quick tricks

Five top tips for metal solos

Scooping out your midrange won’t always work

The classic ‘mid-scooped’ tone particularly associated with late 80s and 90s thrash metal is great for rhythm parts but can leave lead tones sounding weedy. If you’re using a scooped tone for your rhythm it’s worth setting up a mid boost for solos. You could use a wah pedal, like Metallica’s Kirk Hammett. Alternatively, an EQ pedal will do the job or a distortion pedal’s tone control may also suffice. How much gain? Listening to classic metal recordings you’ll find the amount of distortion is lower than you might presume, with perceived saturation and sustain more often a result of sheer volume. There are exceptions to the rule, of course – Gary Moore used a lot of gain on Run For Cover and Wild Frontier. Why not try going lower than you feel you need, only edging the gain up if it’s essential? You’ll fatten your lead tone and reduce hiss and handling noise.

Think about dynamics and pace

In the search for more brutal sounding solos, it’s good to remember to use ‘light and shade’. This can be achieved by varying your guitar tone; perhaps a slow, sustained line on the neck pickup then switching to the bridge pickup for a harder sound. Don’t feel you must fill every space with fast playing. It’s more impressive to mix fast lines into a structure.

Improve your tightness and timing

Rock and metal lead playing is a highly skilled art that leaves little room for sloppiness. The best way to make improvements is the time-honoured method of slow practice with a metronome, drum machine, or any reference point that stops you drifting out of time. Choose a lick that challenges you and start playing at a tempo where you make no mistakes. Repeat it over and again, increasing the speed in roughly 5bpm steps as you gain confidence.

Picks and strings improve your tone. And your performance!

The picks and strings you use are among the most crucial factors responsible for your tone. The sound of a super-light set of strings played with a thin pick will be markedly different to a heavier set of strings, perhaps made of a different material and played with a thicker pick. Spend time finding a setup that suits you and you’ll likely find yourself playing at your best.