always felt the same way.
but there's also (love him or hate him) Carlos Santana. but maybe that's just playing style instead of tone. a little bit of both.
Brian, once you hear a bit of his layering it's beyond distinctive, it's more than just the sonic identity... it'd be like hearing Bugs Bunny or Groucho.
you instantly recognize him in anybody else's songs. The greatest but about that is how all his contemporaries swear it's NOT the guitar hahahaha it's his touch
perhaps it is out of place (also because he is no more really rock since a lot of years) but Mike Oldfield is one of the most recognizable tunes (in my opinion)
One of the hardest things any musician can do it find there own tone, very few do, but strangely both Roger and Brian did, Brian's guitar tone is really unique, most just buy a distortion pedal and a big ass amp and basically sound like everyone else
The key to Brian's genius is not so much his playing in my opinion, it's his warm rich tone and his arranging ability,
Warm rich tone is how you would describe it.
Combo of:
Homemade guitar obviously which was hollow body and had unique wood properties.
Vox amp which has a naturally bright sound.
Treble booster was pretty much is his exclusive pedal to get more out of his amp. His sound was overdriven tubes not distortion.
Playing style - melodic, pre bends, vibrato, relatively slow solos even in heavy songs.
Those four things make him pretty distinctive.
matt z wrote:
you instantly recognize him in anybody else's songs. The greatest but about that is how all his contemporaries swear it's NOT the guitar hahahaha it's his touch
Of course it's a combination. But the touch is the most important part.
We all know the Steve Vai quote about being handed Brian's guitar going through his rig, and it still sounded like Steve Vai.
It's all true. His touch is unparalleled - literally nobody plays like him. Some get close, but in this case the student will not become the master.
For sure it's a combination. A high dose of pure chance is the main ingredient.
Maybe the present subject would be Tony Clarkin "unparalleled touch", if he had the chance to be in the same band with Freddie, while Brian sharing mediocrity with Bob Catley.
Roger seems fit in both bands, though in Magnum he could have been the leader. I wonder if he would allowed Brian to sing, because sadly his vocal tone is also one you can't mistake for anyone else.