How can I recognise what type of guitar was used in a song?

Until your ear develops more (which takes time and practice*), and you have more experience hearing the subtle difference between different instruments, one easy way is to search for the performer in question, and see what type of guitar they use.

For instance, here's a picture of "The Rembrandts"

To my inexperienced eye it looks like the 2 guitar players are using some sort of Rickenbacker guitars, though I don't know the specific model.

As an exercise, use the google image search to look up each of the guitars that your Variax can emulate. Then when you see a picture of a player you are interested in, You'll be able to tell what they play.
This isn't foolproof, though, as some people play different guitars for different songs (to get different sounds).

* Of course, since you have a guitar that can impersonate a lot of others, try playing the same thing on each of the different settings, and try to identify what is different, or unique about each of the sounds. Then try to listen for those "charecteristics" in recorded songs.
Yes, it will take several months of practice to be able to do this.

Use your friend Google type in the group plus instrument and you should come up with a few. Just now searching Jimmy Paige I found out he used a Les Paul and a Danelectro for slide work, Eric Clapton A Fender Strat and a Gibson 335 so you get the drift. Basically it'll take a lot of research.

Speaking of Jimmy Page, I read yesterday that even though he played his double neck Gibson live, he recorded Stairway to Heaven with a 1958 tele that he got from Jeff Beck.

Anyone know if this is true?

Scott

I seem to recall that all of Led Zeppelin I was recorded using a Telecaster - that's been written up in a lot of the magazines over the years. Not sure about Stairway, though. A couple of Google searches seem to lean in that direction, but don't know if it's fact:

http://www.zeppinhood.net/lzequip/index.htm

I guess thats my point - I might be able to find a picture of Mr X holding a Les Paul, but if he always use a Banjo for recording work, through a doedecahedron effects unit set to stun mode then I'm as lost as I was before.

As to the Friends thing, a mate reckons:
"I think that thehe Rembrandts song uses a lot of electric 12 string to get that jangly sound along with a clean sound, semi-acoustic (like a 335 but with single coil pickups) with some chorus added."

Which leaves me just as lost!

Yes, it will take several months of practice to be able to do this.

I have been around musicians (as a stagehand and sound guy) for years, and have been playing myself for only 6 or 7 months, and I still can't tell what guitar someone is playing just by listening with more than about 30% accuracy.

But I'm getting better the more I stick with it.
Kinda like playing..

It's like those guys who can tell you were the grapes that went into a bottle of wine were grown just by taste. It takes years of practice to be able to do it perfectly.

Speaking of Jimmy Page, I read yesterday that even though he played his double neck Gibson live, he recorded Stairway to Heaven with a 1958 tele that he got from Jeff Beck.

Anyone know if this is true?

Scott

the great DVD of Zep shows Pagey playing a tele.
also, there is footage with him on a strat. he whammied throughout the song.

You don't necessarily need to know WHAT guitar they have in order to replicate their tone. If you recognize 5 tones you'll do fine. It's based on the pickups these guitars have.

Single Coil: Usually Strat style guitars...a lot of blues & country music, Hendrix, Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn...kind of twangy with high pitched high notes...if distortion is used more of a fuzzier sound (Hendrix) or used a lot with that warm tube amp sound everyone craves.

Humbucker: Les Paul, SG, Flying V-Style guitars...used in metal, grunge, 80's rock, SOME country music...Used moistly with distortion....ANY 80's band, Zack Wylde, Eddie Van Halen, Zeppelin

Telecaster: I put tis seperate from single coil even though they are single coils...used in country music ALOT, Stones, Bon Jovi (more recent albums)...VERY Twangy..even more so than Strats

Acoustic: Simple to figure out...Folk, country, rock, blues...ALL genres

12 string: I put seperate from acoustic because of the different sound. A bit tougher to tell (put a bit of chorus/reverb on an acoustic and you can come close to the 12 sgtring tone)...Bon Jovi, Melissa Etheridge...many genres use 12 strings.

If you learn these 5 "tones" you can get close to the original sound. Of course you coulds also get a modeling amp like the V-Amp or POD and create these tones fairly close (not so much acoustic or 12 string). Knowing all these sound will at least get you in the ball park and then you can tweak a bit to get it more exact.

I am a single coil freak. I love the sound.

adding to mikespeas post.

surf music...fender strat. the bridge pickup. (for more bell tones use the neck pup.)

country...that's the tele. it has a twang sound that strats dont have.

many famous tele players.
Roy Bucannon, Keith Richards, Richard Thompson, Brad Paisley, Don Rich (Buck Owens and the Buckeroos). there are many more. Springsteen plays a tele.

Steve Cropper from Booker T and the Mgs played tele. straight up too. he had tone and syle to die for. IMO.

when I think of humbuckers I think of Angus Young of ACDC and Clapton in early Cream and Yardbirds when he played an 335.

As for "dueling banjos," that was a banjo and a dreadnought guitar.

A lot of surf music was played on Jaguars and Jazzmasters, although one of the classics, Walk Don't Run by the Ventures was played live on what I believe to be Mosrites (Japan 1960), but I also have a picture of them with a Strat & a Jazzmaster, so take your pick. Another, Pipeline by the Chantays, was played on Strats.

Chris Rea plays a Strat on stage, but records a lot of his stuff with a Höfner V3. This is a phenomenon that most people forget (or ignore). Many artists play one instrument in the studio, but another on stage, so it's not always going to help you by looking at videos. Brian May also seems to be an exponent of this.

Then, of course, there are the Resonators, which keep cropping up in all sorts of genres. Dire Straits and Romeo & Juliet for example. Kinks & Lola (iirc)?

Add to that the P90 family, a high output single coil that sounds closer to a humbucker.

You're also going to get stuck with trying to find out what amp and effects they used. What valves were in the amps, what type of guitar cable did they use (high capacitance kills top end), what pick did they use? Did they use stock pickups?

I'd suggest that you ignore what it was actually played on and concentrate on copying the sound.

"Banjo for recording work, through a doedecahedron effects unit set to stun mode"

That's pure gold right there....

I'd suggest that you ignore what it was actually played on and concentrate on copying the sound.

Nuff said

"I'd suggest that you ignore what it was actually played on and concentrate on copying the sound."

I'd like to but with 28 guitar sounds to choose from, not very good technique and a terrible ear I am having trouble, hence the question!

Mikespe - thanks - thats the gist of it. Just need some 'common/ultra popular' songs to match to your categories and I'll be away.

As I said, until last year I wasn't a big music fan, rarely buy albums, don't listen to the radio much (as an example I don't even know what 'surf music' means). I can strip a motorcycle down to its component parts and rebuild it though and 5 years ago I couldn't do that. Maybe in 4 years time I'll know a lot more about this new hobby?

So, the riff in 'I want to break free' by Queen - Strat'ish?
Hendrix playing the Star Spangled Banner - Strat'ish with distortion (or something like that?)
Dualing Banjo's had a dreadnought in it? I never saw that in the movie (or maybe I did, it was years ago - squeal like a pig boy - urghh)
When I'm cleaning windows - Ukelele?
:)