Gear Outside, Tone Inside

I get a lot of questions about my guitar “tone” in my videos.

Ok, yes it has improved since I first started posting videos.  But, this brings to mind a very valuable music lesson I once had from my mentor which I’d like share with you.

Nerd speak for one sentence:  For this video I use a Maton guitar, a fresh set of uncoated phosphor bronze strings, 2 RODE mics and a DI, into Garage band.  (For more detailed CD type recording my setup varies slightly.)

I recorded this song about 25 times in my home studio the day prior as practice.

I searched, listened, and allowed magic to pop up, I discarded ideas that did not work, and I voiced the same chords “umpteen” ways until I found just the “right” way.

This was not an analytical process….it was intuitive, creative and gut level.  Right and left brain had to work together to realize the overall sound I wanted.

During the practice session I had a myriad of tones, dynamics, grooves, tempos…

Each practice recording sounded totally different from the next in color and timbre.  Of course there were technical things that I worked on, but it was all in the service of the sound.

When one practices a performance or crafts an arrangement it requires searching for “just the right sound.”  The small changes made over time are like the low flame that turns a pot of chopped vegetables and water into a “savory soup”.

This “savory soup” does not come only from a Maton guitar, a fresh set of uncoated phosphor bronze strings, 2 RODE mics and a DI, into Garage band.  It comes from listening and undergoing the process I have described.

Looking back, I can remember 20 years ago asking my mentor about the sound of my guitar.  At the time I was trying to decide  whether “flat wound” or “round wound”  guitar strings had a better tone.

He told me “the tone you seek is inside.”   20 years later I see what he meant!

Until next time….Enjoy!

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