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Post subject: A lesson in the tone being in your hands
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 2:06 pm
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My two guitars are the Strat and the Variax. Both fine guitars (but I think the Strat is finer.)

I did a bit of recording this weekend just to hear the differences between the different guitars. (The Variax models about 25 guitars.)

I played the same song over and over again. First with the real strat, then with the following models in turn: Telecaster, Strat, Les Paul, Les Paul Special, Gretsch rockabilly, and ES 335. I then played them back to myself.

There wasn't a heck of a lot of difference between them. The song was a blues tune with lots of bending, sharp string attacks, slides, pull offs, hammer ons, and drops. Overall, a varied tune.

The real strat was really good. I think the ES 335 and the Gretsch were very slightly better sounding for this tune, but the strat was fine.

I was hoping one would be clearly the better choice, but that just wasn't the case.

In case you're not familiar with the Variax it's an electronic guitar with a circuit board that models different guitars. By all accounts, most of its models are very good. It's a good guitar for trying different things and doing sonic explorations. Kinda like having a synthesizer with strings.

To affect a real difference in the sound of the tune I change the way I play the strings. It makes a much bigger difference than what kind of guitar I play.

If I play the different models consistent with the sounds that made them famous, then we get another interesting situation. For example, playing the ever popular Smoke on the Water or Iron Man intros with the strat doesn't sound nearly as good as doing the same thing with the Les Paul model. At least not until I tweak the amp to make the Strat sound better for that tune. Then they're reasonably close in sound.

Bottom line for me is that there's really not much reason to experiment beyond the strat as my guitar of choice.


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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 2:16 pm
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A good and informative post. Your hands make a difference no doubt. Thanks! 8)


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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 2:27 pm
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i always thought smoke on the water was recorded with a strat.
still your right, its very difficult to tell just by the recording what guitar was used, whether it was a strat/les paul or most other stuff. theres too much added during mixing that clouds the tone.

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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:27 pm
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I think I recall an article in one of the guitar mags about Ted Nugent playing through Eddie Van Halen's rig and being disappointed he sounded like himself and not Eddie.


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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 5:09 pm
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MBSurfer wrote:
I think I recall an article in one of the guitar mags about Ted Nugent playing through Eddie Van Halen's rig and being disappointed he sounded like himself and not Eddie.

Yes, this is very well documented by Eddie. Back on the VH I tour when VH was an opening act, Ted would talk to the VH souind guys to get time in Ed's rig. Ted played both Ed's and his own guitars through it. The story goes that he wanted to know "what else" Eddie uses. The sound dude swore up and down that there was nothing more, and (supposedly) Ted seemed to refuse to believe that answer.
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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 7:00 am
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Now I'm blushing. You're comparing me to Ted Nugent. ;-)


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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 7:34 am
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Great post, Rudy. I read somewhere that Nels Cline (the guitarist for Wilco, also an often recorded jazz player) has played the same Jazzmaster for all of his recordings for decades. Cline says that the hard thing to admit to yourself is that how good you sound on the guitar is almost entirely dependant on what notes you play and how you touch the guitar. That sounds over simplified, but it's hard to argue with...


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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:41 am
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Bluesgrass:

It was truly an education for me. Since doing that exercise I am much more sensitive to getting the exact note I want. I think "what if I struck the note a little differently, would it sound better?". In doing so I am finding even more cool sounds in my Strat than I ever thought possible.


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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:10 am
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Good post, and I agree with most of it. Don't forget, that Variax isn't the real deal, it just digitally models other guitars. So you can only take that for what it is.

Also, the amp matters far more than the guitar, in regards to tone.

But ultimately - yes. A good portion of the playing style that makes that part of the tone, comes from your hands.


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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:19 am
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During a tour in 1986 The Stray Cats opened for SRV. At the end of the show Stevie invited Stray Cat guitarist Brian Setzer up on stage to play "The House Is Rockin". Stevie handed Brian his #1 and Brian played it through Stevie's rig.
Brian was later asked what it was like to play SRV's #1, Brian replied that he still sounded like Brian Setzer.

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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 11:24 am
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dgonz:

The Variax does a stunningly good job of mimicking the guitars it's modeled after. I've played the Variax and compared it to real guitars and the Variax is just superb. I really like it. It's mostly aimed at professionals, but it's a really good guitar for the amateur too. To my ear, the models sound great. The Strat model, for example sounds much better than our Mexican Strat, and just as good as our American Strat.

Between the Roland VG 99, the VG Strat, and the Variax, there are some really good "toys" available who want the benefit of multiple guitars without owning a lot of guitars.

The only problem with the Variax is that the 700 model is expensive: about $1500 new, about $900 to $1000 used. Then you've got the disadvantage of circuit boards that will eventually fail, perhaps such that it's not worth repairing the guitar.


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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 11:35 am
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the general consensus of opinion through these replies seems to be something it took me years to discover " find the guitar regardless of brand or model that your most comfortable with both sonically and physically. Let that bolster your confidence to play the thing and from that develop your sound/style".

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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 4:35 pm
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Very true about the tone being in your hands. Some days I think I need a new pair of hands, not another guitar... :wink:


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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 6:27 pm
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Mr. Miyagi say:
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"Not-ah just touch. Not just-ah guitar; but BOTH!
RudyH-son" :D


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Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 11:04 am
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I remember reading an article about Larry Carlton and he was asked about how his tone could be replicated. His reply was something like 'you can buy my guitar, you can buy my amp, but you'll never have my hands'.

As far as guitars sounding the same, even Walter Becker, half of Steely Dan and the author of the now famous article on Guitar Acquisition Syndrome (G.A.S.), asserts that the session men he is acquainted with continually replace their guitars with "sonically indistinguishable ones" . Of course, even the Strat-loving Becker owns a custom-made Sadowsky and not a true Fender. I assume it's the rush of having your own signature guitar.


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