how does your lead tone differ from your rhythm tone?

[Thor Von Clemson]

So I am wondering what you guys do differently when changing from rhythm playing into leads. Do some of you do extreme tapdancing to activate phasers, switchers, and all kinds of other things? Do some of you use a "crunch" channel for rhythm and simply switch to a "lead" channel as is the case with typical 3 channel amps? Do some of you play leads completely dry and switch to the neck pickup? Do some of you play completely dry and use a bridge pickup? Do any of you use two separate heads and A/B from one to another when switching?

Does it depend on what type of lead you are playing or a certain technique you are doing?

Or do you do something totally different that I have not even thought of?

I am sure it varies for different styles of music. Some people absolutely can not use their rhythm tone for leads. I think Zakk's crunchy rhythm tone is a little different from his lead tone right?

Discuss....

(btw Ron.. don't grill me if I mispelled the word rhythm incorrectly a few times . I am not sure why, but that word has always been difficult for me to spell )

[Bert]

For my main lead tone I start with my rhythm tone (distortion + a touch of reverb, nothing else) and add delay, a touch more gain, and a touch more bass. The reasoning is: delay is too "busy" on rhythm but smooths out leads. More gain gives more sustain. More bass because leads typically involve higher notes, so it helps keep the bottom from falling out.

I use a MIDI based rack setup so it's only one click to do all of the above

[quiksilver]

Interesting. I do pretty much the same thing except for the added bass. I never thought of that.

[Inazone]

I've experimented with different things, but keep coming back to a simple approach: the Boss DD-2 Digital Delay pedal. I use it for delay and a slight volume boost, which is just right for my purposes. Due to the order I run my other devices, there really wasn't a better way.

[jgcable]

I add a little delay and I bump up the mids a little on my Soldano. With the Vetta.. I have all kinds of stuff going on for solos.

[shadowcat]

I use a Boss GT-5 but with my amp's preamp in the loop of the GT-5 (to use the amp's distortion).
When I switch to lead I just switch to another patch, which has reverb (my rhythm tone is dry), more volume and slightly different EQ (more mids and lows).
I also have a second lead patch with delay, when using this I also switch to the neck pickup. Gives a very smooth and atmospheric sound.

[thetroy]

Depends on the song. If it's very distinct "Rhythm" and "Solo" sections use 2 different patches with completely different amp models, FX, etc.

If it's something where there are little lead parts all over I'll just use the same tone throughout, with maybe a slight volume/gain/delay boost during the actual solo. This is what I prefer (for both playing and listening). Lots of little lead fills a la EVH, Randy, etc.

This is on modeling amps (Vetta or V-Ampire) so it's considerably different from a normal amp + pedals

[sonicsamurai]

it doesn't - i use shedloads of mids anyway...at least 6 even for metal. using a boss super overdrive gives me plenty of crunch for my riffs. i occasionally might use th pedal for leads if i'm playing particulraly low gain or clean just for some extra bite in the solo but other than that nada

[sonicsamurai]

i could maybe do with getting avolume boost pedal coming to think about it ..but i'm always louder than everyone anyway!! haha

[pagemalicious]

I approach lead tones alot differently than most people.

For rhythm i try to use as little gain as possible but just enough to get that 'thug' sound. Boost the mids way high and the treble and bass around the same level as each other.

For lead tones i use a tiny bit more gain and take out some treble and presence. Gives me that super smooth tone but cuts through the mix really well.

I did use a Boss SD-1 to boost the signal a bit, but i've kinda gone off it.

[tseegert]

I turn the gain up slightly more than the rhythm channel, turn the mids up a bit, add a touch of delay, voila.

[Fragle]

depends on the amp i'm using. with the marshall i'll just kick in the reverb, that's it. when using the 5150 i switch to either the rhythm/crunch or lead channel depending on what i'm using for rhythm playing (changes from time to time) in order to get a volume and gain boost.
the framus cobra has a dedicated lead channel, and basically i'll set it up just like the crunch channel but more gain and volume as well as less bass.

no fx whatsover, although i'm thinking about getting a delay pedal.

[Sinistas]

I actually don't really change anything for leads. I use enough mids that I cut through regardless.

[Cleveland Metal]

Strangely I just use a patch on my Intellifex that gives me a volume boost and a touch more echo.

Used to use a bit of mid boost as welll when I used a more programmable preamp.

Now, since I always use the second EQ on the CAE3+se and the TC Parametric isn't programable I just use a volume boost. Works well... CAE cuts nice anyways...

[GodOfRhythm]

My leadtone is usually drenched with mids, not too much mids and bass, delay, some feedback & level and some reverb in the mix.

Rhythm is scooped with monstrous tight low-end.