3 Stages of Tone

This post is Part Three of a three-part series designed to give you a unique and inspiring approach to understanding and selecting your electric guitar tone. Electric guitar tone is shaped in three progressive stages: Guitar, Pedals, and Amplifier, which I would like to present to you in terms of painting. Today, we will dive into the third and final stage, the Amplifier. I sincerely hope this helps you see your instrument and musical tools in a new light and provides new inspiration for making tons of great new music!

AMPLIFIER - THE GLOSSY FINISH

Two Types of Amplifiers

I look at the amplifier as the final coating for the sound; the glossy finish that provides a characteristic sheen and acts as a bonding agent to pull everything together into one exquisite harmonic masterpiece. The type of glossy finish applied to the musical painting depends on the type of amplifier used. Primarily, there are two main types of guitar amplifiers: Tube and Solid State. These two hallmark amplifier categories contain within themselves numerous variations and subtle nuances, however the defining tonal factors are simple.

Tube Amplifiers

Tube amplifiers react responsively to the volume sent through the tubes. Low-gain signal passes through the tubes relatively unchanged. High-gain signal results in the tubes being pushed to the point of clipping, which in turn creates overdrive distortion. Put simply, when a player plays soft, the tone will be clean. When he plays harder, the tubes begin to clip and and overdrive is introduced into the equation. This clipping process results in tonal dynamics wholly dependent on the players touch and playing intensity—from light and clean, to hard and mean, and everywhere in-between. Hey, that rhymed… :)

Solid-State AMPLIFIERS

Solid-state amplifiers rely on transistors, diodes, and circuits to produce their sound, which, unlike tube amplifiers, makes their tonal output consistent. Basically, one can play hard, soft, or anywhere in-between and it will all sound the same. I often compare the Tube vs. Solid-State amplifier comparison issue to Overdrive vs. Distortion—one reacts to your playing dynamics and the other one doesn’t. Though many guitarists might swear by using only tube amps and never solid-state amps, or perhaps only overdrive and never distortion, output consistency in some situations can be a highly valuable trait and is no less-useful a tone-shaping tool to have within one’s diverse arsenal of guitar tones when needed.

The amplifier that I most commonly use is the Marshall Plexi, modeled by my Line 6 POD HD500. It has a powerful clean tone that smoothly transitions to a non-gritty, creamy overdrive as higher levels of volume are introduced by either my playing or by my Boss OD-20 overdrive pedal, set to act as a Clean Boost. The tonal characteristics and behavior of the Marshall Plexi are well-suited for my individual playing style and personal tastes for tone and in the last few years it has become my go-to tool for creating a signature sound.

Two Unique Approaches

There are two distinct approaches to the way an amplifier is used to shape and finish one's tone. Each approach has its own unique advantages and disadvantages.

The Compartmentalization Approach

Begins with a solid clean tone as the foundational starting point of the sound. This effectively creates a blank canvas which can then be painted using pedals to color the tone as desired. The benefit of this approach is compartmentalization--each gain stage of a player's tone is conveniently contained in separate "compartments," maintaining distinct separation from one sound to another as the gain stages go through the following general phases: Clean, Standard Drive, and Lead Drive. Obviously, one isn't limited to those options only. Truly the sky is the limit; one could have as little as one or two compartments or many, many more than I have used in this example.

As far as the basic clean tone goes, you want your clean tone to be clear and inspiring, not only to your audience but most importantly to YOU. Ask yourself the following questions: Do I feel personally inspired by the tone of my guitar? When I play, does my tone make me say, 'Wow, I sound great! I just want to keep playing so I can keep hearing this beautiful sound!'" If you think this about yourself, chances are your audience will pick up on this feeling and value your music the same way.

Once the desired clean tone is achieved, simply add the pedals of your choice to create an endless variety of tonal colors with which you can paint the musical pictures of your dreams! See my last blog post, "Painting with Guitar Tone - Pedals" for advice on selecting and working with pedals and effects.

THE PUSH APPROACh

Other players, myself included, primarily use the approach of setting an amplifier to a relatively clean setting, with perhaps only a small amount of bite, and then pushing the amplifier using Boost or Overdrive pedals (such as a Tubescreamer) to achieve higher-gain overdrive sounds for rhythm and lead tones. The resulting Overdrive that is heard is not necessarily from the pedals themselves (However, this can be the case, in whatever ratioed amount the player wishes--yet another variable available to guitarists for tone-sculpting.), but rather from the amplifier as the pedals send boosted volume levels to the tubes in the preamp section of the amplifier. This approach yields two primary benefits:

Uniformity of tone in all various gain stages. In other words, the Clean, Standard Drive, and Lead Drive stages all share the same inherent sound of the amplifier, simply with different gain settings. Unlike the compartmentalization approach, in which each stage can have an entirely different sound, the tonal uniformity resulting from the push approach can really tie your musical tone palette together. Think of it as unified branding in marketing, where all instances of a company's product share a unique and recognizable fingerprint. This can go a long way in setting your sound apart and making it instantly recognizable by your audience.

Smooth transitions between gain stages. Using this approach, each gain stage organically transitions to the next without any distinguishable "wall" between compartments. Because you are using the same inherent tone from the amplifier, you simply play hard or soft, and through clever use of your boost pedals and overdrives, the audience has no idea where one stage ends and the next begins. Stealthy, smooth and flawless, like a silent ninja.

Which approach do you generally use, the Compartmentalization Approach or the Push Approach? Try getting outside of your comfort zone by experimenting with the opposite approach to pique your curiosity and find something new and inspiring. Leave a comment below and let me know how it goes!

Happy Tone Painting!

- Daniel

Painting with Guitar Tone - Part 3