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  #1  
Old 08-06-2019, 10:29 PM
Grand Orchestra Grand Orchestra is offline
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Default What is "tone"?

I recently came across this post in relation to torrefied tops:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruce Sexauer View Post
I have played a number of bakers, and midrange warmth is exactly what they are missing. I tend to refer to the missing quality as “tone”, but perhaps I exaggerate a little.
Upon reading it, I realized, if non-guitar playing friend asked me what tone was, I don't think "midrange warmth" is the answer I would provide (I doubt many would think Martin Authentics lack tone), but I would definitely have to put thought into how to provide a response.

How would you answer the question, what is "tone"?
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Old 08-06-2019, 10:38 PM
JMW01 JMW01 is offline
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Good question. Tone is difficult to describe in words because it is very subjective.

Per the dictionary...
tone
/tōn/
noun
plural noun: tones
1. a musical or vocal sound with reference to its pitch, quality, and strength.
"the piano tone appears monochrome or lacking in warmth"
synonyms: timbre, sound, sound quality, voice, voice quality, color, tone color, tonality, resonance, ring
"bassoons add considerably to the tone of the tuba"

Here is a good description of timbre...

Timbre is the term for the color, or sound, of music. For example, a cello and a clarinet may play the same note at the same volume, but you can still hear the different music made by each. Timbre refers to the frequencies that compose the individual sounds.

Some descriptive words in relation to timbre are:

Loud Soft Brassy
Gentle Natural Melodious
Raucous Strong Smooth
Rich Distinct Deep
Thick Mellow Shrill
Reedy Thin Breathy
Rounded Full Clear
Piercing Strident Harsh
Warm Resonant Bright
Dark Flat Light

Last edited by JMW01; 08-06-2019 at 11:01 PM.
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Old 08-06-2019, 10:57 PM
Mycroft Mycroft is offline
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It is always hard to describe that which can only be experienced
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Old 08-07-2019, 12:12 AM
Jeff Scott Jeff Scott is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mycroft View Post
It is always hard to describe that which can only be experienced
So, the question comes down to.........

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Old 08-07-2019, 01:59 AM
AndrewG AndrewG is offline
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What is colour? Discuss
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Old 08-07-2019, 02:22 AM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewG View Post
What is colour? Discuss
Hi Andrew, I guess you either "see it" or you don't - for tone replace hear for see.
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Old 08-07-2019, 02:28 AM
Russ C Russ C is offline
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Tone or timbre is the collection of harmonics above the fundamental vibration that we hear as the pitch of a note. There's other aspects to a note - extraneous sounds like pick noise, fret buzz, finger squeak that could be perceived as part of tone but the harmonics (produced mainly by the body of an instrument and then whatever initiated the vibration) that are tone .. imo.
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Old 08-07-2019, 03:00 AM
AndrewG AndrewG is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Silly Moustache View Post
Hi Andrew, I guess you either "see it" or you don't - for tone replace hear for see.
Well, seeing as I'm colour blind I'm basically screwed from the start!
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Old 08-07-2019, 03:41 AM
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SalFromChatham SalFromChatham is offline
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“Tone” is what the guitar you want but don’t have... has.
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Old 08-07-2019, 05:05 AM
alnico5 alnico5 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewG View Post
What is colour? Discuss
Colors are the frequencies of electromagnetic radiation, within a certain bandwidth, not absorbed by an object. The radiation is reflected to our eyes and our brains interpret it as color.

Tone is in the ear of the beholder.
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Last edited by alnico5; 08-07-2019 at 05:51 AM.
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  #11  
Old 08-07-2019, 05:48 AM
scotly50 scotly50 is offline
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Tone is what you see with your ears.
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Old 08-07-2019, 06:10 AM
hayvis hayvis is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Russ C View Post
Tone or timbre is the collection of harmonics above the fundamental vibration that we hear as the pitch of a note. There's other aspects to a note - extraneous sounds like pick noise, fret buzz, finger squeak that could be perceived as part of tone but the harmonics (produced mainly by the body of an instrument and then whatever initiated the vibration) that are tone .. imo.
I would say it encompasses the fundamental pitch too. After all tone is a word use to describe the pitch of a note, so you can't leave that out of it.

I personally would say that tone refers (when talking about the tone of a guitar), to the overall sound it makes when you play a note or chord.
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Old 08-07-2019, 06:49 AM
redir redir is offline
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You have to use actual words to describe tone. I thought of an experiment one time where you would have 100 people and maybe 50 guitars or so. The people would go into a booth one by one and listen to each guitar play the same chords and rhythms and write down what they think the tone sounds like. Then you could collect that data and analyze it. Each word would be associated with a a particular set of frequencies and even better might be to compare those words with the mechanics of the guitar and possibly even the materials the guitar is made of.

Then when someone says that a guitar sounds woody, or tinny, or tight and so on you might have an actual data set to know what that means.

For now though it's mostly interpretive. Even when some of us thing the tone of a guitar is fantastic others will disagree.

So it's always an interesting topic of discussion.

Most luthiers seem to agree that a guitar top with a strong fundamental and a very good monopole mobility will be a guitar that is in balance and rich in overtones. How you choose to describe that is on your own.
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Old 08-07-2019, 07:19 AM
mcduffnw mcduffnw is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by themissal View Post
“Tone” is what the guitar you want but don’t have... has.
...and the guitar you have but don't want...doesn't...



...or so you have convinced yourself...


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  #15  
Old 08-07-2019, 07:32 AM
mawmow mawmow is offline
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Well, interesting discussion.

I am inclined to talk of tone as predominant string sounds like bassier, clearer or quite equilibrate (which I now understand as missing mid predominance).

I also use an expression of my own to describe the rounder sound of my Larrivee OM-09 : It is "Root beer" compared to Coca Cola. I would say there is some "color" added to the sound.
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