Tone Is NOT In “The Hands”

[KoaCharvel]

Is the tone in the room with us right now?

[TheTapMusic]

This discussion is always interesting, so I’ll throw my 2 cents into the hat.

Tone = Equipment + Touch.

You literally change the sound of your instrument with how you touch it, and that change is magnified with each successive piece of gear down the line. In a way, the gear isn’t as important as understanding how to get what you want out of ANY gear. It’s not that gear doesn’t matter, it’s that NOTHING matters if you’re not listening to your sound and adapting your touch to get the desired result.

[garymesser]

I Agree, I’ll go one further, it’s in the moment, a performance is in the hands, finger pressure, Positioning, picking, other techniques…
Amp ( if used in a studio, I tend to go straight into my interface) processing, guitar, pick ups, but what about mood… did you get enough sleep, too much sleep, hungry, happy, sad.. everything influences performance. Have you ever listened back to something you’ve done, and said, how the hell did I pull that off? Every moment in your life is a one of a kind, if you experience it AS YOU, and not you trying to be someone else!

[MadsBoldingMusic]

Maybe the real tone all along was the friends we made along way

[somesax]

I remember when I was younger seeing an amateur musician playing and complaining about the instrument quality and then a senior player plays it and it sounds just amazing. Doesn't even have to say anything just, "na it works fine"

[Guitar_Wolf]

I think the broader point is that without talented hands, the speaker, pickups, cables, amps, etc don't mean sheite.

With good hands and an amplified guitar (or acoustic) can sound incredible.

[markhilbert]

It was said of Hendrix it didnt matter what guitar he played he always sounded like Hendrix.

[faboolean]

We can argue about tone all day but if you want to sound like a good musician, your hands and how you decide to use them on the fretboard do all of the heavy lifting.

You will sound better at guitar if you invested your money into education rather than fancy pedals or speakers

[tmbrady]

I once heard a guitar player who is auditioning for Jeff Beck band. Tell a story. He went into Jeff studio at his house, and there was 11 or 12 Amps in there. Jeff Beck told this guitarist to get his tone out of all of those amps. For the great ones…It is in your hands.

[sirdudeness]

Thanks Rhett for keeping it 100 about tone. I’ve been playing guitar since I was 14 and I’m now 44. I love how guitar in a way is a blank canvas for all musicians to create are own art.

[JoeyJoJoJr]

Well, the tone is definitely not in my hands, I can tell you that.

[randyroberts]

I don't know, man. My buddy is a Tele guy. We're at his place pickin' and his wifeypoo beckons. So I grab the Tele, plugged into an old Deluxe, and proceed to make the thinnest, sharpest racket you ever heard. I tried every variation, pickups, tone & volume, distance from the bridge with my pick.... He makes it sound like a massive bell. Every note just speaks clear. When I play it, it's so brittle and thin it sounds like something is wrong.

[pierrelebreton]

There was the awesome series from Jim Lill on “where does the tone comes from” looking into differences in the build of speakers, microphones, guitar, etc.
I strongly recommend watching it. Lots of fun

[billyfubar]

Its not ONLY the hands. It's the soul.

[DreamerVisionary]

It is truly about all about all parameters moving to the beat of the tone and the sound.

[justinmayfield]

Thank you for calling this out. There is something called “finger tone, ” but you have to consciously develop it and I have known exactly 1 player who has. He spent 9 months for 16 hours/day working on his finger tone and he sounded like him on any guitar.

However, for everyone but that one guy, you’ll get a lot more mileage out of pickups and pedals. Otherwise, I suppose my fuzz sound is really just coming out of my fingers?

Notes and dynamics are in the hands, tone is in the gear.

[edwardbosloper]

Tone is in the interaction of all aspects of playing. The room, the tone, your emotional state, your level of energy, the guitar itself, the pedals, the amp and the interaction of all things

[gabebondoc]

Contrary to popular belief - "tone" is in our hearts.

[AlmostLakai]

It's true. Had a random older gentleman pop his head into the room I was playing in at guitar center to compliment how well of a clean tone I was getting from a Marshall (I'm not by any means a good player and definitely wasn't back then at 18yo 😂) and it's a moment I've never forgotten. Wasn't a compliment to my skills necessarily but still a highly regarded compliment that shaped my confidence in building out what I hear in my mind 😂

[carterheekin]

But the beauty of it is there are so many ways to get sounds that makes you happy and that are really special, with enough practice using what you've got.