The Worst Guitar Tone You Have Ever Heard?

bertie

all of em.............................         

Lovehunter

Ready and Willing 

Live in the Heart of the City 

Come and Get it

Monstronaut

Listening to 'Ready An' Willing' now. One of my favourites. Paicey kills it on the title track.

xSkarloey

Yes, Ready an Willing. 

Not only a great album, but one of the few early ones without a dodgy album cover, so you can have it up in your Spotify browser without worrying if the kids (if you have 'em) will wander past and say "Daddy what's that lady doing with that snake?". 

Bucket

RocknRollDave said:

One tone I detest, but not so much a particular player so much as a generic tone, is that 80's "clean electric with chorus and delay" a la the verses in Whitesnake Here I Go Again. Just....ewwww.

I like that sound a lot - the very very clean, glassy, almost hi-fi processed clean sound. Brilliant.

bigjon

Objectively the worst tone I have come across, although there is a strong argument that they were intended to be so in order to further the artistic intent of the song, is the lead guitar sound on 'A Girl Like You' by Edwyn Collins.

ICBM

bigjon said:

Objectively the worst tone I have come across, although there is a strong argument that they were intended to be so in order to further the artistic intent of the song, is the lead guitar sound on 'A Girl Like You' by Edwyn Collins.

That's one of the best tones ever...

xSkarloey

The Girl like you tone is one of those "so bad it's good" ones for me. The first time I heard it was in a shop. A truly WTF was that moment. Great stuff. 

bertie

Bucket said:

 almost hi-fi processed clean sound. Brilliant.

three kittens just died

monquixote

Indeed "Girl like you" was a bit of a watershed as I don't recall a guitar sound like that in a big chart hit before then. 

You might have heard it in a sonic youth, or MBV song, but nothing mainstream. 

RocknRollDave

Bucket said:

RocknRollDave said:

One tone I detest, but not so much a particular player so much as a generic tone, is that 80's "clean electric with chorus and delay" a la the verses in Whitesnake Here I Go Again. Just....ewwww.

I like that sound a lot - the very very clean, glassy, almost hi-fi processed clean sound. Brilliant.

Soulless, characterless, sterile, cold...

monquixote

http://image.minyanville.com/assets/FCK_Jan2011/images/Josh Wolonick/diff'rent strokes.jpg

Bellycaster

RocknRollDave said:

Bucket said:

RocknRollDave said:

One tone I detest, but not so much a particular player so much as a generic tone, is that 80's "clean electric with chorus and delay" a la the verses in Whitesnake Here I Go Again. Just....ewwww.

I like that sound a lot - the very very clean, glassy, almost hi-fi processed clean sound. Brilliant.

Soulless, characterless, sterile, cold...

I was going to run and hide under the bed sheets, but I know I'm not alone in Loving most 80's clean and "Gained" tones.

I think @RocknRollDave may be referring to tones like this.

and this. I know Dann Huff played on this album, but not sure if he's on this track.

and finally this.

Dave's HELL :-D

I have to admit, I love 'em. It's what most people have been saying, it fits the style of Music/Song. I'm not completely devoted to 80's tones alone though ;-)

As for Edwyn Collins tone on Girl Like you, it's not my fave, I don;t hate it, it really does fit the song well.

historyisjunk

Strange, when I saw this thread I thought how much I disliked that tinny sound like "Rip It Up" by Orange Juice, but that "A Girl Like You" was very good (was surprised when I first found out who A Girl Like You was by).

While I'm at it I actually thought the Metallica song posted above had quite a good sound for them, the few things I've heard by them sounded much more screechy & not good.

Something that really puts me on edge is when folk guitarists play along with, usually, very fast fiddle tunes & do that vamping barre chord thing where the chords don't ring, so the guitar sounds more like a very dull percussion instrument. For the record I like a lot of folk music, just not that style which to me always bad.

Off the point, I understand what @Lixarto means about the title of the post rock genre. I don't understand the idea of defining something as no longer something else- when will it become something new then? Also where do we go after all these "post" concepts- post post modernism?  I sort of get the idea that perhaps the music is no longer rawk (or maybe I misunderstand) I also like a lot of what I think is defined as that kind of music- I think my great faves Bardo Pond sometimes get called that & I liked that Tortoise track.

Now, where's that libertines cd.....

Bellycaster

historyisjunk said:

where do we go after all these "post" concepts- post post modernism?

Exactly, and it's not only in Music. Once paper mail has been eradiciated, it will be the Post Postman era. I can't wait to meet Post Postman Pat.

historyisjunk

Very good Indeed.
My problem with it goes beyond music too.

Bucket

RocknRollDave said:

Soulless, characterless, sterile, cold...

It's not at all. Maybe you don't like the music it's applied to, that's a matter of opinion.

I think there are many places where that tone fits the music perfectly, and I've often sought to achieve it. It's a very useful sound - not to mention great fun to mess around with. I'm gonna throw this out there: when it comes to guitar tones, there is nothing "soulless" or "characterless", it's all in what you do with them. Knowing where that tone sounds good and using it to play the right thing for the song is the key to it, not whether it sounds good for playing "soulful" wanky blues licks or whatever.

Bellycaster

historyisjunk said:

Very good Indeed.
My problem with it goes beyond music too.

Back to music, but the word "Alternative" is being over used these days IMO. I see "Alternative Rock" to describe some bands.

So that's not "Rock" then.

And don't get me started on "Nu"

Aaaaaargh!

Bucket

historyisjunk said:

Off the point, I understand what @Lixarto means about the title of the post rock genre. I don't understand the idea of defining something as no longer something else- when will it become something new then? Also where do we go after all these "post" concepts- post post modernism?  I sort of get the idea that perhaps the music is no longer rawk (or maybe I misunderstand) I also like a lot of what I think is defined as that kind of music- I think my great faves Bardo Pond sometimes get called that & I liked that Tortoise track.

According to Wikipedia (paraphrased):

"Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using ideas not traditionally found in rock... The term "post-rock" is believed to have been coined by critic Simon Reynolds in his review of Bark Psychosis' album Hex... Reynolds expanded upon the idea later in the May 1994 issue of The Wire. He used the term to describe music "using rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes, using guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures rather than riffs and power chords"."

So I guess it's still rock, but it tends to explore other styles too - and the possibilities for playing in new ways with the same instrumentation. I can sort of see where the "post" label comes from, although I think it has become overused. Unless people really understand where it's applicable and where it's not, we risk devaluing it as a term. I don't know if "post-post-rock" or whatever will ever be a thing - not sure where the style can go from where it is now, without losing the "rock" altogether.

Isis are heavier - generally considered "post-metal", which is similar but heavier, usually tuned lower and often with some growled or shouted vocals thrown in. I guess the sound could be described as a mixture of Tool, My Bloody Valentine and Godflesh.

Neurosis are another well-known one linked to that scene. Drew's band Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster do a cracking job of it too.

UnclePsychosis

bigjon said:

Objectively the worst tone I have come across, although there is a strong argument that they were intended to be so in order to further the artistic intent of the song, is the lead guitar sound on 'A Girl Like You' by Edwyn Collins.

Thats my all time favourite distorted guitar tone. Its perfect. 

monquixote

Bucket said:

So I guess it's still rock, but it tends to explore other styles too - and the possibilities for playing in new ways with the same instrumentation. I can sort of see where the "post" label comes from, although I think it has become overused. Unless people really understand where it's applicable and where it's not, we risk devaluing it as a term. I don't know if "post-post-rock" or whatever will ever be a thing - not sure where the style can go from where it is now, without losing the "rock" altogether.

Isis are heavier - generally considered "post-metal", which is similar but heavier, usually tuned lower and often with some growled or shouted vocals thrown in. I guess the sound could be described as a mixture of Tool, My Bloody Valentine and Godflesh.

Neurosis are another well-known one linked to that scene. Drew's band Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster do a cracking job of it too.

I've heard it said that Post Rock is a term for rock musicians who secretly like jazz, but can't admit it.