First band or person to use distorted guitars ?

Wessel · 2008-10-14T18:50:11+00:00

Who was the first person or band to use full-on distorted guitars in their recordings ? (guitars deliberatly distorted )Karma point for the person that knows...

First band or person to use distorted guitars ?

dee

It is difficult to say, since distortion has been around for as long as amps have been around. Crank up the volume of an old tube amp and it starts to break up.

With that being said, Ike Turner used a broken amp on a recording, causing it to create a distorted sound. Chuck Berry was also one of the first to specifically use that overdriven sound.

Hendrix was also one of the pioneers of stompbox distortion, or more specifically fuzz type distortion, built by Roger Mayer if memory serves me right.

Wessel

Mmm only a few seconds difference but looks like Dean took it ! But I will karma Dee aswell for his more indepth answer.

deanBailey

thanks, this is also my 200th post! ?

Renesongs

Well done Dean For talking some much sh*te in so little time ?
Buddy Guy is probably also worth a mention, he had mastered the squealing overdrive and feedback sound or acid blues before St. Hendrix but Buddy's manager refused to record him because he thought it was "an awful mother f***ing" noise." ☹

Squonk

Dave Davies and the Kinks, 1964 "you really got me" More overdriven than dsitortion but worth a mention

DNC

I've read some were that eric clapton was also involved in this process....At that time it seems everybody had amps that go to 12... ?

nick

Squonk wrote: Dave Davies and the Kinks, 1964 "you really got me" More overdriven than dsitortion but worth a mention

the who also liked to crank things to 12 and strum as hard as they could ?

Jonny-Two-Shoes

Not sure about the distortion bit but I have heard that Black Sabbath have been given credit as one of the first for detuning and heavy distortion thanks to Tony Iommi's factory accident that saw the tips of two of his fretting hand fingers cut off.

Back in the day though I think the guys just kicked holes in their speakers for the effect ?

AlanRatcliffe

Squonk wrote: Dave Davies and the Kinks, 1964 "you really got me" More overdriven than dsitortion but worth a mention

They actually tore the amp's speaker cone to get it to distort more for that!

Hammeron

What about 'Blue Cheer'?

Hammeron

If you watch the doccy 'A Headbangers journey' by Sam Dunn, Geddy Lee talks about the first heavy band ever {as a result of distortion} as being'Blue Cheer'
First ROCK band to use distortion that is. ?

singemonkey

First heavy band =/= first band to deliberately use distorted guitar. Fuzzed-out guitars had been around for years by the time Blue Cheer came on the scene.

Satisfaction was the first fuzz-tone on record, no? But distorted guitars long before. Another early rockabilly player who used overdriven guitar was Johnny Burnette:

Crazy tune too.

Seventhson

Back then distorted guitars were cuased by crappy set ups and other problems. Take charlie Christian's sound. Was due to problems with the amp.

Bob-Dubery

Link Wray? Deliberately modified his speaker cones to get a distorted sound. This was not an accident, this was by design.

vic

singemonkey wrote: First heavy band =/= first band to deliberately use distorted guitar. Fuzzed-out guitars had been around for years by the time Blue Cheer came on the scene.

Satisfaction was the first fuzz-tone on record, no? But distorted guitars long before. Another early rockabilly player who used overdriven guitar was Johnny Burnette:

Crazy tune too.

Satisfaction...yeb (afair,mid 1965). Other fuzz sounds from that era were on Keep on running (Spencer Davis Group, 1966) and a fuzz bass on Think for yourself (Beatles; Rubber Soul, 1965.)

At the time Vox brought out the Conqueror (piggy back amp) which had fuzz as an onboard effect .

An early wah wah can be heard on Pictures of Matchstick men (Status Quo, 1968)