Worst Guitar Tones

I agree, except for Steve Morse. That's just odd to my ear. Wonderful tone(s). I'm assuming, you're a Blackmore fan?

 

You must not like Steve Cropper's tone.

 

It works in the Stax context. But, I wouldn't like it in many other musical contexts.

 

Seem to have done OK with it - wonder how he got so many gigs if he was so "crappy"?

Reid has a prolific session output in a variety of contexts. He has played live or on record with The Roots, Eye & I, Mick Jagger, Ambitious Lovers, Rollins Band, Spearhead, Public Enemy, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Tracy Chapman, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Don Byron, Defunkt, Santana, Bernie Worrell, MC 900 Ft. Jesus, B.B. King, Madeleine Peyroux, Meridiem, Jack Bruce, Terry Bozzio, Black Sugar Transmission (Vernon solos on the title track of 2009's USE IT EP) and DJ Spooky among many others.

 

Not me. As much as Hendrix was great, I can't stand a lot of guitar tones afterwards trying to emulate his sound. The same goes for Sgt Pepper in my book. Too many horns getting used afterwards and quasi-lyrical content nasally done. Great artist and a great album, but it's like there's a big line drawn in the sand musically that I generally do not enjoy.

 

Never been a fan of Telecaster guitars

I mean, guitar, since it's a 6 string instrument (previously it was a 5 string smaller thing), it has BODY in the sound.

Otherwise they should've make electric banjos or whatever.

As for other devices: not fan of those all-in-one digital pedalboards. They SCREAM digital in every sense. Same with modeling amps.
And my least favourite effect, by far, is wah-wah (and I dig Hendrix, Uli Jon Roth, Slash, etc)

 

Agree here. I respect him for his songs, riffs and production qualities but his solos mostly are unmemorable mess. It is especially evident with WS when it's only his guitar and basic drumming.

 

Thank You for the lovely thread crap there! I very much appreciate the 'lizard brain stem' insult. I'll save that one for my own use (directed at others) in the future! [Read with Sarcasm].

 

Brian May and Francis Rossi/Rick Parfitt

 

I love Gurley's hideous excedrin headache sound in Cheap Thrills and Farner's bargain basement tone on the early Grand Funk albums. What kind of guitar did he use? It looked like he made it in shop class, but waves if awesomeness came forth from it.

 

The same goes for Jaco Pastorius on bass. That sound became the Berklee-Approved Orthodox Bass Tone for several decades, but it really only worked for Jaco.

Then there's SRV...

 

I like a lot of Morse-era Deep Purple songs and his playing on them, but his tone is way too thin and mechanical sounding during many of his solos, especially recently, to listen to his playing for extended periods, IMO. Also, it just does not at all fit the classic Blackmore-era tracks...

 

I don't find Joe Jack's tone (Dead Milkmen) to be very "good" per se, but it's unpleasantness contributes greatly (IMO) to the overall irreverence of the band.

 

I realize this tuning has been used for tons of songs that I like. But it's a certain sound they are going after when certain bands are using it. Can't stand it.

 

I hate thin acoustic guitar tones. This is usually heard when an electric band plays 'unplugged'. Someone like Neil Young or Bob Dylan, for instance, had tremendous acoustic tone. But then you take your average rock band who wants to do a few acoustic tunes, the tone is usually crap. I don't have specific examples.

 

Bob Weir. Pretty much at all times.

 

Brian May always had a great guitar sound.

 

Not thaaaat much... I just don't like Morse's "velvet-y" Music Man guitar sound. It seems too polished and bright for a band like Purple. Also don't like contemporary Santana and his rainbow PRS. Maybe I have a thing against these modern noiseless picks that comes with these guitars. They seem souless to me.

 

Ovation guitars are garbage.

I also hate just about any kind of nu metal guitar tone with some drop C tuning going into a Ratt amp. Absolute puke.

I can't stand pickup position 4 on a Strat...you Strat guys know what I mean...the "quack"...SO many bands in the 80s and 90s were using this...made my head hurt.

 

I gotta diverge with you on the Jaco thing. Jeff Berlin, Jimmy Johnson, et al use a somewhat mid-heavy tone to great effect. It makes the bass more percussive and sits in the mix differently. Admittedly, Jaco was pretty extreme in adding treble to that tone, but I can't listen to muddy sub-bass bass tones any more, let alone play with them personally. It always sounds like the musical equivalent of a fat man walking down a narrow halfway... he's walking right down the middle, swinging his arms, taking up all the room, and normal sized people are diving out of the way and hugging the wall so they don't get creamed by the guy. That's what a band mix feels like if the bass can't keep the low low end in their pants. In most cases...

 

Odd..one of my favorite tones..

 

I must say I'm very shocked to hear all the RR responses...the double (if not triple) tracking of his parts worked to compensate for any thin-ness in his tone, which became very dynamic, full and unique. I can't imagine any other guitar sound on Ozzy's first two records (nor do I want to, after hearing Shardon's Mike Bordin and Robert Trujillo drum and bass re-recordings...)

Also, Jeff Beck's Yardbirds tone was perfect. It was the (IMO) poor recording quality on 'Heart Full of Soul' which is more responsible for the sound deficiencies.

To each his own, I guess! :/

 

Whatever Ryan Adams is using these days....yukkkkkk

 

You can refrain from commenting on this thread if it displeases you, rather than insulting it (and me). The lizard brain stem comment you made toward me is completely unacceptable and I won't tolerate this treatment toward me. I have not violated any forum rules in the process, whereas you are clearly being a 'troll' and thread-crapping here. Could anyone assist me in contacting a Gort so I may report this guy?