This man is in the top five or maybe top three of best guitar sounds/tones in rock. He's up there with Brian May and Eddie Van Halen. And I consider him The Riffmaster heir apparent, right behind Tony Iommi. Fantastic player.
The balloon heads who don't realise that when a guitarist plays and a person has their eyes shut, knows who it is. Whether you dig them or not, that's special, very special. Ty has a tone like no other, absolutely amazing musician.
Notice the way he goes from the quiet intro of Goldilox to the heavy part. He hits the first chord without turning up because he knows the bass and drums will crash there and then turns it up before the 2nd beat... freaking genius.
The challenge of a 3 piece rock band is to be able to fill that space and sound huge when necessary. Kings X and Rush are masters at creating dynamics within a 3 piece band. Ty/Dug and Alex/Geddy have adapted their playing style, tone, gear, etc to fill that space. That's the "drone note" that Ty talks about throughout the video.
I remember the "Dogman" album shocking me with its heaviness, same way Living Colour's "Stain" did. :) Those weren't bands I expected to hear those sounds from!
due to the genre, ty's playing is lost on most listeners, meanwhile, musicians "for the most part" are clueless to the melodic/heavy chord voicings in drop tuning...much love for this vid and King's X!
I can totally understand & relate to that! You would think that anyone who's somewhat into rock music who you would turn onto K.X. would at least appreciate what they do if not become a jumping for joy fanatic!
Well this person if he didn't like something he got mean about it and downright ugly. There's things I don't like but I usually don't even comment or nicely hint I don't like it thanks!
Like the music business even said they are a Musicians band, that's a complement. The 3 times I've seen them mainly were musicians there, I mean they aren't Journey or Styx or even Nirvana or Ozzy they're not the darlings of the masses
theeasybeats Generally, if you enjoy these guys, nine times out of ten, you're gonna be a player. This is food for other musicians. Very non-pedestrian stuff.
Such a great bunch of guys, King's X, are. So humble and kind, you'd think they were the local guys down the street who play in the basement. So much sound and musicianship from them that's just second to none. King's X are musician's musicians.
Kings X first album you can really hear the Alex Lifeson influence and the Rush sound! I recommend " Out of the Silent Planet" by Kings X it an incredible album!!!!
I've been playing guitar for about 30+ years and my drummer just turned me on to these guys. It just goes to prove you can always learn something new on the guitar that's why I keep rockin
William W.F.O.C. Man,like you I,after about 25 years of playing,I thought I was stuck,then I saw a guy named Troy Grady,on YT and he was breaking down how to pick properly,I started picking using his Pick Slant method,I now can play things I couldn't before,check Troy out,And people who play guitar,Never give up on playing better,it just takes work😎
Like many people, I didn’t pick up on Kings X until I heard Black Flag on MTV (remember when they used to play music?). I wore out a cassette listening to Big Picture and Prisoner, especially the guitar leads at the ends of both songs, although the vocals are awesome as well. I think the one on Prisoner is in my top 5 favorite guitar solos ever. Still listen to these guys almost everyday at work, with 6 albums in my iPad (more than any other band) they come up often on shuffle play and I’m still surprised at how many people ask “who is that?”. I work in a huge aircraft hanger with a couple hundred other people and sometimes crank the jams on a Bose Bluetooth speaker. Ty is such a creative, talented, and humble dude ya just gotta like him.
Prisoner is a GREAT tune, agreed. Funny you say you work in an aircraft hanger. Back in the late 80s to late 90s I worked for McDonnell Douglas Aircraft and turned a few people on to King's X back then. Cheers!
saw them tonight for 1st time.... I'm 50. I was BLOWN AWAY. All 3 f ing killed it. So tired of saying it but UNDERRATED doesnt even come close. These guys are the sh t
Pure genius! Ty, you're the greatest! & your band King's X is the greatest too! I remember when y'all released this song & I have been listening to y'all ever since! & Thanks for showing us your secrets!
Love the drone idea. Used to use it all the time. Its nice to know I lifted it from someone who lifted it from someone else. Ty is such a wonderful guitarist and songwriter.
I like the fact that he's unashamedly drop-D (drop-C) - a lot of people unfairly disparage this tuning because they see it as the one-finger nu-metal style or the sign of not really being able to play, but Ty proves how awesomely it can be used!
I'm a drummer, but I could listen to Ty all day. His sound is wide! I went to the same college in Springfield MO that he and Jerry went to (Evangel). Dug would often come by the college and hang out with a friend of mine, where I met him. Dug had this old Nova that had a broken gas gage, so we ran out of gas when we went to get something to eat. He was concerned that nobody would pick us up, him having green and pink hair and all at the time, or some such... So he wanted me to walk closer to the road. Ended up the guy who gave us a ride recognized him from the band, which at that time was called either "The Edge" or "Sneak Preview". They were also playing for other artists such as Morgan Cryer, and Amy Grant etc... I don't remember. I never really knew Ty or Jerry very well, but these guys are some of the most friendly, humble folks I've ever met. They're my favorite band. I took my beautiful wife to see them in Dallas just before Christmas at "Trees". They were awesome. Ty had concelled the concert prior, due to being ill, so this was a makeup concert. Apparently it was serious enough to cancel their much anticipated European tour because he needed to stay closely observed I read. They’ve all had some health issues, so I'd encourage you to make a point to see them sooner than later. The night we saw them, they were flawless, and seemed fine. They were all business though and didn't sign any autographs, which I was looking forward to. In fact, they didn't sell any merchandise that night either. I was looking to buy a few things. But they have a great website, so there's that. Sorry to be so long winded, but KingsX does that to me. I usually don't listen to lyrics that much, I just dig the grooves and such, but unlike any other band in my life, I listen to KingsX's lyrics. They're the soundtrack to my life. Just sayin. ttttim
Ty's riffs are brilliant. I've seen them pretty much every tour since the first albums were released. Spoke to them all at the last Stone Pony meet & greet. Great guys, sick musicians! FYI, Ty is using an SS Orange CR120 these days. His tech told me he chose it over all the Orange tube amps. Sounds great!
In the phrasing and the vibrato in his lead work I hear hints of Brian May as well, and Hendrix, too. So, rhythm parts influenced by Lifeson and Lynch (with a dash of Malcom Young), leads by Hendrix and May = Ty Tabor. That’s a thick, rich, hearty stew of stunning influences-perfect to fill the sonic space of a rock trio. His style is unique: melodic in a way that drop-tuned heavy metal often lacks, with textural subtleties that still cut through under high gain, all played with a confident, almost effortless swagger. I was already a fan, but so much the more after hearing Ty’s nonchalant explanations. Brilliant.
I just love Ty Tabor ! One of the most tasteful Rock Guitarist on the planet . Kings X is such a dynamic band with great songs. Though I wanted to shoot their sound man when I saw them at the Tower Theater when I saw them there. He had them sounding harsh as hell that night. WAs not Kings X it was the harsh unpleasant EQ of the PA.
planning to purchase a Yamaha RGX-TT and listened to a lot of Kings X stuff while researching...wow .. Ty is really an amazing guitarplayer with a unique style
I arrived in Sydney in 1966 aged 19 & the Easybeats were on Radio 2SM, Ward “ Pally” Austin’s show.....who fooking cares ? I know !! 🙃 “ 🎶 do you come from a land down under ? 🎶
All of you put on some headphones and listen to Far Far Away off Out of the silent planet and really give your full attention to the solo it's my absolute favorite of his
Such a talented, friendly person. I first became aware of King's X through an article in a (German) music magazine. Funnily enough, KX were referred to as "Musicians Musicians" back then. That was almost 30 years ago (I'm almost Ty's age). It's a pity that music education here in Germany, but apparently also in other parts of the world, is perpetuating a boring mainstream in listening habits. Otherwise KX would have a regular appearance in the rock and pop charts (yes .. I don't consider them to be in the metal realm, but that's just my individual perception). I'm more into contemporary Prog Metal ( ... yes .. Djent and alike .. ) but I still admire the skills of KX.
Ty is my favorite guitar player of all time, but I wonder how much theory he knows? Either way he is amazingly creative and influential. He's a master at all aspects of rock guitar.
He definitely just seems to have a great feel for the musical structure of things and what can be done to embellish it. By contrast, Page Hamilton from Helmet is an absolute master of musical theory, but he seems to go out of the way to make it seem like he's just falling all over the fretboard... so I guess it's just how you use it!
How much does Ty know you say...... have you heard him play? Actually in person he won’t really admit to knowing much theory. Ty is so humble..... Let’s just say he wrote the book.
racecarkayak from LiveLeak brought me here. VERY Short Story: He dropped me a video of Living Color doing "Cult of Personality." That band recorded the song 'Live,' in the studio. This brought back my fond memories of Kings X. - BAM - I'm here. Long live ROCK. - Kings X; record another album to blow the socks off of the world.
The tension of being wrong, y we have ears to hear, is the challange of pulling out, without looseing the crowd, yes brother! Without that than 1 can loose creativity, just do not loose your basic pattern, then that's a party pooper, and just wasn't the day,lol!!! Guitar is fun and when it sounds good, that's what a volume knob is for😃
Before he even mentioned alex lifeson i immediately knew thats who he got it from and then he mentioned him lmao. Alex made amazing use of that in rush. Ty and alex are the only 2 i know of that use it in hard rock to such an extent. His sound is very much like alex but theres also a lot of john petrucci in there who obviously came later.
