The Worst Guitar Tone You Have Ever Heard?

xSkarloey

Dare I compare and contrast that Whitesnake clean chorus thing (which I don't mind at all BTW) with Def Leppard on Hysteria. I've always loved that very clean and sparkly chime they got on the bridge. I never knew exactly how they did it until I found out years later they recorded each string separately then played them all back together to 're-form' the chord. OTT in an 80s way. 

Sort of explains why they took so long over he record.

That sound is at 0:54 Another 80's favourite of mine has always been the very compressed and choppy INXS tone on New Sensation and Need You Tonight.

DrJazzTap

Wasn't Def Leppard something like 45 tracks of guitar for each harmony line?

Bucket

monquixote said:

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.

I dunno, I've never thought it owed much to jazz.

monquixote

Bucket said:

monquixote said:

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

I dunno, I've never thought it owed much to jazz.

I think that's a testament to how abused the term "Post Rock" is. I first heard it in context of Tortoise who are clearly very jazz influenced. 

If could equally be a term for rock musicians who secretly like Steve Reich

imalone

UnclePsychosis said:

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. 

Re-listening to it, is there a talk-box in there somewhere?

Reverend

Post metal owes more to things like Morricone, Eno and the 80s punk of Killing Joke, Amebix and The Mob.
Neurosis basically was an Amebix clone that added more Pink Floyd.

Bidley

Most blues rock musicians - they all sound exactly the same.

Whoever it was in The Libertines; dreadful.

not_the_dj

Skarloey said:

Dare I compare and contrast that Whitesnake clean chorus thing (which I don't mind at all BTW) with Def Leppard on Hysteria. I've always loved that very clean and sparkly chime they got on the bridge. I never knew exactly how they did it until I found out years later they recorded each string separately then played them all back together to 're-form' the chord. OTT in an 80s way. 

Sort of explains why they took so long over he record.

I love that album, it was massive just as I was getting into music.

I listened to some poddle years Whitesnake last night, and the guitars on "Here I Go Again" sounds great to me. They fit the sound and era perfectly. Listing to that version then going straight back to the original version is quite weird, that just sounded so small in comparison.

\m/

xSkarloey

Part of me still loves John Sykes's tone on this. Imagine that Les Paul and  a room full of Marshalls full blast. 

Mighty is the only word I can think of. 

Lixarto

RocknRollDave said:

OK, so Moody/ Marsden era, what albums should I be looking at?

There is a compilation called "The Early Years" specifically for this.

ICBM

Bellycaster said:

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.

I understand why it annoys some people, but I use the term and I think it largely applies to what I like and do.

"Alternative rock" - to me - means music that is still basically rock (and doesn't really fit into any other classification), but is an 'alternative' to the usual forms of rock music… in particular, avoiding most of the clichés of stereotypical rock music, and which I detest.

Of course, this soon gives rise to its own set of clichés and annoyances too!

I also find it funny that in the standard Gracenote genre listing system, "Alternative & Punk" is the top category for anything that doesn't neatly fit into rock… when most of it has little or nothing to do with punk.

historyisjunk

Thanks for comments about the "post"- insert choice of genre, movement etc  thing. And for references to bands, I actually had trouble distinguishing some of the Post bands from similar non-post bands, but that's always a problem with dividing cultural output into genres or categories you end up with the stuff on the edge being impossible to place & a lot of music/books/films etc will fall into more than one genre. People & bands will also move between genres- (what's Steve Earle these days?) I don't see this as a problem if we don't get too serious about it or think the categories are more important than the stuff being categorised. It's a good short hand, you roughly know what you'll get when you see those labels.

The whole concept of "Post" things though I have problems with, because it seems a bit of an intellectual dead end on the part of those defining the categories, also a worrying lack of historical perspective & a running out of ideas. That's not a problem for or criticism of what's being described just the description.

I won't derail the thread further or return to it again.

BTW, that Scritti Politti was truly horrible.

Lukeage

Joe Bonamassa. 

Really surprised he's not appeared in here. Just because he's got a load of beautiful old guitars and amps, doesn't mean he has good tone. I like his songs and I have all his albums but I have a problem with his tone - it's just all muffled and gross. 

Well not all... everything past the You & Me album is, anyway.

EricTheWeary

Lukeage;184016" said:

Joe Bonamassa. 

Really surprised he's not appeared in here. Just because he's got a load of beautiful old guitars and amps, doesn't mean he has good tone. I like his songs and I have all his albums but I have a problem with his tone - it's just all muffled and gross. 

Well not all... everything past the You & Me album is, anyway.

I was waiting for Joe! Sounds much better live and whilst I don't hate his recorded tone the production on much of his catalogue let's it down and the sound of the songs in general. When you hear say the Gary Clark Jr album and how good that sounds ( weird song choices aside) you have to wonder why Joe records his albums on an old Tascam 4 track cassette recorder with worn heads. :bz

Bellycaster

ICBM said:

Bellycaster said:

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.

I understand why it annoys some people, but I use the term and I think it largely applies to what I like and do.

"Alternative rock" - to me - means music that is still basically rock (and doesn't really fit into any other classification), but is an 'alternative' to the usual forms of rock music… in particular, avoiding most of the clichés of stereotypical rock music, and which I detest.

Of course, this soon gives rise to its own set of clichés and annoyances too!

I also find it funny that in the standard Gracenote genre listing system, "Alternative & Punk" is the top category for anything that doesn't neatly fit into rock… when most of it has little or nothing to do with punk.

@ICBM

I suppose being 59 years down the line from the birth of "Rock n Roll" is starting to show, it's a long time I guess and things change quite quickly, so there is much to more to compare one and other to, the more time that passes by.

I remember looking on Wiki and seeing genres I'd never heard of that have been coined by someone and thinking "What the F***'s that supposed to be?"

I think the genre "Indie" is now being subdivided beyond belief too, it's all too much, I want to go back to 1983 again.

Gassage

For his reputation, Doyle Bramhall.

I absolutely despise his playing. it is so unflowing (if there's such a word) staccato and awful

Bucket

Lukeage said:

Joe Bonamassa. 

Really surprised he's not appeared in here. Just because he's got a load of beautiful old guitars and amps, doesn't mean he has good tone. I like his songs and I have all his albums but I have a problem with his tone - it's just all muffled and gross. 

Well not all... everything past the You & Me album is, anyway.

I was listening to the title track of "Blues Deluxe" on the train home earlier and it struck me how fucking brilliant I thought his tone (and playing) were. Definitely sounded like a Strat, not a Gibson. Sounded absolutely incredible.

Lukeage

That's cos way back then, Jo'Bo' was a Strat player. He didn't start getting the LPs out until his career began to peak. 

And I would agree that it does sound much better live than on CD. Blues Deluxe, Had to Cry Today, A New Day Yesterday, So It's Like That: albums with good tone. Oh and You & Me of course. But the rest, like the songs but come on how much longer is he going to carry on the muffled muddy tone? 

Hmmmm in saying that it was alright on Ballad of John Henry. 

RocknRollDave

EricTheWeary said:

Lukeage;184016" said:

Joe Bonamassa. 

Really surprised he's not appeared in here. Just because he's got a load of beautiful old guitars and amps, doesn't mean he has good tone. I like his songs and I have all his albums but I have a problem with his tone - it's just all muffled and gross. 

Well not all... everything past the You & Me album is, anyway.

I was waiting for Joe! Sounds much better live and whilst I don't hate his recorded tone the production on much of his catalogue let's it down and the sound of the songs in general. When you hear say the Gary Clark Jr album and how good that sounds ( weird song choices aside) you have to wonder why Joe records his albums on an old Tascam 4 track cassette recorder with worn heads. :bz

^This. What he said.
Except I haven't heard the Gary Clark Jr album, but even so I know this is right.

ICBM

Not an electric guitar, but I've just been listening to Warren Zevon's live acoustic album Learning To Flinch, and the Ovation "acoustic" sound on it is just horrendous, even by the standards of 90s "unplugged" tone. Great songs, but the guitar sound is quite distracting.