The Myth of Good Guitar Tone

Listening to recordings of our favourite guitarists, we bare witness to sounds that either inspire us, bore us or disgust us! As we develop on our own journey of playing guitar, we change, refine our own tones based on our tastes. All of this is mediated through our own perception of the sounds we’re searching for. I often wonder if we ever truly ‘know’ what the right tone is.

After spending lots of time transcribing different classic albums, I’ve learnt that each guitarist has their own take on tone. No two guitarists truly sound the same and often one guitarist may sound different from album to album, even song to song.

To search for a ‘good tone’ probably started from the moment Human Beings started crafting instruments. To find something that resonated, that created a certain sound, delivering a certain feeling. However, for this blog I’m going to say it is a trend since the dawn of YouTube Gear Review channels.

Often these channels feature players who may not have much playing experience. If proving anything, that no matter how special or not special the gear, tone has to start with the player. It also highlights the fact that tone arises in a relational field. It’s not something static and objective by itself.

Something that sounds ‘good’ by itself often doesn’t sound good in a band recording or live context. With the advent of more and more players staying in and not playing out, the search for a good tone becomes more neurotic, specific. Often these tones when taken into a recording or live context become completely un-usable. Too much gain, the EQ too tailored for the room that it was dialled in on. Not to forget that when things are louder, there’s so much more detail. Bass becomes even bassier, treble becomes even harsher etc. Maybe the super tight metal sound that sounded good in the rehearsal room doesn’t translate in the local venue which happens to be a hall with hard floors and a tall ceiling.

What is forgotten is the whole relationship of making music. The player, the guitar, the gear, the microphone on the amp, the desk, the ears of everyone involved. How that tone interplays with the bass guitar, drums, vocals etc. The guitarist’s unique choices of chord voicing, where its played on the fretboard, how they articulate the note, what they are doing with the volume/tone controls on the guitar, the pickups etc. It’s a huge, interconnected linage of mind and matter before it reaches the ear of the listener.

I haven’t read many books, but I have read parts of David Byrnes ‘How Music Works’ and he talks about the relationship between the music of certain cultures and the environment they were played in. He talked about how Wagner had halls built for his compositions, designed to bring a natural reverb to the sound. To bring an element of slow attack and decay to the music, so things lingered in a different way. Perhaps similar is the environment of a Church for Georgian Chanting. David also spoke about certain forms of African Music that use more percussive elements which would be played in an outside environment with no reverberation, so sounds had a quicker attack, often leading to more rhythmically complex music.

So in summary here, maybe what’s forgotten is context. The style of music, where it’s performed, who its performed by, what its performed through. A good tone becomes more elusive the further we look into if it actually exists. Much like seeing a picture of ourselves as a child vs now, the actual thoughts, memories, sensations of the time of the photograph are no longer here as we look at the photograph. And whilst we may recognise ourselves, we certainly aren’t quite the same person anymore on many different levels. Who we are is a relationship to the world, it’s an expression of our biology, physiology and psychology. To you I’m a pretentious guy writing a blog, to my neighbour, I’m the guy who parks next to his car and occasionally says hello.

I sometimes still am guilty of spending too much time ‘setting up my tone’ for certain gigs. Totally forgetting that it’ll be completely different on the night. Making sure you’ve got everything set up for the gig is important. But I’ve often found myself getting caught in staring at my pedalboard, guitar and amp, rather than rehearsing the set! Let go, it’ll be okay. Set and forget. If something really isn’t working, tweak it. But be careful on the parameters of ‘its not working’. Go for ballpark figures instead of staring at the individual blades of grass. Chances are, the venue is going to totally change your sound, the mic the sound engineer uses, the people in the room, the drummer’s choice of cymbals, the monitor mix the vocalist insists on. All of our tone searching down the drain!

A wake up call for me was in meeting professionals further along the path than I am. The most seasoned players used simple set ups, with core elements of their own taste met, they would then play to the sound in the given context. I noticed my tone seemed to start breathing more when I kept things simple. Often when recording a classic albums course, I’ll find out what gear was used as a marker, and then approximate that with whatever gear is in the studio, real or digital. When I started to ‘dial’ things in on the Quad Cortex for example, the sound would start to get muddy, compressed, to ‘clean’. So I just started using the basic factory presets for each amp type. Less time faffing with settings, more time focusing on playing and actively creating the sound.

I’m not saying, ‘you should get a metal sound with a fender twin no matter what, it’s all in the fingers!” – that’s mental! We have to know our linage of amps and effects; how certain sounds are made. But in that search, we must remember these are the same tools as everyone uses. Brian Mays rig is part of his instrument, its not independent of him. Someone else playing his rig will have a totally different experience.

I quite enjoy hearing different tones. Tone doesn’t have to be “Good”… its part of the Music, if the Music calls for something harsh, thin, or smooshy, then so be it.