with pitch or volume. For an electric guitar, take note of the pickup types, whether it's strummed or picked, how many notes at a time, how the guitar would be recorded, etc. A strat sounds markedly different to a Les Paul.  read more »

The same but different

I referred to utilising the differences in each instrument for inspiration in a previous article.

A similar inspiration can happen when you try emulate a different instrument. At first attempt, the emulated instrument often sounds nothing like the intended instrument. That's not necessarily a bad thing.  read more »

I mentioned in the previous article about using a different instrument to get past a block, well I also use them to start the process as well. If I compose starting with a guitar, the feel of the song will be different to that if I started on bass. Mainly because if I'm writing on guitar, I'm thinking about chords, riffs, patterns and where the song can develop. Whereas on bass, I'd be writing something that grooves and that locks with the drumbeat.

How well does it work?  read more »

I use the technique of changing instruments when I'm revisiting a track that has lain idle for a while. Depending on the deadlines involved, my usual way of composing is write and stop writing when I've hit a dead-end. When I revisit the track, could be the next day or a few months away, I'll try to add more to it. I find the quickest way to add a different flavour is to change the main instrument at the point of where I'm stuck.
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