That Perfect Tone

[Tone?]

by the way i hate that silly word 'tone' is why i made it my username.

that word was born in the 90's and is everywhere today.
I prefer the days when we used to say "what a cool sound that guy gets!"

those were the days when people concentrated more on playing well rather than buying a million gadgets and boutique stuff to get that magical tone.
People think so much nowadays that all these boutique makers will make them sound like god. BS, only a talented musician will do that.
on the other hand i love that there are all these high quality makers around. But you have to pay your dues and practice your buttola off.

 

[Jonny Dubai]

Change your name from Tone? to TRUE.

J

 

[Tone?]

aint it that way though man??

 

[kneeoh]

... good musicians make a **** guitar sound good and a great guitar awesome. On the other hand i have seen **** musicians make great guitars and amps sound like total crap. The best amp and the best guitar will sound like complete and i mean complete doo in a bad guitarists hands. but a crap amp and a crap guitar can be made to sound good in a good guitarists hands.

so..........fingers are more important.

No truer words have been written.

As further proof that the fingers are the primary source of the "tone", listen to established guitarists playing through different set-ups than there own. Almost invariably, they will still sound like themselves. The videos of the development of the JP and the Y2D are great examples of what I'm talking about. While both JP and SM are playing through some of the legendary Big Poppa amp room equipment, the set-ups they're using aren't their own but they still sound like JP and SM.

One can even do this experiment on yourself. Go to any shop and play through as many amps as your can. I'm willing to bet that you'll notice you sound like you, no matter what you play through. GC is a good place to do this cuz of the mix of solid state, hybrid, and tube amps available to try.

 

[Ripper]

Find a great amp. Your tone is out there somewhere ... just keep looking. I found mine when Tommy introduced me to the Guytron. Recently I've picked up a Suhr Badger and that bad boy gets me there too.

Plus one to beej. I found mine - a Boss CS-2, in front of a MXR boost/od that drives a Mesa, and a DM-2 in the loop. Rich-sounding notes I got!

 

[rlarino]

I've always been a fan of digital modeling and I've always said and thought that they could (or ought to be able to) produce tone that rivals any highly sought after tube amp out there...

that is, until I tried the Mesa Mark IV...

no more digital modeling for me... at least not for my lead and heavy tone on recordings (but also keep in mind that most digital and solid state amps out there today are designed to emulate the sound of tube amps, the tube sound seems to produce that highly sought after guitar tone and doesn't seem to be going anywhere regardless of the fact that it is a dated technology)


but ultimately you need to try out a bunch of gear for yourself (using the suggestions of people who have tone similar to the tone you're looking for) and decide what equipment is best for you

and as was said before, a HUGE determining factor in your tone is in your fingers... time and experience is what it takes to develop that special tone in your fingers...

we're all on a quest to achieve it, regardless of what amp or guitar you play

 

[MN246]

My rig consists of the following:

Rocktron Prophesy Preamp/Processor
Carvin TS-100 Power Amp
Carvin AC-130 power conditioner
Korg DTS-1000 rackmount tuner
Peavey 5150 bottom cabinet
Music Man volume pedal
Morley Pro Series II wah
MidiBuddy midi controller

I really love the flexibility of the Rocktron Prophesy. It's got the capability to dial in just about any tone you can imagine. BTW, I believe that about 90% of a player's tone comes from their fingers.

 

[candid_x]

I know what "my" perfect tone isn't (I love the word TONE, btw, and I'm definitely old school). It isn't the legato, no attack, no beginning and no ending train whistle, that so many modern players drool over these days. It is dynamic and punchy, enough distortion to make it human-voice sounding, but not so much that you only hear the pickups, pedals and amp and not the nuance and ambiance of guitar itself.

 

[roburado]

hey rob, i've yet to decide which but i'm leaning towards the twin deluxe and the sl-2 or eg5 mods.....jeff at egnater told me i can tell him once the head is rdy to be shipped. They're class acts over there.....And i def see where ur coming from with the mods becoming an addicition.

As for ur non mesa comment i agree its the reason why i gave up on mesa's the recto tone wasn't doing it for me anymore, but i think the lonestars r amazing amps

Those are all great modules. I think I'm going to get T/D or bassman and MHG when I get around to getting one of those Mod 50s. I also like the EG3/4. I'm going to try the EG5. We'll see. I love the SL2.

 

[kneeoh]

i've been thru alot of different rigs, my latest and hopefully greatest is.....

eb jp 07 LE and redburst
egnater mod 50 (just ordered, get it in about 8 weeks)
keeley ds-1
BB preamp
mxr 6 band eq
and tc g system

plenty of more to come i'm sure......lol

Hey redburst,

I too, have an egnater mod 50 on order... being in Troy, MI is an advantage cuz the Amp Lounge is about 3 miles from where I live so I got to test all the modules. I'm going with the MHG and EG5... all balls and chunk for now. What I plan on doing is getting one more head for the VX and COD modules... yeah, sounds excessive, but what the heck, I love the amps. Incidentally, the EG5 module I tried was one of the prototypes that Frank had been working with...it rocks! Should be about 2 more weeks for me.

 

[kbaim]

I love the cleans I get with my line6 flextone II that I programmed in based on the blackface. And it's also nice to hear audience and other musicians comment on the tone (which means it's not just pleasing to me).

But it's different for everyone. I know there's a book out that goes through the rigs and set up of a lot of great sounding FAMOUS guitar players, but I forgot what it's called. You'll know it when you find it. Maybe search amazon for guitar and rigs or something.

 

[beej]

I know what "my" perfect tone isn't

Y'know, that's what life is about- cutting your list down with things you know aren't for you. Easier that going the other way.

I feel the same way- I've got a better feel for what I don't want that what I want.

One thing I've discovered in my travels is that I'm much more fond of power tube colouring than heavy pre-amp gain. Used to be the other way when I was younger.

 

[candid_x]

One thing I've discovered in my travels is that I'm much more fond of power tube colouring than heavy pre-amp gain. Used to be the other way when I was younger.

I'm with you there, Beej. It's like makeup on a woman: a little goes a long way. Gimme the real deal any day.

 

[Danserrano]

Hey redburst,

I too, have an egnater mod 50 on order... being in Troy, MI is an advantage cuz the Amp Lounge is about 3 miles from where I live so I got to test all the modules. I'm going with the MHG and EG5... all balls and chunk for now. What I plan on doing is getting one more head for the VX and COD modules... yeah, sounds excessive, but what the heck, I love the amps. Incidentally, the EG5 module I tried was one of the prototypes that Frank had been working with...it rocks! Should be about 2 more weeks for me.

very cool, must be nice living close by. I torn b/w the twin delx and the vx as well --- too many friggin g8t choices lol.....if i had the cash id do the two amp thing as well. U only live once lol

 

[unclerico]

I use EBMM - Mesa Boogie Mark IV - TC G-Force.
I'm really happy with the sound I'm getting. It isn't a cheap setup but still very affordable compared to those huge rigs major guitarrists have.

I'll try it out. I've seen your tone on the vids, you have Petrucci's sound.


But how do you control your G-Force, since its a rack unit? Like playing live, is there a footcontrol to control it. Besides for the TC Electronics G-System, which is 1,400?

 

[unclerico]

Sorry but just found the G-Force. $1,499.00



Buy TC Electronic G-Force online at Musician's Friend


Thats gonna kill me.

 

[Codyyyn]

I'll try it out. I've seen your tone on the vids, you have Petrucci's sound.


But how do you control your G-Force, since its a rack unit? Like playing live, is there a footcontrol to control it. Besides for the TC Electronics G-System, which is 1,400?

I'm pretty sure that you just control it with any MIDI foot controller.


Oh, and as for the price of the G-Force, check out the G Major. About $300, and I've heard great things about it.

 

[Enc3f4L0]

I'll try it out. I've seen your tone on the vids, you have Petrucci's sound.


But how do you control your G-Force, since its a rack unit? Like playing live, is there a footcontrol to control it. Besides for the TC Electronics G-System, which is 1,400?

Yeah the G-Force isn't very cheap. I'm sure the G-major would be enough for most people. I wanted the Force cuz I'm kind of a knob freak and wanted to route my effects any way I could possibly imagine, and I also wanted the Intelligent Pitch.

I got all my rig at once this year. I was tired of buying 'intermediate' gear and decided to work extra hard a few months to buy my "perfect" rig.

The only thing I planned on and couldn't manage to buy yet was the Midi controller, the Axess Electronics FX1. Right now I'm using Behringer's FCB1010 as a temporary solution to control both the G-Force and the Mark IV (with the help of an Axess Electronics CFX-4).

I don't think there is such a thing as a 'final' or "perfect" rig, we're constantly trying to improve it as GASing musicians we are. I am real happy with mine though. It works for me so I can recommend it based on my experience.

 

[unclerico]

I'm pretty sure that you just control it with any MIDI foot controller.


Oh, and as for the price of the G-Force, check out the G Major. About $300, and I've heard great things about it.

I just checked out the G-Major. And I actually heard things that were not very different from the G-Force. I saw it on the Petrucci forum, after googling the Difference between the two. I replied on it, and it was a topic from 2004


But thanks for the help guys, on fixing my tone up since it sucks !!

 

[Codyyyn]

I just checked out the G-Major. And I actually heard things that were not very different from the G-Force. I saw it on the Petrucci forum, after googling the Difference between the two. I replied on it, and it was a topic from 2004


But thanks for the help guys, on fixing my tone up since it sucks !!

Well, I used to have a Jackson DK2M, so I can assure you that it is probably about half of your problem


But hell, my head+cab (no fx or anything) was only $1400 all together (well okay, but it's cheap for a tube head and cab - both very high quality), and I think it sounds awesome. I could really use one of those G Majors though.