When I play through my gear I always hear it different to when someone else plays through it.

Kipple said:
When I play through my gear I always hear it different to when someone else lays through it. I have heard the " Tone is in the fingers" argument but I don't think that's whats going on. My gear always seems to sound a bit brighter with less gain when I am playing then as soon as I pass my guitar to my friend to play I hear it differently.
Am I losing my marbles? Does anyone else experience this.
It seems to happen regardless of what gear I am using.
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That's normal.
 
@Kipple The exact same thing happens to me. My tone when I’m playing vs my tone when I’m listening back sounds quite different. I’ve always attributed it to the fact that when you’re listening to yourself play, you’re actually hearing a blend of your tone and the guitar strings ringing out acoustically. I think just that difference changes things a lot.

To that end, the best way I’ve found to really tweak your gear is to record a loop of yourself playing, then play back the loop through your gear while you dial in.

After you do that for a while, you eventually get an ear for how your rig actually sounds best and you’ll be able to dial in that sound even while you’re playing, because you’ll have gotten used to what it sounds like when you go back and play through your properly dialed rig.
 
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I love hearing someone else playing my gear. I can 100% focus on and appreciate the tones without the distraction of actually playing. Also what the nuances of someone else’s hand and attack bring.
 
yeah that is very very very common. Just the other day I put a Duncan RTM in a guitar and was totally blown away by the sound so for 3 days I got the playing bug and kept switching guitars too make sure it wasn't "new car smell" type of thing .. and nope it sounded better than anything else I have. Then a mate came over and started playing the guitar and it sounded SHIT, he plugged in some of the other guitars I have and they sounded better. SO I played it and it sounded great .. I put it down to the way we attack the strings with both hands
 
sytharnia1560 said:
yeah that is very very very common. Just the other day I put a Duncan RTM in a guitar and was totally blown away by the sound so for 3 days I got the playing bug and kept switching guitars too make sure it wasn't "new car smell" type of thing .. and nope it sounded better than anything else I have. Then a mate came over and started playing the guitar and it sounded SHIT, he plugged in some of the other guitars I have and they sounded better. SO I played it and it sounded great .. I put it down to the way we attack the strings with both hands
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I just this week did a Magnet swap on a JB and swapped the A5 for an A2 because someone told me that is supposedly pretty close to what the RTM pickup is, It's in an old Kramer Baretta from 1984 and it sounds great, I have no Idea if it's actually like the RTM but I like the change.
 
Kipple said:
I just this week did a Magnet swap on a JB and swapped the A5 for an A2 because someone told me that is supposedly pretty close to what the RTM pickup is, It's in an old Kramer Baretta from 1984 and it sounds great, I have no Idea if it's actually like the RTM but I like the change.
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Nice ... it will be similar but the RTM has more windings than a JB so it is "hotter"
 
headlessdeadguy said:
A pick makes more difference than you think
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I'll second that. Pick selection, pick attack angle, and picking intensity are on the same level of a pickup swap. As are height and pole piece adjustments on a pickup. I've been dialing in a Super Distortion in the neck and a Lollar dB in the bridge of my LP this afternoon. Doggone my ears are ringing but she is sounding mighty good now!!!
 
Your brain tricks you . I say this all the time, your brain confuses good riffs For good tone all the time. This is very much in that same camp.

Who is playing your rig when you hear it 99.9999999 percent of the time? You are. Someone else plugging into it is like someone wearing your clothes: of course they look the same, but different . Make sense? Your mind is used to hearing your rig with your playing and your style etc. someone else playing totally different riffs a totally different way through that familiar rig is going to sound very different. It’s the same thing as when you reamp 10 different guitar tracks through the exact same setup, gain level, cabinet, mic etc but it’s 10 different players: it is all going to sound vastly different.
 
It sounds the same to me when I hear others play through my gear (including my classical guitars). Like some said, sometimes I can hear the tone a bit more clearly when I just listen than when I'm also playing it myself
 
Just on my own rigs, I can hear pretty big differences depending what I'm doing, ie. where my right hand is muting, where I'm picking over the pickups, how close to the fret I am with left hand, how left hand is muting, pick angle, pick material, etc... I've helped a couple friends setup rigs, and you definitely have to dial for the player.
 
Erock said:
Just on my own rigs, I can hear pretty big differences depending what I'm doing, ie. where my right hand is muting, where I'm picking over the pickups, how close to the fret I am with left hand, how left hand is muting, pick angle, pick material, etc... I've helped a couple friends setup rigs, and you definitely have to dial for the player.
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It's like clothing. Some shirts or pants may look great on you, but not suit others as well, but it's still the same clothing and of the same quality
 
soundchaser said:
Tone is in the fingers also means tone is in the picking hand. Where he picks, closer to the bridge or neck, how hard/soft, which part of the pick, which pick angle... There are numerous things that have an effect on tone. All those things give a character to a player. Everyone is different.
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As a guitar teacher I say yes to this . I have to make sure they know this to get good . You can’t just play . You got to execute !
 
Gear is part of the equation. Your hands are the other part. This is why you will always sound like you no matter what gear you are playing.
 
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