Jumping off from ML SOUND LAB's point. As well as the physical technique, the actual pick makes a big difference in tone. Some picks just don't work for some parts. I can't imagine strumming a 12 string with a jazz 3 for example. I would like a Herco on a singing lead though!
 
Where you pick on the string also makes more of a difference than many people realize. Do you rest your hand on the bridge and pick near the bridge, are you more over the pups, etc. The tonal variation of even an inch or so can really change how it sounds. I use this all the time to get different tones, and you also have to pay attention to where someone else is playing to be able to compare.

Related to the wimpy picking thing... I had a guy do a setup on a new guitar a number of years ago. He came highly recommended, etc. But when I got it back, it was clearly out of intonation - worse than before I took it to him. I was like WTF... fortunately he was easy to work with and we tried a couple of things. No luck. He picked it up and it was perfect; I picked it up and it was out. Then he had me play it, not just show him how it was out, but play the way I do. He realized "wow, I'm so used to all these guys who manhandle the neck that I compensate for that. You play with a lighter touch. Hang on..." and a few minutes later it was perfect for me. Every component of the equation makes a difference.
 
I remember watching a Leon vid where he was tweaking a recto model.
I used a PRS SC 250 and followed his tweaks (not his notes ;-)). It sounded very close.

With a same preset, different guitars give different results.


Same. When he did his hair metal one recently, and walked through how he got the tone; I walked along on my end. It was very close along the way. In the end, I sort of stuck with one about halfway through rather than the final product, but that is a solid tone.

I agree with the OP though. A lot of the time, I'll download one that has a hollow, thin sound to it. I guess I need to sit down and figure out what are the basic steps to fattening it up. I barely have time to play, and have just scratched the surface of the III and how to do things with it.
 
And sorry, I've never bought or experienced the notion that the "tone", using the same rig and settings, changes when played by different players. Joe Schmoe and John Petrucci playing an open E chord, simple rhythm progression or riff would sound tonally different? Don't think so. Lack of proficiency, technique and control of the instrument compared to someone like John Petrucci would be quite evident but saying that somehow the tone changes, is "in the fingers", doesn't even make sense. If that were true, there would be no value in watching videos or listening to clips by endorsed players when researching gear because it would never sound the same when we used it.

Tone IS in the fingers: the way you hold the pick, the angle you hit the strings at, the energy you put in your strumming, the left hand vibrato, the bendings, the bending releases, etc... it’s all part of tone. I’ve esperienced it many times with guitar players I played with: the moment we switched our gear, we still sounded the same.

If what you say were true, then I could assemble myself a crap strat, and play it through a Marshall on ten and sound like EVH right away.
 
If what you say were true, then I could assemble myself a crap strat, and play it through a Marshall on ten and sound like EVH right away.
Not what I'm saying. Using your analogy of the crap strat through a Marshall on ten, if both you and EVH played through it, you would both sound the same. Your level of expertise will determine if what you play actually sounds good but the core tone would be the same.

It seems that musicality or proficiency on the instrument is part of most of your definitions of tone, not simply the sound generated by the gear. By that definition, an inanimate object is able to recognize and adjust to the input its given.
 
By that definition, an inanimate object is able to recognize and adjust to the input its given.
Both electric guitars and tube amps are "interactive". They don't need to "recognize and adjust", they just respond differently to different stimuli.

How would YOU define the way to actually hear the "core tone" you have referred to without actually playing the guitar? Because anyone playing that guitar is going to have variations and gradations in how they play, and both guitar and amp will produce different results based on those things. It's physics, not opinion.
 
Not what I'm saying. Using your analogy of the crap strat through a Marshall on ten, if both you and EVH played through it, you would both sound the same. Your level of expertise will determine if what you play actually sounds good but the core tone would be the same.

It seems that musicality or proficiency on the instrument is part of most of your definitions of tone, not simply the sound generated by the gear. By that definition, an inanimate object is able to recognize and adjust to the input its given.

If me and Eddie would play an open low E, then yes: it would probably sound the same. The moment he or me start playing something more than a note, the difference the fingers make would be quite obvious (even if I were as musically proficient as Eddie, or more).

And generally I’m not able to tell if a tone is good just by listening to the low open E :)
 
an inanimate object is able to recognize and adjust to the input its given.
hmm. an inanimate object is inanimate. that doesn't mean it can't have qualities that are variable depending on how you interact with it.

you're saying a car - an inanimate object - would drive the same speed regardless of who operates it. or a bit less extreme, the car would turn and handle the same way regardless of who operates it.

i can drive my car and it's smooth sailing. a friend can drive it, and it can be a horrible experience. same car. different result.
 
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