KeeP it SimPLe

Having read Guitarist for some considerable time, I feel I would like to say a few words about guitars and tone. I began with a Martin Colletti in 1960 and have gone through many changes since then, including a Fender Strat, a Harmony H77, a Harmony six-string, a Futurama, and now I have a Gretsch White Falcon and an Epiphone Casino. These I play through a Fender 100 Twin and have at last realised that all the pedals and tone-changing gubbins have been to no avail. I can now sit down and listen to the lovely tones that today’s guitar-makers produce without tap-dancing on a load of pedals. Believe me, when I sit down and plug in I hear tone. Gerry Walker, via email Thanks Gerry, we’d be the last to sniff at the unadulterated tone of a fine guitar running straight into a valve amp. The saying ‘less is more’ is so often the case and we’ve heard of many cases where this has proved to be absolutely correct. So many great players keep their setup this simple for a reason – you get the purest connection between guitar and amp possible and no distractions from the playing. On the other hand, some of the most amazing guitar sounds we’ve heard have resulted from judicious use of effects. What would The Star Spangled Banner by Hendrix be without fuzz and Uni-Vibe? Perhaps a little less than the “churning urn of burning mojo” it was, to paraphrase James Taylor… Neither approach is ‘bad’, but the effects-driven route to great tone is more complex, hence it needs more thoughtful management – which is why we focused our cover feature in issue 413 on the interaction between all the tonal elements in an effects-equipped rig.

You, on the other hand, can relax and watch other players anxiously fussing with patch cables and power supplies and enjoy the blessings of the simple life!