Excuse my ignorance, but what is "quack", "twang" and all those odd names to describe guitar sounds..

[Fiddy]

I seriously don't have a clue...

Maybe it's because im a bedroom musician, but really, no one has ever said to me, damn that's some tasty quack you got there.

Or maybe I just need to get out more..

[Telliot]

My answer might fall into the category of, well, yeah...duh!, but I think of 'quack' as those in-between positions where you combine pickups, particularly the 2 and 4 positions on a Strat (think Sultans of Swing lead tone). As far as 'twang,' I think it's harder to define but generally think of it as the bridge tone on a Tele, especially when it's played in a country style. (Since that pickup was originally used for the Fender pedal steel guitars I think it has maintained that association.) In my head, 'twang' also seems synonymous with 'spank,' but maybe I'm wrong about that.

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

I agree with twang ~ spank... depending on the context. To me it‘s a sparkly defined clean tone (often combined with Spring Reverb). But as I don‘t like country - it‘s more Surf for me!
Maybe a little Italo Western (which turned dirty/fuzzy along its way of the dollar trilogy).

I add a question: what is creamy to you?

[Telliot]

To me 'creamy' is a darker tone, like a vintage Gibson humbucker tone.

[windmill]

You will know it when you hear it.

(an entry in the most unhelpful response for 2022 competition)

Have you tried a youtube quest for an answer ?

Twang is the sound of lead line s being played on a telecaster in countryish songs.

The quack is quick strum on a stratocaster in positions 2 ond 4 compared to the other pick up combinations.

or just ask this bloke



Duane Eddy - The Twangs the Thang

HTH

[Maggieo]

To me 'creamy' is a darker tone, like a vintage Gibson humbucker tone.

Lots of midrange, treble rolled off a bit, plenty of amp compression.

[Telliot]

To me 'creamy' is a darker tone, like a vintage Gibson humbucker tone.

Lots of midrange, treble rolled off a bit, plenty of amp compression.

Right. To my ears, Bowie-era Mick Ronson epitomized ’creamy’ tone.

[fuzzjunkie]

Twang for me is a quick attack, with a tight bottom end and some chime or sparkle on the top end. As mentioned above, the typical Tele bridge tone. Spank for me is the same, but with the treble rolled off a bit. It has to have the tight bottom though. Too much flub or thickness and it doesn’t twang.

Creamy has a little more sag in the attack, more bass and less treble. This thicker sounding tone is typical of a humbucker with the treble rolled down, but a Strat neck (and probably a JM) with the right amount of overdrive can sound creamy too. You need some sustain to be Creamy. Woman Tone is extreme Cream (sic).

Quack is the in between tones on a Strat. I would say it is a scooped mids tone. Say the word “Quack” and the Q and K sound the strongest, while the middle less so, like it’s scooped out. Just like the tone.

Glassy is one I don’t quite get. It’s usually a description
of a Strat tone, and I have no Strats. I think it’s usually describing the neck pickup though, so Creamy, but less thick, and don’t roll off the treble, but you’re not in Chime or Sparkle territory?

[Maggieo]

Twang should sound like a wire hitting some wood.

[Telliot]

Twang should sound like a wire hitting some wood.

True! I think a lot of times twang comes from how the string is plucked, not just the pickup or settings. Like, if I get the flesh of my finger under the string, pull it away from the guitar, and let it smack back into the guitar, that gives me a twangy/spanky sound.

[Fiddy]

"Quack" is a weird one for me, im fully expecting Donald Duck like sounds when I hear the word.

Twang should sound like a wire hitting some wood.

True! I think a lot of times twang comes from how the string is plucked, not just the pickup or settings. Like, if I get the flesh of my finger under the string, pull it away from the guitar, and let it smack back into the guitar, that gives me a twangy/spanky sound.

Ok, now i get "Twang".

[seenoevil II]

The following are real words I've used to describe tone:

It's like the sun swept crystalline planes of a frozen ice world. Glassy, ringing, clean to the maximum...Jazzmasters are like powdery gumdrops landing in confectioners sugar. My staple P90's are like being beat in the face with a velvet mallet. [/url]

[Fiddy]

Thick I'd expect it to be some sort of Overdrive + Phaser but maybe not..

[HedonismBot]

What does a Mustang sound like then? It is hmm... darker than a Jag (which, in it’s turn, is chimey and sparkly, I suppose?) but it lacks sustain, therefore, it can’t be described as “creamy”.

[JSett]

The 'creamy' thing has always made me laugh - unless it's directly related to the sound of the guitars in Cream recordings then it's an utterly ridiculous adjective.

Quack and Twang could basically be taken simply as onomatopoeias and thus pretty easy to understand.