#1
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What do you mean by "warm"
I've heard the term numerous times and tried to divine the sound or quality it describes for most musicians and can't seem to get it. Time to ask and see if the language can do it for me. Can one or two of you describe the quality you call "warmth" ?
Clark
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Martin D-18, Newell mandolin or whatever else I'm playing today. |
#2
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It's the other end of the spectrum in regards to "bright". Too bright sounds brittle. Too warm sounds over-saturated - like an electric guitar player who doesn't know how to use a muff pedal. Bright is piercing with strong fundamental/minimal overtone. Warm is full and mellow with strong overtone/minimal fundamental. I think most of Norman Blake's older material includes a guitar with a very warm tone; if you'd like to have a listen.
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#3
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To me it's mellowness. Try playing close to the bridge with a pick. That's the opposite of mellow/warm. Then try playing over near the edge of the fretboard/soundhole - that should sound warm/mellow in comparison.
Some guitars just have a naturally warm sound. I usually play my J-45 closer to the bridge to bring out the definition in the strings when flatpicking. It's a very warm/mellow guitar by nature. |
#4
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Each person seems to have their own definition of warm since it's not something you can measure. To me, it means more bass overtones and an absence of harsh trebles.
- Glenn |
#5
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It's pretty much a useless term. Most folks just mean "I like it." I've seen archtops, jumbos, metal bodied resonators, ukuleles, les pauls, telecasters, amplifiers, mahogany, rosewood, birch, etc. All called "warm" by guitar players.
I hope to play a "cool" sounding guitar someday |
#6
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Yes, I really like playing cool guitars, too! I think all my guitars are cool!
- Glenn |
#7
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Quote:
I think of warm sound as strong but balanced bass, rich mid-range, and shimmering but not strident trebles. To me the benchmark in warm is James Taylor's original studio release of "Fire and Rain." I think he used a Gibson J-50 for that, and the "good" Gibson guitars are often described as warm. That's my story and I am sticking to it, although many will disagree. |
#8
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Quote:
All mahogany gits are generally warmer. |
#9
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Warm tones are why vintage instruments are so popular! I think it is the response of bracing and wood molecules that have grown up and learned to relax under tension... The development of acoustic character if you will... Well rounded, full register, while being responsive and not muddy ideally.
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Sakazo Nakade Flamenco 1964 Bourgeois D Adi Tasmanian Blackwood 2011 Tom Anderson Strat 1990s Schecter California Classic Strat 1990s |
#10
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I disagree with some of the other posters that this is a 'useless' term. All descriptors can be subjective. I think it is like any vocabulary; only useful when all parties understand the intended meaning.
As others have stated, for me this term relates to a sound that has strong, but not over powering bass. It also has a good mid-range with some harmonic content. Lastly, the trebles are evident, but are not shrill and have a quicker decay. YMMV.
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Brandon "Life has no limit, if you're not afraid to get in it"-Mason Jennings |
#11
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I don't think it's a useless term, but I do think it's relative to each player. I like MICHAEL MYERS' response. For many of us, we use the terms "bright" and "warm" as opposing terms. OP Use your own instrument to demonstrate -- if you play your guitar closer to the saddle, the sound brightens up (or thins out). The further you play away from the saddle the "warmer" the sound gets. Different guitars sound warm or bright, also different strings.
But, like I say, it's relative to each player - it's a word that can mean anything or nothing. What I've described is the way I use the term, but that doesn't mean it should be standardized. It's simply a description that each player is welcome to use or ignore. |
#12
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Thanks, guys. This is really helpful. Subjective, yeah... I still hope to at least get the direction straight, though. Subjective terms can carry "some" meaning (in my experience.) I think I understand the gist of it now.
Clark
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Martin D-18, Newell mandolin or whatever else I'm playing today. |
#13
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I'm like a few others here - my concept of "warm" is a tone that has the trebles muted a bit, kind of opposite of bright.
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#14
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"Warm" means neither hot nor cold, as English beer, more or less.
I heard for the first time this adjective (applied to sound) here in AGF. I like it. For me is applied when you play a "rounded" song, with bright, mellow and also bass altogether and equally distributed. |
#15
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Trying to explain one tone descriptor with some other tone descriptor is pretty tough. To me, "warm" means mellow. Play a guitar right in front of the bridge then right at the end of the fingerboard. The former is more bright and the latter is more warm. That's not a perfect description but that captures a good deal of what I mean when I say "warm" in reference to guitar tone.
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Bob DeVellis |