Hi,
My name is Garth Webber and I am an electric guitarist living in Berkeley CA. I've been playing for about 38 years (yikes!) and have played with Miles Davis, Gregg Allman, Bill Champlin, Merl Saunders, Kingfish (with Bob Weir), Mose Alison, Robben Ford and many others. My favorite player is Robben and my style is much influenced by him although I think I have finally found my own voice, which is mixture of blues, jazz and rock. I'm also a big fan of Jeff Beck, especially these days, although I sound nothing like him.
I also work as a recording engineer/producer in my own studio Red Rooster and have recorded over 100 CD projects including many SF bay area artists, even a couple of bands who came from Europe specifically to record in my studio.
I am taking students and would welcome any level of player. If it turns out that you know more than I do then no charge! My style of teaching does not include a curriculum but instead I like to address specific problems you are having as a player.
I am new to this forum so if I have broken any rules I hope you'll forgive me. I look forward to getting to know some of you and exchanging ideas.
Garth~
contact: [email protected]
Welcome to GN, Garth.
I am new to this forum so if I have broken any rules I hope you'll forgive me.
I think we can forgive you as long as you actively contribute to the forums and pass some of that vast experience on ....y'know, a few tips here and there, a few beginners questions answered, and so on. You might want to add your name to this list... https://www.guitarnoise.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=35873
That's basically the way Guitarnoise works - it's a bunch of cyber-friends passing on what they've learned. You take a little from the site, you put a little back. You ask a lot of questions as a newbie - then a few years later, you answer the newbie questions you were asking a few years ago. Take a little, give a little.....
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
<<I think we can forgive you as long as you actively contribute to the forums and pass some of that vast experience on ....y'know, a few tips here and there, a few beginners questions answered, and so on. >>
Thank you Vic. Sorry if I've already violated the rules! (I'm fast I guess.)
I am absolutely delighted to answer any questions that I can. One area in which I feel I've done a lot of "research" is in the field of getting a good tone. I have done some pretty crazy things including setting my '84 Strat Standard up in such a way that I could swap out pickguards, replete with all electronics, in about 5 min so that I could try different pickups on the gig without being committed to using them for the whole night. Few things suck as bad as trying a new piece of gear only to realize within the first song that you have made a horrible mistake and you are in tone hell.
My niche is certainly a very narrow one but I'm good at what I do. I am not the least bit secretive about anything I have learned and very much enjoy imparting any info that might help someone to find their voice.
One rule of thumb that I feel quite confident about is this. The fewer interruptions in the signal between guitar and amp the better. There is a kind of cycle I have found myself going through over the years. I tend to add more and more pedals to my board until I realize that my tone has become less immediate and punchy (this goes for rack mount effects as well). Then I strip back down to the bare essentials which yields a tone with punch and clarity but less options in terms of tonal variation. On balance I think the bare-bones approach, while it limits you in one way, has more affect on the audience. Less effects = more affect.
Garth~
Welcome aboard Mr. Webber I hope to be one of those people that sucks all of your tone knowledge right out of you. I've been playing for about 6 years or so but I still struggle with the tone of my setup which is extremely minimal. Part of the problem may be that the sounds I hear in my head are coming out of a Marshall half stack but I'm playing through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.
Just recently changed the tubes on the amp and I am running my guitar through a Jekyl and Hyde OD/Dist pedal and an EQ directly in the amp. The tone is probably better than I have gotten before but still there is something missing.
Sometimes even with distortion is sounds lifeless that's the only way I can describe it.
Anyway welcome aboard and I'll be looking for your posts.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
As soon as I started playing guitar tone was important to me. The first person whose tone I dug was Clapton. My friends and I called his tone "tubular". I never got that tone because by the time I understood anything about getting a tone I had moved on to other players as models.
Some things affect that tone a lot and some things only affect it a little. Tubes, for example, unless they are not working properly, IMHO don't affect the tone very much. I mean switching brands of tubes and that kinda thing. Tubes as opposed to solid state is another matter and one of critical importance.
The first thing that affects the tone is your hands. The way you play the guitar is critical to the tone. Listen to the tones Jeff Beck gets. It's in large part because he plays without a pick. The next link in the chain is obviously the guitar. You can't make a crappy gtr sound great any more than you can make spoiled meat taste good with nine spices and herbs. Every gtr has a personality and you can't really change it's fundamental sound. That being said, even changing the nut in a gtr will change it's tone slightly. Refinishing a gtr will change it's sound (I've done it). Pickups and bridges will all affect the tone quite a bit. The wood in a gtr is the main thing even in an electric. Every hunk of wood vibrates differently. I've been told by a violin maker that if even a beautiful piece of exotic wood is cut wrong with respect to the grain, it's sound will be compromised.
I'll save the rest (amps, speakers etc) for another post if anyone's interested.
Garth~
