How to Change the Sound of Electric Guitar

Who else wants learn how to change the sound of electric guitar?

While we all know that using the bridge pickup gives you a different sound than the neck pickup, but what other ways can we change the sound of electric guitar?

Today we’ll answer your questions and help you to figure out how to get the sound out of your electric guitar that you’re looking for.

Check it out!

How to Change the Sound of Electric Guitar: Changing Your Volume

Raising and lowering your volume make a big difference and really change your sound.

It seems simple, but finding the right mix between the volume on your guitar and the volume on your amp can be tricky.

If you’re trying to play a clean tone, having the volume too loud can cause your guitar to sound more brittle and harsh.

Conversely, if you’re playing with distortion, having your volume too low can cause your guitar to sound muddy and indistinct.

Whatever you’re playing, the best thing to do is to experiment and find the sound that you like.

For starters, set the volume on your guitar to zero and the volume on your amp to 70% or 80%.

Then, start playing, and slowly raise the volume on your guitar.

Go slowly, so you can get a good feel of what your guitar playing sounds like as you raise your volume.

Once you’ve done that, do the opposite.

Start your amp out at zero, and your guitar at maximum volume.

Then, see what it sounds like as you raise the volume on your amp.

Keep experimenting until you find what you like the best.

How to Change the Sound of Electric Guitar: Changing Your Tone

Once you’ve found a volume setting you like, it’s time to change your sound by adjusting your tone knob.

Changing the setting of your tone knob is probably the easiest and most popular way to change the sound of your electric guitar.

For some types of music, like jazz, turning down your tone knob is the best way to get the “proper” tone for that style of music.

In other styles of music, like heavy metal, you need to have your tone knob turned all the way up.

(Some guitar models meant for playing heavier tones don’t even have a tone knob.)

The best way to find the tone setting you like is to start with the tone knob turned all the way up.

Then, play your guitar and slowly start turning the tone knob down.

As you turn it down, you’ll notice your sound will start to change.

Your sound will also change depending on which pickup you’re playing through.

Once you’ve experimented with using your tone knob, try the same experiment using a different pickup.

If you’ve been using your neck pickup, try your bridge pickup.

You’ll probably find that your sound changes dramatically based on where your tone knob is set and which pickup you’re using.

How to Change the Sound of Electric Guitar: Changing What Pick You’re Using

When playing electric guitar, the guitar pick you’re using can have a distinct impact on your sound.

A stiffer, firmer pick will have less of a “clack” sound while a thinner, softer pick will have more of a “clack” sound.

A thinner pick will tend to brighten your sound while a thicker pick often creates a darker sound.

What your pick is made of can also impact your sound since some materials, like celluloid, tend to have a brighter sound than others.

The best thing to do is to try some different types of picks until you find one that you like, then stick with that one for a while.

Once you feel like you’ve got a handle on your preferred pick, then you can experiment with different types of picks and can better understand how they impact your sound.

How to Change the Sound of Electric Guitar: Changing How and Where You Pick

How you pick your strings can have an impact on how your electric guitar sounds.

Changing your picking angle will impact your sound in a subtle but distinctive way and most guitarists angle their pick slightly so their pick isn’t hitting their stings at a flat angle.

How hard you pick will also change your sound.

If you use your pick to really attack your strings, you can end up with a more distorted sound which can be great for playing rock or metal.

If you’re going for a clean tone, a gentler hand can help your notes to come out more distinctly and have a brighter tone.

Additionally, where you pick your strings will also change the sound of your electric guitar.

Picking close to the bridge will give you a brighter, sharper sound while picking closer to the neck pickup will usually give you a warmer, rounder sound.

Depending on what style of music you’re playing, the sound you’re after could be heavily impacted on where you’re choosing to pick.

Try changing where you pick on your guitar and see how it changes your sound.

Experimenting is the only way to find the sound you’re after.

How to Change the Sound of Electric Guitar: Adding Distortion Using Your Amp

Adding distortion using your amp is one of the most dramatic ways that you can change the sound of your electric guitar.

plus, just about every amp in existence will let you add some distortion to your sound.

Some amps even have an overdrive button that automatically adds distortion for you.

With some models, you have to manually dial it in using the gain knob.

Starting with a clean tone, start dialing up the gain knob and lowering your amp’s volume knob until you find a level of distortion that sounds good to you.

Different levels of gain will give you different levels of distortion which means you can change the sound of your electric guitar to suit different styles of music.

Heavier distortion is more suitable for heavy metal tones while lighter distortion is great for blues and rock.

Spend some time experimenting and discovering what kinds of distortion your amp can create.

Also, see this post on How to Setup Your Electric Guitar Amp for more info.

How to Change the Sound of Electric Guitar: Changing Your Sound Using Pedals

Using pedals is a versatile and easy way to change the sound of your electric guitar by adding effects to your sound.

While most guitar amps provide you with the ability to add distortion, most models don’t allow you to add effects like delay or reverb to your sound.

This is where guitar pedals can really change your sound.

Pedals are convenient because you can set your amp to a clean tone and add distortion, echo, reverb, etc. to your sound at the press of a footswitch.

Then, when you’re ready to go back to a clean tone, all you have to do is hit the footswitch again, and boom!

You’re back to your original clean tone.

Plus, some pedals offer multiple effects or let your record and loop your playing letting you accompany yourself and build songs on the fly.

With multiple pedals active at once, you can completely change your sound and create your own, unique style of music.

How to Change the Sound of Electric Guitar: FAQ

At the end of the day, there are lots of different ways to change the sound of electric guitar.

Different styles of music and styles of playing will benefit more from one change than another.

If you’re playing heavy metal, you’ll see more of a change in your sound if you add more distortion to your amp.

If you’re playing country music, you’ll most likely get a better sound if you play through the bridge pickup and pick close to the bridge.

The only real rule is to experiment and find what you like best.

• How do I change my guitar tone?
  • You can try turning down your tone knob or switching to a different pickup. Also, you can try turning the gain and volume knobs on your amp up or down and see how your tone changes.
• How can I make my electric guitar sound better?
  • First, make sure you’ve got fresh strings on it and ensure your guitar has been properly set up. Then, choose one pickup and start adjusting your amp settings. Experiment until you find the amp settings that make your guitar sound better using only that pickup.
• How do electric guitars make different sounds?
  • Electric guitars can make different sounds by changing the settings on the amp and by using guitar pedals. Often, the different sounds a guitarist makes is down to their unique style of playing or their personal technique.