Tone Timeline
Jonny Greenwood — Tone Evolution
Jonny Greenwood is Radiohead's lead guitarist and composer — his approach ranges from prepared guitar and electronic processing to orchestral composition (he studied at the Royal College of Music). His guitar style is anti-conventional: slashing, rhythmically unpredictable right-hand attack through unusual effects processing. He is also a significant film composer.
1993–2001: Pablo Honey / Amnesiac
Pablo Honey (1993) showed Greenwood in a conventional lead guitarist role — his "Creep" chord crash (the crunch before the chorus) is one of rock's most famous moments and was a deliberate attempt to disrupt what he felt was too nice a song. The Bends and OK Computer established his unconventional approach: slashing, rhythmically unpredictable right-hand attack through Fender Telecaster. Kid A and Amnesiac moved toward electronic instruments.
Signal Chain
2002–present: Hail to the Thief / Film Scores
↑ Film composition work deepened Greenwood's orchestral understanding — guitar became one element within a broader compositional identity.
Hail to the Thief (2003) and In Rainbows (2007) brought electric guitar back centrally to Radiohead. Greenwood's film work — There Will Be Blood, The Master, Spencer — has made him one of contemporary cinema's most prominent composers. His approach to guitar continued evolving: prepared guitar, unusual tunings, electronics integrated with traditional playing.
Signal Chain