The curse of the elusive tone.

[Cheesehead]

When I was a kid I had a Strat and a series of crappy Peavey solid state amps. I could never figure out why I had terrible tone. It sounded like I was playing through a tin can.

Now I have a Strat and Tele and a nice Fender tube amp. And great tone. Some effect pedals too yeah but great tone starts with a nice tube amp.

That said there are times I think my tone is great and times when I think it stinks. And it usually has largely to do with whether I'm playing well or poorly.

[Tim Bowen]

Originally Posted by Escondido Bound

Yes, I think so. Over at the Mandolin Cafe, you will see people debating the merits of various combinations of picks and strings. I have never seen more indepth and mind-boggling discussions of the implications of something as small as a pick anywhere else. There are people over there who own five, six, ten, or more mandolins--all in the search for the ideal sound they are seeking.

EB

Heh, you beat me to the punch. God bless the Mandolin Cafe - really great and knowledgeable folks that definitely know their game - but if my ears were as detailed and nuanced as are dead-serious mandolinists, I'd have been certifiably insane years ago. Nonetheless, my hat is off to this degree of detail.

One producer that I've cut mando tracks fairly regularly for in recent years always has me bring my mandolins, and he'll have me play his as well. He does a couple of "tone tests" before choosing the instrument that *cough* I'll be playing. I always go for the instrument that's easiest to play the parts at hand on. He goes for the way the mic' hears the instrument. Sometimes we politely argue about it for fifteen seconds or so, and then I acquiesce and play the bits. The thing is, whoever's wearing the producer hat gets last say, that's the way it works.

On a different note, one of the reasons that I do continue to screw around with tone and circuits is because I play a variety of instruments these days, so mic's and PA's and DI's are players within the equation. If I'm honest, there's probably very little about electric guitars, amps, and stomps that I know today that I didn't know fifteen years ago.

That said, there's always an avenue for learning something new. I think it's important to stay humble and maintain open ears and open mind. Sonic education often presents itself within the most unlikely of circumstances.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Telenator

The more you gig, the less you worry about that "ultimate tone." You find guitars and amps that work for you and you use them.

The most awesome HOME solo guitar tone of all time will always fail miserably in the context of a live band.

Couldn't agree more. It's happened to everyone -- play an find this awesome gotta-have-it rig in the music store, bring it home or to a gig and it sounds way different.

Or, the opposite. You have this setup at home that seems so-so, take it to a gig and you never knew it could sound so good.

I still play with my tone, mainly by way of amp and pedal mods, and amp builds, but it's more of a hobby than an obsession. Related to my old radio hobby. It's fun for me to take cheap/old pedals, do some easy mods and make them gigable. Or mod an unwanted old tube hi-fi amp and gig with it.

Scottie

[sonserve]

On the electric end an EC Strat, AS Tele, Carvin tweed tube, Carvin SS 100W and a Fender RK Super 2-10 get's it done for me. I have a few pedals and a Line 6 XT Live.
So I am good, well, except I really NEED a better bass amp. REALLY. I don't have a nylon string guit for when the mood strikes, I would love to bring home a nice jazz box for...

[ACK75]

Originally Posted by timmer114

I think people search for tone because their perception of tone changes. As a teen in the 80s I liked the tone of a JCM800 with some chorus and distortion in front of it, scooped a bit in the eq. In my 20s I was more into a heavier compressed tone EMG pickuped Les Paul type guitars.. In my 30s I took time off to have kids, live the American Debt..I mean American "Dream" and really didn't play at all until my late 30s, which found me enjoying a Telecaster in front of a nice warm Tube amp with a little break up and some sassy mids maybe a Tweed. In my 40s now, I am gassing for a Blackface Reverb with just a Tele into it.

My point is, what we percieve as our tone, has little staying power sometimes hehe. And that gets expensive. There's guys that love a 6v6 amp, but find themselves trying an EL84 rig at a friend's house, and next thing you know, the wallet comes flying out, and the Wife just shakes her head =)

Great answer. As I've gotten older I've gotten more away from alot of effects and gain and my sound has gotten much more clean over the years. But like you said, with a new "sound" comes new gear.

My wife doesn't get it either. "But you already have an amp!" "Yeah, but not one that sounds like THAT one!!"

[tboy]

Tone is what it is to you. There are nearly as many great tones as there are great players.

There's a huge snake oil market out there sucking money out of people's wallets promising arrival at OZ. End of the Tone Quest. Expensive transformers, "vintage" speakers, $100 dollar cables, etc... This market does very well selling stuff to players who don't already know what they want to sound like. If you where you want to go, a Ford will get you there just as efficiently as a Chevy, Lexus or a Rolls Royce.