Searching for That Perfect Tone

One of the easiest ways to alter your guitar sound is to experiment with different sizes and gauges of picks. Using a very thin pick produces a sound drastically different than using a heavy one. Many jazz guitarists tend to favor using heavy picks (1.5 or 2 millimeters) because it tends to thicken and darken up their sound somewhat. I personally use a 1.0 mm pick as I am a jazz fusion/rock guitar player.

Trying different string gauges can also help when searching for that perfect tone. If you are a jazz or R&B style player, a heavier gauge may be the ticket. If your style of music requires you to do a lot a string bending, then the lighter gauges are probably best (thin strings keep the blood to a minimum).

Guitar Multi-Effects

There was time when getting a good guitar tone took effort. Now it is easy. With modeling amps, software, and artist stompboxes, it is easy to sound like any of your guitar heroes. But is that really a good thing? Sure, it is fun to dial up the tone of Jimi Hendrix and play Purple Haze. But where is that really leading you? What about your tone? Are you content to always sound like someone else? Do you really want to have the generic tone of the day — or 40 years ago?

I recently purchased an effects processor. The Boss GT-10. Although loaded with preset patches, what I really like about the unit is its flexibility. The unit is loaded with “user” patches that are completely configurable. You can tweak any part of a given patch to get the tone that you want.

The unit allows you to select guitar pickup type, amp type, equalization settings, and other tone shaping parameters. The unit also allows you to send data to midi devices as well USB devices.

The GT-10 offers a multitude of tones and sounds for the guitarist. If you are in the market for a guitar multi-effects processor, you owe it to yourself to check out this new unit from Boss.