This is the eighth installment in guest blogger Steve Lagudi’s series on Guitars & Bass in a Live Setting – if you missed Part 1 of his posts on Dynamics and Effects, you can read it here. Now for the fun part! Effects. Some folks would ask “Why add effects, most guitar players have a billion pedals in front of ’em, so why add more?” Well, why not? No doubt the players are adding in effects to create a specific sound, with reverbs, delays, flange, chorus, phase, and so on and so on. Sometimes those effects might not translate very well when mic’d up and coming through a PA, so we might need to help support it, or even gloss it up more to help it stand out.

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Steve's home while on the road.

For example, when I have two guitar players, I pan them 50/50. Using the AE2500, I hard pan the condenser channel, and pan halfway on the dynamic – this gives you a nice 50/50 balance. So if anyone is standing on the opposite side of a player, they do get to hear it, and it makes for a good stereo balance, especially if you are in a very wide environment like arenas or outdoor festivals. When it comes time for solos, I like to use the dynamic channel, which is that more focused sound, and I will bring the pan towards the center to help highlight this part. Plus it’s fun to be moving around on the console – I am NOT a set it and forget it guy, I like having my mixes breathe and move around. Along with moving the pan knob, I like to turn on aux sends, usually for a reverb to help give the guitar more size and create depth. I am also notorious for adding some delay, like a slap delay usually does a nice job. Or when I have it available, I like to use a split harmonizer, or doubler. I pitch the left side up 12 cents and the right side down 12 cents. Gives a nice layering sound. As for how much I feed into the effects, it’s a taste thing, just a little bit. Nothing drastic. If I have a lot going on and if I am on a digital console that I can create a snapshot, I might automate it – not to be lazy, but there is only so much I can do with my hands at once, so switching to a scene means I can have everything turn on (and off) in an instant and have exactly what I want. Look for Steve’s next blog on acoustic guitars on Wednesday, July 16!