Funny how many of us are chasing classic marshall tones.....

[steve_k]

i've been listening a TON to hairnation on sirius... sometimes just for the autopilot-ness that i can put myself on and daydream back 24 years ago, but a lot of times, i REALLY listen to the guitar tones and timbres and sounds for what seems like the first time ever to a lot of these songs.

i'm always honestly, nearly amazed at how many DIFFERENT but GREAT guitar sounds there were coming from even...hell...even vixen...junkyard....dare i say....poison?

there were a lot of good tones put to tape during that time...i'd love to have been a fly on the wall taking notes during a lot of those sessions. and i wish i knew even 10 years ago what i know now about guitar tones...funny...i been playing for near 23 years, and only about the last few years i REALLY started being meticulous about my tone, and paying attn to other guitar tone....obviously, one of the reasons im here...i like educating myself on a given subject that im interested in, and a lot of good tones have been unveiled by guys are on this site. i admire that.

....and, you know the sad (or cool) part about it is that back in the "hair days", most of those guys didn't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of. they played through whatever a friend had, whatever the little broken down studio had, or what a producer could rent for them. there's was no flipping, modding, tone chasing - just a cool looking marshall head and a 412 cab that had been through the ringer. plug in and go!

steve

Yeah but once they had money the chase started.

Warren and Robin's room of marshall 100 watters is legendary, an entire small room of plexis they would pick through to find the best ones.

But yeah, there is also the acoustic Lynch used for the intro of Into the Fire where he found this beat guitar against the wall and used it. Listen to the song, you can hear the fret buzz

True dat........once the can of worms was opened - it was on then!

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Brad Gillis and tone in the same sentence? Not on the speak of the devil album that's for sure.... just one guy's opinion. I can't stand his whammy masturbation. He was way better in the Night Ranger stuff. That was a good fit for him.

Ted Nugent?... i always felt like i was waiting for him to REALLY play. Like Santana, he doesn't do much for me and his tone was lacking. Travers could rock! Blackmore had some great Marshall tones and let's not forget Hendrix!

 

[Greazygeo]

Yeah but once they had money the chase started.

Warren and Robin's room of marshall 100 watters is legendary, an entire small room of plexis they would pick through to find the best ones.

But yeah, there is also the acoustic Lynch used for the intro of Into the Fire where he found this beat guitar against the wall and used it. Listen to the song, you can hear the fret buzz

Yeah but back then a plexi could be had for $300.00 too.

i think all the drugs back then made most of those guys think the Mesa kazoo amps sounded good.

 

[robertkoa]

How much of "Good Tone" came from the production and studio personel as oppossed to the actual gear used?

Well with today's gear I think it's much easier to get top notch tones.

We have much better amps and amp modders that don't cost a fortune, and we have Cab Impulses that enable a pretty darn good Marshall type tone out of a good MP1 even.

Funny - I wanted a cheap way to get some good tube tones for Fusion - and guys on Forums told me a good MP1 would be good for low to medium gain stuff- and when I got it and with Cab Impulses - I realized there WERE some Marshall Tones under my fingers and it was COOL- cause they work for fusion with the gain a little lower in a Gilmour/Hendrix,Cream kinda way .......and I didn't need the tremendous volumes Marshalls need to sound good......

But I don't think Foreigner, for example, would have sounded the same without Marshalls, though I'm sure they would have found something that sounded good and recorded it and played it great.

When I rarely hear 80s Rock bands ( on TV, Radio, Films ) - I,m often knocked out by the tones.And the solos.

 

[War Admiral]

Yeah but once they had money the chase started.

Warren and Robin's room of marshall 100 watters is legendary, an entire small room of plexis they would pick through to find the best ones.

But yeah, there is also the acoustic Lynch used for the intro of Into the Fire where he found this beat guitar against the wall and used it. Listen to the song, you can hear the fret buzz

Yeah but back then a plexi could be had for $300.00 too.

i think all the drugs back then made most of those guys think the Mesa kazoo amps sounded good.

Mesa Kazoo!!!!!

 

[philb]

Brad Gillis had some great metal tone, all Boogie. Listen to that and it's from 1982. Mesa was well ahead of the game for high gain.

Yup, great tone there. One of my fave live tone.

 

[philb]

Yeah but once they had money the chase started.

Warren and Robin's room of marshall 100 watters is legendary, an entire small room of plexis they would pick through to find the best ones.

But yeah, there is also the acoustic Lynch used for the intro of Into the Fire where he found this beat guitar against the wall and used it. Listen to the song, you can hear the fret buzz

Yeah but back then a plexi could be had for $300.00 too.

i think all the drugs back then made most of those guys think the Mesa kazoo amps sounded good.

LOL! kazoo

 

[Digital Jams]

Yeah but once they had money the chase started.

Warren and Robin's room of marshall 100 watters is legendary, an entire small room of plexis they would pick through to find the best ones.

But yeah, there is also the acoustic Lynch used for the intro of Into the Fire where he found this beat guitar against the wall and used it. Listen to the song, you can hear the fret buzz

Yeah but back then a plexi could be had for $300.00 too.

i think all the drugs back then made most of those guys think the Mesa kazoo amps sounded good.

Speaking of kazoo noises...




How is the Chevelle doing?

 

[Meathead]

I used to not like Mesa (too compressed, not enough bark and bite) but I'm seeing how they have their place now.
If Eddie played a Mesa it would have been so wrong sounding, but I have a Night Ranger soundboard bootleg that I listen to all the time and I love Gillis' tone. The lead tone is killer, really singing tone, but for rhythm there is no better than a Marshall.

 

[marvcus]

The funniest part though is most people are chasing classic Marshall tone with every amp except a classic Marshall.

That's why I bought a Plexi. Straight to the source.

 

[Greazygeo]

Speaking of kazoo noises...




How is the Chevelle doing?

Taking every dime I throw at it!

It's fun to drive though, wish it had some AC!!

 

[thegame]

i think all the drugs back then made most of those guys think the Mesa kazoo amps sounded good.

Unlike Randy's Blizzard of Oz Kazoo ? At least Brad's Speak of the Devil tone sounds like a boutique kazoo

BTW Have you downloaded the guitar isolation tracks for Diary of a Madman ? That tone I like. So many layers in the rhythm tracks that are hard to notice in the full mix.

 

[mentoneman]

gillis live tone with bliz was every bit as good as lynch/ulak live, but geo brought more as a player of metal in that era. and yngwie dominated the field as a player and his simple strat/marshall tone was so great. how did he do that?

sykes = chain hitting the concrete modded marshall chirp with mesa low end thunder and rack imaging.

 

[glassjaw7]

I like the Marshall tone but only to some extent. There are many elements of that sonic gain structure that can and have been improved over years by the mod squad and even by production amps. It's a great starting point but I feel there's a reason that so many guitarists sought out modders over the past 30 years, and why builders have spent many hours trying to build a better mousetrap.

Funny when I look up the amps used to record the majority of my favorite albums, I usually find that it was a SLO, Mark, Bogner of some kind, or a modded Marshall. The stock Marshall circuits to me are just great, pure tone, but can be limiting and impractical for the 'real world'. Besides, many guys who think they are chasing true Marshall tone are possibly chasing an idealized version of it. Just my opinion.

 

[Greazygeo]

i think all the drugs back then made most of those guys think the Mesa kazoo amps sounded good.

Unlike Randy's Blizzard of Oz Kazoo ? At least Brad's Speak of the Devil tone sounds like a boutique kazoo

BTW Have you downloaded the guitar isolation tracks for Diary of a Madman ? That tone I like. So many layers in the rhythm tracks that are hard to notice in the full mix.

No I have not, where did you find them?

A friend of mine got the new released Blizzard with the extras and Diary with the different live show. I've been listening to them until I can get the new box set. At first I didnt think there was any difference, but after listening to it in the car a few times it id pretty cool. They cleaned up the mixes so you can hear alot more of the layers. Really cool. The live Steal Away has some killer playing in it! He really stretches out on it. Its funny you can hear how he almost loses control of his amp many times in the show. Neat hearing a different take on the Tribute set.

 

[Gainfreak]

i think all the drugs back then made most of those guys think the Mesa kazoo amps sounded good.

Unlike Randy's Blizzard of Oz Kazoo ? At least Brad's Speak of the Devil tone sounds like a boutique kazoo

BTW Have you downloaded the guitar isolation tracks for Diary of a Madman ? That tone I like. So many layers in the rhythm tracks that are hard to notice in the full mix.

No I have not, where did you find them?

A friend of mine got the new released Blizzard with the extras and Diary with the different live show. I've been listening to them until I can get the new box set. At first I didnt think there was any difference, but after listening to it in the car a few times it id pretty cool. They cleaned up the mixes so you can hear alot more of the layers. Really cool. The live Steal Away has some killer playing in it! He really stretches out on it. Its funny you can hear how he almost loses control of his amp many times in the show. Neat hearing a different take on the Tribute set.

Diary Of A Madman: http://www.mediafire.com/?4c8essl1937vu8n

Flying High Again: http://www.mediafire.com/?at28s6bbe7y4qec

I Don't Know: http://www.mediafire.com/?l2lbajuji7yr6lj

Mr. Crowley: http://www.mediafire.com/?ft0e68dc533yin0

Over The Mountain: http://www.mediafire.com/?ljmdgk3i2f82pru

Steal Away (The Night http://www.mediafire.com/?d4wdsxb953f1uoa

 

[thegame]

i think all the drugs back then made most of those guys think the Mesa kazoo amps sounded good.

Unlike Randy's Blizzard of Oz Kazoo ? At least Brad's Speak of the Devil tone sounds like a boutique kazoo

BTW Have you downloaded the guitar isolation tracks for Diary of a Madman ? That tone I like. So many layers in the rhythm tracks that are hard to notice in the full mix.

No I have not, where did you find them?

A friend of mine got the new released Blizzard with the extras and Diary with the different live show. I've been listening to them until I can get the new box set. At first I didnt think there was any difference, but after listening to it in the car a few times it id pretty cool. They cleaned up the mixes so you can hear alot more of the layers. Really cool. The live Steal Away has some killer playing in it! He really stretches out on it. Its funny you can hear how he almost loses control of his amp many times in the show. Neat hearing a different take on the Tribute set.

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/sho ... ndy+rhoads

You're welcome

 

[Rogue]

The funniest part though is most people are chasing classic Marshall tone with every amp except a classic Marshall.

This is kind of what I was thinking, but more along the lines of "who around here is chasing classic marshall tones?" The popular amps around here are NOT classic marshall tones.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Those Randy clips are AWESOME!! So amazing to hear what these guys were playing without all the other conflicting parts coming from other instruments. You can really hear his double tracking on the left and right speakers. Wicked. I also find these isolation tracks helpful in learning how to record and pan guitars. Anyone else notice how for recording they all seem to use LESS gain? That's the secret. Even the solos don't seem as gainy but you do def notice the noise threshold go up in the solos.Wicked stuff. What a fantastic player he was. Thanks for posting those.

PS - that buzzsaw gain really works for Randy.. you can hear that MXR in the diary stuff big time.

 

[steve_k]

the ultimate in chasing that Marshall tone.........