The Tone is In Your Hands. Is it?
It’s been one of the main subjects to discuss among guitarists since the invention of the instrument. And I think that the “war” between these two groups of musicians will never end, even if humanity faces the WW3.
HANDS VS GEAR
The tone is the Holy Grail for guitarists. Musicians spend years searching for the sound that will make their playing recognizable for people and also inspire them to write great riffs and songs. However, the guitar community nowadays has been divided into two camps.
Guitarists, who completely rely on their hands, technique, and skills that make their sound unique and recognizable. They often refuse or avoid having a huge board with tones of pedals in it; their creed is “tone is in the hands”, but sometimes we can see them using the Wah, Chorus, Phaser pedals on the stage; however, they are not the gear guys. Of course, there are a lot of nuances in the guitar playing from choosing the angle of the pick to special licks and the equipment to use, like the drill — hello, Mr. Paul Gilbert.
For example, Fareed Harque in his interview for the Guitarworld.com said that you often couldn’t depend on amps or rigs for optimum tone production, so you had to rely on your fingers. He also admitted that if you want to vary attack you should pick harder with your pick flat on the string, and softer with the side of the pick and pay attention to the end of each note. That means, that your hands, your fingers can provide you with a great variety and spectrum of notes you can play without using special effects. Just take a look at Jeff Beck; how many tasty sounds he can extract from his Fender Stratocaster; he doesn’t even use a pick! Pure magician! Or what about Slash or Eric Clapton, both of them mostly rely on their hands and sense of music including their knowledge of different genres. There is no doubt; every well-known guitarist will sound the same, even if he uses different gear. Slash will always sound like Slash, even if he is plugged into Mesa Boogie or Fender Tweed. On the other hand, you will never sound like Dimebag despite using Randall amp and Dean guitar if you are not a skilled player, or haven’t learned his technique, the way he approached to write music; let’s be honest you will sound like crap.
But some guitarists have to use extra-equipment during their live shows and recording sessions. The main reason why they do it is that they try to extend their capabilities in order to create a very specific sound and unique tone that will be their calling card. Tom Morello has created his non-ordinary tone by using the whammy pedal and other technical devices for his guitar, for example, killswitch. The Edge from U2 has created the whole new genre in the music with the help of his delay and reverb pedals.
So, who is right and who is wrong? Who’s going to be a victor in this battle and who will lose? Well, let’s be honest, both approaches have the right to exist, you can’t say that being a gear guy is bad, or being a guy who only relies on his skills without searching for some additional effects that will bring some spices into his sound is kind of boomer thing, the truth hides somewhere in the middle. The right combination of your music abilities and guitar skills with interesting sound decisions will bring you success and make your playing recognizable.
So, practice and experiment with your sound, be creative!
