# Favorite unusual guitar riff or part? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 22, 2019, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-unusual-guitar-riff-or-part/845254 "2019-12-22T20:50:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-unusual-guitar-riff-or-part/845254/1 "2019-12-22T20:50:17Z")
Here is mine , Going Mobile by the Who. The riff starts at 1:57 It's a guitar through a wah pedal and a synthesizer. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-unusual-guitar-riff-or-part/845254/2 "2019-12-22T21:40:42Z")
My Bloody Valentine - I Only Said [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVj-fc1M_D0) Kevin Shields is notorious for getting odd sounds out of guitars, as pretty much the whole MBV discography demonstrates. This young lad figured out the tuning, technique and fx used [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/D0praZd_-m0/maxresdefault.jpg "I Only Said - My Bloody Valentine (Guitar cover/tutorial)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0praZd_-m0) (worth noting that MBV released a whole EP called Tremolo) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-unusual-guitar-riff-or-part/845254/3 "2019-12-22T21:45:23Z")
While not a great song, Wings, “Goodnight, Tonight,” has a nifty electric guitar solo full of repeating phrases (I’m guessing an echo machine was used and Denny Laine (?) played over top of it). The flamenco guitar lead is good, too. ---
**Author:** ![Cell\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@Cell\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cell_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-unusual-guitar-riff-or-part/845254/4 "2019-12-22T22:08:29Z")
[Cathedral](https://youtu.be/Z2WRGVJLZu0) by Eddie Van Halen. Using chorus and delay effects, the sound was created by manipulating the volume knob with the right hand and hammering/pulling off the notes with the left hand. The overall effect is of a church organ, thus the name of the song. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-unusual-guitar-riff-or-part/845254/5 "2019-12-22T22:16:31Z")
It might be considered crude “noise”, but I just love this: The crunchy as hell main guitar riff begins a fade-in at the 30 second mark, and at the 40 second mark he makes short “chugging” sound then continues with the cool riff. Not a musician, so I don’t know what the technical term for that technique would be called. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/B-ur7PAtqW8/hqdefault.jpg "Valhalla - Reign Of The Wizard (demo) 1985") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-ur7PAtqW8) Not a very well known band, but a good album and a great song IMO. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-unusual-guitar-riff-or-part/845254/6 "2019-12-22T22:26:56Z")
I’m rather partial to the unusual opening riffs of Nirvana’s [Radio Friendly Unit Shifter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7B-AlKTdGQ) and [Curmudgeon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9WaQGJ0p78). ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-unusual-guitar-riff-or-part/845254/7 "2019-12-23T13:55:26Z")
Frank Zappa, from Shut Up and Play Your Guitar: [Ship Ahoy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lhrhxus2vM) Guitar though a “sample and hold\*” synth filter - means it switches the filter resonance frequency randomly ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-unusual-guitar-riff-or-part/845254/8 "2019-12-23T14:26:29Z")
[This strange riff](https://youtu.be/rIRWEFxdNmU?t=170) from “Five Magics” by Megadeth. Mostly “unusual” for its odd rhythm, plus just the contrast of suddenly breaking out into this riff from the preceding thrash section. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-unusual-guitar-riff-or-part/845254/9 "2019-12-23T18:49:48Z")
Larry Carlton on [Mulberry Street](https://youtu.be/2z7WEt9aRtM?t=94)has a killer solo. He recorded it while the track was playing at half speed, then they doubled it back up for production. Even if you play it half speed it’s a great solo.