What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

[ex-250]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

Zakk Wylde - Pride & Glory and rhythm tones on BLS' Boozed, Broozed, and Broken Boned DVD.

Just watched that DVD yesterday for the first time in years, twas a good time. Zakk's banter has aged amusingly, the constant ragging on Limp Bizkit and whatnot. I honestly forgot they were a thing. And I was better off, now painful memories have returned. Thanks Zakk. Thanks a lot. So much angry posturing though, I'm a bit pleased Zakk has mellowed out in old age. He's still a cartoon character, just less of a seemingly ignorant hateful one.

 

[ex-250]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

Anyhow, my list-

Graveyard- Hisingen Blues
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats- Mind Control
Metallica- Master of Puppets
Grand Magus- Wolf's Return
Smashing Pumpkins- Siamese Dream


Live Addendum
Down, Philadelphia 4/1/07
Judas Priest, Camden 6/18/05
Ghost, Philadelphia 5/12/13
(thanks to Setlist.fm for dates)

 

[Taz Rules]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

Mark Knopfler on Money For Nothing. Honorable mention to Sultans of Swing

Lynyrd Skynyrd's combined sound on Sweet Home Alabama

Phil Collen (Def Leppard) on Pour Some Sugar on Me.

Jeff Healy on Hoochie Coochie man

Eddie Van Halen on Panama, also on Jamie's Cryin'


Live tone...was at a Bon Jovi concert and Aerosmith showed up on stage. Joe Perry lit the place on fire

 

[allbutromeo]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

Brian May-Death on Two Legs
Randy Rhoads-You Looking at Me Looking at You
Jimi Hendrix-Angel
Malcolm Young-You Shook Me All Night Long
Claudio Sanchez (Coheed and Cambria)-Welcome Home

 

[stratguy23]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

bonus: Ted Nugent - Stranglehold

F**k yeah, that to me is the epitome of "70s rock tone". I love all the air and feedback he's getting around the notes.

I've never seen Eric Johnson live, but the live clips I've seen of him with an SG have been righteous. It's the EJ tone, just with extra warmth and hair that doesn't make it onto the records. Someone mentioned him working the pedals, I bet the Fuzz Face really comes across live.

I've been revisiting Yngwie's stuff recently, and am astounded not only at how good his lead tone is - it's not clinical shredding at all, there's a lot of warmth and idiosyncrasy (you can tell he's having fun, with the way his phrasing swoops up and down) - but how well his rhythm tone transitions into his lead tone. Maybe that's just him flipping between neck and bridge pickups, but it's a marked difference from the usual "this is rhythm guitar, this is lead guitar" dichotomy.

Robben Ford has an amazing tone on his live "Soul on Ten" record. The tones there are a bit hairier and hotter than what usually makes it onto his studio records. He is a great singer and songwriter, but I feel that that the best way to experience him is live, where he can really stretch out on guitar and put that Dumble amp goodness in your face.

EDITED TO ADD: Billy Gibbons, "Just Got Paid". That is THE Pearly Gates bridge tone.

Eyehategod have probably the nastiest collective tone of any band working today. I hear both Marshall-esque high mid spikes (JB, 498T style) and Orange-esque lower mid girth:

 

[Demanic]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

^^
Don't forget Neil Young on "Live Rust".

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

 

[NjuiMusic]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

well I listen to a lot of metal so my "grail tones" are probably a bit off

#1 - Joe Satriani, especially his newer stuff, the Marshall's and his sig DiMarzio pickups scream and his overall tone is just great imo

#2 - Keith Merrow, I primarily play really heavy metal and I am a rhythm guitar player so I relate the most to rhythm tones. Keith Merrow on most of his recordings and especially Conquering Dystopia is SOLID rhythm tone. Most of that I find to be in his mixes as his tone is good with most amps and guitars so it could be down more to his mix but still you need good tone for a good mix.

#3 - Karl Sanders (Nile), Now I know Nile seems rather low-fi and not much to be about tone but his tones with the JCM2000s and Splawn Hot Rods have blown me away on most records, It's so thick and crunchy but still define, he uses an Invader most of the time if I recall correctly.

#4 - Gojira, I am relatively new to this band and I am not familiar with the players but their rhythm player has SOLID tone, he uses the newer grey Charvel USA model into EVH 5150III amps and his tone is also thick, VERY crunchy but yet clear. oh and pick rakes, like bro. I have been very content tone wise with Gojira and their new album seems like it'll be cool, if you like metal check out Gojira.

#5 - Aaron Marshall, Guitarist of Intervals, from Toronto, Canada. Super cool dude and his tone is AMAZING, whether he uses single coils or humbuckers his tone always satisfies me. I saw them live last March and his live tone was to die for. PRS loaded with Seymour Duncan or stock PRS pickups depending on which PRS he grabbed, into Fractal Audio Axe Fx II, into a PRS Stealth 2x12 I believe. His tone was crushing rhythm and lead wise.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

Peter Gabriel: "Solsbury Hill" (song).
Chick Corea New Trio: "The Past, Present, and Future."
The chorus-driven dryness of Judas Priest's "Painkiller" (album).

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

Rhythm:

Autopsy - Mental Funeral (whole album) ...sick...sick...sick...sick...SICK..SICK..SEWER SICKKK!!! haha ..how many times do I have to say it!!??
Morbid Angel - God Of Emptiness ....see above!
Dio - The Last In Line/We Rock ...MMEETTAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!!
Judas Priest - Painkiller (whole album) ...MMEETTAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!!
Iron Maiden - Powerslave/2 Minutes To Midnight ....MMEETTAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!!



Lead:

Gary Moore - The Loner
James Murphy - Trail Of Tears (Testament)/ Cause Of Death (Obituary) Solo's etc..
Lars Johansson (all solo's from Candlemass's Nightfall)
Andy LaRocque (Liked his lead tone best on Conspiracy)
Matthais Jabs/Herman Frank's lead tone's in general...

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

Oh...and Angus Young!!

 

[orpheo]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

1: permission to land, the darkness. This album got me into playing guitar in the first place.

2. Metallica: kill 'm all & ride the lightning. Very similar tones and my favourite albums by far. I love the attack, the crunch and bite.

3. Iron maiden power slave. The blend of balls, cut, grit and smoothness. (I was in doubt between power slave, book of souls and 7th son but powerslave's titular song has some of the best writing Iron Maiden has ever done, imho).

4. Jimmy Page on Led Zep's Since I've Been Loving You. A cherished teacher of mine, who taught math by the way, gave me LZ III one day on vinyl. A real oldie. It opened my eyes for so much more. I love how Page tweaks the knobs on his guitar to go from full roar to semi-cleans. It gets me every time.

5. Van Halen, DOA on VH2. It was that song that made me understand the appeal EvH has.

Live:

1: Eric Johnson. I mean, the man is a time monster.
2: Michael Schenker Live in Tilburg 2012. Damn damn damn. I was there and seriously... the balls in his tone were huge.
3. Robbin Ford. His old tele through a Fumble is to die for. Smooth, rich and so nuanced.

Honourable mention:

John Mayer, Neon, Gravity
Slash, Appetite for destruction
Bumblefoot, little brother is watching
Thin Lizzy/Gary Moore: ALBUM VERSION of still in love with you (it's rumoured to be a lp jr through a 1959slp. So...good!).
Y&T: rescue me (the rhythm & leads!)
Winger, Karma (god they were on fire in that album!)

I'm guessing that you kinda feel my vibe in tones?

 

[TimmyPage]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

1. This video is only like 2 months old and just completely changed the sound I want from an instrument, and because this was recorded in a studio I think it counts under recording rather than live:



2. Also fairly recent, but another big influence (and this whole album really made me want a telecaster again):



3. Pink Floyd's Wish you were Here. It isn't my favourite album by them musically, but I absolutely adored some of his sounds on here, especially some of his clean/low-gain solos on Shine On, and especially his use of phaser on the album. Something I always thought was really cool about Gilmour, until recently he never really 'looked back' when effects were involved. He used the Univibe early in his career, moved to a Phase 90, to an Electric Mistress, to Chorus, and each time he moved he would play most of those iconic parts with whatever was on his rig. It's something I really think about when setting up my rig: Do I need Chorus, Phaser, Vibe, Rotary etc on this gig, or would a single, unified sound be more meaningful and powerful?

4. (LIVE) Until I saw him fairly recently I could never really get 'into' Mike Stern. The overly chorused tone kind of turned me off, but hearing it live in stereo and mixed into the natural sound of the hall it sounds beautiful. After which, I found this video and WOW listen to how beautiful that chorus tone is, especially at around 3:40. It's perfect, and exactly what I want from a chorus tone.



Thinking of 5 is hard. I guess in modern 'jazz' specifically I hear a lot of guys who have brilliant phrasing and playing ability, but their tone does nothing for me. I kind of just pull little bits and pieces from what I like and add it to what I already like about my own sound.

 

[Zarg]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

Lamb of God - Wrath (2009)
Lamb of God - Resolution (2011) - LoG just has a killer tone, so punchy and tight. Mesa Mark 4's and I believe a Royal Atlantic as well on the newer records

Children of Bodom - Hate Crew Deathroll (2007) - Very classic metal sound to me, a lot of attack

In Flames - Whoracle (1997) - especially "morphing into primal", just an amazing melodic death metal tone

HammerFall - Legacy of Kings (1997)

 

[Mincer]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

Some great suggestions here...apparently I have different ideas of what great tones are, or haven't been exposed to a lot of heavier music. I will add 1 heavier tone, though...Dave Murray's neck solo tone is wonderful (where did that go over the years?).

 

[metlking]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

Hard to pick ONLY 5, so don't mind me if I bend the rules a little......

Rolling Stones: Can't You Hear Me Knockin'
Van Halen: Mean Street
Slash: You Could Be Mine
David Gilmour: Sorrow
Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind, specifically Revelations
Judas Priest: British Steel, specifically the outro rhythm to Steeler
Cinderella: Long Cold Winter. Tom Kiefer has killer tone and blues chops!
Candlebox: Gotta agree 100% with Jolly on this one. Peter Klett is very under-rated......
REO Speedwagon: Gary's powerchords on Keep on Lovin' You.....also a very under-rated player....

Soooooooooo many more to mention!

 

[Dahla]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

In Flames - Whoracle (1997) - especially "morphing into primal", just an amazing melodic death metal tone

Oh hell yeah! That album is my favorite In Flames album. First album I ever heard with them, and the only one I keep coming back to.

I remember putting on "Soundtrack to your escape" when that came out. I thought I had the wrong disc. It didn't seem like the same band. (From Whoracle to Soundtrack was quite the leap...)


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[Pontiac Jack]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

EVH- Runnin' With The Devil. Probably the most sort after tone of all time. Made me actually think about getting a quality guitar sound.
BTO - Sledgehammer - Randy Bachman/Blair Thornton . Big,fat,dumb ROCK!!! Bachman's solo tone is killer.
Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Anthem . Zel Cleminson's lead tone is excellent. So much feeling in the solos!
Accept - Metal Heart . Wolf Hoffman' s tone throughout this album is killer! Metal Heart and Bound To Fail are huge.
UFO/MSG - Anything Schenker played on really. Monster Tone!!!! That half depressed wah sound is awesome!

Honorable mentions: Whoever played the solo on Gerry Rafferty's Baker Street and JJ Cale- Crazy Mama.

Cheers,PJ

 

[Byrone]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

In no particular order:

* Billy Gibbons - "Gotsta Get Paid" - This dude's tone just keeps getting better with age. I don't care if you don't like ZZ Top, you gotta give him props for his tone.

* J Yuenger/White Zombie - "Blur the Technicolor" that whole album has some pretty sick guitar tone, but when the main riff kicks in with the phaser.....it's just monstrous. And he slaved for that tone. He was cool enough to answer my emails and told me the lengths he had to go to get that tone. So very worth it.

* R.L. Burnside/Kenny Brown - "Burnside on Burnside" - The whole album is living proof that it ain't about the gear. It's about what you do with it. Those two are playing some pretty cheap guitars through pretty cheap amps, but they destroy.

* Margaret Glaspy - "Emotions and Math" - Not a huge fan of hers or the genre, but I heard her by chance and was blown away by the size of her sound. Huge. Just a tele through a little old Champ. Seriously fat sound.

* Jimi w/A Band of Gypsies - "Machine Gun" live - Obviously Jimi is another "take your pick" for grail tones, but his tone on this cut is untouchable. The way he plays not just the guitar, but the amp and the effects. He truly is the greatest. Okay, so if there was an order to this, Jimi's on top.

 

[leevc5]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

Hendrix - Little Wing pure clean Stratastic (and we cannot overlook Castles Made of Sand);
Clapton - Crossroads live SG overdrive-o-rama (Otis Rush All your Love at the American Folk Blues Festival did a lot to inspire Clapton's tone);
Knofpler - Sailing to Philadelphia the vocals and guitar blend is splendid;
Green - Albatross what can you say but hypnotic;
Allman - Layla it wouldn't have been a song worth listening too without him

 

[moshpit817]

Re: What are your top 5 "Grail" tones?

Randy Rhoads-Ozzy Osborne--Diary of a Madman and Blizzard of Oz..I saw both these tours in Dallas Texas back in somewhere around 80' and 82'
Eddie Van Halen-Van Halen 1-I'm the one and Atomic punk
George Lynch--Back for the attack-Lost behind the wall and Kiss of death
Alice in chains-We die young
SRV_Tin pan alley and really all his work
Too Many more to list!!