If you had to pick the best guitar tone you've ever heard......

Alnico

David Gilmour's 'Black Strat' Tone from the original live tour of the Wall recorded at Earls Court in 1980.

Moss

markv

Brian May on "I'm In Love With My Car"

Bellycaster

Ooooooh, I can pick a "Live" tone now. It's totally different to S.R.V, but it's another example of a Tone I love.

The unforgettable Alan Murphy.

dindude

@robinbowes great couple of choices, a man after my own heart.

impmann

(Also vocal performance and harmonies sent from heaven above)



Actually *anything* by DG


Fuck me what a performance by Patton


Nels inspired me to buy a Jazzmaster thanks to this performance

I think that'll do

Moss

@impman +1 on the Nels Cline tone

axisus

DONT JUST POST VIDEOS, TELL US WHAT THEY ARE!!! I can never be assed to just click on unknown links. OK, now that's out of the way, fav tone is Thomas Blug live in Raalte.

ICBM

Live, it would be this one -

Not sure how well it really comes across here compared to the truly epic, other-worldly power it had when you were actually there.

(And yes, I know that isn't Old Black! The gold one sounded better… really.)

sunshinewelly

Another vote for gilmour specifically from the wall album

impmann

Ok first up - Sleep now in the fire by RATM. Possibly one of the best riffs of all time with a really scuzzy small amp tone that has less grit than 90% if guitarists would use. And as a result had so much more power.

Second Les Paul - How High The Moon. Just perfection of clean tone. Snap, punch, depth and character. Plus awesome fucking playing. Try playing it for yourself to realise quite how tricky it is. And then there's Mary's amazing voice. Just shivers down the spine all round.

Thirdly Pink Floyd - Echoes. I chose the Live at Pompeii version as to me it's the ultimate use of the Strat, Fuzzface and HiWatt rig. Just so many sounds - mainly other worldly - and with incredible feel.

Fourth - an odd choice Faith no More - Ashes to Ashes. The riff makes the hairs stand up in the back of my neck and I'm transported back to one of the best times if my life. It's a lesson in less is more. And believe me, live that was FUCKING EPIC sounding. Plus Patton popping the capsule in an SM57 just with a scream... Amazing stuff.

Final one Wilco - Impossible Germany on Letterman. I'm not going to bother trying to explain that one. *That* plus the performance of Art of Almost on the same show changed the whole way I approach guitar.

:-) Enjoy

impmann

Oh if ICBM hadn't already picked it, that REM track would have been in the list too. Great stuff.

Travisthedog

Much as DBJ 2 is only apeing Gilmour - the tone on the dogs solo is utterly sublime Then to cap it all - Snowy Whites comfortably numb solo tone just makes me go all gooey

Niallmo

robinbowes said:

This does it for me.

Frightens me somewhat just how good that performance is. Blindingly fast, accurate and actually tuneful, using pretty much all of the neck and the picking, damn that picking is PERFECT.

Then there is the tone. TONE.

Philly_Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqWqCuHR0Og

Niallmo

Anything from Alchemy with the strats...

EdGrip

+1 on Sleep Now In The Fire. Imagine how smug he must have felt when he came up with that riff. Cos you'd know, as soon as you played it, that it was a world-beating riff.

When I was a teenager, cos I was cool as fuck, I was listening to an Aimee Mann album, and there was a track called Pavlov's Bell and the lead guitar was making a noise that I couldn't fathom, but which was delicious. This was because all I had was a Marshall MG15 and I didn't know what a fuzz pedal was. (On some level it was familiar to me, because it was a sound closely related to...)

I Never Met A Girl Like You Before - it's just another high-water line in guitar sounds on records.

When the Shredmaster kicks in on Creep. Still gives me goosebumps. 

The opening chords of Bad To The Bone by George Thorogood which, if you are a proper human, you will forever associate with the words "I can't letcha take the man's wheels, son." If you listen, it's drenched in reverb, and yet that doesn't detract from the immediacy of the sound. If anything, it makes it more crunchy! It's overdriven enough to really crunch, yet very defined (open tunings will do that, of course.)

The opening chords of Disco 2000 - again, really crunchy, but full chords, and again, lots of plate-y reverb which isn't overwhelming the sound. When the second guitar comes in on the other speaker to double it, it just gets better. The same E-Esus4 riff turns up all over the 90s, and also in Bruises by Band of Skulls.

Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley. Just.......... yeah. 

dindude

Some of my favs of the top of my head:

Neil Young, Cortez the Killer live from Weld. So angry yet so sweet.

Fleetwood Mac, Station Man, glorius tone throughout but particularly the solo, and I don't think Peter Green was anywhere near it (Fleetwood Mac fans maybe able to confirm).

Steely Dan, Larry on Kid charlemange.

U2, The Fly.

GavRichList

Radiohead - 2+2=5



Warpaint - Keep it Healthy



Minus The Bear - Absynthe Party at The Fly Honey Warehouse



Radiohead - Street Spirit



Interpol - The Heinrich Maneuver



Brand New - Jesus Christ

Some favourites

dindude

axisus said:

DONT JUST POST VIDEOS, TELL US WHAT THEY ARE!!! I can never be assed to just click on unknown links. OK, now that's out of the way, fav tone is Thomas Blug live in Raalte.

Have all of the wisdom. Whilst you may love to think that everyone is clicking on the clips thinking how amazing your taste is, the reality is that most will be passing them by because they have other things to do with their time.