Rules of tone

[Mixstar]

Have any of you tried the "Womantone" type settings? A friend recommended I give it a try. Basically I've been trying it on a singlecut guitar with two tone and two volume pots. Turn both tone knobs to zero, set the bridge pickup volume to 6 or 7 (back it off really) and the neck pickup volume to maximum. Put the pickup selector switch in the centre position and give it a whirl. I never thought both pickups together could sound like this, you live and learn, as did Eric Clapton

Now to try it out on the rest of the fleet!

 

[coyote]

I'll go one better: your tone is less in your hands than in your ears.

Ever played with 'musicians' who either cannot hear clearly or choose not to listen? Who are so all about their movement on the fingerboard that they are always looking down, and only ever listening to themselves?

My experience is that musicians who have great tone are the ones who have gotten past that, and are active listeners. They hear what you are playing, what the rest of the band is playing; they listen to it, and their fingers do what works in context. It's less about some mythical "natural born talent" than it is about having done the WORK.

The stories about Charlie Parker's early experiences are instructive. He could blow the horn at a strictly technical level, but wasn't fitting in. The other players told him he had to go back and woodshed for awhile longer. Doing that apparently allowed him to get out of his own way, and become an active listener in the ensembles in which he was playing rather than a guy making technical motions on a brass cone. And that is when his talents began to shine.

 

[veinbuster]

Interesting thought Coyote. I would agree that your ears play a very large part in your tone in that you can only dial things in as well as you can perceive them. Then it is the fingers that adjust to make your ears happy. Well that and twisting knobs and dials and switches...but I like to credit the fingers for the heart of it all.

 

[László]

I'll go one better: your tone is less in your hands than in your ears.

Ever played with 'musicians' who either cannot hear clearly or choose not to listen? Who are so all about their movement on the fingerboard that they are always looking down, and only ever listening to themselves?

My experience is that musicians who have great tone are the ones who have gotten past that, and are active listeners. They hear what you are playing, what the rest of the band is playing; they listen to it, and their fingers do what works in context. It's less about some mythical "natural born talent" than it is about having done the WORK.

This is absolutely, positively true! I'll even take it a step further.

Ever played with a really great rhythm section that gave you a groove so deep and wide that it felt like you had endless room for your thing, whatever that thing is? Or with great guitar players or keyboard or horn players who communicated with you by listening to what you were doing and playing off it?

It makes all the difference, doesn't it?

Yet we've all played with musicians who stepped all over you and everyone else. Who didn't give you room, or anyone else room.

I call the latter kind of player a "selfish" player, and I won't play with anyone who's like that, nor will I hire them for my session work on ad tracks. Who wants to deal with fighting the groove, or playing with someone who's deaf to everyone but himself or herself? I sure won't.

I have friends who call me to jam, and if they're selfish players, I just thank them and say I'm busy. I won't waste my time with folks who take up all the space for themselves in a band.

 

[GS1]

Yes, I watched a vintage video of Clapton explaining the woman tone, and every once and a while sit down and noodle around with it, very cool! I did it last night as a matter of fact.