Listen to this guy about tone

UberMetalDood

New member
I love this guy's playing and he's a pretty nice guy too. Check out what he has to say about getting a good tone and enjoy his chops.
 
Re: Listen to this guy about tone

I really, really dislike the way he took Afro Blue. He basically turned it into a standard shredder's backing track. When done right, it's a wonderful tune. He should have done it as a swing. God, I was almost done typing this and he went back into it. I really can't stand it.

But yeah, he's right. It's all in how you play. Personally, when I play a different guitar, or a different amp, I play differently. I hit the strings differently, and my left hand isn't the same either. I kind of play in a way that accentuates things that make that guitar/amp unique.
 
Re: Listen to this guy about tone

I really, really dislike the way he took Afro Blue. He basically turned it into a standard shredder's backing track. When done right, it's a wonderful tune. He should have done it as a swing. God, I was almost done typing this and he went back into it. I really can't stand it.

But yeah, he's right. It's all in how you play. Personally, when I play a different guitar, or a different amp, I play differently. I hit the strings differently, and my left hand isn't the same either. I kind of play in a way that accentuates things that make that guitar/amp unique.

Yeah well he did say beforehand that he was going to play it "disco style," "just for fun." He also said that you start off with high quality gear and apply your technique to get the tone.
 
Re: Listen to this guy about tone

I enjoyed that. He's totally right though; it is all in how *you* play. Gear will always take a second seat to that.

It's always made me cringe when these guys blow tens of thousands of dollars thinking that they're one pedal away from magically not sucking anymore. If they'd put the same amount of time they spend gear hunting into practicing maybe they'd be able to get through a simple pentatonic blues scale without effing up a note.
 
Re: Listen to this guy about tone

Yeah well he did say beforehand that he was going to play it "disco style," "just for fun." He also said that you start off with high quality gear and apply your technique to get the tone.

Whoops, must have missed that.
 
Re: Listen to this guy about tone

first.."tone" and an Ibby with a Floyd are oxymorons. Tone is in an old handcrafted vintage Strat with vintage singlecoils or a Paul with old PAF's
"Sound""..okay...NOT 'tone"
Maybe he gets a great ""sound"with a good gainy amp and a modern voiced humbucker pickup( tight, articulate, thick, cutting..etc...that aint "tone", thats 'sound").
 
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Re: Listen to this guy about tone

first.."tone" and an Ibby with a Floyd are oxymorons. Tone is in an old handcrafted vintage Strat with vintage singlecoils or a Paul with old PAF's
"Sound""..okay...NOT 'tone"
Maybe he gets a great ""sound"with a good gainy amp and a modern voiced humbucker pickup( tight, articulate, thick, cutting..etc...that aint "tone", thats 'sound").

Super+Facepalm.jpg
 
Re: Listen to this guy about tone

He is saying that you can get any tone from any decent, quality setup if you are practical and use your head. It really is about your feel, how you set up the gear, and the way you play your music. Your gear is just tools after all.
 
Re: Listen to this guy about tone

Howdy,

25 years ago an old C&W git-tawr picker told me: "Young feller, it hain't the arrow, it's the Injun". He was pretty much correct.
 
Re: Listen to this guy about tone

Great chops, but I'm with Jerry. I enjoy listening to a wide variety of guitar tones(many I would never bother with for my playing style but like them nonetheless), but that kind of fusion-esque compressed modern pop jazz sound I've never been able to stand for more than 2 minutes. I had a Larry Carlton phase I went through back around 1990, and man love the guys playing, but II got so sick of the sound- it's so un-dynamic. Any decent modeller or a tube screamer in front of a small tube combo will do that type of sound.
 
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Re: Listen to this guy about tone

That's tone. Maybe not tone you like, but tone anyway.


Stick a Mick Ronson type raw Les Paul tone on that backing track, and you'd generate crap. Context counts, and in a tune like that, the Santana-ish tone is just right.
 
Re: Listen to this guy about tone

Great chops, but I'm with Jerry. I enjoy listening to a wide variety of guitar tones(many I would never bother with for my playing style but like them nonetheless), but that kind of fusion-esque compressed modern pop jazz sound I've never been able to stand for more than 2 minutes. I had a Larry Carlton phase I went through back around 1990, and man love the guys playing, but II got so sick of the sound- it's so un-dynamic. Any decent modeller or a tube screamer in front of a small tube combo will do that type of sound.

You can't really compare the new wave of fusion guitarists like Guthrie Govan and these kinds of guys with Larry Carlton. They've definitely moved away from the mostly clean tones and arch tops and incorporated heavier styles. I find the new wave of fusion guitarists much easier to listen to than Larry Carlton or Allan Holdsworth (with all due respect to those great guitar players abilities).
 
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