Instant recognition

[NWBasser]

Which guitars and/or basses can you recognize within several notes or chords by its distinctive tone?


I mean, you hear a song on the radio and can immediately say "That's a strat!" ...or LP, or....

[oldguy]

Usually a Strat, if it's set to the "quack" middle position, but it's getting tougher w/ so many new axes out there. Same w/ a Tele when someone's chicken pickin'. :pancake

[Zip]

Usually Strats, Tele's, LP's have a pretty unique voice...EBMM bass, Ric bass most times. Play through a bunch of effects, all bets are off ;)

[sunvalleylaw]

I used to not be able to do that at all. Now, I like to think I can pick out a strat on a neck pup, and a 335 type sometimes, if there are not too many effects, maybe just some overdrive. But I am also fooled sometimes.

[oldguy]

Right you are. Cruise youtube a bit and you'll find examples of other brands that do a good job of imitating Strats, Teles, Pauls, 335/355's. Throw in some effects and eq and they're impossible to distinguish w/ closed eyes.

[Plank_Spanker]

With the bewildering number of guitars out now, it's very hard to pin down a certain guitar on an album track. That, and modern recordings are Pro Tool'ed to death................making any guess on guitars a shot in the dark.

[wingsdad]

As long as I've been playing them, I can recognize an unadulterated Tele in the bridge pup only slot or a Strat in the 2 or 4 positions (or reasonable facsimiles of them). Likewise, I can distinguish a clean Rick 12 from conventionally strung 12's like a Gibson or Fender. Humbucker guitars, solid body or otherwise, aren't as instantly recogizable sounds to my ears, 'tho.

Any electric guitar's natural tones tainted with with Fx or oricessed with any other artificial flavoring are all pretty much thrown into the same puddle of mud. they may sound interesting, but not distinctive.

Acoustic guitars of various configurations are whole other ballgame, and probably not intended to be included in the discussion in this thread.

[Tig]

The most obvious to me would be a Rickenbacker.
From The Beatles to The Byrds, Tom Petty, REM, etc... You just can't miss that sound.

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[Perfect Stranger]

I would have to go along with Tig on that one. The Rick is the most distinctive.

[wingsdad]

The most obvious to me would be a Rickenbacker.
From The Beatles to The Byrds, Tom Petty ... You just can't miss that sound.
+1.:AOK Two Rick 12's going in that clip. TP with a 360-12, Campbell with a 620-12.


...The Rick is the most distinctive.

As operated by the guitarist who put the Rick-12 sound 'on the map', having been personally handed, by the company's boss so it would get noticed, the 2nd 360-12 unit ever made, backed by a Rick 6, the 325:

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And here, by the gent who embraced its sound & took it to another level...with the 3-pickup 370-12 special edition signature model Rickenbacker produced for him, it became that iconic in his hands...you can clearly see how the lower 4 courses are strung with the low/root string on top to generate the distinctive sypathetic chime you hear of the high octave following it instead of leading it on a downstroke, letting the root note domnate:

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And by TP...solo here for the first few minutes, you may even detect the influence of McGuinn's use of the descending bass line on Turn, Turn, Turn...obviously influenced vocally, as well, by McGuinn:

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I've had my 360-12 for 27 years and I find some new 'holy s - - t' sound every time I pick her up for a spin.

[NWBasser]

Hmmm, interesting responses so far.

I've been pretty good at picking out strats, teles, P or J basses, MM Stingray bass, and Rick basses. I can ID Les Pauls sometimes, but not always.

I hadn't thought too much about the Rick guitars, but yes, they are distinctive!

It seems that most humbucker solidbodies sound similar enough that most tonal differences are accounted for by amps, effects, and/or recording techniques.