• From: Bristol, UK
  • Registered: 2011-10-20
  • Posts: 237

Re: GAS: There is hope!

I couldn’t agree more and that is why I practice every day and we have a 4 hour band practice every week. But it is folly to suggest that practice alone will give you the tone you want.

Would this John Suhr be the same one that makes and sells an extensive range of guitars, amps, cabinets, pedals and even items that he groups under the heading of “Tone Tools”. I don’t think I’ll be taking any lessons from him on practicing to solve tone problems.

I believe that from my finger tips to the speaker in my amp, every component along the signal chain has an influence, to a lesser or greater extent, on the “tone”.  Key parts of my gear are the same as Matt Schofield’s but I sound nothing like him (even when he is playing through a Deluxe Reverb amp) and no amount of practice will change that. But by using the same ingredients I can get a similar flavour.

Give me any combination of equipment and I could get a usable tone but would it be the tone I want? Possibly or possibly not. Many people like the Les Paul and Marshall tone but there is no way I could recreate it with my Strat and Fender amp no matter how much I practice. Gear has a huge part to play in developing tone.

You could of course argue that tone is not relevant and all that matters is the technical ability to play the instrument and interpret the music. But that would be just silly.

  • Registered: 2012-05-30
  • Posts: 485

Re: GAS: There is hope!

RichardH wrote:

I couldn’t agree more and that is why I practice every day and we have a 4 hour band practice every week. But it is folly to suggest that practice alone will give you the tone you want.

Would this John Suhr be the same one that makes and sells an extensive range of guitars, amps, cabinets, pedals and even items that he groups under the heading of “Tone Tools”. I don’t think I’ll be taking any lessons from him on practicing to solve tone problems.

I believe that from my finger tips to the speaker in my amp, every component along the signal chain has an influence, to a lesser or greater extent, on the “tone”.  Key parts of my gear are the same as Matt Schofield’s but I sound nothing like him (even when he is playing through a Deluxe Reverb amp) and no amount of practice will change that. But by using the same ingredients I can get a similar flavour.

Give me any combination of equipment and I could get a usable tone but would it be the tone I want? Possibly or possibly not. Many people like the Les Paul and Marshall tone but there is no way I could recreate it with my Strat and Fender amp no matter how much I practice. Gear has a huge part to play in developing tone.

You could of course argue that tone is not relevant and all that matters is the technical ability to play the instrument and interpret the music. But that would be just silly.

Totally agree.

I play Spanish Boots at jam nights sometimes (when the bass player knows it), usually with my Les Paul, but the other night I played it on my Strat. Same song, same player, very different tone and feel due to gear used.

Guitars: Fender American Original 60s Strat, Fender American Vintage 52 Tele, Gibson Les Paul Traditional
FX: Various including - Ceriatone Centura, Fire Custom Shop Carpe Diem
Amp: Fender ML212 Deville + 212 extention cabinet
  • From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2010-04-15
  • Posts: 1,373

Re: GAS: There is hope!

Adrian J wrote:

I play Spanish Boots at jam nights sometimes (when the bass player knows it), usually with my Les Paul, but the other night I played it on my Strat. Same song, same player, very different tone and feel due to gear used.

Sure, but if you're a good player, you can get a good tone out of your rig regardless whether it's a strat or LP.  John Suhr is right on.  With all the great options out there (from budget through boutique), if you sound bad it's you not the gear.  "Tone is in the hands" doesn't mean you can make every combination of gear sound exactly the same.

The only argument I would make is that it's really "Tone is in the ears."  How you hear, and what you hear in your mind's ear, is what drives your tone.

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  • Registered: 2012-05-30
  • Posts: 485

Re: GAS: There is hope!

Slight tangent, but I have discovered that my girlfriend is a very visual person when it comes to guitars....and she likes the colour red.....so far this has led her to agree to me buying a 335 (though it will take me most of 2018 to save for one) and I think she'd also give me the thumbs up for an SG based on her recently seeing Kelly Jones of Stereophonics playing one and commenting that she "likes that guitar".

Guitars: Fender American Original 60s Strat, Fender American Vintage 52 Tele, Gibson Les Paul Traditional
FX: Various including - Ceriatone Centura, Fire Custom Shop Carpe Diem
Amp: Fender ML212 Deville + 212 extention cabinet