Mine are biased toward Stratocasters, as those are my favorite guitars.

Jimi Hendrix: He gets the prize for sound. This man had a huge influence on all sorts of folks, all sorts of generations. For great reason. He managed to play ferociously, subtly, lyrically, some might even say prophetically. Killer tone, especially on his albums, marked his songs. Sometimes it was in the bell-like effect of Little Wing. Sometimes it was in one-off runs like those found on "Long Hot Summer Night" or "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)." The cat's sound -- even when its most maniacal -- still conveyed musicality and nuance. He was a beast, bless his heart.

Eric Clapton: His round Strat tone is absolutely amazing. It's overdriven enough to have some muscle to it, but supple enough to be transparent and articulate. Good stuff. It's best displayed on Riding with the King, the duet album he did with B.B. King.

Stevie Ray Vaughan: Again, a cool mix of muscle and sweetness. A whole cottage industry has emerged in the past decade or two devoted to helping guitarists capture his sound. Everything from a signature guitar, spare parts distributors, effects pedals, amps, pickups, amp tubes, guitar picks -- all pointing to this cat's tone. And, so much of his trademark sound had to do with immense volume and his big ol' hands. Crazy.

Prince: Study his solos from the 1985/Syracuse "Purple Rain," and you'll hear my favorite sound from our boy. Good, good stuff. Miss that tone dearly. Occasionally, the tone pops up in recorded work: Sheena's "Cool Love," his "Somebody's Somebody" and Kid Creole's "The Sex of It" are a few examples. I'm sure some of it was processing; I'm also convinced it had a lot to do with the Clouds' components.

Odell: Mint Condition's lead guitar-slinger manages to coax some really cool tones out of his Parker Fly, a guitar not widely known for being a tone monster. I'm still not sure how he does it. I'm going to have to research his setup.

Adam Levy: Norah Jone's sometime guitar guy has this wonderful alt-country thing going. With a killer mix of overdrive, tremolo, delay and chops the size of Texas, he's done some killer things. His solos were some of my favorite parts of his tours with her. When I realized he wasn't in her live band anymore, I shrugged at the mention of her latest tour. And, y'all know how I feel about Norah.

Special shout-outs go out to Robben Ford, Doyle Bramhall II and John Mayer, the last of whom appears to found a way to build off of SRV's really well. More to come, as they occur to me.

[Edited 8/14/10 19:57pm]

Carlos Santana: Prince's trademark guitar tone and most of his early phrasing, begins and ends right here with his emulation of this man. Santana is pure "tone".

Eddie Van Halen: Aside from his string gymnastics, this man had an unmistakable tone. Prpbably had alot to do with the guitars he built himself.

Frank Zappa: His guitar literally snarls at you. His tone is so signature and unique, yet aggressive and badass. Coupled with his completely original solo style, I can't ever get enough of his sound.

Terry Kath - Lauded by Jimi Hendrix as "the best player in the universe" and ""(Terry Kath) is better than me" - His sound has that hard rough edge that we know and love from classic rock guitar solo work, but it was also punchy. May favourite parts of his solos have always been his rapid fire sections. Each note was like a bullet out of a machine gun. Quick, powerful, but distinct from every other note. They started and they stopped, it wasn't just a wave of noise.

(For those who don't know, Terry Kath was the original guitarist of Chicago, before his tragic death converted them from rock/jazz ensemble to light ballad adult soft pop ensemble.)

Prince's Hohner

savoirfaire said:

Frank Zappa: His guitar literally snarls at you. His tone is so signature and unique, yet aggressive and badass. Coupled with his completely original solo style, I can't ever get enough of his sound.

Terry Kath - Lauded by Jimi Hendrix as "the best player in the universe" and ""(Terry Kath) is better than me" - His sound has that hard rough edge that we know and love from classic rock guitar solo work, but it was also punchy. May favourite parts of his solos have always been his rapid fire sections. Each note was like a bullet out of a machine gun. Quick, powerful, but distinct from every other note. They started and they stopped, it wasn't just a wave of noise.

(For those who don't know, Terry Kath was the original guitarist of Chicago, before his tragic death converted them from rock/jazz ensemble to light ballad adult soft pop ensemble.)

frankly i had never heard of him and i never knew Chicago started out as a rock band either

he's great indeed

[Edited 8/15/10 9:24am]

minneapolisFunq said:

Prince's Hohner

Is that all you know?

santanna

tom morello

just 2 name a few

and of course for the OP

"I can't play jazz, I would just butcher it." - Mayer to Herbie

[Edited 8/15/10 11:10am]

Randy Rhoads, Steve Vai and Frank Gambale.

Dewrede said:

savoirfaire said:

Frank Zappa: His guitar literally snarls at you. His tone is so signature and unique, yet aggressive and badass. Coupled with his completely original solo style, I can't ever get enough of his sound.

Terry Kath - Lauded by Jimi Hendrix as "the best player in the universe" and ""(Terry Kath) is better than me" - His sound has that hard rough edge that we know and love from classic rock guitar solo work, but it was also punchy. May favourite parts of his solos have always been his rapid fire sections. Each note was like a bullet out of a machine gun. Quick, powerful, but distinct from every other note. They started and they stopped, it wasn't just a wave of noise.

(For those who don't know, Terry Kath was the original guitarist of Chicago, before his tragic death converted them from rock/jazz ensemble to light ballad adult soft pop ensemble.)

frankly i had never heard of him and i never knew Chicago started out as a rock band either

he's great indeed

[Edited 8/15/10 9:24am]

If you dig that you gotta here this, one of my favourite live jams of theirs.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...bQVGqtWrJ4

[Edited 8/16/10 10:42am]

[Edited 8/16/10 10:43am]

these guys are both known for tone, in part for their playing and in part for their incredibly expensive Dumble amps

Robben Ford and Larry Carlton (who kills this solo beginning around 3:00 and makes it really hard for robben to follow) playing with a very pure sound here.

I am a fan of robben ford and his lead tone is copied by a lot of amateurs like me.

[Edited 8/16/10 11:00am]

Dewrede said:

savoirfaire said:

Frank Zappa: His guitar literally snarls at you. His tone is so signature and unique, yet aggressive and badass. Coupled with his completely original solo style, I can't ever get enough of his sound.

Terry Kath - Lauded by Jimi Hendrix as "the best player in the universe" and ""(Terry Kath) is better than me" - His sound has that hard rough edge that we know and love from classic rock guitar solo work, but it was also punchy. May favourite parts of his solos have always been his rapid fire sections. Each note was like a bullet out of a machine gun. Quick, powerful, but distinct from every other note. They started and they stopped, it wasn't just a wave of noise.

(For those who don't know, Terry Kath was the original guitarist of Chicago, before his tragic death converted them from rock/jazz ensemble to light ballad adult soft pop ensemble.)

frankly i had never heard of him and i never knew Chicago started out as a rock band either

he's great indeed

yeah I had never heard of him either until a few years ago and I was amazed to think I liked Chicago [Transit Authority] after all.

eric johnson

crazydoctor said:

eric johnson

he's really popular for his tone (and his incredible technique) but I don't really like his tone honestly. Of course I am basing that opinion on what I heard 20 years ago or more, I have not heard him play in a long time.

NDRU said:

Dewrede said:

frankly i had never heard of him and i never knew Chicago started out as a rock band either

he's great indeed

yeah I had never heard of him either until a few years ago and I was amazed to think I liked Chicago [Transit Authority] after all.

Yeah it's sad to think about how much Pete Cetera has tarnished the awesome legacy that CTA would have left behind if they had just disbanded after Kath's untimely death.

I was the same way -- Chicago is an undeservedly bad word in the music industry -- until someone sent me some early stuff of theirs a while back.

NDRU said:

these guys are both known for tone, in part for their playing and in part for their incredibly expensive Dumble amps

Robben Ford and Larry Carlton (who kills this solo beginning around 3:00 and makes it really hard for robben to follow) playing with a very pure sound here.

I am a fan of robben ford and his lead tone is copied by a lot of amateurs like me.

[Edited 8/16/10 11:00am]

Generally the slow riffing blues jams are far too common for me to really get into, so I just skipped ahead to the 3 minute mark, but you're right Larry Carlton owned that one, and his sound is as clean as Evian. Very nice.

I'm a huge guitar fan, but not a player. How expensive are we talking about here for those amps?

savoirfaire said:

I'm a huge guitar fan, but not a player. How expensive are we talking about here for those amps?

they are limited in number because they are hand made, so a real price is difficult to nail down. But I have heard anywhere from $15,000 to $150,000

Lets not forget Mr Brian May. Love those thick, sustained Cello=like tones he uses on songs like 'Procession', 'White Queen' and on the Foo Fighter's 'Tired of You', and all from a homemade guitar and a 1w, home-made amp!

Jeff Healey

Omar Mesa (Mandrill)

Mark Hicks/Danny Webster (Slave)

Ron Smith (Maze)

Wes Mongomery

George Benson

Eric Gales

Robert "Fonksta" Bacon

Joe Walsh/Don Felder (Eagles)

Jeff Beck

Vernon Reid (Living Colour)

Kendall Jones/John D. Bigham (Fishbone)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis/Mike & The Mechanics)

Donnie Lyles (R. Kelly)

Paul Pesco (The System/Jeff Lorber)

Daryl Stuermer (Phil Collins)

Curtis Mayfield

Pat Simmons/Jeff Baxter/John McFee/Tom Johnston (Doobie Brothers)

Duane Allman/Dickey Betts/Derek Trucks/Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers Band)

Gary Rossington/Steve Gaines/Allen Collins (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Steve Lukather (Toto)

y'all are bringing it!!!!

I thought about May, Eric Johnson and George Benson only after I'd stepped away from this 'puter.

diamondpearl1 said:

Jeff Healey

Omar Mesa (Mandrill)

Mark Hicks/Danny Webster (Slave)

Ron Smith (Maze)

Wes Mongomery

George Benson

Eric Gales

Robert "Fonksta" Bacon

Joe Walsh/Don Felder (Eagles)

Jeff Beck

Vernon Reid (Living Colour)

Kendall Jones/John D. Bigham (Fishbone)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis/Mike & The Mechanics)

Donnie Lyles (R. Kelly)

Paul Pesco (The System/Jeff Lorber)

Daryl Stuermer (Phil Collins)

Curtis Mayfield

Pat Simmons/Jeff Baxter/John McFee/Tom Johnston (Doobie Brothers)

Duane Allman/Dickey Betts/Derek Trucks/Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers Band)

Gary Rossington/Steve Gaines/Allen Collins (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Steve Lukather (Toto)

Chet Atkins
Lenny Breau

Grant Green

Joe Pass

I'll just add those to your wonderful list if I may diamondpearl1.

NDRU said:

crazydoctor said:

eric johnson

he's really popular for his tone (and his incredible technique) but I don't really like his tone honestly. Of course I am basing that opinion on what I heard 20 years ago or more, I have not heard him play in a long time.

eric johnson is the only one that made me feel, "wow, I didn't know a guitar could sound like that." The guitar is a very percussive, abrasive instrument... I mean, it is tough to make it sound sweet like a flute... but listening to eric play, it really opened up what I thought the instrument was capable of.

wes montgomery also... thumb technique brings a softness that isn't characteristic for the instrument imo...

My two all time faves: Prince and Steve Stevens (LOVED him on MJ's Dirty Diana and of course everything he did with Billy Idol)

Can't wait to see them in concert next week.

Two totally different performances and Steve kills 'em both. My favorite version of Rebel Yell is this acoustic version.

I can't think of another singer and guitarist who complemented each other better than Idol and Stevens. He really made that shit talk on Eyes without a face.

[Edited 8/16/10 23:28pm]

Oh damn I forgot SRV. Blasphemy! How could I forget a good ol boy born, bred, and buried right here in Dallas??? Best part about growing up in Austin was my mom taking me to see Stevie and Double Trouble play in dives on 6th street when I was a pre-teen. That's when I developed a thang for guitarists. I remember the day I came home from school and heard his helicopter crashed. I was inconsolable for days.

Of course Texas Flood is my fave. This performance makes me wanna throw a bucket o' water on his ass cuz he's on FIYAH!!! His vibrato is ridiculous! Prolly my favorite live performance by anyone EVER.

Pride and Joy is also my shit!

But SRV was definitely FUNKY! And who is that on bass???

[Edited 8/16/10 23:27pm]

TD3 said:

diamondpearl1 said:

Jeff Healey

Omar Mesa (Mandrill)

Mark Hicks/Danny Webster (Slave)

Ron Smith (Maze)

Wes Mongomery

George Benson

Eric Gales

Robert "Fonksta" Bacon

Joe Walsh/Don Felder (Eagles)

Jeff Beck

Vernon Reid (Living Colour)

Kendall Jones/John D. Bigham (Fishbone)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis/Mike & The Mechanics)

Donnie Lyles (R. Kelly)

Paul Pesco (The System/Jeff Lorber)

Daryl Stuermer (Phil Collins)

Curtis Mayfield

Pat Simmons/Jeff Baxter/John McFee/Tom Johnston (Doobie Brothers)

Duane Allman/Dickey Betts/Derek Trucks/Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers Band)

Gary Rossington/Steve Gaines/Allen Collins (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Steve Lukather (Toto)

Chet Atkins
Lenny Breau

Grant Green

Joe Pass

I'll just add those to your wonderful list if I may diamondpearl1.

Add on as many as you ca think of lol I've been listeni 2 those aformetioned cats 4 a while

Prince

O'dell

Ernie Isley

Eddie Haskell

Buckethead

Vernon Reid

Albert Collins

BB King

George Benson

Larry Mitchell

crazydoctor said:

NDRU said:

he's really popular for his tone (and his incredible technique) but I don't really like his tone honestly. Of course I am basing that opinion on what I heard 20 years ago or more, I have not heard him play in a long time.

eric johnson is the only one that made me feel, "wow, I didn't know a guitar could sound like that." The guitar is a very percussive, abrasive instrument... I mean, it is tough to make it sound sweet like a flute... but listening to eric play, it really opened up what I thought the instrument was capable of.

yeah he is a very clean player, even with tons of distortion, and he has some of the most complete knowledge I've ever seen in a rock player

SCNDLS said:

Oh damn I forgot SRV. Blasphemy! How could I forget a good ol boy born, bred, and buried right here in Dallas??? Best part about growing up in Austin was my mom taking me to see Stevie and Double Trouble play in dives on 6th street when I was a pre-teen. That's when I developed a thang for guitarists. I remember the day I came home from school and heard his helicopter crashed. I was inconsolable for days.

Of course Texas Flood is my fave. This performance makes me wanna throw a bucket o' water on his ass cuz he's on FIYAH!!! His vibrato is ridiculous! Prolly my favorite live performance by anyone EVER.

[Edited 8/16/10 23:27pm]

Stevie Ray had just about the best tone I can imagine. It's perfect, like an opera singer on electric guitar. And the vibrato that he wielded from those thick strings is a feat of strength that few could match.

He is not my favorite player, but tone-wise he is hard to match. It's one thing I respect a copycat like John Mayer for, because so many people try to get the SRV tone and nobody really succeeds. And he adds his own spin, unlike a true copycat like Kenny Wayne Shepard.

NDRU said:

SCNDLS said:

Oh damn I forgot SRV. Blasphemy! How could I forget a good ol boy born, bred, and buried right here in Dallas??? Best part about growing up in Austin was my mom taking me to see Stevie and Double Trouble play in dives on 6th street when I was a pre-teen. That's when I developed a thang for guitarists. I remember the day I came home from school and heard his helicopter crashed. I was inconsolable for days.

Of course Texas Flood is my fave. This performance makes me wanna throw a bucket o' water on his ass cuz he's on FIYAH!!! His vibrato is ridiculous! Prolly my favorite live performance by anyone EVER.

[Edited 8/16/10 23:27pm]

Stevie Ray had just about the best tone I can imagine. It's perfect, like an opera singer on electric guitar. And the vibrato that he wielded from those thick strings is a feat of strength that few could match.

He is not my favorite player, but tone-wise he is hard to match. It's one thing I respect a copycat like John Mayer for, because so many people try to get the SRV tone and nobody really succeeds. And he adds his own spin, unlike a true copycat like Kenny Wayne Shepard.

Growing up competing against Jimmie really helped him hone his skills and perfect his technical ability. He was playing for about 20 years before he got "discovered."

SCNDLS said:

NDRU said:

Stevie Ray had just about the best tone I can imagine. It's perfect, like an opera singer on electric guitar. And the vibrato that he wielded from those thick strings is a feat of strength that few could match.

He is not my favorite player, but tone-wise he is hard to match. It's one thing I respect a copycat like John Mayer for, because so many people try to get the SRV tone and nobody really succeeds. And he adds his own spin, unlike a true copycat like Kenny Wayne Shepard.

Growing up competing against Jimmie really helped him hone his skills and perfect his technical ability. He was playing for about 20 years before he got "discovered."

That and bein schooled in Austin TX's 6th Street clubs by cats like Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) and Johnny Winter

Al Anderson-Bob Marley & The Wailers

David Hinds-Steel Pulse

[Edited 8/17/10 15:33pm]