Your Tone.. and how you achieve it..

David Wren · Post by **David Wren** » 8 Jun 2005 1:04 pm

I guess I fall in with many of the -mid, +bass and treble as far as the amp goes. I use a ton of head room, so on smooth stuff I can really get a lot of milage per picked string, if you can run 3 or 4 chord inversions on one picked grip (3 finger picks), that can be very fluid. Here here for the previous folks that have mentioned the need for good vol. pedal control... number one in my book, and how you tell a steel player from a guitar player on a steel.
Hand techniques are probably what I use more than electronic settings for my tone. How I pick a string depends on 1.) Where the string is across the neck, much more of a glancing pick on bassier strings, more right angle on high ones; 2.) what kind of music.... for rock single strings stuff many times I try to "pinch the string in two" with my thuimb and 2nd finger (plastic picks all), a real harmonic filled biting sound. Bobby Black showed me a technique, when I was a size 28" waist, of playing real stacato swing chords by "slamming" the bar down on the strings at the same time you pick that particular grip... this takes a little practice to make it an accent, and not a sound effect; 3.) am I backing or taking a lead?.... when fluffing up the vocal line, I make a real deliberate effort at precisely simutanenously picking every string in the grip, and then quickly lifting my right hand (in the manner of a concert pianist), playing leads I really lean into the guitar and don't move my hand much at all. Position wise, like many, I move away from pickup for slow chordal work, towards the pickup for speed picking (for the limited amount that I do).

Lastly, I too would say I'm still perfecting my tone, and it very rarely sounds just right (still looking for a recording tone that is not toooo compressed). I had one experience that opened my eyes for tone... I did an entire album with a friend, and he insisted that I play completely dry, no reverb or other effects whatsoever.... It sounded like crap when I first started... slowly I got more receptive to the change in the sound... can't say I've thrown away my reverb unit, but I do really listen now, and probably will change my reverb several times during a night, as the crowd changes, or mood of the band alters.

------------------
Dave Wren
'95Carter S12-E9/B6,7X7; Session500; Hilton Pedal
www.ameechapman.com

Terry Edwards · Post by **Terry Edwards** » 8 Jun 2005 1:33 pm

It is important to be able to hear yourself well first. A good mix between your amp/monitor and the band/soundtrack is essential before you can even consider working on tone.

I also think that the "tone" we hear on recordings has very little to do with the performer. The engineers tweek it.

Terry

[This message was edited by Terry Edwards on 08 June 2005 at 02:38 PM.]

Larry Strawn · Post by **Larry Strawn** » 8 Jun 2005 4:55 pm

Bob,,

I think Tone is something none of us will ever be satisfied with.. It's a constant up-hill battle for me,,sometimes I start out kinda liking my tone, then sometimes it goes South in a Hand bag on me.. Then sometimes I listen to something we recorded and I think, Is that really me??

For the most part the tone I get when pickin farther from the pup is what I like best.

I don't have an answer, I just keep trying..

Larry

------------------
Emmons S/D-10, 3/4, Sessions 400 Ltd. Home Grown E/F Rack
"ROCKIN COUNTRY"

Gerald Menke · Post by **Gerald Menke** » 14 Jun 2005 8:18 am

Interesting question Bob. I find that since I have been playing lots of dobro lately, I've had to really work on my picking, and I’ve made some real improvements tone-wise. Getting a clean sound with the dobro is tough and the work I’ve done on my picking on the dobro has benefited my PSG playing for sure.

I pick a lot more deliberately now, make each string jump a bit, and pick a bit farther from the bridge. Seems to be less barky sounding that way. Long and short of it is that playing dobro has really helped my tone by forcing me to pick harder. So I get my tone from picking harder, and more deliberately, which seems to be more important than amp settings, amp brands, string brands, cable brands, etc.

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 14 Jun 2005 3:41 pm

It usually takes me a few songs to settle in to the point where my hands understand the current auditory environment, to get the tones I want

Oh, you mean it's not just me?

Seriously, I play an old ShoBud and I just do what I can to help all those great sounds that Shot and Buddy put in it at the factory to get out.

Then at the end of the night I try real fast to stuff 'em all back in for the next time.

What's the matter with that?

------------------
<img align=right src="http://www.pdxaudio.com/dgsept03.jpg" width="114 height="114">Dave Grafe - email: dg@pdxaudio.com
Production
Pickin', etc.

1978 ShoBud Pro I E9, Randall Steel Man 500, 1963 Precision Bass, 1954 Gibson LGO, 1897 Washburn Hawaiian Steel Conversion

[This message was edited by Dave Grafe on 14 June 2005 at 04:42 PM.]

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 14 Jun 2005 4:43 pm

I try to get a good tone, but I don't obsess over it like most steelers because I feel that there is no "bad tone". Today, tones are much more uniform (read: boring). But in days gone by, there was a much larger variation of tones that everyone thought were quite acceptable. Chalker, Emmons, Drake, Charleton, Myrick, Hughey, (old)Brumley, they all had drastically different "good tones". They were trying to create a "personal tone and sound". Yes, they all sounded quite different, but they all complimented the music they were playing, and they were all great players! That, I think, is the key. If you play well, people will accept almost any tone you offer them, except for the few narrow-minded ones that think the sun rises and sets on a p/p Emmons, or an old Tube Fender!

It's quite simple, really. If you're a good player, the tone will take care of itself. If you don't play very well, then the greatest tone in the world ain't gonna help you!

Learn to play the thing first! Be a really great player! THEN, you can worry about your "tone"!

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 14 Jun 2005 4:58 pm

Donny... I guess without realizing it, I was really directing this thread at long time, somewhat "advanced" players that had a specific tone in mind..

Some guys will use a sound that would be far too dark for me and the style I play, however it works great for them and I could not duplicate it if I wanted it to.

Some guys have something very specific in mind tone wise, some don't but sound great anyway.
I probably should have been more specific... I was looking for comments from players that use specific guitars, amps,effects for a specific sound that suits their playing style.. bob

Jennings Ward · Post by **Jennings Ward** » 14 Jun 2005 7:29 pm

IN ALL THIS DISCUSSING TONE AND THE WAYS TO ACHIEVE " TONE " NOT ONCE DID I READ WHERE ANYONE WORKED THEIR SWEET SPOT OR EVEN FOUND IT.... ARE ALL YOUR GUITARS " SWEET SPOT LESS " ? SEEMS TRANGE TO ME, I LEARNED AT AN EARLY AGE TO FIND THE SWEET SPOT ON AN INSTRUMENT, FIRST, THEN TRY TO DEVELOPE A PLEASING TONE FROM THERE..... THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR A VIOLIN PLAYER,, BANJO, MANDOLIN, GUITAR, ELECT . AND ACCOUSTIC..VERY IMPORTANT FOR ACC. BASS..
AND I SEE NO REASON WHY IT IS NOT IMPORTANT ON THE STEEL GUITAR AND RESONATOR TYPE OF GUITARS......MY EMMONS D10 HAS SWEET SPOTS , SO DOES MY LESS PAUL, J45, D28, A MANDO. EVEN A GOLDTONE BANGER.....FIND YOUR SWEET SPOTS AND THEN TRY TO DEVELOPE A "PLEASING" TONE.... IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING, ONE PERSONS TONE WILL NOT PLEASE ANOTHER MUSICIAN, EXCEPT FOR THE 2 MASTERS,,,JB AND BE......
JENNINGS,,,,,,,,PK:::::::::::::::::::::

------------------
EMMONS D10 10-10 profex 2 deltafex ne1000 pv1000, pv 31 bd eq, +

Grayson Joe · Post by **Grayson Joe** » 14 Jun 2005 8:26 pm

I used to think that tone comes from the kind of amp. effects foot vol. ect. its in the touch in your hands and the way you use the bar, if you don,nt have the touch, you are not going to get the tone you are looking for, i heard a lot of steel players that were good on speed picking and knew a lot of fancy licks and cords ect. but they did,nt have the touch to get that sweet tone and true thir notes ect. if you don,nt have the touch, changing amps.p/u effects, bars is not going to help you. this is my 2 cents worth.

------------------
Joe Grayson, Raleigh,Ms. 39153

Tom Jordan · Post by **Tom Jordan** » 14 Jun 2005 8:36 pm

I'm with Jennings on this one. I find the right hand position on the guitar that sounds best to me (un-plugged) and turn the amp knobs to try to bring it out electronicly...each guitar has its' own special sound and that is the one I try to produce.

Tom Jordan

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 15 Jun 2005 12:00 am

What Donny said.

ESnow · Post by **ESnow** » 18 Jun 2005 10:26 pm

I believe no matter what guitar, amp or effects you use 90% of tone comes from your hands. The equipment just enhances what your hands produce. Just my opinion.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 19 Jun 2005 3:40 am

practice..and like Donny said the tone will arrive..

"I just bought a Les Paul Gold Top and a 100 Watt tube Marshall Stack, how come I dont sound like EC during the Cream years ? "

As Regis would say..
Is that your final answer ?

happy sunday

t