Lead Tone


heyhwodunnit
Registered User
Joined: 12/09/10
Posts: 2
heyhwodunnit
Registered User
Joined: 12/09/10
Posts: 2
05/21/2011 2:12 am
anyone know how to dial in that" woman tone lead" with a
clapton strat and a fender bandmaster or seymour duncan
convert.60? thanks- PETER
# 1
ChristopherSchlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 08/09/05
Posts: 8,360
ChristopherSchlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 08/09/05
Posts: 8,360
05/21/2011 4:26 am
Originally Posted by: heyhwodunnitanyone know how to dial in that" woman tone lead" with a clapton strat and a fender bandmaster or seymour duncan
convert.60? thanks- PETER

The "woman tone" is the informal term used by Clapton to refer to his distinctive mid- to late-1960s electric guitar sound, created using his Gibson SG solidbody guitar (with humbucking pick-ups) and a Marshall tube amplifier. It is an overdriven sound that is articulate yet thick. It is characterised by being quite distorted (or even achieved with a fuzz) but muted, in contrast to the bright and twangy distortion that most guitarists were using at the time. Many players have tried to duplicate it, usually without success, in part because Clapton's playing technique had a lot to do with the tone.

Among the techniques used to replicate Clapton's sound is a technique by which the amplifier's volume is turned up to full, while the guitar's tone knob is turned down to zero or one.

Perhaps the best examples of the "woman tone" are Clapton's famous riff and solo from his band Cream's 1967 hit "Sunshine of Your Love". Clapton has explained that he obtained the tone with his Gibson's tone control rolled all the way down, switching to the neck pick-up (closest to the fretboard) and the volume all the way up, with his distortion turned all the way up. The treble, mids and bass controls on the amplifier were also maxed out. Some versions of the "woman tone" may also have involved strategic positioning of Clapton's wah-wah pedal.


from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Clapton

Sounds like you might need a guitar with a humbucker in the the neck position. But to use what you've got, switch the pickup selector to neck pickup, turn the tone knob to zero, turn the amp up to 10 and play Eric Clapton licks! Have fun. :)
Christopher Schlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor

Christopher Schlegel Lesson Directory
# 2

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