A can of worms...

[sliding-tom]

New forum, new thread and a tough question: :D

The difference between "tone" and "sound"? What's your perception?

[K-man]

Tough question. To me they are basically the same. The players touch, feel, phrasing and equipment choices all combine to create their tone.

[VacuumVoodoo]

Sound to me is anything that I can hear. I ascribe "tone" to musical properties of various sounds. But do these sounds (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2zSfNpUxT8) have tone :confused:

[B Vance]

SOUND is objective. - Any frequency emission audible by the human ear or measuring instrument.

TONE is subjective. - Intangible (but not necessarily unexplained) characteristics and personality traits to specific frequency emissions.

Sound is heard while tone is perceived.

[sliding-tom]

SOUND is objective. - Any frequency emission audible by the human ear or measuring instrument.

TONE is subjective. - Intangible (but not necessarily unexplained) characteristics and personality traits to specific frequency emissions.

Sound is heard while tone is perceived.

Good one! Interesting perspective! :cool:

[lenny]

SOUND is objective. - Any frequency emission audible by the human ear or measuring instrument.

TONE is subjective. - Intangible (but not necessarily unexplained) characteristics and personality traits to specific frequency emissions.

Sound is heard while tone is perceived.

Yah like this one! closest thing to what i wanted to say!

[cvansickle]

Sound comes from the gear. Tone comes from the player's control of the gear.

My $0.02

[gururyan]

I've got the best tone, but the worst sound.

[B Vance]

Sound comes from the gear. Tone comes from the player's control of the gear.

My $0.02

To some extent I agree. Some players have the ability to take any guitar, plug it in to any amp and sound like they always sound. However, I do think that gear can play a distinct role in determining tone. For instance, I strongly prefer Clapton's tone on the "Riding With the King" album over his tone on his more recent releases. From my understanding, "Riding With the King" was recorded using Blackface Fender-type and Marshall amps while on his more recent recordings he's using the new Tweed Reissue Twin.

Has his playing changed significantly between the efforts? He may have lost a bit of control, but I doubt that contributed much if any to the difference in tone. The fact of the matter is, my personal perception of preferable tone (pardon the alliteration) is shaped in this instance by the gear as opposed to the hands controlling it.

I would amend your statement slightly to read "Tone comes from the player's control of the gear"...to the extent that the gear presents them with the same palette of tonal potential.

Just some of my thoughts...

[B Vance]

I would also stipulate that note location (as opposed to simply note selection) would constitute as a factor contributing to tone.

Would you guys agree with that?

[gururyan]

I would also stipulate that note location (as opposed to simply note selection) would constitute as a factor contributing to tone.

Would you guys agree with that?

Yep, I concur.

[sliding-tom]

A couple of things that just crossed my mind:
concerning tone: there are better and worse days - I know some days when I just sit down to pick a little I get my tone (not plugged in) and it's like: WOW! - you've got something! Other days you just don't get it.Maybe it's a state of mind, I just wish I knew what it is and be able to get into it whenever I need to.
Concerning sound: are you aware of the fact that the condition of the air that you are moving (and sound is nothing less then that) has a big influence on your sound? Humid/Dry, conditioned/natural, smokey/clean, warm/cool, thick/thin, high or low pressure - it all makes a difference.
One other thing I had to experience over the years: soundcheck: great stage sound - audience in: all f*****up and vice versa. :rolleyes:

[B Vance]

A couple of things that just crossed my mind:
concerning tone: there are better and worse days - I know some days when I just sit down to pick a little I get my tone (not plugged in) and it's like: WOW! - you've got something! Other days you just don't get it.Maybe it's a state of mind, I just wish I knew what it is and be able to get into it whenever I need to.
Concerning sound: are you aware of the fact that the condition of the air that you are moving (and sound is nothing less then that) has a big influence on your sound? Humid/Dry, conditioned/natural, smokey/clean, warm/cool, thick/thin, high or low pressure - it all makes a difference.
One other thing I had to experience over the years: soundcheck: great stage sound - audience in: all f*****up and vice versa. :rolleyes:

I think you are correct. Air quality does play a significant role in shaping the manner in which sound is moved. Like you said, muggy air has a tendency to create a darker tone with the highs rolled off while dry air accentuates highs. And people play a big parts as well. Bodies absorb and redirect soundwaves.

[gkoelling]

I would also stipulate that note location (as opposed to simply note selection) would constitute as a factor contributing to tone.

Would you guys agree with that?


Definitely. I agree with your first post also.


Thanks

[ClinchFX]

When I had my repair business in the 80s, folks would bring 20 year old stereo systems for repair. Often, the gear had sounded terrible even when it was new many years before, and wasn't worth repairing. Many customers would pay more for the repair than the cost of a new system, using the excuse, "we like the tone of this one". The result of this was that I came to associate the word "tone" with muffled low-mid sound and no top end. Since I got back into guitar, it's been a struggle to accept the word as a positive thing.;)

I agree with sliding-tom. I used to find that a sound check in an empty club with the aircon off did nothing more than prove that the PA was working. The first song of the gig was where I really began to pull a good sound. Apart from that, I now find that there are days when I pick up a guitar and I just can't pull a tone that I like. I believe that is just a state of mind, but maybe it's my ears telling me that I spent too much time with rock bands:D