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Topic: Guitar color affects the way you play? |
Roger Crawford
From:
Griffin, GA USA
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Posted 27 Dec 2021 7:12 am |
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In reading a story about golfers who use different color markings on their golf balls in order to change their playing attitude for a given day, it made me wonder if guitar color could affect the way we play. Here’s a color chart with the emotion the different colors bring into play. Could this have any merit?
https://golf.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/color-chart.jpg |
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Terry Winter
From:
Saskatchewan, Canada
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Posted 27 Dec 2021 7:24 am
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| I've thought about this a lot over the years. Even more than what a color indicates I believe if you are really comfortable with how your guitar looks you play with more feeling and your comfort zone is so important. |
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Larry Carlson
From:
My Computer
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Posted 27 Dec 2021 7:25 am
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All I've read in here is that black guitars always sound better.
I don't have any black guitars so I'm using that as an excuse.
_________________
I have stuff.
I try to make music with it.
Sometimes it works.
Sometimes it doesn't.
But I keep on trying. |
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Rich Peterson
From:
Moorhead, MN
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Posted 27 Dec 2021 8:01 am
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| Larry Carlson wrote: |
All I've read in here is that black guitars always sound better.
I don't have any black guitars so I'm using that as an excuse. |
Black shows fingerprints, so black steels get polished more often. The rubbing energizes the wood, making the guitar more resonant. Maybe. |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 27 Dec 2021 8:02 am
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Yes, I believe it does have an effect on me. That's one of the reasons I hate those fake wood mica panels. Too busy and distracting for me. I don't like the way they look and I think that's in my subconscious.
Really bright colors like yellow or chartreuse, pink and pastels the same.
Having said that, I once vinyl covered a rosewood mica guitar in solid orange which is one of my favorites. It gave me a whole different attitude about the guitar because it was pleasing to me.
Please, no chintzy gold hardware or anodized parts either.
Really ornately inlaid lacquer guitars are equally distracting to me for playing although I do love looking at other's beautiful axes. The thought of a dropped bar, a stage accident etc. make me uncomfortable with thoughts of protecting it.
Really any subdued solid primary color in good repair that plays and sounds good is all I need.
I'm not concerned about the audience's perception or distraction. Except in situations like where Brooks and Dunn wanted the steel to match the set design, those decisions should be the musician's.
Last edited by Jerry Overstreet on 27 Dec 2021 8:09 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Jeremy Reeves
From:
Chatham, IL, USA
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Posted 27 Dec 2021 8:03 am
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| everything affects everything |
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Jim Cooley
From:
The 'Ville, Texas, USA
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Posted 27 Dec 2021 8:05 am
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| "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical." -Yogi Berra- |
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Dave Hopping
From:
Aurora, Colorado
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Posted 27 Dec 2021 9:10 am
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Hmmm...
A little bling is kinda nice; otherwise Nudie suits wouldn't be a thing.
But it also seems to me that visuals are the lead singer/bandleader's thing, good sound is ours as sidemen and too much bling distracts.
That's why I didn't have Del do my RP in gold metalfleck. It's also why the White Falcon and Shell Pink AVRI Jaguar don't go out on double-duty gigs.  |
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Jim Arnold
From:
Texas USA
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Posted 27 Dec 2021 11:54 am Not very pretty
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| My 1975 Sho~Bud SD10 is not pretty by any stretch of the imagination.But anyone who's played it, including Ricky Davis, will attest to the fact, it's one of the best sounding Sho~Buds ever. It does not distract from anyone else in a band. I will never refinish the body. I think it adds to its unbelievable tone. |
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Foster Haney
From:
Ojai, CA
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Posted 27 Dec 2021 12:39 pm
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Colors are widely known to effect your mood. It’s all in what you see. I’ve heard about a dish that is a white soup with a white bowl served on a white table and a specially made white cloth that goes over your hear while you eat. I’ve heard it’s not uncommon for people to faint while experiencing this dish.
Maybe a good idea to buy a suit that matches your steel.. 🤔
Then again. Nothing beats practicing.
_________________
1975 MSA Classic, AA1164 Princeton clone, Quilter Tone Block 202, Custom Warmoth Jazzmaster, two Kazou Yairi Alvarez Acoustics from the 80's, Acme Low B2 bass cab. |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 27 Dec 2021 12:50 pm
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In my opinion if guitar color actually has an effect on how you play, either for good or for bad, you might want to visit the woodshed on a more regular basis....
_________________
I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 27 Dec 2021 2:35 pm
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Um ... I am not focusing on the color of my guitar when I play. I have everything from really beat up guitars to really flashy guitars, but once I'm going, it's about sound and playability to me.
I won't say that working with flashy instruments, clothes, or other conspicuous stuff is completely unrelated to what I play. If it's a flashy gig where stylin' is profilin' and I specifically pick the equipment for that situation, I may well play in a more flashy way. But I think that has more to do with the situation, not the equipment. The question is, "Which is cause, and which is effect?" |
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Bill Cunningham
From:
Atlanta, Ga. USA
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Posted 27 Dec 2021 8:38 pm
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Roger,
I never have liked bright colored guitars. They always seem to be looking back at me, in a bad way. Seriously!
Having said that, I have adjusted to the red Mullen G2 because I am partial to its tone compared to my gray and black guitar that sounds really good to. But red has the edge!!
BC
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Bill Cunningham
Atlanta, GA |
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David Farrell
From:
San Diego, California, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2021 7:14 pm
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When it comes to colors, I prefer light colors if your going to be in the sun. Darker colors will get hotter in the sun & the guitar will expand/contract, going out of tune.
Other than that, I just like colors in general.
_________________
Dave
Fender pedal steels, amps & guitars. '73 Sho~Bud PRO 1 CUSTOM. Emmons ReSound'65 S-10 4x5. |
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Jeff Neal
From:
Johnson City Tennessee, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2021 7:34 pm Color
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| The only color problem I have with a steel guitar is a white fretboard. Talk about distracting. |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 29 Dec 2021 2:13 am
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Car colour affects the way you drive, according to psychologists.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 29 Dec 2021 3:22 am
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| Ian Rae wrote: |
| Car colour affects the way you drive, according to psychologists. |
What psychologists? Is this a formal study? What was their methodology? Questions, questions. I read a lot of 'research studies' where someone finds a correlation and assumes there is a specific cause and specific effect. They may even (and probably do, at least in their head) have a theory that explains why they think it should be true. But that may just be overt or subtle confirmation bias.
I wouldn't be surprised if there is a correlation between car (guitar) color and the way someone drives (plays). But again, the relevant question is which is cause and which is effect. Does car (guitar) color really affect, real-time, the way someone drives (plays), or is the real issue that people who drive (play) a particular way tend, on average, to choose particular colors? |
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Jim Pitman
From:
Waterbury Ctr. VT 05677 USA
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Posted 29 Dec 2021 3:56 am
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| I'm with Bob Carlucci on this one. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 29 Dec 2021 8:26 am
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Guitar color affects the way you play?
Say whaaat?!  I'm with Bob and Jim on this one too. 
I don't think I can recall any top-tier player discuss this. (Must not be very important?) |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Jameson Koweek
From:
Tucson, Arizona, USA
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Posted 29 Dec 2021 10:45 am
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| I will say that as a beginner, color is a consideration for me as a matter of managing expectation. I wouldn’t want people to see a very flashy guitar on stage and think ‘man this guy must be a flashy player’ only to have me then sit behind it with my rudimentary abilities. |
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Johnie King
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 29 Dec 2021 11:08 am
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 29 Dec 2021 2:23 pm
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| Dave Mudgett wrote: |
| What psychologists? Is this a formal study? What was their methodology? |
Well, it was something I read in an actual book in the days before the internet when it was harder to disseminate nonsense. Exposure to different colours in a laboratory can modify such things as heartrate. Blue is a better colour for a bedroom than yellow.
Admittedly it works both ways and it's hard to say that a red car makes you drive more aggressively if you're already pushy with a predilection for red.
My maple guitar causes me to play with open sincerity. I'm more inscrutable on the black one. I have never owned a red car nor been involved in a serious accident, and I've never wanted a red steel.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Don Downes
From:
New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 29 Dec 2021 3:03 pm
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I prefer to stay away from discussions not germane to the original topic title. I believe that it is also against the "rules of etiquette" to engage in that behavior, but here I go. Ban be damned!
I completely agree with Ian Rae's statement regarding car color and driving behavior. Furthermore, I agree with his post in DEFENSE of his original post.
There is more than ample evidence to suggest that color affects mood and behavior. When I was in college in the 70s there were multiple studies done, and cited, in my AB PSYC textbook regarding color and behavior.
Moreover, it's his opinion. To call him out for his post is wrong. If you want science. studies, peer reviews and cites, I'm sure we can point you to the libraries where the books containing same are memorialized.
We are better than this, gentlemen.
_________________
"The secret to a long life is to keep breathing." |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 29 Dec 2021 3:36 pm
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| Quote: |
Moreover, it's his opinion. To call him out for his post is wrong. If you want science. studies, peer reviews and cites, I'm sure we can point you to the libraries where the books containing same are memorialized.
We are better than this, gentlemen. |
I think Ian knows that I'm not calling him out personally. He didn't specify any scientific literature, so the comment is sort of amorphous. I don't need a lecture on 'science'. My background is physical science, engineering, and mathematics, with a number of years of industrial experience and decades in academia. We're talking social science here, but I personally think some of the conclusions drawn in some peer-reviewed social science articles that I have personally read are specious. That is my opinion. I know I'm not alone on this - there was a big kerfluffle back in the 80s when Yale mathematician Serge Lang laid a lot of these concerns out.
Anyway - I just disagree that the color of your guitar, car, whatever, affects, in real time, the way most people play, drive, whatever. Note that I am specifically saying "color affects the way one plays" in the sense that "color" is the causative factor and "the way one plays" is the effect of that cause. I see lots of very specious reasoning about this kind of stuff - confusing correlation with cause/effect, and so on. Peer review is useful but is very far from infallible. I believe that this type of relationship is very hard to establish - especially in social sciences. Beyond that, the color of a guitar, which IMO most people are barely aware of as they play, and how it affects us, is quite different from the color of a room, sunshine vs. dreary day, and so on, which surround us and are difficult to avoid.
And my posts are absolutely germane to the topic, which is, "Does guitar color affect the way you play?". I guess I should have just agreed with Bob C. instead of explaining my reasoning. |
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