[audio:womantone.mp3]
Generally, electric guitar playing is considered to be a macho thing. The behavior of “guitar heroes” mistreating their instruments, or even smashing or burning them leaves us with no doubt about who’s playground the stage is.
The more I get bored with those heroes, the more I appreciate one of the greatest guitar players cultivating a thing called “woman tone” – a common name for Eric Clapton’s guitar sound in certain songs during the late Sixties when he played Gibson guitars. It is done by simply turning the tone control for the guitar pickup down, while turning the volume control to maximum. With the guitar plugged into a softly overdriven tube amplifier, the result is a characteristic sound that combines rock’s roughness with a wind instrument’s vocal-like voice. Voilá!
guitar & gear: Epiphone Les Paul Custom, Vox AC 15 Heritage, Tube Reverb
Oh, that’s very pretty. I never had heard the term ‘woman tone’ before. I like it.