BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO TONE
Total Guitar|September 2023
Get the basics of your rig sorted with these fundamental tone-shaping tips
BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO TONE

01 EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT STRINGS

The material your strings are made of fundamentally affects your guitar tone. Of course, electric guitars require metal strings in order for the magnetic pickups to work, however, string manufacturers offer a range of alloys, each with different tonal properties. Plain steel and nickel-wound steel are most common for unwound/wound strings respectively. Rotosound's Ultramags are a 'highly magnetic' string which they say gives more power and sustain. Ernie Ball's Cobalt series 'maximises output and clarity'. You can judge their claims for yourself, but our experience is that materials do matter!

02 GET PLUCKY!

Not all picks are equal, and yes, they certainly can affect your tone. Eric Johnson and John Petrucci have each made use of Dunlop Jazz IIIs, both tweaking the shape of the point and edges for a smoother glide across the strings. The Edge uses Herdim Blue picks, plucking the strings with the textured end for a brighter, er, edge to his sound. Famously, Brian May uses an Old English Sixpence for his trademark tones. More fundamentally, the thickness of your pick can affect tone. Thin picks have a lovely gentle sound for strumming, for example.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2023 من Total Guitar.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2023 من Total Guitar.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من TOTAL GUITAR مشاهدة الكل
"THERE WILL BE A LOT OF GREAT GUITAR PLAYING AT THESE SHOWS!"
Total Guitar

"THERE WILL BE A LOT OF GREAT GUITAR PLAYING AT THESE SHOWS!"

Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram is a huge fan of Slash- and the feeling is mutual

time-read
4 mins  |
June 2024
"THE WHOLE LINE-UP IS STELLAR!"
Total Guitar

"THE WHOLE LINE-UP IS STELLAR!"

Samantha Fish is thrilled to be joining Slash's blues festival - with a new band and as many guitars as she can handle

time-read
5 mins  |
June 2024
"WHEN YOU HEAR THAT TONE, YOU KNOW IT'S HIM"
Total Guitar

"WHEN YOU HEAR THAT TONE, YOU KNOW IT'S HIM"

Mike Clink is the producer who first worked with Slash on Guns N' Roses' debut album. Now, having reunited with the guitarist for Orgy Of The Damned, he reveals how this new album was created - and recalls those magical sessions with Slash in the '80s

time-read
10 mins  |
June 2024
“IT'S ALL THE SAME CHORD CHANGES.MORE OR LESS THE SAME NOTES.BUT IT'S JUST THE WAY THAT THE INDIVIDUAL CHOOSES HOW pos a im TO PLAY THEM.THAT IS WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT BLUES GUITAR...”
Total Guitar

“IT'S ALL THE SAME CHORD CHANGES.MORE OR LESS THE SAME NOTES.BUT IT'S JUST THE WAY THAT THE INDIVIDUAL CHOOSES HOW pos a im TO PLAY THEM.THAT IS WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT BLUES GUITAR...”

The rock icon finding new inspiration in deathless blues standards. The guitarist synonymous with the Les Paul now mixing up his Gibsons with a Strat and a Tele. This is Slash as you've never heard him before...

time-read
10+ mins  |
June 2024
"I VIEW A GUITAR AS A WEAPON!"
Total Guitar

"I VIEW A GUITAR AS A WEAPON!"

As a cult hero of underground American rock, Buzz Osborne describes his band Melvins as \"an avant-garde, weird thing”. And as a guitarist, he's all about heaviness and spontaneity...

time-read
6 mins  |
June 2024
"I'M VERY GOOD AT NOT FOLLOWING RULES!!!
Total Guitar

"I'M VERY GOOD AT NOT FOLLOWING RULES!!!

As one half of Slayer's fearsome guitar attack, Kerry King shaped the sound of extreme metal. With a new album and a new sparring partner, he hasn't mellowed...

time-read
9 mins  |
June 2024
"PEDALS CAN AFFECT YOUR PLAYING SO MUCH"
Total Guitar

"PEDALS CAN AFFECT YOUR PLAYING SO MUCH"

Shoegaze stars DIIV have abandoned their roots as a live band to redraw their sonic landscapes - with a vast array of effects at the heart of their songwriting

time-read
6 mins  |
June 2024
"PEOPLE SAID, "WOMEN AREN'T REALLY SUPPOSED TO DO THAT.SO WE WERE VERY LOUD!"
Total Guitar

"PEOPLE SAID, "WOMEN AREN'T REALLY SUPPOSED TO DO THAT.SO WE WERE VERY LOUD!"

Flying in the face of sexism in the '70s, Heart made it big with some of the most powerful and beautiful rock songs of that era. In turn, Nancy Wilson became one of the most inspirational female guitarists of all time. Now, on the eve of a UK tour, she tells TG: “You have to feel proud of your gnarly hands!\"

time-read
8 mins  |
June 2024
"IS THIS PERSON VIRTUOSIC OR DO THEY TOTALLY SUCK? THAT'S KIND OF WHERE ILIVE!"
Total Guitar

"IS THIS PERSON VIRTUOSIC OR DO THEY TOTALLY SUCK? THAT'S KIND OF WHERE ILIVE!"

St. Vincent's new album sees her teaming up with two Foo Fighters, stealing Josh Homme's secret weapon, using Prince's favourite pedal and embarking on a prog odyssey. It also sees her return to real amps played real loud...

time-read
7 mins  |
June 2024
"THERE'S SOMETHING MAGICAL ABOUT THREE-PART HARMONIES"
Total Guitar

"THERE'S SOMETHING MAGICAL ABOUT THREE-PART HARMONIES"

BATTLESNAKE ARE PUTTING THREE CLASSIC GUITAR RIGS INTO ONE CRAZY HEAVY METAL MELTING POT

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2024