Shure SM57

The definitive Texas blues shuffle tone. SRV's tone on Pride and Joy is built on an incredibly simple signal chain: a Stratocaster with absurdly heavy strings, a Tube Screamer used as a clean boost, and a cranked Fender Vibroverb. The magic is in the player's hands and the amp being pushed hard. The Tube Screamer is not set for distortion; it's adding mids and pushing the amp's front end into breakup.

Arguably the most famous guitar solo tone ever recorded. Gilmour's tone on the second solo of Comfortably Numb is built on a Big Muff Pi fuzz into a cranked Hiwatt, with delay adding depth and sustain. The Hiwatt provides clean headroom while the Big Muff does the heavy lifting for gain and sustain. The result is a singing, vocal-like lead tone that sustains endlessly.

The ultimate wah-fuzz guitar tone. Hendrix's Voodoo Child (Slight Return) opens with one of the most recognizable wah licks ever recorded. The tone is built on a Cry Baby wah into a germanium Fuzz Face, slamming a cranked Marshall Plexi. The wah isn't just an effect here; it's an integral part of the voice of the guitar, used as a tonal filter that shapes every note. The Fuzz Face provides thick, singing sustain that cleans up dynamically when Hendrix rolls back his guitar volume.

The tone that defined a generation. Cobain's approach to guitar tone was anti-perfectionist: a cheap offset guitar, a Boss DS-1 cranked for maximum aggression, and a Small Clone chorus adding an underwater shimmer. The genius of Teen Spirit is the quiet-verse/loud-chorus dynamic. The verses are clean with chorus; the choruses slam the DS-1 for a wall of scooped, angry distortion. The mid-scooped character is key to the grunge sound: heavy lows, biting highs, and a hollow midrange.

One of the most beautiful clean guitar tones in rock. The intro to Under the Bridge is Frusciante alone, playing delicate chord voicings on the neck pickup of a 1962 Stratocaster through a clean Marshall with a touch of chorus. The tone is warm, round, and shimmering, with the CE-1 chorus adding subtle movement that keeps the sound alive and breathing. The neck pickup is essential: it provides the full, rounded character that makes this tone so inviting. The Marshall is run clean at low volume, a departure from the typical cranked Marshall approach.

One of the most recognizable guitar intros ever written. Slash's tone on Appetite for Destruction is the textbook Les Paul through a cranked Marshall JCM800 sound: thick, warm humbuckers pushing a hot British amp into singing, vocal-like overdrive. The JCM800 is doing most of the work here, with its aggressive midrange and natural compression when pushed hard. A touch of reverb from the studio and Slash's fluid vibrato complete the picture.

The 'brown sound' that changed rock guitar forever. Eddie Van Halen's tone on the debut Van Halen album is a Frankenstrat with a single humbucker through a Marshall Plexi 1959, reportedly powered through a variac to lower the voltage and achieve a thick, compressed, harmonically rich overdrive at manageable volumes. An MXR Phase 90 adds a subtle swirl. The result is a warm, singing sustain that is neither too clean nor too distorted — it sits in a magical sweet spot that responds to every nuance of Eddie's playing.

A modern masterclass in touch-sensitive blues-rock tone. John Mayer's sound on Continuum is built on a Stratocaster through a Tube Screamer into a boutique Two Rock amp — essentially the SRV formula updated for the 21st century. The Two Rock provides a sweet, harmonically complex clean tone that responds to every nuance of Mayer's pick dynamics. The Tube Screamer adds a mid-hump boost that pushes the amp into a warm, singing overdrive without obscuring the guitar's natural voice.

One of the most passionate guitar performances ever recorded. Clapton's tone on Layla is raw, urgent, and biting: a Fender Stratocaster ('Brownie') through a cranked Fender Champ, with the tiny amp pushed to its absolute limits. The Champ's single-ended 5-watt circuit compresses and distorts beautifully when dimed, producing a thick, creamy overdrive with natural sustain. Duane Allman's slide guitar interweaves with Clapton's lead lines, and both guitars were recorded through small amps at high volume for maximum saturation.

One of the most distinctive clean guitar tones in rock. Mark Knopfler plays with his bare fingers instead of a pick, which gives his Stratocaster a warm, rounded attack with a unique percussive quality. The tone on Sultans of Swing is remarkably clean and articulate: a Strat through a clean Fender amp with almost no effects. The magic is entirely in Knopfler's right hand technique — the combination of fingerpicking, muted strings, and dynamic control creates a tone that no amount of gear can replicate without the technique.

The most iconic blues guitar tone of all time. B.B. King's sound on The Thrill Is Gone is warm, vocal, and dripping with emotion: his ES-355 'Lucille' through a Fender Bassman, with no effects whatsoever. The semi-hollow body of the ES-355 provides natural resonance and sustain, while the Bassman's warm, fat overdrive (when pushed) or clean tone (at moderate volume) creates the perfect canvas for King's expressive vibrato and precise bending. Every note sings like a human voice.

The definitive thrash metal rhythm guitar tone. James Hetfield's sound on Master of Puppets is built on an ESP Explorer with EMG pickups through a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ — a combination that produces a tight, aggressive, scooped-mid tone with razor-sharp pick attack and crushing low end. The Mark IIC+ is the holy grail of metal amps: its lead channel provides high-gain saturation with incredible note definition even at extreme gain levels. Hetfield's relentless downpicking technique is the engine that drives this tone.

The most iconic rhythm guitar tone in hard rock. Angus Young's tone on Back in Black is deceptively simple: a Gibson SG plugged straight into a cranked Marshall Super Lead 1959 (Plexi) with nothing in between. No pedals, no effects, no tricks. The entire sound comes from the interaction between the SG's bridge humbucker and the amp pushed to the edge of breakup. The bright, biting attack of the SG cuts through the mix, while the Plexi's warm British overdrive provides just enough grit without losing note clarity. Malcolm Young's identical rig on rhythm creates the massive wall of sound.

Carlos Santana's tone on Smooth is all about singing sustain and warm midrange. His PRS guitar through a Mesa Boogie Mark I produces a creamy, vocal-like lead sound that sustains endlessly. The midrange is emphasized heavily, giving each note a horn-like quality. The amp is pushed hard for natural compression, and the guitar's neck humbucker provides warmth without muddiness. This is a tone built for long, melodic phrases where every note sings.

Pete Townshend's windmill-strumming attack through a cranked Hiwatt is one of the most powerful rhythm guitar sounds in rock. On Won't Get Fooled Again, the SG's humbuckers hit the Hiwatt DR103 at full volume, producing a massive, ringing power chord tone with incredible clarity and sustain. The Hiwatt's enormous clean headroom means it stays articulate even when pushed hard, preventing the mush that a Marshall might produce at similar volumes.

Jerry Garcia's tone on Truckin' is a sparkling, clean Stratocaster sound through a Fender Twin Reverb. This is about clarity and articulation, not distortion. Every note rings out with bell-like precision, and the Twin's massive clean headroom ensures the tone stays pristine even at volume. The touch of spring reverb adds depth without washing out the details. Garcia's tone is the opposite of most rock guitarists: clean, bright, and dynamically responsive to his fingerpicking and flatpicking technique.

The grinding, heavy riff tone that opens Whole Lotta Love. Jimmy Page's Les Paul through a cranked Marshall Super Lead produces a thick, aggressive overdrive with singing sustain. The riff is played in standard tuning with the neck pickup for extra fatness, then the solo sections use the bridge pickup for a more cutting tone. Page also used a theremin and backwards echo for the psychedelic middle section.

The arpeggiated intro to Stairway to Heaven uses a Telecaster through a small Supro amp for a warm, clean tone with subtle compression. As the song builds, the tone gradually shifts from clean fingerpicking to heavier strumming. The famous solo section uses a Les Paul through a cranked Marshall for a completely different character -- singing sustain with aggressive attack.

The Trooper's galloping rhythm and harmonized lead melodies defined the Iron Maiden sound. Murray's Stratocaster through a Marshall produces a bright, cutting tone with enough midrange to carry the twin-guitar harmonies. The tone is aggressive but not excessively distorted -- clarity is essential for the fast, galloping triplet picking patterns.

Adam Jones' tone on Schism is dark, heavy, and mid-focused. A Les Paul in drop-D tuning through a Diezel VH4 and Mesa Rectifier blend creates a massive wall of low-end with enough midrange clarity to articulate the complex time signature changes. Jones uses minimal effects, relying on the raw power of the guitar and amp for his huge sound.

No One Knows features Josh Homme's signature desert rock tone: an Ovation GP guitar detuned to C-standard through an Ampeg bass amp for a thick, woolly wall of low-end. The unconventional use of a bass amp gives the guitar an enormous, earth-shaking fundamental that no guitar amp can replicate. The tone is heavy but not conventionally distorted -- it's more of a massive, compressed crunch.

Thunderstruck opens with Angus Young's iconic tapping intro on the B string, creating a rapid-fire pattern that sounds like lightning. His SG through a cranked Marshall produces a bright, cutting tone with enough gain for the tapped notes to ring out clearly. The tone is raw and aggressive with the SG's bridge humbucker providing a sharp, biting attack that cuts through the mix.