deepblue Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 This is something that was being discussed in the LP forum. I thought id bring it to you guys. I guess there was an old article from the 1960's where Eric Clapton was describing how he got his sound. He turned everything to 10 and just let er' rip! Lets move forward to 2008. Now all these guys are trying and retrying different tweaks and settings but no one is coming close to Slowhands tone, even though they are following his instructions to the letter. I understood long ago that tone is in the hands. So these guys may have a few Clapton type moments but will never be clones. But, I also got to thinking. If you had a "dream tone" a tone that every guitar player lusted after, would you really want everyone knowing how you achieve it? Did Eric purposely deceive or mislead people back then to keep himself safe from Clapton tone wannabes? Its no secret that Eddie Van Halen just last year told GuitarPlayer magazine that he lied about his guitar/amp settings for years....Just to send all the up 'n coming shredders down the wrong path. He was number one, and he wanted to stay there. So perhaps our heros are masterful in the timeless art of smoke and mirrors? Your thoughts gentleman? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 I'd lie, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 One of my guitar heroes, Roy Buchanan, used to keep his amp turned away from the audience and I suppose one could assume he was trying to hide his amp settings. Kinda silly I think. For one, if I had "Nancy" (Roy's '53 Tele he used for years) with the same amp, cord, bass player, joint, beer, and had my beard groomed the same as his IT WOULDN'T MATTER because I wouldn't sound like him anyway. I think it's a little immature and insecure to "not" be willing to share settings or strings, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Guess it depends on the musician. Some people really just want to make great music (yes there are some of those). These will gladly share info on equipment, settings, etc. Others are looking at it from the business side - wanting to stay ahead of the pack - they won't share because they see other players as competition. I remember opening for a band once and noticing the headliner's guitar player and I were using the same amps (Peavy VTM heads, FWIW). The guy's tech didn't want me to see the guy's settings and went out of his way to conceal them. I thought that was kinda lame. Guess he was the competitive type not the "share the music" type! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolff Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 From what I read in the excellent book: 'The Les Paul Legacy', Clapton's 'woman tone' is achieved by using both pups with the treble rolled off completely and a wah backed off 3/4 of the way. I have a Cream interview somewhere where he also explains it. I don't know if he was lying or not, but my take on the situation is that if an artist wants to protect his unique tone then it's their right. Actually misleading ppl is another story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 I'd lie' date=' too![/quote'] Me too... I wouldnt like you canadians sounding like me!](*,)/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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