vernplum
New member
When I started playing the guitar, one of the players I really wanted to sound like was Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top. Dunno how many of you are familiar with ZZ Top, but he always had a killer guitar sound; fat, singing, sustaining and 'bursting with flavour'.
I went to the guitar store and said "I want to sound like Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top!". At this time, I had no idea what 'tone' was.
The guy said. "Ok, here's a chorus pedal" and he gave me a cheap Strat and plugged me into a solid state Marshall practice amp.
It sucked. I didn't sound like Billy Gibbons, so I told him. He said "ok - try this - it's an overdrive pedal."
I tried it. It still sucked, but it was 'kinda metal' sounding so I bought it. I didn't know better. I still didn't sound like Billy Gibbons, but a genesis had started in my head. Over the last 19 or 20 years, I've spent loads trying all kinds of multi-effects, pedals, rack units, guitars, amps etc and only in the last 5 years have I really known what it is that I should be looking for. That is, tone.
What is tone? It's hard to describe. We don't have many good words to describe it. Everybody seeks a slightly different sound, but me, I seek a sound that sustains, where each note is distinct in fast passages, has a ringing treble register, a round fat middle not muddied by too much bass and a nice overall 'buttery' smooth sound where the notes meld into one another when you want them to. I learned this the hard way, by listening to all my favourite players, and wasting a sh*tload of money on stuff that never improved my tone. Of course, I didn't know what I was looking for, so how could I find it? I know now. Know what you're looking for.
Tone comes primarily from your hands; from you fingers - your control of the string - from your vibrato; from your picking hand. Then it comes from a good guitar made out of good wood, and if you play electric, then it next comes from a good amp - preferably valve. Don't waste thousands of dollars like I did. Look for these things first. Effects and all those junk are great, but they can never disguise bad tone; as soon as you play a line, everyone will know.
Players I think have great lead tone (to name a few)
Eric Johnson
Yngwie
Steve Vai
Allan Holdsworth
Gary Moore
Players who I *personally* think (you may not agree) have sucky tone:
Joe Satriani (thin)
Carlos Santana (trebly!)
Keith Richard (think 'Sympathy for the Devil')
Graham Coxon (the guy from Blur - worst sounding and played solo ever on 'House in the Country')
I'm drunk, but hey - my typing was great!
I went to the guitar store and said "I want to sound like Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top!". At this time, I had no idea what 'tone' was.
The guy said. "Ok, here's a chorus pedal" and he gave me a cheap Strat and plugged me into a solid state Marshall practice amp.
It sucked. I didn't sound like Billy Gibbons, so I told him. He said "ok - try this - it's an overdrive pedal."
I tried it. It still sucked, but it was 'kinda metal' sounding so I bought it. I didn't know better. I still didn't sound like Billy Gibbons, but a genesis had started in my head. Over the last 19 or 20 years, I've spent loads trying all kinds of multi-effects, pedals, rack units, guitars, amps etc and only in the last 5 years have I really known what it is that I should be looking for. That is, tone.
What is tone? It's hard to describe. We don't have many good words to describe it. Everybody seeks a slightly different sound, but me, I seek a sound that sustains, where each note is distinct in fast passages, has a ringing treble register, a round fat middle not muddied by too much bass and a nice overall 'buttery' smooth sound where the notes meld into one another when you want them to. I learned this the hard way, by listening to all my favourite players, and wasting a sh*tload of money on stuff that never improved my tone. Of course, I didn't know what I was looking for, so how could I find it? I know now. Know what you're looking for.
Tone comes primarily from your hands; from you fingers - your control of the string - from your vibrato; from your picking hand. Then it comes from a good guitar made out of good wood, and if you play electric, then it next comes from a good amp - preferably valve. Don't waste thousands of dollars like I did. Look for these things first. Effects and all those junk are great, but they can never disguise bad tone; as soon as you play a line, everyone will know.
Players I think have great lead tone (to name a few)
Eric Johnson
Yngwie
Steve Vai
Allan Holdsworth
Gary Moore
Players who I *personally* think (you may not agree) have sucky tone:
Joe Satriani (thin)
Carlos Santana (trebly!)
Keith Richard (think 'Sympathy for the Devil')
Graham Coxon (the guy from Blur - worst sounding and played solo ever on 'House in the Country')
I'm drunk, but hey - my typing was great!
