Flying High Again, Randy Rhoads Isolated Guitar Track, Cool

[King Crimson]

What do you think of this tone?

The tone; it's Okay, not great. Randy Rhoads was really never looked upon as the "tone master". For me he was the quintessential and exemplary heavy metal guitarist for his time.

 

[Chubtone]

Hey Curt, I love the track under this, nice playing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdGabfQm ... el&list=UL

Thanks buddy

 

[jkkkjkhk]

I'll go against the grain of the crowd like normal and say I LOVE Randy's tone.

 

[mentoneman]

And if Randy had Michaels Schenker's tone.....................then perfect.

I loved Michael Schenkers tone, but he was really getting a still vintagey sounding, 70's ish Marshall tone whereas Randy was really the first one getting a very high gain, metal sound. Randy's sound was so modern for the time. I had never heard anyone play with that much gain and it truly did sound so heavy for the time.

And as for George Lynch teaching Randy that descending tapping lick, maybe he did. But George I'm sure picked up the tapping thing from Eddie. All any of them did was just move it around from there. And George did teach at Randy's moms school. Randy asked him to after Randy left to join Ozzy's band. George also turned Randy on to Karl Sandoval and Charvel guitars.

another randy fan checking in-


when i worked at mountain high ski area there was a guy there named dale who supposedly was buddies with traci guns, and the story was he had a v like randy's made by karl sandoval, in the same year/batch, minus the polka dots which were randy's thing.

dale had a chance to buy it and said it played fast and wide and sounded insanely metal and randy like, but didn't have the bread to pony up so missed owning a rare sister guitar to randy's sandoval v. i think he said there was one more v in the "trilogy" as well, out there somewhere.

 

[sjk]

Love Randy, but...That was tough to listen too. Sorry.

My exact thoughts as well. Started playing guitar 3 yrs after he died and he was a huge influence on me early on. I still like to hear these old Ozzy songs occasionally but his playing does nothing for me now, groundbreaking guitar stuff for the times but for my tastes so many greater guitar players have come along since imho.

I think there are very few guitarists that came along after him that wrote better songs, cooler riffs and better constructed and composed solos.

There have been many players with better chops, but very few that combined all three of the above things in one player.

What long list of players are you referring to? Not a challenge, just a legit question trying to see where you are coming from.

I also feel players who started playing three years after he died might not have the full perspective on what sort of impact the guy had because if you started three years after, you probably weren't very good until 5 years after he died at least and by that point, everything Randy did had become a part of the heavy guitar vocabulary.

At the time Randy came out all we did was look at each other, dumbfounded, asking "what was that? how did he do that? Is that even a guitar? What blues box is he in because I can't find those freaking notes in MY blues box? Why can't my Marshall sound like that? How can I get my hair to look like that?" I mean, the whole scene changed from being EVH obsessed to being Randy AND EVH obsessed. And Randy was darker, more metal, meaner, scarier, more sinister and evil sounding and his impact was just freaking huge.

You make excellent points sir and in hindsight to see and read my statement "so many greater guitar players have come along since imho" seems kind of silly and exaggerated on my part regardless of whether that is the case or not which is also subjective. To better make my arguement for my opinion I should probably have used the words great guitar players rather than greater guitar players! But then again opinions like these are subjective and who really is the judge of who is the best or better guitar players...I mean would you break it down into genres or would there just be the best of the best of all musical styles using electric guitar? Or are the guys with more soul better or the guys with more musical theory knowledge and know how the better players...or how about the guys that sold the most albums, or is it the bedroom guitar hero that no one has ever heard of. My point is it is kinda hard to realistically make a list of greatest guitar players that will please everyone. Now to make a list of great players would be easier. What's important is to listen to the guys who move you with their playing and what moves one guy may do nothing for someone else.

 

[zz666]

I love everything about Mr. Rhoads

 

[JackTripper]

Love Randy, but...That was tough to listen too. Sorry.

My exact thoughts as well. Started playing guitar 3 yrs after he died and he was a huge influence on me early on. I still like to hear these old Ozzy songs occasionally but his playing does nothing for me now, groundbreaking guitar stuff for the times but for my tastes so many greater guitar players have come along since imho.

I also feel players who started playing three years after he died might not have the full perspective on what sort of impact the guy had

+1, I started playing 2-3 years before Blizzard, in the late 70s. Coming out of the 70s era and listening to guys like EVH and RR was a huge change in playing and sound in kind. When you heard this stuff it stood out. Pretty much everything after that (and there's been some good stuff) has been a change in degree.

 

[JTyson]

Love it
Its easy for the "his tone is terrible" crowd to come in and second guess him, but in that day, at that time, believe me, nobody was second guessing him... He was THE MAN

 

[carlygtr]

In an era when VH was king Randy came out and defined himself as a different player, and IMO more interesting.
His tone, IMO was a Distortion+ with the MXR 10Band EQ. A fairly radical setting on the EQ at that. Any further studio manipulating really wasn't needed as the same tone live was huge.

 

[Chris6870]

Love Randy, but...That was tough to listen too. Sorry.

It's tough to listen to because those two albums were iconic to me growing up and learning guitar. They sounded huge to me on a cassette player when I was 14. Now when you isolate the track it reduces it to what sounds like nothing more than a scratch track on a Fostex 4 track. But that's not Randy's fault. On the other hand that link to the King Biscuit show has some great tones. I would like to believe that WAS Randy's tone before the studio "magic" was applied.

 

[squank]

Love it
Its easy for the "his tone is terrible" crowd to come in and second guess him, but in that day, at that time, believe me, nobody was second guessing him... He was THE MAN

This is so true...

When Blizzard of Ozz came out, we were in awe of Randy's playing AND his tone. The hate for his tone that has surfaced in the past 10 years simply didn't exist back in the day.

 

[rupe]

Love it
Its easy for the "his tone is terrible" crowd to come in and second guess him, but in that day, at that time, believe me, nobody was second guessing him... He was THE MAN

This is so true...

When Blizzard of Ozz came out, we were in awe of Randy's playing AND his tone. The hate for his tone that has surfaced in the past 10 years simply didn't exist back in the day.

Agreed. I remember when Blizzard came out very well...myself and every other guitarist I knew where absolutely amazed by the guitar tones. Nobody had ever heard anything so mean and evil sounding...it truly was groundbreaking for the time. That tone may not have stood the test of time for many, but it was highly admired and respected back in the early 80's.

As for the LA guitarist scene, Kelly Garni has stated that Randy first picked up tapping from Lynch, not Eddie, and that he considered Lynch to be his biggest "competition" on the scene.

 

[Matt7]

AWESOME!

 

[Anonymous]

I think there are very few guitarists that came along after him that wrote better songs, cooler riffs and better constructed and composed solos.

There have been many players with better chops, but very few that combined all three of the above things in one player.

What long list of players are you referring to? Not a challenge, just a legit question trying to see where you are coming from.

I also feel players who started playing three years after he died might not have the full perspective on what sort of impact the guy had because if you started three years after, you probably weren't very good until 5 years after he died at least and by that point, everything Randy did had become a part of the heavy guitar vocabulary.

At the time Randy came out all we did was look at each other, dumbfounded, asking "what was that? how did he do that? Is that even a guitar? What blues box is he in because I can't find those freaking notes in MY blues box? Why can't my Marshall sound like that? How can I get my hair to look like that?" I mean, the whole scene changed from being EVH obsessed to being Randy AND EVH obsessed. And Randy was darker, more metal, meaner, scarier, more sinister and evil sounding and his impact was just freaking huge.

couldnt' have said it better...i started playing in 87...got tribute around 89...and was like WTF is THIS fuckin dude doing....and was just obsessed for a year or two. like everyone, eventually, i moved on...but i have to say, almost just having started out, and then hearing tribue...it just kicked me in the ass to get in high gear with my playing, or at least try to....and it was a solid foundation to start from, even though i still suck!

 

[Greazygeo]

I would like to believe that WAS Randy's tone before the studio "magic" was applied.

I did get to see him live in '82. Gen admission seats so I got all the way down front and got the sound right off the stage. His tone was killer and the playing was mind blowing. I'd been playing guitar for almost two years by then.

I can remember standing in a record store looking at the back cover of Blizzard. Didn't even know who Ozzy was, but looking at that picture I thought to myself, this might be good. Popped it on the record player and when I Don't Know started....man was that cool!

 

[Badronald]

I think it sounds cool!

 

[Chubtone]

Love it
Its easy for the "his tone is terrible" crowd to come in and second guess him, but in that day, at that time, believe me, nobody was second guessing him... He was THE MAN

This is so true...

When Blizzard of Ozz came out, we were in awe of Randy's playing AND his tone. The hate for his tone that has surfaced in the past 10 years simply didn't exist back in the day.

Exactly. And it kind of floors me because at that time, we were all going nuts trying to get a sound like that. When I saw him live, it was life changing and it still continues to this day. He is by far the biggest influence I have ever had.

I know I have told this story before, but when I moved to LA in 1985, I heard about a gathering that took place at Randy's gravesite every year. A year or so later, I went with a friend. Randy's mom and sister were there and let me tell you, I was absolutely knocked out in love with Randy's sister. She was this young, tiny, female version of Randy. She looked just like him but with boobs! There is still some therapy needed to delve into what exactly was going through my mind that day. Maybe I was TOO MUCH of a Randy fan. I mean, has anyone else ever fallen in love with a girl because she looked just like her brother?

 

[JTyson]

Love it
Its easy for the "his tone is terrible" crowd to come in and second guess him, but in that day, at that time, believe me, nobody was second guessing him... He was THE MAN

This is so true...

When Blizzard of Ozz came out, we were in awe of Randy's playing AND his tone. The hate for his tone that has surfaced in the past 10 years simply didn't exist back in the day.

Exactly. And it kind of floors me because at that time, we were all going nuts trying to get a sound like that. When I saw him live, it was life changing and it still continues to this day. He is by far the biggest influence I have ever had.

I know I have told this story before, but when I moved to LA in 1985, I heard about a gathering that took place at Randy's gravesite every year. A year or so later, I went with a friend. Randy's mom and sister were there and let me tell you, I was absolutely knocked out in love with Randy's sister. She was this young, tiny, female version of Randy. She looked just like him but with boobs! There is still some therapy needed to delve into what exactly was going through my mind that day. Maybe I was TOO MUCH of a Randy fan. I mean, has anyone else ever fallen in love with a girl because she looked just like her brother?

I've heard about her, the exact thing you said actually (Randy with boobs) I never saw her, but that would be a fatal mind twist for most manly men At least you were willing to discuss it
Funny the things that come up eons later out of the blue
A good friend of mine knows his mom very well, she's a sweet lady from what he tells me

 

[the crush 36]

great posts randy was my favorite guitar player to when i heard crazy train i thought it sounded so cool i started playing in 86 or 87 i have played in a lot of bands origional and cover bands some of our music was used on tv shows over the years like for mtv road rules discovery channel ect. but now i play in a ozzy tribute band and do all randys tunes its so much fun i love it the band is called sins of a madman our singer looks just like young ozzy check out our facebook thanks really liked reading the posts about randy

 

[MississippiMetal]

Exactly. And it kind of floors me because at that time, we were all going nuts trying to get a sound like that. When I saw him live, it was life changing and it still continues to this day. He is by far the biggest influence I have ever had.

Yeah, it's easy for people to sit up and shrug their shoulders at his tone while their 2 year old, 5-gain-stage, diode-clipping, dual Master volume, 8 effects loops high-gain monster sits in the next room. Like you said earlier in the thread, amps didn't always have the levels of gain they have today and there are those who are too young to remember that, and then there are those who seem to have forgotten. Randy got that level of distortion and sustain through a NMV amp with medium output pickups and a distortion box. He did what he could with what he had, and what he did was monumental. I saw a sig line from another forum (TGP, I think, which makes sense) that said "It's ALL ABOUT TONE!!" And I facepalmed hard enough to see stars. What a load of shit. The SONG has always been, and will always be, king. Not tone.