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Favorite guitar tones?


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Of course I know that we're gonna get a few folks listing:

Brian May (Queen), Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits), and Stevie Ray Vaughan. And I can dig it.

 

But, for my money, the greatest guitar tone ever is

Brinsley Schwarz

In particular, on the Brinsley Schwarz song "Dry Land" from the album Silver Pistol. So, so perfect.

 

And, props also to Nash Kato (Urge Overkill) for the raunchy rhythm guitar tone on "Sister Havanah".

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my favorite guitarists' tones:

my top 3 (i think anyway!):

jerry garcia - i can pick out his tone immediately. so lovely & crisp

j mascis - crunchy, loud, fuzzy. almost the exact opposite of jerry!

jimi hendrix - the master

 

others:

mark knopfler

jerry cantrell - not so much tone but overall style

johnny cash's rhythm guitar

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Obvious ones but:

 

Hendrix - Machine Gun

SRV - Texas Flood

David Gilmour - Comfortably Numb

Eric Johnson - Anything

Eddie Van Halen - First Album

 

There's plenty more.

 

Nash Kato - Nice one!

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Slash & Izzy on Appetite

SRV - Texas Flood

Duane Allman - anything

Gary Louris - HTH or TTGG

Billy Gibbons - Anything up to Eliminator

James Hetfield - Master of Puppets

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Brian May (Queen), Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits), and Stevie Ray Vaughan. And I can dig it.

 

Yes

 

David Gilmour - Comfortably Numb

 

BIG Yes

 

 

SRV - Texas Flood

Duane Allman - anything

 

Yes.

 

My favorites:

 

Joey Santiago - Any Pixies album

 

My all time favorite rhythm tone would be the guitar on Weezer's Blue album. It has such a huge/fat sound. I tried for years to match that sound. I later found out that they used a rare Mesa Boogie amp that isn't made anymore.

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My all time favorite rhythm tone would be the guitar on Weezer's Blue album. It has such a huge/fat sound. I tried for years to match that sound. I later found out that they used a rare Mesa Boogie amp that isn't made anymore.

 

Try picking up a Big Muff fuzz. You can get really big, fat, hairy sounds out of that thing! Thick, syrupy, and nasty. Almost like a breathing beast.

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George Harrison basically any time. John Lennon and Paul McCartney had some good tones working too. Also, Eric Clapton has some mean tone, the example I can think of is off of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"...that tone is epic and I love it. Also, Robbie Robertson has this unique tone that I dig.

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Try picking up a Big Muff fuzz. You can get really big, fat, hairy sounds out of that thing! Thick, syrupy, and nasty. Almost like a breathing beast.

 

Yes, I'm a huge fan of the Big Muff (giggity). I used to own one, but have no clue what happened to it.

 

I also really love the RAT pedal. I use it in both of my bands, never leaves the pedal board.

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Yes, I'm a huge fan of the Big Muff (giggity). I used to own one, but have no clue what happened to it.

 

I also really love the RAT pedal. I use it in both of my bands, never leaves the pedal board.

 

 

I lost my Big Muff in a flood. (Yeah, it always sounds funny when you talk about it.)

And I use a TurboRAT pedal, but only for leads and solos, because of all the gain. Such a beast.

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great topic-

 

Garcia-his clean, delayed, reverbed tone on songs like Row Jimmy and Sugaree

Stephen Stills-his early electric tone was so deep and sweet. his acoustic tone is with out comparison

Pat Metheny-his synth guitar sound kills me

Frisell-anything by him is classic frisellian tone!

Gilmour-when he rips into the solo on Dogs

Jay Farrar-when he played lead in UT it just rocked. don't know why he has another player in son volt now.

 

i could go on.

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I like a lot of the ones already mentioned: Hendrix, Neil, Gilmour...

 

a few others to add to the list:

 

Paul Westerberg - Eyes Like Sparks (the guitar sound on this is killer!)

B.B. King

Larry Carlton

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Garcia for many different reasons. His tone changed a bit throughout his career, too. His wah-wah phase was fun in the late 70s as was the slight distort of the late 60s. I actually liked the midi stuff he started doing in the 90s, too (some folks don't). Any way, his style was unique and the many tones he could conjour up was impressive and really made the tunes unique to those tones.

 

Other favorites:

 

Sonny Sharrock (technically fine-pointed yet free)

Pat Metheny (ethereal)

Jorma Kaukonen (dirty)

Kurt Kirkwood (Meat Puppets) (intergalactic)

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great topic-

 

Garcia-his clean, delayed, reverbed tone on songs like Row Jimmy and Sugaree

Stephen Stills-his early electric tone was so deep and sweet. his acoustic tone is with out comparison

Pat Metheny-his synth guitar sound kills me

Frisell-anything by him is classic frisellian tone!

Gilmour-when he rips into the solo on Dogs

Jay Farrar-when he played lead in UT it just rocked. don't know why he has another player in son volt now.

 

i could go on.

 

 

i love tom verlaine too, but his voice is just too much.

 

Garcia for many different reasons. His tone changed a bit throughout his career, too. His wah-wah phase was fun in the late 70s as was the slight distort of the late 60s. I actually liked the midi stuff he started doing in the 90s, too (some folks don't). Any way, his style was unique and the many tones he could conjour up was impressive and really made the tunes unique to those tones.

 

Other favorites:

 

Sonny Sharrock (technically fine-pointed yet free)

Pat Metheny (ethereal)

Jorma Kaukonen (dirty)

Kurt Kirkwood (Meat Puppets) (intergalactic)

 

 

near the end, garcia sounded almost acoustic (no pun intended). his tone from the late 80s to the end was the best in my opinion. he just plays scales and it is amazing. i also loved the midi...flute on birdsong was so great.

 

Trey's tone (and playing) on the studio Limb By Limb from Story of the Ghost is pretty great.

 

 

OMG yes!! i also love his octave pedal in the middle of some Phat Mike's jam!

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Hmmph...

 

I was gonna say I like the late 50's Stratocaster

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John McLaughlin on Miles Davis' Tribute to Jack Johnson (also, funkiest and most badass bass tone ever)

 

Ted Nugent's unaccompanied single note intro to the guitar solo in the Amboy Dukes' "Journey to the Center of the Mind"

 

Steve Howe

 

Steve Cropper

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Neil Young's Electric sound (mostly 70's rust never sleeps etc)

 

J Mascis- Love his tone it was crunchier early on but i really like where he has gone wiht it over the past 5 years too either way it is still J

 

David Gilmour- so good oh so good!

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