Members curseoftruth Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 At band practice last night, we were trying out a new singer/rhythm guitarist and he was fiddling with his old Ibanez RG and couldn't get it to stay in tune and it was super noisy. Finally he gave up and I handed him my backup, my trusty former number one -- the infamous Epi LP Custom with Gibson ceramics in it that I always post about on here. I knew it sounded good, but man hearing someone else play it, I was not judging the playing like when I play it and the tone, just the tone alone and wow did it sound fantastic! Was being played through my Orange Rockverb 50 which sounds great as well, but that guitar was excellent sounding and made that Ibanez just sound like ass. No comparison. Anybody else experience that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigfatmonkeyboy Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 I played my friends LP standard through his pedals into a crappy peavey bandit, which he manages to make sound fine. PLayed a big fat e major and was stunned at how crap it sounded.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vcnyls Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 Sometimes when this one buddy of mine comes by and plays my guitars I need to apologize to them afterward for not making them sound as good as he does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashasha Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 I am constantly amazed at just how different a guitar sounds in another person's hands. And I love to see and hear guys play my guitars because it lets me sit back and focus on how it is playing and how it sounds more than on my playing itself. I like working on my stuff almost as much as playing it so it is a good evaluator of how I am doing with that as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Puckman Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 Tone is in the fingers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burgess Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 I dunno, I rather enjoy hearing myself play my guitars. I'm not that concerned with what someone else may do with 'em. I kinda like how I sound on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members curseoftruth Posted November 14, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 Tone is in the fingers! I agree with you to a certain point. If that was the case though, that Ibanez RG would have sounded good -- it did not. It sounded like utter, unfettered ass. Now this guy is a good player, I've been in two bands with him before, but that Ibanez was just bad, bad, bad sounding. But the experience let me hear how good my good gear sounded without me being critical of my own playing or trying to write a song and not paying attention to the tone. Was really kind of cool. I knew how good he played and wasn't listening to that, I was totally listening to the tone of the guitar and amp and was very happy. It was a song I wrote, so was nothing fancy about what he was playing, just a chance to listen to the tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Puckman Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 I was being silly. But yeah, to a certain point, it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Joranges Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 I dunno, I rather enjoy hearing myself play my guitars. I'm not that concerned with what someone else may do with 'em. I kinda like how I sound on them. All 40 of them? Me and my friends aren't creative enough to make anything to blow either of us away so... :poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Matter-Eater Lad Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 I feel that it's very difficult to be a good judge of your own sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burgess Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 All 40 of them? Me and my friends aren't creative enough to make anything to blow either of us away so... :poke: I pretty much sound the same on any of them. I play a little different on the jazzboxes, classicals and such but I play all the same riffs I've been playing for the last 30 years on all of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burgess Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 I feel that it's very difficult to be a good judge of your own sound.Record yourself. The playback doesn't lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members silmaneero Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 It's even more apparent when someone else plays your acoustic guitars. All the sweetest sound gets projected out of the front to our hordes of adoring fans (or our cat, please delete as appropriate). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members peavey_impact Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 I agree with you to a certain point. If that was the case though, that Ibanez RG would have sounded good -- it did not. It sounded like utter, unfettered ass. Now this guy is a good player, I've been in two bands with him before, but that Ibanez was just bad, bad, bad sounding. You said yourself that the Ibanez was out of tune and noisy as hell. It was obviously a broken piece of {censored}. Anything would have sounded better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kitarist Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 Tone is in the fingers (to be more precise: picking, playing dynamics,Technique...). Also you hear yourself different than others do. We also hear our voice different than others do. Its just like that... :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frets99 Posted November 14, 2007 Share Posted November 14, 2007 Tone is in the fingers! That's what I tried to tell the effects forum!!! Their responses were hilarious!!!! Truly funny stuff!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members savoldi Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 Record yourself. The playback doesn't lie. That's the point, though. You can't judge near as well when you're actually hearing it and playing at the same time. It's like hearing your own voice on a tape recorder. Doesn't sound like that to your ears when you actually spoke those words. The best way to judge your stuff aurally is to let somebody else play it. Then you're pretty much out of the loop except for your ears, and that's the exact same position your audience is in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burgess Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 That's the point, though. You can't judge near as well when you're actually hearing it and playing at the same time. It's like hearing your own voice on a tape recorder. Doesn't sound like that to your ears when you actually spoke those words. The best way to judge your stuff aurally is to let somebody else play it. Then you're pretty much out of the loop except for your ears, and that's the exact same position your audience is in. Sorry but I can't say I agree with that. I've a wireless, I pretty much know what I sound like to the audience during the soundcheck when I walk out in that area. The recordings we make of the gigs pretty much confirm this. There have been times though when I've thought my tone sounded like crap and I've listened to recordings and it sounded great. When I think it sounds good though the recordings have always done nothing but confirm what I felt was true while playing the set. The patrons comments after the shows would seem to confirm this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Carcinogen Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 I've always noticed that people compliment me on how nice my guitars look, but how difficult they are to play. Then again, I keep my action really high and my strings really heavy, but I seem to make them sound just fine. If you want to critique my sound, head on down to 'myspace.com/kellycarcinogn' and tell me what you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members savoldi Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 Sorry but I can't say I agree with that. I've a wireless, I pretty much know what I sound like to the audience during the soundcheck when I walk out in that area. The recordings we make of the gigs pretty much confirm this. There have been times though when I've thought my tone sounded like crap and I've listened to recordings and it sounded great. When I think it sounds good though the recordings have always done nothing but confirm what I felt was true while playing the set. The patrons comments after the shows would seem to confirm this. A wireless helps because it gives you a bit more perspective, but I don't think you can discount the fact that your ears and overall mood at the moment will sometimes betray you. How can you be impartial when you're creating the sound as well as listening? There's too much going on there to let you focus as you should. I know plenty of guys who are overly impressed with EVERYTHING they play, lousy or not. And there's a difference between sounding lousy and playing lousy. It's hard for me to impress myself after playing for many years, but it happens. It's a lot easier to impress the audience even if I think I'm having a bad night. And if that's true, all I've got left is my tone. If I've got that right I've got something, and a good way to get that right brings us back to the point of the thread. It's not the only way, but sometimes listening to somebody else play your stuff can be a real eye (or ear) opener. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dmn23 Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 I had the exact same experience last night. We had a guy swing by rehearsal last night after I saw his ad on Craigslist. He hung out for a while and then I asked if he'd feel comfortable noodling on one of the songs we just played. So I grab my acoustic and hand him my Strat and he's getting settled. He starts fooling around on "So Far Away" by Dire Straits. Mind you, he's too polite to even adjust the volume knob on the guitar -- nothing has changed, but all of a sudden it sounds like Mark Knopfler's there in the room. The chime, the quack, the tiniest little hint of breakup from the amp...The only thing different was that he was just using his fingers instead of a pick (like Knopfler). The good thing is that I know my setup actually sounds really good. The bad thing is that there will always be some lingering doubt and envy -- "I wonder if I sound like that...?" It's a trip, fo' sho'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mike.sartori Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 Most of my playing is done at church, when I play electric, and my buddy plays acoustic and sings. Sometimes he borrows my stuff and I always think he sounds like crap! (He's been playing electric longer than I have too - but he thinks classic rock is the worst and preffers punk music.) EDIT: Frets99, do you have 'Fuzz Fingers'? EDIT: How about "Flanging Phalanges"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burgess Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 A wireless helps because it gives you a bit more perspective, but I don't think you can discount the fact that your ears and overall mood at the moment will sometimes betray you. How can you be impartial when you're creating the sound as well as listening? There's too much going on there to let you focus as you should. I know plenty of guys who are overly impressed with EVERYTHING they play, lousy or not. And there's a difference between sounding lousy and playing lousy. It's hard for me to impress myself after playing for many years, but it happens. It's a lot easier to impress the audience even if I think I'm having a bad night. And if that's true, all I've got left is my tone. If I've got that right I've got something, and a good way to get that right brings us back to the point of the thread. It's not the only way, but sometimes listening to somebody else play your stuff can be a real eye (or ear) opener.Like I said, sometimes I have a problem with when I think it sounds like crap but most of the time I think it sounds bad the recordings have proven otherwise. Seriously though and I don't know how I can be anymore frank than this, when I think it sounds good it does. Believe me, I know when it's messed up as it's coming out of me and I can generally struggle through that without the audience being anymore the wise of it. But by the same token when it sounds good, I know it as I'm playing it. I know it before the audience does. Maybe some have trouble with hearing things that way and I feel bad for them, truly I do. Personally, I've no problem with it and like I say, the recordings would tend to bear this out. As I said in a previous post, the playback doesn't lie. edit: Here's what I believe is happening... I've come to realize that many players just really aren't happy with their sound, they're not really fans of their own playing. They're far too critical of their own playing to simply enjoy the sound they're producing. Once more, this is something I've never had an issue with. I absolutely love the sound of my own guitar, in fact I'd rather hear myself play than almost anyone. Yeah, I know that probably makes me sound conceited and full of myself but sorry, that's just how it is. Not saying I'm better than anyone else because fact is, there are guys that post on this very board that will play circles around me, but nonetheless I still prefer my own playing. I just love the sound of it. I always have and I don't apologize for that. So having said that I tend to not be so critical but instead I tend to enjoy the moment as I'm playing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaveAronow Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 Ive mentioned a few times that I play a little bit of violin.My teacher is a retired New York SYmphony classical musician, who was trained by alot of the great teachers of the early middle part of the 1900s.He is a hillarious guy, very witty and still sharp as a tack at around age 82.He still teaches about 30 selected students a week, and we both play in one of the biggest church orchestras in the Area. The point is, Ive seen student after student, or even acomplished symphony musicians complain to him that they dont like the sound of their own tone on their own violin.I have seen this happen so many times now that I am usually already laughing because I know what is comming next. He simply says, you think your violin has bad tone? O.K., let me see it for a minute.He picks up their violin and milks the sweetest greatest tone out of it that can be immagined. He is such a great player and has a tone and technique/style to match any of the great masters of the last century.Usually, the student will be standing there with their mouth hanging open not believing that it was their instrument that just sounded that increadible.He then quickly hands it back to them and simply says, " Nope. It aint the violin. Noithing wrong with that one." About that point, everyone around just starts laughing including the student because he does it in a funny non malicious way, but you can see in the students face that he definitely gets the point accross every time. TThey usually just walk away stunned repeating phrases over and over like Damn! I gotta practice more. Damn! I gotta practice more........ etc etc etc.....Its a pretty funny and enlighteneng sight to behold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alchemist Posted November 14, 2007 Members Share Posted November 14, 2007 I dont let others play my gear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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