What Is Tone?

Guitar tone is something that can be difficult to discuss with both experienced and inexperienced guitar players. Is it in the hands or is it in the gear? Maybe it's just an excuse to buy shit.

I am just going to get it out and say it's very little of what you're playing through and largely what your hands are doing. Believe it or not, it's like 95 percent in your hands. Now doing what most players do, I sit and watch videos of gear snobs talk about tone on YouTube, and very few get it right in my unprofessional amateur opinion.

I was watching a YouTube video the other day about John Mayer's tone, and yes, I’m a huge Mayer fan. He was talking about this new pedal he got and how it nails that Live in LA tone. The problem was that when it came down to the sound demo, it wasn't what I would call close. If you listened to his playing as a non-Mayer fan/guitar player, you would say, “Wow, that's nice”. As a Mayer fan and player, you would say, “Man, this guy doesn't play enough. He was getting the notes right, but it just sounded flat.

As a player I’m sure most guitar players are searching for a tone in their head that they are trying to match to their actual playing, but what I think what happens with a lot of people who post their demos on youtube or instagram, is they practice getting the correct finger positions on the fretboard, but don't put enough time into the voicings.

Now what's vocings? To sum it all up, it's essentially just vibratos and bends, which add an extra touch to those notes. It's up to you as the player to figure out what you need to do on the fretboard to get the notes out.

I believe a lot of guitar players out there don’t fully invest in good practice, which equals a bad tone, or a tone you are not looking for. This is not to say everybody is playing wrong and sounds bad. There are many good guitar videos out there, and fantastic covers; it's just rare to find a cover of a song or just a guy noodling around that makes you want to keep watching.

When you practice whatever you're trying to learn on guitar, I recommend turning the amp off or using an acoustic guitar. Really pay attention to how you are fretting things and what the guy you're trying to imitate is doing. On YouTube, I like to play videos at 0.5 speed and figure out what their hands are doing to squeeze those notes out.

I find it's best to break things down into sections, and I wouldn't rush trying to just get the lick or riff down as fast as possible. Really slow down and take your time through each section of a song. I won’t learn the next part of a riff until my hands get each section memorized. This approach is what really helps me get the tone I'm trying to find.

With this being said, I find whenever I use a cheap guitar and a cheap amp, my playing “tone” sounds the same as when I am using an expensive guitar and an expensive amp. This realization of my tone took a couple of years to figure out; it's not the gear that's going to help get my tone I'm looking for, but it's my hands and the quality of practice.

I hope this can bring you closer to finding your tone, or perhaps just help you practice a little better than before. If you have any thoughts, arguments, or suggestions, please send me an email. I'd love to hear any feedback.