I need Help! I dont know how to make my guitar sound right!

[SephirV]

Hello good people...here is my problem

Ive been studying guitar for almost a month now.. and i was using a Eletric Guitar that a friend gave me ( its really old and i think its kinda rusty too.. i had to change the strings) without amp.
I tought my songs werent sounding like the ones in teh records because of the Amp, so i bought one(my friend recomended me a real decent one made here on Brazil its called "Meteoro Atomic Drive").
While trying to get "Blitzkrieg Bop" song (Ramones is great for novices like me :) ) but even if i get the chords right it doesnt sound good or even alike the ones in records.
I dont really know how to configure my Amps (Gain/MV/Bass/Mid/Trenble) and if i turn the "drive select" on and jam the strings i can barely hear all notes.

So thats my problem.. if i confused things up please tell me and i will try to explain better.

Thanks and rock on :)

[perpetualmotion]

Ok well first of you have to set the EQ for the amp. For a Ramones sort of tone, you want these sort of settings:

Bass: 6/7
Mid:5
Treble:7/8
Gain: 5 (if this is too much turn it up, if its too little turn it down)

And you want your amp on the drive channel if it has one. his should give you something that sounds rightish when you play it. If you still don't like it, fiddle around a bit untill you find something you do like.

Hope this helps.

[SephirV]

Thanks, i will try it once i get home thanks

Edit: I got home.
I Used those settings but still cant hear the notes when i strum i can barely hear the first strings but then its all a bad noise..
I am starting to think that the problem is my Guitar..My friend borrowed me his old guitar..the pickups(i dont really know if thats what is called in english..) are really rusty and lots of other parts too.
There is anything i can do besides buying a new one? (iam low on cash :|)
Thanks

[Jstickley]

Completly dissassemble, clean everything, check all your connections, remove the rust, and then put it all back together.. If it still doesnt work, the the pickups are probably shot (not likely)

If that doesnt work, head do your local guitar store, and start shopping ;)

Jesse

[SephirV]

Hey Jesse, i think its my pickups.. they are brown rusty already ( or red.. rust color)
But i will try to clean inside and stuff and see what i can do..
Like i said this was a friends guitar and he wanst using her for a long long time..
Well i still can pratice unplugged :D

[Harley]

i think its my pickups.. they are brown rusty already
Rust should have no effect on the signal. Many guys use saltwater, chicken grease, or bleach on their pickup poles and covers to obtain the rusted look. Problems can occur, though, when the windings become corroded and break. But here you'd have no sound at all.

First I'd start by checking pickup-height adjustment. Could be they're super low and little signal is getting processed. Nearly every guitar has a screw on each side of the pickup for height adjustment. There are exceptions. A Tele will have 3 screws for the bridge pickup. I've also seen older archtops where the pickup was just taped to the body and the pole screws were the only adjustment.
http://www.pittmanguitarrepair.com/images/bass/bass10.jpg
How stuff works-
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/eg-magnet.gif
I Used those settings but still cant hear the notes when i strum i can barely hear the first strings but then its all a bad noise.
There are really a lot of things that might be doing this and trouble-shooting is required. Eliminate each element before moving to the next. Start with the amp. Try playing another guitar through it that you know is working correctly and see how it sounds. Then try a different cord. I've had bad cords in the past. Then start on the guitar.

What model guitar is it? Amp? If you have an older tube amp it may need a tube or capacitor job. These components have a life span.

Later!

[james]

maybe the gain is just too high and its sounding like crap. try turing the gain or volume down and see if it sounds sorta like u want but just at a really low level.

[SephirV]

my Amp is brand new and its called ''Meteoro Atomic Drive" and my Guitar is called Eagle(i think they are both made on brazil tho)
When i bought my Amp i tested it on the store and sounded fine if i remember well..
I still need to try a diferent Cord.
The odd think is that when i dont use my Drive option the sound is clear but when i press the Drive button the sound is unrecognizable and after u hit the first notes(open or not) u cant really hear the other ones.


I will open my guitar later and check those height thinks u said.
Thanks :)
Maybe i will need to save for a new guitar :(

[perpetualmotion]

From that last post.....turn the gain down....that seems to be your only problem. The higher the gain, the more the notes melt together....which is really what you want when playing Ramones and punk/pop punk power chord riffs.

If that fails, turn the volume on the guitar up and the volume on the amp down.

[SephirV]

I will just like to say that i got it working fine now thanks to u all :)
Not 100% but its good enought!
Thanks guys :D