How To INSTANTLY Improve Your Guitar Tone

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Thanks for watching!
Hey guys!
Today we'll be having a look at how to get a better guitar tone. Whether you are using pedals, amp and cab OR plugins, follow these steps to improve your guitar tone instantly. Whether if its Djent, Metalcore or Mathrock and Jazz, these tips will serve you well.
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[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

Thanks for watching guys. Let me know how you guys get better guitar tone!

[@lorhat9804]

Thank you so much! Great video!

[@RLDWEBER]

NEW STRINGS!

[@kennethsmith5383]

Bright strings, guitar tone knob most of the way up, 808 pedal sim, amplex (either citrus or jcm emulator), nadir loading up jcm, mesa, or modern peavey stack IR. JUICE'd!

[@hendrix5757]

I no doubt can easily be overlooking the details which would provide me with the info I'm searching for, so this comment is definitely not intended to presume that anyone is at fault. I've just noticed that the single piece of info I was interested in finding more about didn't seem to be located within the description column! More specifically, I've failed to locate any mention or specs relating to the studio monitors in the BG from which the audio is (presumably) being output from? Aside from a few very specific defining cosmetic characteristics (such as the yellow cone,) to clue me in of the monitor's 'make', the camera is positioned just far enough for it to prove difficult to effectively discern any specific details besides them originating from KRK. So the ostensibly missing speaker model info is what brings me here! It damn near seemed as if you've listed every piece of gear featured in the production for this entire video ACCEPT for those black and yellow colored boxes positioned at either side of you! Lol. Sup with that?!? Though I often yearn for specificity concerning anything tech related, I'm also far from being exempt from exhibiting the most ignoramus lapses of epistemic analysis from time to time lol!

[@chriswalton3383]

That really is such a beautiful guitar. Those riffs are monster. 🤟🤟🤟

[@f3arbhy]

EQ before amp. Especially if you are playing 0-0 in drop Q tuning

[@lam0r666]

This!

[@jakisnoobek]

any good guides for getting good eq for drop tunings?

[@f3arbhy]

@@jakisnoobek I am by no means an expert, but I've been using Nameless as my main amp (SIM), and the main tone decider is the Fortin Grind / 33 pedal. What 33 is, is just a clean boost. If you look at the axefx profiles for that pedal, you will see that all it does is to cut the low end, and a slight boost in 1 k (I think). Of course it's going to change depending on the setup, but your tone gets a lot more cleaner if you shelve the low end ( like a low pass filter ). Of course, and overdrive pedal does the same, but you have infinite control with an EQ. There is a video by a dude named Buster ( Vildjartha/ Humanities last breath .. if you know them then you know that he got it figured out how to be heavy) which explains this concept way better. This also looks like a good read khronscave.blogspot.com/2019/08/45-pedal-pandemonium-part-one-fortin.html?m=1 Edit : this is the aforementioned video : kzbin.info/www/bejne/qafaiWSvh52hiqM

[@raj4myo]

@@f3arbhy Thanks, Dude. That was really informative!

[@gavinchristiantoro]

You can also use an OD pedal. 0 Drive, full/10 Tone. Your lower string will tighten significantly.

[@prashuryagoswami6122]

1:08 Getting it right at the source 4:00 Playability of your instrument 6:20 Practise Practise Practise

[@samuelvega9882]

You always have the spicy riffs man, teach me some lol

[@vallabhsivaprasad1310]

if you could just make a video of your whole writing process like from the start of the making of the riff to drums to bass to mixing cuz i always end up with a mix that sounds empty to my ears thanks and fucking great video dude!

[@Marco_Aleman]

Yes please!

[@way2sh0rt07grad]

Just a tip but try duplicating tracks and running them through different buses. A video would be cool though.

[@MrTrentmooney]

the point on Execution means the most to me. it's one thing to play though the amp with a band it never seemed to matter about being perfect or flawless in this context. however sitting down in a recording session brings this back to haunt me now when I can't move on unless there is no mistake at any point even a buzz or not striking the string with consistant strength throughout. Gives alot move respect to people so practiced they can do this any time they are ready and not take many takes and still not be happy

[@demondrive147]

It amazes me everytime I play a guitar how different it sounds. For riffs I'd say palm muting point is crucial. You want notes to ring out longer and "fatter", - place your palm closer to bridge. You want to sound more percussive, - move towards neck, where the bridge pickup starts. It differs drastically!

[@Thewatcherinthering336]

That Jackson….wow, just wow. It looks absolutely perfect!!

[@NickTheLegend98]

Hey man, cool video, not what i was expecting. Just a suggestion for a future one maybe, why not do a comparison with a crappy cable, then with the fancy one, with the di box, or without it, so we can practically see the difference?

[@thefriedpiper]

Make sure the strings aren't dead either. Sometimes that can get away from you slowly until you realize your compensating in some other way to get that tone you had 2 weeks ago.

[@CaNTBREaKCHRiS]

YES - Fresh strings are a VERY important part of good guitar tone, especially when recording.

[@majesticpbjcat7707]

We need a video on how you go about writing those insane string skipping/tapping riffs you always do. Slow them down in real time so we can see the intricacies better. I think a lot of people would enjoy a video like that. Cheers 🤘

[@romanduran4829]

When I upgraded my gear I got a better tone

[@avelinopereira9773]

MUST be costly gear

[@Ghost_mx5]

That last point was something I just noticed, before I practiced properly I couldn't figure out why I sucked, now I can make a 15 watt practice amp sound decent

[@Jay-rd6fe]

honestly i couldnt get a good tone with any guitar or amp at first but when i started learning about eq and picking techniques i djented on cheap stockpickups and still made them sound good and made me apriciate paf pickups those can djent amazing like dimarzio paf those are amazing to djent and for a low price

[@Omar-xx9nl]

That tele part was amazingggg!!!!!!

[@rahulbasu659]

Hey Keyan! Thanks so much for doing this. Would you please do a walk through of how you set up your signal chain? Something for beginners - on why a DI box is needed, how the monitors are setup etc. 🙏🙏

[@chrisbyrne3937]

Mate, this is such a brilliant video. My tone has sucked for ages despite using Neural DSP / STL Tones amp sims. Figured out it might be my interface, there's so much electrical hum in my house so I'm hoping a DI box and new cables might help me out. Thanks Keyan!

[@josepabloguitarrista]

Love this channel man, Thanks for All of this huge info🤘🏻😎

[@code07sam]

This is what I need!

[@temorinkaari]

Most average cables do the job fine, just dont get a super long one. And the audio interface clipping is not due to bad interfaces, its how you set up, usually they have input knobs on them, even the shittiest $20 interfaces work perfectly fine and will sound as good as $200 ones in most cases, grounding issues are the only thing you have to worry about. The only thing guitar setup does for you, is makes it more comfortable to play, but that doesnt mean you will get a better tone. If you want a real advice on how to get a better tone, like what this video should have been - its all about the gear. Find what guitar sounds inspire you, look up what those people are using, try to replicate, tweak accordingly to your own taste. Note, that "good gear" doesnt mean "expensive gear", you can find absolutely amazing tones with even free plugins, just. do. research. You can even make a $50 guitar sound good if you know what youre doing. Im personally really tired of this "hur-dur tone is in the fingers" bullshit. Thats not what im asking. Im asking how to get good noises out of guitar. Because of these terrible advices, it took me over 3 years to build a guitar tone that i really like, and i still feel like i dont know what im doing because i had to work on it pretty much alone, but hey, progress is progress. Follow guides, watch youtube videos, copy people, use presets from people, try to figure out why stuff works the way it works, learn to EQ. Thats my advice.

[@guitarsimon1]

My ingredients are a Klon type pedal with everything at 12-ish in front of the amp (real or digital), and adding a few db of 2k-4k after, makes just about every tone better IMO

[@FeroxX_Gosu]

Is a Di-Box necessarry with an interface like the Line6 UX2? Or Scarlett 2i2? I always wonder how much a Di-Box would improve my tone, Im really not sure, but a good Di-Box is too expensive just to blow cash on it, I rather buy something else until Im not convinced. 🤔

[@ArtinColdwind]

couldn't be more true my friend! :) you have yourself a new sub for sure!

[@maximilianosantana5696]

Great advice 👍

[@DerSilvano]

I sound bad because I'm stuck with bad finger tone. Where do you guys purchase your finger tone models?

[@CoyCrawfordII]

Sounds amazing as always! What studio monitors do you use?

[@soumyadipstrings2148]

6:27 beautiful riff brother

[@grzegorzwisiorowski1317]

he should make a tune out of it. Love it.

[@robertreboya4080]

hi keeyan just wat to ask what is your pickup height in 7 & 6 string guitars...thanks in advance!!!

[@drifter61]

Keyan, you and Jiao Medeiros need to write together. For fun. Do you know what i would give to link up with you both and us 3 put out a song. Holy shit.

[@GrootGuitar]

These tips are so rich, I'd swear this is financial advice.

[@brandon_caelum]

Gotta get it right at the ✨s a u c e✨ Love you dude 💜

[@LarryLooseman]

Fuck yeah count hooshman

[@garyfornow542]

Hey Keyan, Great video as always. How would you describe the difference in sound between using the Radial DI box into the Scarlet vs without the DI? Is it a big difference? I think many of us are chasing tone and it is often frustrating so I really like this video because attention to details does matter and unfortunately the thing that makes a the biggest difference in the tone that I get is me - I have a DI Wav file of a lead guitar from Periphery and when played through my rig everything suddenly sounds... great!. What sounds so great? I have a Reaper DAW on an 8 year old POS laptop, typical amp sim brands, some great free effects for compression, delay, reverb, a Presonus USB interface or a POD HD500X, and no DI box, . Some of Keyan's older videos mentions the names of the various VST's he uses, again many for free. Worth the time to check it out 100%. F.w.i.w. cables - after you pass the mid point the returns diminish rapidly. So get a decent cable but don't worry if you can't afford a high end cable. This is based on science but subjectively I think the same thing. I have a Mogami gold, a mid end Live Wire and they sound the same to me. My O-scope agrees. I have a few chepo's and yes, some do sound bad. I also think my livewire is a more durable cable but I think they both have lifetime warranties. The Livewire is actually a bit thicker and feels more durable so I was a bit disappointed when I bought the Mogami and my tone did not suddenly massively improve - which at the time I was told it definitely would sound better. Also f.w.i.w. I used to work as an engineer at a company that made cable assemblies for industrial applications, hundreds of thousands of feet of cable processed and sold each year so I know how this stuff is made. We sold mid to high end stuff, and often we used the same cable! The difference(s) were in the connectors, the QA checks such as 24 hr durability testing, etc... So be confident, as long as you get one of the great mid- level cables you will be set in that department. I hope my comment helps someone.

[@plurakok]

Can you do some A B testing on a good cable and a bad cable? Does it really make a big difference?

[@adamnesbitt11]

Not unless your cables are long as fuck, basically. A 'good cable' is a cable that isn't defective. No need to spend big bucks.

[@plurakok]

@@adamnesbitt11 Yeah that's what I always thought aswell!

[@adamnesbitt11]

@@plurakok your wisdom comes from your God tier music taste, clearly.

[@plurakok]

@@adamnesbitt11 peace and love

[@Riffnugget]

Hey Keyan whats your opinion on dual tracking vs quad tracking? Is there a reason you only dual track guitars?

[@CaNTBREaKCHRiS]

FRESH STRINGS! Especially when recording... 🤘🏻😷

[@DarioCozzi]

I support this message 👌

[@NicolasRouxx]

Hey amazing content. What is your tune for the 6 string Jackson. It sounds very low :)

[@dizzengrey4901]

Great video and info once again! Question, is it possible to use pedals before the interface when using a DI box? Like if you want use your own favourite clean boost or overdrive pedal.

[@thedudeofficial69]

Contrary to popular opinion, I think I prefer the tones I get once strings are decently broken in (say, have been on the guitar for around 4-7 days). I find new strings to be a touch too metallic, and EQing it out just isn't the same--think it has to do with the strings giving a more "round" tonality once they're a little bit into their lifespan. Aside from that, neutral tones: not overdoing any EQ, also accompanied with most of the stuff listed in this video.

[@christianmunch7160]

4:02 Cheezuz, make it a song man! Do you have songs at all?

[@combatwombatt]

any tips on how to cure electrical hum from going into the interface and distorting guitar di's ?? ive always had this problem... got a mogami gold cable on my scarlet 18i8 running into my pc (even with a passive di box on my legator n7fx) i STILL hear it... i heard some people saying the usb power cable that came with the scarlet products that goes into the pc is apparently cheap is doesnt do much for preventing cpu noises from going through. but i really dont know man :(((

[@NashMusicStudios]

What pickups are you using? If it's a strat / single coils you might be able to just add more electrical shielding to the control cavity. Or try humbuckers. If it's not that I really don't know much about any electrical hum

[@combatwombatt]

@@NashMusicStudios hey jon! Atm the guitar is loaded with fishman fluence moderns, but unfortunately the hum is present in my other guitar and my bass as well... so the signal from the instrument to my interface is good, but its JUST the path from my interface to my pc that is somehow getting dirty??? I ditched the usb cable that came with my interface and got a higher quality one with more shielding. Im gunna try it out tomorrow and let you know. Im a bit skeptical. It was only 15 bucks, but this is my last resort before i try a usb hub or some sort of power conditioner

[@NashMusicStudios]

@@combatwombatt maybe try the settings in your daw? I'm new to recording but the higher recording rate (I dont remember what its called) makes for more latency but better recording. I read if its really low you might get glitch recording but if its really high you get great recording but a delay in monitoring. Otherwise I really dont know and im probably not the one who should give advice lol good luck!

[@Siranonim]

Try changing the usb cable. Make sure it has ferrite bead I had some hum when using the stock usb cable of my scarlet 2i4. Another thing, does the hum change when you move the guitar? It might be interference from nearby electrical devices (most probably your pc). If so, you can try changing the angle you hold the guitar in relation to the pc and move further away from it. Also make sure your buffer size in the DAW is set high enough.

[@combatwombatt]

@@Siranonim ok so i revisited the DI box but THIS time with a 3 foot xlr instead of a 15 ft (i know its stupid long but that was all i had at the time) and it cleaned up ALOT of the interference... still a TINY bit of airy 1-3k hiss but its been DRASTICALLY reduced... i did end uo buying a new usb cable but it turned out this one didnt have the ferrite bead :( i will have to look into one with that for sure tho! Was really glad this worked out!

[@evgeni661]

Hi bro! Great content! Try a bit more lightning in the room. Like some RGB or whatever. And maybe a mic closer to your mouth! It's gonna make it even better to watch! :)

[@Beyond-Antares]

Can you do a lesson video for the strat song you have near the end at 6:27

[@justevan877]

love it!

[@thomasstankiewicz9730]

Dude! What tuning was that telecaster riff? Lol

[@noeltage]

Modern amp sims like neural for example is just good tone outside the box. You can even use the presets and tweak them a little here and there. Why im saying that ? Simple. I do remember guitar rig days. Yeah long time ago. Then came Bias much better. Much better tones. But now as i said you can just use good modern sims and have a success. Of course getting good sim is just a part of the journey. The technique itself is a big part also.

[@kevinwhite6172]

You mentioned that you like your strings a little higher. What is your action height at the 12th fret?

[@yamlevi]

Is that an I Built The Sky shirt? 😉

[@campar1043]

dont balanced cables kill a bit of the high end? or is that after a certain amount of length of the cable?

[@pedromartinstimoteodacosta1710]

I heard someone saying once: "play unplugged, and then, only when what you hear from your unplugged playing is good you think about changing gear"

[@aforabiishk]

Can someone explain what is a DI box and why is it used?

[@Shade878]

Hey might be a stupid question but I'm new to all this. I'm set up through an interface into FL studio but the guitar is only coming out the right channel. The merge knob makes it even on both sides but then sounds very dull. Is this normal?

[@dannybardon2934]

Make sure that the input selected is mono (whichever input it is in the interface)

[@tylerm8145]

It's setup. Boom. Or practice dialing in tones, and record yourself so you can listen to your mistakes and fix them...that's my prediction. Am excited to find out, here go

[@tylerm8145]

Ayyyyy kinda! All good answers, my man. Well done. That setup bit was especially spot on. I bought into the same idea most young guitarists do that the lowest action you can get away with is the answer. Over time tho I too noticed how much bite and attack you can lose in doing that. That coupled with a reasonably heavy picking hand is definitely a good starting place for great tone. Of course it's all subjective and you shouldn't always pick everything as hard as you can. Lord knows the periphery boys and the like have beaten into my heads the benefits of picking hard. Also 100% practicing your parts to the point that you're beyond comfortable and confident at them is insanely important. It translates into your performance like nothing else. Thanks for the video, cheers DUDE! I'd love to have a discussion about practice and playing habits/history some time.

[@Fluminox-]

1:10 what song is this? It sounds really cool

[@lebebop1682]

I would add a last tip, especially for beginners : Be in tune ! It sounds obvious but every time I met a beginner guitarist, they are not perfectly in tune, and they don't even realise it while they are playing. But for the one who is listening the guitar, a fine tuning makes a LOT of difference. A bad tuning can ruin every thousands of dollars you put into your gear. Tuning needs to be perfect ! Just put your guitar away if you don't fine tune the strings.

[@counterweight320]

What DI box do you use?

[@zzzbb8]

What is that tele you used?

[@joeyalbanesi412]

wait which pickups? I see you say Bareknuckles but which model?

[@dariusxxo]

his blue one has juggernauts, the brown i think ragnarocks, and i’m not sure ab his tele

[@dariusxxo]

i think the tele is piledrivers

[@bryanrios146]

I want that high gain tone .. yours sounds so crispy. When u hear my tone it sounds like it rounded a little bit. When I pick up on the treble it gets to harsh . So I'm kinda of stuck . Its close to a djenty tone as I can get it . But I am using a bogner ectesy red with a joyo tai chi overdrive for my high gain . Its hard when u doing things in a budget on a live set

[@anotherguyonthepc5]

Get a BBE Sconic Maximizer and a Horizon Overdrive. It's the best combo I've found without spending a ton

[@amanpratapdeo11]

Nice T-shirt bruh

[@TyNico22]

Nice work ! Let’s say less gain ?

[@MajorGRecording]

0:48 "it's not your gear, it's how you use it." --- That's what she said. 😁

[@pasikeranen]

Thank you, this is not the thing one wants to hear (you need to practice more), but it is true. 😄

[@jonasjordan4327]

transparent cable? :D

[@chickenpasta7359]

This is a well and good laid down video, but I don't agree with the part about what cables to use. It's been debunked countless times in the audiophile community that expensive cables hardly effect the source audio with measurements to back that up. A well made cable will only be better shielded to keep out interference and last longer. In the end, its a whole lot of nothing but snake oil to say that higher quality cables means better audio. Use quality cables that aren't made from shoelaces just for durability sake.

[@MrCk1234567890]

Remember kings, when all is said and done the tone is in your hands so BASH THOSE 0s

[@DommoDommo]

how do I use an IR?

[@Pitchuga]

Thought you would say, ease of the gain bros 🤣

[@ianthemann]

Use a buffer.

[@stephenkeddy6849]

Get a really nice guitar A really nice TUBE amp/cab or combo A tube screamer Go melt some faces!

[@nakual2032]

Bruh ya need to tell me whats the tele riff

[@justus4684]

4:04 what song is this👀👀👀👀👀

[@dariusxxo]

1:10

[@ExplicableCashew]

6:30 song ID?

[@adamjarabak]

Fuckin' practice

[@whoshotya117]

Good joke, now what pick ups and amp you use?

[@drifter61]

Here early!

[@ryanmartin2343]

Someone pray for me as I am going to be buying many lottery tickets so I can afford real gear 🤪

[@michaellistov8493]

Tone is like a clothes you were to the party. it supposed to be appropriate. if you sounds to load in a band or to bright it can ruin over people experience. its all in context

[@burneraccounthandle]

Are you having a stroke?

[@lucyferina]

Garbage in Garbage out...

[@kamillitwionek3997]

9/11 ;>

[@kennethsmith5383]

Wholesome clickbait. CC actually got your last name right this time!

[@SeenFeen]

Only 6 strings? Cringe

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

Djent is dead

[@SeenFeen]

@@KeyanHoushmandLive metal Nietzsche

[@XlTanzanitelX]

@@KeyanHoushmandLive neverrr

[@faustoorieta]

step 1 buy a new guitar

[@crashkz]

I've come to the conclusion that there's another meaning to "tone" in the guitar world because none of this shit makes sense to help me "INSTANTLY" improve my tone. Been playing for over 15 years. These are not the answers relative to the title of the video.

[@nathrose5114]

F***ing practice.

[@noice7381]

Lol practice? Boring