10 Great and Simple Guitar Riffs

Some old school music makers, who knows how to rock:
(unranked)

Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers

Muddy Waters - Mannish Boy

The Troggs - Wild Thing

Saxon - Wheels Of Steel

Black Sabbath - Iron Man

AC/DC - Highway To Hell 

Eric Clapton - Cocaine

The Doors - Hello, I Love You

ZZ Top - La Grange

Johnny Cash - San Quentin

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Sonny Sharrock - The Guitar Tone Legend

Do you know Sonny Sharrock? He was a magnificent jazz/blues guitarist.

He used to have awesome ideas on guitar riffs. After listening a few Sonny's records, I still have this sounds in my head. He was paying with  great timing and rhythm. Sonny's guitar tone was fat and rich, more typical for blues-rock players than jazzmen. The Gibson Les Paul was his main instrument, what is easy to hear in his records.

Sonny is well known also from his groovy soundtrack for Space Ghost Coast to Coast cartoon

Let's listen to some Sharrock's music:

Who Does She Hope to Be 

Promises Kept 

Once Upon a Time 

Hit Single - Space Ghost Coast to Cast Intro

More info: www.sonnysharrock.com

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Robert Fripp - The Guitar Tone Legend

Robert Fripp is one of the most unique guitarists. He's especially known as part of the King Crimson band, but in this post, I would like to write something about his solo career.

Fripp made a few great music projects. They always was unique, with awesome tone and playing style. Robert's music is something that you can't describe as mainstream, or typical, or common. You can't even say that this is rock, ambient, world, jazz or whatever. It's just Fripp.

He's well known from his solo performances, where he's using Frippertronics.

Low-Output Pickups for Heavy Music?

Many metal and hard rock guitarist are using electric guitars with some high-output humbuckers. However, we shouldn't forget also about those guitar players, who are using some low-output pickups, even single-coils, to get heavy tones. 

Do you know Yngwie Malmsteen, Brian May or Paul Gilbert? They've got quite „weak” p-ups in their gear collections.

As examples, here are some cool videos:

Paul Gilbert with his Ibanez Fireman guitar

Yngwie Malmsteen - Seventh Sign

Brian May Band - Love Token 

Alessandro Alessandroni - The Guitar Tone Legend

Do you remember these spaghetti westerns directed by Sergio Leone: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; A Fistful of Dollars; For a Few Dollars More or Once Upon a Time in the West?

Maybe you already know, that their soundtracks are composed by Ennio Morricone - but who played this awesome guitar riffs? It was Alessandro Alessandroni.

Alessandroni is famous from his twangy guitar sounds, which are ringing when Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson is starting to be mad and danger. He's also a good whistler, and player of many other instruments.

Alessandro Alessandroni was using probably a Fender Stratocaster guitar for his records for Morricone.

Guitar parts in Morricone's compositions are not very complicated, but they are very powerful and well fitted to other instruments. Morricone's melodies + Alessandroni's guitar tone = very good record.

Here are some links to soundtracks (YouTube):

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly theme (most famous Alessandroni's riff)

For a Few Dollars More theme (cool whistling)

Once Upon a Time in the West theme (my favorite riff)

Links:
www.alessandroni.com - official site
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_Alessandroni
www.pollodelmar.com/mart/morricone - about spaghetti western themes

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Magic of Simple, Single Pickup Guitars

Sometimes a simple electric guitar with one pickup is enough to get many cool tones. In this post, I would like to present some inormation and music videos about this kind of axes. It will be about simple, but quite iconic guitar constructions, used by famous guitarists.

Edward Van Halen

Home made Frankensteins or Frankenstrats, Charvels and Kramers are guitars, that Eddie was using frequently to reach many famus hard rock vibes and tones. This guitars were usually equipped with one humbucker, one vulume pot, and the Floyd Rose bridge. 

Edward van Halen - Cathedral - Kramer

Van Halen - Panama -  Kramer

Van Halen - The Full Bug - Frankenstein

David Gilmour Without a Guitar

What can David Gilmour do without any of of his guitars?
Also great music. For example, he can:

• just sing,
• play on a saxophone ,
• or on a banjo.

(links to YT videos)

photo by deep_schismic

Very creative person.

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Leslie West - The Guitar Tone Legend

It's time for another guitar tone legend - Leslie West. This guitarist is a „concentrate” of best blues, rock and heavy metal things. You can find in his songs just whole history of rock music. Heavy, memorable riffs and awesome, really fat tone are typical for Leslie's music.

Leslie is a great part of The Mountain band. He's got also many good solo projects.

He is a very influential person for other guitarists - like Eddie Van Halen, Michael Schenker or Richie Sambora.

Leslie is well known from using Les Paul Junior guitars (my wiring mod). He's using also Flying V (another of my wirings), his signature guitar made by Dean, or some headless stuff from Steinberger and Ed Roman.

Lets listen:

Mountain - Southbound Train

Mountain - Mississippi Queen

Leslie West - Never In My Life

The Leslie West Band – Money

Mountain - Don't Look Around

Links:

www.mountaintheband.com

www.dinosaurrockguitar.com/new/node/66

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_West

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_West#Equipment

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Tom Petty - The Guitar Tone Legend

Today i would like to tell you something about Tom Petty. He's not a „guitar virtuoso” for me. He's not like Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani or Jimi Henrix. He's not playing fast and complicated, but he is a great guitarist. Tom is a master of strumming and minimalistic riffs in the background.

Maybe someone would like to say, that there is nothing difficult in 'just guitar strumming' and 'just playing few notes/chords'. I think, that there IS something difficult. Feeling, dynamic, smoothness, aggression – you can make it in many different ways. You can be boring, or you can have passion.

If you don't know too much about Tom Petty's music, here are some cool videos.

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers:
Refugee  (live)
Don't Come Around Here No More
You Got Lucky
Runnin' Down A Dream


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Michael Wilton and Chris DeGarmo from Queensrÿche - The Guitar Tone Legends

Another great guitar duo. Michael Wilton and Chris DeGarmo made an awsome job in the Queensrÿche band. I like Especially the Operation: Mindcrime album. In one song they can show you shredding, cool melodic lines, progressive riffs and many more.

Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir - The Guitar Tone Legends

Jerry Garcia (1942 - 1995) and Bob Weir were the awesome guitar duo of the Grateful Dead band. The best thing, for me, that I can say about them, is that I don't know what they were exactly doing? Were they playing blues, jazz, folk, rock or what? They were doing just everything! Bob and Jerry were very flexible guitarists and they knew how to improvise.

Les Paul - The Guitar Tone Legend

Les Paul (1915 - 2009) was a great guitarist and jazzman - not only a great guitar and recording gear inventor.

Les was a quite popular guitar player in jazz fanciers society. He also put something to the pop music industry. He was playing in radio shows and taking part in music projects with many famous musicians. You can read more about his life in this article: www.lespaulonline.com/bio.html

Here is a very cool interview with this gentleman: www.modernguitars.com/archives/000818.html

Johnny Winter - The Guitar Tone Legend

Today I would like to present an another guitarist with a great tone – Johnny Winter.

I know him especially as the great, distinct blues guitar licks maker. He definitely has got his own style of playing and his own, cool tone. His blues is a quite energetic type of music, with a lot of awesome guitar licks and vocal ornaments.

Johnny Winter is known as an user of Gibson Firebird and Erlewine Lazer – very cool, headless peace of wood.

Johnny Winter - Don't Take Advantage Of Me

I'm Yours And I'm Hers

Links: 

Johny Winter's official site: www.johnnywinter.net

Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Winter

Erlewine guitars: www.erlewineguitars.com

Erlewine Lazer: www.erlewineguitars.com/pgs/lazer.htm (Awesome bridge design)

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Tom Waits - The Guitar Tone Legend

Tom Waits is not picking up an electric guitar very often. Probably you know him more as a vocalist only or a singing piano player. I would like to present here his 'made with an electric guitar' music. This guy has got a really cool tone!

Lie To Me

I've been changed

Links:
www.tomwaits.com
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Waits
www.tomwaits.com/photos/photo/3701974843/ (guitar gear photo)


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Brian Setzer - The Guitar Tone Legend

Guy who don't know that time is running :)

Brian Setzer - Rock This Town - This is a reeealy cool performance! Great show in awesome old-school style.

photo by Marcos C.

Links:
briansetzer.com
wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Setzer (something about Brian's equipment here)
gretschguitars.com/whatshot/brian_setzer.html (about Brian's guitars)

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Mark Knopfler - The Guitar Tone Legend

Mark Knopfler with the rest of Dire Straits and Eric Clapton - Money for Nothing - live.
BTW, put your attention also on chorus.

Links:
markknopfler.com
ds.mk-guitar.com (about gear)

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George Harrison - The Guitar Tone Legend

George Harrison (yeah, that guy from The Beatles) was also an great guitarist. When I'm writing this, I'm not thinking only about The Beatles, but also about Harrison in his solo carrier and with Traveling Wilburys. If You don't know him from this side, I really recommend to search online for some music from this part of his life.
I recommend also, to find music video: Traveling Wilburys – Handle With Care, than see George Harrison's guitar and hear his solo. He had really cool peace of wood with really cool tone!

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Links:

georgeharrison.com

travelingwilburys.com

youtube.com/TravelingWilburys – here you can find the music video that I wrote about.

Jim Hall - The Guitar Tone Legend

Jim Hall is a living jazz legend. He's influencing a lot of jazz guitarists. His tone is well balanced, warm and reeeaaally smooth. It is that kind of tone, that everybody connecting with jazz music, but it's also an original tone, typical for Jim Hall.
If you are interesting in guitar design or tonewoods, you should check out Hall's guitars. His hollow-bodies are always beautiful and high-grade.

Links:

jimhallmusic.com
ejn.it/mus/hall.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Hall_(musician)

to listen:

Jim Hall Trio - Umbria Jazz Winter

Mike Stern - The Guitar Tone Legend

Mike Stern is a jazz / fusion guitarist with very interesting tone and gear. His music has got a lot of really groovy-bluesy-jazzy lines with a dynamic rhythm. I can hear in his work a mix of many techniques of guitar playing.

He's got his signature guitar, made by Yamaha. Stern is an often user of chorus, delay, distortion and few other types of effects. He like to play on solid state amps, Yamaha G100 (yeah, no tube).

Bob Berg / Mike Stern Band - Chromazone

Links:
Mike Stern's official site: mikestern.org
MySpace: myspace.com/mikesternjazz


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Charlie Christian - The Guitar Tone Legend

Charlie Christian was an awesome jazz guitarist. His music is still influencing a lot of jazz guitar players.

He has been playing in 30. but his tone is really timeless. It's really jazzy, with cool, dynamic, jumping notes. The rhythm is a big thing in his lines.

A famous thing, connected to Christian, is the Charlie Christian's guitar pickup. It's a really old school construction, with a big, ceramic magnet and a blade pole piece.

It's easy to find Charlie Christian's music on YouTube, Grooveshark and similar sites.

listen: Swing to Bop

Links:

classicjazzguitar.com
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Christian
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Christian_pickup (pickup)

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