With electric guitars it impossible for any one person to find that perfect tone you have in your head and never achieve. There are so many freakin components that effect your tone on electrics that it stops you from geting the magic tone you want and it pisses me off and I am thinking of just ditching electric guitar and taking the easy way out and buying an acoustic. Simple, pure tone with no hassles taking that tone you want away.
Sometimes I feel like stopping my search the the perfect tone / doing it the easy w
- Thread starter wyldeguy
- Start date
Andrew Lamprecht
Minion of One
Re: Sometimes I feel like stopping my search the the perfect tone / doing it the easy
Nah, I am getting essentially my tone. Keep working at finding stuff that fits you and keep actually playing..... too many people forget to play while they are on their "tone quest."
Nah, I am getting essentially my tone. Keep working at finding stuff that fits you and keep actually playing..... too many people forget to play while they are on their "tone quest."
eschoendorff
New member
Re: Sometimes I feel like stopping my search the the perfect tone / doing it the easy
Good luck with the acoustics. You'll be chasing tone with those as well.
Good luck with the acoustics. You'll be chasing tone with those as well.
TheLivingDead
Dawn Of The Shred
Re: Sometimes I feel like stopping my search the the perfect tone / doing it the easy
Your heart ain't in it.
Sell your ****.
Your heart ain't in it.
Sell your ****.
Agileguy_101
Master of his Domain
Re: Sometimes I feel like stopping my search the the perfect tone / doing it the easy
+1
You'll regret selling all your electric ****, no doubt about it. After all, you can't get the EVH sound on a Martin.
+1
You'll regret selling all your electric ****, no doubt about it. After all, you can't get the EVH sound on a Martin.
Vengeance
New member
Re: Sometimes I feel like stopping my search the the perfect tone / doing it the easy
No kidding right?
Probably 100 times more difficult then electric.
No kidding right?
Probably 100 times more difficult then electric.
J
Jessie's ghost
Guest
Re: Sometimes I feel like stopping my search the the perfect tone / doing it the easy
Yep. As much as I crack on people who keep insisting tone is in the hands, I kind of see it this way: The potential for tone is in the gear, but it's up to you to bring it out. Think of it like a can of soup. There's delicious soup inside, but you won't get to enjoy it without a can opener.
Yep. As much as I crack on people who keep insisting tone is in the hands, I kind of see it this way: The potential for tone is in the gear, but it's up to you to bring it out. Think of it like a can of soup. There's delicious soup inside, but you won't get to enjoy it without a can opener.
FuseG4
Our Neighbor Totoro
Re: Sometimes I feel like stopping my search the the perfect tone / doing it the easy
your idea of perfect tone must be some combination of tones, or in between some tones you have already heard somewhere, otherwise you wouldn't be able to clearly conceive such a tone. how could you imagine a tone that doesn't sound like ANY tone you've ever heard?
You're imagining a Unicorn, when a unicorn is just a horse with a horn. You know what a horse looks like, and what a horn looks like. A unicorn doesn't exist but that didn't stop you from imagining what one would be like.
Therefore I conclude that with whatever you hear in your head MUST BE attainable with some combination of gear, because the tone in your head must resemble SOME KIND of tone already made with existing gear. You just haven't found the combination yet.
Find the tonal components that mix to create the sound that you want. There's something you can mix, like the horse and the horn, to come up with a tone you want.
A better analogy is, what if you were looking at a rainbow, but in the shades between blue and green, a small section of color was just nothing. You could imagine what that missing color would be by looking at the two colors next to that empty space. The tone you imagine is that color. Go find the two colors (the gear) right next to it, and come up with that color (tone)
So now that I've established that there are no "unobtainable tones"...
be patient, and keep learning, and learn to enjoy tones you can get that are good (even if they aren't the ones in your head), until you find that tone.
your idea of perfect tone must be some combination of tones, or in between some tones you have already heard somewhere, otherwise you wouldn't be able to clearly conceive such a tone. how could you imagine a tone that doesn't sound like ANY tone you've ever heard?
You're imagining a Unicorn, when a unicorn is just a horse with a horn. You know what a horse looks like, and what a horn looks like. A unicorn doesn't exist but that didn't stop you from imagining what one would be like.
Therefore I conclude that with whatever you hear in your head MUST BE attainable with some combination of gear, because the tone in your head must resemble SOME KIND of tone already made with existing gear. You just haven't found the combination yet.
Find the tonal components that mix to create the sound that you want. There's something you can mix, like the horse and the horn, to come up with a tone you want.
A better analogy is, what if you were looking at a rainbow, but in the shades between blue and green, a small section of color was just nothing. You could imagine what that missing color would be by looking at the two colors next to that empty space. The tone you imagine is that color. Go find the two colors (the gear) right next to it, and come up with that color (tone)
So now that I've established that there are no "unobtainable tones"...
be patient, and keep learning, and learn to enjoy tones you can get that are good (even if they aren't the ones in your head), until you find that tone.
Chickenwings
Alnico 6/8
Re: Sometimes I feel like stopping my search the the perfect tone / doing it the easy
nice one ace!
...hes right of course because acoustics are infinitely more responsive to your touch than electrics, so apart from woods and construction etc, you have the endless variety of tone you can manipulate with your fingers.
Having said that.....your electric tone will improve from spending time on an acoustic (especially on a classical), because a string is a string whatever its attached to, and you will develop a lot more timbral possibilities by virtue of how you touch the string.
nice one ace!
...hes right of course because acoustics are infinitely more responsive to your touch than electrics, so apart from woods and construction etc, you have the endless variety of tone you can manipulate with your fingers.
Having said that.....your electric tone will improve from spending time on an acoustic (especially on a classical), because a string is a string whatever its attached to, and you will develop a lot more timbral possibilities by virtue of how you touch the string.
ItsaBass
New member
Re: Sometimes I feel like stopping my search the the perfect tone / doing it the easy
No, it isn't! You can just ask for help getting it. There are lots of great suggestions to be had here. It is not anywhere near impossible. And while acoustics give you fewer options for tonal manipulation with gizmos and what not, that does not mean it will make it any easier to get exactly what you want...probably harder, in fact.
No, it isn't! You can just ask for help getting it. There are lots of great suggestions to be had here. It is not anywhere near impossible. And while acoustics give you fewer options for tonal manipulation with gizmos and what not, that does not mean it will make it any easier to get exactly what you want...probably harder, in fact.
crusty philtrum
Vintageologist
Re: Sometimes I feel like stopping my search the the perfect tone / doing it the easy
If you have tone issues with an electric guitar, there is a lot you can do via guitar and amp controls and mods etc. and of course pedals and effects too.
With an acoustic guitar, not so much. Beyond a few minor adjustments (bone nut, saddle, different strings) and some playing techniques, you'll be needing to look for another instrument. And the acoustic WILL bring the player's playing styles to the fore.
In some ways, finding 'your' tone on an electric guitar is a confusing issue because, at least early in the journey, there is so much emphasis on gear, which tends to make a player inclined to rotate through a lot of different equipment before they really know their own innate sound and style (something which usually takes many years). It seems to me that further along the journey, more experienced players will go to any gear and kinda dial up the same kind of sound they always do, because they have a concept in their head of what they want to sound like .... the gear still plays a part, but a lesser part.
If you have tone issues with an electric guitar, there is a lot you can do via guitar and amp controls and mods etc. and of course pedals and effects too.
With an acoustic guitar, not so much. Beyond a few minor adjustments (bone nut, saddle, different strings) and some playing techniques, you'll be needing to look for another instrument. And the acoustic WILL bring the player's playing styles to the fore.
In some ways, finding 'your' tone on an electric guitar is a confusing issue because, at least early in the journey, there is so much emphasis on gear, which tends to make a player inclined to rotate through a lot of different equipment before they really know their own innate sound and style (something which usually takes many years). It seems to me that further along the journey, more experienced players will go to any gear and kinda dial up the same kind of sound they always do, because they have a concept in their head of what they want to sound like .... the gear still plays a part, but a lesser part.
ehdwuld
A Ficus
Re: Sometimes I feel like stopping my search the the perfect tone / doing it the easy
maybe the tone in his head is that of a flute
I once heard a guitar solo that sounded just like a saxophone
it was at a Fabulous Thunderbirds comeback at a bar in Phoenix
with Kid Ramone taking Jimmy Vaughn's place
he knew it sounded like a saxophone
I knew it sounded like a saxophone
durned recorded saxophone
thats what it was too
maybe the tone in his head is that of a flute
I once heard a guitar solo that sounded just like a saxophone
it was at a Fabulous Thunderbirds comeback at a bar in Phoenix
with Kid Ramone taking Jimmy Vaughn's place
he knew it sounded like a saxophone
I knew it sounded like a saxophone
durned recorded saxophone
thats what it was too
Diego
New member
Re: Sometimes I feel like stopping my search the the perfect tone / doing it the easy
Getting the right sound with an acoustic is just as bad as with electrics.
And you've got nothing else to blame there. No 'oh crap this pedal is too fizzy' or 'the speaker isn't broken in yet' or 'this cab sucks'. Just you and your fingers.
If you're that easy to frustrate, you're gonna commit suicide if you go acoustic.
Forget about the tone and play that electric.
I think it's John Suhr who said "Practice usually cures most tone issues"?
Getting the right sound with an acoustic is just as bad as with electrics.
And you've got nothing else to blame there. No 'oh crap this pedal is too fizzy' or 'the speaker isn't broken in yet' or 'this cab sucks'. Just you and your fingers.
If you're that easy to frustrate, you're gonna commit suicide if you go acoustic.
Forget about the tone and play that electric.
I think it's John Suhr who said "Practice usually cures most tone issues"?
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Sometimes I feel like stopping my search the the perfect tone / doing it the easy
True. Theyre's much more to an electric to discover, and use to your advantage. I've almost never bought a guitar that came with the tones I wanted (and I've owned many over the decades); at the minimum, I'll swap a magnet or pot, or do something. Many times it takes a few different PU's to fit the wood right. And it all pays off. When I was young and didn't know what to do, I viewed this as a nightmare. I've since learned to stop being helpless, and have taken control of my set-ups and tones; now I get my guitars sounding the way I want them to. I get compliments on my tones every time I'm on stage. I enjoy the process of tweaking and learning. It's part of playing guitar. If you don't do that, you either have guitars that don't sound the way you want them to, or you're on an endless search to stumble across that magic guitar.
All of us have different ideas on what tones we what, so manufacturers can't possibly please all of us at the same time. That's why there's a healthy aftermarket in replacement PU's, electronics, and hardware. Lots of choices to get just what you want. All you have to do is learn a few basic things (like from this forum that's full of practical info and people willing to help) and put it to use. I don't know how much easier it could be. The alternative is less choices, and many more guys who don't have, and can't get, the tones they want.
True. Theyre's much more to an electric to discover, and use to your advantage. I've almost never bought a guitar that came with the tones I wanted (and I've owned many over the decades); at the minimum, I'll swap a magnet or pot, or do something. Many times it takes a few different PU's to fit the wood right. And it all pays off. When I was young and didn't know what to do, I viewed this as a nightmare. I've since learned to stop being helpless, and have taken control of my set-ups and tones; now I get my guitars sounding the way I want them to. I get compliments on my tones every time I'm on stage. I enjoy the process of tweaking and learning. It's part of playing guitar. If you don't do that, you either have guitars that don't sound the way you want them to, or you're on an endless search to stumble across that magic guitar.
All of us have different ideas on what tones we what, so manufacturers can't possibly please all of us at the same time. That's why there's a healthy aftermarket in replacement PU's, electronics, and hardware. Lots of choices to get just what you want. All you have to do is learn a few basic things (like from this forum that's full of practical info and people willing to help) and put it to use. I don't know how much easier it could be. The alternative is less choices, and many more guys who don't have, and can't get, the tones they want.
SirJackdeFuzz
New member
Re: Sometimes I feel like stopping my search the the perfect tone / doing it the easy
Hahahaha, dont fool yerself . . .
Die Hard acoustic gurus are just as fanatical about their tone as we are.
PS : imho, EVERY guitarist should have at least one good quality acoutic, at all time !
Hahahaha, dont fool yerself . . .
Die Hard acoustic gurus are just as fanatical about their tone as we are.
PS : imho, EVERY guitarist should have at least one good quality acoutic, at all time !
ImmortalSix
John Mayer's Mankini
Re: Sometimes I feel like stopping my search the the perfect tone / doing it the easy
Get out of your head and get off the internet.
Good tone comes from command of the instrument.
Listen carefully - I'm not repeating the "tone is in the fingers" bullcrap for the millionth time.
Command of the instrument.
Get out of your head and get off the internet.
Good tone comes from command of the instrument.
Listen carefully - I'm not repeating the "tone is in the fingers" bullcrap for the millionth time.
Command of the instrument.