Guitarists.....

[Hellion]

Re: Guitarists.....

Jeff "Skunk" Baxter from the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan and session musician extraordinaire was asked once how important the proper gear was to making great music. He replied, "Not much. Sorry, guys, it's a poor workman that blames his tools." Your basic "tone" is in your head and your hands, not necessarily in the guitar itself. I will grant you that a $30 Silvertone will not and cannot sound like a $1000 instrument, but I don't know a lot of professional or even weekend warrior musicians that play $30 Silvertones. It's obviously important to have gear of a PLAYABLE quality, but it's sad when a kid socks the old man for a bundle because he KNOWS that the new Les Paul will have him playing Dickie Betts licks in a week.... We all know it doesn't work that way.

 

[Jessie Sammler]

Re: Guitarists.....

Obviously the tools have an impact. But not as much as you'd think, judging by the incessant talk here about gear. We can tweak our guitars and PU's all day long, but our fingers are infinitely more important. When you're onstage in a dark, smokey bar, no one knows what kind of guitar you're playing; it's what you do with it that makes them remember you, or forget about you the minute they walk out the door. They don't give a crap about how much you spent. Is that what we should do, say to the audience: "Yeah, I screwed up the last few songs, but do you have any idea what this guitar retails for?"

Unless you're playing a really horrible entry-level guitar, I think it's safe to say that most of our shortcomings as musicians are due to ourselves, not the equipment, which serves as a perennial scapegoat. It's human nature in just about every field, thinking that the solution to what we lack in talent can be made up by what's in our wallets. Although people try every day, you can't buy your way into heaven, and you can't buy your way to being the next Jimi Hendrix.

Reminds me of when I used to play golf. I had a natural knack for just striking the ball very effectively. I had a decent set of McGregor clubs. They weren't anything special, but they weren't junk. I never gave them much thought, because I could hit the ball lousy or great with them -- it was up to me. In never once occurred to me that I could do better with different clubs, because I'd seen the 320 yard, perfectly straight drives and the phenomenally long, deadly accurate puts that I'd nailed with the things. That was proof for me that they were good enough.

With guitars it seems a little different, at least for me. Tone is such a big, big world, and I agonize over the details. For me, I need to like the sound that I'm getting in order to want to play. I'm not professional in any way, I don't gig, and I play only when I want to. It's purely a hobby, and there is no audience and no imperative that I ever have to play a certain song at a certain time. Unlike a lot of folks in this forum, I have the absolute luxury of noodling over my tone like it's a hobby in itself.

Within that context, I sometimes could give a crap about my playing or chops. I often spend weeks or months concerned only with wringing a certain tone out of a certain guitar. Picks, amp settings, pedal knobs, pickups, magnets, adjustments, nuts, bridges, etc., it's all a means to an end in getting that sound that's in my head. When I finally get it, I'll be happy and will go back to playing and learning.

Funny thing is, sometimes I have to hit the strings a certain way, at a certain angle and with just the right amount of force, to get the sound I want, then I'll change a piece of hardware and be able to get it much more easily. Changing the magnets in my '59s from an A5 to an A2 did that, in a big way. Now I play the guitars instead of tearing my hair out over trying to get the sound by accident. If this means I'm a bad player using gear as a crutch, I'm okay with that. I never said I was anything special. I do this all to amuse myself, and so far I've been very successful.

 

[L.W. Badger]

Re: Guitarists.....

Far be it for moi to correct anyone here, but I'm getting to thinking that some people are confusing "tone" with "technique and timing"...........this is what I think about when I hear that "tone is in your fingers"..........

Tone is an acoustic signature, it's like a sound wave and impartial to interferences other that direct mechanical or atmospheric influences. Think about you pickups for a second......not a **** thing you can do to adjust them other than the mechanical adjustments that influence it's frequencies.

It's the sound from your amp once it's processed the sound from your guitar strings and electronics.......or the sound from the body of an acoustic guitar, once it's processed the vibrations of the strings.

What your fingers do is adjust the "strike of the note", through soft or hard gripping/bending/tapping/blending. Timing is tied in with blending... I.E. roll-off descension riffs with hammer-ons well, and someone will say you have a smooth "tone"......no, you have a smooth "technique".

Now, for the ones who admitted to needing to "sound better first"........

Tone is in your head and heart....your mind knows what sound it wants to make, your body and instruments work to make that sound happen for you. When you get that "sound" it inspires you to play/practice/fool around.

I love an instrument with options, because different tones sends me into different directions........and exploration is the key to music.

Think about the times when you sat there with your guitar and amp, and started noodling with the knobs........you dial in a Blues sounding tone, you start playing Blues riffs and what-not. You dial in a Metal tone, now you're shredding like you're Marty Friedman (or make a passable attempt with no witnesses!). Throw in the correct effects and fingering style..........you're
Eddie Van Halen for a moment. See what I'm getting at?

Some people are inspired to play better when they know they sound better, I'll admit that I do. I could never be so inspired to play guitar again if I had gotten an El Cheapo for under $100, and a battery-operated pocket amp.

Instead I went with self-customed hot-rodded Jalopy, and a twin 50 cab.......pure passion and overkill for house-room, but **** if I don't sound good to myself and friends............just won't be opening at Red Rocks anytime soon!!

But the key is Passion, and that's a whole 'nother topic.

Soon I'll get to the point that I can pick up a Sears $50 guitar, and make a passable attempt at a song.........will it sound like a Taylor?...........hell no, but YOU can make Twinkle Twinkle Little Star sound like Stevie Ray Vaughn played it it you have a mind to........Why not? HE did!