PRESENCE - Volume 65
Inspiration For Guitarists
I hope you caught the first Morning Pick on Thursday - my new short video series, filmed on my couch during my morning practice routine with an unplugged electric guitar. These will be quick, 1–4 minute tips, exclusive to newsletter subscribers.
But the fact that I'm playing unplugged gave me something worth talking about.
Joe Perry of Aerosmith once said: "For me, the amplifier is even more important than the guitar."
That's a strong statement - but I think he's onto something. The amp isn't just a speaker that makes your guitar louder. It's the other half of the instrument. The way your amp and pedals give you power in reserve, the way sustain shapes the phrases you choose to play, the way the sound itself influences your technique, none of that exists when you're unplugged.
I do practice unplugged sometimes. Most of us do. But if you're mostly practicing unplugged, you're only getting half the picture. You're learning to play the guitar without learning to play the sound.
When I got my first good amplifier, a Marshall 50 watt tube amp, I realized the amp was really more the source of what I was hearing than the guitar itself. Most of the tone was coming from that amp, and that tone made me play differently.
This is actually connected to Thursday's tip about picking lightly. A good amp gives you power in reserve, which means you can ease up on your attack and let the amp do some of the work. That relationship between your touch and your sound is much harder to discover when you're unplugged.
This week, try running through whatever you're working on plugged in - even at low volume. Notice how the amp responds to your dynamics. Notice how the sound influences what you play and how you play it. That responsiveness is information.
Rock on - Dustin