Answers to how great guitar legends from Django to Benson get there tone.

People often wonder how great guitar legends get their tone. Many of us have tried to duplicate our favorite guitarist but never seem to nail it. Here are some very noteable guitarists that I get questions about all the time. Perhaps this information will get you closer to the tone you want to attain.

George Benson is considered a guitarist’s guitarist. This great artist is famous for playing his single cutaway, smaller sized hollow-body with a thicker top (reducing feedback), which is equipped with floating pickups. In addition, Benson uses a dense, very hard ebony bridge that produces a pure, bright jazz tone with increased presence.

John Scofield is considered to be a modern American jazz icon. His fearless ability to perform bop, fusion, rock, funk and blues is truly amazing. Scofield plays a hollow body guitar fitted with humbuckers from Japan. His pickups are under wound (less winds), which produces a warm tone that is perfect for him to play many genres.

Trey Anastasio is the huge presence behind the band Phish. Trey’s tone is anchored by his custom Languedoc guitar, which resembles a Fender Starcaster and built by his own guitar tech. His pickup of choice is a humbucker plugged into a Fender Deluxe Reverb amp, with a ton of modifications. Trey also incorporates a Ross Compressor coupled with his Ibanez TS-4 tube screamer. The result: a guitar tone many wish to emulate but just find it hard to do so.

Robert Cray is known for his superb blues technique.  Cray uses Fender pickups that are a bit hotter than a standard strat that is plugged into his 1964 silver Fender Stratocaster. Cray’s main amp is now a Matchless Clubman 35, while he also uses a Fender Super Reverb and a Fender Vibro King. Cray also uses thick 11 gauge strings. The combination of a great Fender hard tail body, hotter pickups, and heavier strings are what makes his famous sound.

B.B. King is one of a kind in the guitar world. His unique tone comes from his Gibson – Lucille – fitted with Gibson humbuckers. Another aspect to King’s guitar style is his vibrato and the way he mixes phrases and sprinkles in weird and amazing bends. In addition, his amp is set low so his reverb is at 2 and the treble cranked up at 8. His tone is classic and very simple.

Django Reinhardt is one of the first prominent European jazz musicians and Django remains one of the most renowned jazz guitarists today. The guitars used by Django, the Selmer Maccaferri, are the first commercially available guitars with a cutaway. The Selmer guitar used by Mr. Reinhardt was equipped with an aluminum-reinforced neck. Many luthiers consider them to among the finest guitars ever made. Thus, the Django tone was born.

George Thorogood’s good time, growling badass slide tone, and rowdy stage antics has made his music a signature among the American rock scene. Thorogood’s tone comes from a fully hollow body Gibson ES-125 fitted with P-90’s and plugged into a Fender Dual Showman. Thorogood is also known for using a Mesa Boogie on occasion.

Prince is the one of the most under-rated guitar players in the world. Princes’ unique tone comes from his famous Hohner Telecaster attached to a boatload of pedals. His synthesizer sound, which came before guitar synthesizers existed, is produced through an octaver, hooked up to two flangers and sent through an amp. The result is Princes’ famous tone, which is a wavy, never decaying tone that crackles as he bends every note.

Now that you know the guitar, pickups and amp used by  several  guitar legends, go out and try your hand at mastering the tone you wish to emulate.