Did everyone sound better in the early 90's?

[///MK]

Did everyone sound better in the early 90's?

To change direction a bit Im convinced this has more to do with pro guitarist still being able to make money making music/selling albumns back then.
Now days the Vais/Lynch/Wyldes of the world have to sell products to make a living. There is no money in sayin/using the old just get an old Marshall through a good Les Paul and your good to go.

never mind the Protools in your living room recordings now as opposed to a real recording budget recording to 2" tape...

 

[paulyc]

I think a LOT of it has to do with recording techniques and technology...back in the day you had REAL studios designed by acoustical engineers with top notch technology (for the times) run by experienced sound engineers and producers to keep quality high, now anyone with a computer and an interface can record and the results are sometimes quite a bit less than stellar... but I think analog tape just sounds better for guitars anyway.

 

[rupe]

I guess I have to repeat myself again.
All the guitar hero's sounded better when they used Marshall's.
It's a fact that cannot be disputed.

Well, Lynch was using Soldano in '91 , but there's a whole lotta truth in this statement.

Lynch? Didn't he do all his great stuff with the purple Pittman Plexi??
The Hunter......etc.

The Hunter was a Scholz Rockman, as was most of the ULAK album. The purple plexi came into play on BFTA and WS, and then I believe mostly for the solos.

 

[Mr. Willy]

I guess I have to repeat myself again.
All the guitar hero's sounded better when they used Marshall's.
It's a fact that cannot be disputed.

Well, Lynch was using Soldano in '91 , but there's a whole lotta truth in this statement.

Lynch? Didn't he do all his great stuff with the purple Pittman Plexi??
The Hunter......etc.

The Hunter was a Scholz Rockman, as was most of the ULAK album. The purple plexi came into play on BFTA and WS, and then I believe mostly for the solos.

There's a very long thread about Lynch's ULAK tone floating around here.

 

[rupe]

I guess I have to repeat myself again.
All the guitar hero's sounded better when they used Marshall's.
It's a fact that cannot be disputed.

Well, Lynch was using Soldano in '91 , but there's a whole lotta truth in this statement.

Lynch? Didn't he do all his great stuff with the purple Pittman Plexi??
The Hunter......etc.

The Hunter was a Scholz Rockman, as was most of the ULAK album. The purple plexi came into play on BFTA and WS, and then I believe mostly for the solos.

There's a very long thread about Lynch's ULAK tone floating around here.

I believe that's where I learned that it wasn't the purple plexi on that album...I know I thought for years that it was.
This link has been posted before but it's a good one for those interested in Lynch's studio gear:
http://web.archive.org/web/20031219041025/georgelynch.com/rigs/studiorigs/studio.html

 

[paulyc]

It was Marshalls, Laneys, and a Rockman blended in...

 

[Greazygeo]

It was Marshalls, Laneys, and a Rockman blended in...

I would say it's more like Rockman with Marshall and Lainey's mixed in. I don't know how anyone can listen to ULAK and not hear Rockman.....it's very recognizable.

 

[Mr. Willy]

It was Marshalls, Laneys, and a Rockman blended in...

I would say it's more like Rockman with Marshall and Lainey's mixed in. I don't know how anyone can listen to ULAK and not hear Rockman.....it's very recognizable.

Yep. The tones on DL's Hysteria where all Rockman, and they sound very similar to ULAK, to me.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

All the guitar heroes used to use Marshalls? As mentioned Zakk still does so not sure that is the only factor.. in fact, it is kind of silly. I would say a heck of a lot of artists used ADA-MP1 preamps and they sounded pretty awesome too! I'll tell you what i think happened.

1. They stopped boosting. Take a jcm800 or plexi that is just crunchy and add a boost. Tighter and cleaner than preamp fizz.

2. Higher gain amps mean less reliance on pedals which means more fizzzzzzzzzz

3. Players got older and decided to fight the guitar less so they upped the gain by starting with a gained out fizzy amp and adding more pedals which compressed the tone further.

Not everyone sounds like shit. Nuno still has good tone, Demartini does, Vinnie Moore does, Shenker does... some guys just get lost in effects like Zakk did and go crazy on the phaser, vibe,and chorus. Also don't forget that a lot of them lose not their chops, but their phrasing. This can make anything sound crappy really fast.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Funny how every thread comes back to Lynch lol....

His tone is still pretty good when he backs off the phaser and actually turns the preamp UP so he has some sustain.

 

[nevusofota]

I know this is very subjective but I don't think I've ever heard an accomplished rock artist have "poor" tone going into an old Marshall (granted it wasn't over processed). However, I've heard some of those same guitarist use "modern" amps and have poor tone.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I know this is very subjective but I don't think I've ever heard an accomplished rock artist have "poor" tone going into an old Marshall (granted it wasn't over processed). However, I've heard some of those same guitarist use "modern" amps and have poor tone.

Agreed. To my point about preamp fizz vs power section jam and an OD pedal.

 

[maynardo]

Tubes in the early 90s where better?

 

[lespaul6]

I think peavey used a bunch of usa 6l6's in the their amps in the 90's... those phillips? 6l6's were pretty nice.

 

[SFW]

They were younger and still had that fire in their gut. It really is that simple.

 

[lespaul6]

I know this is very subjective but I don't think I've ever heard an accomplished rock artist have "poor" tone going into an old Marshall (granted it wasn't over processed). However, I've heard some of those same guitarist use "modern" amps and have poor tone.

Thats what I have been noticing too... and you get to see just about every major act up there too!! envy your location!

 

[robertkoa]

I am no authority but it seems to me the best ,80,s tones are pretty hard to beat.

Unless its another genre....

 

[nevusofota]

I know this is very subjective but I don't think I've ever heard an accomplished rock artist have "poor" tone going into an old Marshall (granted it wasn't over processed). However, I've heard some of those same guitarist use "modern" amps and have poor tone.

Thats what I have been noticing too... and you get to see just about every major act up there too!! envy your location!

I know, I used to live in south FL. I'm looking forward to the M3 Festival here in MD next month.

 

[lespaul6]

I know this is very subjective but I don't think I've ever heard an accomplished rock artist have "poor" tone going into an old Marshall (granted it wasn't over processed). However, I've heard some of those same guitarist use "modern" amps and have poor tone.

Thats what I have been noticing too... and you get to see just about every major act up there too!! envy your location!

I know, I used to live in south FL. I'm looking forward to the M3 Festival here in MD next month.

 

[C1-ocaster]

Following the Lynch 1991 thread, here is Zakk a JCM 800 2203, boss sd 1, chorus, and a wah= the good old days.... this tone is definitely dead these days as I cant even make out half of what he plays its so uber distorted... what happened

It's the chorus not the gain/distortion.
I've never liked all that chorus so overly used in the 80's early 90's aluminum metal scene.
It's a great effect with clean tones, with distortion note distinction and separation is intentionally washed in favor of the "wash" of the effect.