Getting the tone….without the gear.

First of all, Hello everyone.  I have been noticeably absent lately.  Some busy weeks and a computer crash that resulted in many failed attempts at repair before finally buying a new laptop kept me off the grid for a while.  Now down to business.

One of my biggest pet peeves is the relentless pursuit of some famous player’s tone.  I mean really, aren’t we all musicians so we can express ourselves? What’s worse is the pursuit of the famous guys tone without the same gear.

I have seen countless posts like the following example: “How do I get that Angus tone with a strat and a twin?”.  You don’t! Now I know I’m being critical.  I know that most people are looking to have a wide pallet of tones with the gear that they have.  The bottom line is, even with the same exact gear, you probably won’t get the same tone.

Don’t get me wrong, I too play in a cover band and need to cover a lot of territory.  I can’t bring 20 guitars and 10 amps to a gig.  I have to do it with what I have.  I think the key really is to get the vibe.  Get the feel of the tune first.  After that you can try and find a workable tone.  Let’s face it, even if you nail the tone, you won’t get anywhere if the vibe of the song isn’t there.

I think this is actually a good challenge for many musicians. How to capture the feel, sound, and experience and convey that to an audience with only the few tools you can bring with you.

Scott