PRO Guitar Tones with GarageBand Amp Designer (GarageBand Tutorial)

[@TheBandGuide]

‼️ FREE 6-Step PRO Mix Checklist: www.thebandguide.com/6stepPROmix ‼️

[@jdnepari]

Well done. I was stumbling around inside Amp Designer and not getting very far, but your description of the various controls has given me a lot of new things to experiment with more constructively.

[@total_reekoll]

Love your tutorials! I personally start almost all of my new sounds from the brown amp (simulates the JCM900). I believe it's perfect for hard rock/skatepunk sounds but I normally use it to pump the mids, then I normally use a plexi amp like the vintage british to get more squeak and high-range in the mix. I normally pan the two and adjust the volumes of the tracks depending on my needs. It's a technique I learned in the studio, and it helps guaranteeing a complete range of frequencies in your guitar sounds. Oh, I'm talking about the overdriven/distorted sounds.

[@TheBandGuide]

That’s a brilliant setup. I am a big fan of finding 2 complimentary tones and panning them for more separation and clarity. Great moves all around!

[@richardlynn1842]

This is a great tutorial. Very informative and helpful. As you have demonstrated, the first and most important step in starting to find your sound is to record a few bars on a loop and then adjust the parameters, amp heads and so on while you play it back.

Brute-force approach is the best to start with until you get to know all the equipment and settings. Thanks for the video!

[@Tyler-Hoskins]

I need some help. I am using GB for iPhone and I can’t get my guitar to have any more tone than a neck pickup sound. I really want a bridge pickup sound but I can’t figure out what I need to do! Thanks!

[@kaitodesire]

I recently bought my first macbook for recording demos at home, your vids really helps. Liked & subscribed :)

[@TheBandGuide]

Amazing! Congratulations!

[@JonathonRose]

Excellent tips Colin! This process for me has always been a bit daunting and this helps better navigate it. Personally, I've always been partial to that Stadium Spread tone for leads. I'll dial back the reverb some, but I really like that one for lead tones. The jury is still out on good rhythm tones. But this process will help!

[@TheBandGuide]

Thanks, Jonathon! I'll have to try that one out! I think presets are a great starting point for a lot of lead parts. I hope this helps with your rhythms! They seem like they would be easier... but they are somehow trickier, right?

[@JonathonRose]

@@TheBandGuide Extremely! I don’t know why that is, either! So far, in my experience I seem to have the most trouble with distortion tones blending with acoustics in a mix. Each one on their own seem to be okay, but together...arg. I can never seem to get my electrics to “sit well in the pocket” or mix, as it were. If you happen to have any tips or, maybe it’s an idea for another video. Keep up the great work! Love your channel, man!

[@jonnwhalley8942]

You can also change the type of eq and reverb on the amp head by clicking on the labels on the head.

[@TheBandGuide]

Ah yes, John! I meant to mention this and totally forgot... I'm glad you said something. A special treat for all those who read comments...

[@jonnwhalley8942]

@@TheBandGuide 😂

[@dannyhood4007]

The end result for this guitar tone, is what I expect without dialing in.

[@Lisbonized]

I love the Orange Amp and usually choose that on my Line6 too for live performances. Mids High, Bass Low and Treb at 1 o’clock! I’ll use both the clean and crunch depending on my song.

[@TheBandGuide]

Nice!

[@Rmanpc2323]

I have a Fender Strat, can I run the guitar through the GB amps and pedals to hear the effects while practicing a song and listening through headphones without disturbing everyone in the house? I have MacBook Pro, UA Volt4, and Yamaha Studio Monitors. Thanks for all the info and support, I have not found anything better than this for Garage Band!

[@jeremyjohnson9585]

Yeah, for sure. I do it all the time.

[@jeremyjohnson9585]

You just won't be able to use those monitors very loudly.

[@JohnLynagh]

:) Your facial expressions are a giveaway on the amps and cabinets that you like. Great video as always Colin. Just wondering what are your thoughts on Tonebridge, given that it's a free plugin.

[@TheBandGuide]

Haha... dead given away ☠️ Thanks, John! I actually haven't tried out Tonebridge... I'll have to give it a try! What are your thoughts on it?

[@JohnLynagh]

@@TheBandGuide It's pretty good for replicating existing guitar tones and solos from famous songs/bands, but it wouldn't have the same level of control as the amps, cabs & mics in Garageband. The main thing for me was that it is free and fun to mess around with.

[@seanmccabe6832]

Thanks Colin - could you do a Bass Amp Designer tutorial? I think the bass amp options are more limited, and the tone I’m getting is way brighter than what I’m looking for.

[@TheBandGuide]

I've been thinking about it! 🤔 I often end up using a little EQ after the amp to bump up the low end but it's definitely important to get the right kind of sound in the midrange in the amp, if you can

[@mercyroadrevival]

Thanks dude! Exactly what ive been looking for. Ive been happy with my tele tones, but I feel like im fighting my PRS the whole time. This will help me to get the right sound. Keep up the good work!

[@TheBandGuide]

🙌🏼 that’s awesome- stoked I could help!

[@davidhoward8951]

Do they have backing tracks I do a lot of practicing at the house on different songs so I don't know if they had a backing track for like ZZ Top or whoever you like you know

[@ericktheone]

Now that riff is stuck in my head. Thanks 🤪

[@TheBandGuide]

😂

[@calyptratus187]

Thanks for this. How about hissing? When I plug in my guitar there's a perpetual hiss in the background that's only eliminated if I touch the strings or bridge. It's amplified if I'm using high gain. Some amps have a louder hiss than others. Generally, the more gain the amp has, the louder the hiss. It doesn't sound like a 60 cycle hum. Just a hiss. Now when I start playing loud, and start strumming, the sound of the strings kinda mask it, but if you listen closely, the hiss is still under the guitar sound and it never goes away. It's really annoying if I want to record the cleanest sound possible. I've tried other amp sims, like Bias, and Amplitude and they are all the same. I've also tried using a noise gate, but I really have to make the threshold higher to the point that it's unplayable because of latency. Some amps are more forgiving, but again, it's all the same when I start playing, the hiss is always in the background. I'm using a humbucker. Is this normal and is this something that I just have to deal with? How do pros get such a clean sound? Any tips for this?

[@calyptratus187]

@Stoffelcopter Thanks for the suggestions. I actually just figured it out. Copper shielding the inside of my guitar is the answer! I just installed one in my other guitar and now all the background noise is gone .

[@DNovak814]

Figured this out by accident when i accidentally unplugged the power cord to my Mac one day, but the computer being plugged into power creates an unwanted sound… not sure I’d call it a “hiss,” but when I’m practicing or just playing through my computer, I keep it plugged in because my battery is shot, but when I actually RECORD, I make sure my power cord is unplugged.

[@Mrnomadnworb]

Pull the guitar volume back to 5 or 6 then turn up the gains on the amp designs

[@daviddahl8562]

I'm using the the brand new mac mini I just purchased garageband 10.4.6 do I have to download the apple plug in. I do not see that anywhere in my garageband

[@Valterius49]

Clean twang (007) (Dick Dale) (Ventures) is eluding me !

[@robrunz]

Great tutorial. Do you use Impulse Responses like the ones you can get from ‘Own hammer’? I would be interested to see how you would use something like that in GarageBand. 👍

[@cameronglass4049]

After 3 years of beat making on fl studio I’ve transitioned to playing guitar and now I use garage band as my main daw… I never saw this coming 😅

[@DjembeJimbo]

Keep at it bud!

[@arash7378]

Amazing tutorial thankyou very much

[@Neesavampi]

Awesome Thanks!

[@stentifordt]

The compression in general on the Gb guitar + amp signal is so limiting. Is it just baked in and no way to back it out. Tried shutting down/eliminating compressors prcessibg the signal, but... No joy. Pick a melody and the notes, especially treble side get squashed immediately. I guess I was just hoping for a less processed, more valve-like airy voicing to the amps. Any advice?

[@davidhoward8951]

Okay I'm new to this so you got to help me out do I have to buy the program or can I go on my computer and download a m p designer

[@IsaacLamothe-hu3fs]

THANK YOU DUDE

[@KFitz422]

Just want to say your videos are incredible! I went down the rabbit hole and watched like 3 hours worth of them and I feel like I have learned soooooo much. The way that you define a repeatable approach is game changing! Thank you so much!

[@TheBandGuide]

Wow thank you! I’m honored to have your time! You’re absolutely right- having a system and a process makes all the difference! I’m excited to hear what you do with it!

[@ClockAgentOfficial]

I use the presests 'Heartbreaker' for lead/ solo stuff (with tweaked overdrive for the solo's) and Chickin' Pickin' for the rhythm stuff. Then I mess with the mics, I like an SM57 top right on the 'amp'

[@TheBandGuide]

Nice! I have found the presets to be particularly great starting points for guitar solos. Isn't it insane how much change you can get just from changing out the mic and mic placement?

[@spoopythings]

The problem I have is that when I try to record the guitar track it only records from my michrophone meaning my breathing and surroundings is in there and the guitar track gets all echoey… Please if someone can help me with this I’d be really greatfull!

[@yourewrongdude]

You need to tell your DAW to use your external audio interface, instead of the default audio device of your computer.

[@knifeties]

Once again, awesome methodology & best practices tips! I actually love British Amp Clean right out of the box. I will typically use that with a Hagstrom HIIN with a Dunable D90 neck pickup, and rarely feel the need to tweak it. For distorted sounds, I struggle with finding anything I like, so will definitely use the approach!

[@TheBandGuide]

Thanks, John! I've been curious about those D90s! I love P90s and those seem to have an interesting twist. Nice! A tip for distorted sounds that has really helped me if I can't find the right grit from just the amp is to do about 50% grit from the amp and 50% from a pedal into the amp.

[@pancasyah_]

Nice one. Thank you so much for the tutorial!

[@johnp82]

Do you know what it means when you can hear the processed guitar sound (like a distorted amp plugin) PLUS the clean signal at the same time?

[@francescopalanza3139]

Great video! I think garageband tones are amazing, considering it is for free. They are actually what is keeping me from using other daws even if for mixing...there is some clear limitations (ok, logic is always out there I know...)

[@TheBandGuide]

It’s true! I actually moved over to Logic from pro tools and loved it then opened GB to see how much it offered from Logic and I was blown away... literally why I started this channel!

[@jamestudio2014]

Thanks so much! My dumb arse didnt even know there was an amp designer

[@danielalbertogonzalezsoria4122]

This is great thanks!

[@musicjazzvez]

can we use MainStage for guitar too? thank you for sharing

[@OrchestraEclipse]

I do Garageband videos on my channel and your tutorials have been helpful. Thank you!

[@TheBandGuide]

That's awesome! I'll check them out!

[@danieldennis414]

Pla can u make a tutorial on how to make professional cover songs pls god I hope u reply and say yes that would make my year pls

[@skuhnen]

Very nice and simple tutorial... thanks!

[@TheBandGuide]

Hey you’re welcome!

[@conorbyrne3273]

This video helped me a lot cheers!

[@TheBandGuide]

Hey awesome! 🙌🏼

[@metalinsights9664]

When I record distorted tones using the GB Amp Modeler, I always find the resulting track difficult to sit in a mix due to the enormous dynamic range of the DI'd sound wave. Do you do anything special to deal with that issue?

[@wokerdomelamestream4647]

Cool beans.

[@TheBandGuide]

Glad it was helpful!

[@cameron2013]

Awesome video and very informative! Does anyone have any suggestions on guitar amp settings for modern pop-punk like Machine Gun Kelly? I've been following these steps and getting close to the sound with the sunset head, but can't seem to get the tone as close as I'd like. Thanks!

[@TheBandGuide]

Thank you! That’s a great question. The sunset head would definitely be my top recommendation. It emulates an Orange amp, which is very common for pop punk. Another one that is likely is the American Modern (I think it’s called) that emulates a MESA amp. Another possibility is setting your amp gain to get about ~50% of the drive you want and then trying an overdrive pedal into it to bring out a little more drive. Lastly- definitely some EQ after the fact. I have a video coming out next Thursday on EQing electric guitars and it’s probably very similar to the approach his mix engineer is using!

[@THIRSTYGUMS]

this dude does loads of wavey hands haha. great videos though

[@spiceyweasel]

Or….you could use both of those amps to double the guitar and get a mix of them, panned l/r.

[@arjnoro1]

I cant get a good sound off the amp designer, the signal is just too noisy . It sounds like an ungrounded cable

[@TheBandGuide]

The amp designer doesn't have any built in noise- it could be something in your signal chain leading into it (output jack on the guitar, noisy cable, pickups). Sometimes just facing your speakers while recording can cause interference between your pickups and the speakers, so turning away can help. Worst case, a noise gate at the start of the plugin chain before the amp can help if necessary

[@gazzaboy2531977]

Need to use IRs cabs.. impossibly hard otherwise

[@TheBandGuide]

I love IR cabs, but I wouldn’t say it’s impossible to get great tone without them. But you’re not wrong- IR cabs are awesome

[@orangedrone]

For the life of me I cannot find this in Garageband.

[@2011Matz]

Interesting possibilities, but they all sound like a microphone attached to bed springs with an 8 yo jumping up and down.

[@scatlizard]

Great tutorial TY