O/T Who listens to guitar solos??

[andynpeters]

Interested to read the abuse of NSync on another thread......the usual stuff.......not worthy of an EBMM..... we could all play a better guitar solo then that etc etc.
Now, as a guitarist I like a nice solo myself and could surely name you a few of my favourites......but was just wondering how many songs have sold millions on the strength of their guitar solos or guitar tones? (leaving out The Shadows & The Ventures) "Jump" sold millions, but most people remember the keyboard riff rather than all the widdly stuff.
And how many non-guitarists even notice what we're playing? I can remember once being so bored on a cruise ship that I played the solo from Johnny B Goode in B flat in the middle of the Carpenters "Top of the world" in A..........nobody said a thing but we had lots of compliments on our singing.
Is all that money we spend searching for the ultimate tone recipe just wasted brothers??

[D.K.]

Good question and topic!

For my part, I do think that the search for tone is a thing for ourselves, BUT you can play much better when you feel you asound exactly the way you want too. And there is a part of the audience that deffinitely listens to how good the musicians are.

Having said all that - I don't believe that people buy millions of records of David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, or Steve Vai and Satch for any other reason, then the guitar in there. Not neccessarilly a particular solo, but neither does anyone like a singer only for a certain vocal line.

[andynpeters]

Fair point DK.....but I wonder how many Beck, Vai & Satriani records are bought by non guitarists? Do civilians buy Pink Floyd records to hear the Gilmour solos?
Take your point completely about tone being to make us feel better .......but the only time anyone's ever complimented me on my guitar sound was when I was playing through a faulty Fender transistor amp at a blues jam!!!!

[D.K.]

You are absolutely right on about PF, but I do believe that they feel "it sounds beautiful". They don't know why, nor do they want to know that, but that feeling when listening to something beautiful and melodic can be induced by a good guitar playing, I believe

Interestingly, my band mates compliment my tone mostly when playing my BFR JP7, since it's the loudest and the biggest sounding of all. And they did hear it, when I changed from the LINE 6 to my valve amp.

[Jimmyb]

<snip> Do civilians buy Pink Floyd records to hear the Gilmour solos?

Yep.

I was lucky enough to catch the Pulse tour (twice) at Earl's Court. The crowd reaction during the solo in Comfortably Numb was unbelievable.

[D.K.]

Yep.

I was lucky enough to catch the Pulse tour (twice) at Earl's Court. The crowd reaction during the solo in Comfortably Numb was unbelievable.

Sorry for the OFF-Top, but do You even know how I envy You for that?

[andynpeters]

You are absolutely right on PF, but I do believe that they feel "it sounds beautiful". They don't know why, nor do they want to know that, but that feeling when listening to something beautiful and melodic can be induced by a good guitar playing, I believe

Interestingly, my band mates compliment my tone mostly when playing my BFR JP7, since it's the loudest and the biggest sounding of all. And they did hear it, when I changed from the LINE 6 to my valve amp.

I'm sure you sound great....but your band mates don't count....they're guitarists (or frustrated guitarists) too!

Don't take this thread too seriously gentlemen, I'm just hanging around till midnight which is the earliest anyone can go out in Spain!!

[D.K.]

No taking it seriously at all - just a very enjoyable topic to go blabber about in a good company. We have 1 in the night here in Moscow, watching Olympics right now, no guitar with me...

Thanks for the tone compliment, but that was most surely not what I wanted to point out by writing this

[Voo]

Well Buddhist philosophers believe that beauty has no actual meaning but that rather the individual finds something within it and give it meaning. I think tone is the perfect example of this, the tone each of has in our heads possesses a certain quality that stimulates us in one way or another so its only natural for us to seek it out. As far as your question about do "civilians" buy albums by guys like Jeff Beck, Eric Johnson, and Joe satriani, each of these guys has something about their tone that appeals to the greater population, I think Carlos Santana is a great example of of this, within the first 3 notes you automatically know its him and it moves you in certain ways.

[threeminutesboy]

A good song will remain a good song with or without solo

But, some songs are even better with some good solo, for instance

Hotel California I guess everybody can sing the solo note for note without being guitarist.

Another Brick in the wall part 2 is also a good example

Something from the beatles with a simple solo and brilliant solo that everybody knows

so, in the end, it's not the technic behing the solo but what it could bring to the song. A ****ty song with a very good solo will lead nowhere.

Steve Lukather is a brilliant guitarist he played on 1000 of records but he also admitted that he recorded things where the songs were not good enough (I'm talking about studio work, don't misread me guys). So an excellent guitarist with an average song doesn't always make a hit.

so to answer the original question, you will listen to the guitar solo if it brings something to the song

[andynpeters]

Well Buddhist philosophers believe that beauty has no actual meaning but that rather the individual finds something within it and give it meaning. I think tone is the perfect example of this, the tone each of has in our heads possesses a certain quality that stimulates us in one way or another so its only natural for us to seek it out. As far as your question about do "civilians" buy albums by guys like Jeff Beck, Eric Johnson, and Joe satriani, each of these guys has something about their tone that appeals to the greater population, I think Carlos Santana is a great example of of this, within the first 3 notes you automatically know its him and it moves you in certain ways.

Don't understand most of this, but I agree that with a lot of guitarists (BB King, Hank Marvin,Billy Gibbons,SRV,Freddie King, Albert King,Keith Richard) I always know it's him. Sadly with Carlos Santana these days I always know it's him & I always know he's going to play a Carlos Santana 4 minute solo regardless of what's happening in the rest of the song!

[andynpeters]

Should also say that my all time favourite guitar solo is in the Carpenters "Goodbye To Love" where Tony Peluso inserts a totally inappropriate distortion guitar solo to a love ballad & redifines the rock love song!!!! 16 bars of gorgeousness!

[ScoobySteve]

I don't drink Haterade. Some beverages (music) is just not my cup of tea. Don't listen to, but definitely don't hate.

[andynpeters]

A good song will remain a good song with or without solo

But, some songs are even better with some good solo, for instance

Hotel California I guess everybody can sing the solo note for note without being guitarist.

Another Brick in the wall part 2 is also a good example

Something from the beatles with a simple solo and brilliant solo that everybody knows

so, in the end, it's not the technic behing the solo but what it could bring to the song. A ****ty song with a very good solo will lead nowhere.

Steve Lukather is a brilliant guitarist he played on 1000 of records but he also admitted that he recorded things where the songs were not good enough (I'm talking about studio work, don't misread me guys). So an excellent guitarist with an average song doesn't always make a hit.

so to answer the original question, you will listen to the guitar solo if it brings something to the song

Actually I wonder how many non-guitarists even notice that there's a guitar playout on Hotel California?

[andynpeters]

I don't drink Haterade. Some beverages (music) is just not my cup of tea. Don't listen to, but definitely don't hate.

OK fair point....I withdraw the criticism of Santana