Why Beginners Have Bad Tone And How To Fix It! 

What tone tips do you have?

Beginners have bad tone because they haven’t yet invested the gdp of a small country on gear!

Remember tone is also contextual, something might not sound the best on its own but once sitting in the mix of a band setting it can suddenly make sense

awesome looking guitar !

I’m sure I will get hate for this, but can we say “tone is in the technique” or similar instead of “tone is in the fingers”? It’s more accurate and also less off putting to new players; it’s easier to explain that they can improve their sound with better technique than tell them that a player’s sound is “mostly in his fingers”, which sounds like they can’t hope to achieve it.

as a side note, your hair has been on point as of late.

Intro is Arizona by Kings of Leon lol

Boy, you have fantastic tone today! 👍

Question. I have a 20 year old Gibson SG, and run it through an Orange Crush 20RT, however, my tone seems limited when I play. It's got that same square chugging sound. Any tips for more tone versatility?

4:02 I had someone yell at my as I have never been yelled at by my mother, father, babysitter, coach, teacher, or any administrater I've ever had in my life in a guitar store while I was trying out an AC15. I hate to say it but you are running a risk in guitar shops. I've overheard employees making fun of people's playing, being openly annoyed with ameteur guitarists, etc plenty of times.

I think another huge one is muting techniques. All beginner guitarists I’ve seen don’t have any muting techniques and there’s a lot of unwanted open notes ringing out. Which causes some muddy tone. It’s sometimes very minor so it’s not that noticeable to beginner players. But more experienced players can pick it out instantly.

It is not bad tone. They just play like a beginner. Because, they are one. I think this is a horrible video. Adding more articulation does not give you better tone. There are some things total beginners need to be told to listen for, in their own playing, not make it more musical. One is to play notes in the correct time with proper conviction. Another is to mute strings. A third is to hold notes long. Not just play them as if they were staccato and then mute it as they move to the next note to play. Then there is vibrato and bending in tune. I think that when you want to explain beginners this, then calling it 'tone' and then talking about articulation inside a quite long lick is bad teaching. "How do you do that? Just practice as much as you can." Horrible advice! First, you need a good ear. If you cannot hear the difference between a very musical phrase and a very robotic one, you cannot hear it in your own playing. Your ear is your guide. You can never play better than you can hear. "Just practice" is no advice at all. Especially after you did a complicated phrase with articulations. Besides developing your ear, one should always or almost always strive to play musically. And if one plays for an audience. What is horrible to do is to have most of your practice just doodling or playing amusical scale patterns. Things like tapping your foot to the beat or singing along with the notes you play is a great way to improve musicality. Also, stopping when you make a mistake is horrible to do. Because when you play real music, you can never do that. You have to keep going. So to practice immediately to play through your mistakes is a great habit. You can do deliberate technical practice while also sounding musical. And if you just figure out a thing for the first time, then of course you can stop halfway, until you figured it out. But then you try to play it musically and all the way through. And if you record yourself and then listen back, you get a much better sense of how you actually sound. And then you learn that the quality of what you play often is as good as the worst notes you played.

I once got this tip from a more experienced friend…”play CLEAN, no pedals, if it sounds good clean then it will sound good with any pedal”. another one: if you can whistle it (a solo part or a song) then you can play it”. Those tips hold true to this day. Cheers.

My tone is beyond reproach and my fingering immense! Just ask my girlfriend. 😏

You always sit with such good posture. I find myself completely hunched over after only a few minutes playing. I have GOT to try to improve my posture!

Honestly time and practice makes awesome! You don't need the most expensive gear to have a good tone but you do need practice to understand how to find it and keep it in your sound! Hope y'all have good days 🍀

I never realized what amps or pedals I really liked , because its not easy to have access to everything to compare side by side.. untill I got the Axe fx . Then I was able to compare everything and I really like the Marshall/brit patches. After studying some of my favorite patches I got a better understanding on how they chain things to get a good sound. Its very helpful and consistent on delivering the exact same tone every time.

Thank you for explaining what “tone is in the fingers” actually means. I wish someone had explained those very subtle concepts to me 20 years ago

Having a nice PRS certainly helps with tone!

Beginner tone? Treble 10, mids 0, bass 10, gain 11.

My tips: - A lot of tone is in your fingers. You just need to control your inflections on the strings. Play evenly. Don't let strings ring if they shouldn't be. Don't try to be your own drummer on the strings - particularly on distorted electric guitar. - Take time to learn how to use your volume, tone and pickup selectors that are on the guitar. - Change your strings often. Figure out what brand and gauge works best for you. - Have your guitar properly set up and learn how to set it up yourself. - On electric guitar, figure out what pickup height works best for you. - Learn how to use the EQ on your amp. - Don't waste money on pedals until you know how to use them. By that I mean that your first pedal should be a digital mult-fx that allows you to try out every effect there is. Or an amp like a Boss Katana that has it all built in. You can dissect the factory presets to learn how tones are built and you can explore all of the effects to figure out what you like best without spending thousands of dollars on individual stompboxes that aren't even right for you.

I’m a beginner and I already have great tone after a week. Sounds like bees and I love it.

I think tone only matters in context. I hear guitarists with "great tone" all the time, but they're playing by themselves. If you've done any production or mixing, you know instantly that their tone will never work in a mix. It often has way too much low end. That can make it sound big and full by itself, but in a mix it steps all over the bass and kick and makes the whole track sound muddy. Who cares what you sound like in a room by yourself?

When I was a beginner, I was just happy to be in tune (first priority) and have the gain all the way up 😊

As a beginner tone issues for me were gear related. Cheap Japanese guitars, cheap transistor amp. My tone improved when I bought a rickenbacker and a Fender twin. My playing improved astronomically. I think you’re talking about feel and technique.

As a beginner my tone was bad because I spent all my time playing Dave Matthews songs.

Your last point is why I really encourage new musicians to use modeling gear. It's a cheap and increasingly more effective way of what sort of gear you will want to get as you progress.

The biggest “Aha! Moment” for me, as silly as it sounds, was that you’re making sounds. Focus on making pleasant sounds instead of obsessing over where your fingers are going. Early on, I’d play something “right” but couldn’t figure out why it didn’t sound good when I played back the recording. It’s because my tone sucked. It’s too bad that guitars and gear don’t often come with instructions for the controls, but make sure and dial in your controls and don’t peg everything at 10.

I used to dime the bass, treble and pull all the mids back when I started. damn you Metallica

Most important advice was playing Stairway 25 times a day.

Dynamics (i.e. string attack) will greatly improve over all tone. The same knock on midi instruments (constant 127 velocity) also holds true for humans. I don't think it's an advanced technique to learn how to play quietly and loudly within the same solo (or lick or whatever). Since I didn't start working on that early in my playing, it's a struggle for me sometimes. Listen to Robert's playing, and Tim Pierce's playing, and Rick Beato's playing - lots and lots of dynamics!

“Just do all the things, all the times, everyday, 25/7…. and end bluesy.” 😂 This resonates because I’ve always been crazy obsessive with my hobbies, and I’ve always wanted to specialize in one area. It’s comforting to know I’m actually on the right track 😂😂 with doing all the things, all the time 🤣🤣 Hey man, thanks for taking the time to share your advice on tone and I look forward to your next video! -Addie

Hi Robert, I really appreciate your positive, high energy, can-do approach to guitar. Always inspiring!

hey it's not just beginners I've been playing guitar for over 25 years with terrible tone. :P

Beginners have a bad tone because they can’t hear the difference between a good one or a bad one or have yet to experience a good tone

I never believed that old saying "tone is in the fingers". I think technique is in the fingers, but the tone comes from the amp settings, pickups, speakers and things like that. For example if you dialed in a tone and played, then handed that guitar off to someone else, the tone doesn't change, just the person that has a little different playing technique changes, and the way they play can manipulate the tone differently.

Re: #2: it's all in the touch. The more you play, the more control you have on the subtleties of your touch.

My problem is I’ve got my fingers in the right spot but I can’t get the note to sound like the song dose

Not to mention 4K PRS DGT doesn't hurt either 🤣🤣🤣

Always been a Marshall guy too but that’s a pretty sweet Fender tone you got going there man . Marshall guys call that a clean tone, Fender guys would call it medium to high gain lol .

my electric guitar sounds like a ukelele

The first point is such a big one. After years of playing i realized how much less distortion bands actually use, and how to dial in better settings to achieve similar sounds with less distortion/overdrive. One of the bigger issues with tone i encountered in recent years, is that you cant really make plugins sound like real amps in a specific way, what i mean by that is, the massive, boomy sound you hear (for example in this video). Its mostly due to direct audio vs mic'ed cabs. Currently this is the biggest issue im trying to overcome, and failing

Newbies don’t tune often enough. They also press too hard with fretting fingers. Practice practice

Great tips Robert! I just wanted to throw in my thoughts here. I found it easier for Myself to play along with backing tracks and and find the tone that fits the particular backing track that I am playing along to. Everyone is different!

I don't know man; utilising slides and hammer-ons isn't affecting your tone. It's showing a wider vocabulary in your playing. That doesn't mean there isn't an element of tone being in your fingers, but what I think that means - beyond how hard you're picking - is how fluent your phrasing is; are you able to articulate notes cleanly. But we're really getting into questions of technique and individual playing style rather than tone.

I can remember when I was a beginner I used to hate when I heard people say “tone is all in the fingers.” I’d say “well why do guys with great tone always have bad ass gear?!” But as you learn to play over the years you learn how to put so much more expression in your playing through technique. Even with simple passages. Also you almost learn to listen to yourself playing differently. When I was a beginner I was never really happy with my tone. Now I feel I could get really good tone with any half way decent guitar and pretty much any tube amp. I still love great gear but I will now admit that “tone is at the very least mostly in your fingers.”

Alot of your tone is definitely in your hands. SRV could plug a Donner into a Gorilla and still sound like SRV. This is why i argue for the importance of tonewood. A guitar made out of a resonant lively piece of wood will feel alive in your hands. This" liveliness" will connect you to that instrument and connection to a guitar is a natural place to find inspiration, and inspiration leads to tone. You might be able to get the same generic signal from a cement guitar, or a work bench guitar, or a fence post guitar, but who the hell wants to play it. These silly experiments are so devoid of soul it drives me up a wall. I know, i know, "if the wall had strings and pickups it would sound the same as a Strat! " Kiss my a. . . . .

Something that helped my tone is learning to use the volume and tone knobs.

I’m a beginner, but I’ve already well realized how important this 1:30 is.

tone is not in your chops or your fingers its in your amp and speaker and more specificly its your speaker and we each need to find our tone perhaps you need to watch spector studios on this subject

Vox, Fender or Marshall… I have a Crate G-212 that is old and rusty as hell. I typically play on my Marshall CODE 50 because of the headphone jack. That is all the further I was going with my comment. Carry on and ignore me. :)

What about cranking the hell out

best way to get better tone? Sell your PRS

One thing I highly suggest to beginners is, if you're buying your first rig, make the cabinet your best piece of equipment. Cheap amp through good cab always sounds better than good amp through cheap cab, also a good cab will last you a lifetime,

When I started learning guitar I only had 2 “tones”: clean (sometimes with chorus); distortion up to the max

Robert - I’m loving these little “5 Minute Ideas” series thingy your doing. Thx bro!

Years ago, I stopped trying to sound like "So and so" with gear and technique. The guy I buy all my gear from said, "You'll never do it. You don't have his head, heart, and hands." That always stuck with me. I found my own gear, and play "That guy," but in MY way. People still say "Hey, that's So and So, right?" I smile and say "Yep."

1. In a band, don't scoop the mids. 2a. Change strings regularly, at least once every other month or when your fingers get dirt lines after playing. 2b. Don't buy cheap strings, they feel/play bad, go out of tune easily. 3. Don't buy "the better deal" 25ft guitar cable, long cables suck tone, up to 12 feet is ok. (I would use a 25ft cable into my pedals and another 25ft cable into the amp, while i would be standing 3 to 4 feet away from my gear...)

To me, "good" or "bad" tone doesnt refer to the specific "sound" that is created, but rather to the ability to create a sound purposefully compared to it beeing a random unwanted byproduct of sloppy skills!

Beginner guitarist here and here is somethings to consider if you dropped guitar: -Build up the calluses don't over do it, if it hurts a lot stop and come back later -Hold down the notes hard not insanely hard but enough -MUTE MUTE MUTE MUTE MUTE MUTE you got open fingers doing nothing place them on the strings so they're muted. -Walk before you run its not bad to learn some cool tricks but if you don't know how to implement them you're just learning a party trick for yourself.

Insulting Mesa and Peavey in just a few seconds here xD „There are only two real guitar brands… Fender and Gibson!!!“ Oh, he‘s playing a PRS… what does that say about you?! I like to put it that way: Just don’t give a f**** about brands! Find a guitar that plays well and an amp (or modeler!) that suits the tone you’re aiming for and just play the shit out of it!!!

Tone is a forever changing with experience i try to get a clean sound and then everyday uts different things change even on the same settings

All of y'all gonna think I'm nuts, but I swear this will help. ..........Cook eggs. See? Y'all think I'm nuts. Let me explain. Heat up your favorite pan and oil it. Now crack the egg and drop it into the pan without breaking the yolk. Now practice flipping it with a spatula and again, don't break the yolk. Cook breakfast for everybody for a week.(if anybody wants scrambled, run them off.) Now pick up your guitar. Do some vibrato, do some slides and bends, try some hammer ons. Try every technique that you like that is important to you. Getting control of the eggs has sharpened your nuance, and that is real in the newfound control you now have over your guitar. Karate Kid Mr. Miyagi "Show me sand the floor" "Show me paint the fence" "Wax on" "Wax off" "Show me cook the eggs" You get the idea.

I understand what he is saying but I'm a beginner beginner I'm. Trying to learn the chords I would love to play with other. People but I believe. I have alot to learn. Before I do that. IDK but. I'm just at. The very very beginning here

Hilarious that your making a video about “beginner tone” but your playing a high end PRS. Not exactly what a beginner is likely to have as part of their “tone chain”. Maybe a Squire classic vibe or an Epi LP would have been a better candidate for this video…..

You can get good tone from a cheap DI and free plugins on a cheap guitar

Sorry i dont agree i m a beginner and have a very good vibrato,muting ,hammer on , harmonics but amp sounds like shit !so gear does matter.i have a line 6 spiderjam amp and its great for metal chords but sucks for finding a great solo tone .need to find an amp inexpensive but sounds great😢

Are you saying that is a good time. Most of the players even at the weekend warrior semi pro level use much too much added highs whether on their boost, overdrive or amp. To me there's about 12% too much high end on your tone today but then that's my ears

I’ve played my electrics unplugged more than I played them plugged in. You’ll make way less mistakes when you plug in and have a lot of gain.

My tone is bad because I’m still waiting for my amp to come in the mail so my electric guitar is an acoustic

Jesus, tone is NOT in the hands. Technique is in the hands dude. Tone is in the hands is and always has been a shit excuse for Lack of technique. If tone were in the hands we wouldn't have different amps, guitars, and pedals. We could just Have the same tone no matter what was in our rig or who's rig we were playing. Tone is in the gear, TECHNIQUE is in the hands.

Not a mention of tone from the guitar and amp/effects? The reality is that all your signal chain ends at the speaker of your amp. You can play with a fairly good technique, but you can ruin all that effort because you just don't know how to dial in good tones from your equipment (at least that is MY story). Equipment is the most important thing about electric guitar! Such a waist of time here... 🙄

Hey Robert, thxamillion for all! your informative and always inspiring content. Here are my two cents: It all starts with how you attack the string(s). What kind of pick,which angle,slanting,how tight you hold it and where you attack the string(s). And that’s related to how loud you dial in your amp. It’s good to leave some headroom say at least 20%. And of course what kind of vibrato you put on a note(slow,middle or fast which again relates to the tempo of the song,letting the note ring for a moment and starting to "massage" afterwards sounds better to my ears as well),when and how to end a phrase(The solo of Hotel California is a very good blueprint for it) It’s the same with bending the strings,you have to land on your target note in time. So again:slow,middle or fast,with fast being used most of the time,and therefore landing on the desired pitch. Best regards

If one cannot spot the circular logic here, not sure what else there is to say on the matter.

Tone tip 1. The louder the amp the more you turn down the treble. The human ear hears treble more distinctly at higher volume. Tone tip 2. The more distortion you use, the more you turn down the bass, otherwise the sound gets flubby.

I can usually tell a beginner by listening to Dynamics and Vibrational Techniques.

Watching video about tone, hating the tone choices used in the beginning of the video ;). Personal preference, hehe.

If you watch what Jack Pearson achive his sound with a Squier strat, you will definetely understand what Robert Baker just said in this video

Been playing for 35 years. I still sound like 💩. Regardless of gear, guitar, etc. 😖🔨

The only example you didn't give... Was bad tone😮😁👍

Anyone know what guitar he’s using? I believe it’s a PRS SE but I’m not sure

One of the things that make it even more difficult, is that the tone you like alone at home, might not he the best for a band setting.

they use to much. to much gain. to many effects. wrong effect chains. to much bass etc.

I tried playing stairway 50 times and they told me to leave immediately

Bad tone is a tone that lacks intentionality. It’s a random tone applied randomly.

I mean starting with a core PRS would be a good start I suppose.

"Tone" is a term that gets bandied about like it's the thing to achieve with guitar. But I don't know that there is much definition to it. Sometimes, it's timbre. Sometimes, it's frequency. Sometimes, it's the timbre and frequencies present from a given amp, pedal, or guitar. More often than not, I think people are referring to skill, style, or the ability to capture a listener. That is an ethereal notion that gets lumped into a term that is not well defined, and I think it's time we stop talking about "tone." The concepts we seek to describe or criticize are more numerous than that one simple word.

I've been playing 16 years and have no idea what "tone" is. Can someone explain please?

Meanwhile I'm just like. - And that nob that says tone? As beginner as it gets

I have the power of making expensive gear sound cheap

the thumbnail has a quotation mark instead of the intended apostrophe

Not knowing how to use compression, EQ, and other pedals

How come this video isn't on your Tone Quest channel Robert?

"Play Sstairway 50 times" LMAO!!!!!

I agree when you start playing the more you play you listen differently to music & what's going on. Not to mention how many riffs in songs you just start to pick out in other songs. Make sure you use space too.

ight mate any tips for people who cant afford five different amps and a plathora of pedals?

It's all about tonewood. Everyone knows that

i’ve been chillin here awhile bro

I keep discovering this man over and over. The playing was so baddass and then I saw who it was. I love this dude so much. When they play that well, you wanna become a disciple.

What amp do you recommend so a decent tone can be achieved?