Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Fave and least fave electric guitar noises?


Recommended Posts

Mark Knopfler tone on the Les Paul is superb, he’s usually more associated with his clean Strat sound.

I have been having a go at learning the bass line on Californication today, the hardest bit is during the guitar solo, agree with a few others regarding Frusciante, his lead playing and tone are pretty appalling, it sounds like someone just learning to play guitar, especially with inaccurate note bends.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Love anything Alex lifeson, schenker, prime satch, macalpine and the Scandinavian stuff like king diamond ,etc plus merciful fate . Alex scolnick

love iommis riffs and budgies too. 
George thorogood , ac/dc Powerage grit. 
 

Can't get on with Zak wylde . Just repeated squeals in every solo.

Tom morello sounds like he's torturing cats . Steve vai sounds tuneless to me

As for Clapton , bores me to tears .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Ricky Rioli said:

I've just had a very enjoyable half hour trying to decide which Jesus and Mary Chain track to post.

I think this one, tho a bit later than their classic stuff, nicely demonstrates their virtuoso control of distorted tones - so many layers of different sounds that come and go throughout the song. And a great song, too.

 

One of the few bands I've been listening to regularly since I heard Upside Down on Peel. Plenty about them back in the 80s to upset music purists, grannies, pets etc. Here's the great Never Understand 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think I have any sound that I don't like, just that I like it in certain ways. Two examples - Fuzz guitar. Not overdrive, but Fuzz. Overall, not a fan, but then it works so well on 'Summer Breeze' or Tony Peluso's solo on 'Goodbye to Love'. The other one is Tom Morello. Didn't like his tone until I heard it with Springsteen, where the clash of the two styles worked brilliantly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Mykesbass said:

Tony Peluso's solo on 'Goodbye to Love'. 

One of the best solos ever. References the lyric melody, builds nicely and actually goes somewhere, not just a pentatonic widdlefest.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Barking Spiders said:

great Never Understand 

It's funny, cos that sounds like cats scratching on a blackboard to me! But then I've never been a fan of JaMC - probably because I like music where it's the instruments are making rhythm and melody with vocals purely a part of it, as opposed to being a drone with any melody being supplied only by the vox (see also The Ramones!!).

So droney fuzz guitar is out for me! But then I also don't like single note only-on-the-quaver bass either...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, ezbass said:

One of the best solos ever.

Tastes do seem to vary wildly!

I find just about anything by The Carpenters to be painfully twee and horrifically square - I'd say cheese, but I like cheese, unless it's that processed stuff, or that bland American kack! However, I do like a good pentatonic widdle-fest, or even a modal and chromatic piddle-fest!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Leonard Smalls said:

Tastes do seem to vary wildly!

And hurrah for that! For without it we would have but one band, one fine artist, etc. Also, BC threads would be very short.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Favourites; a lot of just slightly not-clean Fender kind of tones with that high end detail. I also really like the sound of octavey fuzz pedals on leads.

Least favourite; anything with always-on subtle chorus. I feel like if you're going to use chorus, make it an actual effect and use it strategically.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's a sort of harsh nasally just about breaking up tone that I associate with the early 70 rock music which I think comes from people trying to get a distorted tone out of amps like Fender Twins which were specifically designed to not to distort.

That's what generally springs to my mind when I when people talk about 'bad' guitar tone.

Although, having said that, I've just listened to a few early Kiss and Alice Cooper tracks which I thought were clear examples of such a tone only to find that I actually liked the guitar tone on all of them.

I think this comes closest to what I'm rambling on about.

 

Edited by Cato
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

Please may I apply for an analogy for their cover of Little Red Rooster, as well

It's like a cat attempting to scratch a blackboard while another cat pours petrol on it, and as he tries to strike a match both of them start sliding down a steepening scree slope made up of innumerable sharp pieces of slate. Meanwhile, someone else is recording that sound, and playing it back through a 70s Waltham cassette player which is mic-ed up and broadcast through a bank of Kay's catalogue guitar combos with slashed speaker cones.

In other words, not good!

  • Thanks 1
  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said:

It's like a cat attempting to scratch a blackboard while another cat pours petrol on it, and as he tries to strike a match both of them start sliding down a steepening scree slope made up of innumerable sharp pieces of slate. 

 

Now that'd I'd pay to watch !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said:

It's like a cat attempting to scratch a blackboard while another cat pours petrol on it, and as he tries to strike a match both of them start sliding down a steepening scree slope made up of innumerable sharp pieces of slate. Meanwhile, someone else is recording that sound, and playing it back through a 70s Waltham cassette player which is mic-ed up and broadcast through a bank of Kay's catalogue guitar combos with slashed speaker cones.

In other words, not good!

Lol, enjoyed that description (but I do like JAMC)…….

….. are you thinking of bring this descriptive service to the monthly Basschat Composition challenge?

:lol:

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Nail Soup said:

this descriptive service to the monthly Basschat Composition challenge?

Absolutely not!

There's some pretty big shoes to fill... Doug used to do this and found something positive to say about every entry. My positive comment would usually be something like "and then mercifully, it ends".

 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Mykesbass said:

 Tony Peluso's solo on 'Goodbye to Love'. 

 

15 hours ago, ezbass said:

One of the best solos ever. References the lyric melody, builds nicely and actually goes somewhere, not just a pentatonic widdlefest.

Agreed, the solo itself is lovely. The guitar tone however is utter pish. Tinny, horrid, squeaky picking. Bleucchhh. I agree with Mykes, cheap sounding fuzz is definitely my least preferred tone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My favourite tone is Mike Stern's signature sound. He gave a mate and I a quick tour of his rig at a Jazz Caff gig once**. It's not massively complicated but I love the sound he gets.

CAUTION: jazz-fusion content.

** For anyone who gives a toss... he only uses the neck humbucker of his signature Yam, into a Boss DS-1 and a Boss digital delay stomp; one output of the DD goes to a Roland JC combo (chorus switched off), the other goes to a Pearce preamp and Yamaha SPX-90 FX unit (set to a de-tune patch to give his chorus-y shimmer), unknown power amp and 2x12 cab.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 03/05/2021 at 00:38, Rich said:

My favourite tone is Mike Stern's signature sound. He gave a mate and I a quick tour of his rig at a Jazz Caff gig once**. It's not massively complicated but I love the sound he gets.

CAUTION: jazz-fusion content.

** For anyone who gives a toss... he only uses the neck humbucker of his signature Yam, into a Boss DS-1 and a Boss digital delay stomp; one output of the DD goes to a Roland JC combo (chorus switched off), the other goes to a Pearce preamp and Yamaha SPX-90 FX unit (set to a de-tune patch to give his chorus-y shimmer), unknown power amp and 2x12 cab.

His actual playing's great, but that's exactly the kind of perma-chorus sound I was thinking of as my least favourite! Tastes vary, I guess...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...