Quintessential guitar tones per model

randerson

If you were to pick 5 of the best recorded examples of guitar tones per model what would you select?

Top 5 Strat 
Top 5 Tele 
Top 5 Les Paul
Top 5 ES 335
Top 5 Gretsch

We could keep going with SG's and the like but just as a kick off.. Actual recorded tracks not artists. So for example Strat tone =  'Wind Cries Mary' Jimi Hendrix, rather than just Hendrix. Interested in your thoughts.

Hattigol

I'll be impressed by the commitment of anyone who comes up with 25 answers. 

randerson

Hattigol said:

I'll be impressed by the commitment of anyone who comes up with 25 answers. 

You underestimate the power of guitar nerdom.. I thought 5 is good because it covers the genre spread? 

Redlester

Not sure I have enough time to think of 5 for each. 

I could go for my current favourite one in each category. 

Strat- Ritchie Blackmore, probably Rainbow Rising era
Tele- I like Jerry Donahue, so probably his Telecasting album
Les Paul- Gary Moore for me. Lizzy, blues stuff, Blues for Greeny. Covers the main bases. 
335? No preference really. Can't think of anything. 
Gretsch- Billy Duffy. The Cult's Love is pretty much all White Falcon I think. Later albums are a mix of the WF and Lesters. 

EricTheWeary

Hattigol said:

I'll be impressed by the commitment of anyone who comes up with 25 answers. 

Or gets all 25 right without someone going ‘ that’s an Explorer not a Les Paul you idiot’ etc,etc. 

randerson

OK point made, 5 is a bit time consuming! I suppose I'm interested in what constitutes a strat tone in people's head for example. What track immediately comes to mind? 

Grumpyrocker

I'd add The Darkness, Thunder and GNR for Les Paul rock tones. 

thecolourbox

I can't think of 5 necessarily and some of them I don't really know a good reference point (335 or Gretsch) but I'll have a go at listing ones I like which may or may not be quintessential but there you go.

Strat - Wind Cries Mary, Jimi. Sultans of Swing, Dire Straits. Miserlou, Dick Dale. Over The Rainbow, Jeff Beck
Tele - Any song from Live at Sine, Jeff Buckley
Les Paul - I don't really know to be honest, I don't really listen to music that uses them? I can only think of Led Zeppelin, so I'll go for Dazed and Confused from Royal Albert Hall dvd.
ES 335 - I've no idea, sorry
Gretsch - was Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden on Cornells' Gretsch? Not the quintessential sound I suppose but hey ho. How about Psycho or Johnny Got A Boom Boom by Imelda May (guitarist Darrel Higham)

I'm not very good at this

stickyfiddle

Strat
Where the Streets Have No Name
Sultans of Swing
Gravity
Nowhere Man solo
Sweet Home Alabama

Tele
Communication Breakdown
Prove It All Night (preferably live around ‘78)
Paranoid Android
Tumbling Dice
American Girl

Les Paul
Sweet Child o Mine
Whole Lotta Love
All Right Now
Pretty Vacant
New Year’s Day (U2, preferably live around 2001)

The others are harder

randerson

Great stuff, thanks. Yes re. Gretsch and 335 I can't think past Chet Atkins and maybe Clapton in Cream, hence the interest in broadening my listening! When someone says 'that Gretsch sound' who/what recording are they talking about do you think? Is there a key artist/tone outside of Chet?

stickyfiddle

For me the #1 Gretsch thing would be the first couple of Beatles records and anything by ACDC. 

andy_k

Top 5 Strat 
Clapton, Layla
Hank, Apache
Beck, Where were You
Jimi, Purple Haze
Stevie, Couldn't stand the weather

Top 5 Tele 
Danny Gatton, anything
Keef, Jumping Jack flash
John 5, Beat It
Guy from Radiohead, Creep
Jimmy Page, Whole Lotta Love

Top 5 Les Paul
Les Paul, How High the moon
Clapton, Stormy Monday
Jeff Beck, anything from Truth
Jimmy Page, Kashmir live
Buckethead, T.W.A.T .from the GnR album

Top 5 ES 335
BB, Thrill is gone
Clapton, Crossroads, Albert Hall
Larry Carlton, Steely Dan-Kid Charlemaigne
Dave Edmunds, Sabre Dance
Alvin Lee, Woodstock

Top 5 Gretsch
Malcolm Young, anything (everything)
Chet Atkins, not sure
Brian Setzer, Stray cat strut
Eddie Cochran, Summertime Blues
Billy from the Cult. Rain.

Where does EVH fit in??
the best tone, had to have a guitar built for it. ( 78 live show, supporting Sabbath )

CountryDave

For me, off the top of my head

Strat
Hey Joe - Hendrix
Slow Dancing - Mayer
Layla - Clapton
Where the Streets Have No Name - U2
Something to talk about - Bonnie Raitt


Tele
Cluster Pluck - Brad Paisley, James Burton, Vince Gill, Albert Lee (ok that’s a Musicman), John Jorgensen, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert, Steve Wariner
Funky Mama - Danny Gatton
Caroline - Quo
Breakdown - Tom Petty Heartbreakers
Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash


Les Paul
Alright Now - Free
Any Darkness from the first album
Any GnR from the first album


335
BB King - anything really
Room 335 - Larry Carlton
Mark Flanagan from Jools Holland’s Big Band has the one of the best live sounds I’ve heard.


Gretsch
Leave this town - Cousin Harley
Stray Cat Strut - Brian Setzer
Peter Gunn - Duane Eddy
Mayhem - Imelda May (Darrell Higham on guitar)
Chet - any

koneguitarist

randerson said:

If you were to pick 5 of the best recorded examples of guitar tones per model what would you select?

Top 5 Strat 
Top 5 Tele 
Top 5 Les Paul
Top 5 ES 335
Top 5 Gretsch

We could keep going with SG's and the like but just as a kick off.. Actual recorded tracks not artists. So for example Strat tone =  'Wind Cries Mary' Jimi Hendrix, rather than just Hendrix. Interested in your thoughts.

Can’t really think of 5 specific, and it’s late. 

Strats. 

Sultans of Swing Dire Straits 

Moonlight Shadow Mike Oldfield
 Hard to be Vaughan Brothers 

Tele
Leaving Louisiana in broad daylight Rodney Crowell
Sweet Little Lisa Dave Edmunds 
Luxury Liner Emmylou Harris

Les Paul
Ten Dollar Man ZZ Top
Brothers in Arms Dire Straits
Everything’s Broken Jason Isbell

ES335 
Oh What a Thrill Rockpile
Please mr Postman The Carpenters  
Child in Time Deep Purple 

Gretsch
sitting in the Balcony Eddie Cochran
Act Naturally The Beatles 
Perfect Fairground Attraction

koneguitarist

randerson said:

Great stuff, thanks. Yes re. Gretsch and 335 I can't think past Chet Atkins and maybe Clapton in Cream, hence the interest in broadening my listening! When someone says 'that Gretsch sound' who/what recording are they talking about do you think? Is there a key artist/tone outside of Chet?

Eddie Cochran and George Harrison would be first to spring to mind. 

springhead

andy_k said:

Top 5 Tele 
Danny Gatton, anything
Keef, Jumping Jack flash
John 5, Beat It
Guy from Radiohead, Creep
Jimmy Page, Whole Lotta Love

If Keef played electric on JJ Flash I reckon it would have been a Les Paul Custom, he didnt' start playing Tele's till a couple of years later.  Mick Taylor would have played his LP or SG on that one.  How about Start Me Up or Beast Of Burden for Keef on a Tele?

The Whole Lotta Love Tele vs Les Paul debate has been going for years.  Though there is an interview with Page where he says he played his "1958 Les Paul Standard I had bought from Joe Walsh". 

Stuckfast

Strat - Robert Quine on Blank Generation by Richard Hell

335 - Bernard Butler on the first couple of Suede albums

Gretsch - Cliff Gallup with Gene Vincent

Cranky

I'm not really a guitar nerd, never paid that much attention to who plays what exactly.  But it's a topic I've started to take more notice of lately.

For Strat, it's basically Wind Cries Mary, Lenny by SRV and Cliffs of Dover.  There's also Uli Jon Roth, but that's more just because I know he played a Strat, not because of "the tone".

For Tele, I always think of Prince, George Harrison, Tom Petty, and Zeppelin.  But which songs exactly I'm not sure.

LP is just Guns n Roses.

335 is all over the map, isn't it?  From Wes Montgomery to BB King to Dave Grohl?

Gretsch I think of anything from Chet Atkins to Elliott Smith to Chris Isaak to Jesus and Mary Chain.

But most importantly, tone is in the fingers. 

Winny_Pooh

Strat will be the hardest so here goes:

Wicked game - Chris Isaak
Down to the waterline - Dire Straits
Trademark - Eric Johnson (cliffs had a solo on a 335 and this has all the classic strat tones in one song)
SRV - Little Wing
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room - Mayer

I'd also add Comfortably Numb but it sounds too good to be a strat, honestly! 
And the "strat" sounds on Money and ABINW aren't even strats! Gilmour is a magician.

randerson

Some interesting inclusions here! Thx

springhead

For Les Paul I reckon:

Freddie King - San Ho Zay

Eric Clapton/Bluesbreakers - Hideaway

Peter Green - Jumping At Shadows (Live)

Paul Kossoff - Be My Friend, Isle of Wight or other live version

Thin Lizzy - Waiting For An Alibi - double Les Paul action!