Guitar aficionados: What kind of guitar is this. So hot. PSM you'd definitely know.

[Lrmusic]

Marques Houston - Grass Is Greener (Album Version) - Free MP3 Stream on IMEEM Music

Bobby Valentino - If I Had My Way - Free MP3 Stream on IMEEM Music

LLOYD - Southside - Free MP3 Stream on IMEEM Music

Really crisp and awesome, thin and thick at the same time. more the 1st and 2nd than the 3rd. like the kind that sounds like golden string spaghetti awesomeness =)

You'll also find this tone playing some awesome quick fills/riffs in many well produced songs when it doesn't have a hook motif (sometimes it's the same one in like a gazillion songs *cough* *cough* I guess you'd call that the carlos santana of Rnb production)

Destiny's Child - Cater to You - Free MP3 Stream on IMEEM Music (not the guitar playing the first ostinato phrase, but the one above it playing riffs from heaven) --- best song ever btw

What kind of guitar/ playing technique. What kind of EQ/compression/mic-ing even.

Feel like playing guitar for 3hrs a day for the next 4 yrs like I once did with piano love this tone lolz.

Hoping none of these are vsts lol, that would be embarrasing .

[ryst]

I'm no guitar expert but I have been playing for a long time. I had to listen to these songs on youtube so the sound isn't that clear.

The first song (Marques Houston) sounds like a hollowbody (jazz) guitar. It's all about the player. It could have been sampled (sampled the player playing the main riff and looped it) or played on a keyboard. In fact, the more I hear it the more it sounds like a keyboard guitar. Sounds too clean and pristine. Sounds plastic to me. I could be wrong though.

Second song (Bobby Valentino) sounds like an electric on some parts and other parts have that "Ovation" guitar sound. A few tracks of guitar.

3rd song (Lloyd) sounds like an acoustic. Actually it sounds like multiple tracks and one could be electric. I guess I could ask Lloyd the next time I see him but I highly doubt he knows. lol

4th song (Destiny's Child) sounds like a combo of acoustic and electric guitars. Then again, it sounds plastic to me so it could be keyboard.

All 4 tracks have a plastic-y sound to them, IMO. Not sure if the youtube audio has anything to do with what I'm hearing. The acoustic guitars sound like they were plugged in direct (not mic'd). I don't like that sound. The electric sounding guitars can easily be achieved with a good player, a good amp, and usually a Strat for these type of urban tracks (besides the first track which again sounds more like a hollowbody).

Either way, I do these type of tracks for producers a lot (as well as my own "urban" productions). A good player knows how to get all kinds of different tones out of his/her guitar. It's all about the player and his/her instrument way more than eq and compression.
My guitar tracks are a little more "live" sounding than the examples you provided. I always prefer the sound of a guitar track in urban music to have a little edge to it and not sound "perfect".
To each his own. Bottom line: If you want that sound, hire a pro.

[The Beatsmith]

i'm a guitarist, but i'm not creating an imeem account to login to hear the samples i'm afraid...

[Lrmusic]

Originally Posted by The Beatsmith

i'm a guitarist, but i'm not creating an imeem account to login to hear the samples i'm afraid...

lol =(

[Lrmusic]

Originally Posted by ryst

Bottom line: If you want that sound, hire a pro.

Pros:

If I notated a set of riffs into sheet music (with tabs above the sm) w/ sibelius or something, (obviously making sure it's physically playable on a guitar), and emailed it to you, how much would you charge to record it and send it back to me. Should I also send a recorded vst sample (arghhh vst "guitars" puke) of how it should "sound" like.

And pros, any advice on the different variations that I should get the same riff recorded with (maybe 1 plucked w/ fingers, 1 with a pick, etc...)

[Lrmusic]

Originally Posted by ryst

All 4 tracks have a plastic-y sound to them, IMO. Not sure if the youtube audio has anything to do with what I'm hearing.

I don't listen to them on youtube, but the first time I listened to them on musicme/imeem, and the first time I paid attention to this tone in general a few weeks ago, I noticed how plastic-y they sounded, and how much I like them...not even in spite of this, but because of this =)

[ryst]

Originally Posted by Lrmusic

Pros:

If I notated a set of riffs into sheet music (with tabs above the sm) w/ sibelius or something, (obviously making sure it's physically playable on a guitar), and emailed it to you, how much would you charge to record it and send it back to me. Should I also send a recorded vst sample (arghhh vst "guitars" puke) of how it should "sound" like.

I charge different per project. Sometimes it's just distorted keyboard guitar that needs replayed, sometimes it's a sample that needs replayed, and sometimes it's a situation like what you are describing. I'm not going to put my prices here but if you are interested, PM me. They are reasonable. And yes, the more info (examples of your idea or what you are looking for) the better. No one has ever sent me tab before but it doesn't bother me if it's included.

Originally Posted by Lrmusic

And pros, any advice on the different variations that I should get the same riff recorded with (maybe 1 plucked w/ fingers, 1 with a pick, etc...)

This is always on a case by case basis. But I have never been asked to do both for the same riff. Just one or the other.

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by Lrmusic

Marques Houston - Grass Is Greener (Album Version) - Free MP3 Stream on IMEEM Music

Bobby Valentino - If I Had My Way - Free MP3 Stream on IMEEM Music

LLOYD - Southside - Free MP3 Stream on IMEEM Music

Really crisp and awesome, thin and thick at the same time. more the 1st and 2nd than the 3rd. like the kind that sounds like golden string spaghetti awesomeness =)

You'll also find this tone playing some awesome quick fills/riffs in many well produced songs when it doesn't have a hook motif (sometimes it's the same one in like a gazillion songs *cough* *cough* I guess you'd call that the carlos santana of Rnb production)

Destiny's Child - Cater to You - Free MP3 Stream on IMEEM Music (not the guitar playing the first ostinato phrase, but the one above it playing riffs from heaven) --- best song ever btw

What kind of guitar/ playing technique. What kind of EQ/compression/mic-ing even.

Feel like playing guitar for 3hrs a day for the next 4 yrs like I once did with piano love this tone lolz.

Hoping none of these are vsts lol, that would be embarrasing .

It sounds like a hollow body electric,medium gauge strings,a little boost at 2kz,played either thru a super clean amp or DI's thru Amplitube 2 with a clean preset.

The secret is in the player and not the axe.
Shit,it COULD even be a STRAT with humbuckers.
I get that tone with my custom TELE style axe with Gibson type pickups.
Its not rocket science,its experience as an axemen who can easily play that style.

[isawsasquatch]

Originally Posted by phillysoulman

It sounds like a hollow body electric,medium gauge strings,a little boost at 2kz,played either thru a super clean amp or DI's thru Amplitube 2 with a clean preset.

The secret is in the player and not the axe.
Shit,it COULD even be a STRAT with humbuckers.
I get that tone with my custom TELE style axe with Gibson type pickups.
Its not rocket science,its experience as an axemen who can easily play that style.

Huh. Are you sure? Cuz I'da guessed it was the Best guitar for Hip Hop through the Best amp for Hip Hop; preferably mic'd with the Best mic for Hip Hop via the Best mic pre for Hip Hop. Oh, and done so in the Best room for Hip Hop on the Best program for Hip Hop.

Just my 2 cents, ymmv, imo, ime, teho, et al. ttyl.

[Left Headphone]

I don't know PSM... Jimi on a Gibson SG Custom sounds different than Jimi than Jimi on Fender Strat.
YouTube - jimi hendrix izabella- dick cavett show

[Storyville]

uh.... Jimi sounds different on one guitar than on another because he's going was going for something different. Otherwise he would have just used the guitar best suited for the task at hand. A fender strat will give you more tone if you are going for a soul style guitar lick, whereas a gibson standard will give you a heavy power sound if you want heavy metal. But you can do either on either. Hollow body will sound different than a tele or a semi-hollow or whatever naturally - but you can get similar tones if you know how to dig.

[Left Headphone]

yeah my point was that a particular axe can have a particular tone. A semi-hollow and a tele have a different tone to me no matter who is playing it...

[Storyville]

fair enough. I think the point PSM was trying to make was that given any guitar of similar ilk you can get the same tone. The exact fingerprint will be different. But the options aren't limited to one specific guitar.

[Miles Harding]

offtopic, but Darkchild actually sampled the Marques Houston riff, this is the original track, I guess he had it replayed for the Destiny Child track...

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by Left Headphone

yeah my point was that a particular axe can have a particular tone. A semi-hollow and a tele have a different tone to me no matter who is playing it...

Nomally,maybe.
But..there is a but.
My "TeleStyle" axe was custom built for ME and MY style of playing and the PICKUPS are NOT normal Tele pickups AND it is a SEMI HOLLOW Tele style axe AND I am playing it and being a studio musician and an engineer for decades,I know how to do that shit.

[Tibbon]

Different guitars do sound different- regardless of who is playing them. Small differences just like a pickup change can be heard quite well.

I was in the studio the other night and they had 6 teles (or tele-like) guitars. Two of them were Linhof teles that were pretty much the same except for the bridge pickup. There was a noticeable difference between them. Bigger difference than you normally get between two preamps.

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by Tibbon

Different guitars do sound different- regardless of who is playing them. Small differences just like a pickup change can be heard quite well.

I was in the studio the other night and they had 6 teles (or tele-like) guitars. Two of them were Linhof teles that were pretty much the same except for the bridge pickup. There was a noticeable difference between them. Bigger difference than you normally get between two preamps.

Exactlythumbsup