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  • 25 of the best guitar tones of all time

We’ve all been inspired by the sounds of classic songs at some point, propelled to chase down or even buy our way to get that sound. Online debate constantly rages between players over who used what, how and when on record, but there cannot be a ‘definitive’ list of the 25 greatest tones ever in order; that’s an impossible task.

Instead, we’ve unleashed the tonehounds and hunted down the very best classic sounds you can achieve with accessible gear. And we’re covering a world of possibilities in the process with valuable tips these tones can teach us that all players can benefit from.

Actually, a fun delve into the classic tones we've all listened too - I do like how they break the tones down by gear you could use and how it's tweaked. Don't be put off by the Edge being No1 though ?

Check out the article from Music Radar here

I sometimes wonder whether there isnt a record tine break down to gear.. because it simply doesnt exist?

I say this tongue in cheek of course. Some 10yrs ago when my then band decided we would record 4 tracks at a well regarded studio.. we embarked on a journey of revelations and learnings. I wont bore you with the details... but long story short.. we recorded using the studio kit. Fancy pearl drumkit with new skins.. micced to the hilt with tuned skins. Marshall tsl for the guitars. Little to no gain. Some old school Orange bass amp with an epic cab. Proper mics for the vocals..

Drums were laid out first. Each beat meticulously adjusted to be 100% on time. Next was the bassline. Clean and raw. Then rhythm and lead guitars.. double tracked through different channels. On little or no gain... but with different tones. Then the vox.

Then the voodoo happened. The micced drums went into the desk and were patched with big sounding acdc samples.
The bass sound was adjusted through the table and beefed up.
The guitars already doubled tracked were boosted with gain through the software.
The vocals.. whilst pushed to as close as possible to the correct pitch.. were then polished with autotune.

Then it was all mixed.. and then... mastered.

The result? Bloody epic sounding by all accounts.. but all stuff that meant that we would NEVER reproduce that sound live.

Our little SS amps were raw and not dynamic.. 4 guitars are much bigger and fuller sounding than 2. Drum patches do help... as does autotune.. etc.

Remarkable journey.. but one that made me question every epic tone i ever came across

guidothepimmp but all stuff that meant that we would NEVER reproduce that sound live.

Great story - thanks for tapping that out!

I can definitely relate - though we didn't track fancy, which I m glad because miccing up the drumkit with 100's of cymbals would have done my head in (Likely followed by the drummer shortly thereafter). So we had almost everything done in the box (plugins) at mixing time.

But we sounded nothing like the record, when live. The recording were soo clean with all the editing/quantizing/trickery vs rehearsal room which was a bit muddy (Vocals were good though) vs live which was a bit of a mess (monitoring is usually my bugbear).

But...I did come to happy place before we recorded - it was always going to sound and feel different when recording. So I took it as setting us a goal for what we could achieve live (in a ideal world).

One group who do sound incredibly good live is Oh God. It's a treat for the ears to hear near studio quality guitars live (great players too - particularly dig their drummer, he's a laugh!). They really have put the time into polishing their live sound.

    guidothepimmp reproduce that sound live.

    Way back in 2000 I was in London and lived very close to Wembley Stadium. Bon Jovi had a show there and we could literally sit outside the front door and listen to the concert. I remember thinking, 'this dude sounds so out of breath'.
    A few months later we saw The Offspring at Wembley Arena. I was an absolute, die hard fan. When the show started, not one song sounded like the album. I was so dissapointed.

    Back then I did not understand the dynamics of live VS Studio sound (not that I fully grasp it now either). But it made me realize that stage presence is a real thing... And sound engineers are wizards in the studio.

    I have seen live shows (via dvd, utube, etc) that absolutely blew my mind because I.M.O those were true artists simply performing. Excellent sound and songs that, although not true to the studio versions, were sometimes much better.
    The opposite is also true. Shows that are a complete disaster and 'performers' that simply can't do their thing outside of a glass box.

    I heard about Brian Adams when he was live in SA a few years ago. People are still saying it was one of the best live shows they had ever seen. Why? Cause Mr. Adams is an artist, not a performer.

    Make sense? Ranting a bit?

    I prefer the artists...

      V8 They really have put the time into polishing their live sound.

      This is really good! Thanks for sharing

          And Sometimes these Studio Techies can ruin a song..
          I used to hang out with a Now Defunct Band in the mid 2000's "My Super Gram" they went through the effort of going to a Studio, Go the CD back and, the Sound engineer basically changed the whole feel of all their songs, slowed down the tempo of songs that needed to have high tempos and vice verse,

          they basically the music equivalent of a movie editor. the director has a vision, and the editor can completely change that vision.

          Thanks for sharing that video. Who was the forumite that plays in ohgod?
          Love that drumming style.

          Also.. whatever happened to Singe, Jack etc? They still play?

          • V8 likes this.
          • V8 replied to this.

            guidothepimmp Who was the forumite that plays in ohgod?

            That's @DrGonzo (lead guitar) - exemplary taste in gear that fellow has (and the ability to reallly use it). He switched to a kemper a while back and it's no surprise his live sound is that good. Funny to see this little lunch box on stage! They opened for the band I was in - beeg mistake, we should have opened for them - even though it was our album launch, it was a mistake to try and follow them ?

            Their drummer is just the nicest guy - we clicked and ended up talking kak the whole nite. Epic player too!

            guidothepimmp Also.. whatever happened to Singe, Jack etc? They still play?

            Sure they do - havn't seen much of singe online, he was regularly in Greg' Garage, but not seen him post for a while. Think their band is still around, but aside from a name change sometime last year, havn't seen much from them.

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