The most important thing about playing electric guitar is: knowing how to get a good tone in any musical situation. By dialing in your amp settings in a certain way, you can then use your guitar’s different pickups to sound appropriate in many styles.
The first thing to realize is that guitar was invented as an accompaniment instrument. Accompaniment refers to playing chords or some kind of supporting role behind a melody instrument like a singer. This supporting role means the guitar should fill up the mid-range of notes and frequencies. In American music there is typically a bass player covering the low notes and frequencies and a vocalist or lead melody instrument that sits in the high-mid or high range of notes and frequencies. What is left? The middle. This is where the guitar is supposed to go by playing chords or riffs that fit above the bass and below the melody.
Therefore, a guitarist’s tone should reflect that role by mainly boosting the mid-range on the amp and not really boosting the low too much because that can result in a tone that is muddy or heavy and steps on the frequency range of the bass instrument. If your tone has too much bass the sound guy will not be able to turn you up or fit you in the mix well because the low frequencies will quickly become too loud when amplified. You should go for just enough low end that your tone doesn’t sound thin. The high range of the amp can be boosted but only enough for clarity and definition; too much high can sound piercing. Actually, I find amps that include a “Presence” control to be very useful because that is usually what will give your tone a shimmer or sparkle that you might be looking for in the highs.
Ending up with an inappropriate EQ is a common mistake especially when playing or practicing alone because we unconsciously want our tone to sound as good as a song. By “as good as a song” I mean that a finished version of a full song with a band and mixing and mastering and everything that makes a recording sound great will evenly cover the entire frequency range of human hearing and therefore sound “full.” We guitar players can want our tone to sound full like that as well and therefore we end up dialing in a tone that covers the entire frequency range because when we are at home playing alone that is the sound that appeals to our ears, but unfortunately that kind of tone will not sound good with a band or in a mix. Why? Because if our lows sound as full as a song, we will of course be stepping on the bass’s range and if our highs sound full as well we will get in the way of the vocals or even the drum set’s cymbals and snare drum. It is also impossible for the sound guy to find a good mix without basically cutting the lows and highs out of a sound like that so you end up with a mid-range tone in the house anyway. So why not just dial it in that way in the first place?
Here’s one way to know if you have it right: when you play low notes on your neck pickup, it should sound fat and warm without bottoming out or sounding muddy or boomy. A lot of players will dial in a fat tone to use on their bridge pickup but then if they switch to the neck it has way too much bass. If you are on your neck pickup and you need a darker tone: that is what turning down the tone knob is for. The bridge pickup tone should be bright or twangy without sounding thin or piercing.
Of course in modern music the electric guitar can also be a lead instrument. However, I think the same EQ advice applies to playing lead. Too much bass makes a solo sound unclear and hard to cut through the other instruments and too much treble makes it sound thin or piercing and both make it difficult to blend. Guitar is simply a mid-range instrument.
Here are some general tips for pickup choices that will have you sounding good in different styles once you get your mid-range tone happening:
Country – bridge pickup
Blues Clean Tone – neck pickup
Blues Dirty Tone – middle or bridge pickup
Bluegrass – bridge pickup
Jazz – neck pickup with tone knob turned down to about five
R&B – neck or middle pickup
Early Rock (like Chuck Berry) Rhythm Guitar – neck pickup
Early Rock Lead Guitar – bridge pickup
Classic Rock (like Led Zeppelin) – bridge pickup
Classic Rock (like Pink Floyd) – neck or middle pickup
Worship (CCM) – neck or middle pickup
Modern Rock/Metal Clean Lead or Rhythm Guitar – neck pickup
Modern Rock/Metal Dirty Rhythm Guitar – bridge pickup
Modern Rock/Metal Dirty Lead Guitar – neck or bridge pickup
I hope this helps you get a tone for your electric guitar that works well when playing with other instruments! For another perspective on electric guitar tone see this link!