Distinctive guitar players whose playing/tone you easily recognise?

AlexO

Brian Setzer. 

Fishboy7

Taylor Swift, Ed Sheerhan, Chris Martin 

NelsonP

Fishboy7 said:

Taylor Swift, Ed Sheerhan, Chris Martin 

Jason Orange

Redlester

NelsonP said:

Fishboy7 said:

Taylor Swift, Ed Sheerhan, Chris Martin 

Jason Orange

Don’t knock him. He’s had his own signature series of amps for years. 

SRich

Jonathangus said:

Paul Kossoff.  There was a Free song in a TV show recently - might have been Normal People.  Didn't know the song, but as soon as that vibrato started...

I had a similar experience at the end of a DEVS episode when the unmistakeable Paul Kossoff started into "Oh I wept".....

SRich

..and just to add Mike Campbell....and Larry Carlton

artiebear

Me, when I hear it, (unmistakable )  I always cringe.

Probs all the obvious have been mentioned, but maybe Martin Simpson, Tony McManus and Pierre Bensusan, all amazing and distinctive acoustic players with such an amazing , touch and style.

Jonathangus

SRich said:

Jonathangus said:

Paul Kossoff.  There was a Free song in a TV show recently - might have been Normal People.  Didn't know the song, but as soon as that vibrato started...

I had a similar experience at the end of a DEVS episode when the unmistakeable Paul Kossoff started into "Oh I wept".....

Devs.  That was it.

On the subject of distinctive vibrato, I'm sitting watching Metallica at Glastonbury on iPlayer, so I'll say Kirk Hammett.  Cos his vibrato's all over the shop.

artiebear

Shit, I forgot the inventor of bangy, tappy acoustic stuff ( but with music at the heart of it , not just billy no mates who can't  get a bass player and drummer ), the late Micheal Hedges ( what player ). His musicality and phrasing puts him alongside Hendrix, but with a D28. (Aerial Boundaries).

HAL9000

See I've been beaten to it but was going to mention Roy Buchanan - distinctive in that there's not many players can make a Telecaster sound quite so thin and weedy.

Greatape

Ty Tabor
Mike Stern
Sco
McLaughlin
Richard Lloyd
Carlton
Robben
Vernon Reid
Neil
Etc

There's lots of other guys who people ape well enough to the point where it's hard to tell. 

cbilly22

EVH. Tone, phrasing, vibrato...that certain something that everyone that copied him never replicated. 
Funnily enough I recently read a book about Van Halen's early days and how well they mastered I'm Going Home by Ten Year After and Parchment Farm by Cactus. Listening to Hot For Teacher or the ludicrous I'm the One isolated track it seems so obvious.

skullfunkerry

Jonathangus said:

SRich said:

Jonathangus said:

Paul Kossoff.  There was a Free song in a TV show recently - might have been Normal People.  Didn't know the song, but as soon as that vibrato started...

I had a similar experience at the end of a DEVS episode when the unmistakeable Paul Kossoff started into "Oh I wept".....

Devs.  That was it.

On the subject of distinctive vibrato, I'm sitting watching Metallica at Glastonbury on iPlayer, so I'll say Kirk Hammett.  Cos his vibrato's all over the shop.

I watched S&M2 at the cinema and his playing was just shocking. He manages to be shrill and tuneless, even on solos he's been playing for years. I genuinely don't understand how Lars & James, two well-known perfectionists, let him get away with it...

Lesgrandepotato

Graham Coxon - no one else really sounds like him. The solo’s have a distinct air of a man who cannot play at all. But it’s much more than that. Controlled havoc. 

Brilliant stuff.

TonyM42

Carlos Santana - very distinctive, Mike Campbell, Lindsey Buckingham, Peter Frampton, Larry Carlton, John McClaughlin, Cliff Gallup.

Funkfingers

Duane Allman in slide mode.

Alex Lifeson

Rory Gallagher

zedhex

Peter Green

SPECTRUM001

Hugh Cornwell 
Kevin Shields
Steve Albini
Vini Reilly
Richard Thompson
Jon Spencer
Paul Kossof
David Gilmour
Will Sergeant
Keith Levine
Robert Smith
Ripley Johnson
Neil Young
Sterling Morrison