Originally published in Guitarist magazine 347 · October 2011
50 Steps To Better Tone (excerpt)
ArticleJohn Petrucci1 min read
Tone... that mysterious, elusive quality that you know in your bones but can’t define in your head. The world’s top players spend their lives in its pursuit, while the rest of us chew over the minutiae of their sonic journeys. It’s time to cut to the chase - here are the 50 steps that are stone cold guaranteed to help you sound better. It’s all pro advice, with no snake oil. Let’s do this...
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23 ‘Connect’ with your hands – John Petrucci, Dream Theater
“The guitar is probably the best instrument as far as manipulating tone goes, because there are so many ways that you can attack notes [such as] where you play on the neck and where you attack the strings. You need to be really connected and ‘in the moment’ with what your hands are doing. If you do that and you notice the subtleties, it’s going to open up this incredible world.”