[mi2tom]

I was sitting down and watching these guy setting up their stuff, same amp and same effects and all, but after the first guy the second guy went up and test the stuff using the same guitar, amp and effect, he didn't even tweak anything, they're both incredible players the style is kinda similiar but their tone is really different so what do you guys think

 

[King Knall]

Tone, for the most part, comes from the player's fingers. Even with an identical rig to let's say Vai, one still can't nail his tone.

 

[Chris777]

It's moreso the player than the equipment. No matter what I play I usually sound like me, barring extreme circumastances of course.

 

[aloymetal]

it debated a lot in few forums.
and i'm very confuse now :lol:
for me... both player & equipment is important to get the good tone.

 

[Davey]

I sound the same through anything if that's an answer, lol

Well, I guess it is in a way. People that know me can tell it's me playing through any rig, so I guess it's the player that the tone comes from.

 

[The Euphor]

Player.

 

[Planeflux]

I've heard the "tone comes from the fingers" reasoning over and over again, and frankly, I just don't get it. Now, I can agree that fingers/technique are a big influence, but they just doesn't provide 'tone'. Hand Mr. Vai a Chibanez and a cheap solid-state amp and see if he can come up with anything that even sounds remotely close to his original tone.

 

[GilkyBear]

It depends on your definition of tone. If by tone you mean the actual sound coming out of the speaker, regardless of inflection, it is the gear. What I mean by this is if you held a c note on the a string and plucked it, no vibrato or anything, and then put a capo on the same guitar thru the same rig and plucked the same note, a blindfolded person would not be able to distinguish between the two.
But we seem to be defining "tone" as the sound including all the little nuances of individual playing, like vibrato for example. In that case, of course no two players sound the same.
In my opinion, the definition of the word "tone" should have nothing to do with individual player idiosynchracies. Because if 2 players are playing the same guitar through the same amp, one player can not get more sustain out of it for example, it is wood and wire. The pickups only pick up vibrations from the edge of the fret to the bridge, so who's finger is holding it down has no affect on "tone".
I think people are lumping things like "feel", "vibrato", and everyone's unique playing quirks in with "tone" and that is not correct.

 

[GilkyBear]

To illustrate my point, think of it like this, by the definition of "tone", if it is to include players unique quirks, then if Steve Vai played a Jem through a Marshall, and a Les Paul through a Fender amp then his "tone" should be exactly the same in both cases, right? Come on, it's the same player. But of course we know it won't sound the same. So I think players little quirks should not be included in the definition of "tone".

They ABSOLUTELY affect the sound, I just don't think they should be included in the actual defenition of "tone".

 

[StevenMikel]

I agree,an individual's "touch" shouldn't be included in the definition of tone.Guitar tone is the combination of woods,pick-ups,and amplification,a player's "touch" is what makes their tone their's.On another site,a tech said a guitar's tone is,60% pick-ups,30% body wood,and 10% neck wood.I think body wood and pick-ups are more like 55% and 45%.

 

[Davey]

Just given my nephew a lesson. I was playing my PGM300 through my dad's Marshall practice amp, and my nephew was playing his Epiphone Les Paul special through a Park practice amp. I tried his gear out and you could hear ME through the sound of the amp but the TONE was (obviously) significantly different.

A very strange question that has too many variables to get a straight answer (but great for a debate. :mrgreen

 

[nickcoumbe]

No combination of gear has been able to hide my playing, even from myself.

Good gear is always nice to use though.

 

[Davey]

lol I know how you feel

 

[GilkyBear]

+1 Well said Nick lol

 

[ChopTart]

It depends on your definition of tone. If by tone you mean the actual sound coming out of the speaker, regardless of inflection, it is the gear. What I mean by this is if you held a c note on the a string and plucked it, no vibrato or anything, and then put a capo on the same guitar thru the same rig and plucked the same note, a blindfolded person would not be able to distinguish between the two.
But we seem to be defining "tone" as the sound including all the little nuances of individual playing, like vibrato for example. In that case, of course no two players sound the same.
In my opinion, the definition of the word "tone" should have nothing to do with individual player idiosynchracies. Because if 2 players are playing the same guitar through the same amp, one player can not get more sustain out of it for example, it is wood and wire. The pickups only pick up vibrations from the edge of the fret to the bridge, so who's finger is holding it down has no affect on "tone".
I think people are lumping things like "feel", "vibrato", and everyone's unique playing quirks in with "tone" and that is not correct.

+1 Gilk

I don't understand how two people that play a note through the same gear with relatively similar pick attack can sound that different. I think the gear makes the FUNDAMENTAL tone, but its the player's addatives (vibratos, bends etc) at certain times that finish the SOUND. When you speak fundamentally about tone, IMO its not the techniques or the methods the players use.

 

[jemsite]

this argument again?

It depends on your definition of tone. If by tone you mean the actual sound coming out of the speaker, regardless of inflection, it is the gear. What I mean by this is if you held a c note on the a string and plucked it, no vibrato or anything, and then put a capo on the same guitar thru the same rig and plucked the same note, a blindfolded person would not be able to distinguish between the two.

Thing is that you can't play the guitar that way.

Tone is changed by the way you pick (strength of attack, depth, etc.) for starters... you could get nearly endless tones just by tweaking your pick hand.

Good tone is generated by the fingers, not the equipment... glen

 

[GilkyBear]

I agree, and I said that has a huge affect, but I'll bet I can get a bigger actual difference in sound by adding an eq or a wah wah pedal than anyone can with their fingers alone. It's definitely a combination, but I think gear has more ability to affect your "tone" than your hands do.

 

[jemsite]

of course gear establishes the baseline... you can't compare the tone of a nylon-string classical guitar to a JEM.

it's just when people say "tone is in the fingers" it assumes reasonably similar equipment. good players can compensate for the tone of a bad pedal or bad amp or different pickup.

since it's easier to change gear than the way we play, this is tough to digest and come to grips with ... glen

 

[Rotti]

It depends what kind of music you are into and what you think "Tone" is. If you are into modern heavy metal then the gear is the #1 thing. If you are into blues, rock, country (god forbid) then your playing style is where 75% of the tone comes from and then 25% more comes from your rig. A good amp and guitar will add to the tone factor. Basicly if you have the licks you can plug into anything and sound good.

Just MHO.

 

[GilkyBear]

Again, I am thinking it is in how we define tone. In Tom's question, he said 2 guitar players played through the same equipment and their tone was completely different. Now I am positive that their styles were different and he could tell who was who without looking, but that's style and touch. When he says their "tone" was different I don't think he meant one had more treble and one had more bass. Our fingers and palm CAN and DO influence this, but nowhere near to the degree that the knobs on the amp can. IMHO.