Your Recipies for '80's/'90's Over Processed Guitar Tone

Paul in Colorado · June 25th, 2009, 02:41 PM

Just for fun I was trying to dial in the overprocessed guitar tone that was used on recordings from the '80's and '90's. Not shred tones, but more generic "rock lead guitar tone." Yes (without Steve Howe) Toto and Journey come to mind as examples, but there were lots more, especially coming out of studios in LA. It's very smooth with a lot of distortion, compression and delay.

Last week I was experimenting and used this gear:
Strat with EMG's
Carl Martin and MXR Comps used in series
Tube Screamer and Direct Drive used in various combinations or a JD-10
Boss Chorus
Volume Pedal
Boss DD-2 Delay
Ibanez DM 2000 Rack delay
Mesa Boogie Studio .22+ Amp

I got pretty close to my tone goals, but it still seemed a little too raw. Any thoughts or suggestions?

e-merlin · June 25th, 2009, 02:58 PM

HSS Superstrat + Peavey TubeFex + Peavey Classic 60/60 + your favorite stereo 412 cab.

DMace · June 26th, 2009, 08:03 PM

Rat

IggyT · June 26th, 2009, 08:12 PM

Les paul...distortion pedal....Chorus...slight delay...Marshall overdriven....

Capel · June 26th, 2009, 09:12 PM

Eventide Harmonizer!

Paul in Colorado · June 27th, 2009, 12:56 AM

Any specific settings?

Ivan · June 27th, 2009, 06:34 AM

dripping wet reverb + gain!

SabuJSE · June 27th, 2009, 11:54 AM

I still like a good chorus pedal. Guess that makes me a heathen.

mojoming · June 27th, 2009, 03:43 PM

The No. 1 thing that comes to mind? Rockman

That box was over used on everything. Hit records, TV and radio commercials. the definitive L.A. session guitar tone. It was everywhere. Instantly recognizable sound of the 80's early 90's as soon as you plug it in.

http://www.rockman.fr/Reviews/Rockman.htm

spankdplank · June 27th, 2009, 09:52 PM

compressor+overdrive+chorus (speed at lowest)+delay. Mix to taste. Of course, a Rockman man will get the same sound in one unit.

JohnnyCrash · June 27th, 2009, 10:00 PM

Master Volume JMP Marshalls (the ones from '76 and after), a Les Paul ('70s-ish, if possible), and a TON of misadvised compression (likely in post, not before the board). Man, I dig Thin Lizzy and Queen's Brian May's (though a Vox and a Rangemaster was his recipe) smashed/compressed guitar tones!

'80s Metal? '90s Grunge, Blues rock, or Alternative (GnR, Black Crows, Soundgarden, etc)? A Marshall JCM800... perhaps a few whacky vintage fuzzes, maybe an obscure overdrive, some illegal substances, and a producer for SubPop with a giant ego that could crush a steamroller.

Del Pickup · June 27th, 2009, 10:25 PM

You only need to find yourself a Boss GT6 multi effects box and you'd find all the tones you're looking for in there!!

One of the guitarists in my band has one and it took him a year or so of me pestering him to reduce the gain and compression settings to get more vintage tones. He initially sounded too much like Gary Moore for my liking!

Jakedog · June 29th, 2009, 07:22 PM

I still like to dial up that huge arena rock guitar god lead tone sometimes.

My recipe-

Humbuckers.

BIG frets on a flat board. It'll change the way you play, enabling a much lighter touch, and technique is a big part of nailing that tone. It also makes the big giant smooth vibrato thing a breeze.

Then, we get to pedals-

Comp. ==> TS style OD of some kind ==> Second TS style OD of some kind ==> touch of chorus is you choose. Though I am more apt to apply chorus on clean style tones, it goes a long way toward getting into Ozzy territory from the early days, and other stuff like that ==> Delay (digital delay, you don't want the repeats distorting as there volume decays)

Then-

Overdriven Marshall, either a JMP or an 800. My Artist 3203 will also do a bang up job on this stuff. And you pretty much have to have a closed back cab.

It's a ton of fun to do that stuff.

Sidenote- For some excellent examples of totally incredible sounds that would be called "terrible" tones by today's standards, check out Ted Nugent's lead work on the Damn Yankees stuff, or anything recorded by Tesla. Frankie Hannon will make your hair stand up.

Then there is the all important Osbourne album "Bark at the Moon", which may very well be the most overprocessed, digital guitar sound of all time, but with Jake E. Lee at the wheel, it's just plain awesome.

castpolymer · June 30th, 2009, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyCrash

Master Volume JMP Marshalls (the ones from '76 and after), a Les Paul ('70s-ish, if possible), and a TON of misadvised compression (likely in post, not before the board). Man, I dig Thin Lizzy and Queen's Brian May's (though a Vox and a Rangemaster was his recipe) smashed/compressed guitar tones!

'80s Metal? '90s Grunge, Blues rock, or Alternative (GnR, Black Crows, Soundgarden, etc)? A Marshall JCM800... perhaps a few whacky vintage fuzzes, maybe an obscure overdrive, some illegal substances, and a producer for SubPop with a giant ego that could crush a steamroller.

This post is why Johnny is the man. Funny stuff!

Paul in Colorado · June 30th, 2009, 04:31 PM

I was thinking more of David Foster produced LA pop recordings then metal, but I guess everyone had racks of gear on stage. I guess I'll have to move forward on my Floyd Rose Super Strat project guitar. ;-)

chisa · June 30th, 2009, 05:10 PM

ce3, rackmount pre amp, touch of digital delay, big hair.

June 25th, 2009, 02:41 PM	#1 (permalink)
Paul in Colorado Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Fort Collins, CO Age: 56 Posts: 5,113 3 Photos	Your Recipies for '80's/'90's Over Processed Guitar Tone Just for fun I was trying to dial in the overprocessed guitar tone that was used on recordings from the '80's and '90's. Not shred tones, but more generic "rock lead guitar tone." Yes (without Steve Howe) Toto and Journey come to mind as examples, but there were lots more, especially coming out of studios in LA. It's very smooth with a lot of distortion, compression and delay. Last week I was experimenting and used this gear: Strat with EMG's Carl Martin and MXR Comps used in series Tube Screamer and Direct Drive used in various combinations or a JD-10 Boss Chorus Volume Pedal Boss DD-2 Delay Ibanez DM 2000 Rack delay Mesa Boogie Studio .22+ Amp I got pretty close to my tone goals, but it still seemed a little too raw. Any thoughts or suggestions? __________________ www.tuatha.net "There are only two kinds of music. Fast and slow."

June 26th, 2009, 08:12 PM	#4 (permalink)
IggyT Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: toronto Age: 50 Posts: 591 12 Photos	Les paul...distortion pedal....Chorus...slight delay...Marshall overdriven.... __________________ I must have had music lessons...." Reverend Jim from Taxi

June 26th, 2009, 09:12 PM	#5 (permalink)
Capel Tele-Meister Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Capel, West Oz Age: 41 Posts: 472	Eventide Harmonizer! __________________ www.thednashow.com www.delayedreactionbunbury.com

June 27th, 2009, 12:56 AM	#6 (permalink)
Paul in Colorado Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Fort Collins, CO Age: 56 Posts: 5,113 3 Photos	Any specific settings? __________________ www.tuatha.net "There are only two kinds of music. Fast and slow."

June 27th, 2009, 06:34 AM	#7 (permalink)
Ivan Tele-Holic Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 562 2 Photos	dripping wet reverb + gain! __________________ Ivan

June 26th, 2009, 08:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
DMace Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 2,933	Rat

June 27th, 2009, 11:54 AM	#8 (permalink)
SabuJSE Tele-Meister Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Massachusetts Age: 43 Posts: 375	I still like a good chorus pedal. Guess that makes me a heathen. __________________ Fender 2007 Custom Shop Custom Classic Telecaster \| Gibson 2004 Les Paul Standard Gibson 2005 SG Std / Fender 2004 AmDlx Ash Strat \| Mesa '05 Lonestar Special Gibson 2006 CJ-165 Maple \| Martin 2004 DC Aura "Playing is not practice. Practice is taking something you can't do, and trying it until you can." - Ben Harper

June 27th, 2009, 03:43 PM	#9 (permalink)
mojoming Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: United States Posts: 176	The No. 1 thing that comes to mind? Rockman That box was over used on everything. Hit records, TV and radio commercials. the definitive L.A. session guitar tone. It was everywhere. Instantly recognizable sound of the 80's early 90's as soon as you plug it in. http://www.rockman.fr/Reviews/Rockman.htm

June 27th, 2009, 09:52 PM	#10 (permalink)
spankdplank Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Houston, Tx. Posts: 1,022 28 Photos	compressor+overdrive+chorus (speed at lowest)+delay. Mix to taste. Of course, a Rockman man will get the same sound in one unit.

June 27th, 2009, 10:00 PM	#11 (permalink)
JohnnyCrash Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Fullerton, CA Posts: 8,709	Master Volume JMP Marshalls (the ones from '76 and after), a Les Paul ('70s-ish, if possible), and a TON of misadvised compression (likely in post, not before the board). Man, I dig Thin Lizzy and Queen's Brian May's (though a Vox and a Rangemaster was his recipe) smashed/compressed guitar tones! '80s Metal? '90s Grunge, Blues rock, or Alternative (GnR, Black Crows, Soundgarden, etc)? A Marshall JCM800... perhaps a few whacky vintage fuzzes, maybe an obscure overdrive, some illegal substances, and a producer for SubPop with a giant ego that could crush a steamroller. __________________ -- I constantly have to remind myself I'm a grownup and it's just the internet.

June 27th, 2009, 10:25 PM	#12 (permalink)
Del Pickup Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: New Zealand Posts: 1,532 6 Photos	You only need to find yourself a Boss GT6 multi effects box and you'd find all the tones you're looking for in there!! One of the guitarists in my band has one and it took him a year or so of me pestering him to reduce the gain and compression settings to get more vintage tones. He initially sounded too much like Gary Moore for my liking! __________________ Someone told me that my tone is in my underpants. I'm not sure if that's good or bad......

June 29th, 2009, 07:22 PM	#13 (permalink)
Jakedog Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Cleveland,OH But my heart's still in TX Posts: 4,496	I still like to dial up that huge arena rock guitar god lead tone sometimes. My recipe- Humbuckers. BIG frets on a flat board. It'll change the way you play, enabling a much lighter touch, and technique is a big part of nailing that tone. It also makes the big giant smooth vibrato thing a breeze. Then, we get to pedals- Comp. ==> TS style OD of some kind ==> Second TS style OD of some kind ==> touch of chorus is you choose. Though I am more apt to apply chorus on clean style tones, it goes a long way toward getting into Ozzy territory from the early days, and other stuff like that ==> Delay (digital delay, you don't want the repeats distorting as there volume decays) Then- Overdriven Marshall, either a JMP or an 800. My Artist 3203 will also do a bang up job on this stuff. And you pretty much have to have a closed back cab. It's a ton of fun to do that stuff. Sidenote- For some excellent examples of totally incredible sounds that would be called "terrible" tones by today's standards, check out Ted Nugent's lead work on the Damn Yankees stuff, or anything recorded by Tesla. Frankie Hannon will make your hair stand up. Then there is the all important Osbourne album "Bark at the Moon", which may very well be the most overprocessed, digital guitar sound of all time, but with Jake E. Lee at the wheel, it's just plain awesome. __________________ It's not that I lack focus, it's just that I'm musically schizophrenic...

June 30th, 2009, 04:31 PM	#15 (permalink)
Paul in Colorado Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Fort Collins, CO Age: 56 Posts: 5,113 3 Photos	I was thinking more of David Foster produced LA pop recordings then metal, but I guess everyone had racks of gear on stage. I guess I'll have to move forward on my Floyd Rose Super Strat project guitar. ;-) __________________ www.tuatha.net "There are only two kinds of music. Fast and slow."

June 30th, 2009, 05:10 PM	#16 (permalink)
chisa Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: england Posts: 126 24 Photos	ce3, rackmount pre amp, touch of digital delay, big hair. __________________ some tunes Pedal Demos

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