Who says you can't play killer blues on a SG

Reinhard · 2011-01-21T08:34:41+00:00

Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush. Apparently he playes into a solid state amp. The licks and the tone just kill me.

Reinhard

X-rated Bob wrote
Reinhard wrote Everyone raised good points, but it's nice to see a pointy red guitar in a world dominated by strats and archtops. Kinda like blues on a flying V, not something you see everyday.
Albert King played a flying V!

It's a good question though. Who says you can't play blues on an SG? Who is that person? There is no "blues" guitar. The blues is about the notes you play and the feeling you play them with - not the axe you use. Muddy Waters used Telecasters extensively. Albert Collins also uses a Tele.

Yeh I know Albert played a V, and Lonnie Mac as well, Joe Bonamassa has also used one. And you could play blues on an oil can guitar. I just associate blues tones with certain instruments:

Archtops-BB King, Freddie King, Clapton at times
Strats- SRV, Rory Galagher
Les Pauls-Mike Bloomfield, Peter Green, Eric Clapton.
Teles-Roy Buchannon, Albert Collins

I associate certain tones with each group. I can plug each of my guitars into the same valve amp, and there will be enough difference between them to justify splitting them in those groups. While each group has their merits, I prefer certain tones. Sure I can plug a single coil guitar in and get some nice tones, but I prefer the "blues" tone I get from humbuckers or P90's.
So yes, you can play blues on a eye gouger through a mesa dual rectifier, or metall with a jazzbox, but what is it going to sound like. Someone might think it sounds incredible, taste differs.

I agree tone is in the hands as well, but your equipment gets you in a certain ball park and the hands take it from there. Others may differ, but getting the tone you hear in your head is inpiring. I just got my ES-330 back, and the P90's ooze what I consider to be blues tone. So on this I agree with Keira, certain instruments just lend themselves better to a certain style of music, and Jazz boxes are a perfect example. Hearing that inspires you. Also, the type of guitar affects how I play (others may not feel the same). I play very differnetly on my strat or tele than say through the Les Paul. The Les Paul encourages using the sustain and drives a valve amp so easy. Doing the same through the strat takes a lot more work or a lot more assistance from pedals for me.

So the tone Frank got from his SG is not the tone I associate with SG's and it is refreshing to see it in a genre dominated by more traditional models.

Jack-Flash-Jr

ezietsman wrote The way I see it, to play authentic sounding blues, you need a steel string guitar. Any steel string guitar. Thats it.

Sometimes not even:

ezietsman

I agree with your sentiment about the hands and equipment and ballpark but I think it should be the other way around maybe. Your hands takes you 90% there and your equipment adds that last bit of flavour to the mix. Rene and I switched guitars (LP vs Strat) when I had lessons and Singemonkey and I too. One had LP going through bassman with a TS and the other had a LP going through an HT5, VERY different. Guess what, our playing still sounded the same. Thats my little circumstantial evidence for my theory. Sound and tone comes from your playing, equipment is just a spice you need to make it little bit more tasty.

Bob-Dubery

Santana played an SG for years, and when you strip all the frills away the foundation of what he does is blues.

Reinhard

Lets take Clapton, we can all agree he knows his way around a guitar. I love his playing through humbuckers or P90's, then he takes the single coils. Same hands, same licks, but he sounds like a different player. Sure tone is personal taste, but I swear to me it sounds like his playing changes. Maybe it's just me.

Reinhard

X-rated Bob wrote Santana played an SG for years, and when you strip all the frills away the foundation of what he does is blues.

I hate his PRS/Mesa tone, just sounds like he turns the tone all the way down. I saw clips of him playing his SG at woodstock, that was some serious tone. I think most of these guitar legends spent too much time in front of cranked marshalls, so I guess they can be forgiven for having lesser? tone later in life. Same licks, way different sound.

singemonkey

Reinhard wrote Lets take Clapton, we can all agree he knows his way around a guitar. I love his playing through humbuckers or P90's, then he takes the single coils. Same hands, same licks, but he sounds like a different player. Sure tone is personal taste, but I swear to me it sounds like his playing changes. Maybe it's just me.

I also think he sounds much better on a Gibson. I like blues guitar to be very vocal, and I've never really got into players that play on a twangy/jangly guitar. Even if it's clearly brilliant, it just doesn't seem to hook me the same way. That's not to say a player always sounds like that on a Fender. But Clapton certainly has a bit of the jangle when he's on a Strat.

Jack-Flash-Jr

singemonkey wrote
Reinhard wrote Lets take Clapton, we can all agree he knows his way around a guitar. I love his playing through humbuckers or P90's, then he takes the single coils. Same hands, same licks, but he sounds like a different player. Sure tone is personal taste, but I swear to me it sounds like his playing changes. Maybe it's just me.
I also think he sounds much better on a Gibson. I like blues guitar to be very vocal, and I've never really got into players that play on a twangy/jangly guitar. Even if it's clearly brilliant, it just doesn't seem to hook me the same way. That's not to say a player always sounds like that on a Fender. But Clapton certainly has a bit of the jangle when he's on a Strat.

He also lost his edge somewhere along the way. Possibly as early as the first time he saw Jimi play.

Ray

Derek Trucks plays SG mostly.

Reinhard

Take another example. Mike Bloomfield. I have heard him in his tele days, then he started tapping the LP and my word, it was tone to give you chills. Same licks, waaay different sound. I am not bashing Fender, they certainly have their uses, better for chord work than buckers, great cleans (less muddy in neck than buckers) etc IMO. Some people really make them sing ?

Reinhard

Ray wrote Derek Trucks plays SG mostly.

Frank is an old timer, so of all the "younger" guns, Trucks seems to be the only one on an SG. OK, Duane Allman also dit some slide on an SG but that is donkey years ago.

Squonk

I noticed the EDGE played a SG a lot in 'It might get loud' but unlike Jimmy and Jack, he hasn't got a blue note in his playing at all!
Really enjoyed the playing of Jack White, and it's all Blues inspired.

Reinhard

Did anyone actually watch the clip before it derailed and killed the family of meerkats as well as the Discovery channel film crew?
I found his playing great and his tone was killer. That SG just rang like a bell, something I would expect from a clean SG special.

Warren

Reinhard wrote Did anyone actually watch the clip before it derailed and killed the family of meerkats as well as the Discovery channel film crew?
I found his playing great and his tone was killer. That SG just rang like a bell, something I would expect from a clean SG special.

I watched it. Very sweet tone, not what I'd associate with an SG. The only SG-based blues I know are by Clapton and Trucks, and their sounds are a lot grittier.

singemonkey

It's the maestro tailpiece that does it - sweetens up the tone something wicked ?

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