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Pedal advice for classic rock / Slash tone.......

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(@nottheguy)
Estimable Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 164
Topic starter  

Guys - I recently bought a Hughes and Kettner 20th Anniversary tube amp - I've been using my Boss GT6 through the effects loop, but have never been happy with the tone.

http://www.hughes-and-kettner.com/products.php?mode=prod&id=93

I'm thinking about forgetting about the BOSS GT-6 and getting some individual pedals. My question is what I should start with? I have about $500 to spend.....I was thinking:

1. An Ibanez tube screamer
2. A Delay pedal
3. A Compressor - for the Slash sustain.....

I want a nice meaty 'Slash' like sound, but also play some classic rock - Def Leppard, Bad Co, Judas Priest.

What do you guys recommend?

Its a great thing when you realize you still have the ability to surprise yourself.


   
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(@alangreen)
Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 5342
 

To get Slash's sound, plug a Les Paul into a Marshall JCM800 (medium distortion valve amp), use the bridge pickup, gain on 8, bass on 5, mid on 8 and treble on 9. No reverb. Thanks to this month's Total Guitar magazine for that one, although the pic with the article shows him playing his BCRich mockingbird (from the You Will Be Mine vid). You'll also need a shaggy perm, a top hat and need to get your nose pierced - no amount of having the same kit is going to make you come across like the great man without a severe injection of attitude, Marlboro fags and Guinness - he likes Guinness apparently.

Sooooo, you'll need to scale down the exact spec on the amp, cos that'll cost you all your budget in one hit, but you'll notice there's nothing between axe and amp except a cable.

I saw Velvet Revolver in London last week - it's a seriously good show, well recommended. Covers of Psycho Killer and some little ditty called "Wish you were here" went down a storm.

Hughes & Kettner make excellent kit - Alex Lifeson from Rush plays through H&K and most people round here will tell you that as far as I'm concerned Alex is Exhibit A in the debate over the existence of the Supreme Being. You probably don't need the GT6 in the chain for it to sound good if you're plugging in to H&K.

Best,

A :-)

"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk


   
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(@wes-inman)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5582
 

I recommend the Marshall Guv'nor Plus pedal. It's supposed to be the tone of a JCM800 (Slash's amp) in a stomp box. It may not sound exactly like a cranked JCM800, but it's so close only a tone snob could tell the difference. This pedal will get you everything from ZZ Top at low gain settings, to AC/DC at about 1/2, and tones like Slash at higher settings. I own this pedal and really love it. This is THE pedal if you really love the sound of classic Marshall amps, the great tones you have been hearing in Rock recordings from the 70's up to today. It is not a Heavy Metal pedal or a Grunge pedal. But it will get you Slash's overdrive for sure, Judas Priest too.

Marshall Guv'nor Plus GV-2

If you like the sound of a cranked Marshall amp, you will love this pedal. :twisted:

If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis


   
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(@wes-inman)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5582
 

You could spend 20 grand on gear and you will never sound exactly like Slash. :(

But you can get the essence of his tone. And Slash's tone is the classic Les Paul guitar through a Marshall amp, this tone was super famous and used by everybody in the 70's especially. It is hard to beat. :twisted:

Slash does one thing quite differently though. Most Marshall cabs are loaded with Celestion G12T-75 speakers, this is the speaker Marshall uses in their famous 1960 series cabs. Slash substitutes Celestion Vintage 30s in his cabs. While the G12T-75 emphasizes the lows and highs while attenuating the mids (classic scooped mids tone), the Vintage 30 has big mids with slightly attenuated lows and highs. It is a very "smooth' sounding speaker, never super bassy or harsh on the other end. This is a big part of Slash's tone. And his Wah is part of the tone also. :D

If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis


   
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(@wylesmyde)
Estimable Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 103
 

I once had a Crybaby Wah that I played engaged, but backed off a little less than half way. It was an awesome affect even when I wasn't rockin' the pedal. It created a grind that worked well for what's now called classic rock ;-) Too bad I loned it out and lost track of it :x


   
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