I was talking to a friend one day who noted something that the great Carlos Santana once said: “I can pick up pretty much any guitar and sound like me.” It wasn’t said with any arrogance. It was just a matter of fact. That statement spurred the thought that maybe there was something to the statement: Your tone is in your fingers. I’ve leaned towards that line of thinking for a long time, and have gotten into numerous debates between those who say your tone is in your gear versus the fingers camp.
My personal belief is that your gear gets you your baseline tone, then it’s your fingers articulating the strings that layer on the expression. Yeah, yeah, I can just hear the nitpickers who’ll come along and say, It’s not your fingers, but your heart and mind. That’s true as well. But they are the driving mechanisms. Your fingers produce the sound. But I digress…
Over the years I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve come across many people who’ve asked the same question over and over again: What kind of gear can I get to sound like ____________? It’s probably obvious who the person is whom is asked about the most – Van Halen and the “Brown Sound.” In the past, my answer to this question has usually been, “You’ll have to do your research, and get the exact specs of the signal chain of that particular artist,” in an effort to avoid directly answering the question; or sometimes, I’ll be rhetorical and ask my own dismissive question back, “Why do you want to sound like __________?”
But after lots of thought on this, I feel compelled to qualify the motivations behind my reluctance to answer the question directly. Think back to the top of this article and what Santana was noted saying. The reason I’ve avoided getting into a discussion/instruction of how to sound like someone is because one thing I’ve realized in all the years I’ve been playing is that no matter what gear I have, I’m going to sound like me. Different kinds of gear will make my tone brighter or fatter or richer – whatever – but ultimately, when it comes to actually expressing my musical thoughts I’m going to sound like me. And that goes for every other guitarist or musician out there.
And it really is unavoidable that we sound like ourselves because each of us has our own unique approach to the guitar, affected by several factors (including, but not necessarily limited by how we think, how we feel; and ultimately, in how we express those thoughts and feelings. I’m not sure this is really just a “tone” thing, either. For instance, listen to old Van Halen with the brown sound, then listen to the Sammy Hagar years, or even Eddie playing on Jacko’s “Beat It.” EVH’s guitar tone is significantly different in all those settings, but it’s unmistakably EVH. The same can be said of Santana. Listen to early Santana and more recent stuff. The sound of the guitars are different, but there’s no mistaking who’s playing the guitar. These guys just sound like themselves!
And that’s the point of this entry. Your gear gets you your tone, your fingers create the sound, but it’s your expression that identifies you.
Guitar Gear 
I’m with you. “Tone” is such a subjective thing and in most cases, it seems, one will stumble across their “tone” while trying to mimic someone else. I think the hunt for tone is a never ending process but the key is to have fun during the quest. Like with everything, as soon as you conquer something it becomes less entertaining, its the hunt which makes it fun. Nice write up!
Thanks, dude! As one that has built his tone based on your creations, I totally appreciate what you’re saying! The fun is definitely in the hunt, which is why I always reply to the question, “Just how many more guitars do you need?” with “Just one more!” 🙂
Well written article making a great point. I remember reading a post years ago by a young jazz guitarist who attended a lesson/class at his college led by the great George Benson. He was very concerned that his instrument wasn’t all that high quality and asked Mr. Benson to try it out and give him some advice. It turned out that Mr. George Benson sounded just like Mr. George Benson, even with his “crappy” guitar….. surprise, surprise!