His playing is a story steeped heavily in blues influences and draws inpsiration from his hereos, Albert King, B.B. King and Otis Rush who all possessed a masterful vibrato technique. Only later did he begin incorporating the more progressive vocabulary of Hendrix into his playing technique – his roots were firmly in blues. By Bridge of Sighs, Trower had woven these inluences into a relaxed and soulful style based on deep, sustaining bends and fluid legato lines. His gear was a moving target, constantly being modified and tweaked to suit the nuances and feel in his evolving playing style. Many of the sounds heard on studio albums were the result of meticulous construction. Both Hendrix and Trower went through many interations of custom designed electronics to achieve their unique signature sounds as heard on studio albums to find the ‘right’ tonal balance that worked for them at the time. These guys had a voracious appetite for gear, continuously experimenting in their quest for a better vehicle for self-expression. For this reason, I’m convinced you can’t reduce someones tone to terms of the gear they use – there are too many other variables. Great tone is not an exact science, making it difficult, if not impossible to quantify a great players tone, design a circuit, put it a box and sell it. It doesn’t work like that. Put simply, let your ears and fingers tell you what gear works best for you.
