Coolest guitar sound you've ever heard
 

The question might sound strange just out of the title, but here's what I'm asking: what song's guitar line do you think has the coolest sound? I'm not talking about intricasy of the line, how sophisticated it is, or anything like that, but the actual SOUND of the line. The way that it resonates, the way that it comes off the strings, whatever. OK, so I'm not phrasing it that well, but I'm sure you can tell what I'm getting at.

For me it's in the Apex Theory song "That's All!" (yes, the exclamation point is part of the title... just clearing that up because people ask me a lot when I mention the song). The guitar rings and resonates just right, and it floats perfectly with the vocals and the stuttered drumbeat. It has almost an atmospheric feel to it... it just sounds really really cool. There's a similar effect in "Apossibly," which is also by The Apex Theory.

Television - Marquee Moon

In the middle, you just get lost in the sound of the guitar. It's great.

Pity for a Dime, Mark Tremonti's solo in there is just sick.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Parallel Universe. There, at the end of the song, when they start doing some insane phasers and flanges. Despite the chaotic sound, it fits right into the song, and clicks into place.

I think Jane's Addiction (Dave Navarro) has the best all around guitar sound going. Just listen to Mountain Song and turn the volume to 11.

Steve Vai can pull some crazy shit on the guitar but I dont know any of his song names or anything

Trey Anastasio's Digital Delay loop along with his soloing...


:crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

I always love hearing the way Zakk Wylde does his pinch harmonics, especially in "Crazy Babies." The guy is a master at that.

Okay call me an old fart. Led Zeppelin, 1973, the Madison Square Garden concert, in "Dazed and Confused" Jimmy Page's guitar solo where he plays it with a bow. It's fuckin' awesome.

Yeah, I forgot Zakk... I've seen him play at Ozzfest a few times, quite a sight to behold. He puts the echo-distortion effect on and just goes into a crazy solo... it kicks ass.

Big Wreck and Big Sugar have both got some cool sounds.. I have seen the latter live and shit they're loud!

Anything by Sigur Ros

Dunno.. but the best "metal" tone for me is good old S.O.D. It's huge! Especially on the live album. It's just monstrous. I sit in awe of my speakers.

R.E.M.'s album "Monster" has the greatest fucking guitar tone ever ever. Too bad it's more or less the same guitar tone for 48 straight minutes, but it's still great.

Anything Tom Morello did in Rage Against the Machine gets my vote, he is an excellent guitarist. Audioslave doesnt do his abilities justice.

I personally love the guitar sounds on 'Oh Mercy' and 'Under the Red Sky' by Bob Dylan. Both albums have different sounds, one is a more crisp guitar and the other more distorted. It is some of the best sounding guitar ever.

To me it's the simple, mellow neck/middle sound of David Gilmour on 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond.' So rich and slow - it's like a guitar milkshake.

As for cool 'hair on the back of your neck' distorted sounds - anything with a well set-up flanger that is not being used to hide the sins of the player does it for me. "Spirit of Radio" (Rush/Alex Lifeson) is one example that comes to mind.

Crazy sounds - Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. The guy is reasonably talented (all of his guitar lines are easy though), but he can make any sound effect with his axe.

Best Tone - I agree with the above poster. David Gilmour has EXTREME tone.

Best Sound (one song) - Joe Satriani's "Circles" is an amazing piece of work. He goes from complex clean riffs to blistering-fast dirty riffs that kick you in the face. But the sound quality and versatility is just amazing.

Stairway To Heaven solo on the new Zeppelin live album
Chorus of Pretty Little Ditty by RHCP (The vibrato sounds amazing)
The way the opening guitar notes of Money by Pink Floyd blend into the sounds at the start of the track.

Pink Floyd - Sorrow
The intro guitar is all that song needs.

The one newer Audioslave song, Tom Morello does unbeliveable things with that guitar.

This may be a guitar tone thread.. but I can't get over the sound of Dan Adriano's bass on any Alkaline Trio album. Snaps, pops, rumbles... his bass playing has as much character as any guitar I've ever heard.
And he doesn't have hairy palms from playing slap bass :)

Man, I must be the oldest person here, but come on, Hendrix had it all. There's a fairly recent release simply titled "Blues" that is simply amazing. No special effects just 1 take studio recordings of blues standards that should be mandatory listening for anyone thinking of a career in music, just to have a benchmark for comparison. As for bass I'll give my nod to Les Claypool.

I believe Joe Satriani & Eric Johnson's sounds are necessary additions to the list.

Floyd sounds.. the strangest sounding guit I havce heard is after 8:12 in Echoes.

Wow

Anything...and I mean ANYTHING, by Yngwie Malmsteen. Andre Segovia has some great riffs as well. And there's always Peter Frampton.....

Eddie Van Halen on Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love.

Bootsy Collins in his middle years (1975-77) used to use a kind of wah envelope to make this thick fucking awesome muck sound out of his bass. sounded like a dozen greased-down seals flopping arund together in a kiddie pool. Check out "pfunk (wants to get funked up)", "Ride On", and "chocolate city" by Parliament for that thick ol sound.

The even better treat is the Delicate Sound of Thunder live version. Yet Another Movie flows into Round and Round flows into Sorrow for the best 16 minutes on the CD. The Comfortably Numb on the other disc is my favorite non-bootleg version, too, where near the end of the solo Gimour slams that one 8-bar note that slays me every time.

-Mikey

Gotta say Joe Satriani's tone on "Surfing with the Alien." Its just hot, so crisp and kick ass, gotta love that compressor.

Oh and I love the version of Daytripper with Hendrix on the guitar.

"sorrow" by pink floyd, played live.

Sounds absolutely huge.

I was starting to worry that no one would mention Satriani. Pink Floyd's have always been amazing and innovative. And at one time, Kirk Hammett made some killer solos too.

One of the coolest guitar sounds I've ever heard is when Peter Frampton used his talkbox in "Show Me the Way."

Supernova, I thought he only did that in Do You Feel Like We Do?

Either way, that is the coolest thing I've herd a guitar do by a long way.

On the new Our Lady Peace Live album, there is a slow song called Are You Sad. I loved that song on the original album, and I flipped when I saw it on the live one. During the whole intro you hear these violin-like tones in the background, and then when the song starts you realize it was the guitar the whole time. I love stuff like that. Wish I could figure out those sounds on my guitar :p.

surprised nobody has mentioned J Mascis yet esp. the tone he gets on I ain’t sayin. It's not just his tone that makes Dinosaur Jr so good but the way he tailors it to each song and uses it to play a half decent tune (something that dicks like Vai and other fret wankers don't/can't)
Also any of Steve Albini's stuff. the sound of the, several octaves too high, guitars on passing complexion gets me everytime.

post metal/math hardcore/whatever bands like meshuggah, botch, dillinger escape plan and converge get some great sounds, you just know that their complete geeks who have spent weeks messing around with the EQ

But the most amazing guitar tone I've ever heard is during the chorus on Full disclouser by fugazi (3rd track on The Argument) .
everyone should download it now

Steve Vai. That is the answer. Steve Vai.

How could I forget about Stevie Ray Vaughan? To me, Stevie could play Jimi, better than Jimi could play Jimi.

SRV's Little Wing can bring tears to my eyes, and I have no problem admitting that.

-Mikey

any hendrix is good