Guitar Players Tone as they mature, better or worse?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ttosh
  • Start date Start date
Regarding the topic at hand.

Players IMO whose tone isn't as good as it used to be. Short list anyway.

EVH
Vai
Satriani
Eric Johnson
Steve Morse
Nuno
Clapton
Blackmore

There's a common theme here for ALMOST all of these guys. What is it?

I also believe, in contrast to a poster above, that modern recording techniques have done nothing whatsoever to enhance the recorded guitar tone. Nothing (IMO of course) I believe the contrary.
 
Andy Timmons!!
Just compare his latest album with anything else hes done. The playing was still there but the TONE as the thread states is much better!
:rock:
Personally for me, i feel like its gotten better..
 
Badronald":2nnhy7tb said:
I also believe, in contrast to a poster above, that modern recording techniques have done nothing whatsoever to enhance the recorded guitar tone. Nothing (IMO of course) I believe the contrary.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. I haven't heard a rock guitar tone I love on a CD in years. To me hard rock guitar tones kind of peaked in the late 70's early 80's. There's some sounds I like from the early 90's eg. AIC facelift, Soundgarden Louder than Love, Social D but anything after that I may like the songs but haven't been crazy about the tones. It's not the gear before the mic. It's what's happening from the mic and onward. Plenty of new records were recorded with vintage amps and guitars but they're being recorded with equipment that could control a space shuttle docking in orbit. I record with dig equipment and software at home but if it was still practical I would still use the 1/2 " 8 track I owned in the 90's and a decent mixer.

As far as artists go I always miss Judas Priest's and Motorhead's older tones. Granted Motorhead still got some righteous tone on 1916 and Bastards but Priest has had an over saturated JMP-1 sludgefest for years. Both bands are still doing great new music but I just can't get into the sound they have.
 
One guy that definitely got worse, especially at demos, is Zakk Wylde.
Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of the guy, but every time he has some kind of solo show off bit, he switches on every pedal he owns and it sounds like mush. Worst case I can think of was the Marshall JMD:1 demo. Not awesome.
This hasn't appeared so much in recordings, but still. Someone should just take the pedals away from him live. Or only allow one modulation effect at a time, and never allow modulation and wah. OK, maybe chorus and wah, seeing as with Ozzy especially, the chorus was always on.
However, the two solos I have heard from the new album are not covered in phaser, wah, chorus and rotovibe. Good sign.
 
+1 on everything you just said about Zakk. I listen to his early solo stuff and miss his singing style he had then too. A lot more just him and not an Ozzy emulation.
 
I was thinking about this the other day actually. I don't think there's any kind of general pattern though. Pretty random IMO. Some players' tones get better, some worse.
A few that I was thinkin about:

Petrucci-always had good tone, but peaked with his IIc+/Eventide rig

Michael Wilton-back when he played a mix of marshalls and other tube heads his tone was the BOMB! Now he seems to favor the all-in-one solutions with built in fx live, and his latest recorded tones have been...meh.

Gilmour- always awesome :yes:

Cantrell- progresses and changes his tone every time he records something, and it's always killer IMO. The latest AIC was no exception. Super thick and rich tones with his signature woody attack and the album was very polished, where the last AIC and his last solo effort were much more raw sounding.

Timmons- keeps getting better

Mustaine and Broderick- with End Game 'Deth were sporting the best tone they've had in years IMO.
 
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