My Top 3 Guitar Tones...EVER

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00:00 - It's a Q&A
01:14 - Old School Tones
02:39 - MIAB Tones
04:36 - My Favourite Guitar Tones
09:05 - Revv Tilt
12:16 - Integrating Digital Gear
13:16 - Rockstar Stories

[@LeonTodd]

What are your favourite guitar noises?

[@sadwingsraging3044]

Criss Oliva Warren DeMartini Aaand completely out of left field and something I will fight anyone for,,,, Paul Dean He had not only a great sound but a talent to put a feel to his timing and expression that a lot of better known names were more hit'n'miss doing. As you say,,, ask me tomorrow and you might get a different answer depending on my mood.

[@raymondforbes4295]

My favorite tone is from Jerry Cantrell, hands down.

[@trendpimp1]

Steve Stevens live tones are amazing Harry K. Cody on Shotgun Messiah's "Second Coming" album Brad Paisley on the country side

[@kingmodestfirst4487]

CRISS OLIVA VITO BRATTA JERRY CANTRELL JOHN NORUM ROY BUCHANAN FRANK MARINO MICHAEL SCHENKER GARY MOORE Y.J. MALMSTEEN R. BLACKMORE R. SAMBORA

[@irmasil3]

1. Rising force: YJM 2. Marty Friedman: Dragon's Kiss 3. Steve Vai: For the love of God (lead) 4: Master of Puppets: Rhythm 5. Never Neverland Annihilator (rhythm) / Systematic Chaos Dream Theater (rhythm).

[@ericolson326]

Faith Hope Love is how I want Ty's guitar to sound, but Dogman is how I want ALL guitar to sound. 😄

[@ashlarband]

We can be friends

[@LeonTodd]

Hahaha yes!!

[@SoundandShape1]

The great thing about Ty is no matter what gear he’s playing, he sounds 100% like Ty.

[@nighthawkin__]

Kings X are so criminally underrated.

[@geoffreymerrifield5666]

Not really. People think they are phenomenal = high rated. They never sold millions, which is a key reason they are still together and still making relevant music. Bands that make it big tend to burn out quick.

[@simonslee73]

King’s X rocks! Brendan O’Brien got a killer sound on Dogman

[@LeonTodd]

Everything about that album is an A+

[@ericvinson4628]

Love your perspective on Kings X and Dogman was such a killer album/song/riff

[@prestomattwine]

“Moving Pictures” tour was my first ever concert and was blown away. Alex was my reason for picking up the guitar. With the technology we have today, so much easier to cop his tone. Always look forward to hearing new and old gear on your channel!

[@ianblackburn1018]

Dogman for sure. Best Recto tones ever! Reb Beach on Winger's" Pull".

[@georgeskarvelis5292]

Cheers for the shout out and answering my questions. Also dont forget the Rocktron Voodu valve. Would love to see a video on this one day. Was great chatting at Yngwie Sydney show and looking forward to seeing Ragdoll again soon on the east coast.

[@LeonTodd]

VV is definitely on the list!

[@sadwingsraging3044]

Oh! Congratulations on the 100k Leon!

[@LeonTodd]

🎉 thanks man!

[@sadwingsraging3044]

@LeonTodd I may have gotten you a couple or three subscribers. Anytime I ran across someone talking guitar in chats or in real life I dropped your name and channel in their lap.👍🏻 Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

[@dominicgibson9529]

Cracking video, as ever, and I'm definitely with you on Ty and Alex (like that's a surprise😂), and how it changes from day to day.

[@kalebaldwin5398]

Lifeson is the reason I’ll always be going down a chorus rabbit hole.

[@theprisonier]

Ty’s sound in Dogman is a master piece !!

[@John_2Much_Coffee]

Hello Leon. I seen interview with Alex Lifeson, he said the solo from "Limelight " is his favorite solo to play and he likes the mood and story it tells! Love your channel and awesome playing. Cheers!

[@LeonTodd]

Absolute perfection

[@John_2Much_Coffee]

@@LeonTodd Plus what other rock band is so kool to have 3 Rotisserie Chicken ovens cooking on stage during concert. Then after the show have a dinner with all the tour staff , must have been an amazing tour! Rock Gods!

[@vondragonnoggin]

Loved the answers. Criss Oliva - tragic that he passed so young, but damn, he wrote some amazing songs. Savatage blew me away from the first time heard them. Lifeson was hugely influential for me as well. Rush as a 3 piece was so full sounding and the levels of musicianship in all 3 were off the charts. Unfortunate that the concept album idea has gone away. Albums like 2112 with a whole story done in many songs was so big of an idea. Thanks for the great video.

[@timkoelln3826]

Awesome! I love pretty much all of Ty Tabors tones from King’s X, solo albums, Platypus etc etc. I think his tones from the first King’s X albums are the most unique, Dogman is the heaviest, but I love the more raw sounds on Ear Candy and even Tape Head.

[@heavybrett-al4082]

That's should be on a t shirt, "guitar tone...there are no rules!" 😂 Hard to pick a favourite famous guitar tone, but I love Vivian Campbell's tone on Dio's holy diver, is up there for me.

[@LeonTodd]

Definition of "crunch" right there

[@TheOtherJohnBrowne]

Limelight ftw!

[@LeonTodd]

Gets better with every listen

[@kalebaldwin5398]

Kim Simmonds’ tone on the Savoy Brown album Blue Matter is a benchmark for heavy blues tone for me. Especially on side 2, which is live. Sounds like what it is…a 67 Gibson Flying V into a cranked up Marshall, with natural room ambiance. I’ve had the fortune of playing a few un-mic’d club gigs where I could really get the amp turned up, where we only had vocals (and maybe a kick drum) thru the PA. It’s so dynamic, especially when you’re playing blues.

[@TheMack]

Cool! My absolute favorite guitar tone is from Accept. I tried to emulate that sound even before I knew how to play the guitar 🤪

[@LeonTodd]

Balls to the wall!!!!

[@jessenicholson1777]

Would love to see a video about incorporating a Big Sky into the Fractal. Have actually been thinking about this ever since your Big Sky MX demo and have been wanting to ask this question.

[@Robertsmith-dy3sh]

Ty Tabor, Chris DeGarmo, Chris Oliva were huge for me, but there are so many amazing tones out there, it's hard to nail down three. I would add your tone on my list as well!

[@LeonTodd]

😍

[@trudge78]

I would like to see a collaboration with you and The Bald Shredder. You 2 would have NO PROBLEM handling 80's shred!

[@ianorourke6320]

Well done brother

[@johncollins1365]

I’m a native Houstonian and I’ve seen Kings X more than any other band. Just countless times. Couldn’t love them more. So great to see them get so much love in this video and here in the comments.

[@LeonTodd]

Such a great band!

[@LochNessAnthony]

Leon I would love to see you review the UAFX Lion!

[@LeonTodd]

So would I! I've been trying to get one for review.

[@jimayres8872]

ahh its been to long without a q and a...even my monday morning coffee taste better..your a legend

[@LeonTodd]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@timsharratt1106]

Criss Oliva on Strange Wings and Gutter Ballet.... gone way too soon. The Oliva brothers, truly incredible!

[@adam872]

Great choices on tones. It won't surprise you to find out that I agree with nearly all of them. Moving Pictures, Gretchen, Piece of Mind, Gutter Ballet, Corridors of Power, Physical Graffiti, Ghost in the Machine (or Zenyatta, can't decide), 5150, Black Clouds and Silver Linings (or Awake, again I can't decide) all have iconic guitar tones for me. I'll probably think of 20 more tomorrow.

[@MichaelSorensen-bl3ec]

The guitar sound on Power of the Night by Savatage really knocked me sideways. Popped the cassette into my car stereo, cranked the volume because there’s a long, quiet sound fx intro, when that riff kicked in with that sound, never heard anything like it. Ronni LeTekro has a great sound too, I guess I love the mids😍

[@rosskrause3926]

Savatage "The Dungeons are Calling" and 'I Believe" off Power of the Night album some of my favorites...Rush Moving Pictures in 1981 was my first ever live concert I had seen and always a favorite of mine.. Dogman and Over My Head from Kings X and some Greg Howe..Randy Rhoads..EVH..George Lynch...DeMartini....I could go on forever but thats a starter list.

[@coreyparsons2946]

@Leon Todd Would it be awesome if rock music can be played a lot more on new mainstream Hollywood films again? Including blockbusters as well

[@kalebaldwin5398]

Zeppelin I will always be my #1 guitar tone. All of Page’s tones are brilliant, but there’s something special about the tone on the first album. And it’s not just the Tele, Supro, Tone Bender and whatever else. It’s his mic techniques, and all the other studio wizardry. The man’s a nut, and I mean that in a good way. My other top guitar sounds are any Alex Lifeson tones up through Grace Under Pressure, EVH on the first four VH albums, Clapton’s “Beano” tone, Angus Young on the Let There Be Rock album (I believe he was using a 2203 instead of his usual non master volume Marshalls), and Jake E. Lee’s tone on the first Badlands album. I’m also fond of Ace Frehley’s tone on the Rock And Roll Over album (which sounds to me like he had either an EH LPB-1 or a Big Muff into a combination of Marshalls and old Fenders), and the tone Paul McCartney got on the “Paperback Writer” riff (which was his Epiphone Casino, most likely straight into a Vox UL730, using the built-in fuzz circuit).

[@DeathMetalGuitar]

favorite tones - Van Halen I - "RWTD" (Marshall EL34); Dream Theater - "Pull Me Under" (MB 6L6 or Triaxis/simul 290); Meshuggah - "Bleed" for 8 string; Steve Vai - "Juice" for lead tone

[@ishancooper]

You know I hold Dogman as the benchmark too. Killer!!!

[@user-qt2ok6gd6s]

So many tasty tones through rock history.. that guy in Ragdoll got some tasty tones too. Im a big fan of the verbs in my HOF...

[@LeonTodd]

😍

[@MKRISING75]

Criss Olivia is one of my favorite tones too!😝

[@MichaelSorensen-bl3ec]

John Norum also gets a killer Strat tone on “Face It Live”. I think he was playing one of Gary Moore’s Strats at the time. And not to forget Michael Schenker… his tone on the Budokan live album is mouth watering, particularly how it blends with the other guitarist. Just fits so well.

[@robertolsen9721]

I like Paul Gilberts tone and "technicall difficulties" is my favorite song and also a long time practice song as it was ment. Alomst got the solo down after many many hours. I played that song at least 1000 times😂

[@bryanterry415]

Bruce Franklin and Rick Wartell of Trouble have my favorite tone. It just crushes.

[@LeonTodd]

Great band!

[@user-qt2ok6gd6s]

P.s, love my Suhr riot but recently did a shoot out against love pedal purple plexi, guess which was my fave?

[@gr070491]

My top 3 guitar sounds: - Adam jones in 10000 days (litterally defined my adolescence) - mark tremonti: in alter bridge one day remains and blackbird and in creed's full circe: MASSIVE SOUNDS - joe Holmes sounds with Farmikos (unbelievably good) - honorable mention: mick Mars live wall of sound with soldanos. That was outstanding

[@geraldrauch1701]

hey Leon!!! my top three tones mite not be that obscure but they are: master of puppets, images and words, and alice in chains (self-titled)...cheers brother!!!

[@LeonTodd]

Great choices!

[@HasseC]

The massive hit before "Give me a dollar ..." The rest is history ... Best album, life changer for me.,

[@slates1969]

Ty Tabor's tone is stellar and instantly identifiable

[@Glensully]

Ty is the best - waiting for them to tour OZ. I never heard King X until 3 years ago, in OZ we never got them

[@_mysilentblue2227]

I'm fairly sure mentioning either Queensryche or KingsX really brings in the positive engagements.

[@RandyShadows]

Finally some Criss Oliva love. Eddie Van Halen and Criss Oliva are my favorites for guitar tone.

[@roscius6204]

Absolutely 100%.....find your own sound 👍👍👍 Exploring your favorites is foundational but unless your Queen tribute band is really killing it, that triple AC 30's rig might be holding you back.

[@LeonTodd]

This ☝️

[@georgeskarvelis5292]

My top 3.. Bruce kulick on Revenge, Slash on AFD and EVH on VH1... the sounds and tones that made me want to pick up a guitar In the mid 90s

[@LeonTodd]

Revenge is such a killer album. Got me into KISS!

[@MichaelSorensen-bl3ec]

Yeah, Bruce sounded great on 'Revenge'. I wish they would have continued in that direction. Glad as I was to see the reunion, it was just a nostalgia trip. Didn't like 'Carnival of Souls' though. Sounded like they were desperately attempting to fit in with the post-grunge scene or something.

[@marshallcogburn8367]

What’s up Leon . Very cool to be able to communicate

[@RulgertGhostalker]

some monitors have sort of nasty cross overs, and sometimes the horns are harsh. I think I would roll off my tone knob more than I would otherwise, if that was my only "cab" on a modeler.

[@sturmtheguitarist]

For clean: John Petrucci/Mark Knopfler For rhythm: John Sykes/James Hetfield/Dean DeLeo/Dave Mustaine/Ty Tabor For lead: George Lynch/Alexi Laiho

[@LeonTodd]

Hard to disagree with that list

[@sheldoninst]

How about some fusion players with stellar tone? -Scott Henderson -Robben Ford -Mike Stern -Eric Johnson -Allan Holdsworth -Steve Morse (early Dregs tone). Rockers with great tone: -Mick Mars

[@LeonTodd]

City Nights is the ultimate "liquid lead" tone. Brett Garsed always pulls killer tones too.

[@jaywilliamsphoto]

Not just for guitar tone but overall production, Metallica Garage inc disc 1 is a stand out even 27-28 years later. Bob Rock did a stunning job producing. IIRC, despite being so well produced it only took 2 weeks to record all the tracks.

[@Chainsaw_HM2]

For me: 1. Van Halen - Fair Warning 2. Carcass - Heartwork 3. Fear Factory - Demanufacture

[@LeonTodd]

Fair Warning is my favourite VH too!

[@BigHairyGuitars]

08:26... and now I know why I love you.

[@LeonTodd]

❤️

[@cliftonwright7081]

Man, the tone on Albatross by Big Wreck is crazy

[@LeonTodd]

Thornley is a 3 star Michelin tone chef

[@marshalldockery4482]

The tones from A7Xs City if Evil

[@eoinjennings519]

Was just working on Limelight again at the weekend - everytime I go back to these songs I find another nuance I had missed be it an extra note or where he plays the chords on the fretboard (most tabs wrong !)

[@DavidMacVicar]

Listen to the KZbin videos of lifesons live dry signal. You can hear everything he plays perfectly.

[@geoffreymerrifield5666]

Ty Tabor, King's X!! Yes!!! His tones on Gretchen and Dogman are amazing... Then Alex Lifeson, wow, Leon!! Yes!! I'd have to add David Gilmour.

[@LeonTodd]

Oh yeah DG is always epic

[@CoreyjGrieve]

Time to throw 'Bow River' in the set!

[@MichaelSorensen-bl3ec]

Hell yes! Mossy was on fire in those days!

[@peterharvin2775]

Lifeson. Oh my. There are those with greater technical prowess I suppose, but no one in my estimation who crafts tone so carefully to match a song. Limelight as you say is a perfect example.

[@kalebaldwin5398]

From what I’ve read about him, he really puts an extraordinary amount of time and effort into getting his tones. I believe Geddy and Neil would get frustrated with him in the studio because he’d be messing around with his gear (mostly his effects) so much. I can just imagine him having some kind of paralysis over whether or not he should use his CE-1 on a particular part.

[@peterharvin2775]

That sounds about right. ​@@kalebaldwin5398

[@hackmeister]

MorningStar are the best midi controllers IMHO. Super easy to program and usable. They're not cheap but worth it.

[@shaharbar]

Shit, forgot to mention Sir Gary Moore, juicy lead tone!

[@ashlarband]

"King's X" is always the correct answer.

[@roscius6204]

and for the record Terry Kath - 25 or 6 to 4 - Tanglewood 1970 Jan Akkerman - Moving Waves - from the 24 minute mark of the album Zappa - Don't Eat Yellow Snow..... and Watermelon in Easter Hay .....Black Napkins - original and for the uninitiated, the live TV version on a Pigface in 1976.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/laKTn3yjqMuArKc Inca Roads (A Token of His Extreme 1974) kzbin.info/www/bejne/bpuzqqaIo75gnqc Yeh yeh, I like Zappa tones 🤗

[@ivicapavlovic3879]

Great idea to share this topic,….

[@04241982]

Def Leppard's Adrenalized tour guitar tones.

[@rockstarjazzcat]

🤙🏻

[@rockstarjazzcat]

Guessed the first two, loved the discussion of the third. Good stuff! Stay safe around the fire, bro’!!!

[@0421072]

No More Tears!

[@sadwingsraging3044]

_Aaand,,,,,, Criss Oliva._ 🎸🎶 👁👁 💧 💧 THIS is why I am a Leon fanboy.

[@Allan-ts1ux]

Leon , since you have a lot of time on your hands it's time for your lessons ..listen to ( cult metal ) utube it and you will have a million more favorites riffs and sounds to practice.. kitty will love them when you get back home. 😺 Have a good time by getting a few of the best down that inspire you while on vacation mate and we'll be calling you the metal mate great when you return to your own down under back yard mate🌏 🌏🌏🌏 great stage sound you have rocking away there !!!!

[@LeonTodd]

Thanks mate! My fingertips are shredded from 6 shows a week at the moment :p

[@Allan-ts1ux]

@@LeonTodd just give it a listen with your ears then mate and let me know what you think of the site ..Ive been thinking why didn't I run across this site earlier..

[@Abdul-Amburadul]

Andy Timmons

[@mvenuti1980]

Huh. I find EoT to be Criss' worst tone. He used a 50 watt JCM900 on that. I much prefer the sound on Gutter Ballet and Power of the Night.

[@LeonTodd]

I actually like HotMK and Gutter more these days but the impact EoT had on me at the time was monumental.

[@aaronkristo858]

Paul Gilbert is a brilliant player, but I have always hated his tone. So thin.