Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

['59]

From most to least, this is how important I view the different parts of a rig to a guitars sound:

Pedals
Amplifier
Pedal/Amplifier settings
Guitar wiring
Tuning
Scale length
String material/gauge
Pickups
Pickup height adjustment
Magnet swaps
Polepieces
Plectrum
Saddle material
Neck wood
Cable to amp resistance
Nut and fret material
Pot values
Body wood
Sustain block/stoptail
Tuners

I know that the guitar player him/herself is easily one of the most important parts of the signal, but I don't know where exactly that would fall in my list given that not even the best chops can turn a muddy guitar to a bright one like a change in amp, pedal, or pickups can.

I also know that a lot of you will get on me for putting wood so low on the list, but I feel that the effect of wood is often times exaggerated because it makes up such a large part of a guitar structurally, but people forget that it's one of the few parts of a guitar that passively absorb energy (especially considering wood is always at least one component removed- frets, bridge, etc.- from the string) instead of the items higher on the list that have a more active part in the tone by adding to that energy or being an electrical part of the system.



How do y'all think I did on the list? And if you actually read the parts after the list, bonus points for you!

 

[Mincer]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

The player can override a lot of things on the list. He/she has more to do with the overall EQ of a guitar than many components.

 

['59]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

I mentioned that in my first post, but the way I see it, the player themself would be in a bracket next to the list, not a part of the list itself.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

Looks generally very good.

 

[bloughlin16]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

Although I know you probably included it in with the amplifier, I would say the speaker cabinet and the microphone on it (presuming you're in a studio/live environment) affect the tone more than pretty much anything other than the player. I've run different amps into the same cabinet/mic combo or impulse response and the results were hardly night and day, but I've run the same amp into different cabinets and heard a HUGE difference.

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

For me it's attitude, craftsmahship, pickups, amps, picks. All the rest have minor impact.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

I’d separate out the Amplifier into Speaker, Cabinet, Preamp, Power Amp, Tubes/etc.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

Oriental rug

Ah yes, Tone is in the rug. More specifically, how your bare feet interact with the rug.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

Persian Rug

Not just a dang bath mat

But I have seen teal bath mats with incredible bluesy tones

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

Don't forget to add the room into the equation if you're playing live.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

I was gonna say, apart from the rug, it is the fans blowin' the hair around.

 

[ibanezrocks]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

Boss metal zone

Sent from my BlackBerry using Tapatalk

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

The amp is the main ingredient. Pedals are spice. Guitars are forks and knives.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

The singer is the dog whining for scraps.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

I was gonna say, apart from the rug, it is the fans blowin' the hair around.

Fans blowing

I'm wit cha

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

The amp is the main ingredient. Pedals are spice. Guitars are forks and knives.

The 7th String is the little dessert spoon that nobody wants.

 

[LLL]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

Q: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

A: Practice.

 

[devastone]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

The speaker is a big part of the sound, unless you are counting that in the "amplifier" line. One of the biggest tonal changes you can make.

 

[Francois]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

The pickups and also the quality of the neck should definitely be higher in the OP list.

And Mincer is right : the player.
Hendrix sounded like Hendrix also when he played an SG or a V...

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Most Important Parts of a Guitar's Sound?

1. Outboard e.q. unit (if there is one)
2. Amp tone settings
3. Amp headroom, i.e. compression and distortion levels: volume (or volume and gain on master volume amps)
4. Reverb
5. Pickup output
6. Technique (mainly do you hit heavily or softly, but other things too, such as how, and with what, you pluck)
7. Strings

...are the overwhelming factors IME. Other things might matter and might not. But these are the big ones, and also the ones that can easily be proven to have certain, predictable, and hence controllable, effects.