reverb and vibrato

[gwEm]

i've been listening to gary moore this evening and doing some thinking.

obviously his tone is always well tasty, one of the best. i checked out what gear he uses, and its 99% of the time some sort of random marshall with a booster. for the 'monsters of rock' album apparantly he took a stock jcm2000.

now i've been listening closely to his tone on this album, and i honestly think (ignoring for a moment his chops) if it wasn't for his vibrato and the really nice reverb/delay he would sound pretty bad - fizzy, somewhat undefined and almost solid stateish... take a listen to 'wishing well' and see if you agree.

obviously his vibrato really seperates him - i think he would sound great playing a through a valvestate practise amp.

but not just his vibrato, the reverb/delay is quite subtle, but very present, and it give the tone a real edge. i've always used reverb/delay to help the guitar sit better in a mix. maybe it would be interesting to use these effects as a device on their own.

just an anecdotal post, but i wonder if anyone else has opinons on this.

[hamfist]

I've always thought that goood vibrato seems to have an almost magic quality to solo notes.  Sometimes, to my ears it almost seems to add gain as well - weird.

[dave_mc]

i remember reading a (semi-parody) book in a bookshop once about how to bluff at guitar... i think it said something like if your vibrato is good, you can get away with bad tone, and vice versa if you have good tone... little simplistic, i guess, but there's a lot in it...

[MrBump]

Gary played a solo on a Travelling Wilburies' track, second album I think, and apparently George Harrison wouldn't let him use any digital reverb.  It really shows, it's pretty hard to work out that it's him.

But Gary didn't use a great deal of finger vibrato before "going back to his roots", as it were.  Loads of Floyd and Kahler action in the 1980's...

[Matt77]

I was thinking about this yesterday. There are loads of songs that just wouldn't work without reverb.
The extended version of Bat out of hell was on the radio, I think that guitar tone would be out of place without the reverb.

another thought..... Angus Young with loads of warm reverb? Wouldn't be right

[Ratrod]

Reverb can really help to let a note hang longer.

[_tom_]

Yeah I think that vibrato and bending makes or breaks a player. If you cant bend a note in tune (I've been having problems with that recently ) then you're never going to sound great and if your vibrato isnt smooth then you'll sound bad as well. I'm really self-concious (if thats the right word) about my vibrato and bending, especially vibrato on bent notes which I'm not great at.

As for reverb, I really need to get one, probably why my amp sounds so dry at home as my room is tiny so doesnt echo/reverb much at all.

[gwEm]

i'm quite happy with my vibrato when playing, though when i listen to recordings of myself i notice it needs alot more depth, though at least it has a good rate. i think i can take a few risks with it, and I really like Gary's current vibrato, its my favourite actually.

I like what Matt has to say about reverb, I never use it myself until I get to the production stages... maybe I should experiment.

not heard gary's 80s stuff, i'll take a listen :)

[dave_mc]

^ out in the fields ftw! i thought there was plenty of finger vibrato in that, but i guess a lot could be the trem...

Yeah I think that vibrato and bending makes or breaks a player. If you cant bend a note in tune (I've been having problems with that recently ) then you're never going to sound great and if your vibrato isnt smooth then you'll sound bad as well.

agreed, there are plenty of players who have pretty good chops, but to whom i just can't listen because of their terrible vibrato... :(

[broken cord]

I've always enjoyed John Sykes vibrato; I believe he uses a fair amount of reverb as well. On a personal note:  I'd rather have a good vibrato technique than a good reverb unit or amp. With out good technique behind ones playing good equipment is not much better than an expensive prop.

[AndyR]

Has anyone else found that their vibrato has improved drastically since using BKPs?

One of the first things I found with BKPs was "what you put in gets rewarded more in what comes out of the speakers". And that seems to have led to me improving my vibrato.

I'm with you _tom_ on vibrato on bent notes - I posted somewhere on it a while back, saying roughly the same as you. It has improved for me somewhat, so I'd just say keep at it! :D (and I have a real suspicion that this is the biggest factor in the guitarists that I like having "great tone").

I'm currently working on two string bends - I have no problem when it's on the same fret, been doing that for years, but trying to keep two strings in tune when they're one or two frets apart, never thought to try that before... very frustrating at the moment (only started doing it yesterday...)

[MrBump]

I've always enjoyed John Sykes vibrato; I believe he uses a fair amount of reverb as well. On a personal note:  I'd rather have a good vibrato technique than a good reverb unit or amp. With out good technique behind ones playing good equipment is not much better than an expensive prop.