Clean and distorted: comparing textures more carefully

Clean and distorted are useful orientation words for guitar sounds, but neither is a complete description. A relatively clear tone can seem sharp or soft; a distorted one can feel dense or surprisingly open. When comparing recordings from Billy Talent II and Billy Talent III, do not search only for two boxes to sort them into. Consider which qualities a passage presents and how they interact with the other parts. Texture describes relationships as well as an isolated sound.

Three questions instead of one label

First ask how clearly individual note beginnings can be distinguished. Then consider the decay: does an event end cleanly, continue, or merge into the next? Finally attend to density when several things happen together. Those observations may differ. A rough surface does not necessarily make the rhythm unclear, and a clean individual note does not guarantee an uncluttered overall mix. Separating the questions prevents one adjective from having to describe everything.

Begin with two short passages rather than two complete albums. Keep playback equipment and level reasonably similar. If one passage seems substantially louder, reduce it cautiously instead of continually turning up the other. The comparison concerns texture, not the immediate attraction of additional volume. An approximate adjustment is sufficient for a personal exercise, though it should not be represented as a scientific measurement. Its purpose is to reduce an obvious distraction.

Know the limit of working backwards

A sound rarely identifies one unique equipment chain. Playing, instrument, amplification, recording and later processing may all contribute. Different routes can produce similar results. Saying that a particular pedal is definitely present therefore requires documentation rather than a memory of a product with a similar sound. This remains true even if the brand is associated with the band in another setting. Association is not a track-specific production record.

If you play, change one parameter at a time in an exercise of your own and watch the output level. Perform the same original pattern with less and then more distortion. Notice whether your muting and separation of events still work as intended. The aim is not to reproduce an album tone exactly. It is to experience how changing a sound can also change the demands on its execution. A setting cannot be evaluated entirely apart from the part played through it.

For later discussion, this provides more specific language: clearer beginnings, longer remnants, greater blending or more space between lines. Those descriptions are easier to examine than a general claim of better sound. They also leave your preference open. A texture can be described clearly and still receive different evaluations from two listeners. Observation and taste are both legitimate, but neither should silently replace the other or pretend to identify an undocumented device.