Tone or skill ? What should come first ?

[Big Harry]

Hi Guys ,
Just curious .
What should be mastered as a first thing ?
Tone or playing ability ?
Can you play good apart from the tone ,and once you learn to play , you find your tone very easily ?
Or it should be opposite ?
First find a tone ,and then learn to play ?
Or something else ?
Just wondering .

Cheers,
BH

 

[Octavarius]

Tone is in the fingers, as they say.

Playing should always go first. Good players can even make a bad amp sound good. If you play crappy through a very good amp/tone, it'll still sound crappy.

 

[R_ADKINS80]

Different people do it different ways. I am a firm believer that tone is in the gear and too many people confuse good technique with good tone. I know a bunch of killer players with lousy tone so that right there proves to me that tone is not in the fingers, only a VERY small percentage of it is.

 

[kingster911]

I've acquired a lot of great gear but not as much time on my instrument as I would've liked. That all comes down to another little phenomenon though: inspiring tone = more playing/inspiration. It could go either way for anyone. That's why usually if I really want to practice sweeping and all the shred fun stuff I just plug into my Pocket Pod over my recto and go onto the Insane channel.

 

[Elpelotero]

Although my first assumption would be "a little bit of both," it is true that a great player can make any guitar shine. Take David Gilmour for example. No matter what guitar he picks up--Fender, Gibson, acoustic, etc.--he sounds EXACTLY the same. Same vibrato, same tone, etc...It's truly in his fingers.

I think it's important for a beginner to have a good guitar. Not a great guitar, but a good one. Not the Ibanez starter pack stuff. A good amp is not as crucial for a beginner as a good guitar is.

Once you can rip a little, invest in the amp or guitar--whatever you feel is holding you back

 

[beretta9m2f]

skill....when you first start playing you have no idea of what good tone is, you max out the bass and high and have hte mids on zero and you think you sound exactly like metallica...so why waste 2000 dollars on an amp just to do that when you can focus on your skills. Then when your playing matures and your ear matures you can focus on YOUR sound.

 

[JOEY B.]

Then when your playing matures and your ear matures you can focus on YOUR sound.

http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=28859

 

[clutch71]

I don't see a problem with learning both at the same time.

It's been said in various posts the 90% of tone is in the fingers. That in your tone chain 10% is pretty important IMO. I've spent the better part of last year chasing tone, mostly on this board learning about amps.

In that I've found several platforms and how to tweak amps. Learned what I've liked from pick ups (Gibson 500t's, Duncan Distortion, and JB/Jazz combo) Speaker cabs (Mesa all the way! loaded w/V30's) Tubes (both power section and preamp) and effects (from pedals to rack gear and how to control and tweak each) strings (brands I like and how often to change them) All through buying and selling gear to find what I've liked.

I'm not the greatest player in the worls but what I do suits my needs and I think sounds pretty good. In the quest for tone I've found equipment that makes me want to be a better player. I think that's a pretty important aspect of playing.

 

[pjrake]

skill....when you first start playing you have no idea of what good tone is, you max out the bass and high and have hte mids on zero and you think you sound exactly like metallica...so why waste 2000 dollars on an amp just to do that when you can focus on your skills. Then when your playing matures and your ear matures you can focus on YOUR sound.

+1. i think learning to play is key... tone comes afterwards, especially when you're ready to play out.

-PJ

 

[t0aj15]

IMO just the fact that your asking that question shows that you've got an awful lot to learn. Having gear with the best tone in the world isn't going to help someone with poor playing ability, but on the other hand someone who really knows what they're doing can make most any rig sound good. Not only that but as you gain more experience you'll also learn that a major part of the tone is in fact in your hands.

 

[stompboxfreak72]

When is the last time you heard someone with lousy playing skills and great tone ?

Seriously, that's really the fan-boy phenomenon. So many players spend more time on forums, ebay and GC then they do on pentatonic scales and string bending. I see so many players who talk about playing more than they play. When I was a kid we called them poseurs.

 

[metalmm785]

Skills is far more important imo. You can always save up 1-2k and buy an amp that will make you sound great, however, if your fingers aren't there yet, it will show.

 

[MrMarkIII]

Of course tone is in the fingers - the gear can't play itself.

Anyone with the requisite cash can, and I'm sure many do, walk into any music store in the world, and purchase the exact gear used by Satriani, Vai, Petrucci, etc. There are plenty of places on the web to find out where they put the knobs.

If you do this, will you sound like them?

On the other hand, Satriani, et al, would sound exactly like themselves on an "Ibanez starter pak".

Pros use decent gear for the same reason mechanics use decent tools - because they need stuff that won't break, not because it mysteriously "creates" their tone for them.

 

[MikeK]

First find a tone ,and then learn to play ?

I don't believe you can separate 'tone' from skill, they both 'grow' together. You don't 'find' tone without first developing your vibrato. It's not possible to cultivate 'strength' and 'subtleties' in your tone without first learning to handle a pick or how to do bends proplerly. Playing skills are the foundations of your tone.

I also believe as someone else already said, that getting hold of the best gear you can afford is worth the sacrifice. I don't mean the most expensive, but you will play more if you like the stuff you're playing on and more practice means better skills.

Keep 'noodling' ... you don't always have to 'plug in' to look for 'tone' .. sometimes looking for it without the amp will lead to wonderful things you never knew.

 

[UltraGary]

This whole thread is a joke, right?.... Please tell me it's a joke...someone?....?....

 

[jdurso]

good tone is subjective... just keep playing and buy the stuff that puts a smile on your face. if you dig playing scales, learning modes and mastering technique then keep doing it. If you like learning covers than keep doing it. If you like writing your own stuff keep doing it. If you think certain gear makes you happier or provides some sort of inspiration than thats the gear you use.

at the end of the day very few guitar players can make a living out of it... with that said for most of us its for fun and a hobby so if a $10,000 worth of great gear makes your hobby more fun then its worth it in my opinion.

 

[beretta9m2f]

First find a tone ,and then learn to play ?

I don't believe you can separate 'tone' from skill, they both 'grow' together. You don't 'find' tone without first developing your vibrato. It's not possible to cultivate 'strength' and 'subtleties' in your tone without first learning to handle a pick or how to do bends proplerly. Playing skills are the foundations of your tone.

I also believe as someone else already said, that getting hold of the best gear you can afford is worth the sacrifice. I don't mean the most expensive, but you will play more if you like the stuff you're playing on and more practice means better skills.

Keep 'noodling' ... you don't always have to 'plug in' to look for 'tone' .. sometimes looking for it without the amp will lead to wonderful things you never knew.

while i agree with what you're saying i think you're using the wrong word here. I think you are referring to style not tone. style is in your fingers, no matter what amp you play you'll be you because of your style. Tone however changes depending on what guitars and gear you use.

For example..since someone mentioned satriani...if you heard satch playing an ibanez starter pack with your eyes closed you would say "wow that sounds like satriani"....but if you heard him playing on a Road king you wouldn't say "that sounds like an ibanez starter pack" His style is consistent, but the tone changes depending on the gear used.

 

[Anonymous]

Post removed.

 

[bQvle]

Personaly I like to have some good gear! That way you know that its not your gear that suck and you cant blame it!

Other then that! its good to have a nice guitar. Not very inspiering to play on a Squier and a 15W practise combo!..

The gear make me want to play more!

So i would say, that if you WANT to play! and its not just a fast trip, then i would defenantly get a good guitar and a good amp.

 

[Big Harry]

This whole thread is a joke, right?.... Please tell me it's a joke...someone?....?....

No, it is not a joke ! :lol:

Par exemple , did you tried to play Ibanez, Satriani and Vai through Mesa 8) .

I did.

Tone (sound,equipment) or skill , is still my question....

Cheers,
Zoran