What makes a guitar play good music in perfect tones? Is it purely based on the skills and judgment of the player, or do factors outside the guitarist’s innate talent play a role as well? As a matter of fact, yes. Factors like your guitar’s shape, its string arrangement, and sometimes even the very pick that you use can have both positive and negative effects on tone.
Body
The main thing that affects tone, of course, is the instrument’s body. For example, an acoustic guitar’s sound hole helps in amplifying the strings’ vibrations against the wood, thereby producing a full, clean, and lovely sound. The guitar’s bouts (the wide parts above and below the waist) also helps emphasize the instrument’s lower and upper tone.
String
When it comes to guitar strings, tension is the major factor influencing the tone. This is the main purpose for the tuning heads after all. Tightening one, for instance, gives more tension to a particular string, allowing it to let out a higher tone. Shortening or pressing on the strings also changes the tone in various ways.
Pick
Whether you realize it or not, the pick that you use can also affect tone. The differences in size, thickness, shape and even materials used can either make your strumming churn out deeper or lighter tones.
V-Picks 