What makes a guitar tone good?

[meanmrmustad]

Whats a good guitar tone to you?
What makes one bad...

Pantera's buzzaw guitar tone sounds like shit to some and amazing to others.

And some just sound shitty to everybody

 

[FIXXXER]

good tone > balance and clarity

 

[bryan_kilco]

I, for whatever reason, just can NEVER obtain a guitar tone (recording and live/practice) that I am 100% happy with.

When recording I use sims mainly, and even LPing at 8k-9k, I still seem to have too much fizz.

I'll agree with Soultrash on balance and clarity. I like a decent amount of midrange to my tones. Some may consider that "honky" but to me it sounds like sex.

 

[RedDog]

Da CRUNCH

 

[DeclanWhite]

tact

 

[Clark Kent]

This is how I see it.

1) A guitar tone is good when it fits the genre but is not generic nor safe but original. So IMO you can't say that f.ex. Metallica has "the best guitar tone". That tone would suck in any other genre. So genre is important. That was my point about using TS + 5150 + Recto cab. It's an amazing tone but it can't be everyones tone. It gets really boring listening to some core bands with almost identical guitar sounds.

2) Most metal guitarists will have too much gain. Don't expect to sound tight if your tone isn't tight. Lower that gain to sound more impressive. Too little gain will sound unballsy. Turn up the gain until you hear your low end disappear and bring it back some.

3) EQ balance is important. If you want a loud mix then your guitar tone should be FLAT. If you want a dynamic mix you can have more low end.

4) Guitar tone is mostly in the guitar players fingers. Learn to play before you even think about amps or cabs.

5) Guitars should not be the focus of the mix. Kick, snare and vocals are the most imporant. A good guitar doesn't necessarily sound good by itself and SHOULD NOT BE POST PROCESSED SOLOED. Post process to fit it in the mix.

Guitar tone:
1) should fit genre
2) has the right amount of gain
3) is balanced
4) is in the fingers
5) should not be the focus of the mix

Now bash away.

I can NEVER obtain a guitar tone that I am happy with.

When recording I use sims.

That just about sums it up. Nah.. just kidding. I'm very confident using TH2 and Axe-Fx.

 

[Sloan]

it doesn't get in the way of everything else.

 

[Boneman]

The brown sound.

 

[MotherEel]

Clark Kent seemed to sum it up pretty damn well.

 

[Mashreef]

i hate electric guitar's

 

[MattGrave]

This is how I see it.

1) A guitar tone is good when it fits the genre but is not generic nor safe but original. So IMO you can't say that f.ex. Metallica has "the best guitar tone". That tone would suck in any other genre. So genre is important. That was my point about using TS + 5150 + Recto cab. It's an amazing tone but it can't be everyones tone. It gets really boring listening to some core bands with almost identical guitar sounds.

2) Most metal guitarists will have too much gain. Don't expect to sound tight if your tone isn't tight. Lower that gain to sound more impressive. Too little gain will sound unballsy. Turn up the gain until you hear your low end disappear and bring it back some.

3) EQ balance is important. If you want a loud mix then your guitar tone should be FLAT. If you want a dynamic mix you can have more low end.

4) Guitar tone is mostly in the guitar players fingers. Learn to play before you even think about amps or cabs.

5) Guitars should not be the focus of the mix. Kick, snare and vocals are the most imporant. A good guitar doesn't necessarily sound good by itself and SHOULD NOT BE POST PROCESSED SOLOED. Post process to fit it in the mix.

Guitar tone:
1) should fit genre
2) has the right amount of gain
3) is balanced
4) is in the fingers
5) should not be the focus of the mix

Now bash away.



That just about sums it up. Nah.. just kidding. I'm very confident using TH2 and Axe-Fx.

Come on man, leave something for the rest of us to say. What are we supposed to do now?

Let's move on to something equally as difficult to pin down: what makes a good pizza?

 

[StefTD]

what makes a good pizza?

This is how I see it.

1) A pizza is good when it fits the taste but is not generic nor safe but original. So IMO you can't say that f.ex. domino's pizza has "the best crust". That crust would suck for other ovens. So dough is important. That was my point about using domino's pizza. It's an amazing pizza but it can't be everyones pizza. It gets really boring eating pizza with almost identical crusts.

2) Most pizza bakers will use too much salt. Don't expect to get a great sauce if you use too much salt. Lower that salt amount to taste more impressive. Too little salt will taste bland. Use salt until you taste it and add some sugar.

3) Herbs are important. If you want a spicy pizza then your herbs should be spicy. If you want a fresh pizza you can have more basil.

4) Cheese is mostly in the cheese makers fingers. Learn which cheese fits your pizza before even thinking about pizza.

5) Toppings should not be the focus of the pizza. Crust, sauce and cheese are the most imporant. A good topping doesn't necessarily taste good by itself and SHOULD NOT BE TASTED SOLOED. Taste it to fit it in the pizza.

Taste of topping:
1) should fit pizza
2) has the right amount of flavours
3) has a well balanced taste
4) doesn't get burned in the oven
5) should not be the focus of the pizza

 

[xFkx]

can't we just keep to "beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder" ?

 

[LiberaScientia]

pizza

Congratulations, sir. You won at life.

 

[MattGrave]

This is how I see it.

1) A pizza is good when it fits the taste but is not generic nor safe but original. So IMO you can't say that f.ex. domino's pizza has "the best crust". That crust would suck for other ovens. So dough is important. That was my point about using domino's pizza. It's an amazing pizza but it can't be everyones pizza. It gets really boring eating pizza with almost identical crusts.

2) Most pizza bakers will use too much salt. Don't expect to get a great sauce if you use too much salt. Lower that salt amount to taste more impressive. Too little salt will taste bland. Use salt until you taste it and add some sugar.

3) Herbs are important. If you want a spicy pizza then your herbs should be spicy. If you want a fresh pizza you can have more basil.

4) Cheese is mostly in the cheese makers fingers. Learn which cheese fits your pizza before even thinking about pizza.

5) Toppings should not be the focus of the pizza. Crust, sauce and cheese are the most imporant. A good topping doesn't necessarily taste good by itself and SHOULD NOT BE TASTED SOLOED. Taste it to fit it in the pizza.

Taste of topping:
1) should fit pizza
2) has the right amount of flavours
3) has a well balanced taste
4) doesn't get burned in the oven
5) should not be the focus of the pizza

You guys need to stop with these concise detailed answers!

 

[StefTD]

you asked for it, I won at life!

All hail to the boss of the internet!

 

[abaga129]

you asked for it, I won at life!

All hail to the boss of the internet!

Fuck! I didn't know Jabba the hut actually existed! Kill it! Kill it before it lays eggs!:Shedevil:

 

[abaga129]

good tone > balance and clarity

Just realized.. according to this statement, a good tone is greater than balance and clarity... so does that mean a good tone surpasses these and doesn't need them? I need to go to the lake and skip rocks while I ponder this and question everything I thought I knew.

 

[bryan_kilco]

@ ^^

 

[colonel kurtz]

i'm gonna add to what others have said, and say that a good guitar tone - along with fitting the genre and rest of the band - is ideally unique in character, and easily identifiable by the listener. i think this is what's lacking in so much of the heavier stuff that's coming out now...few bands have that signature sound, where you can hear literally a fraction of a second of ANY song, and instantly know who it is.

i don't know about anyone else, but there's dozens of artists who i can pick out by hearing even a single guitar note, and know for a fact who it is, because their tone sounds like no one else. even if it sounds sorta shitty, like pantera or old sepultura, it is what it is, and you KNOW what it is, which is what excites your brain when you hear it. now get 100s of dudes reamping their shit thru the typical TS/5150/mesa setup, and play all their albums/songs in random order...none of it will stick with you, unless the music itself is exceptional. it all becomes a big monotonous blob, and your brain just stops paying attention, whether you mean it to or not.