What’s in a Word?
“The Lonely Swede Lost in the Forest.” Think for a second about this phrase. What images does it conjure in your mind? I can feel the cool air in the dense green woods, the melancholy mood tinged with a touch of serenity. Would it surprise you to hear that this phrase is actually describing a guitar tone? Two of my favorite musicians, Steven Wilson and Mikael Akerfeldt, coined the phrase to describe a dark, jazzy, clean sound with a mono plate reverb that they often use. They took this tone from old Scandinavian records from the 70s, fitting in perfectly with the dynamic, chameleon-like progressive rock albums the two have produced. Coincidentally, it’s a tone that I particularly enjoy and often try to employ on my own band’s albums when I get the opportunity.
Since I’ve recently been in the studio, it got me thinking about the “Lonely Swede” sound. Perhaps more importantly, it also got me thinking about the interesting ways in which we describe sound. We tend to do this with adjectives that we use for our other senses. We may describe something as sounding “smooth” or “warm,” words that are typically associated with touch. More often, we use adjectives for something we might see, including the perennial favorites “bright” and “dark.” My personal favorites are when people use taste-related adjectives, like “savory,” “bland,” “delectable,” or even “juicy.” Part of our daily discourse here at Maple Street is communicating with customers who have some idea of the sound that they’re hearing in their heads but can’t quite put it into the proper words. So I figured I’d take some time to go over some terminology that I’ve come to use here at the store when describing a guitar’s tone. Perhaps some of this lingo will help you to nail down the perfect guitar sound for you!
I’ve found that there are three major categories of terminology that I use in describing the timbre (pronounced “tam-bur,” the technical term for “tone color”) of a particular guitar. The most common and basic is that of Equalization (or EQ). EQ refers to the presence of particular frequencies on the hearing spectrum. Humans begin their lives able to hear a range of frequencies from about 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz (or 20 kHz) and that number decreases as we age. The next thing that I often refer to is Compression, which refers to the dynamic range of a guitar. Lastly, but equally important, is the concept of harmonic overtones or lack thereof. Let’s take a look at each of these concepts in more depth.
The most common words that we hear at the store describing a guitar’s sound are “bright” and “warm.” Notice how these are coming from two different senses, sight and touch, but yet make perfect sense to us when it comes to sound. In essence, these two words are describing frequency response or the EQ (equalization) of specific frequencies in the most general way possible. Additionally, people’s perceptions of bright or warm tend to vary quite a bit! So I’ve found that being able to refer to different elements of the EQ spectrum can help in describing sound in greater detail. There are three main “bands” of frequencies that we focus on: Bass, Middle, and Treble. Bass consists of the lowest frequencies from about 60-250 Hz (Sub Bass referring to those barely audible sounds that you feel in your chest that are below 60 Hz). Midrange is likely the most complex as it includes tones that could be called muddy, vocal, or nasal. This is the frequency range where guitar tends to sit the most in a mix, competing with vocals, horns, etc. Mids pick up where the bass leaves off around 250 Hz and go up to about 3 or 4 kHz. Treble consists of the high frequencies above that and is typically where cymbals sit in the mix. The treble band is most active in a guitar’s overtones, though more on that topic later.
We can use what we know about EQ to describe the sound of a given guitar or even trends that may characterize a specific brand. For example, the warmth that so many of us associate with Martin guitars comes from a few elements. These guitars tend to have a very full and pronounced bass bias. The treble frequencies are less obvious, or “rolled off” as we’ll often say, and the midrange is particularly less present. If you’ve ever heard the phrase “Scooped Mids” this is exactly what we’re referring to. All of this yields a sound that most would characterize as “warm.” Conversely, Collings guitars are known for having a great balance of bass/mid/treble frequencies which can lead some folks who typically play Martins to perceive that sounds as being “bright.” In reality, Collings will have close to the same kind of bass content as a similar Martin but with fuller mids and treble. This balance, or lack thereof, is neither a pro nor a con. It all comes down to personal preference. Next time you pick up your guitar, pay extra attention to how each frequency range is represented!
Compression is often one of the toughest aspects to pick out when listening to an instrument. It’s more often something that one “feels” as it is directly related to the response of the guitar. Compression, or lack thereof, has to do with the dynamic range of the instrument. In its simplest terms, this is the scale of how quiet to how loud the guitar can be. If something is compressed, it will be louder with a softer touch but won’t project as much when played very hard. Spruce is typically known as a very dynamic (the opposite of compressed) top wood on acoustic guitars due to its harder nature. These guitars will typically have higher “headroom,” that is they have more range when playing hard before they hit their limit. This is something that Bluegrass players often look for as they usually find themselves in a situation where they aren’t using amplification and still need to be heard amongst louder instruments like banjos. Cedar, on the other hand, is a top wood that is much softer and yields more natural compression. This is why classical players tend to prefer guitars with Cedar tops as it will naturally even out the attack so that all of the notes will come through clearly. Next time you play a guitar, note how the guitar responds to the softest touch and then slowly play harder to hear the full range of the instrument until you’ve reached the point where the guitar has reached its limit. If you use thin picks, you’ll likely have to dig in way harder to reach that point as they offer a type of compression on their own!
The last piece of the puzzle is possibly the most interesting. Harmonic overtones are something that we hear all day, every day, yet most people have little understanding of the concept. With any sound (be it an instrument, voice, car horn, etc.), there is a fundamental frequency that exists. The A-string on a guitar, for example, when tuned “properly” emits a frequency of 110 Hz. In addition to this fundamental frequency, there are a series of overtones (and undertones, but that’s a topic that we’ll save for another time) which extend upwards through multiples of that fundamental frequency. So the first overtone would be double the fundamental, or 220 Hz, and would represent that same A pitch an octave higher. The next overtone would be triple, or 330 HZ, which would be an octave plus a fifth from the fundamental. Next would be 440 Hz or two octaves. I think by now you’re noticing a pattern. The presence of these overtones is part of what makes your speaking voice sound different from mine, or why a guitar sounds different from a saxophone or piano. Each of these sources has that same series of overtones but they are present in differing degrees. This relates a lot to the aforementioned EQ discussion but harmonic content is so much more than just that.
Sometimes, these harmonic overtones will ring out freely, almost independently from the fundamental. This is a phenomenon that many find desirable as it adds a lush layer to the guitar’s sound, like the instrument is playing itself. We notice this with guitars that feature harder tonewoods, such as Rosewood, and in the voicings of certain manufacturers like Lowden and Collings, both of which are well-known for making guitars that produce a beautiful range of harmonics. These overtones often add what feels like a built-in reverb to the sound such that notes sustain and bloom longer. Fingerstyle players generally prefer guitars that behave this way as they will fill out the sound more. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have guitars that are referred to as “dry.” This is not to be confused with guitars that have literally dried out from lack of humidity. Guitars with a dry voice have a very strong fundamental tone but with little to no harmonic content. This sound will have a quicker attack and decay to it, something we associate with a retro or vintage kind of sound. Dry guitars tend to suit players who use dense and complicated chord voicings to ensure that all of the notes come through clearly compared to the more “blended” sound that one might find from a Rosewood guitar. Guitars will typically start with a voice that includes more harmonic content that will “dry” out over time as they age and break in with play. This is part of why many players love the sound of vintage acoustics! So strum a couple of your guitars and listen to how the notes sustain and interact with each other. Do any notes leap out of your guitar in addition to the ones you’ve played? Is each string separate from the others? You may find out what kind of sounds your ears prefer!
Guitars are incredibly personal instruments and everyone’s tastes are unique. What you may be looking for out of a guitar will likely be different from what I’m looking for and different ones will fulfill different roles and purposes. Sometimes it’s tough to communicate what one is looking for in a guitar but hopefully some of these concepts will help the next time you find yourself in a store! Guitars are complicated and nuanced instruments and there’s more to their sound than just being “bright” or “warm.” Figuring out what aspects appeal most to you can only help when it comes to finding that perfect, lifelong friend.
Chris Capitanio, 2021
