Recently one of my customers tried his guitar out on a new amplifier. He really loved the sound. He spoke of having some buyer's remorse on his current amplifier. Up till the point of trying out the new amplifier, he was happy. Now he has an inner desire for a new sound - what he considers to be a better sound. We all suffer this. Sad, huh?
There's nothing wrong with this. It makes the guitar and amplifier world go around, and for those of us who build, provides us with an almost endless supply of customers! And that's a good thing.
To be honest, I also am in that camp. I own way too many guitars and amplifiers, and I also like to hear many, many different tones, always looking for that heavenly one. The trouble is, that sound never lasts too long, and off I go again, looking for another better one. So what makes us keep doing this? Did Chuck Berry change his "sound" once he dialed in that Johnny B. Goode sound, or Maybelline? Not that I can hear. Most of the major bands from the 60's and even 70's dialed in a certain sound, and ran with it. Les Paul always sounded like Les Paul, as did Chet Atkins, and many, many others.
But in this world of thousands of stomp boxes, and hundreds of amplifiers and guitars, players of all types are looking for the sound, forever changing equipment.
Many pro players say that it's really in your fingers, and that any given guitar played by a famous player will sound like that player, not like the guitar. There is some real truth in this, but it's not the whole picture. To put a David Gilmour on a double humbucker Ibanez, or sticking Brad Paisley on a Les Paul with Gibson Burstbuckers would certainly change their sound. Not the style, maybe, but the sound would definitely change.
So there it is. What guitar, amplifier, settings, stomp boxes, strings, picks and finger attack defines your sound? Have you ever even thought of that? Or do you just play the same way, trying out different instruments with different amps, and hope for the true tone/sound you've looked for your entire life?
My job is to build and sell custom guitars to the specifications of the new owners. So far, I'm doing fine. I build all types and manners of guitars, and I also offer a little better sustain and attack with my tonal chamber system. But I would also say that one of the biggest sellers for me is not the sound...are you ready? It's the look.
If 40% of all automobiles in the United States are sold on color, (and they are), it should be no surprise that an awful lot of guitars are sold on looks. Is there any real difference in sound in a flame maple top vs. a quilted maple top vs. a plain maple top? I sincerely doubt it...
Does sea foam green sound different than black? Heck, no...
But if you walk into any guitar store in the country the color palette just hits you square in the face. And that is a wonderful thing! The beautiful woods, the wonderful colors, all make our artistic senses go wild, including our musical senses. Some would even say they play better on a guitar of a certain type or wood style. Maybe so, who am I to judge?
And then there are the style purists. Let me break their bubble a little.
If you are a disciple of the Stratocaster with maple neck crowd, you might be surprised to know how many woods Fender has made Strat bodies out of in the last 60 years. Basswood, Alder, Poplar, Maple, Swamp Ash, just to name a few off the top of my head. And the paint has changed multiple times, from the original old nitro lacquer finishes which were banned in the mid 70's, to the thick, polyurethane finishes we sometimes see today. And in the old days, a lot of guitars were painted with car paint! Today, there is a lot of water based products out there, since the EPA has put their foot down on emissions. If some woods are better at being so-called "tone woods", what do all these changes do to Fenders over the years? And what is your guitar covered with? Red, or white, or natural would probably be a more honest answer. And the wood? Most of the owners of painted guitars cannot tell you. And that's a fact, unless they were told in the owner's manual, or found someone who sanded off their paint and posted the correct answer on a forum. Pros usually always know, but the bulk of us? Not a clue...
So a lot of things change and yet most things stay the same. What to do? I want my sound!!
I recommend the next time you try out a guitar, or commission someone to build one, remember this: Most any sound can be pried out of most guitars...
There are exceptions, of course, but listening to Slash run a high pitched, screaming solo out of his Les Paul tells you that not all of those Les Paul style guitars sound "brown". And examples like that just keep on coming.
It's all a combination, folks, of the things I listed above. How you listen, and what you like, is totally up to you. It's your sound. Once you begin to develop it, you will come back to it again and again. Just like Chuck Berry did so many years ago...
So let your artistic eyes and ears wander. If you love Redheart wood, that's great! If you favor Maple over Ebony, good for you. Tube amps over solid state? Ok with me! It matters not, because given the right situation, and combination of items, your signature sound will pop, and you will come back to that sound again and again.
By the way - what's mine? A smooth, clean high edged humbucker sound with just a hint of reverb. That's my favorite. Sometimes with just a bit of distortion, but just a bit, a teeny bit...
Tsunami
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