Poll: Control of the Tone

Are you in Control of your Tone?

  • Yes, I found the right guitar and the right settings to get the tone in my head.

  • Yes, I can make any guitar give what it has to offer. I have different tools for different jobs.

  • It depends. Sometime it all works and sometimes, it just doesn't. I have not figured out why yet.

  • Yes, and it is more about the amps than the guitars. My tubes sing!

  • No, but it is more about the amps than the guitar and I have not found mine yet.

  • Tone is about the room, mostly. Tell me where I am playing and I will tell you if I can make it work

  • I play live and I depend on a good sound guy. With the right man at the board, anything is possible.

  • None of these choices make sense to me, so from 1-10, I rate myself a _____ in tone control.

Results are only viewable after voting.
RVA

RVA

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As of late, I feel that I have learned to dial in my tone much better, so instead of thinking in terms of how a guitar sounds, I think more in terms of what I can get it to do. So, are you in control of your tone?
 
I haven't used pedals much until a month or so ago. I only have 3 that I use right now. With that being said I chose #3.
 
RVA said:
So, are you in control of your tone?
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Control of Tone and Tone Chasing means the same to me. Just when I think I have it under control, I learn or try something new... or gravitate to a certain influence, and end up changing my settings for every piece of equipment I'm messing with. It never ends... :BH:
 
Another example I know, Robert and I have already spoken of was early Sammy Hagar sound. To me, it is all about how he and his bandmates are as one with their instruments and one another. I mean him and Montrose, and Neil Schon, Rick Derringer, etc. Who can deny the work that went into getting sound like here in Young Girl Blues?
I really agree with Don P. All of the above.


 
Rob, I saw those fellas along with Motorhead and Iron Maiden. I concur that Dio and his band had " IT" when it came to tone, and delivery of their sound.

RJD sure packed a Truckload of sound in the voice from that small stature and Geezer n Tony are perfectly matched together.
 
Another factor of tone I know would drive Robert nuts but I actually crave in my favorite style of performance or recording is RAW sound, like a bunch of freaking 16-20 year old raging lunatics jamming like they can't get enough or that sound that comes up impromptu.

Sort of like OLD Aerosmith.

Joe Perry and Brad Whitford are a couple good axe slingers that get lost in all the " best" guitar player's mentions.
 
Ive found several tones that make me happy---bass-- yes--- rock -- yes--- clean bluesish jazz tone -- yep--

BUt I find the study of tone and how different guitars sound on the same amp settings--- even very similar guitars---- is fun to study and I can enjoy EACH tone in its uniqueness---I am not HELL BENT on recreating the "tone in my brain" because that tone changes .....sometimes by the minute-----
 
I voted the second option. The key point for me there was having different tools for different jobs.

I don’t try to force one guitar into the mold of another one. Each one has its own character. I like to experiment and see what kind of overlap I can achieve, though.

I don’t have a single tone in my head, either. To me, I need to be able to accommodate multiple sounds and tonalities.
 
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  1. It depends. Sometime it all works and sometimes, it just doesn't. I have not figured out why yet.
  2. Yes, and it is more about the amps than the guitars. My tubes sing!
  3. No, but it is more about the amps than the guitar and I have not found mine yet
"Always, no, sometimes think it's me
But you know I know when it's a dream
I think, er, no, I mean, er, yes
But it's all wrong
That is I think I disagree"
Credt: Lennon / McCartney
 
eSGEe said:
I noticed----NO I AM STILL CHASING TONE IN ALL ITS GLORY--- wasnt an option :)
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For me - personally - I have a signature sound at home and that's my DSL40C, 55Hz Reaper, and Weber attenuator.

It really doesn't matter which of my 3 guitars I play, as they all sound very similar, which is something I strived for - familiarity in both feel and tone. Each guitar has a unique purpose - i.e. the double neck for 12 string passages or stage presence, the S-G tuned E-flat and the Les Paul generally tuned standard or used as an E-flat backup.

When in my band character, his tonal needs are totally different.

The hood and mask wearing "Sledge," as he has been affectionately named by bandmates, needs gain bordering on absolute madness, something not even a TS-9 has yielded. The Line-6, 75 watt head has delivered. Actual speaker presence is an absolute necessity, meaning he can't record direct.

The bassist uses a somewhat "Geezer-ish" mid range tone, and the guitar actually has a very pronounced bass signature in its tone.

This isn't at all new, as I recall working in Buck Owens Studio in Bakersfield and going through room fills of gear trying to find a tone the producer/engineer wanted.

As far as volume/tone controls on the instrument are concerned, I run pretty much full up all the time and everything is EQ'd at the amp and the console. A 3 band EQ cannot even come close to my tonal needs.

Now, working in the country music genre, I recall frequently adjusting guitar tone and volume to suit the producer/engineer and going as far as painting marks on the guitar with white out or tape - the #1 reason I put pointers on all my guitars.

But in this genre, the tonal spectrum is more complex in that some individual frequencies are pulled way down and others are pushed way up - to such a degree that the EQ sliders sometimes resemble a staircase, so its a very different world altogether...
 
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smitty_p said:
I voted the second option. The key point for me there was having different tools for different jobs.

I don’t try to force one guitar into the mold of another one. Each one has its own character. I like to experiment and see what kind of overlap I can achieve, though.

I don’t have a single tone in my head, either. To me, I need to be able to accommodate multiple sounds and tonalities.
Click to expand...

An example would be Tobias Forge's guitar playing on Ghost's 'Prequelle.'

Tobias had - at his creativr dispossl - a 1950's Gibson Les Paul with P-90's, a 1980's Era Gibson Explorer, 1980's era Gibson Flying V and a 1970's Fender Stratocaster.

Tobias said he used all of the guitars at one point and even tracked solos with the Stratocaster, and yet his tone is so incredibly fat and massive that there is no Fender twang present. To duplicate the album tone live, the Nameless Ghouls initially play Gibson RD's and SG's and more recently Hagsstrom Fantomen.

If you listen to 'Faith' by Ghost, the tone would leave Metallica scratching their heads..... :-)
 
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