Who's got the greatest guitar tones on tape?

[dlmorley]

I'm so glad you mentioned Joyous Lake by Martino.
Totally weird almost crap sound that works wonderfully on that record. I love it!
As for the rest... YES!

[Kris]

Lowell George and Paul Barerre (Little Feat) Engineered by George Massenburg... Some of the sickest guitar tones ever...

[fcorl]

Agree with a lot of others choice's like John Frusciante, Hendrix, and Mark Knopfler


Also, how about Ty Tabor of King's X? Very modern, but always nice.

[EngineEars]

Great thread thumbsup

I hope no one takes offense to this (which is usually useless to say here,) but when focusing on guitar tones for recordings for some reason my attention turns to distorted rock. There are plenty of great pop, blues, soul, funk, jazz and other guitar recordings, but I feel the tones of those players are "generally" more tight casted to capturing the player, which is fine, I just don't walk away saying what a great guitar tone, which also is fine. For example Dan Huff, Luke, Leo Nocentelli, Prince, the Edge, even John Mayer are some of my favorite guitarist captured on tape, but the tone of the guitar was more a function of the recording as opposed to a stand out thing in of itself. I don't know if that makes any sense?

My list IMO are players that have awesome tone for main parts and solos on their recordings when paired with the right producer, engineer, mixer, etc.

My goto references are:

For that single coiled dirty Fender/Marshall on fire type sound I have a hard time picking one, but some of my faves are Hendrix, Eric Clapton, SRV and Jeff Beck.

Brain May for that on a shelf midrange Vox drive

AC/DC "Back In Black" and Weezer "The Blue Album" for classic crunchy Marshall

Smashing Pumpkins "Siamese Dream" for heavy fuzz (I know there was great fuzz before them, but they stacked it so much the wall left a serious impression on me.)

And for hi gain heavy Mesa Rec./Diezel it use to be Metallica "The Black Album" but Tool stole it with "10,000 Days."

[Slipperman]

Originally Posted by vin-gear

All old Judas Priest. Cool "chunky" Marshall's.

If memory serves me... the first 2(Rocka Rolla, Sad Wings) are Vox AC30's cranked to hell and back. Sure as heck sounds like it to my ears!

I think they started using the Marshall 4x12's more persistantly beginning with Sin after Sin and a whole lot of that record STILL sounds like Vox to me as well. Intro guitar for "Raw deal/Kneel for the priest" would be a perfect example.

Could be going nuts on this one... grain of salt.

I agree in any case. Crazy cool tones which I remember as being NEW SCHOOL. HOHOHO. God help me.

SM.

[kdp]

In no particular order, My Top 3
Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck

[M.Hansen]

Guess I am totally against the grain here...

1. Dan Swanö -Bloodbath "Resurrection Trough Carnage" (retro Gothenburg sound)
2. Peter Tägtgren - Hypocrisy, almost every album have a bone-crushing guitarsound
3. Dimmu Borgir - "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant"
4. Devin Townshend - his Strapping Young Lad albums.
5. Rammstein - Mesa recto, Nuemann M 149 and Neve..
6. Metallica - "...And Justice For All"

Also Dark Funerals last album, "Attera Totus Sanctus".




Controversely taste among GS forum ? that must be me.... but those tones make happy anyway

[Blast9]

Originally Posted by kdp

In no particular order, My Top 3
Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck

great tone. Someone influenced by him back in the day: Gary Moore, before he went blues on us. Check out "We want Moore". Salmon pink strat >>> Boss super OD >>> Marshall plexi 50 watt

http://youtube.com/watch?v=RAOHCAefjLc >>> Gary Moore, Scott Gorham, Phil Lynott and Cozy Powell!

[allphourus]

Haven't read thru all the other posts so if I'm redundant please be forgiving.Thats a hole you could shoot the moon thru.I have some personel favs as a listener of the finished product,These cross styles but some types of recorded music I just can't listen to,I've got either a closed mind or taste,You decide.

Oscer Moore with the Nat king Cole Trio ( straight'n up and Fly right )

Scotty Moore

Some of the guitar on Bobby Blue Bland early sides

Grant Green

Eric Gale

Mike Bloomfield ( honerable mention Elivin Bishop )

Lee Herschberg recording Ry (and Lindly ) Little vilage? John Hiatt!

Subdudes

Littlefeat

Son Volt

Charlie Hunter ( Natty Dread)

Just about anything that Jerry Douglas has recorded ( I know not a guitar )

Jon Randall on Glamour and grits ( Sam Bush )

Jimmy Vivino and the Rekooperators

Guy Clark/ Dublin Blues

Patty Larkin

Anything by Bruce Cockburn

Neck n neck Chet and Mark

Jeff Beck

Anything By Steelydan was the best you could get at the Time,Many different platforms many guitarist, all great.Is that Rogers fault?

Koosters McAllisters recording or the Dregs reunion.( Hoerable mention for his work with JT,the Gypse kings,And At Teluride festival )

Eric Johnson (nough said )

Larry Carlton everything but I really like Renagade Gentlemen

Santana not always the best recorded but when it was good it was the best.

Methany

Joe Diorio

Pat Martino

Ray Fleck

Jim Weider

Gatton and Buchanan and Earl and Robilard

Jerry Garcia

Allan holdsworth

Kazumi Watanabe on Dolphin Dance on Kilowatt Rest of his stuff aint bad either but he sure is)

Stearn and Scofield

Peter's Blanchette and Michelini (Bach: golberg variations & more)

Michael Hedges (And the other WH Guitarists)

Mike Henderson

And last not least Every thing by Phil Keagy In cluding the Glass Harp, again thru many shifts in technology and style His soul has allways come through


I could go on and on ! I'm sure this aint no complete list I've left many off. Some are listed for the inherint Quality in the original sound source, some for how well it was captured.I know nothing about Hair, Metal ,Thrash or pretty boy rock stars,Thats a whole nother world.Though I'm sure the are some valid sounds there too.

[allphourus]

5 hours latter i've thought of some others that need to be mentioned,

George Van Eps the very deffinition of smoth

Lenny Breau,Larry Coryell, Tal Farlow These 3 guys have eached moved me to tears at the purity and delicacy of their tone.

Those three mentioned should be fallowed by Delucia,McLaughlin and DiMeola

Mclaughlin with Tony Wiliams Lifetime ( Extrapolation ) and on " After The RaiN"

DiMeola "The Rite Of Strings"

Hadley Hockensmith

Bill Perry

Luther Alison

Buddy Guy

Paul Ashby of "the unknown blues band" from VT. one of my all time favs Pee Wee Jr. He was the teacher of that Trey guy from Pish, he's not to bad either yah know!

David Bromberg on anything in any style

Taj Mahal

John Porter

Jessie Ed Davis

Amos Garrett

Ralph Towner and John Abercrombie

Pentangle Bert Jansch and John Renbourn Together and solo very instramental band for me "Basket of Light"

Fairport Richard Thompson and Jerry Donahue also Richards solo stuff and Jerry with the Hellacasters
( Got put that guy from the desert rose band in there too ) John Jorgeson
Will Ray

Also kicked around in this topic should be The Illinios Speed Press If only for the song PNS
Kal David and Bob Cotton

That Ill do it for me,There are still Omittions but Every thing else I would mention ( That I can Think of ) allready has been.

[grindx]

There are others, but my fav Tele tone is from Robbie Blunt.

[KingDaddyO]

Lots of great players and songs listed here. I'll try to list a few favorites, which aren't as prevalent:

Cesar Rosas/Los Lobos - 'Don't Worry Baby' (1st album, How Will the Wolf Survive) : This is about as raw as Fender Black Face tone gets. Incredibly juicy burst of Leo when the lead comes in.

Ritchie Blackmore/Deep Purple - 'Child In Time' (4th album, In Rock) : This has to be one of the most completely under-rated, under-appreciated, unheard of, OHMIGAWD performances in recorded history. Blackie's playing a Gibson 335 through the ol' Marshall stack, and it's got the perfect blend of howl and string noise imaginable. Tone to die for.

Steve Morse - 'High Tension Wires' (2nd solo album release, High Tension Wires) : Any track. Pick any damn thing off the album. I'm not kidding. This one should be on every musician's '10 Desert Island Disc List'. His best ever.

Jimi Hendrix - 'Midnight' (posthumous album release, War Heroes, out of print, available on other compliations). Have you ever imagined the searing sound that chromium must make as it is blasted off of the surface that it is bonded to? This is what the master's tone makes me think of when I lay this one on. Chilling. Perfect accompaniment for night owl's, or those who are leaving the earth's atmosphere at high speed.

Adrian Legg - 'Guitar for Mortals' (CD, Guitar for Mortals) : Like the Steve Morse selection above - pick anything. And don't even get me started on the banjo tuner thing. Outrageous.

Danny Gatton - 'Sleepwalk' (album release, Unfinished Business) : I can't even begin to describe the way "The Humbler" plays solos constructed out of chords, instead of single notes on this jaw-droppingly 'has-to-be-heard-to-be-believed' studio session. Oh. And his tone is deeper than Leary on Owsley, and lasts well into the next week after it's finished playing.

That's all for now. Hope y'all can enjoy these if you aren't yet familiar with em'!

BTW ... most of my picks came from listening to the original vinyl releases. I don't know if the versions available today, were transferred intact or were squashed. Lord I hope not.

[ntrsandmann]

Jeff Beck

Gary Moore

Eric Johnson

EVH

David Gilmour

SRV

Mark Knopfler

there's more, but these are the one that really left a mark on me....

[Soldier777c]

Debbie Gibson or Roxette . . . it's a toss up.

[tradarama]

I am just adding here. Honestly this is a CD I take with me as a reference when listening to high end audio for my home.

But the choices I'd also make are:

1. VH1 - no question.

2. Eric Johnson...started a whole tone revolution again.

3. Dire Straits

4. SRV

5. Queen :

6. Rhodes Crazy Train

7. Manson: The Beautiful People....talk about a wall of sound

8. Robben Ford (don't like the stuff myself but have to say it is a reference tone).

[HEADROOM]

Originally Posted by kdp

In no particular order, My Top 3
Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck

www.nickoosterhuis.com

[RBBT]

C'mon guy's no Mick Ronson love??? Aladdin Sane Ziggy (Moonage) Pinups. Unique Marshall Les Paul tones. Machine gun (his best live tone), Beck Truth. Yeah I love tonebenders.

[Paddlepop lion]

I'm suprised nobody has mentioned John Marr from the smiths. In no particular order:

Trey Spruance - King for a day, fool for a lifetime FNM
Jon Crosby - Touched VAST (massive)
Billy Corgan - Zero (including zany solo thing but mostly the main riff tone)
John Marr - The queen is dead - The Smiths (I dunno why but I just love it)
Dimebag - pretty much anything
James Hetfield - ..and justice for all

[hurricaneE]

Good call! Hell, is Bolan somewhere in here? I'm gonna go check ... -E

Originally Posted by RBBT

C'mon guy's no Mick Ronson love??? Aladdin Sane Ziggy (Moonage) Pinups. Unique Marshall Les Paul tones. Machine gun (his best live tone), Beck Truth. Yeah I love tonebenders.

[hurricaneE]

Originally Posted by LovethisLife

No order...

Reeves Gabrels - first Tin Machine
Mick Ronson - solo on 'Moonage Daydream'
Vudi from American Music Club - Mercury
Swervedriver - Mezcalhead

We should be friends

Gotta add "Cracked Actor."

And lemme add Ira Kaplan from Yo La Tengo and Nels Cline (yes, it took Wilco to get me to listen to him); more Jazzmaster goodness. -E

[chillytc]

Let it Bleed - Rolling Stones
Buddy Guy - Sweet Tea
Johnny A - Get Inside
the lead guitar from Hey Nineteen (Steely Dan)
Jesus Lizard - Goat (an unusual choice I suspect but it's got a weird magic to it)
The Atari's cover of Boys of Summer (great feedback)
Tom Petty's Last Dance with Mary Jane (that whole recording seems about as close to technically perfect as I've heard but the guitars really grab)

I also love most of the classics (Back in Black, 1984, etc...) but these recordings always make me stop and listen to the guitar's tone and may be a little less obvious.

[Baz]

Too many great players with great tones, but lately, David Grissom (with Storyville) has been knocking me OUT. Excellent eg of "Texas Tone" and I just love that sound.

HA! I can't believe I'm the only one so far in this thread that has cited Grissom

[Nut]

Allan Holdsworth!

[79_Limited]

Fugazi-Repeater album.
Jawbox-For Your Own Special Sweetheart.

I think the production on those records just rock.

I like anything Andy Summers has done. Solo albums and with the Police.

[gevermil]

Originally Posted by Soldier777c

Debbie Gibson or Roxette . . . it's a toss up.

Made my night .

[The Spark]

Hmmm... The following tones probably inspired me more as a guitar player than any others:

2. AC/DC Back in Black
1. Van Halen 1
3. Metallica Master of Puppets
4. Slash

Im not as talented or practiced as any of those players, but if it wasnt for them I dont know if Id have picked up the guitar.

[flail19]

-For me, lateley anyway, Keith Nelson from Buckcherry and his Divided by 13 rig Kills!
stike

[AllAboutTone]

Byt all means ME

[Auslander]

John McLaughlin
Ollie Halsall

[TAVD]

Paul Westerberg. His records always seem to capture the magic of the individual guitars.