How much does the guitar you use influency your sound

Gru

I am not a high gain player, preferring clean and mildly over driven bluesy tones. What I would like to know is whether a particular guitar/pickup selection would hinder me getting these tones.

For example: Epiphone 339 vs Mexican Strat vs Les Paul Style with sh1 '59 & Sh4 JB

Would it be the case that all 3 would be equally suitable, or easier to get blues out of some than others? Or mostly influenced by the amp?

Just curious and interested to know what the view us on this. Thanks

daveyh

Well, I wouldn't be using my Jackson or Fernandes, but would def be using my tele so would say yes but it's not a black and white thing.

Cirrus

I think that if you're just concerned with "Tone" the amp has the biggest effect on your sound. It determines the character of overdrive you get, how dynamic you are, your overall EQ and the cab/speakers determine how your playing fills the room.

But the guitar is very important, obviously. Guitars do sound different even if some of those differences are subtle (and sometimes they're not), but the pickups the guitar has will have a big bearing on how your playing hits the amp. The big thing about different guitars IMO is that they inform your playing - they actually change what you'll play in any given situation. And that's why the guitar really influences your sound. One might have you riffing on the thick strings, another might have you bashing out power chords, and another might have you hang back, leaving space around each note. It's all about how the plank of wood in your hand inspires you to play.

bertie

 -  I tend to use mahogany HB based guitars for my beefy OD stuff, and Strat/Tele for cleaner, thats not to say they wont both to both - but thats what each type excel at  - for me anyway

I have a Love Rock with a 59/JB combo -  I use purely for "rawking" out.  It will clean up, but thats not what its for     

and dont forget, there's blues tones and blues tones (Gary Moore, Rev B Gibbons, Robert Cray)

mike_l

daveyh said:

Well, I wouldn't be using my Jackson or Fernandes, but would def be using my tele so would say yes but it's not a black and white thing.

Why not? I've done Floyd covers with both Ibanez and Jackson, Hendrix covers with a Charvel, and Free (All Right Now) covers with a Strat.......

ICBM

I tend to try to dial in my sound pretty much the same no matter what guitar I'm using, but there does come a point where 'you can't get there from here'.

xSkarloey

It's never seemed very clear cut to me. Ok certain guitars will drive an amp easier than others but that's what dirt boxes and gain channels are for.

All the guitars you mention will do what you've specified but I tend to think of it in terms of range: do I want the sharper slightly clearer attack of my Strat or the fuller mids of a HB guitar?

Catthan

I think every one can do pretty much everything with anything after a certain level of skill.

The gtr and sound just affect how smth is done, ie, with what "character".

There's blues played with Gibsons (HBs) and there's blues played with strats and teles (SCs). Some use both (Robben Ford)

Same with other styles.

The more proficient the player is, the smaller the difference imho.

And then there are particular amp and effects combos that shape the tone so much that the gtr has even less influence.

Take Eric Johnson's violin lead tone for example, combined with his signature 5tonic runs and arps and the weird echoplex delay he uses; It sounds like "him" and the tone is similar whether he's using his strats or SGs/ ES 335s..

That doesn't mean that some "tones" haven't been defined by the gtr tho, the most established being Hendrix and SRV tones imho but that to me doesn't necessarily mean "strat", just good SC PUs and a good amp. You can do it with a super strat with a SC in the neck if you got the chops and dial in the amp.

Older gtrs (vintage) were more similar in sound than they are today I think. a 59 LP sounds very close to a tele on steroids, specially on the neck PU and a strat could sound similar to the tele. Funny that the tele was the first of the 3 iconic (LP, strat, tele) that came out and how the other too aimed to improve on certain aspects of it..

Just sharing my thoughts,,

monquixote

You can do virtually anything with any guitar unless you get to real extremes. Ultra gain makes my Gretsch squeal and I've played some EMG shred monsters that had completely insipid cleans, but outside that the world is your oyster. 

ICBM

monquixote said:

You can do virtually anything with any guitar unless you get to real extremes. Ultra gain makes my Gretsch squeal and I've played some EMG shred monsters that had completely insipid cleans, but outside that the world is your oyster. 

I actually find the dynamics more important than the tone, I think. For years I used a Fender Jaguar as my main guitar, in several bands where I was always a lead(ish) guitarist - at least in the sense that there was at least one other musician playing either acoustic guitar, electric guitar, or keyboards… something that filled out the sound and allowed the Jag to cut through well. I had the 'series mod' on it so it was similar-sounding to a humbucker guitar, and it could get really heavy-sounding with fuzz and distortion.

But then I went to a band where I was the sole guitarist, basically a power trio with a singer, and the Jag just fell totally flat. It had all the wrong type of attack and sustain character for sustained arpeggiated chords, even though the actual tone was OK.

ThePrettyDamned

I agree on the dynamics.  I've used my jazzmaster to play thrashy, heavy stuff despite having an unpotted gretsch style low output bucker - it has a great tone when the gain comes on, and sounds quite different to my more extreme pickups, which also do agression pretty well.  

Somehow, it doesn't seem to squeal at volume either - perhaps I'm lucky so far...

photek

I did a video years ago playing an SRV track on an Ibanez RG and got slated for it, I then posted the same video without any video footage and got complemented on my Stevie tone. A lot of tone is apparently in the eye's rather than the fingers haha.

dogload

I use loads of pedals, so the actual guitar isn't so important, as long as it is single coil and has a trem. 

I now mostly use a Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster, having discovered like ICBM that my Jag didn't cut it for a single guitar set-up. I usually have a Casino as second guitar, although since getting it, my Ric 610 has become my 'other' live guitar.

However, I also have used a Korina Epiphone SG and just bent the neck for tremo-like bends!

Skipped

mike_l said:

Why not? I've done Floyd covers with both Ibanez and Jackson, Hendrix covers with a Charvel, and Free (All Right Now) covers with a Strat.......

There is no reason why not. If you can overcome the mindset which might  put other players off doing this then the only remaining problem is a few doubters in your audience.

Skipped

bertie said:

 

and dont forget, there's blues tones and blues tones (Gary Moore, Rev B Gibbons, Robert Cray)

Exactly.
The OP will end up with his own blues tones and the biggest factor will be his fingers. One great way to enhance the individuality is to pick a guitar which is a happy accident. Maybe an old Melody Maker with the wrong pick up. 

mike_l

Skipped said:

mike_l said:

Why not? I've done Floyd covers with both Ibanez and Jackson, Hendrix covers with a Charvel, and Free (All Right Now) covers with a Strat.......

There is no reason why not. If you can overcome the mindset which might  put other players off doing this then the only remaining problem is a few doubters in your audience.

Funnily, after the Ibanez/Comfortably numb and the Jackson/ Another brick events, other guitarists complimented my tone and playing*......

*I thought my playing was sub-standard but, it seems, others disagree.

RocknRollDave

I've seen clips of players getting more tones out of one guitar, with judicious use of the volume knob(s) and or tone knob(s), than I tend to get out of all my guitars.

For Blues, I tend to find that rolling off the volume (on the guitar, that is, not the amp) a bit can open up a whole world of dynamics that aren't there with the volume running on full tilt.  Think BB king versus Gary Moore. Both players I love and enjoy, by the way, just different approaches.

koneguitarist

I think the hands give you the most diverse range of tones, followed by amp then guitar.

But it all depends on the music you are playing and sound you want, ie a tele and twin reverb, are not realy what you want for thrash, but depending on pedals and pickups, you can get close enough to get by.

Bob Wooten guitarist for Johnny Cash, has used a HB charvel for years, still sounds right for what he`s doing !

57Deluxe

DON'T have preconceived Perceptions!

One of the great things about being a guitar player is creating a setup that gives YOU a definitive tone. Unlike a piano bod who can only play  a piano - we can mix 'n' match and add stuff. Some great funk is to be had on a Les Paul, some classic rock was on a Telecaster...

Ultimately remove the Guitar from your eyes/mind when playing and listen instead...

jaygtr

When I swap from les Paul to tele or visa versa, I completely change the way I play.
If it's blues I'm playing it will be mainly single note, pentatonic rock orientated stuff.
If I swap to the tele I use hybrid picking and play much more chordally.
It's what suits the guitars. It's not a conscious thing as such it just what happens when I pick them up

Interestingly I keep the gain knob the same for both, but as the les Paul is more powerful it sounds more distorted.

Phil_aka_Pip

for me, 339 or LP,  and not a Strat ... but there are others who would think the other way round, and I've certainly heard plenty of other people playing an instrument that would not be my choice but they do well enough with it.

try stuff .. whatever works for you!