Which Guitarists Tone Is Your Favorite?, We're all cyborgs in a way... Options

[Mudbone]

I'm sure we all have our favorite guitar tone. Now its true a good portion of it comes from the hands, but the a lot of it comes from the gear - Metallica wouldn't sound like Metallica if they were playing Danelectro's through small combo amps (nothing against Danelectros, in fact I kinda like them ) Its really a combination of neurons and flesh meeting steel, wood, and electrons. Certain gear makes a particular tone that inspires you to play the way you play. So its really a circumstance of man and machine becoming one - I guess that means guitar players could be considered cyborgs in a way

So who produces your favorite guitar/bass (I didn't forget about you Bogdan ) tone? Other than yourself of course

Even though I'm a dyed-in-the-wool metalhead, my favorite guitar tone has got to be that of none other than Stevie Ray Vaughan. To me, that is the epitome of guitar tone. If aliens landed on this planet and seen a guitar, and wanted to know what it sounded like, I'd play them some Stevie... after their mandatory colonoscopy of course.

[thefireball]

I love RED!

The guitarist has a cool lesson for their song Feed the Machine.

[Todd Simpson]

I'd agree on Stevie having just killer tone. It comes from, well, Stevie, and an ancient Marshall, and ancient strat, and strings the size of telelphone poles. One the Metal end, I'd have to say Carcass. They were one of the first bands I came across to use lower register tuning without wads of "frap" on the strings. Also, I'd have to throw in Meshuggah for much the same reason though they do make use of 7 and 8 strings guitars in many cases instead of detuning.

So much of "Heavy" tone started with the Boss Metal Pedal back in the day creating the classic "Scooped" sound back when most amplifiers simply could not provide that kind of tone by themselves (argument ensues of course). Now that Vendors like Mesa Boogie, Krank, have embrace crazy gain at the amp stage, it's wonderful world Not to leave out Marshall and the other great vendors out there of course.

In addition, active pickups were a big step toward nutso gain. I"m a fan of them myself. As well as guitar on board pre-amps. There are wads of little strings the weave the fabric of great tone. It's a never ending journey to seek the perfect tone but a journey well worth taking.

[Sickz666]

I just love Eric Johnsons tone It got a really smooth sound, both distorted and clean.

[Daniel Realpe]

TONEWISE I'D GO FOR ERIC JOHNSON sorry for the caps

[The Uncreator]

Petrucci, simply for the fact that he has an ungodly amount of distinct and individual tones. Also Tom Englund of Evergrey, Love the way he makes those Engl's sound.

[Sollesnes]

Also Tom Englund of Evergrey, Love the way he makes those Engl's sound.

He's not using ENGL? Isnt he using 6505s?

[twist]

The former mentioned Boss metal pedal, i actualy have on of those They sound like 80s metal

And to be on topic: I am not sure which sound i prefer, if i had to name a few i would definitely go for Kai Hansen in his earlier gamma ray days, he got smoother over the years, i still like it but i prefer the more brutal, raw sound when they were not as experienced... Besides that i like modern metal-core sound as from Bullet for my Valentine, a sound that in my opionion relies more on the equipment and settings used.

This post has been edited by twist: Mar 26 2011, 03:06 PM

[The Uncreator]

He's not using ENGL? Isnt he using 6505s?

Correction, Sounded.

I do believe he is using those now, although If I remember correctly he used Engl's for The Inner Circle, which is what I had in mind.

[Fran]

Santana, SRV, Hendrix, Knopfler... ohh, so many!!

[OzRob]

For very different reasons, Mark Knopfler and Richard Kruspe.

[Sollesnes]

I do believe he is using those now, although If I remember correctly he used Engl's for The Inner Circle, which is what I had in mind.

Ah, ok, that could be.

[Bogdan Radovic]

If the question was about bass player I would definitely say : Marcus Miller. He has the coolest slap tone I ever heard.

Regarding guitar players - I like John Frusciante's setup. It's raw and organic

[SirJamsalot]

Mikael Åkerfeldt

[Ivan Milenkovic]

Oh, here's a complicated question

Not sure what to answer, lots of players have cool tone. You can definitely feel the character in each of the great players tone if you listen well. Every great player has recognizable tone, you instantly know who it is.

For creating a great tone, you don't need monster setup, but you do need a decent guitar and amplifier. The truth is, instrument and amplifier only amplifies the stuff you do with your fingers, so if you handle those frets well, it will reward.

My personal favorite sounds are from Santana, SRV, and Eric Johnson. Those are just monster tones.

[Brandon Earman]

Nobody has mentioned Pink Floyd??! I would have to say David Gilmour. As much as I love SRV and his tone, David Gilmour can get that guitar to sing like no other. He doesn't play fast, but every note he plays counts, and is usually beautiful. It can be tough to mimic his exact sounds (as with any guitarist).

[Sensible Jones]

OK, apart from the obvious already mentioned Tone Meisters I'd like to add two of my favourites:-
Mr B. B. King and
Mr Andy Timmons!

[noztnac]

Alcatraz era Yngwie

and

more for more modern guys

Daniele Gottardo

[casinostrat]

I agree with Brandon, David Gilmour has an amazing tone, and proves the concept of less is more. I also like the tone that Gary Moore uses, and Eric Johnson's tone as well.

[bgrossbe]

Jake Cinninger from Umphrey's McGee (http://www.youtube.com/user/umvideo?blend=1&ob=5#p/search/0/2ed_0MwtAsU)

David Gilmour
Duane Allman