When it comes to chasing tones from a guitar, most of us have been at it all our lives. Coaxing pleasing sounds from a musical instrument is hardly a modern obsession. Players have been experimenting with stringed instruments since ancient Greece and Mesopotamia—from the oud and lyre to the violin, cello, banjo, mandolin, ukulele and, ultimately, the guitar.

Tone freaks have been around forever.

Every serious guitarist eventually discovers that the pursuit is intensely personal. The guitar matters. The amplifier matters. Pickups, speakers, effects and the smallest details of a rig can matter. Ultimately, they serve the player—the touch, experience and musical intention that create a sound unmistakably your own.

Carlos Santana put it simply: “My tone is all I have. Your tone is your fingerprint and your personality.”

That idea has been at the heart of The ToneQuest Report® from the beginning.

A Better Way to Make the Quest

Finding your own sound can be complicated, time-consuming and expensive. Guitars must be played and understood. Amplifiers respond differently in different hands. Every component in the signal chain can alter the result. And buying equipment based primarily on advertising, specifications, reputation or someone else’s opinion rarely tells the entire story.

For more than 25 years, we have gone directly to players, builders, technicians, designers, engineers and craftsmen to learn not only what they use and build, but why—and what their hard-earned perspective can teach the rest of us.

Experience You Can Put to Work

Every issue brings those lessons to the serious guitarist.

We examine guitars through their design, construction, craftsmanship, feel and response; get inside amplifiers, pickups, speakers and effects to determine what makes an audible difference; and talk with musicians about the influences, techniques and equipment behind their individual sound. From the workshop to the studio to the stage, we pursue the decisions that determine how instruments are built, amplified, recorded and played.

Our mission is to put that experience to work for you—to help you make better choices about the instruments and gear you choose, deepen your relationship with the guitar, and turn what you learn into something you can hear and feel: SoundBetterPlayBetter®.

We are not here to tell you what your tone should be. We are here to help you discover it for yourself.

After all this time, the Quest has become no less fascinating or inspiring. There is always something new to explore, another surprise to unearth, another circuit, component or idea capable of changing what happens between your hands and the music.

It has been, and continues to be, our privilege to accompany you in that pursuit and share in the discoveries that make the journey so rewarding.

The ToneQuest Report® Editorial Advisory Board brings together respected technicians, product developers, manufacturers, engineers and musicians whose collective experience has helped establish the independent editorial foundation of the publication.

The Quest remains personal. ToneQuest provides the guide and the map. Where it leads is entirely your own.

Enjoy the journey. Quest Forth.