Tone is your brain, fingers, and musicality.

Gearjoneser

Gearjoneser

Gear Ho
One of the most correct phrases I've heard is Paul Reed Smith saying "everything effects everything." I agree full with that, as a player who's serious about musicality, but equally into the hobby of amps, guitars, and tone.

So much....no....WAY TOO much is said about gear, and I'm no exception to that, obviously, with the name Gearjoneser. The story behind that is this.....
My old singer, who is the brother of Damageplan's Pat Lachman, Tim Lachman, always laughed at my obsession with my toys...calling me the Gear Joneser.

Yeah, I admit, I'm someone who got caught up with our modern day addiction of music gear, perpetuated by the industry. (all of you can identify with that!)

I have a deal with 2 companies, affiliated with Warner Music, doing lots of guitar playing for music libraries and cartoon pilots. I just heard something I did weeks ago with a tele and my Valvetronix head that sounded similar to Robben Ford, and almost fell back in my chair. It made me really question the gear thing. In my opinion, nice gear is important, but it really doesn't matter one bit in the big picture. It's all about the music. I admit, I was stoned out of my gourd when I did the guitar work, and now I listen back and couldn't care less what I played through. My cheapest guitar and amp sounded better than I think I sound with my best stuff. OK, I'm rambling.

At the end of the day, does it really matter? Some of us on here get crazy about the gear talk, but who cares. Pick up your guitar and pour your soul into it. You'll save a lot of money! LOL
 
Re: Tone is your brain, fingers, and musicality.

Gearjoneser said:
One of the most correct phrases I've heard is Paul Reed Smith saying "everything effects everything." I agree full with that, as a player who's serious about musicality, but equally into the hobby of amps, guitars, and tone.

So much....no....WAY TOO much is said about gear, and I'm no exception to that, obviously, with the name Gearjoneser. The story behind that is this.....
My old singer, who is the brother of Damageplan's Pat Lachman, Tim Lachman, always laughed at my obsession with my toys...calling me the Gear Joneser.

Yeah, I admit, I'm someone who got caught up with our modern day addiction of music gear, perpetuated by the industry. (all of you can identify with that!)

I have a deal with 2 companies, affiliated with Warner Music, doing lots of guitar playing for music libraries and cartoon pilots. I just heard something I did weeks ago with a tele and my Valvetronix head that sounded similar to Robben Ford, and almost fell back in my chair. It made me really question the gear thing. In my opinion, nice gear is important, but it really doesn't matter one bit in the big picture. It's all about the music. I admit, I was stoned out of my gourd when I did the guitar work, and now I listen back and couldn't care less what I played through. My cheapest guitar and amp sounded better than I think I sound with my best stuff. OK, I'm rambling.

At the end of the day, does it really matter? Some of us on here get crazy about the gear talk, but who cares. Pick up your guitar and pour your soul into it. You'll save a lot of money! LOL
Click to expand...

I totally agree. A good example is Jimmy Page's playing and tone on Led Zeppelin I, with a $300.00 Telecaster pluged into a Supro amp.
 
Re: Tone is your brain, fingers, and musicality.

Great thread coming from the fingers of this forum's official Gear Ho.

This quote is brilliant:

as a player who's serious about musicality, but .. into the hobby of amps, guitars, and tone.
Click to expand...

Whilst it's important to strike an appropriate balance between the two, favouring the former - most of us enjoying keeping the gear in mind, even if you ignore the tonal benefits conferred by higher range gear, and instead focus solely upon on the droolworthiness or 'vibe' of each piece of equipment.

Guitars and amps are tools, but they are still expressions of ourselves even when they aren't being played.
 
Re: Tone is your brain, fingers, and musicality.

Rainmaker said:
Still... I thought this was funny.
Click to expand...

I think it's funny too. I see threads that split hairs about tone, and I'm just as guilty as anyone, but who gives a crap?

I'll say, listen to a Custom Shop Strat with Surfers into a Matchless, then play just as happily with someone else's guitar and a modeler, and on tape you'd never know it. Sometimes, it's even better because it's less refined and more raw.

It's the music and the fingers. I hear that come out of the mouths of greats, and they're right. I mean...who wouldn't rather hear Brent Mason playing a Squier tele into a Carvin Bel Air than some hack with $5000 guitar into a Divided by 13 halfstack?
 
Re: Tone is your brain, fingers, and musicality.

And Rainmaker......here's the Gear Ho coming out again. LOL

You stumbled upon a great strat.....finding a Custom Shop 60's strat in New Zealand/Australia.

The best thing you could do is NOT buy more guitars....just put together pickguards loaded with different combos, and continue to use them in that guitar! LOL

OK, Gearjoneser mode OFF. hahahaha
 
Re: Tone is your brain, fingers, and musicality.

hmmmm, where is the brain,fingers & musicality forum? :banghead:
 
Re: Tone is your brain, fingers, and musicality.

I could stick to my Vox clone amp and the Carlsbro 100 watter...
A 4x12 and my single 1x12 cab...
A "few" effects and the guitars I have now!
 
Re: Tone is your brain, fingers, and musicality.

i can't agree with that completely. of course a bad guitarist will sound bad on good equipment, and a good guitarist will sound good on bad equipment. but when it comes to actually good guitar tone, equipment has a lot to do with it.

vox valvetronix are great sounding amps. not as good at many tube amps, but better than most solid states, and very close to warm tube sounds.

personally, i think jimmy page wasn't a very good guitar player. he sounded sloppy and his tone wasn't anything to write home about. i don't care if he played a dimestore tele or limited edition les paul, he still kind of sucked. all credit to him. he wrote legendary music, but his playing ability was lacking - a lot.

look at hendrix, eric johnson, clapton, beck, malmsteen, gilmour, EVH, they all played strats and even used marshall amps at some point or another. when gilmour did his pulse tour, his tone was superb. compared to his earlier tele stuff, you'd probably have to agree that his tone improved quite a bit.

as evidenced by the following links, do you really think johnson or gilmour would sound that good on a mexican strat and a crate solid state? sure they would sound great, but not that great. hell no! i don't think so. johnson's got the holy grail of tone and that dude uses fender, dumble, and marshal plexis. i think good equipment gives you a better, fuller tone, and and edge in your playing.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mHjDHdu8IQM
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8OAImvLpSN4&mode=related&search=
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Fn8xoD5dAyM
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3W6hBI1SAL4
 
Re: Tone is your brain, fingers, and musicality.

Rid said:
^pfff
If you like that tiresome Fender BF clean yeah;)
Click to expand...

You were quick to assume I use a blackface.

Silverface... and it's a real vintage amp not the reissue. The Twin I also have is great for everything.
 
Re: Tone is your brain, fingers, and musicality.

In fact nuts to this thread. Just as the great "guy" at the music shop said.

"You can't get a decent tone out of any amp, especially a marshall unless you have a noise gate, compressor/sustainer and and an overdrive"

[/sarcasm, but quote is authentic]

Remember this: Nobody ever built a statue of a music critic.
 
Re: Tone is your brain, fingers, and musicality.

'sall good. I just saw your gloss and had a bit of a joke.
 
Re: Tone is your brain, fingers, and musicality.

That is because I make them....;)
And it has been some decades since I found out, that the amp needs to suit you and sound good before any effects will be of much use!
 
Re: Tone is your brain, fingers, and musicality.

true...and not true. Ask a classical player if an inadequate instrument is capable of doing justice to the music---the answer is no. When Parker recorded with an alto held together with tape, the music suffered. If Wes had played a Harmony archtop, nobody would have listened...if you want to create sound at a certain level, you need instruments (i.e. guitars, amps, effects, etc) capable of doing that. That being said, the OCD that surrounds certain topics just takes time away from making music...which is the goal.
 
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