Getting a great Blues Guitar tone - Part One
Part one – A beginner’s guide to choosing the right guitar, amps and effects for blues.
First things first - Blues is such a vast genre of music that Blues tones mean different things to different people – whether it’s the raw tone of BB King through to the overdriven tones of Clapton during his Bluesbreakers periods or to Robert Johnson’s acoustic tones – they are all blues but all sound very different – in the first part of this series in getting a great blues tone we’ll look at what you need to think about stating off in the world of blues – which guitar should you look to using, which amp and what effects considerations you’ll need to make. In subsequent articles we’ll look at some of the most well known players and examine their rigs and get to the bottom of their sound. However remember that the blues comes out of you. The blues can only be bought with time and sweat, gear will only get your part of the way!
Which guitar for Blues?
This one’s a question of personal taste, and the blues genre that your interested in – but for electric blues for most it’ll come down to either a Fender Stratocaster or Gibson Les Paul (or replica’s depending on the budget). Stratocasters produce that clean sparkly tone (think Clapton, Robert Cray), while the Les Paul (Jimmy Page) will produce a rawer edgier sound (great for rock blues)
Remember to try out some hollow bodies (think BB King and his Gibson 335) – there are some great tones to be had from the latest Epiphones (Dot studio for example) – we find the hollowbodies give a much woodier earthy tone than hard bodies and usually a lot more sustain – however it’s down to personal preference. Also remember that heavier strings produce a stronger tone so you may want something a little different from the usual 10 gauge. And for a real authentic sound – ditch the wang bar – go for a fixed bridge.
The type of pickup used can heavily influence the sound produced – personally we adore the sound of a P90 pickup – however for a more rockier blues sound check out some Humbuckers (but unless you want a real overdriven tone – don’t opt for too higher an output).
The Amp
Tube all the way – for a natural warm tone capable of producing that raw emotion look for a suitable Tube driven amp. There’s loads out on the market – for authenticity try something like a Fender Twin or Fender Pro. For those wanting a little more grunt – look at the range of Marshall combos (Try Marshall JCM 800 combo). If your space conscious and don’t want to upset the neighbors too much look at the range of amp modeling processors out there – companies such as Line 6 (www.line6.com) manufacture units that can produce some great sounds.
The Effects
For most they’ll want a clean tone – simply plugged into the amp utilizing it’s own overdrive (Just a little overdrive is usually perfect) and a little reverb.– for others a separate overdrive pedal matched with a crybaby wah wah pedal will produce fine results. Remember for true authentic electric blues don’t push it into metal territory – blues requires an articulate touch and too much drive destroys the clarity and voice of the guitar – great for some styles but not necessarily for blues.