a lot of the differences are more apparent to the player than the listener- you can "feel" them, more than hear them.
I couldn't agree more Dave. This has been my experience, and that of Joe Bonamassa!
To answer Hunter's question, this is the order I would place things in their importance to me. I've also grouped a couple as I treat them as one thing:
1. Amp
2. Speakers and cab (the combination of)
3. Guitar and pickups (the combination of)
4. Picks / strings / cable quality
It doesn't matter what the guitar is, I still sound like me. I can play Enter Sandman on a Tele and you'd tell it was me, and it wouldn't sound that different to me playing it on a PRS to most people. It would feel really odd though!!!
cheers, dave. Certainly I've heard shoot-out clips online where i'd have struggled to tell the difference between really different bits of kit, whereas if I'd been playing them it would've been a total no-brainer. :lol:
I'd agree with your list, but I'd probably switch #2 and #3. While I agree that speakers and cabs make a gigantic difference, to me swapping from, say, a strat to a les paul makes a bigger one. :) But again, swapping between two completely different styles of cabs and speakers probably makes a gigantic difference too, so I don't know. :lol:
Maybe it'd be a better idea to group the things which cause a really big difference together (amp, cab/speakers, guitar, pedals) and then those which cause a more subtle difference (strings, cables, etc.)?
Also, I make a distinction between "player" tone, and "gear" tone. :)
There are so many variables this is extremely hard. I mean, if we're talking about people playing with a Marshall MG combo and an Encore strat then things go in a very different order than the guy with a Tom Anderson and Dumble.
that's a very good point. Some people at another forum I go to (guess which one, mark) will tell someone who has a cr@p guitar and amp to get a new amp first, because it'll make the most difference. While this is true (assuming that cr@p guitar isn't unplayable, of course), once you actually get the better amp, it'll show up the limitations of that cr@ppy guitar more, and will show off much more of each guitar's characteristics. Those guitars which sounded almost identical through that spider III will now probably sound completely different. :)
I've hardly ever been to a gig where I've thought "wow, amazing tone". It's always too loud (yes, I'm too old) and usually I'm grateful if I can recognise the song through the swirling waves of distortion and noise. A lot of the time they could be playing a Chinese Squier through some wretched old tranny amp and it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference.
definitely.
