How to get great guitar tone.
Guitarists obsess about tone. But getting that great guitar tone can be a frustrating experience, with that ideal sound always seemingly just out of reach. However help is at hand, these days there's tons of equipment out there to help, from Variax guitars, floor pedals and multi effects to transform any sound you care too through at it finally through to amp modellers to replicate any amp combination you might think of. However despite all these technological advances getting great tone doesn't have to cost the earth. In this two part article we'll look at a variety of ways to enhance your tone without throwing out all your gear and starting again!.
1) Your guitar
OK so it sounds a little obvious. But your guitar may influence your tone in more ways you realise. The design and shape of your guitar, it's age, and how it's been treated over the years all effect it's tone. How are it's electrics and controls? Nice and clean are they-mmm…though not? How are the frets? Why not get it setup properly or read up on the web to give it a spring clean try http://users.powernet.co.uk/guitars/setuptut.htm for more info.
2) Your Pick
Now we know that Picks come in lots of different colours but what about their size and shape! Picks come in loads of sizes and gauges. For a thicker tone try a heavy gauge pick and for a brighter tone try a thinner one. The best bet is to try a wide variety until you find one that suits. Remember Brian May gets part of his unique tone from a British sixpence that he uses as a pick so remember a pick doesn't always have to be plastic!
3) Your Strings
Another easy way of changing your tone is to change your strings. Light gauge strings will sound completely different than the same guitar strung with heavier gauge strings (I always think that heavier strings make a guitar more challenging to play too!). Newer strings always have a certain twang about them. A great reference site for strings is http://www.stringitup.com/stringitup/strinan101.html which offers analysis of the various types of strings available.
4) Pickup Height
Obviously your pickups have a large impact on your tone, but whether your've got humbuckers or coils your pickup height can have a dramatic impact on your tone. For a louder, thicker tone get your pickups up high. Why not try staggering the height to mix things up? Try it high up on your low E string and low on your High E and listen to the change in your tone - go on experiment!.
5) Change of pickups
Rather than change your amp or your guitar why not switch your pickups - swap your single coils for a humbucker or vice a verca - don't wanna change your style? Try an upgrade. Check out http://www.axiomatic-music.co.uk for some great info on pickups and their gear of the greats section.
That's it for part 1 - Part 2 coming shortly!