How Good Should You Be Before You Care About Tone?

[PlukkyBoy]

However, if your primary focus is your tone, and you never work on timing, technique, theory and taste, then you'll be crap, and no one will want to play with you.
Tone has to develop, alongside and in conjunction with the rest of your skill on the instrument.

If only you could have told me this ten years ago...

[Rog]

I used to think that tone on bass was not very important, until I bought some Gibson basses. Then I realised that it really does matter and went back to Fenders.

[Bg]

Tone is exactly proportionate to the effort you put in to create it...

[Scooter13]

I agree with the point that as soon as you think you are ready, your are. I don't care if I see someone who can't play owning killer gear, if it makes them happy then go for it (providing they didn't outbid me on trademe).

However, I reckon everyone should own some ultra crap gear at some stage, preferably when you are first learning. It makes you appreciate "good" gear that much more later on.

And saving your money for one real good piece of equipment is better than incrementally changing little things you can afford at the moment I reckon....it's like abstaining from sex with a new hot girlfriend/bf....the longer you wait, the better it is when it comes. (Of course this also means that the gf/bf/equipment could find another owner, or vice versa)

Then when you got that real good guitar and amp combo you can be more focused on little things.

Of course some of us simply can't save for that long to buy the things we really want...which is why finance is cool sometimes if you can afford it/be responsible with it

[jeremyb]

If you're worried about tone you're not playing loud enough.

[DarcyPerry]

Right now is a good time to care about tone. Keep caring on your journey.

The type of guitar you play is not as important as how you play it. Buy an Ibanez anyway.

Tube amps are cool (I like 'em) but great tone can be had with solid state, or even straight into the desk. Too many examples of this to list.

Take your pick and try a different edge, or throw it away! I play with my fingers and that helps me. I also tried acrylic nails, flamenco style, for a while but now I use the flesh pads and keep the nails short. Or try a coin. It works for Brian May.

Tone is in the ears of the beholder. Here is a great tone in my opinion. Seasick Steve playing Cut My Wings. Take note of his fingerstyle on a beat up, 75 dollar, three string guitar and well-travelled, reliable solid state amp.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RlUwS1LKRs[/youtube]

Enjoy your tone quest!

[machina]

LOVE Seasick Steve! Saw him at Glastonbury last year, just him and another gnarly old dude with long hair thrashing the shit outta some drums. Was totally awesome. Raw as hell.

[badmotor]

+1 on loving Seasick Steve.

[electric68]

+2 on Seasick Steve - his dilapidated gear makes me embarrassed to have good gear and never sound as good.

BTW, re gear - I agree a guitar that is physically enjoyable to play is really important (unless you're Jack White and claim you want to struggle to play...). I also have had really good guitars and similarly great amps which hate one another - maybe someone technical can explain it, but I look for a guitar and amp that interact with one another, especially at levels which make the amp do some work (does that make sense???).

[Zaulkin]

Tone is subjective, and the only people that ever care are other guitarists

Seriously I reckon you should be thinking about tone from day one - but not in terms of gear. The most important things are to do with your playing: your intonation, the way you hold the strings, the way you pick (and what with), your vibrato. You also want to ensure whatever gear you have is set up optimally.

This!

Tone is always there and while having good gear may help, you will still sound like you through whatever gear you play. Make the best of what you have by keeping it well set up and if you can afford to upgrade, then do it, but don't neglect a part of your playing because you are waiting on some new stuff. There are plenty of amazing guitarists at my uni and some of them can only afford a $300 guitar.

[willow13]

Tone is subjective, and the only people that ever care are other guitarists

Seriously I reckon you should be thinking about tone from day one - but not in terms of gear. The most important things are to do with your playing: your intonation, the way you hold the strings, the way you pick (and what with), your vibrato. You also want to ensure whatever gear you have is set up optimally.

This!

Tone is always there and while having good gear may help, you will still sound like you through whatever gear you play. Make the best of what you have by keeping it well set up and if you can afford to upgrade, then do it, but don't neglect a part of your playing because you are waiting on some new stuff. There are plenty of amazing guitarists at my uni and some of them can only afford a $300 guitar.

These!

know matter what guitar/amp combo I play it still sounds the same, which can be a pain because when I play a les paul it just doesn't have the Fat bottom end that you would usually associate with a LP...I make them sound thin and weaselly

[alanp]

LOVE Seasick Steve! Saw him at Glastonbury last year, just him and another gnarly old dude with long hair thrashing the shit outta some drums. Was totally awesome. Raw as hell.

http://www.amp-fix.com/amps.htm

Minor article by John Beer on fixing Seasick Steve's tweed bassman. Kinda funny, the cones are ripped and whatnot, but Seasick still says don't fix it! They never sound as good once they've been fixed!

[machina]

LOVE Seasick Steve! Saw him at Glastonbury last year, just him and another gnarly old dude with long hair thrashing the shit outta some drums. Was totally awesome. Raw as hell.

http://www.amp-fix.com/amps.htm

Minor article by John Beer on fixing Seasick Steve's tweed bassman. Kinda funny, the cones are ripped and whatnot, but Seasick still says don't fix it! They never sound as good once they've been fixed!

Thanks dude, that was a cool little read. Cool to know that's what he was using at Glasto. I'd love to have a totally thrashed old amp like that, heaps of mojo.

[Hot_Grits]

To me tone (in all the various definitions applied to it) is essentially a subset of musicianship.

insomuch as: worrying about your sound is the same as worrying about a sonic component of your band or recorded work.

So, if 'is my tone any good?' is reframed as 'does my music sound good?' or 'am I inspired to create?' -then it seems to me that any time is a good time to think about it.

It just happens that it takes a few years for most us to start grappling with the tone issue. I think most of that is down to the process of gathering experience, in terms of listening to music as a musician, playing music and trying equipment.

[Hot_Grits]

I don't think it's ever too early to be thinking about and improving your tone.

However, if your primary focus is your tone, and you never work on timing, technique, theory and taste, then you'll be crap, and no one will want to play with you.
Tone has to develop, alongside and in conjunction with the rest of your skill on the instrument.

I reckon tone is timing, technique and taste as much as it is anything else.

The example I often give is how much the sound of a guitar part in a mix can change if moved a tiny smidge left or right in protools. It's still the same tone. But the timing in relation to the rest of the elements in the track has changed the sound in a very hearable way.

Theory: not so much.