Are You The Master Of Your Own (Tone) Domain?

[kingsleyd]

I'll bet that when you walk into the studio, that choice will be made after a lot of thought, and a lot of trying stuff out. And it will be very particular. And the particular guitar/amp will matter.

What say you?

That's actually a trenchant question, since I'm finally getting my studio floor redone tomorrow so I can set everything back up.

The answer is yes... ...and no. It varies. Sometimes I have a pretty clear idea of what I want in a part, and the choice of guitar/amp/whatever is obvious. Sometimes there are a couplefew options that might work, so I try 'em both/all and see what sticks to the wall best. Other times I have no bloody idea, so I just grab something and have at it then try something else then try something else... That's not very time-efficient, but in my case time-efficiency is not usually a priority. If it were, I'd do what you do and limit my choices. For example, if I were to go into an actual studio to record my next CD (which has been discussed and even planned, but it has yet to actually happen) I'd probably only bring three guitars and a couple of small amps. Amp-wise, I know the studio would have other options, and guitar-wise, well, I can always do overdubs later...

 

[Brad737]

I'm not the greatest guitar player, so I make up for it by being a gear hound. But I'd say at least 80% of the time, I plug into a modded, attenuated Plexi. I make no bones about the fact that I got the amp solely to get the tone from Van Halen's 1st album. The guys who've heard it says it's the closest they've ever heard. So yeah, I absolutely was chasing EVH's sound, even though I don't play like him. Growing up in the 80s, EVERYBODY seemed to be trying to rip off Eddie. I made a conscious decision to not do that, even though I dearly love his playing.

What I've ended up doing is tweaking knobs from the "EVH setting". Ed's early tone was actually a bit bright. What I do now, is turn up the Bass and Mids a little bit, and drop the Treble just a touch. It's not as bright and aggressive, but it sounds killer with almost all of my guitars. Seasoned ears will still notice it's a hotrodded Plexi, but it's not quite as much in-your-face EVH.

This is the live sound, mind you. I'm still very much a newbie in the art of recording. I still haven't managed to figure out how to capture the sound I hear in the room onto the recording. My recorded tone sounds more distorted than it does in the room. I'm still learning about amp volume, mic placement, etc.

 

[JMintzer]

What was the bet? That I'm crazy or what?

We KNOW you're crazy. That's a sucker's bet...

It was a reference to Seinfeld, "Master of My Domain" episode...

 

[JMintzer]

 

[Suppalak Klabdee]

I actually chasing 2 guitar tones.

The mighty rhythm sound of James Hetfield from the Black Album
The lush tone of John Petrucci from Images and Words album

Pretty much nail those 2 tones and now I actually prefer my own tone which sit somewhere in the middle of those 2

 

[prsrocker1988]

As much as I'd love to be a songwriting, session playing creative person - it's not me. I knew early on my thing was being a human jukebox and either playing in a cover band or being a sideman playing already recorded material, both of which I've done.

So I chase tone, but out of necessity and my being anal about making it sound like the original record.

I don't chase any one player's tone, I chase them on a song-by-song basis.

 

[Huggy Love]

I like to think of tone as the colors a painter works with & the chops are the brush strokes. I like to use several tone settings for different purposes, rich & clean for jazz, light saturation semi-distorted for a violin-like tone for fusion, heavy saturated gain for shred-o-metal, crispy clean for rhythm, I make home on a few different settings. I do have two main settings I live in the most, the rich jazz tone & the violin-ish fusion thing, my rig & string gauge help immensely, and like you Les...........I'm way happy about my tone and wouldn't change that for the world.

 

[tiboy]

Does one have a tone or a pallet of tones? Do we sound like us no mater the guitar and amp set up or do we sound different with different gear? If I play the same thing with my LP and Strat it sounds very different, but it still sounds like me. So what is my tone?

 

[Boogie]

:spitcoffee: Darn you Jamie! :violin:

A spit-take while relaxing on the throne, catching up on the forums, actually drinking coffee, makes for a less than desired result. However, we went in the exact same direction, so thank you for channeling my thought process (which officially makes you a little nuts, too).

Les:

Yes. Just, yes.

 

[CVS]

I am just an average player (at least to my ears on most days). Each day I play I strive to get the tone that inspires me to play my best. Some days that never happens. Other days it happens a lot. This despite not changing any setting on the guitar, amp, or pedals.

So I guess I can say I chase my own tone but my "own tone" seems to change a lot??

I still experiment with different settings from time to time, so I guess I am still searching??????

 

[Pfloyd57]

Great comments, Les! I too, chased the sound in my head for 40+ years and spent a small fortune acquiring gear trying to find that sound. Finally, within the past 3 years I've nailed it down and I love what I'm getting. It's a sound that sounds like ME. My PRSi are huge factors in the equation, but everything in between them and my ears (including my ears) also contribute to this tone. Funny thing is, I have no idea how my tone actually sounds to you or anyone else, because I can hear it only through MY ears. "You never know how you look through other people's eyes"? Same can be said for how you sound. Hell, you may think my tone SUCKS. But I'm digging it.

 

[CVS]

Funny thing is, I have no idea how my tone actually sounds to you or anyone else, because I can hear it only through MY ears. "You never know how you look through other people's eyes"? Same can be said for how you sound. Hell, you may think my tone SUCKS. But I'm digging it.

Totally agree with this comment. I have had people come up to me at gigs and suggest that I "turn the treble up" for example, when if anything I was leaning towards turning the base up. It may have something to do with where they are located in the room, but never the less, the point is valid, you never know what other people are thinking. IMHO - If you can't please yourself, somehow others will notice.

 

[squirrel211]

I would say YES, and then NO.

I can get great tones at home, playing to some live recordings, and then find out it was all for naught when I get to a show.

My problem is that I'm the only one in my band with acoustic volume. Our bass player goes direct, our keyboard player goes direct, and our drummer has Roland V Drums that go direct. If you stand out in front of the band, you can heard the band coming out of the mains, and then my amp sticks out like a sore thumb. Unless of course, you stand off axis from my amp.... The way around being heard by a small group of people directly in front of my amp, and no one else, I reign in the volume of my amp with a Hot Plate. The Hot Plate squashes my guitar signal to the point where any attempt at a solo boost is a pointless endeavor. Dynamics don't exist. It sucks.

I can eliminate that by turning up, but I can only turn up the Hot Plate; which isn't a linear volume increase, but stepped settings. Usually if I turn up the Hot Plate it becomes too loud....

I almost miss the days of our drummer playing his acoustic kit. Almost.

 

[László]

I like to think of tone as the colors a painter works with & the chops are the brush strokes. I like to use several tone settings for different purposes, rich & clean for jazz, light saturation semi-distorted for a violin-like tone for fusion, heavy saturated gain for shred-o-metal, crispy clean for rhythm, I make home on a few different settings. I do have two main settings I live in the most, the rich jazz tone & the violin-ish fusion thing, my rig & string gauge help immensely, and like you Les...........I'm way happy about my tone and wouldn't change that for the world.

One hundred percent YES-ness. :rock: and I love the paint and brush stroke analogy.

Finally, within the past 3 years I've nailed it down and I love what I'm getting. It's a sound that sounds like ME. My PRSi are huge factors in the equation, but everything in between them and my ears (including my ears) also contribute to this tone. Funny thing is, I have no idea how my tone actually sounds to you or anyone else, because I can hear it only through MY ears. "You never know how you look through other people's eyes"? Same can be said for how you sound. Hell, you may think my tone SUCKS. But I'm digging it.

Well, the thing is that art is self-expression. You can't control whether other people dig it. All you can do is put it out there. So I agree.

 

[László]

I've been thinking about what it is with my guitars/amps that's making me so satisfied with the tone, and I've more or less narrowed it down to a few things.

First, I think that PRSes have a special thing happening in the lower mids. It's a beautiful sound that's fuller-range than most guitars. And there's a great balance of frequency response. So what's pushing into the amp is good in the first place.

Second, the amps have a very organic sound quality, more so than most other amps I've worked with. The blend of guitar and amp really works well. There's almost an elastic quality to the sound.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

I'm out

 

[ozboy]

It's ok to be happy with your tone but it may also be important to receive some external validation. When my wife tells me my tone is better than Clapton's then maybe I would be happy. Also happiness is it itself both temporary and illusionary. But any way if you are happy I'm happy for you.

 

[László]

It's ok to be happy with your tone but it may also be important to receive some external validation. When my wife tells me my tone is better than Clapton's then maybe I would be happy. Also happiness is it itself both temporary and illusionary. But any way if you are happy I'm happy for you.

Funny, when my favorite session singer (who's also a terrific guitar player) came into the studio and heard The Hammer Of The Gods, my McCarty Singlecut, through the DG30 amp, she said, "You sound like a god on that thing!"

That was pretty good validation!

But I was already happy with the way things were sounding, and I continue to get happier. There's no need to take "happy with my tone" beyond the obviously limited and specific context of this thread.

However, I am convinced that one's overall happiness is neither temporary, nor an illusion. I will agree that the word is difficult to define. However, in my 60 plus years on the planet, I've found that happiness is my normal state of mind, and that unhappiness is a reaction to adverse circumstances that is temporary. Happiness returns when the adverse circumstance is removed.

Having talked philosophy with lots of folks over the years, I'm also of the belief that I'm not alone in feeling this way. So I doubt that it's an illusion. I'm not being fooled by any entity, nor am I perceiving things incorrectly if I feel good about myself, which is a pretty basic definition of happiness.

I'll also say that there are times I'm excited by a particular event, and that some days I'm more happy than others. But I'm talking about degrees of happiness, and not the absence of happiness, or the presence of unhappiness.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

It's ok to be happy with your tone but it may also be important to receive some external validation.

If I listened to those @sshole$ I'd be playing a Tele. :biggrin:

 

[Boogie]

If I listened to those @sshole$ I'd be playing a Tele. :biggrin:

The compliments I've received throughout the years were few and far between, within the context discussed here (meaning, from qualified ears...guitarists, other musicians or an enthusiast that cares and knows the difference). But, those sure served as affirmation and helped me conclude that I was doing something right. That's why I try to do the same when I go to shows...it's nice to get a compliment.