April 2010 \ Features \ The Cult of Tone

The Cult of Tone

John Bohlinger

How Vanity, Iconography, and Chance Dictate Six-String Spirituality
Premier Guitar April 2010
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Paradise Found
We are physically built to respond to certain tones, which helps explain why music means so much. Music, quite literally, has a power over us. And that gives it an almost mystical quality. Sure, there are scientific reasons why guitars make us feel the way they do, but what fun is that? Let miracles be miracles. Not to sound too new age-y/creepy, but guitar playing remains a religious experience for me. In one of his final interviews, Stevie Ray Vaughan summed up the religion of tone when he described recording the nine-minute instrumental “Riviera Paradise” to Larry Coryell in an interview in the nowdefunct magazine Musician:

VAUGHAN: To me, the song was a much-needed chance to turn the lights off in the studio and basically, I don’t know any other way to put it, pray through my guitar.

CORYELL: Ah. Man, that’s an excellent way to put it.

VAUGHAN: And be able to express some of the things to some of the people that l don’t know how to talk to right now about what l need to talk to them about, say the things that I wish I could say, to become willing. Okay? And that’s what I was doing. And it’s funny, everybody else was in a separate room. I was in an isolation booth so I could be with my amps. They were all in the big studio with a window. And I just turned the lights off in my room. They couldn’t see me. The drummer was tuning his drums while we were playing. I had my back to the engineer and the producer, Jim Gaines. They were in the control room going completely nuts because the tape was about to run out. And it was funny because none of this ever crossed my mind. I just knew we were gonna play the song once and it was all gonna be just fine.

Maybe music, like prayer, is our primitive attempt at expressing the ineffable—a way to let the notes say what we cannot. Maybe much of what we do is empty worship ritual, but I remain one of the faithful.

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Comments

 (10 comments) display by
UsernameComment
John Bohlinger
on 03/16/2010 		A friend of mine, Michael McFarland, said "imagine Pete Townshend playing the Superbowl with a Stratocaster..... Pete has strayed from the flock! He must be reprogrammed!"
6120x420
on 03/15/2010 		I'm a Gretschitarian. Orthodox, really. Father was a Southern Stratist. I converted after period of exploration. It disappointed my dad but oh well.
Charles
on 03/15/2010 		I remain one of the faithful.
Bontempo
on 03/14/2010 		I'm happy that one the the most original and provocative guitarists was mentioned. Frank Zappa was like no other. There but a handful of players that can never be copied or even emulated. that for me is the righteous factor.
Ron Roberson
on 03/14/2010 		From the days of the old blues pioneers, who used the primative instuments of the day, such as the diddly bow. technology has allowed us better and better instruments. so the tones of our heroes are much more accessable.not to mention the digital pedals that are availabe, the sky is the limmit on our choices of tones.i am a certified gear hound who has a classic guitar collection.I love the new technology that lets me go to places where no man has gone before.I know that this is a never ending journey, this search for tone.but the trip and the things we find along the way, are what makes it all worthwhile.So i say explore all that this world of guitar has to offer, and enjoy the ride.Live love and play.Peace. Ron.
Michael
on 03/13/2010 		I beat myself up at times because there I times I am able to emulate my favorite artists, then I go up against a hyped up Amp of another and I am not able to even come close and I grow discouraged. Then, I recall what Zappa said about studio tone, is that once it is captured, there will be no other way of replicating this tone perfectly in time, ever, again.
HaloMaster
on 03/13/2010 		Religously speaking, most guitarists are close-minded, fundamentalist right-wing idiots who sheepishly practice what they are preached. Instrument-wise and playing-wise, this series has made me think more and more about how brilliant Frank Zappa was.
shooter
on 03/12/2010 		Hey ZZDOC. Read part 2.
zzdoc
on 03/12/2010 		Brent Mason's observations bring it all back full circle. Not withstanding the neurophysiological and psychological and cudos to heart and hands, he still shares with us the recipe for his signal chain which, at the end of the day, is what generates what his soul feels. We know that Clapton's stage guitars lack a TBX which lends something to his tone tweeking. What we have not yet been priviledged to are the fine points of his setup including string heights and fret dressings, and the changes, if any, to his amps and the workings at the sound board. From Les Paul, to '57
Blackie, the the active electronics, Lace Sensors, and Noiselss pickups of the Signature guitar, his tone has evolved significantly, and it not just the fact of his unique vibrato style, or focus on playing on or above the 12th fret which generates that mind-blowing tone.
Marshall Major
on 03/11/2010 		A very interesting article, and thought provoking too. One thing bothers me a little, however! - I don't recall seeing any real reference to the "Righteous" factor? We know when we have found good tone -it's pleasurable - very! - and we go back to the same well (at least as a new starting point)as a basic reference thereafter.

Atthe end of the day good tone prevails because it is good, and poor tone (as far as it is unsuitable for the intended application) falls by the wayside....eventually!

It's pretty simple!



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