The Psychology Of Tone Premier Guitar

Emily Johnson

-Mar 12, 2026, 12:31 PM

Most people think of samplers as drum machines with delusions of grandeur—four-bar loops, predictable patterns, and neatly sliced bits living forever in the prison of the grid. But for me, samplers and loopers are something completely different. They’re instruments of disruption. They’re creative accelerants. They’re circuit breakers designed to shock me out of my comfort zone and force my compositions, productions, and performances into strange, exhilarating new shapes. There is an element of time travel in opening up an amp to find original circuitry from decades prior.

As an amp repair technician, there are few things better than finding that circuit untouched. And that feeling is enhanced when the amp has sentimental value. Our columnist with his preset designs for KIT Plugins’ BB A5 and BB N105. In the modern DAW world, every plugin comes with a buffet of presets promising instant results: “Vocal Gold.” “Drum Bus Glue.” “Radio-Ready Mix.” The implication is that these settings are the magic sauce separating... Just load the preset, and you’re done. Right?

A well-loved Tele and a trusty black-panel Vibrolux Reverb. Psychology of Tone (image c/o Premier Guitar) Hands down one of my favorite articles from Premier Guitar. This gem was written in 2010 by Johnson Cummins (hold your laughter, kids) and contains some thought provoking ideas. He presents some very valid points regarding the eternal quest for the quintessential guitar tone, the euphoria of finding it, and then hearing another “it” tone. So the cycle continues….

Check out Cummings’ current work here The Psychology of Tone – Premier Guitar — Read on www.premierguitar.com/amp/the-psychology-of-tone-2651075026 Posted by mitchbell on January 30, 2023 in acoustic Δ /* <![CDATA[ */ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); /* ]]> */ Click to view the artists schedule on the show. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Most people think of samplers as drum machines with delusions of grandeur—four-bar loops, predictable patterns, and neatly sliced bits living forever in the prison of the grid. But for me, samplers and loopers are something completely different. They’re instruments of disruption. They’re creative accelerants. They’re circuit breakers designed to shock me out of my comfort zone and force my compositions, productions, and performances into strange, exhilarating new shapes. Our columnist with his preset designs for KIT Plugins’ BB A5 and BB N105.

In the modern DAW world, every plugin comes with a buffet of presets promising instant results: “Vocal Gold.” “Drum Bus Glue.” “Radio-Ready Mix.” The implication is that these settings are the magic sauce separating... Just load the preset, and you’re done. Right? A well-loved Tele and a trusty black-panel Vibrolux Reverb. In this column, I’d like to focus on one of the fundamental guitar tones, the sound of a Fender Telecaster plugged into a vintage Fender amplifier. I’m most interested in the sound of a Telecaster’s bridge pickup and the bridge/middle position.

For me, these are immediately recognizable. I like how the relatively hot-wound pickups and the metal bridge construction make single notes sound strong and stingy while chords and licks involving multiple strings are “creamy” and saturated. Welcome to the evolution of Premier Guitar. You are now reading the very first installment of a guitar publication that is dedicated to cutting through the crap and discovering better tone. Just as our new tagline implies, the journey and the pursuit of tone are relentless. We all know that, but what many of us don’t know is how to get it and where to find it.

Can we provide you with all the answers to unlocking the holy grail of tone? Probably not. Can Premier Guitar be the Cadillac of tour guides for the pursuit? Damn straight we can! How are we going to do it? Allow me to explain.

Your tone is achieved through a two-fold process. The starting point is in your hands. Premier Guitar will assist you in evolving as a better player, utilizing more creative tone-sensitive techniques, introducing you to fundamental and challenging interactive learning tools that will extend far above and beyond our print... The Premier Guitar “Education Center” will expand your horizons through a series of lessons and instructional columns from the industry’s most respected players. Where else can you learn first-hand from tone masters like Peter Stroud, Johnny Hiland, Toshi Iseda, Jeff Beasley, Denis Taaffe, Jeff Scheetz, and many others? And soon, our education center will be supported by an entire host of interactive multimedia tools, exclusively available at premierguitar.com.

These services include cutting edge interactive industry video, audio tone chambers that are the real deal, interactive discussion forums for “your” views on tone and a place to post your original music and interact... More than a website, premierguitar.com will be a community, a community of obsessed deranged tone freaks, just like you and me. The second stage of achieving better tone is to be kept informed on the gear that can help get you there. We’re talking about the latest and greatest higher-end luthiers, amp and pedal builders, and high-end accessories that will motivate and inspire you to tone up and throw down. No other publication will introduce you to more hip gear to improve your tone than Premier Guitar. There’s also Gear Search, for discriminating gearheads only, with over 10,000 of the finest guitars, amps, pedals, parts and accessories from nearly 150 of the world’s top dealers and retailers.

You’re sure to find gear that will keep your tone quest going. Premier Guitar is also honored to be the Presenting Sponsors again this year to the world’s largest guitar celebration: the 30th Annual Dallas International Guitar Festival, April 20-22, at Dallas Market Hall. It’s a celebration, Texas-style, and boy do we have a premier plan for the worlds oldest and largest guitar show. Check it out at guitarshow.com. 2007 will bring an expanded forum of the industry’s most comprehensive product reviews, technical columns, investment advice, builder profiles and up to date industry news and information. There will be plenty of web exclusives to get you far beyond your wildest tone ambitions.

As part of our expanding multimedia services, as well as our continued support and commitment to industry events, Premier Guitar shows will showcase a fully expanded community of industry shows, events and festivals. Stay tuned. In closing, we truly appreciate your continued support as we raise the bar from Musicians Hotline to Premier Guitar. It really is all about tone, the relentless pursuit of tone. Cheers… Nuff sed Canadian boutique builder Deslongchamps Guitars has unveiled their latest electric guitar model: The Puffin.

The Lamb of God shred king sits down to discuss making LoG's 10th album, Into Oblivion, designing his new signature Gibson Les Paul, and writing his memoir, Desolation. He offers three hot takes on guitar culture. Cort Guitars announces the new Gold-MC6 Ovangkol, an all-solid Modern Concert acoustic guitar designed for players seeking seasoned tone, premium craftsmanship, and stage-ready performance. Available worldwide through local retailers and online, the Gold-MC6 is built to deliver responsive, expressive sound from day one through its torrefied top, carefully selected tonewoods, and professional electronics, all crafted with precision detail. Lollar Pickups has introduced the new Monolith humbucker model, a higher-output pickup designed for guitarists who play both modern and extreme styles of music. What does a banana with a humbucker wedged into it really prove about guitar sound?

Blue Öyster Cult’s 1972 debut album—home of the original version of “Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll.” Editorial director Ted Drozdowski is an award-winning journalist and music historian, and a musician, songwriter, producer, and film consultant. He’s a maniac for slide and psychedelic guitar, and has toured and taught workshops internationally. Ted is also the proprietor of Coyote Motel, his psych-roots band, who star in the film The River: A Songwriter’s Stories of the South. Connect with him at ted@premierguitar.com. I recently asked Alexa, the device I pay to spy on me in my home, to play “Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll,” by Blue Öyster Cult.

I hadn’t heard the song in ages, but the opening riff sounded so damned rock that my immediate reaction was “That’s exactly how a Marshall should sound!” Then, the algorithm kicked out “Sweet Child... Later that day, I pulled out the Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton album, and, indeed, E.C.’s combo sounds exactly how a Marshall should sound. So does Anthony Pirog’s amp on The Messthetics and Five Times Surprise. And since the latter is a Mahavishnu Orchestra tribute, I dropped the needle on Mahavishnu’s live Between Nothingness & Eternity and, well, you know, John McLaughlin’s amp sounds exactly like a Marshall should sound. As you know, all those players sound remarkably different, as well as remarkable. Which got me thinking about the magical loop we call tone.

There is a lot of discussion about how tone is created, and what its essential elements are. But the most important component of tone is our brain. It’s where our concept of good tone is built and nurtured, and where tones that we create or simply hear return for assessment when they are received by our ears. What’s “good” is defined by our cranial concept of good, and so for some an ideal sound is a guitar with its tone dial rolled back, plugged into a dirty Marshall. For others, like, say, Nile Rodgers, it’s a Strat with a clean Hot Rod DeVille. I believe that at one time or another, each and every one of us experiences moments of divine tone intervention— occurrences that inspire us and forever shape our concept of tone.

It can be a power chord, a passing riff, or some type of hook that sucks you into the twilight zone, kicks your ass and spits you back out—something you hear on the radio... Who knows, perhaps even in an elevator somewhere after a visit to the dentist, while you drool helplessly on the person standing next to you. Regardless, you can undoubtedly recall when and where these fortuitous moments happen to you. Such occasions become turning points along the path of your relentless pursuit of tone, as cherished as memories of your first time crawling into the back seat at the drive-in when you were 16. I can certainly recall my own moments, so I thought I would share them with you. Here are my top five pinnacle moments of divine tone discovery: 1.

The Psychology Of Tone Premier Guitar

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