Fattening up the tone for solo's

[rstites]

Sounds kinda basic and may not be what you are looking for, but first thing i tend to go for is the tone knob on my guitar when i want to fatten up the higher strings/registers.

Along similar lines, try going to the neck pickup for leads. I frequently rewire my guitars for individual volume controls on the pickups (no tone). I'll dial the neck way back for some nicer semi-clean tones and then bring it all the way back up for thick leads. I've even been known to switch it during the lead as I move up/down the neck.

I like parametric EQ idea, but have never gotten one to really work for me. I've had better luck with either the classic boost or an open wah. With the boost just dial the gain way back and the volume down to about unity (w/ a high gain amp), and dial the tone in to taste. Otherwise, a good wah can be great for nice fat leads. Just set it up in one spot and kick it in the leads. It's a natural bandpass filter. Give it a little boost so you have enough volume punching the front of the amp and you're good to go. Note: you have to have one that stays on when not rocking. I'd also consider a wah dedicated for this. Set it up during sound check and then kick it in/out with a separate bypass pedal.