# Identifiable Rock Guitarists By Their "Sound"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2014, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578 "2014-03-13T00:28:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/41 "2014-03-14T04:37:21Z")
This sharing of opinions is amazing to me. I guess the answer to my OP is “Well, sorta, usually, depending…” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2014, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/42 "2014-03-14T10:26:59Z")
Jerry Garcia and his legacy have been a pretty interesting way to experience the question. I got to take in a few hundred Dead shows with Jerry (and have probably listened to an absurd number of recordings). I’ve also taken in almost twenty years of shows with people sitting in for his part–probably fewer than a hundred live, but a good number of excellent recordings. Not just cover bands (e.g. DSO), but incarnations of the Dead, so most other variables were held constant. So there’ve been a wide range of absurdly talented musicians emulating another absurdly talented musician. Not replacing; _emulating_. Great sound, and I’m far from a stick-in-the-mud type who thinks they’re not worth listening to without Jerry, but there’s never been a time when I could close my eyes and not be able to tell the difference. Great music, yes, but not the same music. Warren Haynes has been the best way feel the question. He’s toured with the band, playing Jerry’s parts–but clearly playing as Warren Haynes. He’s covered Dead tunes outside the band, and his personal style came through a little more. Now he’s touring with the [Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHuAWQYjaNU). Not only is he playing much more _as_ Jerry than _of_ Jerry, but he’s playing [Wolf](http://www.dozin.com/jers/guitars/wolf/wolf.htm) (I’ve never heard Wolf live, but have given it an atrocious amount of attention to its sound over the years). This is a case of a musician on par with his talent with a couple decades of familiarity playing his music live, who is making a concerted, studied effort to emulate him, and playing on some of the same equipment. Yet as joyful as it is to listen to him, it remains one subjective hair away from being indistinguishable. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/43 "2014-03-19T04:41:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by RealityChuck > Brian May. It’s almost as though his guitar was one of a kind. > > Follow up Posted by outlierrn > I saw what you did there. And I laughed out loud. Apparently I was the only one. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Beelzebubba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Beelzebubba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beelzebubba)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/44 "2014-03-19T06:33:20Z")
Gotta add Orianthi (aka- Orianthi Panagaris) the 29-year old female hottie that played on Michael Jackson’s last tour and is respected by greats like Carlos Santana! ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/45 "2014-03-19T07:15:25Z")
> [@NoCoolUserName](#): > > And I laughed out loud. Apparently I was the only one. 🙂 Context? Astronomy? Something from a song or equipment-related? I know he played a custom guitar that he built himself for a long time, but I only know of that because they started selling them a long time ago and it was a Big Deal to my guitar-playing friends (sorry if rusty memories are off; I just checked Wiki and it seems to back up the cobwebs). ---
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/46 "2014-03-19T09:05:01Z")
Cool short video of British comedian Bill Bailey showing how The Edge would sound without effects: [Bill Bailey - U2 Failure - Part Troll - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8dZwXnMrRU) ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/47 "2014-03-19T15:54:14Z")
> [@Uniqueorn](#): > > Cool short video of British comedian Bill Bailey showing how The Edge would sound without effects: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8dZwXnMrRU](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8dZwXnMrRU) That’s pretty funny. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/48 "2014-03-19T16:46:06Z")
I used to be able to pick out Waddy Wachtel when I heard him. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/49 "2014-03-19T18:22:08Z")
The guys who have an instantly recognizable sound (for me, at least): Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath Brian May of Queen Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits The Edge of U2 David Gilmour of Pink Floyd Billy Gibbons of ZZTop ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/50 "2014-03-20T02:12:20Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > The guys who have an instantly recognizable sound (for me, at least): > > The Edge of U2 In reference to the comedic video posted upthread a couple posts, I think The Edge is a perfect example of what I am talking about. Yes, his sound is identifiable, but how much of that is his multi-rack effects and processors? Strip all that away and hand him a basic electric guitar through a clean channel on just a straight amp without any of those effects and does he still sound like himself? ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/51 "2014-03-20T10:04:29Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > In reference to the comedic video posted upthread a couple posts, I think The Edge is a perfect example of what I am talking about. Yes, his sound is identifiable, but how much of that is his multi-rack effects and processors? Strip all that away and hand him a basic electric guitar through a clean channel on just a straight amp without any of those effects and does he still sound like himself? No, he really doesn’t sound like “The Edge” when he switches the effects off. He shows this himself in _It Might Get Loud_. He turns off the delay pedal for a minute, plays the same part he was playing a moment before, and comments how it’s not much without the effects. The fact that he does this himself makes me give him credit for at least being self-aware. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/52 "2014-03-20T10:09:11Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > The guys who have an instantly recognizable sound (for me, at least): > > David Gilmour of Pink Floyd I always used to think that, but if you listen to some of the links to Floyd tribute bands, does that still hold true? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/53 "2014-03-20T17:25:41Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > No, he really doesn’t sound like “The Edge” when he switches the effects off. He shows this himself in _It Might Get Loud_. He turns off the delay pedal for a minute, plays the same part he was playing a moment before, and comments how it’s not much without the effects. > > The fact that he does this himself makes me give him credit for at least being self-aware. Cool, I’ll have to check that out. It is interesting that he makes note of that by his own admission. > [@NineToTheSky](#): > > I always used to think that, but if you listen to some of the links to Floyd tribute bands, does that still hold true? Yeah, I wonder. Like you said…if you closed your eyes and you didn’t actually know you weren’t listening to Gilmour, I’d suspect most of us would go “Ah! Dave Gilmour!”. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/54 "2014-03-20T19:19:16Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Well - it’s always in your hands. I sound like me on whatever guitar I am playing. Bingo. Even to a player it’s often surprising how much of the tone is created by the technique, even when using a pick. I did a bunch of internet collaborations with other musicians. One of the crowd was a guitarist who used a fairly ordinary guitar and a POD XT (fairly ordinary software amp/cabinet modeler). Other guitarists frequently asked him about his gear and how he got that great tone. He always responded literally (talking about the gear). Finally one day I chimed in and said “It’s not the gear. It’s the way he uses his right hand. He’s pulling a tiny bit of extra harmonic content by brushing his thumb against the string as he plucks, among myriad other subtle but fruitful techniques. If you want to sound like him, you can’t do it by using his gear; you have to learn to play like him.” He really appreciated that post! I bought a classical guitar from a friend who was studying classical guitar at university and needed a better instrument. That was 35 years ago, and I still can’t play a single note and get it to sound like him when he played the same single note. There really are players who you can often identify with just one note. Chris Thile on mando is one example. Bela Fleck on banjo is another. Tony Rice on acoustic guitar. And they’re all using a pick! Of course, these guys put a LOT of effort into gear selection, customization, and maintenance. But IMHO all that is far less important than their technique and their approach to improvisation or comping. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Or, could somebody with a good enough ear be able to tell something like “That’s Eric Clapton _playing George Harrison’s guitar_” just by listening to an unfamiliar guitar part? Well, while a lot of folks identified Clapton on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, we didn’t know it was Harrison’s guitar until he was cornered in an interview, where the newsperson said “So, that’s not even your guitar gently weeping?” and Harrison says “Well, actually, it was Clapton playing my guitar. So it was my guitar, after all.” (Or words to that effect.) > [@jerez](#): > > Nowadays, a Van Halen-style solo could be by anyone, but I think he was the only one playing that way in the late 1970s. LOL, not “anyone” but certainly by many. I bet that for any famous and easily recognized artist, there is at least one imitator who very few people would be able to tell from the original artist. I bet there are guys who could even fool the original artist: “Is this you, Eric, or an imitator?” Eric: “Oh hell, how would I know? Sounds a lot like me, and sometimes I don’t even sound that much like me.” That just means that there are great imitators. Which doesn’t really mean much, does it? Other than comedians, rarely do imitators achieve fame, nor should they. It’s a nifty and admirable skill, it’s just not star material. Regarding The Edge and his gear, I’m reminded of Waters of Pink Floyd when someone accused Floyd of being gear jockeys, making all that stuff using electronics rather than “actually playing music”. Water’s response was something like “Fine. Give anyone a chance to play with the gear and see what you get. It won’t sound like Pink Floyd, unless they’re intentionally copying us.” (Or words to that effect.) Same with The Edge. Sure, a lot of his sound comes from his gear, but it’s not trivial gear. You don’t just plug it in and turn it on and bang you sound like him. Instead, you take a long time assembling all that stuff, figuring out the order (the order in the signal chain can make a huge difference), tweaking for hours and hours, and finally you might come up with his sound for a particular song. And then you still have to play his riffs. I confess I’ve spent hours and hours trying to duplicate some guitarist’s sound (way back when – I don’t bother any more). It was illustrative, but usually the biggest thing I learned was it’s far more productive to find something that fits the bill than to find something that sounds identical. Stories of SRV’s gear hunting are mythic in proportion. The guy spent a lot of time and effort searching for the holy grail. But you could have had him step on stage with anyone’s strat and amp, and he’d still have sounded far more like SRV than anyone. At jams and sitting in on keyboards on his gigs, I’ve played with a guy from the Muscle Shoals rhythm section, admitted to the Musician’s Hall of Fame, and who appears in that Muscle Shoals movie. He’s a real tone freak, preferring vintage telecasters and small tube amps. But I’ve heard him play lots of different guitars (even my jazzmaster, which he didn’t care for) and all sorts of amps from expensive boutique items to an old Princeton or a new Blues Junior, and I can never really tell any difference (other than, when he plays a strat, it sounds like a strat). He’s generally a bit louder than any of the other guitarists, but is so totally in control that the volume is a delight, and he makes everyone else on stage sound better. No matter what he’s playing. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/55 "2014-03-20T19:24:25Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > At jams and sitting in on keyboards on his gigs, I’ve played with a guy from the Muscle Shoals rhythm section, admitted to the Musician’s Hall of Fame, and who appears in that Muscle Shoals movie. He’s a real tone freak, preferring vintage telecasters and small tube amps. But I’ve heard him play lots of different guitars (even my jazzmaster, which he didn’t care for) and all sorts of amps from expensive boutique items to an old Princeton or a new Blues Junior, and I can never really tell any difference (other than, when he plays a strat, it sounds like a strat). He’s generally a bit louder than any of the other guitarists, but is so totally in control that the volume is a delight, and he makes everyone else on stage sound better. No matter what he’s playing. HOLD UP. Who? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/56 "2014-03-20T19:29:24Z")
Yeah - is it Jimmy Johnson? I thought he was a Gretsch guy… **FGiE** - you haven’t seen It Might Get Loud? I started at least a thread or two about it. I also participated in a “how does the Edge get his sound?” thread a few years ago… IMGL thread: [Guitar Documentary: It Might Get Loud - finally out this weekend in limited release... - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=527852) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/57 "2014-03-20T19:40:41Z")
Edge thread: [How does The Edge play his guitar? - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=510059) ---
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/58 "2014-03-20T19:51:00Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > I’ve successfully identified many this way guesting or sessioning on others projects without even expecting them. Specific ones that I recall as the liner note “Yup, I was right”… > > David Gilmour: Many times, such as with Warren Zevon, Kate Bush, Berlin, and Roy Harper. > Joe Walsh: Eagles, solo instrumentals > EVH: Michael Jackson > Adrian Belew: David Bowie, Talking Heads, Laurie Anderson > Eric Clapton: Roger Waters I can hear Adrian Belew quite easily myself! In fact, I feel like I know him so well through his music we could be brothers. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578/59 "2014-03-20T20:35:19Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > HOLD UP. Who? Will McFarlane. Great guy, amazing guitarist, and a schlock player like me is truly lucky to get to play with him. The guy on the right in this pic: [http://www.willmcfarlane.com/images/freebobonnieandwill.jpg](http://www.willmcfarlane.com/images/freebobonnieandwill.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifiable-rock-guitarists-by-their-sound/683578.md?page=2)