Feelin’ like your guitar tone is sounding kind of thin? Well there are a ton of different ways to fatten it up. You know, make it more beefy. That way, you’re single notes will be strong, and you’ll cut through the mix better. So lets go ahead and see some different ways to accomplish this, without killing your tone.
1) Echo/Delay
Now what you wanna do, is set your echo or delay to slapback. What this means is that the delay time is so short, that the repeat notes are so quick, that you barely notice there even is echo or delay. Rather, it just fattens up the tone. This is also a good way to create some ambiance if you are not a fan of reverb. If you want to maintain great/vintage tone, you’ll want to look into an analog pedal, rather than digital. Some good ones are the Ibanez AD9 and the Maxon AD999.
2) More Speakers
If you are running through a single speaker combo amp, you may notice that it can lack some fatness. If you plug that amp into a 4×12, you’ll notice the difference right away! Way more low end, and way more head room. Or if you have multiple amps, try running them in stereo. If you are playing through more than one amp, the tone will definitely be thicker. You’ll notice that most of your guitar heroes play live through 3 full stacks!
3) Compressor Pedals
Not only do compressor pedals fatten your tone, but alot of them also make the tone sweeter as well! You’ll notice with these pedals, the treble strings will fatten up considerably. Another added bonus is that you’ll get a little more sustain as well. Of course this can be adjusted with your guitar volume knob. Some good compression pedals that won’t change your tone too much are the Xotic EP-Booster, the Rothwell Love Squeeze, and the MXR Dyna Comp.