Fingers and tone

[Quencho092]

i know many people say that the key to a great tone is the way one plays and his finger dynamics. I believe this to a certain extent, but what is everyone's take on this.

I've noticed how i'm able to put more of my style into songs that i learned a long while back and make it all sound smoother and more elaborate, but that's with my strat. Does equipment inspire/change the way a person plays that much?

 

[Curly]

Re: Fingers and tone

I've adapted a lot of right hand technique on electric from playing acoustic ... I think you really need to learn fingerpicking, flatpicking, jazz style alternate picking - all those techniques that give your playing more variety, interest, and dynamics

several jazz books teach you a plucking technique for chords that works much better than picking for playing some of those open voicings

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Fingers and tone

i actually began my guitar quest on a spanish acoustic and have been fingerpicking forever, but since it has been quite a while since i picked one up i have lost much of this.

I use my fingers often when im doing clean blues stuff in the style of riviera paradise in conjunction with the pick to play 2 strings that are not adjacent. But i have a long way to go....

 

[ledzepp29]

Re: Fingers and tone

I've noticed when I play late at night which is my favorite time to play because I seem to play much better, my tone is much better. I think its because I'm tired and mellow and calm, which makes my phrasing much more pleasing and my tone very soft and mellow. Maybe I'm just wierd

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Fingers and tone

I've noticed when I play late at night which is my favorite time to play because I seem to play much better, my tone is much better. I think its because I'm tired and mellow and calm, which makes my phrasing much more pleasing and my tone very soft and mellow. Maybe I'm just wierd

Dude, you read my mind! After having dinner and showering and it's around 10pm-1am and i grab my guitar unamplified and gently start running through some improv my tone is amazing. It works great after being really really exhausted from doing something during the day.

This happens alot at my band's jams. Today we started playing at 3 and we finished at around 8. We played outside under my drummer's carport and everything toned down nicely as the sun set and night came. We were all pretty tired and started up a jazz jam with my drummer using brushes.

It was an amazing jam and we all had our souls in the music, i figure the mood was right and us being tired gave an extra touch to the way we delivered our sound. :smoker:

 

[Armotron]

Re: Fingers and tone

I play best, after I watch any awesome guitar player DVD, like SRV, or hendrix.

I suck in the mornin tho... but im usually good after ive been playing about an hr or so.

 

[aleclee]

Re: Fingers and tone

Depends on what the fingers are focused on. IMHO right hand hand technique makes a much bigger impact on timbre than left hand technique.

I do find myself taking differeent approaches when playing different amps/guitars. I even noticed it today when I was checking out different guitars with my new (to me) Rivera.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Fingers and tone

I play best, after I watch any awesome guitar player DVD, like SRV, or hendrix.

I suck in the mornin tho... but im usually good after ive been playing about an hr or so.

In my other band (in the style of iron maiden/pre- kill 'em all metallica) we always watch a DVD of some sort before we play. We saw G3 live in denver and that really cranked me up a notch to unleash the shred chop action.... :saeek:

I suck horrifically (in my standards) in band class. I have it first period (8-9:15) and it's in an extremely cold, large 3rd story room. Just the cold air itself freezes up my hands and makes playing what i usually play at home near impossible. I also wake up at around 7 so that doesnt help much either.

 

[Armotron]

Re: Fingers and tone

In my other band (in the style of iron maiden/pre- kill 'em all metallica) we always watch a DVD of some sort before we play. We saw G3 live in denver and that really cranked me up a notch to unleash the shred chop action.... :saeek:

ya... SRV gets me CRANKED!!! :dance:

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Fingers and tone

it's really refreshing to see so many young ones turning to the great blues master SRV. Seems like blues is making another comeback....

 

[Mincer]

Re: Fingers and tone

SRV doesnt really do anything for me. Some Holdswoth, King Crimson, or Steve Morse though..mmmmm

back to the topic, i think tone is a combo of too many things to just pin on the fingers.
Equipment is a factor, because if a player *feels* more comfortable, they will play better.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Fingers and tone

well you cant make hi gain just happen with your hands you need gear to back that kind of tone up, but the soul of your tone comes from your hands. I guess this shows more in slowhand blues styles.

 

[Jeffrec]

Re: Fingers and tone

I've adapted a lot of right hand technique on electric from playing acoustic ... I think you really need to learn fingerpicking, flatpicking, jazz style alternate picking - all those techniques that give your playing more variety, interest, and dynamics

several jazz books teach you a plucking technique for chords that works much better than picking for playing some of those open voicings

That's an excellent point. You can add a lot by improving your right-hand tech. As for the fretting hand, I think that ultimatley your personal tone lies here. After a while, without thinking about it, you naturally use more or less pressure, adjust the speed of your vibrato (if you use it at all), etc. & it becomes "your" tone, even if your playing someone elses riffs.

Jeff

 

[Bluesman]

Re: Fingers and tone

I did asked myself the same question. So I took a song and played the lead.
After that, my friend did the same thing. He's a fantastic guitar player.
With the same guitar, the same song, the same effect, he was sounding so good.
The difference between him and me? The way he touch his strings. I was not able to sound as good as he was even though we had identical set up. Yes, a guitar player makes at least 50 per cent of his tone.

 

[joelap]

Re: Fingers and tone

Yes, a guitar player makes at least 50 per cent of his tone.

+1

 

[Hellion]

Re: Fingers and tone

The majority of your "tone" is in your hands and your head. The equipment that you're running through dictates the final result, but the way that notes are attacked, played, etc, is dependent on yourself.
Way back in '78, Eddie Van Halen was interviewed by Guitar Player Magazine. He related an instance when Van Halen was opening for Ted Nugent, and Ted asked if he could just plug into EVH's rig for a bit. The tech told him, "Go ahead, man. It's gonna sound just like you with your Dual Showman."
In another related incident, my bass player & I had a friend that was positively anal about his tone. He spent around $1500 at the time acquiring a Mesa Boogie and we went to see his band perform. At break, we congratulated him, he had just spent a grand and a half to sound just like he did with his Twin.