To be honest, Kotzen is the only guy who I thought was in Becker's league back then.
His solo releases were on Warner Bros. though.
He did some compilations with Shrapnel.
Shrapnel guys that kept growing musically
- Thread starter Donnie B.
- Start date
His solo releases were on Warner Bros. though.
He did some compilations with Shrapnel.
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
It's pretty crazy how quick the world caught up to VH isn't it? All these guys are monster players in their own right and weren:t too far behind.
There are definitely days I would agree with you. Sometimes I think Jason Becker might have come to be regarded as the best player ever had he had more years to create music and mature even more musically.
Little B
Well-known member
I bought every shrapnel record when they were released back then.i would follow the big full page add in guitar player magazine in the 80s..I saved all those adds too.
And I follow all of them to this day..but,yes,most of thier tones back then weren't that good compared to major label production then.
It was very common back then to hear in most music stores " that shrapnel dude can really rip it up but why is his tone so bad?" Maybe it was thier budget back then,idk,but I loved getting a new artist's album when it was released. Good times!
And I follow all of them to this day..but,yes,most of thier tones back then weren't that good compared to major label production then.
It was very common back then to hear in most music stores " that shrapnel dude can really rip it up but why is his tone so bad?" Maybe it was thier budget back then,idk,but I loved getting a new artist's album when it was released. Good times!
SandChannel
New member
Greg Howe and Brett Garsed are my favorites from that camp by a margin, but I still dig on Paul Gilbert and Richie Kotzen as well. A dude that wasn't on Shrapnel but would fit right in is John 5 - another killer player that has a distinct voice and style.
Devin
Well-known member
Pretty much all the Shrapnel records back then sounded like bees in a can lol
Mailman1971
Moderator
Really liked Kotzens last work myself
Reincarnation BumpFound a list on Wiki of everything the label did.
Deserted island three underlined.
guitarnate2000
Well-known member
Derek Taylor - he was on Ominous Guitarists from the unknown
Saw him trade licks with Paul Gilbert.
His tune was called Mercury Bath.
He should have been bigger. His legato is nothing short of amazing
Now his 16 year old daughter is on YouTube playing Ratt and Dokken songs note for note. She is insane good already
Saw him trade licks with Paul Gilbert.
His tune was called Mercury Bath.
He should have been bigger. His legato is nothing short of amazing
Now his 16 year old daughter is on YouTube playing Ratt and Dokken songs note for note. She is insane good already
Most used the same Peavey Butcher amp to record if I remember correctly
splitendz
Active member
I took lessons from Joey Tafolla back in late 80's early 90's. He lived in Orange county, not far from me. Great guy and great player. I remember him showing me all these licks where his fingers seemed to have this 'super reach' that I couldn't pull off. He spoke often of Paul Gilbert; they were close. He showed me several Gilbert licks... good ol' days.
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
Shrapnel recordings are legendary for being horrendous. Almost like they stacked two DS-1's and went direct to the board. Still amazes me listening back to these that they couldn't take 5 min to place their mics on the cab. Also those boxy drums. Does anyone have a picture of " Shrapnel Studios" ? Or were they renting a few diff places? They sure as hell knew nothing about recording the source or mixing. I almost think that the label and the studio were run out of a two bedroom bungalow or something. No treatment on walls, drums recorded in the living room. Obviously tongue in cheek, some of the recordings were all right ( Vinnie Moore) but all suffered from horrid drums.
Extra credit. Anyone remember David " T" Chastain?? Man that album sucked. They def had some stinkers in their catalogue too.
Extra credit. Anyone remember David " T" Chastain?? Man that album sucked. They def had some stinkers in their catalogue too.
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I still have Cacophony - Speed Metal Symphony on LP somewhere. Sounds terrible, the lyrics are very cringe, but parts of it are amazing, especially Concerto. I don’t know if you consider what they did after that as maturing since the l fundamental style didn’t change but maybe the song writing improved. But I’ll be honest that I only followed Yngiwie after those days. I also had Vinnie Moore - Minds Eye and the first two Mcalpine albums but I didn’t give them much of a listen after the first few times and stopped buying Shrapnel artists after that.
I'm pretty sure they used Prairie Sun in Cotai Ca ? The studio is still there, they have a FB page, VERY well appointed studio.