How does Dave get that unique sound on his guitar?

[Trippin Hillbilly]

i think the tab book refers to his Martin HD-28 and Lakewood as a back-up, but maybe i was wrong...

In '95, I believe Dave was using the lakewood as his main guitar for D&T shows.

[mlb1399]

Yeah, if you look at the back of the tab book it shows Dave and Tim together and you can clearly see that Dave's guitar says Lakeland.

[Trippin Hillbilly]

Yeah, if you look at the back of the tab book it shows Dave and Tim together and you can clearly see that Dave's guitar says Lakeland.

Don't know about Lakeland...but definately Lakewood

[taylordb]

It is his technique not his guitar that gives his sound, believe me. I have a DM3MD and I do not sound like Dave Matthews when I play.

[Trippin Hillbilly]

It is his technique not his guitar that gives his sound, believe me. I have a DM3MD and I do not sound like Dave Matthews when I play.

It's all about the mute.

[takeit]

his tech + DI + taylor + matchless amp = dave's sound. especially the DI. imo

[mangold]

It is his technique not his guitar that gives his sound, believe me. I have a DM3MD and I do not sound like Dave Matthews when I play.

than give me your fucking dm3md hah

[charliemike]

i was wonderin if it was just the way taylor guitars sound or effects that are being used????

He get's it because he's dave fucking matthews, noone can play like dave, he's the freaking shiznet! you give him a guitar and it's like wham bam thank you mam! instant orgasm to your ears!

Uhh, actually if you saw that vid where Dave showed up and played Jason Mraz's Taylor (which was out of fucking tune like a sonofabitch) you'd see that having a great sound guy makes a HUGE difference

That being said, Dave does rock

[jbilly]

the guitar dave plays for a full band doesn't matter because of the preamps he runs through. the martin he plays on listener supported sounds better than that taylor shit he plays.

[6_strings_for_life]

tone is all in your fingers...

[T714]

It is his technique not his guitar that gives his sound, believe me. I have a DM3MD and I do not sound like Dave Matthews when I play.

It's all about the mute.

You are correct. Dave tends to use (and abuse) the slight right-hand palm mute...and those are what bring out the sudden nuisances of the guitar....EVEN WHEN STRUMMING...how weird is that?

But hey, that's his style, that's his sound. I own a DM3MD as well, and damn thing sounds everybit to exact as his sound when playing along with the LS DVD/CD etc.

That's the cool part of the owning the DM3MD...you say to your self, "Shit, that sounds exactly like it!!!!"

[J_Clark]

I think the "dave sound" is more to do with his rythmic tecnique than anything else. I think just about any decent small bodied guitar with a nice set of strings: EXP's or Elixer's will do. I think it has more to do with how he plays chords a little differently with only three strings ringing and the others being muted. If you don't know what im talking about, check out the playing lessons on the main site.

Indeed, his right hand is very powerfull... For me, it was the most difficult issue to catch his style.

Further, Dave uses Taylor with the band (or the Chet Atkins) because the sound is more brilliant: it's easier to cut through the band, which has a lot of different sounds.

Personally, I really like the acoustic sound of Luther College, where he plays the most perfect acoustic sound with is Martin and no effects on it...

Yep, Luther is my favorite CD. But I was thinking he played a Lakewood during it? Maybe im wrong, I just remember hearing that...

[Taylor614]

Yeah you're right, he uses a Lakewood M-32 guitar.

[firedancer86]

tone is all in your fingers...

tone is in your technique, unless you are plugged in, then electronics come into play...simple eq work can make a good guitarist's "tone" sound bad while the playing still sounds good and vice versa