Your Holy Tone?

Re: Your Holy Tone?

It all kinda depends on what kinda mood I'm in and what I'm playing. For cleans I don't think it gets much better than Explosions in the sky, especially on their album, The Earth is Not a Cold Place. For a rock and blues tone, I love Hendrix's tone especially live. For a straight up metal tone, I really dig High on Fire and Cephalic Carnage, both of which are really bottom heavy, but with different approaches. HOF is a lot muddier sounding, but in a good way. CC is really chunky and aggressive, which I really dig and have been able to cop with a ts9 boosting my orange while using emgs.
 
Re: Your Holy Tone?

No one's. Just my own, which I'm not even sure of yet. So I got way. But if I sound like someone else I'd have failed my tone quest.
 
Re: Your Holy Tone?

Tones I really dig:

- Time solo by Gilmour (I've gotten close enough)
- Hetfield's rhythm sounds on MOP and Black Album (I've gotten close to both, a lot has to do with technique)
- Jimi's tone on Little Wing and Castles made of Sand (Strat into clean amp, but there's something magical)
- Zakk's tone on the first BLS album (Crushing, my benchmark of heavy tone)
- Page's tone on II (great straight up rock sound)

Specialty sounds:
- Knopfller on Money for Nothing (You wouldn't want it all the time, but I love it)
- Slash's woman tone on AfD (Same deal, not all the time)
- Brian Blush's lead tone of Refreshment's first record, Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy
- Lead tone on Rheostatics cover of Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
- McCreedy's Solo on Alive (Jimi copy basically, but I like it)
- KWS Blue on Black (another Jimi copy, still I like it a lot)
 
Re: Your Holy Tone?

I chased the same tone for years, and have even asked dozens of people over the yeasr who´s tone it sounds close to.

Considering that I found my perfect tone (at least I think I have) and still can´t really think of anyone´s it´s close to, I´d have to say that my holy tone is one that is apparently uniquely mine.

I do like Dimebag´s and Fozzy Ward´s tones very much, as well as Zakk´s. There are dozens of others that I also find appealing, but I think of those three when I try to think of a tone that at least has an element of what I seek in it ;)

I always want "the most" I can possibly get: the deepest bass, the most pummeling low mids, the maximum crunch, and sharp enough to slice your face right off before you realize it. In other words the maximum heaviness note for note that I can get without the band turning to mush or an icepick.

I think describing my ideal tone metaphorically will probably work best: A ten thousand ton dry baguette, wielded by the devil himself in the bowels of hell, cracked over your skull with an earth shattering thud :headbang:
 
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Re: Your Holy Tone?

I'll give you specific songs by guitarist, album and song:

Ace Frehley - "Calling Dr. Love" - Alive II
Roy Buchanan - "Tribute to Elmore James" - Second Album
Pete Townshend - "My Generation" (solo section beginning at 1:46) - Live at Leeds
David Gilmour - "Echoes" - Live at Pompeii
Brad Whitford - "Nobody's Fault" - Rocks
Ritchie Blackmore - "No No No" - Fireball


- Keith
 
Re: Your Holy Tone?

I could type out a massive list but I won't. I'll just list the few that really hit me every time I hear 'em.

Ace Frehley - Alive and Alive II
EVH - Fair Warning, 1984, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, Balance
Mark Kendall (Great White) - Once Bitten, Hooked
SRV - Any and all but most notably - Live @ Austin City Limits
George Lynch - Tooth and Nail, Under Lock and Key, Mr. Scary
Joe Walsh - Barnstorm, The James Gang, The Eagles and solo (pretty much all)
 
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Re: Your Holy Tone?

...Whatever is in my head doesn't seem to come out on other people's records often, but the tone on Under the Bridge is nearly perfect for me... twangy, defined and sweet. To me Californication would have sounded perfect if he'd taken that sound to its logical conclusion and used a Jag :D

Distortion would have to be the hollowish, harsh, still defined tones from Sonic Youth and Placebo.

and ? at whatever about Nirvana and Marshalls, Kurt hated Marshalls.
 
Re: Your Holy Tone?

As above, several sounds or collection of sounds come to mind that I've used as a "guide" over the years...

Walsh, intro to "Life's Been Good" (a travesty that he was left off the Rolling Stone best 100 guitarists...sorry to open old wounds, but that list was flawed...)
Black Crowes, Southern Harmony and Musical Companion (great guitar album!!)
Page, Led Zep II (classic)
Beck, Wired
Garcia, early '70's sound, pre mutron (hey...stop laughing...China Cat into I know you rider...great stuff!)

But if there was only one to rule the others, for me it would be Page/Zep II.
 
Re: Your Holy Tone?

British blues/rock players at their peak in the late '60's: Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Jeff Beck, Robin Trower, & Luther Grosvenor. Les Paul burst & a Marshall Plexi. They went on different paths tone & style-wise in the '70's & 80's, but the late '60's were the golden years for lead guitar.
 
Re: Your Holy Tone?

i think EVH's Running With The Devil is the tone i was trying to get the most... that and Live At Leeds or More important to me is the Tone PT gets on the live WGFA song from the Kids Are Alright movie......

with VH i've been finding tuning your guitar exactly to each song is an important step in getting that sound of each track..
 
Re: Your Holy Tone?

I really don't remember anyone specific inspiring me to play when I started out. I'm sure it was just a matter of circumstances. But I remember that back in the '70s Rory Gallagher, Roy Buchanan, Billy Gibbons, and Nils Lofgren all started doing cool things with pinched harmonics. I still do a fair amount of that.
 
Re: Your Holy Tone?

My favorite humbucking tone would be Clapton's tone with Cream. His soloing tone on I Feel Free for example.

My favorite Strat tone would be SRV on Lenny, Riviera Paradise, Little Wing...
 
Re: Your Holy Tone?

Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind

Both Dave and Adrian were and are huge influences on my playing and tone. Especially Adrian's tone for his solo in "The Trooper", it's not just fat, it's obese!!

Slayer: South of Heaven/Seasons in the Abyss

My favorite "heavy" tone, cranked Marshalls with tons of mids, to me nothing sounds meaner or more sinister.

Also, anything by Chris Poland, his tone is always awesome, IMO.

Cheers,

CJ
 
Re: Your Holy Tone?

I'm done searching for that lost chord or tone. I just go by what I like and my two favorites: The neck PUP on a Tele with a maple fretboard with a Hot Rod Deluxe amp.

A Les Paul, SG, 335 (humbuckers) through a tube amp. Minimal effects......

A really good engineer that can process it anyway I want it to sound.:argh:
 
Re: Your Holy Tone?

Without a doubt, the first guitarist I ever tried to emulate was Brian May. The tone is just huge, with clarity, and the perfect pick attack. Not to mention his style is so emotive and vocal. I think tone and personal style are intimately related.
 
Re: Your Holy Tone?

i'm really just trying to get a sound out of my amp/guitar/pedals that gets me close to all of my favorite tones, jeff beck's modern tone/70's tone, brian may, billy gibbons, and any number of subconscious tones i dig.

also, as i've seen many mentions of brian may, I don't think it's possible to get anywhere near his tone without using a serrated coin as a pick. he uses a British sixpence. i've been using a US Dime, and ive had made some pretty cool sounds like that. Billy Gibbons also uses a coin, a Mexican Peso.
 
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Re: Your Holy Tone?

Yeah, the Brian May pick attack comes from a coin. For about a year and a half, I got used to playing with both a normal plastic plectrum and a variety of different coins. It is a big part of the way his notes sound. That said, his strange home-made guitar and cranked AC30s also play a big role in the shaping of his tone. I've read before that according to him and his tech, the three main ingredients in that tone are the guitar, the amps (which he mods slightly), and the treble boosters he uses.

I guess they're forgetting the hands.
 
Re: Your Holy Tone?

I like to sound similar to these guys:

Rolf Kasparek (Running Wild)
Kee Marcello (Europe)
Dave Mustain (Megadeth)
Jaymz Hetfield (Metallica)
Bill Leverty (Firehouse)

but if I was to choose one of these tones, that would be the Kasparek one with slightly changed EQ....or maybe a combination of certain qualities of all those.
 
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