Do you like the sound of Lindsey Buckingham's guitars? - Page 2

tamiller1952 · #16 08-03-2012, 05:54 PM

Do any of you seriously think that is the "Taylor" sound? With all the equipment he's running through he can make it sound like anything he wants. I'm sure if he was looking for the "Martin" sound he's able to afford any Martin he wants--and with the effects he has access to he could make it "sound like a Taylor" .

I've owned/own three Taylors, and none of them sound anything alike.

Joseph Hanna · #17 08-03-2012, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmyAddison

just my opinion, I can't stand that Taylor tone on the first Youtube the OP posted. Shrill and thin, ugh, great technique, but there's no acoustic warmth in that tone at all.

I mean....clearly both his vocal and his guitar are direct to console feed recordings. The guy or gal mixing may in fact be listening and mixing to a live room with a P.A. that has 10 thousand watts feeding a line array of subs. That tends to breath some life and warmth into things. Any other eq might indeed make a direct feed sound great but utterly overload the room. Anyone who has every tapped the Peavey board in a misguided attempt to record the sound of "the band" at Bobbies Bate, Tackle and Beers recognizes a direct tap is NO way to critique a guitar sound.

I've seen him twice now at a little club down the street called the Wiltern. Trust me when I say...stand in front of a P.A. of that size when he's playing his Taylor and it'll get your attention in a VERY, VERY musical way. He's no dummy when it comes to audio.

leeasam · #18 08-03-2012, 06:34 PM

he is a great player. I know his tone is probably what he is actually after. Personally I loved his tone in the 70s but then he was playing a Gibson Les Paul and probably NOT using some of the out board gear they have today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py3w5...eature=related

MissouriPicker · #19 08-03-2012, 09:50 PM

Buckingham is vastly under-appreciated. Of course, what else will you be if you're playing behind Cristy McVie and Stevie Nicks? I imagine he could play a rubber band and make it sound cool. What brand of guitar he plays is irrelevant when you have a huge array of sound equipment. As mentioned, you can make the guitar sound like whatever you want. Either way, he's one of the "upper shelf" guitar pickers. Very talented.

bho · #20 08-03-2012, 10:24 PM

I know I started this as a post about Buckingham's guitars, but really, look how fast and insistent his playing is? He's awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXCYxkPYVQ0

ukejon · #21 08-04-2012, 06:17 AM

LB has a powerful, distinctive playing style and he writes compelling music. I'm definitely a fan of his. With that said, I wonder if he would put himself in the category of "upper shelf guitar pickers"?

Gasworker · #22 08-04-2012, 06:40 AM

I am surprised you think he is considered under appreciated or underrated. He is a rock guitarist from a hugely successful band. I suppose had it been Buckingham Mac he may be more well known. Is there negative stuff out there about Lindsey Buckingham? Why do you think he is underrated?
To answer your thread - Yes

Aaron Smith · #23 08-04-2012, 07:11 AM

Mixing an acoustic guitar to sit in a band mix gives a very different result than mixing it for a soloist. I suspect that Lindsay's guitar is EQ'd to sit well with the band, and they just keep it the same for the solo tunes.
Rick Turner used to post here- he probably has the most insight on Lindsay's guitar sound.

Steely Glen · #24 08-04-2012, 07:26 AM

I'm a Taylor guy, but I too find his tone almost ice-pickish at times. It's not pleasant to my ears at all. I think this is a result of a certain style of play combined with the EQ & rig he's using.

Of course, Taylors are bright, but this is an over-representation of that characteristic.

Joseph Hanna · #25 08-04-2012, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steely Glen

I'm a Taylor guy, but I too find his tone almost ice-pickish at times. It's not pleasant to my ears at all. I think this is a result of a certain style of play combined with the EQ & rig he's using.

Of course, Taylors are bright, but this is an over-representation of that characteristic.

Well again keep in mind here the youtube clip provided is clearly a "direct to board" recording. That is of course and importantly minus the PA and even more critically the room.

It does not "represent" anything but a direct feed. It's decidedly NOT what the audience is hearing, it is NOT what Lindsey Buckingham is hearing and it is NOT what the sound man is hearing.

As I mentioned earlier direct feeds are notoriously horrible. The sound man is eq'ing that guitar and making decisions about eq based on what he is hearing from the room, not direct from the board. Direct feed recording for example (particularly post fader direct feeds) always give the polar opposite reaction to what's happening in the room. Quiet players become loud (because the sound man bumps the quiet player at the board) Hi-end heavy players become less so if the sound man reduces hi's at the board. No one mixes live acts with headphones. Direct feeds provide zero space and zero room. Take any guitar with, for example, a standard piezo pickup and run it through a good PA in a decent sized room and the results are gonna be diametrically opposed to listening to that same guitar tapped and recorded direct from the board.

It seems kinda fundamental to not put any sonic weight into a direct feed youtube clip.

Steely Glen · #26 08-04-2012, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joseph Hanna

Well again keep in mind here the youtube clip provided is clearly a "direct to board" recording. That is of course and importantly minus the PA and even more critically the room.

It does not "represent" anything but a direct feed. It's decidedly NOT what the audience is hearing, it is NOT what Lindsey Buckingham is hearing and it is NOT what the sound man is hearing.

As I mentioned earlier direct feeds are notoriously horrible. The sound man is eq'ing that guitar and making decisions about eq based on what he is hearing from the room, not direct from the board. Direct feed recording for example (particularly post fader direct feeds) always give the polar opposite reaction to what's happening in the room. Quiet players become loud (because the sound man bumps the quiet player at the board) Hi-end heavy players become less so if the sound man reduces hi's at the board. No one mixes live acts with headphones. Direct feeds provide zero space and zero room. Take any guitar with, for example, a standard piezo pickup and run it through a good PA in a decent sized room and the results are gonna be diametrically opposed to listening to that same guitar tapped and recorded direct from the board.

It seems kinda fundamental to not put any sonic weight into a direct feed youtube clip.

Good call, and duly noted.

roadbiker · #27 08-04-2012, 10:44 AM

I've been a big fan of Lindsey Buckingham eversince I got his solo album, Out of The Cradle. Great album, by the way, and I wish he would play some of it in concert. Anway, we saw him live for the first time last year in Atlanta and swore that we would see him every tme he returns. So we just saw him for the second time last weekend (7/28) from the first row on the floor at the Center Stage theater in Atlanta. He is an awesom, and underater guitarist. He rarely, if ever, uses a pick, and interestingly enough he doesn't read music (learned that little tidbit from an interview I saw on YouTube). I posted video from 2 songs on my YouTube channel. If you care to see them, go to

http://youtu.be/BNcG-U5vxhY (Go Insane)

and
http://youtu.be/7jV01OBsiWs (Never Going Back)

I have been learning the same two songs - Never Going Back Again and Landslide. The latter is far easier, but the fingerstyle is still a little tricky.

Watching him play is fascinating, to say the least. His picking hand is as amazing as the shapes he commits his fretting hand to.

Back to the question -I think he makes his guitars sound incredible. He plays a Taylor (714?) on Never Going Back, and it seems to be the same one he has been playing for years. It looks like he has a bunch of customs too, but in all cases I think his guitars sound awesome. I highly doubt that I could make his (or any) guitars sound as good - but I am working on it!

Jim

AndyFrank · #28 08-05-2012, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmyAddison

I think Lindsay is fantastic and underrated, but.............

LB has been called many things but underrated?? The man is one of the most gifted guitarists of our time.

Quote:

just my opinion, I can't stand that Taylor tone..

That is just your opinion but he has played the same song live with a Martin. You might want to call ahead next time you see him to make sure he's playing his D-28.

andyi5 · #29 08-05-2012, 12:58 PM

Although I'm a Taylor fan, I don't like the tone in this clip.

JohnW63 · #30 08-05-2012, 12:58 PM

Lindsey himself has said his guitar playing isn't as good as he'd like and he chooses alternate tunings to make up for his short comings. Some people have bashed his early work, when he would simply hit one note over the course of many measures. His guitar sound is unique and not everyone's cup of tea.

As for being underrated ... I think so. If you look at any list of top guitarists from VH1 or Rolling Stone, I don't think you'll see him even in the top 25. I think one reason for that is that he doesn't put out songs that are vehicles for killer solo guitar parts. He puts out songs and if a solo is needed, it goes in. If not, it's not stuffed in there for the wow factor.