# Guitarists you love that use tones you hate



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 2, 2012)

I tried to find a similar thread, to no avail. Let's talk about guitar players whose technique and playing we enjoy, but whose tone is, at least subjectively speaking, terrible or difficult to get into.

1. Michael romeo: great solo tone, but terrible riff tone. I know Symphony X will never re-record all their albums, which is a shame. The tone in "The Odyssey" was well...

2. Kiko Loureiro: great player, but I was never able to stand his Zoom-ish tone. 

3. Jeff Loomis: too scooped/too much distortion.

4. Luca Turilli: great composer, but neither his solo or rhythm tone made it for me. It really got worse in the last album he recorded with Rhapsody.

5. Paul Gilbert: Not really my cup of tea. 

6. Michael Angelo Batio: the tone he gets while he is using the bridge pickup is good, but as soon as he starts shredding with the neck pickup switched on, it sounds like some sort of synth.


----------



## Stealthdjentstic (Nov 2, 2012)

Loomis hands down


----------



## Angus Clark (Nov 2, 2012)

Dimebag


----------



## BucketheadRules (Nov 2, 2012)

Jason Becker. His playing was so perfect, but that tone was a little... umm... weird. To say the least.


----------



## guitareben (Nov 2, 2012)

m3l-mrq3z said:


> 5. Paul Gilbert: Not really my cup of tea.




I used to think so, but then he changed to his fireman guitar with its single coils... SO MUCH NICER!!!

But yea: 

Tony Macalpine - Great player (sometimes anyway), terrribbllleeeee tone! (Imo)

Ron Jarzombeck - It's not awful, just not quite my thing ^^

And, as the guy above me said... 

JASON BECKER!!! Why jason, your super insane guitarist.... why that tone!!!


----------



## devolutionary (Nov 2, 2012)

Angus Clark said:


> Dimebag



Yes... but only when it's not Dimebag! Somehow, and I don't know how, he just makes it work.


----------



## Murmel (Nov 2, 2012)

I must be only guitarist in the world who isn't such a tone whore. I feel like most tones have their place.
Like Dimebag for example, his tone works great for their music


----------



## Stealthdjentstic (Nov 2, 2012)

Really, rons tone on the Blotted Science stuff sounds awesome :/


----------



## hairychris (Nov 2, 2012)

Murmel said:


> Like Dimebag for example, his tone works great for their music



It does. In isolation though it's pretty buzzy and nasty. 

I also agree with the Paul Gilbert comments, but he was always a bit Hair Metal and I hate that kinda-scooped-with-loads-of-presence tone, period. Definitely improved, and he sounded great on the SFBATR tour.


----------



## Murmel (Nov 2, 2012)

^
A lot of guitar tones sound like absolute garbage isolated, but work really well in the mix.


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Nov 2, 2012)

I'd say about 50% of the tones Vai has used since PaW have been "meh", at least to my ears, I think he just plays around with certain effects and processing a little much. It's easy to do when surrounded by the gear he has and are in your own studio. I'm pretty sure that's the case as when he's playing live it has always sounded awesome.


----------



## Stealthdjentstic (Nov 2, 2012)

MaxOfMetal said:


> I'd say about 50% of the tones Vai has used since PaW have been "meh", at least to my ears, I think he just plays around with certain effects and processing a little much. It's easy to do when surrounded by the gear he has and are in your own studio. I'm pretty sure that's the case as when he's playing live it has always sounded awesome.



I just saw him a few weeks ago and it ruled indeed.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 2, 2012)

I have always wondered how Vai achieves such a massive sound. It's also very sweet and recognizable.


----------



## metal_sam14 (Nov 2, 2012)

Emppu from nightwish, solid riffer with some cool solos but fuck me he makes that recifier sound terrible live.


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Nov 2, 2012)

m3l-mrq3z said:


> I have always wondered how Vai achieves such a massive sound. It's also very sweet and recognizable.



I know it's cliche, but a lot of it is in his hands. I've seen him play PRS guitars through Mesa amps and he still sounded like him. 

A lot of the wall-o-sound he's gotten over the years has been via harmonizers and such, but his core tone has been somewhat similar. I'm anxious to see how his tone evolves on his next album.


----------



## DLG (Nov 2, 2012)

Stealthdjentstic said:


> Loomis hands down



this is in my top 5 rhythm tones ever :/




someone who constantly has a terrible tone over the last decade is Tony MacAlpine imo.


----------



## CrownofWorms (Nov 2, 2012)

Everyone already said it. Loomis and Dimebag (lead wise)

rhythm is not that bad at all when it comes to tone


----------



## Stealthdjentstic (Nov 2, 2012)

Its so scoopy! Whats funny is that I accidently ended up with a loomis rig. Loomis sig + recto 0_o


----------



## Malkav (Nov 2, 2012)

John 5

Some of his tracks are pretty cool, but that tone is nasty.

Al Di Meola

Love his acoustic stuff and his more recent forays into the electric world, but I really didn't dig the earlier electric tones - though tracks like Race With The Devil on a Spanish Highway are brilliant musically.

John McLaughlin

If he's on electric it's just horrible, always has been and still is in my opinion, however the acoustic trio albums with Al & Paco are amazing.

John Myung

Not a guitarist I know, but dear lord his bass tone seems to range from various shades of tragic to shit...

on the topic of bassists...

Billy Sheehan

Great player and performer but there's just all kinds of horrible going on tonally there...

Shawn Lane

Not all the time, but needless to say I much prefer the guitar tone on the live version of Powers Of Ten to the recorded one.

Tosin Abasi

Weightless is a cool album and everything but certain heavier moments just seem to lack that slight touch of aggression in the tone that would really make it spectacular to me, the break in Somnarium is a good example of this.

Frank Gambale

My dear lord what a magnificent guitar player, but some of his tones have just been a bit too dead sounding for me.

Danielle Gottardo

Another terrific player but the way that his notes seem to die and not really sustain just urks me a bit...

Richie Kotzen

New tones are amazing, but the earlier 80's stuff suffered from the same issues as Paul Gilbert to me.


----------



## SilenceIsACrime (Nov 2, 2012)

As much as I absolutely love the guitar playing on this album (and One), the tone just bugs the hell out of me. I was pleased with Nine's tone though, so yay!


----------



## drmosh (Nov 2, 2012)

Chris Broderick, ewww.


----------



## goldsteinat0r (Nov 2, 2012)

Eddie Van Halen's early sound. His tone on Van Halen I is way too bright and crispy for me. I know its the legendary "Brown" sound, I just don't dig it that much. 

Funny thing is that my rig has his signature on the faceplate. 

Also Dave Mustaine. His rig, which probably costs more than a house, sounds like a shitty $40 distortion pedal on every live recording I've heard.


----------



## linchpin (Nov 2, 2012)

The guys in Soilwork....


----------



## Scruffy1012 (Nov 2, 2012)

linchpin said:


> The guys in Soilwork....



Wow really ? i loved soilworks tone.

The Contortionist on the Intrinsic album, loved everything else they did but this was definitely a earache.

The Faceless- Autotheism tone :/, great album, but wasn't a fan of the tone.


----------



## wankerness (Nov 2, 2012)

linchpin said:


> The guys in Soilwork....



Soilwork's rhythm tone through Natural Born Chaos was awesome imo, it lost a ton of character with Figure Number Five.


----------



## DLG (Nov 2, 2012)

^yep. the production on "a predator's portrait" is pretty perfect to me.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 2, 2012)

Trivium's guitarists. Man, I hate that band.


----------



## celticelk (Nov 2, 2012)

I actually started a thread like this some time ago: http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/general-music-discussion/172714-favorite-guitarist-lousy-tone.html

And I'll repeat my comment from that thread: Vernon Reid. Amazing player, really shitty distorted tones.


----------



## goldsteinat0r (Nov 2, 2012)

m3l-mrq3z said:


> Trivium's guitarists. Man, I hate that band.



ONCE! 

Ascendancy was an alright record. Granted the tone on it sounded like they used 4 overdrive pedals in front of a cranked JCM800. So midrangey. 

I heard the guitarists both tripled every one of their parts on it, too. 

I went out and bought The Crusade when it came out and was like "HOW did any of this make it out of the studio?"  Haven't given a shit since.


----------



## Overtone (Nov 2, 2012)

I actually like many of the tones mentioned ITT. Romeo had a sweet rhythm tone on TDWOT and I think it's pretty good on Iconoclast too. Gilbert I dig the whole way through, and Loomis on almost everything too. Becker, Jarzombek and Dime are amazing! I agree on Gambale for the most part, but he gets some sweet sounds on his more recent stuff (ie last 10 years or so).

The one who comes to mind for me is Dave Martone. He has great clean tone on a few of his songs like Coming Clean and Tone of Darkness, but for the most part I think I'd enjoy his tunes all the more if the guitar sounded different.


----------



## RustInPeace (Nov 2, 2012)

Bill Kelliher and Brent Hinds of Mastodon, I love their playing but I wish they had a tighter tone.


----------



## Baelzebeard (Nov 2, 2012)

I'll get my flame suit ready....Randy Rhoads. 

I know he was a great player but I can't stand his recorded tone.


----------



## slowro (Nov 2, 2012)

Dallas and Karl from Nile - could be so epic with their playing, sounds better on the new album than previous
Dimebag - some of the best songs ever written but I've never liked his tone
Tosin Abasi - His clean tones are HUGE and his distorted tone sounds thin in comparison
Metallica -up til the black album it sounds like a 10w marshall practice amp
Death - same as above really

The tone never takes anything away from the music to me


----------



## DXL (Nov 2, 2012)

john petrucci could use a bit more treble


----------



## DLG (Nov 2, 2012)

RustInPeace said:


> Bill Kelliher and Brent Hinds of Mastodon, I love their playing but I wish they had a tighter tone.



really?


----------



## tedtan (Nov 2, 2012)

slowro said:


> Metallica -up til the black album it sounds like a 10w marshall practice amp


 
Are you sure you actually *listened* to _Master of Puppets_? It may not be your cup of tea tone wise, but I've never heard a practice amp do that tone.


----------



## ras1988 (Nov 2, 2012)

This list is focused on particular moments or albums really for me. I can usually get along with most people's sounds it is just certain instances that get to me.

Cynic- On focus the distorted tones were very very dry and a little thin (part of the Morrissound "sound" though), their clean tones were always great and worked in the overall frame of the band. Brilliant compositional work.

Johnny Marr- there are times on meat is murder where his sound is just excessively trebley and jangly. I know that is what he was going for but it does agitate me.

John Petrucci- on SFAM there was just something about the guitar sound for some of the higher gain stuff, it may not have been saturated enough for my taste.


----------



## ROAR (Nov 2, 2012)

Petrucci recently I just can't stand.
That PII guest spot had so much pick attack,
guess I'm just not into those lead tones so much anymore.
This feels so fucking wrong, but Marc's tone on ID.
I love that shit, but I could never play sounding like that haha

Don't listen to me, all this Derek Trucks has pushed metal in the
back of my mind at the moment


----------



## RustInPeace (Nov 2, 2012)

DLG said:


> really?



Yeah I dunno, theres just something about their tone that doesnt resonate with me. I think its more on The Hunter album than anything. Didnt they switch to Orange amps for that album?


----------



## linchpin (Nov 2, 2012)

axle1 said:


> Wow really ? i loved soilworks tone.





wankerness said:


> Soilwork's rhythm tone through Natural Born Chaos was awesome imo, it lost a ton of character with Figure Number Five.


Sorry, didn't clarify that enough, meant to say from Stabbing the Drama onwards... specially on STAGD...goodness me, that album has great songs in my opinion but I always grin and bare those guitars.



m3l-mrq3z said:


> Trivium's guitarists. Man, I hate that band.


We're talking about tones but thanks for sharing that.  
I'm not a big fan myself but their tone on In Waves regardless of the material itself is quite astonishing.


----------



## linchpin (Nov 2, 2012)

Double post


----------



## DLG (Nov 2, 2012)

RustInPeace said:


> Yeah I dunno, theres just something about their tone that doesnt resonate with me. I think its more on The Hunter album than anything. Didnt they switch to Orange amps for that album?



well they are notorious for using tons of different stuff in the studio. 

It just seems to me that mastodon wouldn't be mastodon if they didn't have that vintage sound to their guitars. They are really into old marshalls and gibsons usually.


----------



## Nonservium (Nov 2, 2012)

You can put me on the Dimebag wagon. Great player, terrible tone.


----------



## Imbrium998 (Nov 2, 2012)

I dont think that anyone has said this in earlier threads, but Steve Vai sometimes comes off as very nasal to me. Its just not.....robust. I totally appreciate the roar of a great sounding guitarist. His sound is not one that I am attracted to.


----------



## Hybrid138 (Nov 2, 2012)

Holdsworth


----------



## Dropsonic (Nov 2, 2012)

RustInPeace said:


> Bill Kelliher and Brent Hinds of Mastodon, I love their playing but I wish they had a tighter tone.



I disagree. Their tone is ( in my opinion ) perfect for the genre of music they play. Just kicks so much ass live!


----------



## Konfyouzd (Nov 2, 2012)

Vai, Dimebag and Trooch...

And Paul Gilbert some of the time...


----------



## TIBrent (Nov 2, 2012)

Jason Becker - why that tone out of such an amazing player.
Soilwork - Sworn to a great divide - one of the worst recorded tones ever
Lacuna Coil - anything after Karmacode really, sounded early D.I. POD to me
-Brent


----------



## -42- (Nov 2, 2012)

RustInPeace said:


> Bill Kelliher and Brent Hinds of Mastodon, I love their playing but I wish they had a tighter tone.



I would like you to listen to this and tell me that this would sound better with some super tight 'modern' tone.

That being said:
Sometimes I don't jive with Chuck Schuldiner's tone, though that might just be because of the remasters.
Electric Wizard had some meh tone on Black Mass.
Jack White can usually pull off harsh overdrive, but when he flubs it, it sounds awful (especially for solos).
Not a guitar tone, but I wish Les Claypool would lay off the envelope filter.
The Sword's tone on their new album seems a little less full than it should, super quiet compared to previous albums.


----------



## edsped (Nov 2, 2012)

Petrucci's tone was pretty bad when he was using Road Kings IMO, he sounds much better with Marks. 

Paul Gilbert's tone on the first two Racer X albums is the absolute fucking worst, but his tone (or at least his lead tone) on Technical Difficulties and Superheroes is AMAZING. 

Spawn of Possession - Noctambulant has terrible tone, sounds paper thin. I never even really gave the album a chance because of that. 

Luca Turilli's tone has always sucked balls. Jani Liimatainen's has always been pretty bad too. 

Randy Rhoads' tone is awful which I find really weird because when I was younger I used to LOVE it, same with Dimebag.

Not quite on topic but I've always thought the tone on Ride the Lightning sounded the best out of all the Metallica stuff.


----------



## drmosh (Nov 2, 2012)

ROAR said:


> Petrucci recently I just can't stand.
> That PII guest spot had so much pick attack



That tone on the PII solo was hardly his "main" tone. It was recorded in a hotel room direct from an axe-fx.


----------



## Konfyouzd (Nov 2, 2012)

edsped said:


> Petrucci's tone was pretty bad when he was using Road Kings IMO, he sounds much better with Marks.
> 
> Paul Gilbert's tone on the first two Racer X albums is the absolute fucking worst, but his tone (or at least his lead tone) on Technical Difficulties and Superheroes is AMAZING.



Nail on the fucking head...


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 2, 2012)

edsped said:


> Petrucci's tone was pretty bad when he was using Road Kings IMO, he sounds much better with Marks.
> 
> Randy Rhoads' tone is awful which I find really weird because when I was younger I used to LOVE it, same with Dimebag.
> 
> Not quite on topic but I've always thought the tone on Ride the Lightning sounded the best out of all the Metallica stuff.



Agreed with Petrucci. Train of Thought sounded alright and Octavarium was just a terrible wall of fuzzy, buzzy distortion. What made it worse was all the drop-tuning he used on that album that just made it sound worse. 

+1 on Rhoads and Dimebag. Also +1 on Metallica. 

Another I'll throw in is Tommy Victor of Prong. His tone always sounded pretty bad. Scooped Marshall 8100 with a BBE Sonic Maximizer. Holy shit. 

This is one of the few times where I'll say someone switching to CRATE amps was an improvement. He sounds pretty awesome with those Crate VTX350Hs.

Also, KK Downing and Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest. Their tone up to Point of Entry was awesome (Marshall JMP Non-master volume boosted with a Rangemaster Treble Booster). Everything since Screaming For Vengeance sounded like shitty 80's digital Rockman gear... In fact, I think Turbo, Ram it Down, and Painkiller was recorded with Rockman stuff.


----------



## Corrosion (Nov 2, 2012)

Jerry Garcia comes to mind as one of the worst tones of all time.
Any "core" band has crap tone for the most part
trent reznor or rather, any industrial guitarist


----------



## Onegunsolution (Nov 2, 2012)

Some of these make my eye twitch with rage  Darrell's tone rapes especially on The Great Southern Trendkill but "opinions away!"

Ones I can really say are Marc Okubo, I LOVE his jams but the sound is ultra dry on the records and Alexi&Roope sound real thin to me.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 2, 2012)

Corrosion said:


> any industrial guitarist


----------



## Corrosion (Nov 2, 2012)

Even Rammstein... as a wise man once said, "it sounds like louis armstrong playing the trumpet through his asshole."

Or rather, the sound that any DOD pedal is capable of producing "flawlessly".


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 2, 2012)

edsped said:


> . Jani Liimatainen's has always been pretty bad too.








I thought it fitted his playing on both Ecliptica and Silence. Damn, it sounds like he was going to break the strings anytime. That's how strong his picking was on those albums.


----------



## Zado (Nov 2, 2012)

m3l-mrq3z said:


> 4. Luca Turilli: great composer, but neither his solo or rhythm tone made it for me. It really got worse in the last album he recorded with Rhapsody.


This.Always loved rhapsody (not because they are italianlike me,they just were great,now not so much imho),but Luca's tone is something I just can't stand.

Andrè Olbrich's recently(last years) live tone;

Neal Schon tone when he played blackstar S1.Pure misery.


----------



## Konfyouzd (Nov 2, 2012)

Corrosion said:


> trent reznor or rather, any industrial guitarist



Know what's weird... This is actually the only part of your post I disagree with. I feel like for industrial, they have a much different guitar tone than you might see in more "traditional" applications. But that's probably what you're hearing and not liking... 

It's thin, but HUGE... I don't really understand... I feel like their bass players turn up louder than them or something...

Also... I wanted to hate on them at one point, but Rammstein fuckin' rocks...


----------



## Corrosion (Nov 2, 2012)

I accept the difference of the tone for the application, but the distortion is very harsh and jagged, for the most part, and it gets old, fast. That being said, we can probably highlight one or two areas where the industrial tone is "well-used".


----------



## Konfyouzd (Nov 2, 2012)

Harsh and jagged indeed... 

I always assumed that's what they were going for. I only listen to a select few industrial bands, though... I think Marilyn Manson used that type of distortion a few times and I actually really hated it when he used it... 

Check it out...



Love the concept behind the song and everything... But the tones all sound shitty to me...


----------



## Corrosion (Nov 2, 2012)

Funny you mention Manson, as his guitarists popped to mind(along with Zombie's) when considering crappy sounds. but i feel like with Manson, most of his bands tone is crappy anyway, the bass especially seems weak.



And then it dawned upon me... we haven't even discussed NU-metal...


----------



## baptizedinblood (Nov 2, 2012)

Corrosion said:


> And then it dawned upon me... we haven't even discussed NU-metal...




Let's just not and say we did, alright?


----------



## Konfyouzd (Nov 2, 2012)

Manson's bass always struck me as kind of thin too, but in select songs they all have spot on tone...

Tourniquet and Coma White come to mind.

Nu-Metal... I can't act like I wasn't all about that shit back in the day. I think that's another arena where they thin out their tone a bit and let the bass player fill in the meat.

Example... 



Didn't industrial have a pretty big spike in popularity during the Nu-Metal era too? (Or is Static X not industrial?)


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 2, 2012)

Fieldy's sound really defined Korn. I really like what he did in those times.


----------



## Captain Butterscotch (Nov 2, 2012)

John 5 has always struck me as having one of the worst tones ever (rhythm and lead).


----------



## Konfyouzd (Nov 2, 2012)

^ Yea... It's a shame too cuz he's kinda awesome as a player... 

Do you guys think there's any correlation with how agreeable a player's tone is with their success as a musician? There are a lot of names that seem to be getting thrown around unanimously here... 

I realize this community only represents a small percentage of the overall music-listening population, but it might still hold true outside of here given the diverse array of influences we have here despite being a rather metal-centric group.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 2, 2012)

Konfyouzd said:


> Didn't industrial have a pretty big spike in popularity during the Nu-Metal era too? (Or is Static X not industrial?)



I think Static X is industrial. Well, I think their first 2 albums are. Around Shadow Zone is when they started getting Nu-metaly, IMO.

And then theres Marilyn Manson, Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails, Strapping Young Lad (yes, I think Heavy and City are Industrial ), and White/Rob Zombie.


----------



## edsped (Nov 2, 2012)

m3l-mrq3z said:


> I thought it fitted his playing on both Ecliptica and Silence. Damn, it sounds like he was going to break the strings anytime. That's how strong his picking was on those albums.


I don't know, I don't hear it. I can hear the pick clucking away sometimes when he's doing really fast runs like he always does but otherwise it doesn't sound like he's picking particularly hard to me. It always sounded really trebly and kinda thin, but I guess I don't think it's bad, just not very good.


----------



## Corrosion (Nov 2, 2012)

I do not feel like it is a coincidence whose tones keep popping up on here, as it is a community of guitar players, and most of them mentioned have exceptional skills, which would make them noteworthy examples. My wife, who is a professional singer, cant really tell the difference in tones on instruments as much, unless it is standout bad, and really cannot even EQ her own voice settings. I feel that non-guitarists especially do not focus overall on the tones of the amp, but moreso the notes and how they are represented, but because we as guitarists have become informed on the way to create a particular sound, and are overly interested/obsessive in the tone, we become much more critical than the average listener. For example, my friend thinks the guitars on DANZA IV are great, while i think the entire albums mixing is awful, in parts muddied beyond distinction because of the tones used. We both agree Josh is awesome at guitar, the only difference is he likes the sounds, where I feel the sounds were poorly implemented as opposed to what could have been presented.


----------



## ROAR (Nov 2, 2012)

drmosh said:


> That tone on the PII solo was hardly his "main" tone. It was recorded in a hotel room direct from an axe-fx.



Yes, this I all know. 
I was giving one example; didn't like BCSL or whatever that new album is either so there you go.


----------



## Don Vito (Nov 2, 2012)

Jani Liimatainen.


----------



## Lagtastic (Nov 2, 2012)

Stephan Forte. The guy is an absolute beast but I can't enjoy the rhythm tone on much of his work.

His latest effort, the solo album, is another story entirely.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 2, 2012)

Tosin Abasi.

*covers his head*

I'm sorry, but his clean sound on AAL's debut sounds too POD-ish. The riff sound didn't appeal to me either.


----------



## ChrisRushing (Nov 2, 2012)

I know Ron Jarzombek has been mentioned but I have something to add. His guitar tone has gotten 10 times better since Spastic Ink but he still insist on overusing those terrible synth sounds that he has been using for like 2 decades now. So that gets him right back on this list. 
Another one is mattias ia eklundh from freak kitchen. He is one of my favorite players but his tone is so bizarre on MOVE. I saw them live and it was much more tolerable but still strange.


----------



## JosephAOI (Nov 2, 2012)

m3l-mrq3z said:


> Tosin Abasi.
> 
> *covers his head*
> 
> I'm sorry, but his clean sound on AAL's debut sounds too POD-ish. The riff sound didn't appeal to me either.



That's cause he was using a POD 

I would say stuff like Substructures and the like. It's way too generic "djent" sounding.


----------



## FireInside (Nov 2, 2012)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Another I'll throw in is Tommy Victor of Prong. His tone always sounded pretty bad. Scooped Marshall 8100 with a BBE Sonic Maximizer. Holy shit.
> 
> This is one of the few times where I'll say someone switching to CRATE amps was an improvement. He sounds pretty awesome with those Crate VTX350Hs.



Agreed. His tone with the VTX350H is amazing. Seeing Prong a few months back is what made me want one so bad!


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 2, 2012)

JosephAOI said:


> That's cause he was using a POD



This. Wasn't it a POD XT Live?



FireInside said:


> Agreed. His tone with the VTX350H is amazing. Seeing Prong a few months back is what made me want one so bad!



I never saw them live, but Victor's tone on Carved Into Stone sounds sexy.


----------



## jeleopard (Nov 2, 2012)

I love myself and hate my tone.

Can I put myself on this list?


----------



## ilyti (Nov 2, 2012)

guitareben said:


> Tony Macalpine - Great player (sometimes anyway), terrribbllleeeee tone! (Imo)



First one that came to my mind. This guy has absolutely, completely no freaking clue when it comes to tone, on keyboards or on guitar. It's such a shame.

I need to add, Yngwie Malmsteen. It's just that tinny, awful stock Strat tone that burns my ears, but he can make it work. Or he used to. Not so much anymore.

I think maybe Jason Becker's, Paul Gilbert's and Steve Vai's tones are a bit too vintage 80s for most peoples ears nowadays.


----------



## sakeido (Nov 2, 2012)

JosephAOI said:


> That's cause he was using a POD
> 
> I would say stuff like Substructures and the like. It's way too generic "djent" sounding.



thought it was Bulb who recorded that one? I remember that same asstastic tone on a lot of his output that came out around that time.


----------



## xCaptainx (Nov 2, 2012)

Coal Chamber. Revisted their albums a few weeks ago, sounded like a badly scooped jcm2000.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 2, 2012)

xCaptainx said:


> Coal Chamber. Revisted their albums a few weeks ago, sounded like a badly scooped jcm2000.



Because I think that's what it was. 

Well, the early stuff was badly scooped JCM900.


----------



## edsped (Nov 2, 2012)

sakeido said:


> thought it was Bulb who recorded that one? I remember that same asstastic tone on a lot of his output that came out around that time.


It was, and all this time I'd been thinking they used an Axe FX for the self-titled which really confused me because the tones are so bad. But apparently it was done with a POD X3?


----------



## poopyalligator (Nov 2, 2012)

taking back sunday. Probably not a lot of TBS fans on this site. I love their music, but they use that vintage distorted tone on pretty much all of their new albums. I hate that tone and would never use it, but i still love their music (except for the last album maybe).


----------



## SuperMutant (Nov 2, 2012)

Any djent band including meshuggah after DEI.


----------



## TheFerryMan (Nov 2, 2012)

*Mattias "IA" Eklundh

*seriously. One of my favorite players, PERIOD. and that tone makes me want to punch him in the fingers.


----------



## wespaul (Nov 2, 2012)

Early Testament. Their tone didn't get good until the late 90s, imo. I loved hearing their album where they re-recorded their old tracks with beefed up guitars and production. I still hate it when Alex switches to the neck pickup on certain solos, though. Especially when he's shredding the fuck out.


----------



## FrancescoFiligoi (Nov 2, 2012)

Broderick


----------



## DLG (Nov 2, 2012)

ilyti said:


> I think maybe Jason Becker's, Paul Gilbert's and Steve Vai's tones are a bit too vintage 80s for most peoples ears nowadays.



this. 

just like the old thrash albums getting hated on. it's more the year it was recorded and the budget than the actual tone you hate. becker didn't have an axe fx to diddle at home, he probably had a few weeks or maybe even days to record his guitars in the studio. 

those shrapnel albums didn't exactly have the biggest of budgets. 

it's like hating on the tone on Killing is My Business without realizing that they had like 8000 bucks to record the whole album and spent 5000 of it on coke.


----------



## kaaka (Nov 2, 2012)

Jeff Loomis: Well... Incredible player but the lead tones are not to my liking at all.
Dimebag: On a lot of the live-recordings he sounds quite awesome, but in the studio not so much awesome.
Frank Gambale: Outstanding guitarist but his electric tones are really harsh, dead and got total lack of harmonic richness.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 2, 2012)

wespaul said:


> Their tone didn't get good until the late 90s, imo.



Agreed. Their tone on Demonic was awesome, and The Gathering was just AMAZING sounding.


----------



## Necris (Nov 2, 2012)

DLG said:


> it's like hating on the tone on Killing is My Business without realizing that they had like 8000 bucks to record the whole album and spent 5000 of it on coke.


^ Well, I think calling them jackasses would be justified there.


----------



## Overtone (Nov 2, 2012)

Daniel Gildenlol


----------



## Black Mamba (Nov 2, 2012)

celticelk said:


> Vernon Reid. Amazing player, really shitty distorted tones.


 
You mean you don't love the sound of this?


----------



## edsped (Nov 2, 2012)

Damn it sounds like he's using a super thick pick, half the sound he's producing is just pick chirp.


----------



## feraledge (Nov 2, 2012)

Karl and Dallas from Nile have an amazing sound live and then demolish it on nearly every album. Someone earlier said the new album is good. That person is wrong. I think Karl used the POD demos and then dropped the production funds on ham and beer. 
That band is way too good to not let their heaviness shine through.


----------



## ChrisRushing (Nov 2, 2012)

TheFerryMan said:


> *Mattias "IA" Eklundh
> 
> *seriously. One of my favorite players, PERIOD. and that tone makes me want to punch him in the fingers.



Yep, I said the same thing a few post up. It's weird though, because I saw them live and he was playing his usual Laney but it sounded so much better than the album tones.


----------



## wankerness (Nov 2, 2012)

Overtone said:


> Daniel Gildenlol



His tone is hit and miss through their good albums, some of the songs randomly sound like total ass and then other ones sound great on the same album. I think he aimed too high with the layers of guitars and broke the production or something.


----------



## Konfyouzd (Nov 3, 2012)

Lagtastic said:


> Stephan Forte. The guy is an absolute beast but I can't enjoy the rhythm tone on much of his work.
> 
> His latest effort, the solo album, is another story entirely.



He uses the infamous TZ7...


----------



## Harry (Nov 3, 2012)

Guitar tone and well the overall mix of Periphery's first album.
The mid range character of the guitar tone did not lend itself to fitting in the mix well.
The second album was definitely far better sounding.


----------



## DLG (Nov 3, 2012)

there's something about the lead tones on Entropia that I love though, they are weird, but very specific. It might have a lot to do with how fantastically written the leads were on that album though


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 3, 2012)

SuperMutant said:


> Any djent band including meshuggah after DEI.



This. Most djent bands have terrible solo/riff tones. The sound of the rhythm guitars in Tesseract'S debut ruined the album for me. They sound like a knife.

Let the neg-rep in.


----------



## Nile (Nov 3, 2012)

GothicKingCobra.


----------



## wankerness (Nov 3, 2012)

Coal Chamber would be a good one if the topic wasn't "guitarists you love" - Chamber Music seriously has the worst tone of any nu-metal album I ever heard. It just sounds like ass, I don't know what was going on. He seems to alternate besides leaving the wah pedal on its most annoying position and this terrible tinny distortion. It's definitely not a nice, woody sound. Here's an example:



Even the songs without awful wah usage sound terrible:


----------



## brynotherhino (Nov 3, 2012)

Nile said:


> GothicKingCobra.



I completely agree, his lessons would have so much more impact if he could just figure out how to get good tone.


----------



## wowspare (Nov 3, 2012)

John Petrucci...... There's just something about his tone in the earlier DT albums (I&W, Metropolis) that just comes across as half-assed.


----------



## MrPowers (Nov 3, 2012)

I actually really love Loomis's tone. It just suits him well. He makes it work. 

Of all the tones that I really hate I think the kind of those is A Day To Remember's new album. That tone is just garbage. Nothing like low I expected it should be.

And Haste The Day's tone from When Everything Falls isn't so hot either.


----------



## Eptaceros (Nov 3, 2012)

I'm never one to let tone get in the way, but the guitars in Vildhjarta sound so weak and electronic, it's painfully bad.


----------



## Rizzo (Nov 3, 2012)

I hate A7X tone...but I hate their guitar playing too.


----------



## Onegunsolution (Nov 3, 2012)

SuperMutant said:


> including *meshuggah* after DEI.


----------



## devolutionary (Nov 3, 2012)

Also, on it's own? Dino's in Fear Factory. Add in the bass? Suddenly not so bad. It's a good example of combining instruments rather than tones to create a big ass sound.


----------



## Don Vito (Nov 3, 2012)

Nile said:


> GothicKingCobra.


Bullshit.
Dude just got a new Stagg amp.


skip to about 0:30:00

Check.fucking.mate


----------



## IbanezFred (Nov 3, 2012)

I can't stand After the Burial's tone on Forgiving a Future Self. But love the band.


----------



## Fluxx (Nov 3, 2012)

Its just beating the shit out of the dead horse, but Loomis has NEVER had good tone.
Lead, Rhythm, whatever. Every album. Hell they even had enemies of realities remixed and it STILL sounded like shit. Even on live videos he always sounded like shit.

It drives me nuts because he is one of my favorite players, songwriters and overall musicians, yet I can only stand to listen to him in very very small doses.


Runner up goes to Roland Grapow from Masterplan. I think he was on the right track on the Aeronautics album, and the lead tones are good, but his rhythm tone is really 'fizzy'. 

I don't know why people push the amps so hard with the gain, it very rarely suits the sound.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 3, 2012)

kennedyblake said:


> Bullshit.
> Dude just got a new Stagg amp.
> 
> 
> ...




Who is that guy? 

I believe it's physically impossible to play a BC rich and get a good tone. With any amp.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 3, 2012)

wankerness said:


> Coal Chamber would be a good one if the topic wasn't "guitarists you love" - Chamber Music seriously has the worst tone of any nu-metal album I ever heard. It just sounds like ass, I don't know what was going on. He seems to alternate besides leaving the wah pedal on its most annoying position and this terrible tinny distortion. It's definitely not a nice, woody sound. Here's an example:



This is what an improperly dialed JCM900 or DSL100 sounds like.


----------



## edsped (Nov 3, 2012)

Surprised to see people HATING Loomis's rhythm tone, it's almost always been fucking great if you ask me.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 3, 2012)

edsped said:


> Surprised to see people HATING Loomis's rhythm tone, it's almost always been fucking great *if you ask me*.





And I have to agree with the Loomis tone hate. I didn't like his tone until his first solo album.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 3, 2012)

Dude, is that Wes Borland on your avatar?


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 3, 2012)

m3l-mrq3z said:


> Dude, is that Wes Borland on your avatar?



Yes. Epic fucking mustache.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 3, 2012)

He looks like an unemployed cop on that photo.


----------



## Furtive Glance (Nov 3, 2012)

Gotta agree with the Michael Romeo suggestion. I actually avoid listening to SX way more than I should because the tone is just so sterile and trebly.


----------



## wowspare (Nov 3, 2012)

I love Loomis' tone...... One of the few guitarists that can push the gain out and still sound fantastic


----------



## Nile (Nov 4, 2012)

kennedyblake said:


> Bullshit.
> Dude just got a new Stagg amp.
> 
> 
> ...




Oh god, have mercy.


----------



## Nile (Nov 4, 2012)

m3l-mrq3z said:


> Who is that guy?
> 
> I believe it's physically impossible to play a BC rich and get a good tone. With any amp.



Bullshit. I got a pretty goddamn good sound out of my 2001 NJ series Warlock into a Spider 3 75W. Your going to think, "ohhh what a piece of shit, a BC Rich and a Spider hurrrr." But no, you'd be wrong.


----------



## teamSKDM (Nov 4, 2012)

Born of Osiris a higher place tone was lame. But on discovery they had the best lead tone I ever heard. The Contortionist exoplanet is genius, but sometimes they had a real fuzzy kind of distortion. And lacked mids and highs and boosted bass. Took
Alot from the clarity. Faceless tones are meh as well cause they track with emgs which I personally hate tracking with. 
I actually like all of veil of mayas tones, they're so dirty that is sexy.


----------



## Blasphemer (Nov 4, 2012)

All hail GothicKing Cobra's tone and "insane shredding"

On a more related note, I'm going to say Focus era Cynic's gain tone. Not my cup o tea.


----------



## Osiris (Nov 4, 2012)

teamSKDM said:


> Born of Osiris a higher place tone was lame. But on discovery they had the best lead tone I ever heard.



I thought the same thing about AHP while listening to it on headphones, then listened to it on speakers and it made sense.
I think Jeff Loomis gets some of the best tones ever.
Zakk Wylde and many death and black metal bands have gotten some pretty awful tones.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 4, 2012)

I agree on ZW. All of his tones since Ozzmosis have been dreadful. 

His tone on No Rest For The Wicked and Pride and Glory were amazing, though.


----------



## Metal_Webb (Nov 4, 2012)

Evergrey's tone, especially on "Glorious Collision". Such a good album, just the guitar tone sounds too......big?


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 4, 2012)

Metal_Webb said:


> Evergrey's tone, especially on "Glorious Collision". Such a good album, just the guitar tone sounds too......big?




That's the best tone they have ever had.


----------



## MrPepperoniNipples (Nov 4, 2012)

Paul Wardingham, Jeff Loomis (in the old days), Chuck Shuldiner lead tones.

Francesco Artusato on his solo project.


----------



## fps (Nov 4, 2012)

wowspare said:


> John Petrucci...... There's just something about his tone in the earlier DT albums (I&W, Metropolis) that just comes across as half-assed.



I would have a different perspective on this myself. I think on the very early albums he doesn't have much money or studio time, so almost certainly took what was working live and put it on record. Normally this will be a mid-heavy tone which can then become boxy on record. In addition DT has a lot going on in its music so finding a space for the guitars in the mix without stifling the keys, or blocking the drums' nuances, is very difficult. It's about getting a balance between all the performers. I&W, I think again it was making sure the guitar had its own space, it's a mid-range instrument and that's where it sat, punchy. 

If I have a problem with DT mixes it's actually the opposite, there came a point where the guitars got ramped up and Myung was completely lost in the mix, and of course he's a fantastic bassist with great tone. Maybe Petrucci's rhythms sounded fatter, but it was to the detriment of the music and production as a whole on Tot (though a guilty pleasure, it gets tiring to listen to) and BC&SL especially I think. 

Re. Dimebag, I think again his initial live sound was what made it to record, and on record it was buzzy and fuzzy. From then on Dimebag's live tone is off-the-charts, his recorded tone is sick on VDoP, thrashy and heavy, heavy if occasionally fizzy on FBD, totally totally awesome again on Trendkill and RTS. 

Loomis has had some sick tones as well, you guys are nuts. Dreaming Neon Black. Amazing lead tone, love it. Dead Heart. Clean and massive. Enemies Of Reality just the most EVIL low-mid centred sound (the original). 

I basically find most djenty stuff unlistenable and first up reason is the guitar tones. It's clearly mostly done using PODs and AxeFXs, or trying to sound like it, to mimic what were in fact budget recordings that make up the textbook for the style, and that's what it sounds like, no balls, no heart, just terrible tones. Meshuggah not included. Their Chaosphere tone was amazing, Nothing (original) worked great as well, and Obzen. And new AAL from what I'm hearing now.


----------



## Metal_Webb (Nov 4, 2012)

m3l-mrq3z said:


> That's the best tone they have ever had.



That may be the case, but it's still sounds a bit off in my ears


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 4, 2012)

fps said:


> Loomis has had some sick tones as well, you guys are nuts. Dreaming Neon Black. Amazing lead tone, love it. Dead Heart. Clean and massive. Enemies Of Reality just the most EVIL low-mid centred sound (the original).



Besides ruining Chris DeGarmo's solos in Queensryche, another reason I hate Kelly Gray is because he fucked up the mixing of Enemies. With that said, though, I thought the tones on the original mix were better than the Andy Sneap mix. Still not a big fan of it, though.

DHIADW was just... blech. I'm blaming the fact he used a Celestion T75-loaded cab, which makes any non-Marshall amp sound horrible, IMO. 


This guy makes Narcosynthesis sound better than it does on the album. 




His tone on The Obsidian Conspiracy was actually pretty good, though.


----------



## WhiteWalls (Nov 4, 2012)

+1 for Evergrey, amazing band, but very hit or miss with their guitar tones which go from amazing to dogshit with no middle ground (just my opinion of course):

Amazing:


Dogshit:


----------



## fps (Nov 4, 2012)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Besides ruining Chris DeGarmo's solos in Queensryche, another reason I hate Kelly Gray is because he fucked up the mixing of Enemies. With that said, though, I thought the tones on the original mix were better than the Andy Sneap mix. Still not a big fan of it, though.
> 
> DHIADW was just... blech. I'm blaming the fact he used a Celestion T75-loaded cab, which makes any non-Marshall amp sound horrible, IMO.
> 
> ...




We have different views on the Narcosynthesis tones I feel those clips were more like guitar tone showcases than part of a mix, the tone on the recording of Narcosynthesis is sick, I think it fits into the music great! 

As for the mixing of Enemies, I prefer the original to the remix. It just has an evil muddy quality. The way an album was mixed used to be a big part of its sound, now it's assumed there's only one way to make an album sound and, well, that sound is very clean, plenty of upper mids on everything, very sensible shelving so everything fits nice and prettily, and I don't think that works on Enemies, it's an ugly, heavy album. 

God Narcosynthesis is an awesome song


----------



## wespaul (Nov 4, 2012)

kennedyblake said:


> Bullshit.
> Dude just got a new Stagg amp.
> 
> 
> ...




Today, I learned.


----------



## darkinners (Nov 4, 2012)

1. Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth
I really really love his overdrive ish lead tone, very tasty but his riff tone 

2. Anders Nystrom from Katatonia
Again I really love his soaring lead tone and the rhythm tone sound not so good to my ears.


3. Misha from Periphery 
I know, fuck me right? 

I really like his ideas on groove/riffs, some of them are incredible. 

But his tone sound too polish to me, perhaps I like more dirty sounding metal tone. the mid growl in his tone really too much to me.
(same applies MOST of the djent bands)


----------



## MF_Kitten (Nov 4, 2012)

doesn't sound particularly bad to me. Could be fuller and rawer or something, but it doesn't sound "off" or "bad" at all to me.


----------



## nostealbucket (Nov 4, 2012)

I hate the tone on Ever Forthright's self titled.
I also hate Tosin's tone on Reflux's album and the first AAL.


----------



## wankerness (Nov 4, 2012)

darkinners said:


> 1. Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth
> I really really love his overdrive ish lead tone, very tasty but his riff tone
> 
> 2. Anders Nystrom from Katatonia
> Again I really love his soaring lead tone and the rhythm tone sound not so good to my ears.



Which albums are you talking about with these guys? Both of them have gone all over the map with guitar sound through their careers. I think Opeth's Blackwater Park and Ghost Reveries have some of the best metal rhythm tone I've heard, I know some of the other ones sound questionable but I certainly would never use Opeth as an example of a band with bad guitar sound over their career. Still Life and Deliverance and Damnation and especially Heritage do not have my favorite guitar sounds, but I dunno if it's really bad or just personal preference. I love the sound of MAYH, it's muddy and gnarly and indistinct as hell but it really fits the music imo.

Katatonia, I dunno. I think their last few albums have sounded pretty good though it's partly just the way they're mixed with the bass. I like the sound of LFDGD too even though it's definitely not a typical metal production and isn't very clear.


----------



## Al NiCotin (Nov 4, 2012)

Just one moment, I need to




before.




Much better, ok so:

- Franck Zappa (I was just listening to "Shut Up n' Play Your Guitar" yesterday )

- Steve Morse (mostly some specific rhythm/lead distorted tones, in the 80's)

- Uli Jon Roth (the singing ;p)


----------



## darkinners (Nov 4, 2012)

wankerness said:


> Which albums are you talking about with these guys? Both of them have gone all over the map with guitar sound through their careers. I think Opeth's Blackwater Park and Ghost Reveries have some of the best metal rhythm tone I've heard, I know some of the other ones sound questionable but I certainly would never use Opeth as an example of a band with bad guitar sound over their career. Still Life and Deliverance and Damnation and especially Heritage do not have my favorite guitar sounds, but I dunno if it's really bad or just personal preference. I love the sound of MAYH, it's muddy and gnarly and indistinct as hell but it really fits the music imo.
> 
> Katatonia, I dunno. I think their last few albums have sounded pretty good though it's partly just the way they're mixed with the bass. I like the sound of LFDGD too even though it's definitely not a typical metal production and isn't very clear.



Don't get me wrong I am a big sucker of both bands. Especially Katatonia, they are the main influence of my band sound.
as much as I like them.

Opeth: I don't really like Deliverance, Blackwater park, Still life and Ghost reveries riff tone
I kinda like Damnation and Heritage's sound though.
Also MAYH is Opeth's best release till today (IMO of course)
the guitar sound is shit, bass virtually not exist but the songs just perfect.
and I agree the production suits the album perfect.


Katatonia: Great Cold Distant and Dead End Kings overall production are absolutely amazing(songs too) but like you said, Bass was a big help and the drums. guitar alone , sometimes sound not really that good.

like in "The One You Are Looking For Is Not Here" the rhythm guitar sound like an active pickup with dying battery in it. 

Viva Emptiness was totally ruined by the production and guitar tone.
The music alone is great, some greatest Katatonia's song in this album.
But the production in the album was really disappointing


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 4, 2012)

Mark Jansen.


----------



## wankerness (Nov 4, 2012)

darkinners said:


> Don't get me wrong I am a big sucker of both bands. Especially Katatonia, they are the main influence of my band sound.
> as much as I like them.
> 
> Opeth: I don't really like Deliverance, Blackwater park, Still life and Ghost reveries riff tone
> ...



Hmm, agree to disagree on opeth guitar tones, though I guess since i used to tab all their stuff I might have overvalued BWP/Ghost Reveries guitar tones cause they made it SO much easier to make out the guitar parts than the other albums  I agree that MAYH is their best album, it was the first one that really clicked with me so maybe it's the nostalgic choice but i really do think it had the best songs on it. With Still Life they started repeating riffs and sections of songs while MAYH was sorta the best of both worlds (the way Morningrise/Orchid never repeated but with the really strange riffing of everything since then).

I still might like Viva Emptiness the most of Katatonia's post LFDGD output, but yes, the guitar tone is terrible. It's got a really weird hollow sound to it that does feel pretty lacking, it's really obvious right away on the first riff of the first track. I sorta like the way stuff like Burn the Remembrance sounds but that's more due to all the effects they drown the song in and obviously the songwriting than the distortion sounding good at all.

Another band I thought of with tone that drove me nuts was Arcturus's "The Sham Mirrors" - I remember downloading that pre-release and thinking it must have been ripped at 96 kbps and upconverted or something, but then received the actual CD and finding out it really did sound that bad!


----------



## joshuallen (Nov 4, 2012)

Jack White. I know he's going for bad tone intentionally, but he crosses a line into annoying sometimes. I like his songwriting and his a lot of his guitar parts for their hookiness and simplicity, but he's one of the few guitarists I find myself thinking more about the tone than the songs sometimes.


----------



## purpledc (Nov 4, 2012)

my list in no real order

Dimebag
Early satch
Vai
Dragon force. all of it.
Zakk Wylde after No more tears
Metallica after the black album
Most black metal


----------



## Gryphon (Nov 4, 2012)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> And I have to agree with the Loomis tone hate. I didn't like his tone until his first solo album.




His first solo album is the only Loomis tone I hate.


----------



## fps (Nov 4, 2012)

joshuallen said:


> Jack White. I know he's going for bad tone intentionally, but he crosses a line into annoying sometimes. I like his songwriting and his a lot of his guitar parts for their hookiness and simplicity, but he's one of the few guitarists I find myself thinking more about the tone than the songs sometimes.



He's one of the pickiest tone freaks around, his guitars sound amazing!!


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 4, 2012)

purpledc said:


> my list in no real order
> 
> Dimebag
> Early satch
> ...



I always thought that the riff guitar in Sonic Firestorm sounded perfect. Can anyone help me get that tone, please


----------



## spawnofthesith (Nov 4, 2012)

The tone Insomnium had on their first few albums. I love their music like none other, but that tone is so... cold and abrasive


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 4, 2012)

m3l-mrq3z said:


> I always thought that the riff guitar in Sonic Firestorm sounded perfect. Can anyone help me get that tone, please



I'm gonna guess and say he used a Laney TT100H or Rocktron Prophecy 1 with Evolution-equipped Ibanez Sabers. 

EDIT: Just gave a song from that album a listen. Holy shit that tone sounded tinny and shrill as fuck.


----------



## dax21 (Nov 5, 2012)

spawnofthesith said:


> The tone Insomnium had on their first few albums. I love their music like none other, but that tone is so... cold and abrasive



While the overall production is far from ideal on their first two albums, I'd hardly say that I hate it. I actually like the lead tone on Since... a lot.
IMHO, they peaked with tone/production on ATWW, last two albums sound like mud 80% of the time.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 5, 2012)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> I'm gonna guess and say he used a Laney TT100H or Rocktron Prophecy 1 with Evolution-equipped Ibanez Sabers.
> 
> EDIT: Just gave a song from that album a listen. Holy shit that tone sounded tinny and shrill as fuck.



Tinny and shrill? Did you listen to it through iPhone earbuds?

Another guitarist whom I really appreciate for what he's doing, but whose tone irritates me on some albums: Sybreed's very own Drop. I really liked the bone-crushing guitar sound in their debut, but the guitars in Antares sound so tiny and plastic that they remind me of a guitar patch on a synthesizer. Definetely not digging the tone on their latest album either.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 5, 2012)

Rhythm guitars sound pretty cool, but that lead tone sounds pretty bad.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 5, 2012)

That's what I said in the post you quoted ...


----------



## wowspare (Nov 5, 2012)

In addition to what I wrote earlier on, most death metal bands have shit tone. The only death metal band with a tone that I like is The Forsaken's album Beyond Redemption......

And as someone else posted earlier, Paul Wardingham. His lead tone is decent but his rhythm tone is just horrendous..... Same thing with Mikael Akerfeldt.


----------



## asher (Nov 5, 2012)

wowspare said:


> In addition to what I wrote earlier on, most death metal bands have shit tone. The only death metal band with a tone that I like is The Forsaken's album Beyond Redemption......
> 
> And as someone else posted earlier, Paul Wardingham. His lead tone is decent but his rhythm tone is just horrendous..... Same thing with Mikael Akerfeldt.



For Mikael, it really depends on the album I think. Blackwater Park is one of the pinnacles of crushingly heavy for me.


----------



## pattonfreak1 (Nov 5, 2012)

Vernon Reid


----------



## DTSH (Nov 5, 2012)

I'm sure these two come up a lot in this thread... Dimebag Darrell and Randy Rhoads.


----------



## theleem (Nov 5, 2012)

+1 for Al di Meola. I love his work, but man I just can't get with his electric tones on almost any song. He still kills it, but sounds a lot sexier on acoustic.


----------



## AddisonsOwn (Nov 6, 2012)

I love that Tremonti solo album, great stuff, but hate that his tone has Creed infused with it


----------



## Konfyouzd (Nov 6, 2012)

wowspare said:


> In addition to what I wrote earlier on, most death metal bands have shit tone. The only death metal band with a tone that I like is The Forsaken's album Beyond Redemption......
> 
> And as someone else posted earlier, Paul Wardingham. His lead tone is decent but his rhythm tone is just horrendous..... Same thing with Mikael Akerfeldt.



Do you consider Decapitated to be death? Cuz their tone is pretty cool to me...


----------

