Mike Oldfield's Guitar Tone

JJLehto wrote: Good enough Never turned me off at least

jep

I tend to think his tone is good.  There are some instances where it's not up to par with his other work though

I presume we're talking about electric guitar? And are we going to accept that Oldfield's guitar tone is the same throughout one recording, let alone over the forty years he's been recording?I'm not sure about that: in his early years, in keeping with his symphonic/folk ambitions, the tone is a little rougher, underproduced (for Oldfield). His pop years are characterised by a smoother tone - syrupy, his detractors might say.

It also helps to recognise that Oldfield is the epitome of melody-based composers. He's rightly revered for sweet melody lines, making many think he's nothing more than a saccharin new age composer (though I'd argue his earlier works are much more than this). I suspect because of this for many people his guitar tone sounds sweeter (and therefore poorer) than it actually is.

As for the climax to 'Ommadawn Pt 1' I think it is a perfect summation of what's come before. No, he's not as good at it as, say, David Gilmour, but he manages to make his guitar sound like it's reaching for the note, not hitting it easily. It's a common rock device and Oldfield does it superbly (an even better example is Gilmour's solo in 'Shine On Pt VI').

I think the OP poll question should have been 'Does Oldfield's guitar tone enhance his music?' I'd say yes.


Edited by russellk - April 30 2011 at 17:05

The Dark Elf wrote: Progosopher wrote: The Dark Elf wrote: I consider Mike Oldfield to be a mediocre guitarist. Yeah, but what about his tone?    For me, I think it is a really good one that is unique and easily identifiable.  He's not the greatest of guitarists, sure, but nobody else sounds quite like him.   Yes, he is a banal guitarist with excellent tone.

The Dark Elf wrote: Mista-Gordie wrote: The Dark Elf wrote: Progosopher wrote: The Dark Elf wrote: I consider Mike Oldfield to be a mediocre guitarist. Yeah, but what about his tone?    For me, I think it is a really good one that is unique and easily identifiable.  He's not the greatest of guitarists, sure, but nobody else sounds quite like him.   Yes, he is a banal guitarist with excellent tone. You think that a banal guitarist can have a great tone??? seriously. A good guitar sound is the only thing a mediocre guitarist can't produce, because it takes a lot of time. Mike Oldfield may seem to be a mediocre guitarist because he often plays simple guitar parts, but he's one of those guitarists that gives more importance to the guitar effects than the technical aspects, and I think it's the most important thing. For me Oldfield is one of the 5 best guitarists ever Posting note: The insertion of a "winking" emoticon indicates the presence of sarcasm.   As far as being among the 5 best guitarists ever, I would have difficulty including him in a top 100. Too many great guitarists for Oldfield to be in such a discussion.

POTA wrote: I'm not the biggest Oldfield fan, but his tone could possibly be my favorite after that of Gilmour. I could recognize Oldfield a mile away. I think his uniqueness and style are incredible. Prior to clicking this thread I would never have guessed that'd I'd be seeing the words "medicore" and "awful".

Mista-Gordie wrote: POTA wrote: I'm not the biggest Oldfield fan, but his tone could possibly be my favorite after that of Gilmour. I could recognize Oldfield a mile away. I think his uniqueness and style are incredible. Prior to clicking this thread I would never have guessed that'd I'd be seeing the words "medicore" and "awful". You're right. Seriously, I can't understand how anyone can say that. I think you have to not know him at all to say he's a mediocre guitarist. You can not like him, but you can't say he's not amazing, IMO

In this thread, we're not concerned with his playing abilities, but with his tone.

And what I was really referring to was his lead guitar tone, which can be found in albums like Tubular Bells and Ommadawn.

Worst sounding guitar I've ever heard.  Tinny and ruinous for me.

This threads a joke right? What's his tone like?

What I have heard of his electric tone, indicates that he should really just consider going all-acoustic. 

Hi,

I think the trademark of a great musician is to be instantly recognizable, to be unique, what Mike Oldfield surely is, since he created his own genre of music in a period, needless to say, when the best bands were at their top.
Who thinks he is a banal or mediocre guitarist probably doesn't have clear what is important in music and what is not...  While his guitar lines are not the most adventurous that one might imagine I think his guitar sound is pretty unique, and quite hard to reproduce since it's a combination of his peculiar technique of playing the electric guitar with the long nails of his right hand (a flamenco-like style I don't see in anyone else) and of course a long effect chain.
The most characteristic elements are his violin-like vibrato when he plays soft and the screaming guitar (especially with the old Gibson SG junior, P90 pickup) when he plays hard.
Suggestions: Ommadawn (finale pt 1), First Excursion, Incantations (a lot of transposition work), and an almost unknown album written by  Jazz/Rock bassist Pekka Pohjola, the mathematician's air display (1980) when he plays guitar as guest musician. 
I am speaking of the "real" Mike Oldfield, when he was young, 70s/80s ... lately he has become a new age like kind of musician, with no particularly interesting production since maybe the Songs of Distant Earth  (mid 90s).

bye

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