Capo theory

[beanluc]

Forget the volume , you got the capo thing totally right, different positions for two guitar players which uses two different chord forms at the same time. Don't change that, work on the levels !

Or the EQ.

I sounded quite low and just got drowned out.

It's possible for 2 guitars to be in 2 different registers but not be mixed well. Even if your electric/OD tone sounds OK alone, it can change in the mix, and if so, then you want to EQ. Is your sound "quite low" without the other guitar? Either way, cutting some EQ in bass bands tightens things up and clarifies OD without "cleaning it up" (as long as you use the gain/drive control to compensate for loss of volume). I feel like this is more important than "working on your mids" - not to say you can't do both, but I feel like they're somewhat different applications and you can get a lot more mileage from bass-cut. Big job, big tool.

I'm wondering if playing higher up the neck is better with teles or not.

It really isn't about Teles at all.

 

[Clouds84]

I've got demos of two songs to show you. The first one, I'm playing up higher the neck and my tele kind of cuts through the mix. The second, I'm playing without a capo whereas the other guitarist is playing on capo 5 or something and you can't really hear me. It sounds a mess.

These are worship songs in my church.

First:

Second:

After listening to these, I'm starting to think that my volume is too low..

 

[RCinMempho]

Your approach is a good one - one guy high and one guy low. That can be done with or without a capo.

I would apply the same idea of making different sounds to your rhythms as well. If he is strumming away, then you might consider doing something else.

Strumming each chord change and letting it ring. This creates a wash in the background establishing the tonality of the song - somewhat like having an organ droning underneath.

Eighth notes or quarter notes on a power chord can drive the song a bit more if you want that.

Simple accents on 2 and 4 with the snare drum can be very effective. I usually prefer those high rather than low, but you might not.

Where you want to end up is combining techniques like these in various points in a song so that you complement the music.

Try this. Do two measures of 8th notes on a power chord 1-x-2-x-3-x-4-x 1-x-2-x-3-x-4-x then switch to just hitting a quarter note on 2 and 4 for two measures
Then repeat it. Then just the chord hard on the and and let it right for four beats. You can really feel the changes in the movement.

I would work on that type of thing - perhaps coordinate with your drummer. You will stand out more from what you are playing as well as your tone (which is still something to work on).

 

[rough eye]

i think you should try changing your amp. turn bass down close to zero and turn mid and high up close to 10. best general settings for live performance.

 

[Martin R]

Sounds pretty good. I think I don't have my tone setup correctly as I was faded into the background whereas the acoustic was clear as day..

Thanks. We cut a notch out of the acoustic track where the Tele frequencies were. A little EQ goes a long way. (I don't have my notes and don't remember the frequencies but it was somewhere in the middle.)