Re: distortion, overdrive, fuzz, crunc

["Rick Walker" <looppool@cruzio.com>]

Andy wrote:
"Electric Guitar is the only instrument where "tone" is generally 
held to come from "gear". 
For all other instruments "tone" is referred to as an ability of the 
player."

I, of course, see your point , Andy,  and I don't want to appear 
contentious, but as a trapset drummer 
I'd have to disagree a little bit.   Head choice, rim choice,  style of 
tuning, stick choice and, especially cymbal choice has a great deal to 
do with "tone"  on the trapset.................easily as much as 
what we call "touch".
--

Also,  as an instrumentalist who loves the electronic manipulation of 
physical acoustic instruments and found sounds,  I get a lot of 
"tone" from my stomp box pedals and VST effects, from the amplifier 
and it's digital amp models and also from the purposeful 
overdriving of the signal of piezo pickups and microphones.

I'm a tone freak!

Also, great last post,  Bill.    I'm one of those people who, because my 
beloved father insisted that I learn clarinet first (a decidedly unhip 
instrument in the early days of my rock and roll youth) instead of the 
saxaphone (a decidedly 'cooler' instrument in those days).    I'd be a 
saxaphonist today if my frustration at playing an uncool instrument hadn't 
led me to want to play the drums,  which I thought were infinitely 
'cooler'.

That's a good point though, that I come to think of it:
My rebellion against what was supposed to happen fueled my desire to be a 
musician in the rock and soul (and later, world music, jazz and 
electronica 
worlds as well).

I think it's so great to see some of Bill's students specifically 
eschewing 
monster beefy distorted tones as a reaction against the status quo.

Jordie Topf's creative and relatively unprocessed guitar tone as a Y2K8 
newbie really comes to mind.     That kid is on the way to becoming a 
monster musician,  however he decides to express himself.

Clean,  is the new Distortion,  eh?

and what goes around comes around.