Anyone else think that Ronnie used to produce this totally unique personal sound from the guitar? Like one could instantly recognize him from the attack and also the elctrified sound. On electric it is this almost electronic/ synthesized proccessed sound. A weird electirc sustain, with tons of Compression and very littel reverb. "Hey Negrita" especially the solo, the beginning of the solo opn YCAGWYW on LYL. It seems to have some to do with that heavy looking silver guitar. When he is chordiong and two=stringing with the Faces it will sound like "Miss Judy". Alwasy very dry, but insanely electric.
But on the Faces, and actually even more so on Rod's early solo albums he was incredible. Mind you - he played eletric, accoistic, Bass, pedal teel, Slide. So he was very much in charge f the total sound.
His attack on accoustic guitar is beautiful. As pretty as keith's, maybve even better. Keith nowadays hits the guitar way too hard IMO. Ron has this long slender fingered approach which Keith never has/had. On "Italian Girls", "Every Picture Tells..."he is so precise. Then like on "Tomorrow seesm like a long time" he adds gorgeous touches on Pedal Steel; heavily reverbed here for a chnage.
We analyze Keith's playing, Taylor's too. I wish we got into Rionnie's playing a little more; when he was good, because he was REAL good.
It could also be interesting to get into Brian's playing more. The only problem is there is so littel of it. When Brian still played a lot of guitar, it was in the days of Lo-Fi. The days when you can mainly hear only vox, lead guitar and snare. Later on Brian no longer played..

"...no longer shall you trudge 'cross my peaceful mind."

chelseadrugstore can't agree more. ronnie's sound is one of the most unique i've ever heard, as unique as keith's one. i remember hearing a bowie song, called grown'up i think, and suddendy i though: this sounds like ronnie...and it was him on it!!!! keith is one of the best acoustic guitar player, very melodic and soulful, (i mean listen to angie...), but since last years there's somthing...dunno...he strums the guitar too hard...or maybe the martin he uses to play now don't sound as well as the gibsons he used to play in the seventies...and ronnie is a gret acoustic player too!

you hit the nail on this here!fantastic statement! are you playing the guitar? could you please post some tabs as examples?
Leipzig2006

Ron Wood interview Rolling Stone September 2005



ROCKMAN

Absolutely agree.

I love it when he grabs the the neck tight with his thumb and index and does all the job mainly with his middle finger. There is always a second note to add dirt to his bendings. NO ONE can make a strato cry like wood does-

His solo CYHMK was an example of the ultimate OD tone for a strato.

As for Ronnie today, true he is inconsistant, BUT he can still surprise me. The more I listen to him, the more his present work makes sense ...

C

Absolutely agree, too.

Oh yes liddas, I know exactly what you're talking about with the middle finger tec. This is the thing to me about Ronnie today. He is very different from Keith because he has these long slender fingers. And he very often only uses two of them. Except when he starts sliding the octaves or fifths up and donw like on YCAGWYW or CYHMK. On Knockin like you said in 03 he got this incredivble sound. When he wnats to he can get a monsyer sound. A sound thst is almost wanting to explode into shreds of feedback because it is so static with sparks. On WAY he will get it today.
On accoustic there is this almost percussive strum he does with the Faces. I heard it the other day all over the "Never a dull moment" album.

"...no longer shall you trudge 'cross my peaceful mind."

Maybe it's because his sound is so overdriven that he can play with a light touch. I actually find it too overdriven and artificial sounding, most of the time.

I'll have to listen more to his pre-decline days; I had thought one thing that elevated keith far above ron as a player, even though ron can play faster, is that keith is instantly recognizable. Maybe I just haven't listened to enough ron.

What pedals does Ron use?

C

Ronnie's Unique Guitar Sound - best acheived by consuming mass quanities of alcohol, etc.

I've got a question for some of the more seasoned guitar vets here:

In your honest opinion is Ronnie a good guitar player? I know we've been talking about how his sound is unique, but is he legitimately good? I'm able to pick him out in songs sometimes, but it's nothing that really sets my hair on fire. I like Ronnie and all, I'm just curious as to what guitar players think of him

I loved his open-E stuff with the Faces. Not bad on acoustic too. No SRV or Clapton or Hendrix or Keef.

Jumpin'JackFrash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've got a question for some of the more seasoned
> guitar vets here:
>
> In your honest opinion is Ronnie a good guitar
> player? I know we've been talking about how his
> sound is unique, but is he legitimately good? I'm
> able to pick him out in songs sometimes, but it's
> nothing that really sets my hair on fire. I like
> Ronnie and all, I'm just curious as to what guitar
> players think of him


Answering this question honestly could be grounds for permanent dismissal from the board. So, I decline....

Ronnie is a very talented... but very lazy musician.

Jumpin'JackFrash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've got a question for some of the more seasoned
> guitar vets here:
>
> In your honest opinion is Ronnie a good guitar
> player?

I am not too seasoned, but the answer is 100% yes.

C

Ronnie is a great guitarist, a great musician, and a great guy! I think he is one of the main reasons for the Stones to constantly change and stay in tune as times changes music wise. He is creative and not afraid of trying new stuff.
In my opinion he's the modern day Brian, the guy who brings in different instruments and thereby makes every song unique.

As far as the sound goes I think the electric sound of the 75/76 and the 78 tours are the best.

Jumpin'JackFrash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've got a question for some of the more seasoned
> guitar vets here:
>
> In your honest opinion is Ronnie a good guitar
> player? I know we've been talking about how his
> sound is unique, but is he legitimately good?

Depends on what you mean by good.
Is he the right guitar player for a band like the Stones?
I'd say yes (at least he used to be, but I don't want to go there now). I love his playing. Very rock 'n roll, with a funky edge (something Taylor or Jones didn't really have).
Is he a good allround player, i.e. would he be a good session player for whatever type of music, does he have the technique to tackle difficult pieces, would he make it in a jazz setting, does he know his theory? No, no, no, no. but that's not what he is about. Rock 'n roll guitarists are usually more physical than technical in their playing anyway.
I think the 70's Ronnie Wood was one of the most exciting players around.

Hope that answers your question

Regards,
Gerland

I love Ronnie too.
Was a fool starting a thread yesterday or the day before about him and MT, I won't start a new discussion around that.

As they (the band) say about Ron; He's always smiling, he's always happy.
He's the one who got the band together again after hard times in the mid/early 70s, and he's the symbol of rock'n roll, second after Keith.
He's a hell of a guitarplayer, and in his way, one of the greatest there is.

Ronnie Be Goode!!!

Ronny Unique Guitar sound, not for me, I can recognise guitars players from the other, but I nerver recognise Ronnie is playing.

__________________________

I'd just like to say that the first post was very good.
A prime-example of that Ronnie has got a personal guitar sound is the Bowie song Growin' Up. I had no idea he was on it....but I knew at ONCE, that this was Ronnie Wood.
A lot of guitarists can play good solos, but it's just there's only a few people, that got their very own personal touch.
That doesn't mean that he's that great every night of his life, though....

Erik, I will check this out, maybe I change my opinion.

__________________________

NICOS Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Erik, I will check this out, maybe I change my
> opinion.


It's on Diamond Dogs 30th anniversary double CD. If you don't have it, I'll upload it, right now.

Jumpin'JackFrash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've got a question for some of the more seasoned
> guitar vets here:
>
> In your honest opinion is Ronnie a good guitar
> player? I know we've been talking about how his
> sound is unique, but is he legitimately good? I'm
> able to pick him out in songs sometimes, but it's
> nothing that really sets my hair on fire. I like
> Ronnie and all, I'm just curious as to what guitar
> players think of him

A seasoned guitar vet is not how I would describe myself, but I have played guitar for a few years.

See, Ronnie is very interessting. First of all, what style would you call his playing? It's not blues. And it isn't really typical rock. He's kind of a mix of pop/blues/rock/funk/soul, and that's exactly what the Stones are too, so in that case, he IS the right man for the job. Plus, he's got a hell of a personality, which is also very important for guitar players.

But, you wanted to know what I think about his technical abilities. Well, Ronnie has done some STUNNING guitar work. Very innovative. And I also dare say he's one of the best slide/steel players on this planet. He can play the pedal steel; I don't know if you've ever tried that. It's very, very difficult to make it sound good.

Look at Ron in the 70's: tight as hell, cool licks, a hot tone. He was really great there. Now in the 80's; very nice and tight again, quick licks, nice bending, he was really, really great there. Then, in '89, nice stuff too. His solo's on the Voodoo Lounge tour are really good, Beast Of Burden, for example. Great stuff. '98 Ronnie didn't play a lot of solo's and was pretty low in the mix. On the Licks tour however, he came back, supposedly sober, and with a completely new style. Not as tight now, it makes room for groovy playing with long bends. At times toecurling, at times incredibly good.

Ofcourse - 30 years of snorting coke, smoking like a chimney and drinking extreme ammounts of alcohol isn't good for your health and playing. It took it's toll on Ronnie as it did with many others.

But he's a good guitarist, there's no doubt about that.

there's doubt

Erik_Snow Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> NICOS Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Erik, I will check this out, maybe I change my
> > opinion.
>
>
> It's on Diamond Dogs 30th anniversary double CD.
> If you don't have it, I'll upload it, right now.
________________________________________________________________

I don't have it Erik.

__________________________

NICOS Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't have it Erik.

I was going to upload it, and send the link by e-mail, as it is official.
But I forgot that it's not possible to copy that official CD....I tried, though...

i love that heavily compressed lead sound from ronnie (LYL's YCAGWYW), but i can't think of the last time i heard it!!! maybe the single note lines on ASMB? on B2B? he did some wild feedback on his strat on CYHMK at the ahoy 2003 show, but it wasn't that singular tone.

how much of it was zemaitis pre-amp or a compressor/sustainer pedal?

Well, Ronniewas one of favorite guitar players, especially with the Faces. His sound was unique and easily identifiable, But now....

i still think it's unique and identifiable, Chris....but, that's not necessarily a good thing ;-)

First of all, congrats to Chelsea for his post!

It's very difficult for me to add anything new that hasn't been said already (and even more difficult in english, LOL!) but I agree about Ronnie having a distinctive sound and style. That compressed sound in LYL is however what I miss most in Ronnie's sound: how many years it's been since Ronnie doesn't use his metal front Zemaitis guitar? Lots! And as much as has been said about Keith's thin sound in the latter tours (not ABB anyway, seems to be the general consensus) I strongly feel that Ronnie's sound has suffered from that thin-sounding-disease and awful distortion even more that Keith. Besides Woody being one of the Strat masters in my opinion, that guitar sounded like heaven in the seventies when he got that round, fat sound out of it. Nobody can say that a Strat (plugged into the right amp at right settings, true) is a thin-sounding guitar after hearing Woody's work on any decent sounding 75 bootleg!

[There'll be no wedding today...]