Identifying Particular Players

[mica]

I was emailed this question yesterday:
Love music, love electric guitar. Countless zillions of electric guitars, but I could tell you 100/100 it's Jerry. There's just no other sound like that. Why is that?
 
It's something I've thought about before, and I sent this answer:
There are just some special souls who can make an object like a guitar have a distinctive voice. Jerry is certainly one of them. He could be playing any guitar from any maker, and his voice could be clearly heard.
 
I think what matters most is that the musician has something to say with their music. Without that, no guitars, effects, amplifiers, strings, or processing will make up for a lack of content.
 
Sidenote, I was grocery shopping over the weekend, and I heard a song that was completely unfamiliar to me, but I knew instantly that it was Stevie Ray Vaughn, I mean *instantly*. A few bars in his singing starts and it was confirmed.
 
I'm curious at how others might answer this question. I'm sure there's much more to say on the subject.  
 
Also, are there any musicians that you are tuned so well to that you can identify even obscure recordings as them? I think the first one I could really hear like that was Santana, because my parents let me play Abraxas over and over and over as a toddler (bless them!).

[crobbins]

I've listened to just about everything Frank Zappa has ever recorded more than a few times. It has been ingrained in my soul. Another band would be The Allman Brothers Band/Duane Allman. instantly recognizable....
 
(Message edited by CRobbins on July 19, 2011)

[cje]

Gee - well, I'd have to give some serious thought to your first question, but you're right - a musician needs something to say.  Sound aside, I can recognize Jerry's playing purely by his phrasing, how he decides to tell his story.  Listen to him on acoustic, or a MIDI patch - it doesn't matter the instrument (though so many people seek to recreate the SOUND of his guitar) - Jerry sounds like Jerry.  He doesn't sound like an Alembic or an Irwin or a Strat, etc.
 
I'm sure others will put it far more elegantly than I just did.
 
Other musicians that I can absolutely identify quite easily, even if their instrument was solo'd in the mix:
 
Mark Knopfler
John Bonham
Eric Clapton
John Medeski
 
...not just for their actual sound, but their phrasing, note choices, their feel and what they say through their instrument... There's something special about all of them, and I suppose that's why they are so accomplished.

[ajdover]

Mica,
 
     I can usually identify certain bass players the moment I hear them.  Of course, Jaco comes to mind, as does Stanley Clarke, Chris Squire, Geddy Lee, and John Entwistle.  I can also usually identify certain types of bass guitars (Precision, Jazz, Rick, Thunderbird) or bass guitars like those marks.    
 
     As for obscure stuff, I can almost always identify something that is Frank Zappa, early Genesis stuff, King Crimson, etc.
 
     I will say one thing, though - one could hand two people the same instrument, and it would sound completely different.  For example, if someone gave me Entwistle's instruments, or Clarke's, or Jaco's, it wouldn't sound like them.  It would sound like me playing their instrument, for better or worse.  So much more goes into tone than just the equipment itself - touch, hand placement, muting, picking, fingers, etc.  That has as much to do with tone and voice as does the choice of instrument itself IMHO.
 
Alan

[cozmik_cowboy]

Jerry, Carlos, & Stevie, obviously.  Leo Kottke. Robert Cray.  Johnny Winter.  Mick Scott. John Cippolina.  Phil Lesh.  Jerry & Mick I can spot electric or accoustic.  I think your explaination is a good one; I would add that any player who's not just copying has his/her favorite moves/patterns/ways of thinking about music, and these guys' habits are ones that 1) are particularly idiosyncratic and 2) ingrained through much listening in my ears, brain, and heart.
 
Peter

[pace]

What really floors me is when a radio is competing with background noise, just barely audible. Perhaps you catch the beat to the tune backwards or think the 2 is the 1, whatever, you're just trying to get your bearings. And then, that certain player's voice comes in and you immediately know who it is, but you're hearing the phrasing from a different point of reference..... That's happened to me a couple of times recently one was w/ Dr. John and the other of course w/ Garcia.

[jagerphan84]

Ry Cooder, Jeff Beck, Richard Thompson, Bill Frisell, John Fahey...

[toma_hawk01]

Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.
 
- Miles Davis
 
Peace and Love,
 
Hal-

[darkstar01]

my (jazz nerd) friends and i used to play a game where one of us would pick a random recording (usually something most of us were at least a little familiar with) and the rest of us would try to guess the players. i got really, really good at it... although usually it just turned into being able to recognize a certain member of the band and just associating them with musicians from there. but i've noticed that i'm much better at it with jazz than i am with other types of music. I can name Coltrane, Ayler, Miles, Mingus, Monk, Duke, Sonny Rollins, Bird, Chris Potter, Josh Redman, Elvin Jone etc. in one note. but when it comes to rock i'm not as good (other than a few guys like Jerry, Duane Allman, Hendrix).  
i don't know what that's all about, but I definitely agree that all GREAT musicians have a really distinct sound, and it's just a matter of familiarizing yourself with their playing, whether it's by listening to them on a regular basis, or by studying them.
i heard a recording of a master class Chris Potter did one time where he was talking about understanding the history of your instrument. He was playing tenor saxophone at the time, so he demonstrated some of the greats' sounds. he could absolutely nail other people's tones, like Coltrane and Coleman Hawkins, and Lester Young and Michael Brecker. but when he played his own thing, he sounds so absolutely unique.

[afrobeat_fool]

I think if we are talking about bass players the one that stands out the most for me is James Jamerson. So many great motown hits were due to his subtle and masterful playing. And, when it wasn't him, it was someone who was trying to sound like him. They never got it.
 My friend Terrence asked me long ago, the 90's seem so long ago, why do you want to sound like someone else? He answered his own question with the most wonderful inspired solo that left me with the knowledge that the longer one mutes his/her voice, the longer it takes to truly say something.
 
Nick

[lbpesq]

J. Robbie Robertson
Jorma
Hendrix (duh!)
Django
 
Bill, tgo

[serialnumber12]

slappers poppers thumpers & funkers have all gotten their style from Larry Graham so when ever i hear funk bass to me its Larry! http://www.larrygraham.com/fr_photosvideos.cfm

[jacko]

James Taylor springs to mind. as soon as he starts picking he's instantly recognisable, both from hs technique and more obviously his tone.
Jerry Douglas' dobro playing is pretty unique too.
One bass player that hasn't been mentioned so far that has an instantly recognisable tone is Billy Sheehan.  
As far as slappers go, they're all much of a muchness apart from marcus Miller who (to my ears anyway) has a really distinctive style.
 
Graeme

[toma_hawk01]

#12 you know that's right!!!
 
Amen!
 
Peace and Love,
 
Hal-

[811952]

Allan Holdsworth