Sykes tone and vibrato still set the bar for me

[yngzaklynch]

Still after all these years this guy still is one of the very best in rock IMO. Thanks Dan Gower for reminding me with your vid.


Here is some mid 80s Sykes

 

[SDMF38]

I agree 100%. Still one of my top 5's.

 

[daver101]

Best live tone I've ever heard: Sykes with Thin Lizzy on the One Night Live tour.....

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

He's a bitchin player alright.... I've been saying that about vibrato for years. You don't hear enough of it among newer players. There is this tendency to learn speed before vibrato it seems. A good player however, can make 4 notes sound better than 120. Sykes is hungry here.. aggressive yet expressive. Killer player. Was he a super distortion user in those les pauls? Couldn't have been using modded Marshalls in the early days could he?

 

[chrisrocksusa]

that light is giving me a seizure

 

[SDMF38]

As far as Sykes pickup in the bridge he used a dirty fingers for a very long time until it finally went out.
He then switched to the burst bucker from what I've heard and read.
On the One Night love tour he was using a JCM 800 that had to have been modded, he was plugged straight into it as well.

 

[Wayniac3]

He was a huge influence on my vibrato for chords/riffing, and when doing that slow,fat neck solo tone. The rest of the time (faster runs then hold a note out) , I stole from Moore and Lynch ! ;o)

 

[Jer]

Mmmm, 80's goodness!

 

[Johnny LaRue]

Saw Sykes, with Whitesnake, open for, get this, Quiet Riot(this was during their heyday), needless to say he was a tough act to follow.

 

[Badronald]

Wonder if he can still play?

 

[1meanplexi]

He is so good at the pentatonic stuff that when he starts tapping is just does not seem right.

 

[university81]

solo in this i think does it for me @ around 2:28 , seriously taastty , viiibrraaattooo :

 

[yngzaklynch]

solo in this i think does it for me @ around 2:28 , seriously taastty , viiibrraaattooo :

Yeah album is fantastic. Love Nuclear Cowboy also

 

[Purpleibby]

Hard to express how much Sykes has influenced/inspired me as a player...The man has it all...the tone, chops, vibrato, feel, riffs/songs...not to mention the voice.....I feel he's very under-appreciated and Blue Murder should have been huge, those albums were mastepieces. To this day 87 is a benchmark tone for me....and no one coverdale has had since has been able to channel sykes on those tunes....not one of them ever got the Still Of The Night solo right...Don't get me wrong, Doug is f'n awesome.

 

[Racerxrated]

Wonder if he can still play?

That "Bad Boy Live" recording from a few years ago shreds...yes he can still play. Also probably the best Modded Marshall tone I've heard..I guess he's got a few "real" Jose Arredondo JCMs...

 

[the aXeman]

Top 5 for me by far. His tone on the "Live in 95" video is just ungodly. He just has that over the top aggressive picking attack that is just "BAM!!!!!!!", in your face. He's one guy that when he plays even ONE note, you listen. \m/\m/