Quote:
Originally Posted by Blues4U
zplapplap,
I have often wondered if the change in tone we all seem to have noticed on players that have been around for a while is due, at least in part to their inevitable hearing loss they have after years of playing loud, live gigs?
You know, you don't generally lose your hearing totally across the sound spectrum. It seems that you lose the ability to hear certain frequencies. Maybe, just maybe, a player that to us, has an undesirable tone is actually trying to dial in good tone, or his classic tone he has had for years but what he hears and what we hear is different. Make sense?
I think this could explain why to us, Clapton's tone is just a little off. Maybe to him, it sounds like it always has. Maybe he doesn't hear the low frequency as good so he dials it in to where he hears what he wants. Maybe he can still hear the highs or the lack of being able to hear the lows makes him compensate by dialing the highs down a bit and the lows up a bit. Does this makes sense?
Just a thought.
Here's Clapton sounding good on a Strat and is tone isn't all the far off from where he is today. Just a little more spank and little more crispness. Beck sounds great in this clip, as always.
This clip is for gmacdonald. Check this out.
YouTube - Eric Clapton & Jeff Beck together on stage |
Yeah. As I've read about the permanent hearing loss that many of these guys are dealing with, it makes me wonder what they are really hearing and how frustrating it must be. As I understand it, the people back then simply did not know what the effects of the high stage volumes would be. Clapton, Townshend, and others were pioneers in this regard. I thought that the higher frequencies would be the first to go once the tinnitus sets in. Beyond that, I don't know much about the more severe cases of hearing loss. Perhaps it is safe to say that Clapton is not hearing what we are hearing. It's hard to say how much of his tone is personal preference and how much of it is skewed by his hearing.
The great thing, of course, is that he can still play. I bounced back from addiction and has made a difference in helping others...all while helping to keep the blues alive. Good stuff.
