5 Favorite guitar tones:

[ryjan]

ryjan - bark at the moon was recorded by Jake E. Lee, not randy rhoads... randy only did the first two ozzy solo albums

you know... maybe we need the thread top 5 worst guitar tones.... it might be easier to narrow that down than pick the tones we love.

My bad! Still sound pretty cool no matter whos playing.

 

[minus]

EVH, circa Fair Warning; for "Unchained" alone
Megadeth-era Marty Friedman, specifically on "Holy Wars"; I still think he gets great tone, but that was when I actually started to care what Megadeth produced musically.
Hetfield/Hammett on "Trapped Under Ice"; the first time I heard it it just blew me away.
Steve Vai on "Tender Surrender"; his tone is phenomenal all-round, but if I had to pick just one...
and...

Worst tone ever - Paul Gilbert....I've never heard him play anything that didn't sound like over trebled fingernails on chalkboard. maybe I'm missing something...

Well, I'm missing some of my hearing in certain frequencies. Sounds like liquid audio gold to me. Especially his latest stuff.

 

[LTE]

Worst tone ever - Paul Gilbert....I've never heard him play anything that didn't sound like over trebled fingernails on chalkboard. maybe I'm missing something...

Well, I'm missing some of my hearing in certain frequencies. Sounds like liquid audio gold to me. Especially his latest stuff.

I do like his later stuff, he actually sounds pretty great with those Dimarzio area single coils he uses.

 

[Old BF Shred]

Eric Johnson -any album
Jimi Hendrix -the original!
Ritchie Blackmore -early days..made a Marshall SING (kinda like a Boogie)
Stevie Ray -awesome!
Satriani -Crystal Planet onward....

 

[Carpdawg]

Worst tone ever - Paul Gilbert....I've never heard him play anything that didn't sound like over trebled fingernails on chalkboard. maybe I'm missing something...

Well, I'm missing some of my hearing in certain frequencies. Sounds like liquid audio gold to me. Especially his latest stuff.

I do like his later stuff, he actually sounds pretty great with those Dimarzio area single coils he uses.

I think Paul Gilbert is a phenomenal player, just unfortunate tone...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yZA4CkEbjY

 

[boogieslayer]

Another good one is Black Crowes - Southern Harmony & Musical Companion - Particularly the short, but sweet lead solo in Sometimes Salvation... and they're from ATL!

hell yeah ! i saw em in '98 at the 40watt club in athens

my picks in no particular order

Prince - Purple Rain

Metallica Kill em all / Ride / MOP / Justice / thick ass sound of Load and Reload

Hendrix - The Wind Cries Mary / Star spangled banner

All Evile

Exodus - Bonded By Blood

Tesla - Bust a Nut

Anthrax - antisocial

Iron Maiden

Slayer

Megadeth


i could go on and on and on

 

[surferdeac]

:lol: :lol: hahaha

Ya know this question regarding tone is a hard one seeing that some of my favorite guitarists often experiment with their tones as well as effects. The ever changing technologies that we are being presented with over time are really allowing the guitarist to experiment with various tones. then you have the questions of well is it live tones where talking about or studio tones? TO EACH HIS TONE

#$%% i don't know if i can answer this one

it would be easier for me to answer a question like " what 5 guitarist inspire you to play guitar the most"
now that i could better answer, :mrgreen:

 

[minus]

I think Paul Gilbert is a phenomenal player, just unfortunate tone...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yZA4CkEbjY

Okay, yeah, that was awful. I think in demos and lessons he does some horrid things to his tone to make the notes ear piercingly clear. Live and on his albums his tone is a lot better. To wit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ligr9aMFcQ

Oh, man, I totally forgot Nuno Bettencourt too. Great tone, equally cheesy hair metal roots. Paul and Nuno? Well, that's just a huge helping of awesome sauce:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw7EYxQLOCE

(Okay, yeah, the tone gets a little shrill in parts, but, c'mon man, if it wasn't I'd never be able to hear all those notes)

 

[surferdeac]

alright i'll give this a shot ( in no particular order ) These are just a few of the many that i was thinking about on the fly !!!

Randy Rhodes - Tribute Album RIP Randy!!!!!
Joe Satriani - Time Machine (LIve)
Steve Vai - Alive In an Ultra world
Eric Johnson - Tone Guru
Andy Timmons - Resolution

So many Others left off oh well

 

[Thrashman]

Mark Morton and Will Adler's tones on the last three albums(not so much Wrath though, they are too fuzzy there, but still sound ACE)

IMO.

 

[fluff191]

Randy Rhodes-Bark at the Moon

...............wasn't that Jake E. Lee on that record?



EDIT: Nevermind. I see a few people already got to it!

 

[alpeggio]

1. ACDC - Stiff Upper Lip (I have tried to get that tone for ages, the dynamic rich full distortion that is on that album is perfect imo)
2. Andy Timmons - Resolution (He may have to most perfect tone ever, full of character and dynamic range)
3. Dream Theater - (pretty awesome lead guitar and rhythm sound if you ask me so much better than most bands who play heavy stuff)
4. Joe Satriani - Super Colossal (super rich tone, has that juicy soft quality that you have come to relate to him)
5. Van Halen - 1984 (it's pretty awesome you could get a production to sound so full and complex considering it's just one guitar)

 

[jakeleigh]

Mark Tremonti - Blackbird
James Hetfeild - The Black Album
Tony Iommi - Fused
John Norum - Last Look At Eden
Van Halen - 5150

 

[Cleekster]

Loudness-Lightning Strikes and On The Prowl albums

Stryper- Against The Law and Murder By Pride albums

Yngwie Malmsteen-Marching out album

Paul Gilbert- the Racer X albums when he used a Laney GH100L

Fleetwood mac- Rumours album(lead tone)

Alter Bridge

 

[Sixstringpsycho]

John Petrucci - Chang of Seasons, Endless Sacrafice, Ministry of Lost Souls
Metallica- Death Magnetic
Pantera- Great Southern Trendkill
Soundgarden - Blackhole Sun
Cream - Sunshine of your love

Just my personal favs guys

 

[igfraso]

I am so surprised nobody mentioned Santana or Steve Lukather.
My other 3 favorite tones are: Gilmour, SRV and Larry Carlton.

 

[Leroy the Massochist]

My favourite guitarists are Keb Mo, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton and Randy Rhoads but there sound does not do it for like the following list.

I like it on the raw and gritty side like the amp or speakers are going to explode, not saturated distortion and not a fan of too many effects (except in the right hands - Gilmour, Lukather). 5 is too hard, the intensity of the guitar sound of these tracks give me a buzz every time:

Metallica - Hit the Lights (when that came out it was insane energy)
ACDC - Runaway Train (again that first few chords, man it just makes you feel good.... they're back)
Van Halen - Runnin With the Devil (as per Metallica above, I know I said I like it raw but common when this came out the guitar world was in shock)
Hoodoo Gurus - The Right Time (don't lean too far forward listening to this it could rip your face off)
Baby Animals - One Too Many
Electric Mary - Let Me Out
Diesel - Lookin For Love
Black Crowes - Blackberry

Thanks it just made me listen to all these tracks, now I feel pumped.

 

[tonefreak25]

in no particular order;

john petrucci- scenes from a memory (in particular)

eddie van halen- first six VH records

david gimour- pretty much his entire career

eric johnson- from tones pretty much until now

ty tabor- first 6 king's x records

alex lifeson- from hemispheres through grace under pressure

andy summers- during his police heyday

andy timmons- resolution cd

george lynch- under lock and key cd


nuno bettencourt- 3 sides to every story


tommy shaw and james young- pieces of eight cd

robben ford- anything he has ever done!

SRV- enough said


way more than five i know but it could not be helped!

Umm, this pretty much sums it up for me, I would add Reb Beach as well early days.

 

[TOOLGUY]

In no order.

John Petrucci - Surrounded
EVH-5150 (ALBUM),Secrets
Vito Bratta -Little Fighter,Wait
Srv-Cold Shot
Tom Scholz-Boston (album)

 

[YellowJacket]

I've been thinking about this and I have discovered to my horror that my tastes have changed. I was trying to think where I derived my tone from and from listening to some of my influences, I really don't know. I tend to favour a rich, mid heavy crunch without too much distortion. Think modern rock more than anything. My style is heavy rock with a bit of a metal influence, but definitely not metal.

Caveat. I'm talking about what sounds good to me, not what players I admire because some of these I don't. Also bear in mind that I have some strong opinions which aren't necessary in line with the overall common sentiment of the board here.

Greenday Dookie: Strat + Marshall = love. Obviously the sound is in the gear here! Hey, he plays power chords 'good'. :shock: In my mind, this is a quintessential punk tone. For me, the Bad Religion Buzz Saw guitars are a close second. Just not quite as phat. Brian Baker can actually solo but this is a debate for another time.

Iron Maiden: Aces High is AWESOME! Gotta love the wide vocal vibrato. Reminds me of good ol' classical voice!

System of a Down: Question. I love the heavy crunch. If I played in a metal band, I'd use a tone like this. I just find the 80's too dated for my tastes. Kind of like playing one's guitar through a mullet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yijKdC8kESA&

Jimi Hendrix. Guys tone came from his fingers. You'd think the guys guitar was a violin on LSD!

Dream Theater - Octavarium, the album that wasn't :: :evil: METAL :twisted: :: enough for most of the fans. I guess I like the more modern sound better. I swore John was using a Dual Rectifier on this album. *weird* Contrary to what others probably think, I think this is one of their strongest works, at least compositionally speaking. I find the ******y on other albums to be a bit Lisztian and it can grate at times. I'm just quibbling though . . .