Does using an artists gear give you their tone?

[Thor Von Clemson]

I was reading the Warhead thread and I started wondering if, in general, buying a certain artists gear (pickups, guitars, amps, etc) makes you sound like that artist? I figure the answer is no, but I thought it would be interesting to hear what people had to say about it...

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: Does using an artists gear give you their tone

Tone is in the fingers. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

I don't particularly like copying anyone's tone. I know that if I do, and I get frustrated, it would end up being very costly for me (to upgrade) and then I'd probably be frustrated still. [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

I take the best elements from different artists' tones and try to shape my own sound somewhere near my ideal of the moment.

[guitarsjb]

Re: Does using an artists gear give you their tone?

IMO the answer is no. Although it can point you in the right direction, every artists tone comes from THEM. Their fingers, amps, their pick attack etc. I can buy all of Dimebags equipment, and when I play through it, I will still sound like ME..because I have my own style and nuances..it will be different. Anyhow, that's the way I see it.

[Lev]

Re: Does using an artists gear give you their tone

definitely not..

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: Does using an artists gear give you their tone

IMO, a players character, nuances and mannerisms are in the fingers. But, that isn't exactly "tone", and I believe much of the tone is in the amps they choose.

That said, you won't likely sound like them through their equipment though. It takes all the pieces to make the whole picture.

Like thinking you'll paint like Picasso if you find his paintbrush and use it. Hehe... It has the potential to do what he did, but, do "you" have the potential to make it do that? As well as that paintbrush might have been the only one he could have used for something, and would be somewhat lost without. he could have painted with another, and it wouldn't be quite the same...

Broad as it is long ehh?

[horns666]

Re: Does using an artists gear give you their tone

yeah but what if Picasso painted his Strat...would that have changed his tone? [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Seriously ...I find that most players seem to gravitate to the tone of their favorite players..

Lets say if Ed was your inspiration and definition of good tone..then chances are your going to shape your "tone" accordingly...or close to it as possible.

I always had my "trying an amp out riffs"...The intro to "Ain't Talkin' bout Love" for example...I want it thick and heavy when I palm mute it...and it has to have that timbre and attack of a Marshall..and with the right amount of delay of course..

When you hear a "good" player ...no matter what gear he is using...you can tell who their influences are...and chances are their tone is going reflect that as well..

If you gave Ed a Line 6 Spider ...he's going to sound like Ed..and so can you if that is your goal....to sound like Ed that is..

I had a shitload of 5150s and NONE of them was Ed's tone...IMO...but I nailed his tone with other amps...amps that he don't use....so , there ya go.. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[Ace]

Re: Does using an artists gear give you their tone

No.

[horns666]

Re: Does using an artists gear give you their tone

yes

[Hotrod]

Re: Does using an artists gear give you their tone

[ QUOTE ]
IMO, a players character, nuances and mannerisms are in the fingers. But, that isn't exactly "tone", and I believe much of the tone is in the amps they choose.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
Like thinking you'll paint like Picasso if you find his paintbrush and use it. Hehe... It has the potential to do what he did, but, do "you" have the potential to make it do that? As well as that paintbrush might have been the only one he could have used for something, and would be somewhat lost without. he could have painted with another, and it wouldn't be quite the same...


[/ QUOTE ]

Those two statements seem to contradict each other though Cleveland. Maybe I'm misreading your post. [img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]
Personaly, no I don't believe that using a particular artists gear will give you his tone. I think tone comes from a combination of gear and playing style. I think many here have seen too many cases where someone can play through an entirely different rig and have a different guitar in their hands, yet the sound and tone still sounds like that person. Very identifiable usually.

[horns666]

Re: Does using an artists gear give you their tone

Jimi , Eddie , Randy , Eric Johnson , Uli Roth , Michael Schenker , Gary Moore , Frank Marino , Zakk , Jake E Lee , Jimmy Page , Slash..and 1000 others..well they ALL use a Marshall...and a strat..or Paul..

and they all sound pretty different..

yes...

[VitaminG]

Re: Does using an artists gear give you their tone

well, apparently it does......at least according to a series of gear reviews by Eric Kirkland I read last year in an issue of Guitar World. When he was playing the Zakk sig LP, thru the Zakk sig MXR, into the Zakk sig Marshall, it enabled him to replicate Zakk's tone EXACTLY. As he tore through note-perfect renditions of any Ozzy tune you'd care to mention.

Actually, it seemed more like an exercise in blowing smoke up his own butt than a series of gear reviews.

Never mind. Carry on. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[necrotechno]

Re: Does using an artists gear give you their tone

I don't care what you guys say. I'm buying the Dave Mustaine strings, putting them on the John Petrucci guitar (which I'm loading with the Zakk Wylde pickups), playing through the Dimebag amp, through the George Lynch cabinets, with the Eric Clapton distorton box and the Steve Vai wah. Yeah, I'm gonna be the ultimate fuckin' badass guitar GOD!!

[neilli]

Re: Does using an artists gear give you their tone

Lets face it, buying all the gear that a particular player uses and replicating their settings is going to put you on the right path tone wise...

However, you're unlikely to ever really, truely replicate their sound due to pick attack, wah use, note choice, yada yada yada...

I guess for me our idols can use what they want (within the constraints of any endorsements) so their use of a specific piece of gear is some indication of the sound it can make or its performance. Mind you, I've never found a tube-screamer I like, and everyone and their dog seems to have used them at some point!

[jgcable]

Re: Does using an artists gear give you their tone

I say yes. The majority of a famous players signature tone comes from the equipment. Try playing The Beatles through a 5150 and a Wolfgang. Try playing Van Halen on a Rickenbacker with a Vox AC30. Try playing Stevie Ray Vaughan with a Flying V and a JCM800.
Now on the flip side... take an average player, give him a Carvin Legacy, a G-Major and a Jem and he will absolutely have Vai's tone. Maybe not his chops!! but definately his tone. Now.. take that same average player and give him a stock Fender Strat and a Fender Super Reverb. Have him switch to either position 2 or 4 on his 5 way switch and he will absolutely have SRV's tone. If your goal is to emulate a specific tone, the easiest way to get it quick is to use the same equipment that the player your are emulating is using. This is exactly the reason modeling is so popular and useful both live and in the studio. Sure, EVH could play through anything and sound like Eddy but the only things you would recognize would be his chops and signature licks. Give him a telecaster and a Fender Blues jr. and I can gaurantee that he won't have the EVH tone.

[ChickenScratch]

Re: Does using an artists gear give you their tone

No! It's fingers that give you your tone. Me and my buds sit around in my room trading off licks passing around the guitar and everything stays the same except the player but the tone that each of us gets is vastly different (even when doing the same solos). I have strong fingers but I pick very lightly and you can hear that, as opposed to Paul Gilbert who is string in both hands.

The long and short of it is, buy gear that sounds good to you. If there's an artist's name on it that should nto matter, it should be if it works for you.