Eric Clapton Guitar Settings - The Woman Sound

Eric Clapton has used many guitar settings in a career that goes across several decades but people are still fascinated by the sound that people call the "woman" tone. If you don't know what that means listen to the Cream track, "Sunshine Of Your Love" that features the guitar solo starting with the melody of "Blue Moon" by Rodgers and Hart. With none of the modern technological stuff available to him in the nineteen sixties, Eric just set his guitar and his amp according to his taste and played. Some of what you hear on record is more to do with what happens as the music is recorded than with the sound Clapton set out to make. Eric Clapton always played with the volume at full tilt and the tone was at a very low setting. The use of the wah-wah pedal and heavy gauge strings also contributed alot to the sound. Eric Clapton emerged with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in the sixties playing a 1960 Les Paul Standard guitar. His amp was 1962 Marshall forty-five watt 2x12 combination. He fought with producers and engineers to be allowed to play at concert volume in the studio. This was unheard of at that time. When he played with Cream, Clapton played a 1964 Gibson Les Paul SG. He chose 100 watt Marshall heads and 4x12 cabinets. He was also one of the pioneers of the wah-wah pedal. It was with this guitar and amp that he produced his famous "woman" tone. Do not forget Eric's Marshall amps were extremely overdriven and this was another major contributor to his sound. You can buy pedals that are supposed to duplicate Eric Clapton's guitar settings but you can be more "authentic" by setting the guitar and amp yourself. Because Eric has mostly been seen playing Fender Stratocasters for some years, we will stick with setting a Strat to try to get that "woman tone". But remember that Eric was not playing a Strat when he was with Cream so you will need to be creative to get the sound out of your guitar. You will be using the neck pickup. You need to turn down the second and third volume control knobs to get a fairly muddy tone. From here you need to use your ear to compare your sound with one of Eric Clapton's records. As far as your amplifier goes, set your bass to around seven and the middle at five. The treble should be set at five. These suggestions are only meant to be a rough guide to start off in the right direction to achieving a tone that you may not have the equipment to duplicate one hundred per cent. Do you want to learn to play the guitar? Learn How To Play A Guitar For Free is a constantly updated blog which contains all the resources you need for: learning to play solo guitar, how to learn guitar chords, how to learn to read and play easy acoustic guitar tabs, finding a free online guitar tuner, looking for free guitar lessons online, and how to learn guitar scales. Article Source: http://www.articlebiz.com/article/373964-1-eric-clapton-guitar-settings-the-woman-sound/

How To Find The Best Guitar Amp

Author: Tyrone Holman

The first thing you should think of before buying a guitar amplifier is the kind of sound you want to get; this should be one of your major decision factors.

You will enjoy playing your guitar much more if you enjoy the sound your guitar amplifier creates. If you take a low class guitar amplifier that cannot do what you want it to do, then you probably never want to touch the guitar again.

The first question when selecting an amplifier is the tone. What kind of tone should your guitar amplifier create? Should it create a more classic tone or maybe a modernized digital sound? This is especially important when you play a lot with distortion. Also if you play just with clear strings you need to know what kind of tone you would like to get from your amplifier.

Personally I can get the exact tone I want out of any guitar amplifier. This is because I have created my own guide and rules which help me to tweak the knobs of any amplifier. In other words, over the past years I, like many other guitar players, have created the perfect settings for a guitar amp in my mind.

Another decision factor in the selection of the perfect guitar amplifier is the number of speakers in the amplifier as well as the size of these speakers. If you are looking for a practice amp then a simple 10 inch speaker amp will work very well, though I recommend you going with two, 12 inch speakers. This is a pretty standard size and does not cost much extra compared to the 10 inch version. The reason for this upgrade is simple: if you are going to spend money on a practice amplifier then you might as well spend a couple of hundred more to get a full amp. Most likely you end up doing this somewhere down the road anyway.

An excellent amp to get you started with is the Marshall MG250, this amplifier has two, 12 inch speakers and has 50 Watts of power. 50 Watts doesn't sound that much, but you can take my word on it; this amp can generate a decent amount of sound, while at the same time it has a diversity in settings.

A lot of guitarists are very strict about tube amplifiers vs. Digital amplifiers, and I cannot do anything else than agree with them. You get a much better tone out of a tube amp. However, these guys where using the famous and expensive Mesa Boogie half stack set up. I don’t think you should go that far, unless you have a few thousands to spend and can find a dealer who carries Mesa Boogies.

It is a fact that you can get an excellent tone out of any commonly played standard guitar amplifier, the tone is really up to you can with all the effects and accessories available on the market you can get your desired sound with any amp.

I said this because if you are buying your first guitar and amplifier, it's very important that you do not start with a bad experience. I don't have any doubt that there is a thing like the holy grail of amps, but don't attempt to pursue that kind of amp until you have a bit more experience under your belt.

Another good amplifier is Crates, it creates an excellent sound. The only turn side of this amplifier is that they go south around the two year mark. I have had four of these and they all went out of the window at round the same time period.

If you are not that picky regarding a digital processed sound then I recommend you the amplifiers created by Line 6. They have a good range of models as well as a good price range. All of Line 6 their amplifiers come with an excellent effect feature that can create either a clean or distorted playing effect. Currently the Line 6 Spider III 75 1 x 12 amp cost you around three hundred which gives you a fun amp to play with.

My advice is that if you are looking for a professional good amplifier then stay with the big names such as Fender, Marshall, Vox and Line 6. They all produce excellent guitar amplifiers for the beginner and professional while at the same time provides a diverse range in price classes.

My final advice to you is that before you buy any amplifier, go to some stores and try a variation of guitar amplifiers. Play around with the settings and be sure to experiment with the effect setting as well. It's common for guitar and bass players to walk in a store and try out the gear.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/how-to-find-the-best-guitar-amp-2129107.html

About the AuthorHello, my name is Tyrone, I am a profesional guitar player and I am a big collector of guitars and amplifiers.