My quest for tone is over. Or is it?

[Chocklit_Thunda]

Re: My quest for tone is over. Or is it?

Venture into the other great mysteries of the musical world.
Build a simple tube amp. Build a digital delay or Big Muff clone. Learn the ukulele (don't knock it 'til you've tried it). Do what I'm gonna do next and build an acoustic. Build and learn to play a banjo (see ukulele). Build a complicated tube amp. Experiment with mixing piezo and magnetic pickup impedences and then tells how you did it coz I'm stumped.... Become a bassist until you realise why you chose the guitar (about 5 minutes then...)

[Edgecrusher]

Re: My quest for tone is over. Or is it?

Venture into the other great mysteries of the musical world.
Build a simple tube amp. Build a digital delay or Big Muff clone. Learn the ukulele (don't knock it 'til you've tried it). Do what I'm gonna do next and build an acoustic. Build and learn to play a banjo (see ukulele). Build a complicated tube amp. Experiment with mixing piezo and magnetic pickup impedences and then tells how you did it coz I'm stumped.... Become a bassist until you realise why you chose the guitar (about 5 minutes then...)

Sure but why does he have to? I mean people keep giving all these suggestions for things you could do but why if your happy? Why not just play music why does it have to involve gear tinkering.

[blueman335]

Re: My quest for tone is over. Or is it?

Heh, I really don't need any more guitars right now.

Well yeah, none of us do either, but you don't see that stopping people here. 'Don't need any more guitars'...sounds like the wife talking.

[CTN]

Re: My quest for tone is over. Or is it?

Well yeah, none of us do either, but you don't see that stopping people here. 'Don't need any more guitars'...sounds like the wife talking.

Ain't got a wife. It's the songwriter/musician talking, not the forum-addicted gearwhore.

[beaubrummels]

Re: My quest for tone is over. Or is it?

If you have reached the end of your quest, and achieved your goal, now you must teach.

[CTN]

Re: My quest for tone is over. Or is it?

hmm possibly! or maybe I should unlearn everything I know and revert back to child-like simplicity?

[Chocklit_Thunda]

Re: My quest for tone is over. Or is it?

Sure but why does he have to? I mean people keep giving all these suggestions for things you could do but why if your happy? Why not just play music why does it have to involve gear tinkering.

I just figure that happiness (in this context) soon leads to complacency and then boredom. He may love the sounds now but in a few months he could pick up his number one and not be happy with it because its become normal and mundane to him. Learning something new stops you from being bored and opens up possibilities and broadens your mindset.
Understanding WHY something works is so much more fulfilling than just understanding THAT it works. Hence my suggestions of venturing into the other aspects while he still finds his tone to be at its best. That way he can learn what tweaks affect what sound without battling a terrible sounding instrument at the same time.

[CTN]

Re: My quest for tone is over. Or is it?

I just figure that happiness (in this context) soon leads to complacency and then boredom. He may love the sounds now but in a few months he could pick up his number one and not be happy with it because its become normal and mundane to him. Learning something new stops you from being bored and opens up possibilities and broadens your mindset.
Understanding WHY something works is so much more fulfilling than just understanding THAT it works. Hence my suggestions of venturing into the other aspects while he still finds his tone to be at its best. That way he can learn what tweaks affect what sound without battling a terrible sounding instrument at the same time.

man, I have done more tweaking, tinkering, building and experimenting in the 17 years that I have played guitar than most guitarists do in a lifetime.

If I was getting bored of playing guitar, I can see that what you said might make sense. But I'm not bored of playing now, nor do I ever get bored of it. I'm just satisfied with my tone. I'm glad I don't have to go chasing a sound in my head anymore, because all my guitars are capable of making the sounds I want them to. Boom. End of story. Onwards to some serious music-making without distractions.

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: My quest for tone is over. Or is it?

Just be done man. I've not changed my amp or guitar setup in 8 months. And my pedals I have only removed stuff, not added anything. I'm happy with my sound and everything now and feel much more at ease with music.

[Edgecrusher]

Re: My quest for tone is over. Or is it?

I just figure that happiness (in this context) soon leads to complacency and then boredom. He may love the sounds now but in a few months he could pick up his number one and not be happy with it because its become normal and mundane to him. Learning something new stops you from being bored and opens up possibilities and broadens your mindset.
Understanding WHY something works is so much more fulfilling than just understanding THAT it works. Hence my suggestions of venturing into the other aspects while he still finds his tone to be at its best. That way he can learn what tweaks affect what sound without battling a terrible sounding instrument at the same time.

Sorry I know i quoted you (maybe I shouldnt have) as there were many who offered suggestions on what to tweak not just you, so please dont think I'm picking on you but to arrive at this conclusion you have to make some pretty heavy assumptions. Yes he may get bored in the future he may change his mind but maybe not there is no evidence to say he will and if he does its not like he cant just start tone chasing again. You make the assumption that he doesnt know why his guitar works for him. This is a pretty big assumption from what I can gather just from his posts here I think he knows why he likes what he likes very well I dont think its a mystery to him. In reality right now is the time to focus on music making, specifically cause he isnt distracted by tweaking.

I know from my own experience 5 years or so ago that I was happy with how I sounded and I really quit tone chasing. I stopped reading websites and magazines I didnt even go into the local music store and look I would go about once a year and stock up on strings and picks and leave. Then I moved over seas and I couldnt take a guitar with me so there Iam in Beijing one of the largest cities in the world and now I get to go guitar shopping. With a blank check to get something new so I started poking around websites again and fiddling with stuff as I basically recreate my set up but for 220v. For me all the fiddling and tweaking ive done in the last 3 years since I moved over seas has done nothing but reinforced that I know what works for me and what I like. Its not such a bad place to be in

[Diminished Triad]

Re: My quest for tone is over. Or is it?

If you have reached the end of your quest, and achieved your goal, now you must teach.

+1 for Teach!

[Mr. B]

Re: My quest for tone is over. Or is it?

I've got 6 guitars set up 6 different ways to cover all the tonal ground I like to play. All 6 of those have the best pickup combinations I have found over the years. I still keep one older PRS Santana SE and one Squier strat lying around just to try new pickups in. I guess the latest was the 59/custom hybrid, but now I'm itching to try the Whole Lotta Humbucker set. Haven't seen anything in the single coil world that interested me in a while.

[Grenade]

Re: My quest for tone is over. Or is it?

Since having my Bassman repaired and getting a Power Soak I've done away with all pedals except my blues driver and tuner. The amp is always dimed, if I want different tone I use my guitars controls or grab a different guitar. I am waiting for the Fuglybuckers from blakejcan to get here, they are going in the Schecter in my avatar.