Over the years there have been a great many guitarist who are still trying to find that balance between good guitar playing and the texture of the amp and distortion that can be an aid or a distraction. There is a fine line on one hand when your dealing with distortion because it offers a larger number of harmonics which will pile on and if the wrong combination of notes are played, those harmonics will grow more dissonant with increased overdrive.
Lets use an example. Take an electric guitar and say for instance a Maj 3rd played with the guitars G & B string. Most often the two stings will generate a large degree of dissonant sounding harmonics with amp distortion by virtue of the string gauge, string tone and the tuning of the strings. Guitarist have struggled for years to find a solution to this issue giving rise to the Buzz Feitens in the world and many other ingenious ideas like the Earvana Compensated tuning System. Apart from the fact that ideas like Earvana or Buzz Feiten do help with the instrument tuning, they do little to elevate the issue when distortion is introduced into the equation. There are solutions other then just at the guitar. Those of us who are amp junkies know that some amps tend to be more “Forgiving” with respect to this issue and there are reasons for this. Typically the harmonic distortion produced on amplifiers that seem more forgiving tend to be smoother over all and the frequency response which is native to the amplifiers topology tends to be wider band and darker. The darker or bass heavy frequency response of the amp creates a harmonic distortion that actually is more of a square wave then amps which are brighter and show up on the scope with a spike in the leading part of the waveform. This spike is the brightened part of the signal and is usually a byproduct of the EQ or frequency response of the amp itself. High frequencies tend to exasperate the dissonant problem experienced in our example. Conversely, if you remove the added harmonics and use the instrument clean, the issue all but disappears. How then can you get your guitar playing freed up from this ball and chain of dissonant sounding harmonics so your guitar can have both the quality of distortion tone desired but also allow for the chording that is more expressive and interesting? There are several approaches and we can explore a few here.
By tuning the two stings so they are no longer dissonant you can use this manner of Major 3rd chord with lots of harmonic distortion and be perfectly safe. A good example of this would be the opening chords of Ed Van Halen’s “Running with the Devil”. The sound is very large in effect with this chord and tuning. There are drawbacks. If you lower the G string by the required tuning, say 25 cents or more, your going to know it if you try and make a Sus 4 chord. The dissonant out of tune sound is loud and clear with this chord if the compensation approach were to change the tuning alone. Some players pull the B string tighter upon making that Sus 4 chord. This can work.
another way is to use your Neck Pickup. The neck Pickup will produce the bass frequency response and allow for smoother and more forgiving ringing out from the guitar and consequently the amp. It is quite common among players who like diversity in their playing. Take for example Eric Johnson. He explores a great deal of chords and his distortion tone is incredibly dark when in the lead distortion mode. That neck pick up and or dark bass heavy distortion will forgive a lot of the even ordered and dissonant harmonics brighter amps would shout out.
A third alternative is to try and combine both amp, tuning and tubes. Tubes are actually tone shaping devises and can be smoother or darker depending on type or brand. Some tubes are brighter depending on type and brand as well. Add the right combination and you have the freedom to play a wider variety of chords and harmonious harmonic distortion to add to the sound which is so desirable. Some guitars can be “coxed” along as well helping the situation but with nothing more then the normal temper tuning required for a stringed instrument, your guitar is properly tuned and able to create all manners of good harmonics both clean and overdriven.
Whichever way you decide to find a solution to the dilemma as set forth in our example, you will find the best results always work out with the right amp voicing for your distortion needs. The harmonic distortion that is your ally will normally be that of an amp with a smoother overdrive tone. It is also a fact that deeper distortion will darken the sound by elevating the bass and lower mid bands up to the levels of the higher frequencies that stand out more. This “Balancing” will offer up a fatter and smoother tone while still piling on the highly desirable gobs of harmonics that make the electric guitar sound so big and inviting.
Take some time to check out the sound demos of the Mojave Coyote, Plexi 45 and Plexi 45SE for a good example of the amp descriptions above and how they translate into the kind of desirable and complimentary harmonic overdrive that is part of that elusive sound so many of us want to have. These tones are often referred to as “classic sounds” but the principles are just as true today as they were when musicians started cranking guitar amps and finding the distorted sound.
One last part of the equation. It is the power tube that holds a great deal of sonic quality. By unleashing the power tubes rather then being dependent on preamp distortion, you inherit a good deal of additional harmonics not had from preamp circuit shaping. The use of a New Old Stock KT 66 or Mullard EL34 will add to this phenomena. The 6CA7 power tube can also be very desirable in the right amp but if the amp is of the Plexi 45 circuit, the NOS 6L6 is a better choice over the 6CA7 because of the output transformer impedance.
Give it a shot yourself and see what kind of solutions you can find for your ultimate harmonic distortion.
