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PT's lead playing



One of the current Guitar mags has an interview with Malcolm Young (rhythm
guitarist for AC/DC) in which he explains that he has always played a
Gretsch using heavy-gauge strings because he gets a particular, powerful yet
"clean" distortion which isn't possible with lighter strings. He says
however that it is difficult to play lead guitar effectively with such a
set-up. This got me wondering if this may explain at least in part why PT's
lead work has never been particularly distinguished - PT himself termed it
"sluggish" in 1970 - as I understand PT used very heavy strings in his
heyday, certainly on stage. PT always sounded much better in the studio on
lead guitar - eg. on Join Together, Relay, English Boy (reprise) and there
are many other examples (listen to him on In a Hand or a Face over the
studio murk). Of course in the studio there is time to get it right and/or
maybe he used various string weights when not on stage. I'm curious what the
guitar players think of this; could playing for years with very heavy
strings have made PT sound sluggish as a lead player and inhibited the
development of his single note playing?
Gary M.