I loves me some slapback when I'm playing the tele. On my recordings it sounds pretty good but at band practice, by the time I can hear the effect, my notes are awash in the mix/cacophony.
My amp settings (Princeton Reverb)
Reverb - 2.5 (out of 10)
Dirt - not much
Vibrato - a tad
Are these impeding the effect? Should I even be using it in a live situation? There are plenty of videos about slapback but none address my conundrum.
Disappearing slapback in practice
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toomanycats
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These guys had that issue figured out. They are the masters of slapback echo. Full discloser: I have a crush on Poison Ivy and her orange Gretsch.
“There are only two means of refuge from the miseries of life: Music and Cats!” Albert Schweitzer
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andrewsrea
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- Location: Lake Saint Louis, MO
- Gearlist: 28 Guitars: (2) basses, (2) acoustics, (3) hollow bodies, (3) Semi hollow, (1) Double-neck, (17) Solid-bodies
I learned if you are playing a hall, theater or church with a lot of natural reverb, to go without amp reverb. Especially if you are playing in a group larger than a quartet. If you are using in-ear monitors and it is too dry, you can always ask the mixer to put a splash of reverb in the monitor mix.
Next, try using a single repeat to your slap back, then bring its depth (mix, balance or whatever it happens to be called on your pedal) up until it sits right in the mix. Alone, it may sound a little forward. Then, schootch it down a hair. If the pedal has an 'aging' function where it makes the repeats dirty, try a little bit of that. Your ears will percived the repeat differently from your initial note and it doesn't get as lost in a dense mix.
I'd also recommend EQing way differently in a band mix, then you would when practicing alone. Much less bass and tune the treble until it is poking out and schootch it down a little. Likewise for dirt - a little when less than jamming alone.
Hope this helps!
Next, try using a single repeat to your slap back, then bring its depth (mix, balance or whatever it happens to be called on your pedal) up until it sits right in the mix. Alone, it may sound a little forward. Then, schootch it down a hair. If the pedal has an 'aging' function where it makes the repeats dirty, try a little bit of that. Your ears will percived the repeat differently from your initial note and it doesn't get as lost in a dense mix.
I'd also recommend EQing way differently in a band mix, then you would when practicing alone. Much less bass and tune the treble until it is poking out and schootch it down a little. Likewise for dirt - a little when less than jamming alone.
Hope this helps!
Live life to the fullest! - Rob