Why...

[T.L.]

This is gonna piss some people off, so I apologize in advance, but WHY would anyone want Hendrix tone? He was certainly a great player, but his distorted tones are among the worst I have ever heard. His Clean sounded good, but the overdrive tones were just nasty-sounding.

It's so easy to see why someone would go for the EVH "brown" sound, and I'm not comparing Jimi and EVH as players, just analyzing their guitar tone. EVH's tone is so blissful, while Jimi's is just plain nasty and muddy...

[Brandon]

I don't care for EVH's sound, don't really see why anyone would want it, so I guess we're in the same river in different boats...

Same reason why two people can look at a van gogh and one would think it's the most beautiful thing their eyes have laid upon in the world and the other wouldn't get it at all, or why one person likes the taste of hot dogs and another person doesn't.

[parkhead]

Funny


Both the EVH tone and the Hendrix lead tones have nasty elements ...
harmonic shards if you follow

and while some of Hendrix live tones were on the verge of loss of control

His studio work stands up with a fantastic range of lead tones
especially considering that he was at the cutting edge all the time

Compare Hendix fuzz tones and wha techniques to his
less skilfull contemporaries...

Eric Johnson certainly spends a lot of time recreating some of Hendrix
best lead tones with pretty stellar results

listen to axis or any of the better produced later tracks

Listen to Voodoo Chile slight return ..
both for the purity of its maxed Marshall grind
and the complexity of the mix as they pan differnt
mic positions and room placements to put you inside the tone

You could define Marshall super lead tone by
listening to voodoo chile and Van Halen 1


Raw Midrange Growl with harmonic sustain and punchy low end complexity


p

[Ydna]

Yea, I think you're going to find quite a bit of people that disagree with you. I absolutely love most of hendrix's tones, in fact, I haven't heard a tone of his that I have not enjoyed, studio or live. Ofcourse it's all opinion though.

[Freedom]

This is gonna piss some people off, so I apologize in advance, but WHY would anyone want Hendrix tone? He was certainly a great player, but his distorted tones are among the worst I have ever heard. His Clean sounded good, but the overdrive tones were just nasty-sounding.

It's so easy to see why someone would go for the EVH "brown" sound, and I'm not comparing Jimi and EVH as players, just analyzing their guitar tone. EVH's tone is so blissful, while Jimi's is just plain nasty and muddy...

Different strokes for different folks...many chase EVH's sound but i don't care about it...many love EJ sound but to me it's nothing special...it's not something you can explain using logical terms man, it's just art (and right now i am reffering only to the sound, not their music in general)...

So it's like trying to figure out why someone likes a Piccaso's painting and not like a Dali's one or why people bother with both or neither of them...it's just art, what "speaks" to your "soul", what's closer to your psychosynthesis, we are all different...Hendrix's sound is close to some people, EVH's closer to some other and neither of those are close to others...

It's art...can't make a model using logical rules...it's just art...

[HARLEYIII]

Why WOULDNT anyone want Hendrix tones ?

[Tone seaker]

I'll take the full on lead tone of Machine Gun or Power of Soul wha lead intro off the Band of Gypsy's album over any Van Halen Tone.

power of soul

go to 4:17 in here
Machine Gun

[MacGaden]

I'll take the full on lead tone of Machine Gun or Power of Soul wha lead intro off the Band of Gypsy's album over any Van Halen Tone.

power of soul

The "God" note!

go to 4:17 in here
Machine Gun

Yes!

[HARLEYIII]

My fave Hendrix tone is probably one of his most LEAST liked (Monterey). Muddy? yes. Jagged & nasty & out of control? yes. Bad ass. yes. There's just something about that "boiling" sound he was gettin' when he was lettin chords ring out that gets me. Like a locomotive going by. To my ears, theres just something bad ass about it that I cant put me finger on. As far as "stock Marshall" sounds, I'll take that muddy jagged wooly unruly mess over ANYTHING that anyone from the 80's ever did.

[Tone Slinger]

I liked some of Hendrix's tones. He seemed to like 'licks' more (a true r&b guy at heart. Not a Rocker) than chords/power chords. The '68 tour has some very GARGANTUAN type distortion.

I liked hearing Jimi play clean (Electric Ladyland is my fav of his) on a lush reverb type Fender amp.
I also liked his lead tone on 'House Burning Down' as far as my fav distorted tone of his goes.

Obviously 'Machine Gun' is a great solo and solo tone. So full and natural.

I give Hendrix GREAT credit for being 'out there' in a certain innovative way, but note for note (Jimi maybe played a few TOO many), I'll take EVH. I also think that Early EVH got the best distorted tone (without the excess of Fuzz boxes) out of a Marshall.

Still, different players and approaches.

I try to get tones that are close to LOTS of my favs (Schenker, Roth, EVH, Hendrix,etc) Luckily A Marshall (Metro )is the common thread.

[T.L.]

'Just want to clarify; I'm not slagging Jimi. I think he kicked ass, and I like a lot of his stuff. My comments regarding his tone are more in reference to his distorted rhythm than anything else (think "Purple Haze"). His Lead tone was good, and much of his Clean tone was right up there with the best.

I just can't see why anyone would prefer that distorted rhythm tone over EVH's or some others (this is NOT intended to be a EVH Vs.JMH thread). But as it was pointed out here, it's all a matter of preference, and different things get different people off.

By the way, I checked out that "Power Of Soul" link, and it totally kicked ass, and the tone was not nasty, but quite good...

[Tone Slinger]

Jimi rarely soloed over 'changes' (Following the flow of a chordal pattern) Exceptions are things like 'Axis' solo, 'All along the Watchtower' ,' Little Miss Strange' (basically, if Noel wrote it, it had structure).

Jimi was often caught 'out of rhythm and time' alot. He tended to opt for that 'yo brotha' type vibe, instead of melody.

If only Clapton wasnt SO laid back, or Beck, being a little to 'wierd'. Hendrix was (at his best) a true 'natural'. Still, I think many hold him up high, because they can cop his licks, which are often simple blues type licks. I will say that many who 'think' they can cop the 'simple' stuff, over look the time and feel.

[yngwie308]

I'll take the full on lead tone of Machine Gun or Power of Soul wha lead intro off the Band of Gypsy's album over any Van Halen Tone.

power of soul

go to 4:17 in here
Machine Gun

Right on brother, also House Burning Down..
yngwie308

[CrazyNinja8730]

It's all a matter of preference. Personally, I don't find the mythical "brown sound" to be as appealing as crazy, dirty fuzz and marshall. I respect van halen, but I don't like his tone. I think it's what hendrix did with that tone that makes it popular. If you heard the brown sound on voodoo child... well yeah. Hendrix's tone is fitting to his genre.

[Tone Slinger]

Time will heal (and uncover) all things. When discussing things like 'tone', people need to be able to decipher what a certain 'style' needs.

Eddie liked to 'mute' alot. Hendrix NEVER did. This is, by modern standards, a given, but Hendrix was oblivious to it. Thats a good thing too (In Hendrix's case), cause he would have had very little definition (fuzzface over saturated Marshall tone).

Hendrix never 'bridged' the gap between DISTORTION and CLEAN, he was one or the other.

Eddie, on the other hand, managed to get a distorted tone that had an articulation to it ('Dance The Night Away', ATBL, etc)he could 'MUTE' and make clear notes ring with authority. Hendrix wasnt quite there.


Eddie 'needed' structure, Hendrix didnt, so , hell, lets say some like cherry better than watermelon !