# The Great Ongoing Guitar Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [January 31, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172 "2010-01-31T23:20:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/421 "2010-05-24T12:04:14Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > It’s time to ask the hard questions. So, I have a DA-5. It’s a modeling amp. Does all kinds of things… but the manual’s full of a wink and a promise. > If I want to settle on sounding like the Stones, what should I be trying to aim for? Unfortunately, you have to use your ear. I would guess Blues 1 or Blues 2 - Keef typically plays with the natural distortion/break-up from an old Fender Tweed amp - he is not one to use overdrive pedals and does not have a crunchy tone. Does that help? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/422 "2010-05-24T14:16:58Z")
Yeah, that’s what I figured, but what I’m really wondering is, what are all these sly allusions I’m missing? > [@](#): > > This instantly recognisable signature tone produces clean sounds that are rich and jangly with a smooth yet detailed top end, and overdrives that have a glorious, throaty bark. > > housed in a banana yellow box! > > ‘unchained’ a highly influential modern guitarist who many hail as the ‘godfather of two-handed tapping.’ Now, I know they probably can’t say ‘We’re ripping off a tweed Fender here’ or ‘This is a two-stack Marshall’, but it really sounds like they’re describing things with a wink and promise that most guitar-heads should know. So… call it a little game. What do you guys think they’re describing? Don’t try finding someone testing the amp on youtube, I’ll do that at the end. This game is from the description only. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/423 "2010-05-24T14:19:40Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > This instantly recognisable signature tone produces clean sounds that are rich and jangly with a smooth yet detailed top end, and overdrives that have a glorious, throaty bark. > > housed in a banana yellow box! > > ‘unchained’ a highly influential modern guitarist who many hail as the ‘godfather of two-handed tapping.’ The last one is Eddie Van Halen Not sure who the first one is (too vague - could be Stevie Ray Vaughn??), or the second one - when I think “banana” I think Velvet Underground and Nico… ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/424 "2010-05-24T18:11:41Z")
Eddie is who I thought of as being obvious, but why is he ‘unchained’? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/425 "2010-05-24T18:22:08Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Eddie is who I thought of as being obvious, but why is he ‘unchained’? The song [Unchained](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P1d8BVvY-I)was a big VH hit… ---
**Author:** ![BigShooter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@BigShooter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigShooter)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/426 "2010-05-24T19:08:35Z")
> [@](#): > > “This instantly recognisable signature tone produces clean sounds that are rich and jangly with a smooth yet detailed top end, and overdrives that have a glorious, throaty bark.” I think this refers to maybe the VOX AC30, maybe? > [@](#): > > housed in a banana yellow box! The only highly recommended phaser that comes in a pedal that’s even remotely close to banana yellow is the [MXR Phase 90](http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS334&q=MXR%20phase%2090&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi), but that’s not even close to banana yellow… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/427 "2010-05-24T19:09:55Z")
> [@BigShooter](#): > > I think this refers to maybe the VOX AC30, maybe? Which would make the player most likely Brian May…or maybe The Beatles… ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/428 "2010-05-24T19:40:16Z")
> [@](#): > > CRUNCH 1 > This organic sounding style is dynamically rich and warm, yet biting and distinct! Rolling back your guitar’s volume results in a unique and highly usable clean sound. > > CRUNCH 2 > This style has a fat, roaring sound with a distinctive, cranium-crushing crunch. Rolling back your guitar’s volume produces a bright, clean sound that’s perfect for chord work and will cut through any mix. I’m wondering if they’re saying the Rolling Stones here? Or? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/429 "2010-05-24T19:41:25Z")
Oh, god, I knew it had to be something blatant like a song name. I wonder why I blanked on that. … not the biggest EVH fan, admittedly. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/430 "2010-05-24T19:56:28Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > I’m wondering if they’re saying the Rolling Stones here? Or? No - rolling means rolling here. Meaning: you roll off your on-board volume to clean up your tone. Classic maneuver on an old tube amp - you didn’t have multiple channels to play with so you set your amp to be very gainy, then roll off the Volume to clean things up… …they are trying to claim that the amp can behave like a tube amp. Hmm - doubtful. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/431 "2010-05-25T01:34:00Z")
Actually, that’s… what I’ve been doing. I kind of discovered that by accident. Okay, so basically, they _are_ being coy, but the coy they’re being makes no sense. So I just work with what I like. I can do that! ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/432 "2010-05-25T10:44:03Z")
In some cases they appear to be referring to players. In some cases they appear to be referring to classic amps - Vox’s are jangly, Marshalls are crunchy, Fenders are either surf-clean or warm and fuzzy. And in some cases they are trying to showcase features using the type of jargon that a reader knows they should appreciate, even if they don’t quite know what it means. Being able to clean up by rolling off your Volume is a pretty old-school approach - I do it, but I have come to it after really digging into my playing and tone. It has some retro cool, but the vast majority of players have digital, or at least multi-channel, master volume amps, and a host of pedals, so shifts between clean and crunchy or different levels of volume is a footswitch away. I got a new pedal - I am experimenting with swapping out the one piece of my rig that has been pretty much a constant for 30 years: my first-gen ProCo Rat distortion pedal. Got it for $20 off the lead guitarist of my oldest guitar friend’s band. I just got a new boutique-y overdrive. So far it is pretty amazing. I will report back when I have a solid feel for it. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/433 "2010-05-27T03:52:17Z")
Well. THAT solved my problems. Went to a thin Tortex pick rather than the Fender Mediums. And presto, I can upstrum! (I still have issues hitting all six strings instead of just five or four, but hey, getting better.) Also, while I was at Guitarcenter, I found something awesome at the counter. Slash has a new album. With Ozzy. Ian Astbury. Dave Grohl. Chris Cornell. Iggy Pop. And Lemmy Kilmister. (Also, for some reason, Fergie.) Lemmy’s got the best track. > **[Slash (album)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash_%28album%29)** > > Slash is the debut solo studio album by American rock and roll musician Saul "Slash" Hudson, best known as the lead guitarist of Guns N' Roses. Released in 2010, the album was produced by Eric Valentine and features multiple musicians, including four of the five members of the Appetite for Destruction-era Guns N' Roses lineup: Slash himself, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan and Steven Adler. > In his 2007 autobiography, Slash mentioned he was planning a solo album, and listed some of the vocalists wi... ---
**Author:** ![BigShooter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@BigShooter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigShooter)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/434 "2010-05-27T19:38:56Z")
Here’s a cool performance of “By The Sword” from that Slash album, featuring the singer from Wolfmother (another awesome band, by the way): [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owTpE16d0dY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owTpE16d0dY) Slash is a stud… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/435 "2010-05-27T20:57:02Z")
> [@BigShooter](#): > > Here’s a cool performance of “By The Sword” from that Slash album, featuring the singer from Wolfmother (another awesome band, by the way): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owTpE16d0dY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owTpE16d0dY) > Slash is a stud… Andrew Stockdale - I like both Wolfmother CD’s quite a bit - nice combo of Led Zep, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple… I just got \*\*Stone Temple Pilots’ \*\*new CD - solid. They are never going to blow open new sonic ground, but their songwriting is dependable, the performances excellent and there is enough of a hint of art in there to give them more than just copycat cred - kinda like the Sheryl Crow or Lenny Kravitz of harder rock. The song Huckleberry Crumble sounds like it (and a few other tracks) came off a classic Aerosmith album, but some of the other songs very towards Power Pop… ---
**Author:** ![cgg419](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cgg419/32/2847_2.png) [@cgg419](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cgg419)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/436 "2010-05-28T07:16:03Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I just got \*\*Stone Temple Pilots’ \*\*new CD - solid. They are never going to blow open new sonic ground, but their songwriting is dependable, the performances excellent and there is enough of a hint of art in there to give them more than just copycat cred - kinda like the Sheryl Crow or Lenny Kravitz of harder rock. The song Huckleberry Crumble sounds like it (and a few other tracks) came off a classic Aerosmith album, but some of the other songs very towards Power Pop… Oddly enough, the song “Days of the Week” was written for Sheryl Crow by the Deleo brothers before it became an STP song. Good assessment of the new album too, I agree for the most part. What did you think of the closer, “Maver”. Completely uncharacteristic for the band, IMO, but at the same time, I just can’t stop listening to it. Great song. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/437 "2010-05-28T12:17:33Z")
> [@cgg419](#): > > Oddly enough, the song “Days of the Week” was written for Sheryl Crow by the Deleo brothers before it became an STP song. > Good assessment of the new album too, I agree for the most part. What did you think of the closer, “Maver”. Completely uncharacteristic for the band, IMO, but at the same time, I just can’t stop listening to it. Great song. Didn’t know that about the Crow connection, but not surprising; the Deleo’s are journeyman players, just like her. I like Maver - I don’t find it out of their normal range. They cover a reasonably big footprint from hard rock to power pop. Their biggest issues are the fact that they are a bit too good at presenting a genre - the vocals and instruments vary to suit the style - but the artistic thread isn’t strong enough to knit all the various styles together into a _statement_. They’re a bit too good for their own good and need to focus more on having something to say. Having said all that - I really enjoy how they rock. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/438 "2010-05-28T12:26:44Z")
Link to [Gibson.com](http://Gibson.com) article on the top 50 guitarists: [http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/Top-50-Guitarists-527/](http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/Top-50-Guitarists-527/) This one is for #20 - 11, with links to the previous groups of 10… I don’t give lists much thought, other than I like to be reminded of players I don’t devote enough time to digging into… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/439 "2010-05-28T12:41:37Z")
New thread where I discuss the rock band [Cage the Elephant](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=564888). Guitar approved. ---
**Author:** ![cgg419](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cgg419/32/2847_2.png) [@cgg419](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cgg419)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/440 "2010-05-28T17:21:43Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Didn’t know that about the Crow connection, but not surprising; the Deleo’s are journeyman players, just like her. > > I like Maver - I don’t find it out of their normal range. They cover a reasonably big footprint from hard rock to power pop. Their biggest issues are the fact that they are a bit too good at presenting a genre - the vocals and instruments vary to suit the style - but the artistic thread isn’t strong enough to knit all the various styles together into a _statement_. They’re a bit too good for their own good and need to focus more on having something to say. > > Having said all that - I really enjoy how they rock. They really do cover alot of ground, I just felt Maver was new in that it’s piano driven AND upbeat; now Cinnamon is a whole other story. Add me too the list of people that think they rock. One of my favorite bands. On another note, as someone that has no real soldering experience, how hard is it to swap pickups on a Strat? Something that I should be able to do on my own, or something that is worth paying for? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172.md?page=23)