Good songs, questionable guitar tone.

[AndyG]

+1 on Revolution ...

In the same vein ... and tone, the guitar solo tone on "Paranoid" (Sabbath, obviously), and "Just Between You and Me" (April Wine ... great song, crappy solo tone).

 

[Superlizard]

Aanyway - here's one very general thing that always makes me lose all interest: guitar solos with wah wah pedals. Seriously, it doesn't sound good. Stop doing it.

A guitarist strumming a chord and keeping the tempo with a wah urks me to know end.  IMO, if you don't use the wah for the lead where do you use it?  I like Clapton's Cream era, Zakk Wylde's Pride and Glory era, and Slash's Apetite era use of lead work with a wah.

2 other wah-ers who rule are:

- Gary Richrath (REO Speedwagon)
- Brian "Robbo" Robertson (Thin Lizzy)

 

[kboman]

Well I guess I just don't like wahs, period. I never use mine.

I love the various Guitar Craft records, but those shallow bodied, piezoed Ovations almost all of them use don't exactly sound inspiring. Fantastic music though.

 

[SustainerPlayer]

Steve Vai
Eric Johnson
Malmsteen
Oh ... and Hendrix.

 

[kboman]

I think you shocked them into silence there, SP. I pretty much agree with you though, but since I don't listen to those people I'm not really bothered by their tone.

 

[baskruit]

I love the tone on Reelin' In The Years (tele with neck 'bucker)... it's raw and dynamic.

Funny thing. Even if hadn't been mentioned, this song would have been one of the first that I'd come up of. I don't care much for the tone either, a bit too fuzzy but hey... in the end it works great in the song. Same thing: Neither is Donald Fagen a great singer but his voice works exceptionally well in his songs.

I'm a huge 'Dan fan by the way.

 

[NLD09]

Aanyway - here's one very general thing that always makes me lose all interest: guitar solos with wah wah pedals. Seriously, it doesn't sound good. Stop doing it.

A guitarist strumming a chord and keeping the tempo with a wah urks me to know end.  IMO, if you don't use the wah for the lead where do you use it?  I like Clapton's Cream era, Zakk Wylde's Pride and Glory era, and Slash's Apetite era use of lead work with a wah.

2 other wah-ers who rule are:

- Gary Richrath (REO Speedwagon)
- Brian "Robbo" Robertson (Thin Lizzy)

Henry Garza is another master of the wah. I haven't heard many that use it as musically, or seemlessly as he does.

 

[AprioriMark]

I'm shocked it hasn't been said, but Metallica's tones were awful on everything up to the black album, after which, the songwriting took a turn south.

-Mark

 

[SustainerPlayer]

I think you shocked them into silence there, SP. I pretty much agree with you though, but since I don't listen to those people I'm not really bothered by their tone.

That is the easy way out  :icon_biggrin:

 

[GoDrex]

I just thought of a band who's guitar tone I hate - Husker Du. I hate the fuzz tone he gets. And it's on so many of their songs.

 

[CrackedPepper]

I never could figure out Robert Quine's work on the Matthew Sweet Girlfriend album.  In many songs, it sounds like he is playing to a different song.  For example, listen to some of the riffs and solo work on Girlfriend starting at about 2:30 to the end of the song.  I love the song and somehow it works but I can't understand where he's coming from.

 

[AprioriMark]

I never could figure out Robert Quine's work on the Matthew Sweet Girlfriend album.  In many songs, it sounds like he is playing to a different song.  For example, listen to some of the riffs and solo work on Girlfriend starting at about 2:30 to the end of the song.  I love the song and somehow it works but I can't understand where he's coming from.

I heard somewhere that Matthew Sweet let him listen to the song once, had him play along with it and kept whatever he played.  I thought that was Richard Lloyd on that part anyway?  It sounds more like him to me.

-Mark

 

[CrackedPepper]

That makes sense - it sounds like he's winging it but he just falls off at the end.  Whatever - it works.

As far as the guitarist goes, you may well be right.  I assumed it is Quine based on his Wikipedia entry that stated:  "Sweet's biggest hit song, "Girlfriend," is anchored by Quine's frenetic, squealing guitar work."

 

[zogoibi]

Oh ... and Hendrix.

I pity the fool who can't hear Jimi and his myriad glorious tones;  Gypsy Eyes, Machine Gun, Axis Bold as Love.  Krikie, Voodoo Child is the archetypal tone; simple, thick and cutting.  You know you want it!  :toothy12:

 

[Schlieren]

Everything I've ever heard by Rush on the radio (since it's always been enough to keep me from exploring further), from their unfortunate choice of vocalist to their dry-as-a-bone production values (seriously, did they record EVERY instrument in a "dead" room?), the godawful, artificial-sounding drumkit, the synthesizers utterly bereft of roomsound piped directly into the mixing board.  And the sounds their instruments make, argh.  Bass without balls.  Guitar out of an overdriven Crate practice amp.

I'm hoping maybe what they were trying to do makes sense on vinyl or something?  It's like I can hear a super-cool band just dying to get out from under five thousand layers of saran wrap and acrylic batting.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

We could bag on our least favorite tones by an entire artist's catalog, but the intent was to pick a particular song that you might be fond of but thought a certain tone was off.  Your reply fits if you like Rush.

 

[Soylent]

We could bag on our least favorite tones by an entire artist's catalog, but the intent was to pick a particular song that you might be fond of but thought a certain tone was off.  Your reply fits if you like Rush.

:laughing7:

 

[hannaugh]

How about The Grateful Dead?  They sound like they're playing out of a bathroom made out of tin.  My mom saw them once, and she said even live they sounded like they were playing out of her crappy radio.  I wonder why.  Maybe they just bump the treble up all the way?

 

[erogenousjones17]

I'm willing to bet that a lot of the Dead's idiosyncracies can be chalked up to a number of, shall we say, pharmaceutical factors. 

 

[hannaugh]

Haha, true.