Jeff Beck.

Tone is one of the most magical and beautiful aspects of the guitar.
It`s also the most mysterious and ,at times ,frustrating.

A player can chase after thechnical skills for years,and nothing
he or she plays will sound like much if the tone isn`t there.

Conversely,if a guitarist`s tone is happening,it doesn`t seem to matter
if that player is out of tune or out of time-their music will still sound inspiring.

Most everyone would agree that Jeff Beck`s
tone deserves to be listed as one of the 50 Greatest-but which tone?

From his silky slide work with the Tridents in 1963 to the devilishly twisted
sound spasms on 2003`s Jeff, Beck has consistenly navigated new and
uncharted tonal waters,routinely leaving other guitarists bobbing in his wake.

Markers tossed out along the way include his Yardbirds -era Tele/AC30
with fuzz sizzle ("Heart Full of Soul"), Les Paul/Marshall Major with wah
and Echoplex wailing ("I Ain`t Superstitious"),liquidly-yet-punchy
Strat/Marshall variations ("Rice Pudding",Goin`Down","Got the Feeling"),
spongey Strat/Sunn squalks("Superstition"),Machavishnu-inspired
Les Paul/Marshall blasts ("Air Blower"),biting-yet-sonorous
humbucker-loaded Tele lines ("Cause We`ve Ended as Lovers"),
snakey harmonic/whammy manipulations (Where Were You,Nadia"),
and flatulant Pro-Tooled splats ("Plan B").

There are lots more examples ,of course, and that`s why Beck
couldn`t be contained in any categories-he`s a class by himself.