You ask…”how do I find the perfect tone?

There is no perfect tone. The "ultimate" tone (The Tone) does not exist. "Tone" is a shifting object that varies depending upon song, emotional context, venue, audience, genre, physical environment, etc.

Some of the "best" guitar sounds are rather lop-sided when analyzed in isolation. I hear players all the time say they finally found the perfect tone or they're still searching for the Holy Grail of tone. Most of these people are sitting in their bedrooms or are gear collectors perpetually in search of excuses to buy more stuff. The real discovery comes when they play with a band or try recording.

In short, you can take any guitar and amp in good working order and get plenty of useful sounds.
I've gotten what I thought were perfect sounds from my guitar only to find that they didn't work at all when you take your sound out of your garage or bedroom. Instead of looking for "The Tone" you need to think about finding your place within the frequency spectrum.

Think about it this way, you've got your drummer pounding away, another guitarist, vocals, bass, plus whoever else is in your band. Say
you join a band where the other guitarist plays a Strat and a Fender Twin. With the addition of another vocalist, a lot of the spectrum is taken by instruments and voices that would compete with another guitar.

Are you going to shove another bright Strat into the mix?

Why? Rather than trying to compete (‘VOLUME WARS!’) you've got to cooperate and find a space that you can occupy that does not step all over other people that might just mean finding a sound that you don't like (say, in isolation) but sits well in the mix or work well in comparison to some other guitar tone in the group. That might mean, in the above context, finding a thicker sound (say a Marshall-type middominated sound with humbuckers) and let the Strat guy have his sparkle and snap.

Likewise, in some situations, a paper-thin guitar sound will cut through a mix that is heavy on bass and mids. Your tone may sound like crap, if someone soloed your mixer channel, but remember the whole is greater than the parts so what might sound like crap by itself could very well sound super in the total mix.

So, in your band or when you record, the vocals and drums are going to be the least flexible elements. Start there, let the bassist take the
bottom, and then divide the relatively small portion of space left over between the guitars. And when the vocalists are singing select a sound that will compliment. When there is a vocal-free space you can go for something with more substance to it you might find that in any given song, you'll need two or three different sounds for different areas of the piece.

Your tone will sound differently at practice, at sound check, and every venue, even if you use the exact same equipment and settings. Be prepared to alter it based on the room, temperature, humidity, and the amount of people and sound absorbing objects in the room.
And, lastly, your tone is going to be the product of being reasonable and considerate. Cooperate with your band members. You will not be appreciated if your ‘awesome tone’ conflicts with what other people are doing.

You are the guitar player. Unless you are also the singer or you are a featured guitar god, you will be pretty much ignored. Find a cool groove to get into with the drummer and the bassist. That's how to be a musician, and not just a guitarist.
What’s that? How do you sound like Eric Johnson/Eddie Van Halen/Yngwie etc.?

If you want to sound like EJ or whoever then do not read this!

Instead, take out a loan on a vintage, pre-CBS Strat ($12,500) + vintage TS808 Tube Screamer ($500) + vintage Marshall JTM45($1200) then you will have all the gear necessary to sound like EJ…note that I said you'd have the gear for the sound not the sound itself.

For Example, please realize that just because you own a 1954 Strat, wo Fender Deluxe Reverbs and a vintage 50 Watt Marshall, you probably won’t sound exactly like Eric Johnson… Don't get me wrong, that would be a good starting point. But great tone comes from the heart, soul and fingers of the person playing. Equipment, in and of itself, is only part of the battle. The remainder, literally, rests in your hands and fingers.


Wonder why I would say a thing like that? Read on!

Amp/Effects Debates

Don't get caught up in the tube vs. solid state vs. digital debate. That is a never-ending argument that will probably never be won. Great tones can be coaxed out of any kind of amp as long as it is well designed and in good working order.

If Mike Stern and B. B. King can get their sounds out of, in Stern's case an ancient Yamaha G100, and in King's case an old Gibson Lab Series amp, then the matter is really pointless. I've seen many tube purists who couldn't tell the difference between solid state and tube when they had to rely solely on their ears. So, trust YOUR ears and don't get something merely because it has tubes -- there are many of those amps that sound plenty bad.

DO get something that sounds good to YOU!
Do get an amp that will be reliable, durable, and versatile, and inspires you to play it!
Don't worry so much about the power or wattage an amp has.

Tube amps are going to sound better cranked, so lower wattage amps tend to be favored. When playing within the context of a band, your going to mic the amps anyways, so loudness shouldn’t be so much a factor as some folks think.

If you are using a tube amp be sure that the tubes are in good shape. Don't settle for the cheapest you can find; you'd be better off shelling out the bucks for some good ones. Be aware that different speaker sizes can radically affect your sound.

Some people swear that a 4X10 cabinet loaded with Jensen speakers is the only way to go (i.e., the Fender Bassman sound) while others will only play through a 2X12 cabinet loaded with Celestion speakers. Try them all out and decide for yourself. Great sounds can be obtained
from all of them. A cab with 4X10s typically sounds punchier and more immediate while a cab loaded with 12s will sound looser and will allow for a more compressed sound. Also, a closed-back cab like a big 4X12 will generally sound much darker than one with an open back configuration.

Never base your equipment decisions on aesthetics. Considerations like tweed, leopard skin, and boa snake coverings, chicken-head knobs, or metal armor should be secondary to the sound. Never base your amp purchase decisions on the reviews you find in guitar magazines.

The current crop of periodicals has, over the last few years, become nothing but propaganda machines for manufacturers (who, incidentally, are paying their bills through advertising dollars). In short, you simply can't trust them.

Go to online resources for the reviews that real owners have posted. But, you must be careful here as well. Most of these reviews are posted by well-meaning folks just like you and me but most of them have been posted by people after just a few days of owning a piece of gear. You can’t accurately know the in’s/out’s, and shortcomings of an amp that quickly.

Look for reviews from people who have owned and used the amp, or guitar, for at least six months or more. And every now and then you'll find people making second reviews of the same piece after some use.

Effects sound best in moderation. Though, in the pursuit of weird sounds it is fun to hook together an altogether immoderate quantity of effects. It all depends upon your sound. Sometimes it's cool to use old digital effects from the 80s and early 90s the ones that sound horrendous in their attempt to emulate tube preamps; they get this terrible fuzz, which can be accentuated by clipping the input way too far. Some love it.

But for most folks, the general rule is the fewer the better. Effects can become a crutch for sloppy playing and a general lack of skill. Try cutting back on what you use if you are practicing, and trying to get better. Use the effects when you perform…you’ll get much better in a shorter period of time.

Try and keep fresh batteries in your effects, or use a power source. Some people claim that weak batteries will get that 'vintage sound.' I can't tell the difference. Maybe you can-I can’t, and most tests won’t show an audible difference, but when you perform, no one will ever know the difference. In this instance, better safe than sorry-use fresh power.

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<B>J</B>oin us now as we examine a few practical tips to help you learn and master guitar  scales, and the benefits of having a set practice time for learning scales. We  will also be discussing the value of using guitar backing tracks to help master and perfect our scales and improvisation techniques.

One of the most essential elements of becoming an amazing guitarist is to <B>master guitar scales.</B> Without completely mastering guitar scales, it's impossible to make lead guitar parts as well as improvising solo leads. Scales are one of the foundational building blocks that are essential to achieving a complete mastery of guitar playing.

There are a few tips available to help individuals master guitar scales. One tip is to <I>not</I> rush and try to learn a lot of different scales all at once. It's much easier to just take one scale, learn it, and practice it until you have <I>perfected</I> it than to try and learn them all at once. By practicing them one at a time you can retain what you have learned. Learning one scale at a time will also boost up your ability to be more creative when improvising, rather than sounding mechanical, as if you were playing drills.

Another tip that can help you to learn and perfect your scales is to have a plan for how you are going to practice them. Developing a set routine for guitar practice can help you to make sure that you don't neglect learning and practicing and just skip to playing around. You can get a guitar chord book from your discount local store, and spend just a little time everye single day familiarizing yourself with all the scale names and all the diagrams that are shown.

It may be beneficial to come up with a plan that sets aside a certain amount of time each practice to running through all of your scales. This will help you to keep sharp and to really get those scales burned into your mind.

Start by learning the basic 5 most common keys for guitar C, G, D, A, E
These are easy open scale positions. Thereafter, move on to minor pentatonic scales which is the big daddy of all scales that is often used for improvisations on the guitar. Remember to also download a guitar scale chart on available on the Internet for quick and easy reference while practicing.

When most people take up learning how to play the guitar they usually have one goal in mind, and that is to be a rocking lead guitar player who sets their fans’ ears ablaze with their lightning fast solos. A lot of serious guitarists have the talent and dedication to practice and to grow as musicians and often become excellent lead guitar players. Some guitar students may not have the kind of resources available to help them grow in their techniques and to achieve their dreams of being a lead guitarist.

There are a lot of different tips and tricks available out there that can help you improve your lead guitar skills and techniques. One of the most basic tips for improving your skills is to watch how you hold your pick and how you actually pluck your strings. This can have a dramatic impact on how the harmonics on your guitar are played out. For instance, it’s better if you don’t have a lot of the pick sticking out from your fingers, but instead have your fingers closer to the edge of the pick. Doing this will help you to bring out the sweet harmonics of the notes you hit, especially on a distorted guitar.

One of the most common aspects of playing lead guitar is learning how to develop a stronger hand so that you can play faster. Playing fast is an important part of being a lead guitarist, but there are a few things you should know before trying to improve your speed. One of the most important lessons to learn is that speed is useless without hitting the right notes. It’s better to perfect a scale you’re learning slowly, and then work on increasing your speed.

Another great tip and trick that has helped a lot of guitarists master the craft of playing lead guitar is playing along with guitar backing tracks. An individual playing along with guitar backing tracks can greatly improve a variety of different skills and abilities as well as the enjoyment of practicing along with an entire band.

Practicing your lead guitar skills to guitar backing tracks also helps you to improve your speed and your improvisation techniques. Guitar backing tracks provide you with structure and help you to adjust to playing lead in front of another guitar playing rhythm. These guitar backing tracks can also be useful for doing gigs and playing live, which also is a great help to improving your skills.