SometimesI get comtemplative and metaphysical. Ever wondered what tone really means? I've come up with a few possibilites about how most of us derive the tone we 'hear'.
1) Etymology - Culture, history etc shapes the usage of certain words. E.g words like 'presence', 'warmth', 'woody' etc have been used to describe tone. What do they really mean to the individual? Tough question.
2) Appearance - Preconceived notions: A martin look alike will tend to sound like a Martin.
3) Insecurity - Reading tons of reviews, picking up the jargon and then using these words/phrases to describe tone without much thought or understanding.
While not getting overtly philosophical, I believe that using words to describe a particular tone is futile, unless you can actually pick out a guitar to illustrate those words. Sounds esoteric but this show's a certain internalised understanding of the adjectives themselves.
Reason why some people perpetually seem to choose the right guitars with the right sound can be attributed to the above. Think about it, it's just like picking durians. Some just sniff and they know. My urge to guitar players, try 'sniffing' more and discover. :)
KC
Thursday, May 3, 2007
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