Is Tone really in the fingers?

[@domdigirolamo3624]

Tom plays VH licks better than anyone I’ve ever seen .

[@mudwiser1391]

''Lifeless and soulless'', yup, that pretty much describes my playing.

[@TomShreds]

Hey Shredders! Get started on Shred Like Ed here, save when you use the discount code JAN25 tomshreds.mykajabi.com/shred_like_ed

[@jasonjohnson4170]

You are spot on. I have spent decades trying to emulate Eddie's tone. My picking isn't quite as fast and my vibrato is just a little slower and curlier (because it has to have curly essence) and my squeals could use a little consistency but it wasn't until you broke down removing the flubbiness from the amp in your earlier video that I was able to move forward toward capturing the magic. Thank you. I don't have amplitube yet, so I used my kemper and a crate acoustic amp to achieve this as the amp has a 5 band graphic eq for the second eq like you had explained. Close now.

[@robritoboy]

I notice you hold the pick like Eddie. I remember reading in an interview years ago (I've since somehow lost that magazine) where he said he held the pick between thumb and second finger, and the first finger helped hold it tighter when he needed to go faster and hold it tight. I tried this technique, which really only take 10 minutes before the awkwardness goes away, and you end up playing heavier, and being more solid in your rhythm because the lever is longer. It's easier to keep the preciseness of your timing, and I think it's harder to make mistakes, the picking is naturally easier to get right. Also, because you are a bit slower and can't play as fast, to get speed you end up doing a lot more pull offs and hammers to get the speed. It's not really intentional, it just happens. That technique lends itself to resting the edge of your palm on the bridge for support, so it's easier to mute. And there is no 'resting the pinkie on the pickguard, which is how you lose where you are. Also, finally, I think it's why Eddie took off the pickguard, because his technique would make his fingers hit the volume on a strat, so he moved the volume and it's the reason the frankenstrat started. Really, it was all for necessity! Anyway, getting carried away here! I hope this makes sense. People should try it.

[@JasonTAho]

E erytimeI try emulating Eddies pick grip, it's a huge clusterf*ck. Scared I'm going to break strings or something. I just can't get there, yet.

[@BillLarkinmusic]

Good insight! I love guitar. I've been playing for many years too.. I believe the tone is a mix of a lot of stuff, experience, fingers, gear, and e.q. and knowledge + imagination/opinion. Thank you for the tips!

[@AllenGarberGuitarFun]

Tom, my compliments…this might be my favorite video of yours so far. I think you’ve made some excellent points here, and I’m totally ignorant of modeling and I don’t do any post production on my videos. I just use real everything and whatever the iPhone captures. But that stuff really has its place-it can really help beginners and it is the new reality these days, especially since the Internet and social media are the primary ways that people share their playing and music in general. I’d do well to take a page from your rubric and get acquainted with all the modeling and post production that you do…I can’t stand the way it feels, but it is just undeniable that it helps tremendously to reach viewers/listeners on the Internet and it is an unavoidable new reality in live performing now. Great points made Tom, very well said!

[@MHxD]

Some people interpret 'tone' as the way the musician expresses themselves in the language of music. Others interpret 'tone' as the sound of the equipment. You can see this argument already happening in these comments. In the end it's a pointless question designed to obscure the advert for your latest tuition product.

[@Kraidful]

Nice one mate

[@MrGuitarDad]

Loving these talking head videos lately. Very good food for thought.

[@deylanengel7251]

Tosin Abasi and his tones used for thumping sections is a great example of what you spoke about. Without THAT tone, its nearly impossible to achieve the same results simply because the tone relies so heavily on compression. You might be able do the technique perfectly, but it simply won't translate without the correct tone behind it.

[@Midaswelby-r3h]

Tone is in the pick

[@zjow4755]

I cant wait for ai to be used in the guitar software. You wont need to configure anything, just provide a sample of tone you want to have. We will get exactly the tones we want. In a second.

[@therangersinger]

I agree with your thoughts on this. Get the tone and the playing/learning is easier.

[@KaijuAlert]

On the point of 'why spend any effort copying another player?', I can say with absolute certainty that trying to learn Malmqueen's idiosyncrasies made me a better player. When I write, or when I improvise, I don't sound anything like him as my note choices, phrasing and even the genre of music I play are completely different. However, taking the time to analyse his style (with the help of Swedish Shred Secrets) gave me breakthroughs in my picking technique and my hand synchronisation that completely smashed barriers which I'd been unable to overcome for well over a decade. Not to mention, the place of being inspired to pick up your guitar again and again is such a valuable thing and any player should seize the opportunity to engage in any aspect of learning that inspires them, whether it's copying another player, working on their jazz harmony, attending blues jams etc. Whatever it is, if it is making someone better, or even just giving them enjoyment, it shouldn't be looked down on or criticised by others. With this in mind, I think the pursuit of trying to learn the styles of our idols is as valid a method of improving at guitar as any the traditional things people do to get better.

[@thespectralights2072]

It’s like Jimmy Page, his tone has a round feel to it and almost a quack

[@flex9637]

Yougurt itchyspleen

[@bgrierofficial]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@GeneralTHC]

You know what is a trip for me is all these great players who used a lighter gauge pick. A lot of the boomers loved those Fender mediums made out of celluloid. Even Dave Mustaine uses a lighter pick in the yellow Tortex and even Dimebag (who wasn't a boomer) used the .88 mm green Tortex pick. I don't know, man. I don't want ANY flexibility in my pick. I'm with Shredvie Shreddsteen on that. But I suspect you're the type of guy who would use a lighter pick when playing EVH stuff and then change to a heavier pick when playing Shredvie's stuff.

[@BobGnarley.]

I would say half and half definitely. For instance Eddie was famous for his pick 4 hammer 2 patterns and it definitely gives a unique sound - not to mention his hand strength when it comes to stuff like spanish fly.. i literally watched Paul Gilbert struggle to finish that one lol

[@torbjrnrisholm3577]

Love your playing. Keep up the good videos💪

[@shelbyrockstar]

In defense of buying expensive gear. If you don't sound good or the way you want. You can no longer blame it on the gear anymore, lol. The unfortunate is when you feel discouraged in realizing you're not where you want to be and give up. Can't count how many times I've given up. But then you see these inspirational vids. And crack the case open. I can't afford classes being disabled. So I depend on people sharing knowledge thank you.

[@ScarredRomeo]

No. Tone is musical or vocal pitch. It has an objectively definable scientific measurement in terms of frequency and loudness. What is in the hands, is the ability to emulate someone’s playing ability so that someone else can sound like another person, using the same or similar equipment, as long as you have the timing and tone down, which corresponds to melody. For example, Jacob Deraps as it comes to EVH.

[@donaldyoung9838]

Awesome video tom how about Vitto bratta Tone Wait thanks

[@jakemixd]

When I listen to my old videos with a different guitar or different effects amps etc, I sound the same 😂. So maybe 😊

[@Michael-e6d1i]

(0:45) Excuse me. The proper way to pronounce his name is "Eeen-gwee Wamsteen". Now good day to you Sir !

[@zemlidrakona2915]

I'm kind of in the "what's the point of trying to sound exactly like other guitarists?" camp. That's not to say you can't learn something by playing existing songs, but I just feel likely copying someone exactly is a dead end, if that's all you do. The fact is the guys you typically want to copy, became those guys because they did the exact opposite, even if they started out learning other's licks. EVH is a perfect example and so is Yngwie.

[@zjow4755]

Totally wrong, bro. By copying you learning things, you then have an arsenal of knowledge and skills to choose from. Unless you want to invent the wheel from scratch. And lets not call it copying, it is learning through examples. Of course you can get stuck with what you learned and not use it wisely to move on on your own creation journey. Evolution is based on improving a copy.

[@zemlidrakona2915]

@@zjow4755 So where are all these guys that copy EVH, YJM and others to the nth degree? As near as I can tell they may make some money on KZbin channels, or play in cover/tribute bands. Nobody that does this will be remembered for anything 20 years from now. If your happy with that, it's fine. Music doesn't have to be your profession. Even being a bedroom musician is fine if you enjoy that. Even so, I'd rather have my own sound than be a clone of someone else. Even EVH's own son makes music which sounds nothing like Van Halen.

[@KaijuAlert]

Total smooth brain take. Learning the style of another guitarist doesn't lock you into playing like them exclusively, it simply allows to to take elements from what they do and incorporate them into your own style.

[@zemlidrakona2915]

@@KaijuAlert You can learn songs and licks without spending a ton of money trying to tweak your tone to be exactly the same as the original artist. I see a lot of people who's whole take is tying to sound exactly like EVH, YJM or others. EVH wrote many original songs. YJM too. If all you want to do is play covers, that's fine. But I'd rather hear someone with less skill and more originality. There's a reason those guys were rock stars and you (and me) aren't. Even Kurt Cobain will always have more impact than 99.9% of the KZbin shred clones. As I said in my original post (which you ignored), there is nothing wrong with learning cover songs, but if you want to be considered a great musician, that won't do it, and unfortunately that's where a lot of people stop.

[@romansemlitsch5348]

Isn't it funny how guitar is the only instrument that I know of where people are expected to "make their own music" and it's looked down upon to "just copy others". Somebody who plays the piano or the violin, the saxophone, or basically any other instrument is never expected to be not just a player but a composer/ songwriter as well. I'd much rather listen to someone who is really good at copying good music from somebody else than to the vast majority of people that make their own, really crappy music.

[@vubear]

Tone is most definitely in the fingers. To argue otherwise always results in a collapse of logic, leading to a bait and switch, straw man fallacy. Suddenly the word tone becomes interchangeable with sound, which is actually the result of tone plus equipment. Take King Edward for example, his tone remains consistent regardless of the equipment he uses. We can hear his technical identity on acoustic and electric for example. Gary Moore could never have got the sound of the long, sustained notes of Parisian Wallkways from a clean Strat but if we could listen to him playing it unplugged on a Strat, the fretting, pick attack and vibrato would be unmistakable. Once we honour the notion that tone and sound are two separate things, the debate settles itself.

[@WeTubule]

It's not illogical to have different definition of "tone" and "sound" from yours.

[@nickandrews2255]

First!!! Yooo cheers