Guitar Sound
From Music Maker Guitar Lessons

Guitar Sound

Guitar Plectrums or Picks

1. Want a bright sound for rhythm guitar play use a thin pick.
2. Want a deep, warm sound use a thick pick.
3. Want to play lead guitar, use a thicker plectrum (1.5 or 2 millimeters).

Guitar Strings

1. Want to play Jazz try size 12, 13, 14's with a heavy pick & tone down tone controls.
2. Want to play Rock, try 12's medium or heavy pick.
3. Want to play Blues, 10, 11's, medium to thick pick.
4. Want to play lead guitar, use a thicker plectrum (1.5 or 2 millimeters)
5. General rhythm styles use thin to medium pick - something with a grip is good.
   

Guitar Amplifiers

1. Want to play Jazz try a combo amp, tone down tone controls, little reverb, electro acoustic guitar.
2. Want to play Rock, try tube stack, Gibson Les Paul,  medium or heavy pick, overdrive, distortion, delay & reverb.
3. Want to play Blues, Fender Strat, open back combo amp, reverb.
4. Want to play Country, use a Fender Telecaster, Combo amp
5. Want to play Funk, use warm amp, Fender Guitar, out of phase setting, either no plectrum (fingers) or thin plectrum, play 16ths or semi-quavers

Guitar Scales

1. For a Jazz sound, select a Scale that has a Major 7th note in it. Such as Ionian Mode, Lydian Mode, Harmonic Minor Ascending or Melodic (jazz) Minor Scale Ascending.
2. For a Rock sound, play Power Chords (5th's) With the Major or Minor Pentatonic Scales, Aeolian Mode, that way you can play with Major or Minor Scales.
3. For a Blues sound, play any Scale with a flat 7th such as the Dorian Mode, Aeolian Mode, Mixolydian Mode.
4. For Heavy Metal try the Phrygian Mode, fantastic sound using the flat 5th.
5. For a Spanish sound, play the Phrygian Mode.
6. For an exotic sound, play the Harmonic Minor, with the dominant 7th chord, so in C Harmonic Minor you could play a G7.
7. For a Reggae sound, play the Lydian Mode.
8. For a Country sound play, the Major Pentatonic, Ionian Mode, Lydian Mode, or Mixolydian Mode.
9. To create Tension or a dark sound, use the Phrygian Mode with a pedal tone (root note played continuously) so in E Phrygian Mode, you play G Maj to F Maj chords along with an E pedal tone, check it out for yourself!
10.  To stir people's emotions often to tears, use the Aeolian Mode, so take the A Aeolian Mode & play G Maj to F Maj with an A pedal tone.
11. To create jubilation or make a joyful sound use, any Scale with a Major 3rd, like the Ionian Mode, Lydian Mode, Mixolydian Mode or the Pentatonic Major Scale