Tone in the fingers

[tot_Ou_tard]

This phrase is often used when someone wants to say; it ain't the gear, it's how good a player you are.

& indeed, I have found that as I (slowly) get better, my gear sounds better.

But, I'd like to dive a little deeper.

When I am learning something, I first am trying to hit the correct notes, then make sure that I have the timing correct, & after I am on relatively solid ground with the basics I start thinking about how it sounds. This is where the fingers really come into their own. Fingers are really quite subtle instruments. The tone & sound are greatly affected by slight variations of pressure, a microseconds worth of lingering, a bit of upward pressure on the string etc.

Those little things are what give a player his or her voice. Guitar playing is really a conversation between the fingers & the gear. I don't doubt that you can change the ability of the gear to listen to & respond to what you have to say. I've seen that with small tweaks of my own gear, but if you're fingers are speaking in a hamfisted way, your gear will only hear hamfistedness.

What I want to say is pay attention to the fingers, try the same thing over & over with slight variations & listen to the sound & feel. Then you'll say. D@mn, this cheap piece of shit sounds GOOOOOOOOD!

[Tim]

Good advice ToT. It takes players years to discover what you summed up in your post. We have Fretters that contribute valuable information to help us beginner players play better. All we need to do is listen to them and practice what they preach. Right now I just need loooooots of practice.

[tot_Ou_tard]

Hey Tim!

I forgot to add, that then you'll wanna go right out & buy yourself some nice gear .

[Plank_Spanker]

Well said, Tot. Good gear does not a player make.........................

You have to play the guitar - and that's in the hands and the spirit of the player. Way too many players obsess over "tone" as being the sole responsibilty of the gear. It's not just tone. It's being able to express yourself through your instrument - to be connected. It takes a while to develop that connection, and some players never do.

Gear is just the tool that allows you to do it.

[birv2]

Case in point -- our local blues jam is led by an excellent band: Bob Noble and Blue Voodoo. Bob is a great guitarist and accomplished in lots of different styles from jazz to blues to Hendrix and everywhere in between.

Last week I noticed he was playing a different Strat, kind of a sunburst that looked newish. After the set, I took a look at it -- it was a $119 SX strat from Rondo. He was pretty happy with his purchase. Now granted, it didn't sound quite as good to my ears as his normal vintage Strat, but hey....

Not saying that it doesn't matter what guitar you play. But a really good player is going to sound really good on most guitars.

Bob

[Guitar Gal]

Not saying that it doesn't matter what guitar you play. But a really good player is going to sound really good on most guitars.

Bob

I think Robert is a perfect example of this when he made those videos of himself playing his Squire '51.


GG

[Justaguyin_nc]

Are you guys serious? Plank, look at your signature..
Although.. tone comes from your fingers.. doesn't gear also count?

Can we change this to say in the END.. it's your fingers that define you?

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE is the best tone creator!! in my humble newbie opinion.. even the 11 yearold wonders on Youtube been playing 5 + years..

I'll agree 100% that alot is in the fingers.. a great instrument..
you can hear it in Roberts playing.. Frank's playing.. the spudsman.. Superswedes... stingx.. OldGuy..etc etc.. and all the great talents

and you can hear it lacking in newbies like me..
I just want to question something...
"as a newbie.." is it because we are playing more that we are just starting to use those fingers better..
or does the gear we have and have gone thru actually help us find our path?

I feel as if the fingers statement use to/still does frustrate me.. not having the god given talent to have fingers that work in the beginning...
how frustrating it is to hear a player tell a newbie..oh it's in your fingers..
you either got it or dont..yet they have practiced YEARS on end before they probably had it.. which without, they never would have it.
and no proper sounding equipment to obtain what I was trying to hear did make a difference.
it must be me and these darn fingers..I need to quit playing.. was my thought... still often is.. because of these statements...lol

yet, once I added in different effects.. it seems I try harder to ring out notes..(fingers!) cause I start hearing what I was headed to.
and usually it goes along with the effect.. screaming solo's etc..
Yet, I think it's practice practice practice that is the best tone creator..
and I am still a long way off after a few years of it..


Also even though, still a cheap guitar.. I believe the feel of my Jimmie Vaughan has helped my playing.. and tone using those same fingers.
I really like my Squier 51.. but just the feeling between the two makes me grab the JV..
Also makes me wonder if i got an American Fender with V neck will that improve my playing even more.. (still finding reasons to buy more gear)

I believe the fingers is the end result.. but doesnt the gear/effects and their quality play a major role? (finding an excuse to keep buying gear)

I am sure None of those people I mentioned has just bottom of the line gear..
I am also sure.. the better quality gear lends to better practice.. and sound.

granted alot of people nailed strings to barn walls and learned..they eventually found better gear to make their sound heard even better..

then maybe it was just in the fingers later, after years and years of practice that they could grab anything and sound good....

PRACTICE is to me the Best Instrument and tone creator.. which I need much much more of..

[birv2]

then maybe it was just in the fingers later, after years and years of practice that they could grab anything and sound good....

PRACTICE is to me the Best Instrument and tone creator.. which I need much much more of..

I actually think you're absolutely right, and there really isn't any contradiction between what I said and what you're saying.

It's not that some people have "magic fingers" that just enable them to be Paganini on the guitar when they first pick it up. You're right, they need years and years of practice until they start getting to the point where they're able to express what they feel inside through those fingers. I'm just finding that I can do this A BIT. Still a long way to go, and there's probably never a "finish line" in this marathon...

So don't feel discouraged. There's no magic shortcut. Someday you'll just be "practicing" and you'll hear something new and cool. And you'll be surprise that it's you playing it. And that will be enough to keep you practicing for the next several years...

My .02,
Bob

[Plank_Spanker]

Are you guys serious? Plank, look at your signature..
Although.. tone comes from your fingers.. doesn't gear also count?

I never meant to imply that gear doesn't count. It does, but it's just part of the beast. It's not the be all and end all of "tone". You, the player, have to able the play the rig. I could plug into [insert famous guitar player's name here] exact rig and sound nothing like him. I'd still sound like me.

My collection of gear gives me a pallette of sounds to work from but, in the end, it's still my connection to the instrument that wrings forth the "tone".

[Justaguyin_nc]

I never meant to imply that gear doesn't count. It does

That's all I was looking for.. now I can continue to BUY things.. thank you...:

[Plank_Spanker]

That's all I was looking for.. now I can continue to BUY things.. thank you...:

LOL!

[abraxas]

I believe we must read this axiom: "tone is in the fingers" as "a good player can make good (his own) tone, given any piece of gear".

That is very true if you look at some very talented players, getting their trademark tone from off-the shelf components.

For instance, I was told that, when BB King came to Greece for a concert, he was given a quite "inappropriate" rented amp to play on (can't recall what it was, a Marshall maybe?). Well, he sounded exactly like BB King.

Another example is that of EVH, replicating his trademark sounds and feel in the studio, playing a Steinberger "broomstick" guitar.

But even (way) lesser players can show something similar. I think it has to do with focusing in the sound you want to create "no matter what". I see it in myself; while playing a different guitar I will unconsciously change things as the angle and strength of pick attack, where I hit the string, tone and volume control settings etc, to arrive at the sound "I'm after".

Of course, you don't expect The Edge to produce his sounds with only a Tele and a Fender Pro Jr, but I hope you get my meaning.

[Plank_Spanker]

I think it has to do with focusing in the sound you want to create "no matter what". I see it in myself; while playing a different guitar I will unconsciously change things as the angle and strength of pick attack, where I hit the string, tone and volume control settings etc, to arrive at the sound "I'm after".

To me that is the essence of being connected and in command of the instrument. I think we've all been dancing around the same flag pole on this. Every bit of gear in use just colors a player's sound. The foundation of that sound comes from the player.

We have all strived at one point or another to sound like "X" guitar player. Our playing is the sum of our experiences. Sooner or later, we arrive at our own "style" - the way we play and command the instrument. It's as individual as fingerprints and, regardless of what gear we're using, will still have an individual stamp.

[marnold***]

To me that is the essence of being connected and in command of the instrument. I think we've all been dancing around the same flag pole on this. Every bit of gear in use just colors a player's sound. The foundation of that sound comes from the player.

We have all strived at one point or another to sound like "X" guitar player. Our playing is the sum of our experiences. Sooner or later, we arrive at our own "style" - the way we play and command the instrument. It's as individual as fingerprints and, regardless of what gear we're using, will still have an individual stamp.

Word. I think the point is that great guitarists will still be great on crappy instruments whereas a crappy guitarist will sound like crap on the most expensive guitar and amp available.

Another part that gets forgotten--and I'm as guilty of this as anyone--is the mental aspect of gear. No, really, hear me out. If a guitarist is convinced that a particular guitar sounds like crap or that he "can't play it," his playing will be substandard partially because he has decided in advance that it's going to be. When I was playing bass I really wanted a DOD bass chorus. The salesman was brutally honest with me and said that most people listening to me won't notice the effect. But, he added, if it makes YOU feel better (or feel that you sound better), then it's worth it.

I can certainly envision the day that I would own a more expensive guitar than the ones I currently own. But first, I need to become a better player and I also need to become better acquainted with who I am as a guitarist. So, for example, I don't get an SSS Strat, if I discover that in my heart of hearts I'm a headbanger and always will be one so I'd be better off with twin humbuckers and a Floyd. Or that Jackson Randy Rhoads I've always had my eye on. Or an ESP Lynch Kamikaze.

[Plank_Spanker]

Another part that gets forgotten--and I'm as guilty of this as anyone--is the mental aspect of gear.

Great point!

If using X guitar through Y amp, with Z effects puts a fire in your belly, then it's all good. A huge part of being able to command your sound is being satisfied and in touch with your gear.

[tot_Ou_tard]

Are you guys serious? Plank, look at your signature..
Although.. tone comes from your fingers.. doesn't gear also count?


and you can hear it lacking in newbies like me..
I just want to question something...
"as a newbie.." is it because we are playing more that we are just starting to use those fingers better..
or does the gear we have and have gone thru actually help us find our path?

then maybe it was just in the fingers later, after years and years of practice that they could grab anything and sound good....

PRACTICE is to me the Best Instrument and tone creator.. which I need much much more of..

Justa, that's why I wanted to dig deeper. In my opinion, music *is* the conversation between the fingers & the gear. Better gear provides more nuanced responses to what the fingers are saying, but the fingers do the speaking. I was trying to talk about *the fingers*, not the player. To take them digits seriously. How much flesh is put on the string & at what angle. The little microdelays. Gentle llandings versus rushed slamming. These thing give the tone whispers & curliques & flavor.

You don't have to be good to pay deeper attention. You can totally suck & still gain benefit from listening deeply & paying attention.

[Justaguyin_nc]

Better gear provides more nuanced responses to what the fingers are saying

You don't have to be good to pay deeper attention. You can totally suck & still gain benefit from listening deeply & paying attention.

Agreed.. as long as this leads to buying yet more gear...

But, I must add... as you stated.. you need the gear.. to hear the fingers..

I could have saved alot of money buying the more expensive stuff to start with.. then continue to buy even more expensive stuff..

there has to be some logic to this...

Using Robert as the icon we learn from here on thefret.net:
he had a great Reverend Amp.. then a VOX amp.. now a Mack truck..
He had a great Squier tele, a Squier 51 and now a Fender deluxe player..
He is buying them for some reason..
even though his fingers have the tone..
least us forget the pedals he goes thru..:

[tot_Ou_tard]

My real goal with this thread was to instigate yet another GAS frenzy.

Thanks Justa for kickstarting the gear buying :.

...heading to eBaY .

[Justaguyin_nc]

My real goal with this thread was to instigate yet another GAS frenzy.

Thanks Justa for kickstarting the gear buying :.

...heading to eBaY .

Your welcome...

My goal was to end the "its in the fingers" remarks.....
So to not discourage other newbies with the same fingers as myself...
PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE...

I think its in everything combined... the more I look at players.. the more I see gear changing.. while the fingers are the same...


I want something expensive!! I will sound like crap.. but look good in my signature!!