Jon Bare
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Available through
Music Maker Publications |
 He
Wrote the Book on Tone |
 The
Effect of Effects |
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Clips |
Tone Guru and Author
Jon Bare is a self-described “tone guru” and author of Recording the Electric Guitar, a package that describes in detail how to design and capture a brilliant guitar tone. A long-time columnist for Recording Magazine, Jon has 25 years of recording, touring, writing, experimenting, and tone designing experience to share with readers.
Rocket Sounds caught up with him at this year’s NAMM show, where he was excited to talk about the book.
He Wrote the Book on Tone
RS: Jon, what is your background in the music biz?
JB: I am a guitarist, singer, songwriter, engineer, producer, filmmaker and 24-track studio owner/operator. I have released seven albums of original material, and I encourage you to preview my last four CDs at CD Baby. I also have a record company, Mega Truth Records, which has national distribution. My band, Jon Bare & the Killer Whales, has been active in the Southern California area for years.
RS: You have written extensively for Recording Magazine.
JB: I have written more than 50 articles for Recording Magazine about the many aspects of recording. Topics included recording, mixing, mastering, distribution, starting a record company, publicity, radio airplay, building a studio–pretty much everything I’ve learned as a self-produced artist. I’ve also done product reviews for the magazine, as well as Do-It-Yourself articles on building useful studio gear. For example, I created the Phase Flogger, which puts audio beyond the edges of the speakers yet is fully mono-compatible. If you can solder, you can build one.
RS: What led you to do an entire book on guitar tone?
JB: Actually, Recording the Electric Guitar is more like a CD that comes with a book. Most of the good stuff is on the CD. The 97-page book provides additional information about guitars, amps, microphones, and has pictures of some of the multiple mic set-ups mentioned on the CD. It all came about when the editor and the publisher of Recording Magazine asked me to create something as a follow-up to their Playback Platinum Series of instructional material. I suggested Recording the Electric Guitar and they said they would publish it if I created it. That made it a fun project. I’ve been recording the electric guitar for over 20 years and I’ve learned what works for me. There really is more to it than just putting an SM-57 mic on an amp. This book is my opportunity to share what I have learned with the world.
RS: Who is the book intended for? Professional musician or home recordist?
JB: The original thinking was that the book would make great instructional material for students at the many schools that teach recording. It would also be a good “how-to” book for any kid that walks out of a music store with a guitar, an amp, and some kind of home studio set up. There’s a wide range of people with skills that range between professional and home recordist. My hope is that everyone gets something from this book.
RS: Is the book also applicable to the gigging guitarist?
JB: Yes. There’s a lot of information here, including how to keep your guitar from going out of tune. While the emphasis is on recording a great guitar sound in the studio, some of it can be used in a live setting. Just don’t tell the sound man to put six mics on your guitar amp!
RS: Tone is very subjective. What makes a great tone?
JB: Ah. That’s the question, isn’t it? It took me a full-length CD with over 130 audio examples to describe what goes into creating a great tone. Without being too philosophical here, I would like to say that it doesn’t matter how good a player you are–if your tone sucks then your recording sucks. On the other hand, even an average player can stimulate the endorphins of the listener if he can capture a great tone in his recordings. To answer your question directly, a great tone is one where the listener thinks to himself, “Wow! Listen to that!” It can be skinny or fat, mono or stereo, dry or heavily effected, but it must sound cool and fit the music.
RS: Who do you think of when it comes to a great or classic guitar tone?
JB: The most important thing about a guitar sound is that when people hear one note they should instantly recognize who it is they are listening to. Hendrix had a unique sound. Jimmie Page did it in Led Zeppelin. Santana is still doing it. Eric Johnson’s sound is instantly recognizable. B. B. King sounds like no one else. Those are just a few examples.
RS: How would you help an unsatisfied guitarist create their ultimate guitar tone?
JB: I would give him a copy of my book! All kidding aside, how you hit the strings with your pick, the guitar you play, the amp you play through, the mics you use to record and where you put them, and any outboard gear or effects you use, all contribute to the tone. As a producer, I would help the guitarist experiment with every link in the chain to find the perfect combination that fits the track being recorded.
RS: Do you prefer solid state/modeling amps or tube amps?
JB: That’s a good question. I like them both under the proper circumstances. For instance, I have gotten great results in the studio with just a Royer R-121 ribbon mic on a heavily distorted amp, or a BLUE Dragonfly mic on a clean Fender amp. I have also recorded gorgeous tracks using devices that emulate various guitar/amp combinations, such as my Roland VG-8EX. Vox makes a line of Valvetronics amps and effects devices that sound amazing in the studio.
RS: I was surprised to see a chapter on the Line 6 AX2 amp. Was that the first modeling amp?
JB: It was certainly one of the first. Nowadays it seems that every manufacturer has embraced some kind of modeling technology. Modeling guitar amps actually sound pretty good in the studio. Getting them to respond like a real amp in a live setting may be a little trickier. Most of these tube emulation amps rarely respond to volume dynamics like the real thing. Consider using them with a volume pedal.
RS: Talk about EQ'ing on the amp versus on the board.
JB: EQ is everywhere along the chain. Which guitar pickup you select is EQ. Guitars have a “tone” control, which is EQ. Guitar amps have bass, mid and treble controls, which is their EQ. There may also be a presence control or a bright switch. Even the length of your guitar cord affects EQ. The mic you select is another form of EQ. Where you place it influences EQ. The EQ on the console is of course, EQ. In mixdown, you’ve got even more console EQ if you need it. When I want to dial in the proper EQ for a recorded track, I start by choosing the right guitar, the best pickup (or pickup combination), and tweak all the EQ factors down the line to get the sound I want. Guitar amp manufacturers have learned over the years to give you tone controls that manipulate the sound of an electric guitar in pleasing ways. I prefer to get the sound I want out of the amp, instead of using console EQ. But the truth is that I use it all.
RS: When you record, do you prefer going direct or mic'ing? Do you have a favorite DI box?
JB: The only time I record guitar tracks direct is when I have a great sound coming from a box. It could be my Roland VG-8EX or perhaps a practice amp with line outs. For organic sounds, I use microphones. To my ears, sound moving through air sounds more natural than electrons coming from a computer chip. I do have a favorite DI box – two of them that I built years ago from a schematic I got from Jensen Transformers–but I only seem to use them on bass and keyboards.
