How Important is it to Have the Right Guitar for the Right Song?

[GTS9]

(Let me start by saying I play mandolin, not guitar, so I'm just posting this from a listener's point of view).

Often times more than artists we associate with particular guitars it's songs. To give only one example think about that Stratocaster opening to "Sweet Home Alabama."

I recently read an interview with Joe Don Rooney where he said: “I think that because of the Les Paul, and Dann Huff introducing me to that world, understanding that certain songs require a certain electric guitar, that really opened my mind up to thinking differently, thinking more like a session player rather than just a guy who plays live with a band.”

Of course I don't mean to question that certain songs, for the best sound, require a certain guitar, I only wish to ask how requisite is it? I was watchting videos of John Fogerty playing Green River live and in one video he was using a Les Paul, and in the next a Telecaster. Both sounded great, and he was able to create that great sound we know the song for with both guitars. Would "Sweet Home Alabama" really be so different if that had been a Gibson SG (an instrument which Ed King, the man behind that Strat, much prefered) instead? Or would "Dream On" still be as great as it is if that fanatastic guitar work had been on a Stat instead of a Les Paul? Everytime I read guitars on the web it always seems to be "so and so played a Tele" or "well this song features an LP." But are we maybe not seeing the forest for the trees quite as well as we should by realizing that just about every good guitar is an extremely versatile tool that with proper playing can fit in just about anywhere? Or am I maybe just an ignorant non-guitarist who is thinking out of his depth?

Anyway, I know there is no real concrete answer to this, I'd just like to hear the thoughts of some real players.

[mrbrown49]

I think it actually matters way way less than we guitarists think it does. A good player can make any guitar sound good on any song, especially in a live situation.

 

[badpenguin]

Anybody who plays in a cover band will read this question, and think it's one of the stupidest questions that could be asked. I played in cover bands, and wouldn't use a Paul to do "Lay Down Sally" just as I wouldn't use a strat, (with single coils mind you) to do "Sunshine of your Love". Nor would I use a tele, (singles again mind you) to do "Iron Man", and wouldn't use an ES125 to play the hits of Megadeth. The right guitar, the right tool, for the right song. Stupidly obvious.

 

​As a writer on the other hand, the guitar tends to dictate what kind of song I am writing. I pick up a hollow body, the song tends to have a more mellow tone, with odd chord changes and the like. A solid body with a Floyd would drive me more into the rock vein. I pick up my Ric, it's a safe bet I am NOT writing a metal piece. Again, the right guitar, for the right song. In this case however, the guitar dictates what the song is.

 

​And, by the way, Skynard used a strat AND a Paul in most songs to fill out the sound.

 

[Freeman Keller]

How importand is the right mandolin for the right song

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[GTS9]

Well, the two on the bottom would be like comparing a ukulele or an electric guitar to full size accoustic. Anyway, not very much as long as it's good. You see teardrops, Loar styles, headstocks of all different shapes, National Resonator mandolins, sometimes even those Washburn bowlbacks (or tater bugs) you've go pictured (I believe that's what it is) playing in bluegrass festivals and jams. All sounding different, but all sounding right. A lot of the songs we play were writen over a hundred years ago, many much longer than that. There are different variations and no "standard" recording on many, and even if there is there might be a hundred others. When we play a song we often don't want to recreate someone else's sound, but give it our own sound. I guess that's one of the things about old songs you don't even know who wrote vs modern songs which cannot be seperated from a specific band's or player's recording. But of course I'm stupid, so who knows...

[GTS9]

Haha, googled Washburn bowlback to double check and the first thing I saw was this: https://reverb.com/item/1607887-washburn-bowlback-mandolin-1895-natural?gclid=EAIaIQobChMImc2WuqTH1wIVla_sCh3zxglgEAQYASABEgKjsPD_BwE&pla=1

[onelife]

Mark Knopfler could play 'Sultans of Swing' on his '59 or 'Money For Nothing' on a strat or he could use a tele for the whole show and nobody would be dissapointed.

 

Tone is in the fingers...

[catscurlyear]

i think the intro of sweet home alabama guitar sound was more to do with that sound maybe just coming into being fasionable at that time and then mark knpofler went and did it to death. even hendrix had experimented with that sound before hand ,you can here it at times for example on "bleeding heart "from the albert hall recording ,then of course they used to jam the 3 way selector inbetween positions on the strat. billy gibbons had also messed with that sound before hand on record.if a tune becomes fasionable with a certain guitar sound it will become iconic ,doesn`t mean to say it can`t sound good played on a different guitar in my op.

[stormin1155]

On 95% of the music I play, any good guitar will cover. Some songs do sound better with certain guitars... the twang of a tele, the shimmer of a 12-string...

[Chordite]

To me it is very important, particularly I use a Strat for crisp funk stuff and an LP for long creamy jazz tones. They are as different as a Steinway and a Rhodes*

Then again I don't use distortion/ drive or much by way of heavy pedals which would kind of negate the question

 

*ok maybe not quite that different but you get the picture

[Freeman Keller]

All those were taken from Reverb - I just needed a source of a bunch of different images. And I agree that you could play Dawg on a Bigby double neck or classical on an F5, we still associate different music with different instruments.

[GAS Man]

I tend to think "right guitar" or at least "close" for certain songs. Like "Walk Don't Run", I'm going to grab a strat or a Jazzmaster.

 

But OTOH, there's folks like Eric Johnson that can alter the sound of a Strat and an ES-335 to where they blend almost seamlessly on Cliffs of Dover. So I think it depends a lot on the amount of gain you're using and the rest of the signal path.

[catscurlyear]

a lot of early 70`s funk was done on gibson style guitars using the middle "plinky" position , check out the meters stuff.

[Etienne Rambert]

I picked up a double-neck Mosrite in a Vegas guitar store a couple of years ago. I think it was a Joe Maphis model? Not a Mando-guitar like that one - but a 12/6 string guitar.

 

Heaviest instrument I ever lifted - heavy enough to anchor Larry Ellison's yacht in the harbor.

[Freeman Keller]

The current book Play it Loud by Toliski and de Perna charts the evolution of the electric guitar from Beauchamp, Fender, Bigsy and Paul up to contemporary players like Jack White and argues that each new music genre was accompanied by both a significant player (or players) and a model or type of guitar. Whether the guitar is necessary to the sound is debatable put I agree that each step in the evolution of the music does seem to have an iconic player and his axe.

 

Good read, I got kind of lost when rock became all the forms of metal but certainly up to Hendrix and Townsend I think they got it right.

[AJ6stringsting]

Each guitar has it's own voice and characteristics.

Some of even the same makes / design, will have sweet spots in different location ... Not to mention woods, metals, materials of nuts and neck tensions.

[jtr654]

You can use any guitar for Any type of music you just have to work with it and the amp.

[Mikeo]

You can use any guitar for Any type of music you just have to work with it and the amp.

 

Pretty much.

 

 

I have a PRS Custom 22 that pretty good at a lot of things. It's a little Gibson SG/ LP a bit of Tele a little start, depending on the settings.

 

If you are a major touring act, and have a guitar and amp tech to hand you the exact guitar you want for a particular song, that's awesome. make your tech work.

 

If you are warm up act for a major touring band, it's a compromise, they what you on and off in a timely manor.

 

If you are a weekend warrior, that's another compromise. Haul what ya want, but you might eventually get tired of haul too much gear.

 

Eventually you choose your tone battles.

 

 

 

 

[Grant Harding]

It doesn't matter to me at all. I'd happily play Lenny by SRV on a Gibson SG, for example. Back in Black on a Strat? Sure!

 

The amp is far more critical to me. Playing AC/DC with a Fender Champ? Probably not.

[Phil O'Keefe]

I think it can be really important in the studio. Different guitars offer different tones and textures... and some of them combine better than others. That's why, as a producer, I like having a variety of guitars ready to go.

 

I'm less concerned about it when I play live, but I understand why a cover band guitarist would want to have a few different instruments available to help them achieve the tonal variety that their gig usually demands.

 

[Grant Harding]

My main reason for the HHH with splitting on my #1. I can play pretty much anything (except P90 and Filtertron sounds) fairly convincingly live.

[Chordite]

catscurleyear: "a lot of early 70`s funk was done on gibson style guitars using the middle "plinky" position , check out the meters stuff"

 

Yep I checked them out, second pic down. Though he obviously swapped his f 's for sharper soundholes

 

http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/event/37th-annual-new-orleans-jazz-heritage-festival-presented-by-shell-the-75130142?esource=SEO_GIS_CDN_Redirect#-picture-id115295981

[WRGKMC]

Having the same guitar as the artist you're copying can help with the tone but the guitar is only part of the formula. You do have the amp, speakers, and effects to consider too. You can do allot electronically to make one guitar sound like another and people often do.

 

Playing in a cover band I'd often switch between a guitar loaded with Single coils to Humbuckers as I needed the different tones.

I'd often mod guitars so I could get tones from both.

 

Capturing the players style is undeniably the most important element of all. I've seen some of my favorite artists change instruments a half dozen times a night and though their tone may have changed, they still produced their own style of music.

 

You have to keep an open mind on the types of artists too. Some play in bands that have strict and regimented styles. For example, Johnny Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd was overly tyrannical when it came to driving his band to get the exact same tones every time they played their songs. They did very little improvising. Even on the longer songs that sounded like they were jamming were highly regimented to having the same riffs and breaks time after time.

 

Other players you may never hear them play the song the same way twice. Jazz players are famous for this. They use a basic theme and structure but they improvise much of what they play as they are playing it. The ability to do that requires exceptional musical skills thinking ahead before things occur and choosing substitute notes and tones in a very artistic manor, often times relying on the emotions you want to express or making certain riffs you already know fit into something they weren't originally designed for.

 

I think most musicians can benefit from becoming expert at both methods just like becoming expert at getting the best tones from any instrument they play. When I pick up an instrument I intuitively test its range of tones and dial in on the tones which will best express the sounds I want to project while making the instrument most comfortable to play.

 

Playability is a big factor too. If I know I'm going to be playing allot of hot leads I'll likely choose an instrument with a suitable neck and tones regardless of whether it produces the exact tones of the original song. So long as it isn't totally out of the ball park and causes clashing with the other players, a change of tone can make you stand out from the pack and be noticed. You simply have to be good enough to pull it off while making tasteful decisions like that.

 

If I was going to be singing mostly and playing chords I may choose an instrument with a wider heftier neck for that purpose to reduce wrist fatigue and allow enough space between strings to play arpeggios and not be muting strings because the strings are too close together. It may even have a different action and pickup height more suitable for chords then leads.

 

The good thing is we do have choices and there are is more variety out there then ever to find an instrument and rig to fit whatever musical style you prefer. If you hear and feel tones that are suitable to the notes you want to express then you can use it to your advantage. If you're having a hard time zeroing in on those voices hidden within the instruments wood and strings after exhausting the tonal possibilities of the electronics then try something else till you do.

[gardo]

It seems to me that with the digital technology we have today., having the right guitar is more a matter of appearance.than of sound.We can process the sound to get just about anything that is needed. I don't like this idea but that's where we are