"Tone is in the Hands" - a Less than Truthful Statement

[firemodel55]

An excerpt from the Tonequest April 2011 issue:

"Like they say, I suppose I could play any cheap, candy-ass guitar and sound like me, but why would I want to?" -- T. Funk LaGrange

Truer words were never spoken - even by a master of vague obfuscation like T. Funk.  Why is it that the very same dudes that so enjoy spouting off about how 'tone is in yer hands' are so picky about what they put in their hands in the first place?  This of course, is one of the big lies that sounds so good on the surface that we gladly swallow it even when our instincts tell us otherwise.  Let's call [gooey brown stuff] on the 'tone is in your hands' thing once and for all, shall we?

The thinking man understands that tone truly gestates in the mind -- the hands are merely willing accomplices in a complex dance that involves heart, mind and soul, and yes, it does matter what guitar you play.  In fact, the better you can play the more it seems to matter.  The guitars you choose to play can offer romance as intense as the imagined images of women you would possess in your dreams.  The difference, of course, is that in the hard glare of day to day living, a good guitar is likely to be a lot less trouble.

Are there guitarists right now this very moment flogabatizing over the fantasy of an old Mosrite being gently stroked to climax?  Surely not.  Half the fun of playing the guitar is also about playing cool guitars, and we love owning cool guitars about as much as we love playing them.  Uncool guitars generally don't get asked to the dance, unless your shine is all about being uncool in the first place, in which case the uncool is considered cool.  We just saw Buddy Miller with Robert Plant ... Buddy Miller plays some guitars that were very uncool when he bought them.  Now they are not only cool but expensive... But they won't come with Buddy Miller's heart, mind and soul, and if you buy one, you probably ain't gonna sound like Buddy Miller.  Wearing a cool hat won't help either.  Tone is not in yer hat.

[stringman]

Wow Alex, another tone debate? This is becoming endless....

But I beg to disagree on this topic. Eric Johnson playing on his strat and playing on his ES335 still sounds like Eric Johnson no matter what guitar he uses. He still sounds damn good! And his tone is very distinct.

There was one statement before that tone is how a player wants to sound. A guitar player will always sound the same with different guitars because he will always tweak each to find a sweet spot. Now that is very true! Indeed tone is subjective!

[bryanarzaga]

a non player wouldnt be able to dissect the dynamics of playing..

playing to me is like drawing..you can give them the same pencil and the outcome of the strokes will be different..

such as if you have different players hit the same note, they would hit that same note differently

there is both tone in your gear and tonal differences in your playing, you cant rely on just one side..

[firemodel55]

Wow Alex, another tone debate? This is becoming endless....

But I beg to disagree on this topic. Eric Johnson playing on his strat and playing on his ES335 still sounds like Eric Johnson no matter what guitar he uses. He still sounds damn good! And his tone is very distinct.

There was one statement before that tone is how a player wants to sound. A guitar player will always sound the same with different guitars because he will always tweak each to find a sweet spot. Now that is very true! Indeed tone is subjective!

So, why does Eric Johnson not play a Santa Mesa Strat or a Korean ES335?  The point of this article is why would he when he can play on something better.  Which in the end means, that Eric Johnson chooses his equipment because its more important to him than being labeled a 'tone is in the hands' player.

[Tasty]

Of course. Tone is the result of the guitarist's playing style and the gear he/she is using. Everybody knows that.

Why else would people spend time "upgrading" even the smallest parts of a guitar if tone came solely from the fingers?

[pitongjerome]

combination of hands and gears.

and i also wouldn't wanna play a cheap, candy-ass guitar.

[stringman]

So, why does Eric Johnson not play a Santa Mesa Strat or a Korean ES335?  The point of this article is why would he when he can play on something better.  Which in the end means, that Eric Johnson chooses his equipment because its more important to him than being labeled a 'tone is in the hands' player.

Why would Eric Johnson even bother playing a Sta Mesa strat or a Korean ES335? C'mon you can think better than this! The Sta Mesa guitars are not even competing with the US brands, its even a no brainer.

You said it yourself, not all US Gibsons sound good. My point is if you let Eric Johnson play with your Suhr or your other guitars he would still sound like himself and that distinct tone, that even when you close your eyes you know it's him. Or even if we reverse it, if Eric Johnson lets you play with his gear you would still sound like yourself.

Eric Johnson's favorite strat was a 2nd hand guitar he bought. He didn't even have to pay lots of money to buy that guitar, but it worked well for him.

[cayle]

Well, without your hands, how can you play? Some play with their feet, so tone is their feet.

Gear and hands work hand in hand (pun intended) in creating tone.

combination of hands and gears.

and i also wouldn't wanna play a cheap, candy-ass guitar.

+1. 

[stringman]

Yes it does help hand in hand. I just don't know why Alex would pair off a Sta Mesa guitar againts a US guitar. He knows better than this.

[region III]

Eric Johnson's favorite strat was a 2nd hand guitar he bought. He didn't even have to pay lots of money to buy that guitar, but it worked well for him.

Whooooah! another tone party.

EVH's original sound came from a cheap ibanez destroyer.

Tone is in your head. evil:

[acidtest]

the sum of all parts....   

[bryanarzaga]

Yes it does help hand in hand. I just don't know why Alex would pair off a Sta Mesa guitar againts a US guitar. He knows better than this.

hopefully..

well to put what firemodel quotted from t-funk.

"Like they say, I suppose I could play any cheap, candy-ass guitar and sound like me, but why would I want to?"

its yeah, i can make anything work and play through this and that, but if i have the option to play with what i want to play with im going with that

to me its basically saying if i have the freedom to play the equipment of my choice i will do that

[prince22]

You're taking things too literally. As with everything, it is most definitely the sum of its parts.

[superbuni123]

You're taking things too literally. As with everything, it is most definitely the sum of its parts.

Yep.

[kawayan_strat]

Here we go again.....IMO,nasa indian parin yan! Aanhin mo magandang gamit kung di mo naman kayang bigyan ng hustisya! "You can play on my gear the whole day,and it will still sound like you,but if i play on your gear,it will still sound like me"-Steve Lukather

[arpeggiosfromheaven]

another topic debate. hmmmm

[stringman]

EJ playing Cliffs of Dover on a Gibson SG

feature=related

EJ playing Cliffs of Dover on his Strat

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Although the SG may sound a bit fatter, the famed EJ tone is just the same with both guitars. Now if EJ will lend both of these guitars for Firemodel to use without even changing the settings, will the guitars sound the same? Tone is the soul of a musician playing. The gear may help to deliver the tone, but definitely nasa Indian nga yan!

That's why even if you buy and replicate the gear of your favorite guitarist, you will never sound the same. You can develop your own tone, but you can never buy another ones tone.

[Jason]

why would EJ play a sta. mesa strat? because he does'nt even know how to go to sta. mesa

[Tasty]

Here we go again.....IMO,nasa indian parin yan! Aanhin mo magandang gamit kung di mo naman kayang bigyan ng hustisya! "You can play on my gear the whole day,and it will still sound like you,but if i play on your gear,it will still sound like me"-Steve Lukather

It actually goes both ways. Aanhin mo ang skills kung wala ka namang matinong gamit?

It doesn't matter if I play on a 200k amp or a cheap 15-watt Behringer, I will still sound like me because the style of playing is the same. The actual tone that comes out, however, will surely be worlds apart.

At the end of the day, it's all about getting the song in your head out for people to hear (and hopefully appreciate). And you need decent--but not necessarily expensive--gear to do that.

[Jason]

It actually goes both ways. Aanhin mo ang skills kung wala ka namang matinong gamit?

It doesn't matter if I play on a 200k amp or a cheap 15-watt Behringer, I will still sound like me because the style of playing is the same. The actual tone that comes out, however, will surely be worlds apart.

At the end of the day, it's all about getting the song in your head out for people to hear (and hopefully appreciate). And you need decent--but not necessarily expensive--gear to do that.

buti nababanggit pa sa forums yung amp ko kahit sobrang outdated na

[Musikerochan]

whenever i play through someone's rig i always tweak the amps as much as possible - lalo na if said amp has a fairly responsive EQ - to get closer to how i would want myself to sound. unless of course im using SCs, then that's a different topic altogether.

[Tasty]

buti nababanggit pa sa forums yung amp ko kahit sobrang outdated na

I still have one as well.

[johnbrown]

Tone is  

EJ playing Cliffs of Dover on a Gibson SG

feature=related

EJ playing Cliffs of Dover on his Strat

feature=related

Although the SG may sound a bit fatter, the famed EJ tone is just the same with both guitars. Tone is the soul of a musician playing. The gear may help to deliver the tone, but definitely nasa Indian nga yan!

That's why even if you buy and replicate the gear of your favorite guitarist, you will never sound the same. You can develop your own tone, but you can never buy another ones tone.

Totally agree to this! Another good example is Gregor Hilden. A lot of demo's of different guitars and tone is similar. A good example how big percentage tone comes from the INDIAN.

Guitar is the instrument of preference and character. The fun part is how you adjust your playing to the piece of art your holding  

[Jason]

I still have one as well.

cool!

BTT: tama kahit siguro hindi si greg kahit si Guthrie na lang eh mismo talaga

[randymarsh]

I attended Steve Vai's Alien Guitar Secrets last month here in Sydney and for 15 or 20 minutes he did talk about "tone is in the hands". From what I can recall, Steve mentioned that gear is a small fraction of your over all tone. Tone is more than the choice of notes you play. If you play a lick or a group of chord, it is how you space out the notes or chords. The intonation. How you pick every note, How fast or slow the sides of the pick slide and leaves the string when you pick a note. How you make every note ring.

He then called a kid from the audience, and handed over one of his Jem. The kid started playing the intro of "Sweet Child 'O Mine". First thing he mentioned was Slash had bad intonation which he says it's a good thing as it adds a different character to Slash's tone. Steve Vai is a perfectionist. I recognized this when he pushed the kid to play the SCOM lick very very slow over and over again. We made sure that the kid and every one in the room gets the message.

Tone is the product of what you intend to play and how you execute it with your hands. That was his message. And it is evident with recognizable guitar players like Stevie Ray, Eric Johnson, John Petricci, John Frusciante, Malmsteen, etc. If you watch any video of Eric Johnson on youtube, he is so animated and so an*l when playing chords. He made sure that everything rings properly. Blues Saraceno is a great example of tone is in your hands. Give him crap gear and yet he still sounds like himself.

This was Steve Vai talking. He's more credible than anyone in this forum.