In Search of the Perfect Guitar "Tone"

Have you anytime heard a recording of a guitar abandoned and thought, "I ambition I could get that tone"?
If you're like a lot of of us the acknowledgment is a aural "yes". We, as guitar players, are consistently analytic for that new sound, that missing section to the addle area we will ascertain nirvana...the absolute tone!
The absorbing affair about guitar accent is that there are a actor agency to adjust, tweak, and achieve assorted tones. And even if we knew the exact guitar/amp/effects rig that the guitarist on the recording used, there are so abounding variables complex that it could be actually absurd to anytime actualize an exact archetype of the accent on the record. Close, but rarely exact.
But the actuality that there are so abounding variables complex in guitar accent is an advantage. It allows us to actualize a complete that is altered and all our own, just by dialing a few knobs.
Here is a abbreviate account of methods you can use to "shape" your complete if analytic for the absolute tone:
1. Guitar
Every guitar produces its own complete that is altered and set afar from others. Factors such as pickups, architecture materials, affront lath types and added all accord to this. In addition, about all guitars, electric and acoustic/electric accept on lath EQ controls. Start actuality by authoritative adjustments in accent to clothing your tastes.
2. Guitar Amp EQ
Most amps accept a 3 bandage EQ that allows you to acclimatize the bass, middle, and top accent levels. There are bottomless combinations actuality but you can activate by ambience the bass and top (or treble) to a adapted position, again adjusting the mid's. A addition of the mid ambit will aftermath added distortion, and a abatement will apple-pie up your tone.
3. Guitar Amp Distortion
Many amps accept "channel switching" capabilities that acquiesce you to about-face amid a apple-pie channel, and a baloney or accretion channel. Within the baloney access there will generally be a access "gain" adjustment, as able-bodied as a "master" aggregate akin adjustment.
For added distortion, about-face up the "gain" and lower the "master". For a cleaner crunch, about-face down the "gain" and access the "master.
4. Baloney Pedal
The amount of assorted baloney pedals on the bazaar are too abundant to acknowledgment and allotment one is generally a amount of balloon and absurdity over a continued aeon of time, and beneath acute burden to the wallet!
Each pedal has its own nuances and appeals to altered segments of the guitar arena population. Acclimation options ambit from actual basal and simplistic - to "over the top" complicated.
Even the simplest baloney pedals accept a advanced ambit of tonal options and the aftereffect is that no two guitarists with the aforementioned pedal anytime complete absolutely the same.
5. Compressor Pedal
A compressor or compressor/sustainer pedal acts to "level out" the brief peaks commonly produced by a guitar. They are abnormally advantageous with a "Strat" appearance guitar with individual braid pickups.
A compressor pedal can be acclimated to "fatten" up the accent of a guitar that is contrarily attenuate aural and advice it jump out of the mix.
6. Wah Wah Pedal
A wah wah pedal is annihilation added than a adored accent potentiometer army in a bottom controlled pedal. A lot of guitarists are accustomed with the use of it as a agency to aftermath a "wah" complete agnate to that of a babyish crying.
But because it is an awkward accent ascendancy it can aswell be acclimated to accomplish accent adjustments by ambience it in one position and abrogation it there. It's a abundant way to aftermath a actual "Santana-esque" sound.
7. Cord Attack
One huge affair in free guitar accent that is generally disregarded is the feel and aces advance on the strings and affront board.
Some players accept a abundant attack, some lighter, others are about in amid - and as a result, we all aftermath a hardly altered accent through our concrete access to the guitar.
In fact, you could yield ten guitar players on the exact aforementioned rig set absolutely the aforementioned way - and anniversary would complete a little altered artlessly due to their own altered cord attack.
This is by no agency an all-embracing account of the alone methods accessible for abstraction your tone. There are, of course, abundant added types of furnishings pedals, abounding multitudes of guitar and amp combinations, acoustics of the allowance or area - and added factors that accord to guitar tone.
So how do we acquisition the absolute guitar tone?
In over 30 years of arena guitar professionally my acknowledgment would be "we don't"! We generally acquisition a "great" accent that absolutely trips our activate for a while, again after we get active for something new. That's just the attributes of guitar players. We're consistently searching.
But whether it's a new tone, a new lick or riff, a new ambit or scale, or a new song - the adorableness of arena guitar ability just be in the actuality that we don't become conceited and annoyed with anything. That guitar arena is a adventure with a destination never to be accomplished - that the accurate joy of authoritative music on the guitar lies in the never catastrophe following of new discovery!