Does cost equal tone?

[Greazygeo]

In general for guitars....no. Amps and pa / recording gear, yes to a point.

 

[turmoil]

it depends what you are trying to accomplish. if i'm jamming in my apartment or practicing/learning songs i'll plug a line6 pod into one of those marshall ms-4 stacks that's like 8" tall and i can get just about whatever sounds i want out of it as opposed to firing up my half stack with a whole shit ton of effects and stuff in the loop.

 

[Anonymous]

I have no idea how some of you guys can definitely answer yes or no. I don't think it's possible to say either way. I look at it this way, if you were to try out 20 different Anderson guitars and 20 different Squier guitars...how many of each would you guess are going to sound great?

If you were to try out 20 Carvin guitars, and 20 Anderson guitars, how many of each would you guess are going to sound great?

 

[King Guitar]

Its in the hands really.

 

[Zachman]

I was wanting to get some feedback from you guys on this question. Do you guys feel that the more something cost have anything to do with the tone? Does it have to do more with build quality than tone or vice versa?

I figure... Certain gear yields certain results/tones, and depending on the results/tones one is looking to achieve-- sometimes there are a multitude of options which vary in cost from the lower to the higher end of the spectrum-- BUT--- sometimes a given result may leave rather few options/selections, and in those cases-- sometimes the cost may be high-- such as a Neuman U87 mic, or a Neve or SSL Console, Studer Tape machine, etc...

Those who operate from a "close enough for me" outlook, won't likely have a desire to search out the more costly pieces of gear.

Bottom line for me-- Good tone doesn't require expensive gear, but-- to get the tones that CERTAIN expensive gear gets, you need THAT gear to achieve it. Get the highest quality gear you can afford, to achieve your tone goals.

 

[guitarslinger]

A piece of dry, resonant wood that vibrates at a good frequency plus a well built amp with good speakers/cab, AND a good player = tone.

 

[Digital Jams]

100% no.

But it depends on the guy with the gear and how he got the gear.

 

[headlessdeadguy]

I think to a certain extent the high dollar amps do sound better but that doesn't mean you cant achive great tone with less expensive stuff. Plus I have heard high dollar amps that don't sound as good IMO as some cheep ones.
Guitars? Not so much. I had a friend play all of my guitars through the same amp/settings, out of all of them he picked my Edwards LP and my nasty old Aria Pro II Bladerunner as the ones with the best tone/feel.

 

[Mailman1971]

I think alot of players think that the MORE it costs the BETTER it is. I was guilty of that in the past.
Spent 3 grand for a ENGL SE. It sounded REALLY REALLY AWESOME. My neighbor who plays as well, made that amp sound like crap. He wanted to do a amp swap for one gig and I played thru his CRATE GFX212. I smoked him in every song.
Like Brad mentioned, most of the tone is in the hands of the player. Of course a good sounded amp with a good player is going to sound better. But a good player can make a shitty rig sound good for the most part.
Just my 2 cents.

I am now playing a Randall RM100 that I upgraded the output tranny and choke. All my modules are custom and its the BEST SOUNDING amp I have owned or played hands down. And it costs a fraction of the price of alot of the amps out there.
Again.......just my opinion.

 

[ejecta]

Tone aside......when it comes to bang fo buck do you guys think with the price, it's more of a perceived value thing more so than actual value?

 

[stefvorcide]

Its in the hands really.

I have to disagree, Brad. I think it's more about the feel and vibrato.... not the actual tone. I can't play for shit, but I have a great CHUGA CHUGA tone (strong wrist helps)

I would say that WISE choice of equipement + good player = tone.

IMO, if I LOVE the tone, and craftmanship/quality is there etc... I am willing to pay what is asked. I'm still gasing for the Larry Dino939 at 5000 euros...

 

[Greazygeo]

Tone aside......when it comes to bang fo buck do you guys think with the price, it's more of a perceived value thing more so than actual value?

Not sure what you mean.

 

[ejecta]

Tone aside......when it comes to bang fo buck do you guys think with the price, it's more of a perceived value thing more so than actual value?

Not sure what you mean.

In perceived value, I mean if you saw and played two guitars that seemed to be identical..... if I told you guitar A costs $3000 and guitar B costs $600 do you think that the price would change how you felt about the quality of each of the guitars?

 

[blackba]

Its in the hands really.

Says the guy with more gear than a small music store.

Tone is in the hands/fingers to a certain extent, but even a great player through a lotus guitar and a gorilla amp is not going to sound his best by a long shot. And you can't use your hands to make a les Paul sound like a strat or vise versa....

 

[Greazygeo]

Tone aside......when it comes to bang fo buck do you guys think with the price, it's more of a perceived value thing more so than actual value?

Not sure what you mean.

In perceived value, I mean if you saw and played two guitars that seemed to be identical..... if I told you guitar A costs $3000 and guitar B costs $600 do you think that the price would change how you felt about the quality of each of the guitars?

No not really. But I don't think any electric guitar should be more than about $1500.00-2k. Acoustic guitars that's a different thing.

 

[Bob Savage]

Yes.

I will not tell you that your tone is good unless you give me money.

 

[amiller]

Ahhh...tone...such an elusive concept. If your version of "tone" costs a bunch $$ then yes. If your version costs little $$ then no.

 

[Shark Diver]

Its in the hands really.

But I can't buy new hands...

Yes.

I will not tell you that your tone is good unless you give me money.

PM'd. Exactly how much?

 

[vultures]

Yes

 

[vultures]

No