Electric Guitar Tone and How to Get a HOT One!!

If You've Ever Wanted to Know How to Get a Killer Electric Guitar Sound, Well You've Landed in the Right Place!

I mean have you ever listened to guitar players on Youtube? I'm sure you have. Being a guitarist I love to go through many a guitar video up on the ol' Tube, I've seen many. But you know what is very common amongst many of the videos? Especially amongst players of recent generations?

Its an absolutely lousy guitar Tone - sorry guys but it had to be said. Its totally understandable but it has to be said. Some of the Lead Solo sounds remind me of a poor ol' trapped bee buzzing frantically in a bottle.

They are tinny, no body, sound cheap, and most importantly of all, this Tone makes any player sound like a rank wanna-be amateur immediately.

Even more experienced players that can move around the neck and play well can still manage to sound awful. It almost seems to be a lost or dying art, this skill of how to get a lethal and hot guitar tone. Get it right and you will instantly have a huge advantage over the majority of players presently out there. This info in Dreamsounds4guitar applies to both playing live and recording.

Try this. Turn off all distractions, plug-in to your Amp, play and LISTEN to your sound. Don't just noodle around. Analyse the Tone that's coming out of your Amp. Listen carefully. Ask yourself questions like 'Is my lead sound weedy and weak?, Is my clean sound warm, or tinny and brittle? Is it pleasing to the ear? Does it sound hot or cold?'.

An analysis of your Tone like this will get you off on the right track. I know it sounds a bit funny, but to get a hot sounding guitar you need to listen from a different perpective. Don't just settle for the first thing that comes out of your Amp. You need to work on it if you want to get a cool sounding Tone.

It may help here if you think of your sound as a 'color'. For example, Eddie Van Halen refers to his Tone as his 'Brown Sound'. That says it nicely. To me that indicates a warm but powerful Tone.

You could ask yourself if your lead Tone is a 'Red' one? Is it harsh and brittle? Do your chords sound Brown, warm and mildly 'fuzzy', or Pink, cold and tinny?

Compare your Tone to some of your favorite players and see if it measures up. I don't mean what notes they are playing or what speed or what chords they are using, I'm referring to their sound in general. That's a good starting point to set off from on this journey.

To get a hot guitar tone, you need to piece together an equipment puzzle. Traditionally this can take years for a player to get right, and it can be a very expensive trial and error period. That's...