Who is the best guitarist with the worst tone?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Aaron Cheney
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Surfing with an Alien. And you're right I don't care for that one either. But if you ever get the chance to check out his Self-Titled CD, you should. He has Clapton's rhythym section playing with him on that one. It's way more groove oriented than his other stuff. It doesn't sound forced,or contrived. That's really the only CD of his that I can listen to all the way through, but It's probably my favorite instrumental album of all time.
 
BUDDY GUY. I favor his older tone from his days with chess records and seventies Buddy Guy, but everything changes. I think his new tone--ninties stuff-- is too distorted and sounds over produced on the CDs. It sounds as if he is trying to get a full tilt live tube amp sound in the studio with effects instead of the real thing......One thing is for certian---nobody elses plays with Buddy Guy's sound. It's very distinctive and WOW can that man put on a live show!!!!!!! I look at it this way----anybody that has made it to 70 years old, and still plays as many dates a year as he does deserves to have his guitar sound any damn way he wants it too----the man is a legend. By the way----you guys need to check out his latest release "Sweet Tea". It kicks some serious ass.......it's not straight blues so if you are stuck in a I, IV,V frame of mind it may not be for you.
 
You guys are ALL wrong....the one and only answer is Kevin
Eubanks on the tonight show.....
 
I am the worst guitarist with the best tone!

Especially compared to the old me where I had plenty of time to practice 8 hours a day but didn't have enough money for a decent rig.

Now that I can finally afford a good rig, I have to struggle to squeeze in practice time. :p
 
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Daddy-O said:
BUDDY GUY. I think his new tone--ninties stuff-- is too distorted and sounds over produced on the CDs. It sounds as if he is trying to get a full tilt live tube amp sound in the studio with effects instead of the real thing.
Click to expand...

I agree - excellent example is his version of RedHouse on the Hendrix tribute CD. Absolutely aweful - sounds like fully saturated SS muck - and the bends are going flat and sharp. Not at all indicative of his enormous skill.
 
best guitar player worst tone

i agree about buddy guys playing on red house...it was a real let down, but, the spin doctors version of "spanish castle magic" was real hot and was worth the price of the CD....and their guitar tone was killer
im probably gonna get alot of flak for this , but, i never thought chuck berry had very good tone on his later stuff...love his playing but he should have let me tweak his amp
ditto on carlos santanas tone too
but the WORST tone i've ever heard in my life has to be KORN...but then, this is supposed to be GOOD guitar players with bad tone...so...strike KORN
 
When I started reading the first post, Clapton came to my mind. He spiraled down after Derek and the Dominoes for sure.
Also Buddy Guy. I have some old stuff of his and he was far better in his earlier days.
Vai? Van Halen? No comment. As long as Mark Knofler stays away from the mic, he's cool.
I'd like to add Lenny Kravitz to my list. Something about him just doesn't fit right.

What has happened to these guys? It's turrable what ever it is.
Yeah, it's either $ or loss of hearing due to age.

Back in the old days, when men hunted, they'd fast before a hunt. They did this to increase their scences. It must of worked, as we're here today. Possibly these great artists had the same thing, hunger, driving them in the early days. Not just stomach 'hunger', but that hunger to be on top.
I don't know. I know I wouldn't purchase some albums today by these guys.
 
Jeff Beck can make any guitar sound like a whoopee cushion.
Jeff

PS Wide Awake- I can't believe you don't like Knopflers tone. He's one of the few strat players whose tone I really enjoy. I think the bridge pickup is overused on strats. Robert Cray is the king of strat-tone.
 
Insert the name of any Country & Western guitarist here.
 
Derek and the Dominoes

I know why everyone's saying that Clapton's tone went down hill after Derek and the Dominoes.....they're thinking of Duane Allman's tracks on Layla.

I don't know why Clapton gets so much credit for his blues when you've got material by the likes of Duane and SRV to listen to. I'm not going to knock Clapton, he's a pioneer who had a huge role in the British blues revolution, but as far as incredible blues players go...Stevie Ray is far and away The Man.

And I agree with RWhite...skilled country western guitarists deserve as much credit as any skilled musician...and maybe it's my untrained ear for country, but I'm sorry...that thin twang just always sounds the same to me.
 
Gritzy,

I agree with you,SRV is the man, and few have ever compared with Duane Allman. I've always suspected that having Duane to play off of (on the Layla album) was one of the best things for Clapton - some competition so to speak. Or inspiration.

Clapton was a legend before I'd ever even heard of SRV,but the last time I saw him in concert, I almost fell asleep!

But the original topic was about tone, which made me think of Clapton right away. It's not always bad, but man, sometimes it's downright ugly!

Twist
 
Clapton's sucked since he gave up heroin.He should go back to the smack!!!
 
How about Robert Cray...a decent player if not brilliant, but his tone sounds like a cheap toy guitar plugged into a solid state practice amp. Plink plinky plink...
 
How could I forget--Bruce Cockburn on his more distorted stuff like "Tie me at the crossroads" or "Blueberry hill." His cleaner playing is toney and sweet, but when he uses heavy distortion it's clear he has no idea what it's supposed to sound like. It's what classic Fender distortion (crappy) if you don't do the necessary (and finicky) tweaks). I.e. more isn't necessarily better.
 
Speaking of Bruce Cockburn;who did the leadwork on "If I had
a rocket launcher"?Was that Bruce Cockburn?Absolutely awsome
work!I've always wondered if that was David Gilmore.It sounds
a lot like him.
 
That was actually Cockburn himself on the album (Stealing Fire).
 
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