Jyrgen

I think the idea that you need a tubescreamer, eq, clean boost or something to pump up your tone for solos might be overrated in some kinds of musical ensembles. Namely those that don't have many midrange instruments i.e. like other guitars competing for that area.

I know Brian May (of Queen) always just rode his volume knob and relied on picking dynamics, even during the 2006 tour with Paul Rodgers where they had a second guitarist.

Also I don't think many other classic rock guitarists turned on anything for solos. Like Hendrix? Page? Not certain but I'd bet on it.

So yeah discuss this idea and stuff. To me it's quite a new revelation. Are solo "boosts" necessary? Maybe not?

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seljer

Page had the tone bender

Jyrgen

I thought that was only in studio?

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seljer

I've only bothered to listen to the live Zeppelin stuff a couple of times, but you can definitely hear the fuzzyness in there at times

I've got a hunch that Hendrix left his fuzz face on all the time and rode the volume knob, as the pedal really does clean up beautifully.

masterofpuppies

Brian May always uses a treble booster.

H4T3BR33D3R

It was pretty common practice to hit the front end with a treble booster or a fuzz back in the day. I can't really think of many guitarists that didn't use one.


Maybe Paul Kossoff of Free

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Only at times, though.

Artemis Entreri

May used a treble booster all the time. Boosters were pretty common.

Though any band who knows what they are doing will make room for a solo so you don't even need a booster. It's usually for a different timbre and stuff.

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R_Gallagher_Fan

Well the Rangemasters (treble booster) that Brian May and Rory Gallagher used were, at the time, made without a footswitch and just sitting on top of the amp and were nearly always on, Brian and Rory just rode the volume control up for a solo. You would be surprised by the dynamics available from doing this.

Fuzz Faces (especially germanium ones in particular I find) can work amazingly for this. I have been playing some Cream the past few days and I almost always have my germanium fuzz face on and just using the volume control to clean things up.

To answer your question, I think It's just about changing your picking style or using the volume control, tone control and pickup selector effectively.

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Delboyuk_01

Angus Young only uses his volume on his guitar.

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Jyrgen

Ah could be, never heard it but I've only seen their movie

Yeah but my point is he didn't kick it or anything else in during solos didn't he?


Yeah that's likely how it worked really

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Blompcube

if you're not gonna use a switchable overdrive/boost of any kind, this is the way to do it, imo

the volume control is very very underappreciated imo. controlling the tone through your picking dynamics and use of the controls on your guitar can be just as effective (arguably more effective) as using pedals to get a similar result.

i think albert lee uses picking dynamics alone to control the volume - instead of a solo boost, or turning up the volume on the guitar, it seems like he just picks the strings a bit harder.

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57Goldtop

In theory yeah you're right. But when you only use your volume knob for boosting your signal I think you're a lot more limited when it comes to your overall tone. Personally I would rather have my guitar set up exactly how I want it for playing with the mix, then have a pedal that's dialed in exactly how I want it for a solo boost. Even with only 3 knobs, a tubescreamer-type pedal gives you a lot more tone shaping options than just rolling up your volume knob.

And have you ever watched someone who constantly tweaks their volume/tone knobs throughout a solo to get it dialed in right? Wouldn't you rather just kick in the exact tone you want with the push of a button, no need to tweak on the fly? I don't know... maybe I'm just lazy

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jacobtheimpaler

What's just as good is a pedal that responds well to volume control, like a good Boss Blues driver.

DeathByDestroyr

Lot's of clean leads in jazz, country, etc.

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