Has perfect high gain guitar tone been achieved?

Techdeth said:
What’s the new modern leading tone of today ?
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:D
 
I have categories of tones: early '60s jangle and chime; '60s psychedelic; '70s hard rock / early metal; '80s new wave; hair metal; thrash; prog, death; fusion.

I usually have a few tones in each category; some are just slight variations of others;

for some, I have amps, preamps, cabs; but these days most of these tones I use my guitar software plugins.
 
BesaMoogie said:
I‘m like three boutique amps and two custom guitars away to achieve the perfect high gain tone
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Aren't we all?!?

Lots of great examples in this thread. I'd add, Adam Jones tone on 10,000 days-The Pot- as a great tone, that took like 8 amps to get :)

My fav Marshall tone is Sykes Bad Boy Live. Listen to the beginning of Cold Sweat.
Perfect.
 
For me perfection is a case by case basis. The high gain tones that are perfect in one musical context, can suck in another context. Like say using Max Cavalera's monster high gain rhythm tone is perfect for Sepultura, but would sound whacked on Metallica' Ride the Lightning.
 
I believe that if the classic "perfect" tones on recordings we all cherish came out different that what was, in many cases it would have been just as good in a different way. This "perfect tone" idea is too much a moving target, affected by endless fleeting variables not even tied to the gear itself such as nostalgia, trends, changing one's taste over time, etc.
 
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Further different pairings of pedals pickups and processing incorporated into the final result after it was recorded in the studio. Considering every nuance it will never be known how to duplicate but afa the best tone, I have heard Chuck Schuldiner of Death use some really great tones.
 
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Perfect tone is what your ears/brain perceive to sound great. However, some people have issues with hearing, apparently.

We have a nice gent that comes into our store on a weekly basis searching for a tone that he "needs" to play live. It goes from bad to worse. Last week he sounded like the mid boost was stuck at 1.5K. It was a nasally honk that was just ungodly and he thought it was great.

I keep telling him, "you are a Marshall and Les Paul guy" (because he always keeps going back to this!). Keep it simple and turn the knobs to taste. He just doesn't listen.
 
Techdeth said:
I want rich saturation while being super tight . Finding that balance is key for me in each amp
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Saturation is fine if playing leads. Tight I don't need for most of the stuff I play. Some fast rhythm parts. Too tight is stiff. Too loose is flubby. The feel as much as the sound.

My idea of high gain is a lot less gain than most of the clips posted on RT. In general I prefer poweramp overdrive over preamp distortion.
 
Geo said:
The options for a guitar player now are endless compared to the 70's and 80's.

Young guitar players have no idea of the struggle.
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And tbt one of the biggest advantages they have is social media. Whether or not it is; unbiased reviews from members on forums who don't have to worry about ad revenue, product announcements and play throughs on FB, Instagram, You Tube, etc..., all of it helps new players make far better informed choices with a vast increase in options compared to those of us who started playing well before the internet.
 
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Hiwatts-n-Gibsons said:
And tbt one of the biggest advantages they have is social media. Whether or not it is; unbiased reviews from members on forums who don't have to worry about ad revenue, product announcements and play throughs on FB, Instagram, You Tube, etc..., all of it helps new players make far better informed choices with a vast increase in options compared to those of us who started playing well before the internet.
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I also remember having to figure out how to play a song myself. YouTube has made playing the guitar too easy also.
 
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