Hearing your guitars/rig played by someone else.

What's Hot
Rowby1Rowby1 Frets: 1258
Earlier this week @Lodious came over and had a play on my set up. I’ve noticed before, when ever anyone else plays my guitars and rig it always sounds noticeably different to when I’m playing. Now some of this is down to different technique and skill level (and Lodious is pretty handy to be honest) but I heard detail in the sound that goes right by me when I’m playing. 

Anyone else experienced this?


0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 2reaction image Wisdom
«1

Comments

  • 57Deluxe57Deluxe Frets: 7329
    edited March 2018
    ...is cos your senses are detached from the sound.

    When you play you feel stuff and consequently all your attention is divied-up elsewhere.

    A bit like when you're cooking, you don't smell/taste the same as if you walked in and it on the plate.
    <Vintage BOSS Upgrades>
    __________________________________
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 4reaction image Wisdom
  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31368
    That's why I often fine tune EQ settings using a looper. 
    0reaction image LOL 2reaction image Wow! 10reaction image Wisdom
  • Rowby1Rowby1 Frets: 1258
    p90fool said:
    That's why I often fine tune EQ settings using a looper. 
    Now there’s a clever idea! Never thought of that. Have a Wis.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • 57Deluxe said:
    ...is cos your senses are detached from the sound.

    When you play you feel stuff and consequently all your attention is divied-up elsewhere.

    A bit like when you cooking you don't smell/taste the same as if you walked in and it on the plate.
    Nailed it.

    Sometimes it's depressing as it shows up my lack of skill ;-)

    I think having someone else play your gear is nice though, it makes me think and reflect on my playing and gives me new ideas
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • ecc83ecc83 Frets: 1589

    This is so common in the Home Recording scene. 1000s of posts a year in just the two forums I infest are to do with "why can't I capture THE sound I hear when I am playing?"

    Guitarists call it "feel" . As a non-guitarists I call it a "real time feedback loop"!

    Dave.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • MajorscaleMajorscale Frets: 1553
    @57Deluxe is right about being "detached from the sound". I love hearing my gear played by other people, even those with less playing experience, because I get a great feel for the base tones of my rig in a listeners context... something I don't experience in the same way when distracted by playing and/or positioned with my back to the amp. 

    Before I realised this I made a few errors - several times people have come to my house to buy & collect guitars and as they are trying them out I'm left wondering why I'm letting such a beautiful sounding instrument go (@eqlsql ;))
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • jeztone2jeztone2 Frets: 2160
    I love it. Tone is really in the fingers. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • PlectrumPlectrum Frets: 494
    I've had a pro guitarist play through my rig. Unsurprisingly he sounded a lot better than I do  ;)
    One day I'm going to make a guitar out of butter to experience just how well it actually plays.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • VoxmanVoxman Frets: 4718
    jeztone2 said:
    I love it. Tone is really in the fingers. 
    Please, not that old hackneyed and 101% plain wrong expression. Sorry but its a real bug bear of mine.

    Tone is in the gear...period. Skill is in the fingers that gets the best out of that tone. If you don't believe me try playing a stock strat through a Fender Blackface and then try using your fingers to make it sound like a Les Paul through a cranked Marshall JCM800 with an SD1 or tube-screamer!  ;) 


    I started out with nothing..... but I've still got most of it left (Seasick Steve)
    4reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 3reaction image Wisdom
  • All in the hands!
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 2reaction image Wisdom
  • richardhomerrichardhomer Frets: 24793
    edited March 2018
    Voxman said:
    jeztone2 said:
    I love it. Tone is really in the fingers. 
    Please, not that old hackneyed and 101% plain wrong expression. Sorry but its a real bug bear of mine.

    Tone is in the gear...period. Skill is in the fingers that gets the best out of that tone. If you don't believe me try playing a stock strat through a Fender Blackface and then try using your fingers to make it sound like a Les Paul through a cranked Marshall JCM800 with an SD1 or tube-screamer!   


    I kind of agree with both of you. A good player can usually make modest gear sound good - their ‘touch’, vibrato and phrasing ‘transcends’ the set up they’re using. Equally, I’ve seen plenty of people whose touch, vibrato and phrasing is so poor that they make the best gear sound poor. But I also agree - technique will not make an acoustic sounds like a Les Paul through a Marshall....
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • mixolydmixolyd Frets: 826
    Tone is in everything: fingers, strings, pick, humidity, cable, amp, cab, room, carpet etc etc.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 2reaction image Wisdom
  • VoxmanVoxman Frets: 4718
    mixolyd said:
    Tone is in everything: fingers, strings, pick, humidity, cable, amp, cab, room, carpet etc etc.
    Agree...except the fingers bit.  ;)
    I started out with nothing..... but I've still got most of it left (Seasick Steve)
    1reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • VoxmanVoxman Frets: 4718
    edited March 2018
    All in the hands!
    Skill yes, technique yes, tone no. 
    I started out with nothing..... but I've still got most of it left (Seasick Steve)
    1reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Marktigere1Marktigere1 Frets: 101
    edited March 2018
    Voxman said:
    All in the hands!
    Skill yes, technique yes, tone no. 
    As someone who plays with fingers for the last 30 years and no pick, couldn't disagree more ;)
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 4reaction image Wisdom
  • DrJazzTapDrJazzTap Frets: 2158
    I used to play an SG through a marshall tsl clean channel in a funk band setting. I'll admit it didn't sound great, I'd try warming it up with a compressor pedal. Eventually I ended up with a 335 style guitar through a fender tweed amp. The first thing my old sax guy said was "it actually sounds like an instrument now".

    I think a lot of it is psychosomatic, trying to justify spending more money on ourselves. 
    I would love to change my username, but I fully understand the T&C's (it was an old band nickname). So please feel free to call me Dave.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • riffpowersriffpowers Frets: 344
    edited March 2018
    I've noticed this a few times now, !!

    I recently guested on my friends album using his gear. I still sounded like me, and nothing like him!!

    A few years ago now I was doing some recording in pro tools with another band. I'd played the song, but there was one lick that the bass player wanted to show me, he took the guitar off me and continued recording. 
    Sma eguitar, same everything, he sounded differnet and even the waveform on the screen looked different on his part.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • SporkySporky Frets: 27579
    Voxman said:

    Tone is in the gear...period. Skill is in the fingers that gets the best out of that tone. If you don't believe me try playing a stock strat through a Fender Blackface and then try using your fingers to make it sound like a Les Paul through a cranked Marshall JCM800 with an SD1 or tube-screamer!  ;) 


    But using more or less pressure holding the strings down affects the sound.

    So does letting the plectrum (assuming you use one) flap about more.

    Just by playing harder or softer you can change the sound.
    "[Sporky] brings a certain vibe and dignity to the forum."
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • munckeemunckee Frets: 12255
    mixolyd said:
    Tone is in everything: fingers, strings, pick, humidity, cable, amp, cab, room, carpet etc etc.
    Tone comes from the soul everyone knows that! or is it funk comes from the soul...
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • peteripeteri Frets: 1283

    I love hearing my stuff played by someone else

    Recently this stopped me selling a wonderful, rare guitar - just because I was being an idiot and approaching it like I looked at my other guitars.

    Hearing someone else play it, made me realise just what it could sound like without my prejudices - and I appreciate the guitar much more

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.