How to extract good tone...

[Larry Pattis]

This is a great example on how to extract good tone from a small guitar...from the inimitable Helen Marshall...





Here is a link to Helen's YouTube channel...

[Arthur Blake]

Originally Posted by Larry Pattis

This is a great example on how to extract good tone from a small guitar...from the inimitable Helen Marshall...

Perhaps this would have been better stated as "This is a great example of the inimitable Helen Marshall extracting good tone from a small guitar."

Didn't see anything about "how to" -- and would have liked to -- her tone was excellent.

Tone production could result from any number of factors not readily visible - from the guitar construction/tone woods, to angle of attack, pressure or positioning of the left hand fingering. Again, couldn't see her doing anything, but making a lovely tone with no explanation of "how."

Perhaps someone with greater experience might comment on what she might have been doing to create that round and full tone.

[stanron]

From what I can see her fingers are picking the strings at 90 degrees, as opposed to the 45 degrees you get if you rest your hand on the bridge. Also if you pick the strings up from the front they snap down on the fretboard with a sharp kind of sound. She picks parallel to the front and this can help get a good tone. She seems to not be using rest strokes, they are all free strokes as far as I can see.

Another point that I think can contribute to good tone is the fact that no part of her hand or arm is touching the front.

[rick-slo]

Nice sounding guitar (smaller ones tend to have a nice clarity) and nice recording setup and post production.

[Arthur Blake]

While practicing Kirk Lorange's version of The Water is Wide, and striving for maximum tone production, I found that success produced an entrancing almost mesmerizingly beautiful experience which extended almost timelessly.

I noticed in making the effort to extract ideal tone, that my right hand fingers had more "follow through" and this is visible in Helen's playing as well.

I have no idea how this actually works in a physical sense because the finger has already left the string, but much like follow through in tennis or baseball, it seems to make a significant difference. On the guitar it's only a tiny bit more movement, perhaps an eighth inch extra, but wow, just wow.

One is always striving for economy of movement with the left hand, but this bit extra after striking the string with the fingers, seems in an as yet unexplained method, to broaden tone substantially.

One can see in the video how Helen's fingers lift from the strings, and I believe this is as much a part of her technique as the way she strikes them.
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My best guess is that the "release" of the string is as significant as the "attack" and releasing "cleanly" improves tone production.

[veryzer]

Don't have any feedback on technique but that sounded wonderful.

[stuartb]

thank you Larry, that was really lovely. I think you get a lot of "how", watching that video. Wonderful song and recording.

Stuart