Are you happy with your sound?

of course i am not. i am not happy with my tone and i am not happy with my playing, that's why i am constantly playing hours on hours each day, so i stop sucking

At times, I feel this same way. I try not to get discouraged, because I feel that this is what leads to improvement...if I'm not happy with my sound, I will work (is it really work when you enjoy it so much?) until I am happy with it.

Yes, satisfied with what I get. I guess it's more like a friend of mine once said about one of his albums; he wasn't overjoyed with the sound, but he 'could live with it.'

Like that.

Oh Chris: I had a similar problem after music college. I wasn't to a level like your friend obviously is, but there's all this learning and then you go out in the world, the real world, and instead of finding you're able to set the world on fire with all this new-found knowledge, you wind up having to 'unlearn' a lot of stuff just to get back to your normal creative self. Hope this doesn't start a flame-war about 'Theory vs Feeling' or any other such crap because each is important - in balance with one another. I'm just saying that, at least for me, knowing how to voice-lead (if that's the correct term) a set of chords to sound like something Bach would've done really didn't help me much in learning a Huey Lewis and the News song, playing Iron Maiden's Trooper, or trying to find out what exactly the heck Warren Cuccurullo was doing in Missing Persons' Words.

But getting back to the sound; I guess when you've been playing awhile like a lot of guys here, you can get pretty much any sound you want out of pretty much any rig, and then things start falling into the theme of another recent thread here about one's 'personal' sound; you start sounding like you no matter what you're playing and what you're playing through. Like...uh Keef Richard(s): Oh Keith's playing the Gibson 335...sounds like Keith. He's now playing the Tele...sounds like Keith...." that kind of thing. It's like that same friend of mine had a gig where EC showed up unexpectedly (in Japan or something), and they plugged him into a spare Fender Twin, and...he sounded exactly like EC.

All this to say, if a person is happy with their sound and they pretty much get that particular sound with anything they play, then it's a sorta win/win thing - they like it AND it's their own, personal sound.

I really dislike my archtop's tone. I want to upgrade to a carved top and back and and move away from the laminate ASAP.

Are there any special brands or models that you think are the pick of the pack?

My wife put on the Luc and Lagrene Duet CD last night, and I notice that Bireli Lagrene has what appears to be a rather nice Gibson on the front cover. Certainly sounds good to me. Not sure what model it is though (LeGrand?). Also not sure why the tailstock looks like it's angled for a left handed set up?

I have an el cheapo archtop, but its sound is plenty good enough for my current stage of playing and 'ear'. So far anyway... :wink:

One thing that intrigues me when I play is that I 'hear' more than what's actually playing. That's to say I hear what comes out, but there's also a sort of mental editing process going on that smooths it out and also adds other tones and sounds that should have been/could have been or might have made a nice accompaniment. Sometimes it can be quite sobering to record it and then hear what was really there and not just added by an imaginative and very forgiving brain! :oops:
But getting back to the sound; I guess when you've been playing awhile like a lot of guys here, you can get pretty much any sound you want out of pretty much any rig

Now that is something I look forward to. Looooong way to go for me yet... :)

Cheers,

Chris

One thing that intrigues me when I play is that I 'hear' more than what's actually playing. That's to say I hear what comes out, but there's also a sort of mental editing process going on that smooths it out and also adds other tones and sounds that should have been/could have been or might have made a nice accompaniment. Sometimes it can be quite sobering to record it and then hear what was really there and not just added by an imaginative and very forgiving brain! :oops:

That's actually the sign of a good arranger, if you think about it :)

That's actually the sign of a good arranger, if you think about it :)

I can but hope..... :D

Just need to put in a few hundred more hours of practical work before I can test my cosy dream that one day I might have enough skills to do a bit of simple writing and arranging.....

I just love this whole music journey - so much pleasure to be had from even the basic things that you can master right at the beginning, but also so many grand dreams and fantasies that you can entertain yourself with along the way while you plug away at acquiring the abilities.

Sometimes I wonder why I left it so long to start, but then I think of all that lovely anticipation of what's ahead. Like having eaten the first slice, but still having the rest of the cake ahead... :wink:

Cheers,

Chris

I really dislike my archtop's tone. I want to upgrade to a carved top and back and and move away from the laminate ASAP.

Are there any special brands or models that you think are the pick of the pack?

I've been looking at three different avenues: a vintage box, a custom made box, and one of the newer "budget" carved tops.

One of the nicer one's out there these days is the series made by Eastman http://www.eastmanstrings.com/eastmanguitars/home/home.html

For the money I'm not sure they can be beat.

One of the nicer one's out there these days is the series made by Eastman http://www.eastmanstrings.com/eastmanguitars/home/home.html

Well they're certainly a very attractive looking guitar. :) I just downloaded their catalogue and had a wander through it.

I hadn't heard of anybody importing them into Australia, so I felt fairly safe having a peek. But I now discover that there is somebody who does import them, and the mark up doesn't look quite as outrageous as usual. Luckily they're on the other side of the country so the temptation is still probably far enough out of reach... :wink:

Good luck with finding the one that suits.

Cheers,

Chris

I have to say that I'm pleased, so far as I've gotten. When the wife comes in from the other room and recognizes the song I'm working on, or says, "hey, that sounded good!" then I have some confirmation that I'm making progress. I'm satisfied with the tone of my guitar, and I'm encouraged that I'm making progress.

I play on a variety of acoustic and electric instruments and can pretty much get the sound I want. I can get a nice tone with my $99 Johnson with a slide, or my Epi Dot, strat, or Squier tele. I'm not saying I can play them well :oops: but thats another topic :lol:

I'm not saying I can play them well :oops: but thats another topic :lol:

I'll say it for you then. :D

Listening to some of your home grown tracks has been a real inspiration for me to keep learning. When I can put it together as well as you I'll be a happy man. :wink:

Cheers,

Chris

But getting back to the sound; I guess when you've been playing awhile like a lot of guys here, you can get pretty much any sound you want out of pretty much any rig

Is this post about being happy with one's playing, or one's tone??

For playing, I will never be happy until I can play any sound I hear in my head perfectly. But when I am playing well I am happy with how I sound. But I practice everyday to improve my technique. I don't think any serious player is ever satisfied with their playing ability, it can always improve.

As for tone, you have to know what you are after to get that tone. I have always loved that great Marshall crunch type tone. My favorite guitar tones have always been AC/DC, Bad Company, Free, tones like that. But I love clean tones as well like Surf music with big reverb.

I think the thing that has helped me most is finally finding the right speaker. I love the Celestion Vintage 30, this is the best sounding speaker to me. Everything sounds great through it. It has a fantastic smooth tone. It is never harsh. It doesn't have huge bottom end, but plenty enough. It has great midrange and sweet highs that never sound piercing. So for me, this has been the greatest find in the tone I've always wanted. The Celestion G12T-75 speaker is great for that classic Marshall tone, but it can't compare with the beautiful tone of the Vintage 30 IMHO.

But that is the tone I'm after, may not be what you would like at all.

I have also found some inexpensive jewels for pedals that really sound great. The Behringer TO800 overdrive is just awesome, best overdrive pedal I have ever heard. I also like the ProCo Rat for distortion, very tight, always sounds great. This has become my favorite distortion pedal ever. The Dano Daddy O is a great versatile pedal for overdrives, you can get Punk tone perfect.

What I'm getting at is that a lot of being happy with your playing is finally finding the gear to get the tones you love. If you can really get the tone you are after you will play much better. It is almost like your gear is playing itself. You can't just play through any old rig.

As for guitars, I like each for what it sounds like. I love the warm, thick, smooth tone of an LP. I love the jangle of the Strat and the twang of a Tele. I have collected various guitars just to get certain tones I am after. I want to get a nice semi-hollowbody someday, owned one years ago and really loved the tone.

Amps are the same. I love my HRDs clean channel, really love the crunch of my Marshall, and the great Blues breakup of my EVJ head.

You just have to keep trying gear until you get those great tones you are after.

is an ibanez grg150 good? i'm just a student and i kinda have a low budget...