Neil Young. Eternal Keeper of the Ultimate Guitar Sound.

[Grandmasterdavid]

Any one else find it odd that he uses 10-46 strings?He is a fairly violent player and i assumed he'd use at least 12's.In any case he is one of my favorites.

[zhivago]

I think his plectrums aren't very hard...I remember reading something that Larry said about them

[Grandmasterdavid]

I think his plectrums aren't very hard...I remember reading something that Larry said about them

Ahhh,true.In the GW article that was linked his tech does mention he uses a .50mm(or.050mm or whatever....i'm not good at math lol) .I was basing the assumption off of my preference(1.26mm claytons).

[tonewoods]

Check out Neil's tone on this (crappy) recording...
His solo on Mr. Soul is one of my fav solos of all time...

http://www.radiofreeolga.com/springfield-at-whs.html

[veryredtomatoes]

I always liked the look of that guitar.

Now you've got one just like it!

For me though, THE Les Paul is my LTD/ESP EC-407, a seven string with EMG's. It is black with a cream and pinstripe binding, so I'm with you there as far as color :-)

The more I play and listen, the less dependent on gear I feel. At this point, almost any guitar will do for me.

[higgsblossom]

This thread made me re-listen "Le Noise". Ok, I may still not like the songwriting on this particular LP, but the sound is amazing.

[zhivago]

Good to hear you guys are into him like I am...I found the concept of Le Noise so inspiring.

No band, just a loud guitar through cranked tweed amps!

I really love this song of the record:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avi8LBW2XMk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mcjt]

i feel like an idiot to only find him at 40+ yrs of age.
He's awesome! I keep listening to After the Gold Rush and the recent stuff- it's all good! and his sound......... blows my mind!

[zhivago]

it is never too late!!

good to hear you are enjoying the music!

[DaveC]

What would you guys recommend I listen to if I wanted to get into Neil Young? He's one of those artists who's catalogue is so big it's difficult to know where to start. From what people say it sounds as though I'd like him...

[pacemaker]

I love Neil.

Dave C, Neil has a bunch of different flavors, but I think it's fair to say you can broadly slice most of his output into folky acoustic stuff and heavier, fuzzier electric stuff - often going back and forth between the two on the same album.

I would start with "Harvest" and "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere," which form an accessible primer of Neil's styles. Then maybe "After The Gold Rush," which is generally quieter, introspective and moody and "Zuma," which is raw, weird and at times awkward.

"On The Beach" and "Tonight's The Night" are less accessible on first listen, but worth revisiting - it took me a while to get into "On The Beach" and QUITE a while to get into "Tonight's the Night," but I love them both now.

"Time Fades Away" and "Live Rust" are my two favorite live albums.

Then there's the more recent stuff...

Anyway, here are a few of my favorites off the albums above:

Out On The Weekend from Harvest
Down By The River from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
When You Dance I Can Really Love from After The Gold Rush
Drive Back from Zuma
For The Turnstiles from On The Beach
Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown from Tonight's The Night
Don't Be Denied from Time Fades Away
I Am A Child from Live Rust

Enjoy!

[zhivago]

I love Neil.

Dave C, Neil has a bunch of different flavors, but I think it's fair to say you can broadly slice most of his output into folky acoustic stuff and heavier, fuzzier electric stuff - often going back and forth between the two on the same album.

I would start with "Harvest" and "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere," which form an accessible primer of Neil's styles. Then maybe "After The Gold Rush," which is generally quieter, introspective and moody and "Zuma," which is raw, weird and at times awkward.

"On The Beach" and "Tonight's The Night" are less accessible on first listen, but worth revisiting - it took me a while to get into "On The Beach" and QUITE a while to get into "Tonight's the Night," but I love them both now.

"Time Fades Away" and "Live Rust" are my two favorite live albums.

Then there's the more recent stuff...

Anyway, here are a few of my favorites off the albums above:

Out On The Weekend from Harvest
Down By The River from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
When You Dance I Can Really Love from After The Gold Rush
Drive Back from Zuma
For The Turnstiles from On The Beach
Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown from Tonight's The Night
Don't Be Denied from Time Fades Away
I Am A Child from Live Rust

Enjoy!

this!!

[HorseyBoy]

Pacemaker's overview is spot on.
If you're looking for a compilation, "Decade" (originally released as 3 LPs in 1977 but now available on 2 CDs) is a great starting point.



But if you're ready to jump into the albums, I'd start with "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere", which is pretty much flawless. And definitely don't miss "On the Beach", "Tonight's the Night" and "Time Fades Away".

[shadowplay]

Pacemaker's overview is spot on.
If you're looking for a compilation, "Decade" (originally released as 3 LPs in 1977 but now available on 2 CDs) is a great starting point.



But if you're ready to jump into the albums, I'd start with "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere", which is pretty much flawless. And definitely don't miss "On the Beach", "Tonight's the Night" and "Time Fades Away".

Buying Decade depends on the sort of record (or CD if you must) person you are. My advice is to hit up youtube using pacemakers links as a jumping off point and just listen to enough that you know you'll like it (since I can't imagine using youtube for actual listening pleasure) and then go buy the individual albums that catch your ear, in dribs and drabs or in a big bang because IMO compilations just divert your resources.

For the record the first Neil Young Album I owned was After the Goldrush.

D

[DaveC]

Cheers guys, knew I'd get some great responses from this. I reckon I'd prefer the heavier fuzzier weirder stuff, I'm a big dino jr fan and often hear the Neil Young comparisons but have never followed it up, I'll give some of those a listen.
Cheers again chaps!