Department of corrections: EQ tweaks for electric guitar

GUITARISTS ARE notorious tone snobs, although that's not necessarily a bad thing. Axe slingers are usually more than happy to find the right sound for the verse, chorus, or lead line; they will also be the first to tell you if a recording of their setup doesn't match what they hear in the room while playing. Yet, when it comes to recording and mixing, their tone becomes the domain of the recording engineer, whose job it is to make it work within a given project.

Mic Check The initial EQ stage comes from the microphone: It determines, by its design and physical placement, the timbre that gets recorded. So the first job is selecting the transducer and signal path that capture the sound as accurately as possible or as needed for the song. Remember that low frequencies provide a lot of energy. If the guitar sound has too much low end, it will increase the gain of the recorded track without providing as much usable tone. Mic choice and placement can help alleviate this issue.

It's common to use more than one mic on an amp, because it gives an engineer greater flexibility with the guitar tone when it comes time to mix. The trick for the engineer is to find a sound that the guitarist approves of and then fit it into the mix without compromising the original tone too much.

EQ To make it fit, the guitar tone might require corrective equalization. Sometimes you have to sweep the frequency control in a particular area to find the exact spot that needs attention. The boosts and cuts required will likely be subtle; 1 or 2 dB in either direction can work wonders. When applying EQ, be sure to listen to how the processing affects the entire mix.

Low End The situation is simplest when only one electric guitar is involved, say, in a trio with bass and drums. If the low-end needs help, subtly boost between 100 and 160Hz, being careful not to create a conflict with the frequencies of the bass. If there is competition in that frequency range, cutting a dB or two will often work. Got Mud? A slight reduction around 200Hz can help clear things up. Overdo it, and the sound will become wimpy.

Punch and Body There's a wide range of tonal shaping available between 500 and 800Hz, which translates to a range of about a minor 6th. Add body to the guitar tone by accentuating the lower part of this frequency range. Depending on the sound you're going for, a rise between 700 and 800Hz can make a track punchier.

This is also part of the frequency range where wah-wah pedals are focused, although wah frequencies can reach above 2kHz. So if you're looking to add a little of that cocked-wah sound, you're in the right neighborhood. Just make sure that the frequency boost doesn't cover or mask other instruments.

Upper Mids The range from 1 to 3kHz is a critical one for the electric guitar. A mix with too much energy in this area will sound harsh and is fatiguing to listen to. The guitar can be the culprit, potentially masking the sharp transient of the snare drum or the definition in the vocals. This is a good place to cut frequencies if your guitar tracks are overpowering. But don't cut too much or you'll hollow out the tone.

Sparkle vs. Noise Small boosts in the upper registers can accentuate the chimelike timbre of an instrument (8kHz and above) as well as add definition (4 to 5kHz). Sometimes you want to add a bit of "air" for a more modern sound, and this can be found around 10kHz and above. Listen carefully to boosts you make in the upper register, however, because you might increase noise created by effects processors.

Robair, Gino, Click here

Classical music

Esprit Orchestra, As part of their Now Wave Festival--four days showcasing rising-star per formers--two Esprit favourites, Rose Bolton and Andre Ristic, present new commissioned works. As well, Christien Ledroit's Streamlined, a piece for chamber orchestra, electric guitar and digital audio, gets its world premiere, and a work by German composer Oliver Schneller has its Canadian premiere. Alex Pauk conducts, and Ledroit solos on the electric guitar in his own work. April 3. $26. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E., 416-366-7723, www.espritorchestra.com.

Sinfonia Toronto presents another concert with spring as its theme (a self-fulfilling musical prophecy, one hopes), including music by Elgar, Dvorak, Bartok and Resphigi. Nurhan Arman conducts. April 3, $33. Glenn Gould Studio, 250 Front St. W., 416-205-5555, www.sinfoniatoronto.com.

TAFELMUSIK Trinity--St. Paul's Centre 427 Bloor St. W., 416-964-6337 www.tafelmusik.org

Royal Fireworks, Along with this great music of celebration by Handel, Taifelmusik introduces the Folia Project--25 variations on the famous baroque theme "La Folia." Still one of the best tickets in town, Tafelmusik continues to set the highest musical standards in all of its performances. March 27, 31, April 1 to 4. $26-$59. March 28. $26-$59. George Weston Recital Hall, Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5040 Yonge St., 416-870-8000.

TORONTO SYMPHONY Roy Thomson Hall 60 Simcoe St., 416-598-3375 www.tso.on.ca

Espana. More Spanish-style music has been written over the years by composers from away than by native Spaniards. The TSO has a little of both in this concert, part of the Light Classics series, with music by Emmanuel Chabrier and Edouard Lalo (both thoroughly French), Brazilian Heifer Villa-Lobes, Englishman William Walton, Argentinian Alberto Ginastera, as well as the real thing from Manuel de Falla. Rumon Gamba guest conducts; Karen Gomyo plays the violin. April 17 and 18. $31-$61.

Gil Shaham brings a popularizing, Romantic attitude to his playing. Here, with the Brahms Violin Concerto, the American violinist takes on one of the masterpieces of the repertoire. Peter Oundjian gives us a sneak preview of his first full season as music director when he leads Beethoven's Sixth and John Estacio's Solaris. April 7 and 8. 831-$98.

Isabel Bayrakdarian. Finally, the stunning soprano gets to make her debut with her hometown orchestra. To show off her fine dramatic voice, Bayrakdarian sings, among other selections, two arias from Mozart's Il re pastore. Sir Andrew Davis also leads the orchestra in performances of Beethoven's Eighth Symphony and will act as pianist and conductor for a Mozart Concerto-Rondo. March 31, April 1 and 3. $31-$9g. April 4. $31-$98. George Weston Recital Hall, Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5040 Yonge St., 416-870-8000.

Italianissimo! The wonderful Quartetto Gelato joins the TSO for music from la bells Italia--from "O Sole Mio" to Italian movie themes. April 23. $31-$61.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet. There are national performing styles in the piano world, and this pianist is one of the leading exponents of the lyrical French school. Appropriately, Thibaudet brings Gallic music with him: the Ravel Concerto for the Left Hand (written for one-handed pianist Paul Wittgenstein, brother of philosopher Ludwig). Stephane Deneve leads the TSO in more music by Ravel--his Mother Goose Suite--and the Mendelssohn Symphony no. 5. April 29 and May 1. $32-$98.

Noseda & Hahn. Hilary Hahn is an immensely gifted young violinist who took the international classical world by storm in her early teens, establishing herself as one of the most important artists of her generation. Now in her 20s, she continues to dazzle audiences. Hahn performs two rarities: Louis Spohr's Violin Concerto no. 8 and Chausson's Poeme. Guest conductor Gianandrea Noseda leads the orchestra in two works that are centuries, and worlds, apart: Haydn's Symphony no. 95 and Shostakovich's Symphony no. 9. April 21 and 22. $32-$98.

CHAMBER AND SOLO

Ehnes and Lortie features two superstar Canadian performers. James Ehnes is one of our finest violinists, and pianist Louis Lortie has long held a leading position on the international stage. Here, they perform three Beethoven sonatas--among the most wonderful music ever written for violin and piano, including the famous Spring and Kreutzer sonatas. April 13. $25-$75. George Weston Recital Hall, Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5040 Yonge St., 416-872-1111.

Hannaford Street Silver Band. Manning the bagpipes as well as the whistles, Ian MacKinnon plays selections from traditional Gaelic melodies. The band plays works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Malcolm Arnold and Kelly Marie Murphy. Michael Reason is the guest conductor. April 25. $15-$28. Jane Mallet Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E., 416-366-7723, www.hannafordband.com.

Off-Centre Music Salon. In the annals of music history, Modest Mussorgsky occupies a special and rather controversial place. To some, he was a bit of an idiot savant, creative despite his lack of training. To others, he was the first precursor of the 20th century, wildly inventive in his harmonies and use of the orchestra. Off-Centre Salon lets us decide for ourselves with two rarely heard Mussorgsky song cycles, and the ever-familiar Pictures at an Exhibition in the piano original. Bass Robert Pomakov does the singing; Boris Zarankin and Inns Perkis do the piano playing. April 25. $35. Glenn Gould Studio, 250 Front St. W., 416-205-5555, www.offcentremusic.com.

Renee Fleming. There are stars and there are superstars, and in the world of classical music, Fleming definitely belongs in the second category. She has created a career for herself that could have come from the golden age of the diva. This dramatic soprano has as much of an interest in jazz and Broadway as in bel canto. April 4. $50-$100. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St., 416-872-4255, www.roythomsonhall.com.

Women's Musical Club of Toronto. Barry Shiftman, Micah Yui and Marianne Bindig perform an all Brahms program, including Two Songs, op. 91. Brahms in an intimate mood is always something special, and violinist-violist Shiftman is a performer to watch. April 22. $28. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen's Ph., 416-923-7052, www.wmct.on.ca.

MUSIC TORONTO Jane Mallett Theatre St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts 27 Front St. E., 416-366-7723 www.music-toronto.com

Petersen Quartet. Considered the most esoteric of all musical ensembles, the string quartet has become the repository for some of the most subtle thoughts in the history of music. Music Toronto has long made the quartet one of its staples, and this interesting European group brings with it an eclectic program, including music by Milhaud and Mozart, and Grieg's Quartet in G Minor, a long-neglected masterpiece. April 1. $39-$43.

Tokyo Quartet features two staples of the repertoire, the Mozart K. 575 and Beethoven's Second Rasumovsky Quartet, as well as the Fourth Quartet by Alexander Zemlinsky. April 15. $39-$43.

ONSTAGE Glenn Gould Studio Canadian Broadcasting Centre 250 Front St. W., 416-205-5555 www.glenngouldstudio.cbc.ca

Andre Laplante. While covering Moscow's prestigious Tehaikovsky International Piano Competition--the Olympics of music--in 1982, I discovered that the reaction of Soviets to my nationality was always the same. They wanted to discuss only three things: Wayne Gretzky, Glenn Gould and Andre Laplante. Gould and Gretzky didn't surprise me, but the enthusiasm for Laplante was unexpected. The young Canadian pianist had won the silver medal in Moscow in 1978, and many Muscovites felt he had bean robbed of the gold. Laplante has continued to thrill audiences with his fiery brand of piano playing in the years since his first appearance. For this recital, he includes Schubert's Piano Sonata no. 21 in B-flat Major, D. 960--a late work considered by many to be the composer writing his own epitaph. April 6. $35.

A Dvorak Celebration. Antonin Dvorak died 100 years ago, and the anniversary will be marked by a special performance featuring the Canadian Chamber Ensemble and the Gryphon Trio, with soprano Frederique Vezina. The composer's works are a wonderful, idiosyncratic destination for a musical voyager seeking something pleasurable and exotic. Performed here are excerpts from the opera Rusalka, as well as the Dumky Trio and the Wind Serenade. April 18. $85.

OPERA AND CHORAL

Amadeus Choir. One of the most enduring images in Christianity is that of Mary standing at the foot of the Cross. The Amadeus choir features a 16th-century musical translation of Stabat Mater--"mother standing"--by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, as well as works by Eleanor Daley and John Rutter. Lydia Adams conducts. April 8. $30-$35. Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St., 416-446-0188, www.amadeuschoir.com.

Les Violons du Roy. Over the years, St. John, Bach's other great Passion, has been overshadowed by the St. Matthew because of its smaller ambit and its general dark colouring. But it is a magnificent work and sure to be given a fine performance from La Chapelle de Quebec and a group of soloists that includes counter-tenor David Daniels and tenor Benjamin Butterfield. April 3. $35-$65. Massey Hull, 178 Victoria St., 416-872-4255, www.masseyhall.com.

Mendelssohn Choir. Johannes Brahms's extraordinary German Requiem is full of the deep Protestant faith that only a 19th-century Ger man composer could evince. Soprano Karina Gauvin lends her remarkable voice along with baritone James Westman. The concert also includes the Canadian premiere of Ruth Watson Henderson's From Darkness to Light. Noel Edison conducts. April 7. $30-$98. Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, 1585 Yonge St., 416-598-0422. www.tmchoir.org.

Opera Atelier presents a return engagement of Persee, a production that won raves in 2000. Cyril Auvity sings the title role and is joined by a fine cast, including Monica Whither and Colin Ainsworth. April 23, 24, 28, 30, May 1 and 2. $25-$99. Elgin Theatre, 189 Yonge St., 416-872-5555, www.operaatelier.com.

Royal Opera Canada is a company devoted to presenting the top 10 hits of the operatic world. For these performances, it's Aida--Verdi's corn mission for the opening of the Suez Canal. Dwight Bennett is artistic director of the company; Micaela Carosi stars in the title role. April 24, 25, 27 and 29. $13-$120. Living Arts Centre, 4141 Living Arts Dr., Mississauga, 905-306-6000, www.royaloperacanada.com.

Toronto Children's Chorus performs the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Franz Schubert, John Burge and John Rutter. The massed Toronto Children's Chorus is a joy to hear and behold. April 24. $18-$25. George Weston Recital Hall, Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5040 Yonge St., 41-932-8666, www.torontochildrenschorus.com.

Toronto Consort. Enjoy Calisto by Francesco Cavalli the way they did in the 17th century. The great Suzie LeBlanc plays the title role, and a full period orchestra accompanies. David Fallis conducts. LeBlanc herself is worth the price of admission. April 16 and 17. $14-$44. Trinity-St. Paul's Centre, 427 Bloor St. W., 416-964-6337, www.torontotoconsort.org.

Toronto Operetta Theatre. Die Fledermaus is perhaps the most famous operetta ever written, and Johann Strauss Jr.'s tales of high-society hijinks boasts one of the musical stage's greatest scores. Featuring Laura Whalen, Ross Neill, Jane Archibald and Mark DuBois. Derek Bate conducts. April 23, 24, 27, 28, 80, May 1 and 2. $35-$75. Jane Mallet Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E., 416-866-7723, www.torontooperetta.com.

CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts 1 Front St. E., 416-872-2262 www.coc.ca

Die Walkure. Wagner's The Ring--opera's Everest, a four-opera, 16-hour extravaganza--is coming to Toronto in 2006 to inaugurate the new opera house. To get us in the mood, the second opera in the cycle is being presented this season. It's a new production by director Atom Egoyan and designer Michael Levine, whose previous (separate) efforts for the COC have been alternately praised and damned. The cast includes Peteris Eglitis as Wotan and Adrianne Pieczonka as Sieglinde. April 4, 8, 14, 17, 20 and 23. $35-$145.

Rigoletto. One of the canny secrets of the COC's success in recent years has been its perfectly balanced blend of the new and the familiar in its programming. You can't get closer to the heart of the operatic repertoire than Verdi's Rigoletto. This melodramatic work has one of opera's best-known scores, from "La donna e mobile" to Gilda's beautiful love arias. Alan Opie, Giuseppe Gipali and Canadian Robert Po maker are among the cast members. Julian Kovatchev conducts. April 7, 10, 13, 16, 18, 22 and 24. $40-$160.

Harris, Robert

Polansky: World's Longest Melody

POLANSKY: World's Longest Melody; Ensembles of Note; Tooaytood; For Jim, Ben, & Lou; Preamble; Resting Place; Getting Rid of the Glue; Ivtoo; Ontslan; Toovviivfor; 34 chords

Larry Polansky, Toon Callier, Matthias Koole, Johannes Westendorp, Kobe Van Cauwenberghe, g; Jutta Troch, hn; Jeronen Stevens, perc; W Victor, voice; Bertel Schollaert, Eva Vermeiren, Thomas van Gelder, Maarten Jan Huysmans, sax; Mattijs Vanderleen, drums; Stephan Prins, electronics

New World 80700--71 minutes

For this issue I was sent three recordings of electric guitar, with other instruments (see CHATHAM and PRITSKER). There is no reason not to use an electric guitar in contemporary composition; I suppose the wonder is that an instrument with so many timbral possibilities hasn't been used more often. Since the performers are so often tied to rock or other pop traditions, composers are reluctant; but when one has access to professional players of skill, then the music will often flow.

The Zwerm Quartet is a Belgian group that includes the four guitarists listed above apart from the composer. Their playing is consistently imaginative and expressive. So many electric guitarists content themselves with a limited range of tone, but not these players. The other musicians are just as expert.

Polansky's music is part minimalist, part aleatoric, and nearly always interesting. Somehow, even when generating musical materials through a computerized algorithm, he always seems aware of the sounds produced. If the algorithm produced something aesthetically incoherent, would he throw it out and start over? I'd love to ask him that. Actually, I had no idea composers were still doing such things. That computer-generated piece, 'The World's Longest Melody', is the title for the recording, and is realized in two tracks, each completely different from the other.

He has a puckish sense of humor, and that also makes his music effective. The opening work, 'Ensembles of Note' uses a repeated ostinato rhythm on claves, with other instruments interjecting cries, notes, and squeals, which builds to a suitably active conclusion. In his Tooaytoods, he out-Weberns Webern in miniaturizing. Some of the pieces run all of four seconds, and the longest of the eight is only 24 seconds.

For Jim, Ben, and Lou, for guitar, harp, and percussion, is a tribute to three of Polansky's mentors: James Tenney, Ben Johnston, and Lou Harrison. The music is affecting, especially the second movement, where a Yiddish text is sung in folk style, remembering the New York Triangle Shirtwaist Factory incident in 1911. In this tragic fire, nearly 150 women died because the company had locked the exits to prevent workers from taking breaks during long shifts.

Ivtoo (pronounced '42' ... is this a nod to Douglas Adams's answer to the Big Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything?) is based on primal materials: the overtone series and canonic form. It builds inexorably to a shattering climax--the high point of the recording.

Ontslaan (toontood) is based on a hymn tune from The Missouri Harmony, an early shaped-note collection of music that has German immigrant roots. It is here set for five guitars, with the entries of the melody sometimes coordinated, sometimes separated. But the effect is never random, and the stately music is genuinely affecting.

The closing work, 34 Chords (Christian Wolff in Hanover and Royalton) is a gift to Polansky's friend and colleague, a beautiful and calm piece that is reproduced in the notes (even though in print so tiny it would be impossible to read accurately). Those notes, by Bob Gilmore, are excellent--enlightening without the usual quota of hooey.