Do you think the crowd cares about guitar tone?

[Dr. Tweedbucket]

Yeah, sometimes the crowd does notice good tone.

I was playing a SG Classic with P90s into an Orange AD30 amp through a Mesa halfback 4x12 with GH1230s. Some guy came up at the 2nd break and said, 'man, I can't believe what a good tone you are getting from your rig' !! .... and he was right, it was killer! He started asking about the guitar and about the amp..... he must have been another musician.

[DMod]

I think it depends. I have seen a lot of cover bands play and thought they play very well but somehow I left underwhelmed. Then there are times when I hear a cover band and just say wow, that was really amazing. Usually it doesn't have much to do with playing ability (as they are usually pretty equal), but more with the tone and flow of the music. When all instruments flow together with a great tone, I think it stands out. I just don't think an audience really can notice when that's missing though.

[banjoze]

As a person said above, I think they notice when things sound different than they are used to hearing... and then they have an opinion. An example would be if Eric Clapton suddenly picked up a Les Paul and played a show with it vs. his strat. A lot of people would notice it and quite a few probably wouldn't like it. Quite a few probably would like it. But, overall a lot of people would notice he sounded different than usual.

I thought the RF example was an odd one because I doubt half the people on the thread knew who he was and what was different. Ie. He isn't mainstream enough for most people to notice what was different. To use myself as an example, I have no idea what was supposedly different there. Was he using a different guitar, different amp? Beats me. I wouldn't have even known who he was if there hadn't been a comment under the video that included that info.

Obviously YMMV and for those who are fans of his, the example was probably a good one.

[Lucidology]

Still stick to my life time of gigging experience and observations,
as they will react when you go for it with some OD/Distortion kicked in ...
Other then that it's just about how the group sounded good or bad as a whole ...

However, will qualify this as truth for bar/party/wedding bands...
with concerts as the exception (maybe)

[Polynitro]

Id like to think so but then you go see Dick Dale...

[banjoze]

awesome tagline saying there lucid...

[soldano16]

Originally Posted by yellowecho

i dont think the crowd knows it, but i think they do.
most crowds hear the sounds but don't know how exactly they are made.. but they can certainly tell when the overall sound is pleasant/full of impact or lackluster and/or thin.

cool reply

[ben_allison]

They care if it sucks; when things hurt your ears, you care.

Conversely, when things are beautiful, you notice.

But all the subtleties? Like, the TS clone you're using doesn't quite sound like a legit TS808? No... and it's mostly irrelevant anyway.

[The Kid]

Regardless of what an audience knows or doesn't know about good or bad tone, pushing unpleasant frequencies will contribute to ear fatigue. That usually ends up with audience members moving away from the band or even leaving the venue.

They may not know why they didn't stay for another drink, but their ears are telling them to get outta Dodge. Often what people percieve as "too loud" is just plain bad tone, a bad mix, or both.

[Greg V.]

My take on this....

If I feel like my "tonal-voice" is happenin' than I can tap into a deeper inspiration within my soul. My eyes roll into the back of my head and I'm elevated in my art.

Through this enriched "tonal-voice"....the listener can and does feel the "deeper soulfulness" in the performance, maybe not even being completely aware of it. But they'll respond to an intensely organic and honest performance that strikes a primal chord within.

[StompBoxBlues]

Originally Posted by MudPies

Aside from a few guitarists out in the crowd, I highly doubt anyone out there really cares if the guitar tone is super sweet or not. I've been thinking about that assumption while tinkering with my pedal chain and amp settings wondering if all the trouble is worth it.

Your thoughts?

"the crowd"...no.

People in the crowd, definitely. They don't KNOW that they care, and it isn't just the guitar it is the overall tone, but they care.

Take it to extremes...band sounds like a cassette player with a 4" speaker under a blanket...or band is ice-picking their ears?


A good guitar sound, on a solo, riding up over the whole band...

I think what is getting mixed up here, is what the "GOOD tone" is.
Cause for sure that 5% "better tone" you paid hundreds for in pedals, etc. is going to get lost in the mix...it isn't the at home sounds that cut through in a band setting at a gig. It is that raunchier sound that suddenly sounds amazing in the band...

It's like asking"does anyone really care if Van Goughs Starry Night
had rich vibrant colors, or would they love the painting even if it were faded, just as much"?

[greggorypeccary]

Originally Posted by groutfulone

I would have answered no until I experienced hundreds of people saying the same thing about George McConnell when he was with Widespread Panic after Michael Houser died. They all kept saying the same thing in about 100 different ways "things don't sound right with his guitar", "its not all his playing, but the it doesn't sound RIGHT".
When I would explain that guitarists call that "tone" and explain what we go through to create it and how we do it, every one said something similar to "yeah, that's it, the tone is wrong, or the tone doesn't sound good"

Do they care? My opinion now is only when it sounds bad.

But fans of a band like WSP are more tuned into the music than most. That and George stepped on the wah pedal during every freakin' solo!

[Smakutus]

Originally Posted by Dr. Tweedbucket

'man, I can't believe what a good tone you are getting from your rig' !!

Sorry but only a guitar player is gonna come up and say that to you in that way.

Jeff

[Teleplayer]

As long as the guitarist's rig does not affect drinking, dancing and having a generally overall good time, I don't think the crowd gives a $#it about tone.

I've recently seen two bands where the guitar players have played: an off-the-shelf Esquire through a Crate (3 piece - KILLIN' guitar player/vocalist/front man), and and a PRS 22 through a Blues DeVille. Both bands rocked and the guitarists' tones were more than passable for the situations.

Hate to say it guys; but IMHO, the whole search for tone is little more than a fun hobby. There have been a lot of great concerts given - and albums made - with stock stuff. Fender guitars, Gibson guitars, Gretsch guitars, Marshall amps, Vox amps, Fender amps, etc.

In all the gigs I played, I never once had a anybody come up to me and say, "How many winds in your middle pickup???" or "Great tone; what tube are you using in the V2 slot of your amp???"

[StompBoxBlues]

Originally Posted by Smakutus

Sorry but only a guitar player is gonna come up and say that to you in that way.

Jeff

True, but a non-guitarist would come up and say "you guys sound GREAT...really love your playing" and mean the same thing.

Like the Van Gough analogy I said above, people would still ENJOY a Van Gough, even if the colors were faded, but that "extra" bit if they are vibrant colours, would be appreciated even though they don't actually THINK about the colors, but instead are looking at the overall painting (i.e. the picture).

People notice the real deal, even when they don't know why.
I still think the biggest factor, is the overall sound, but that doesn't mean a "wash of sound" all things being into one...a guitar with great tone riding above a great sounding band, vs. a guitar that isn't distint enough, sounding dull, I KNOW for sure people would hear the difference. They wouldn't say "the guitar sounds washed out" but they would say "I don't think the band is all that good",etc.

But that isn't the same as the cork-sniffing kind of "gotta get that little extra" thing, it is always in context of the band. What sounds great at home alone USUALLY is the exact wrong tone to have with the band. What sounds great in the band context, usually doesn't sound that impressive alone at home. So when we say "notice tone", they notice when it is right in the band, where guitarists might think "finally GOT my tone" (because they got it at home) where it doesn't come through in the band...