How to Get Great Guitar Tone: Jeff Beck’s Guitars

by Jeff McErlain

Let’s talk about one of my favorite players, Jeff Beck, and how he gets his tone via guitar selection. When we think of Jeff Beck we think of the Stratocaster. I wonder if Leo Fender could have imagined what he and (Hendrix for that matter) would have coaxed out of his masterpiece when he was designing an affordable instrument for the working musician. I doubt it! His use of the vibrato bar is most notable and original. I certainly believe that Steve Vai was influenced by Beck’s style of playing melodies with the bar. Listen to Goodbye Pork Pie Hat for a crash course in using the tone knob, volume knob, pickup selector, and vibrato bar for an amazing assortment of sounds. Watch the following video guitar lesson and performance example from my Kings of Tone course for more details:

Video Guitar Lesson:

Performance Example:

In my Kings of Tone course, I take you on an in-depth look at the styles, tones, amps, pedals, guitars, and setups of Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Billy Gibbons, Dickey Betts, Duane Allman, Angus Young, David Gilmour, Keith Richards, and Mark Knopfler. Learn more about Kings of Tone…