Markedman
Well-known member
% of tone - hands vs. rig. I'm a well known guitarist in my area so I'm often asked to get up and play a few songs with the band, whether it's at a bar or party, you never have to ask me twice, so I carry my Mark IV and a pretty nice MIM strat with active emg's with me so I don't look like fumble-fingers. I also have a Taylor 314 acoustic that I keep with me, I really loved to play. Sometimes I don't have my rig with me and have to use the guitar and amp that is there and it's always a roll of the dice as far as what set-up any guitar rig will have but I can not get over what some guitar players will settle for. When you think about a guitar's tone, there's strings, string height, pick-ups, wood type, body shape, neck attachment, even type of finish that affects guitar sound, then add in cables/effects then amp, which is also a huge consideration - tube vs. SS, speaker type/size/cabinet, manufacturer, year made, etc., also, you have to hope the rig is O.K. the way it's set because no one wants you fidgeting with their settings. I'm spoiled, the notes really jump off my Jackson through my Mark III with the boogafunk EV's, and I'm good with the effect pedals I like to use. Years went into developing my perfect tone. When I'm forced to use anyone else's rig I still sound like myself, only not as good as if I had my rig, whether my Mark II, III, IV or Marshall/Studio pre-amp. I would say I sound twice as good with my rig verses the average off-the-shelf what have you rig. I'm thinking it's around 75% hands, 25% rig for me, how about you? P.S, Playing a bad acoustic can make anyone look like a hack!