80s Hard Rock/glam Metal Tone

[LLL]

Re: 80s Hard Rock/glam Metal Tone

My opinion on 80s hard rock bands sounding mostly the same?

Gear-wise I can definitely say there was a lot of similarities... back then it wasn't like today with
50 billion different distortion stomps (to say nothing of the other stomp categories). They were
limited with their gear options (I know - I played in the 80s).

However (and here it is again), these guitarists' (Lynch, DeMartini, Campbell etc) own unique style of playing coupled with some variances in gear
and most importantly, the studio guys doing their thing - put their own signatures on the tones.

So, one could say in a very very generalized way, "their tones are similar" as far as being hi-gain, hot-humbucker Marshallesque, but that's where
the similarities end.

[LLL]

Re: 80s Hard Rock/glam Metal Tone

See? One line could have solved an entire Dio thread.

Sure, if you wanted a very generic boosted Marshall tone... and for some, "generic tone" is good enough.

But studio tweaking takes "generic tone" and makes it specific... for those who are serious.

[Demanic]

Re: 80s Hard Rock/glam Metal Tone

Three posts in a row?
I didn't know that there was a character limit when posting on the Forum.
Not that I haven't ever done the same, under extreme circumstances, of course.

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[Sirion]

Re: 80s Hard Rock/glam Metal Tone

To be fair, the first two posts are on separate topics, and the first one is already pretty long. The third could probably have been added to the second, but hey, if one doesn't do anything worse…

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: 80s Hard Rock/glam Metal Tone

Whilst I am probably more sympathetic to the bands at the glam end of that spectrum than you are, I quite agree. As a gesture of reconcilliation I'll show you the most egregious example I have found of lumping everything, and I mean everything, into the hair metal category. I shall not embarrass the author by having his/her name revealed, but I have to add that this comes from a peer-reviewed book written by a professor in the humanities:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]94473[/ATTACH]


My only guesses how this can make any sense are that the author is deaf or that he by Slayer actually meant Slaughter (and to be fair, this might have been "corrected" by an overzealous proof-reader or the like).

Don't know about that that..(and Slaughter to me meant a Killer thrash band from Canada ) although the general rule of thumb for the 'hair metal' tag seems to be any band from the 80's that was'nt playing thrash (and apparently even if they were ..Slayer..wtf? ).

I've heard Iron Maiden, Priest, Dio, Ozzy, Saxon, Riot, Accept & and even Manilla Road (for fvck's sake...) being called 'hair metal' and it really is pretty sad

[ehdwuld]

Re: 80s Hard Rock/glam Metal Tone

Three posts in a row?
I didn't know that there was a character limit when posting on the Forum.
Not that I haven't ever done the same, under extreme circumstances, of course.

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk

LLL has extra character
And a fascination for three
Keep an eye on him

HM-2 can do it easily. Start with gain at 3:00+, lows 3:00+, highs 12:00+, dist 3:00+.

If you run an HM-2 (or metalzone for that matter) into the front-end of an amp; Start with the amp's EQs close to the center and then first mess with the pedal.


edit; oh woops, you want "glam metal" lol,,,,,,,,,,,,,,same as above just turn the bass to 0! lol

Dave gets me

[Demanic]

Re: 80s Hard Rock/glam Metal Tone

I don't have one that I can spare.
Would you do it for me?

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[ehdwuld]

Re: 80s Hard Rock/glam Metal Tone

Eye-eye mate

[Aceman]

Re: 80s Hard Rock/glam Metal Tone

Let's get one thing straight: usually there's a huge difference between album tone and live tone.

And that's a big problem with tone advice on a forum.

When someone says, "I want this tone from this song"...

The typical answer is an answer which does not take into consideration that the tone the dude is hearing comes
from not only the guitar and guitar rig, but also the studio. Remember? They heard the tone off an album... that means
studio processing was done after the whole guitar rig.

That means the tone coming out of the speaker cab isn't close enough.
That means sticking a pedal in front of an amp is only ballparking things (live tone).

I don't know that I agree with you entirely, but you do raise a good point: What is the tone, and what is the context in which you wish to attain it?

I think that there are a few option that are not entirely what you described - but again - raise a very good point:

There are a few tones you might be chasing:
#1 And I believe that this is the most often sought tone - Off The Album.
- You want to sound like Lynch, DeMArtini, Slash, etc off of Under Lock & Key, Invasion, or Appetite. That is a sound that is the product of a few things: First, the actual rig and gear onto 'tape' if you will, second the post processing - and only God knows what the engineer really did, and finally the impact of the band itself, which definitely has psycho-acoustic impact on what you 'hear' as the tone

#2 A recording of the live sound. That too is suspect and subject to all of the above factors. Could have been taken straight from a dry feed to the board and then worked on, or a great room mic, or a combination. This is probably what most people talk about as a second choice. See the Viv Campbell thread. That probably was an engineered recording.

#3 The actual live tone - as in "You were there." This is only truly able to be accurately described by people who were also there. That the gear, but also the room, the PA etc...

Then - there is the context in which you wish to reproduce it.

#1 - My opinion - most people are trying to reproduce the sound in their living room (or wherever they play). Speaker to ear. Pretty direct.

#2 In a band context. Because - gear heads. You want "that" tone for all of your adoring fans (not that I believe most of them care except the guitar guy with his arms folded, and he'll frown if you use the wrong color pick). To get sound X in the context of a band is much harder. The classic "scooped" eq mistake for example. In room w/ solo guitar? Bottom, thick, highs that cut. In a 5 Piece on stage - lost in the mix. Bass devoured by drums and bass, treble eaten alive by cymbals and directional speaker horns etc. Getting off the album here can be challenging.

#3 On a recording. I'm guessing the 3rd most popular context, but who really knows? Then you have to translate the recorded final sound, from your gear, onto the recording, and now you are subject to all the same things as in the original recording. I think this is where knowing how to really use recording tools is key. And capturing "live" tone for this is probably a b!tch.

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Re: 80s Hard Rock/glam Metal Tone

There is no such thing as a generic hair metal sound

Yes. JB --> DS-1, DOD Chorus --> JCM 800.

[dave74]

Re: 80s Hard Rock/glam Metal Tone

This is the epitome of glamhair tone IMO. Not just the tone,,,,, the whole dang shabang.

[Sirion]

Re: 80s Hard Rock/glam Metal Tone

Yes. JB --> DS-1, DOD Chorus --> JCM 800.

Turn off the chorus, and that looks like a generic hard rock rig, if you ask me.

[Sirion]

Re: 80s Hard Rock/glam Metal Tone

This is the epitome of glamhair tone IMO. Not just the tone,,,,, the whole dang shabang.

Really? I've always considered CC to be something of an outlier when it comes to tone. Both he and Carlos Cavazo in QR had this really tones that sound really mid-heavy to me (and especially in this era), and I don't really hear too many others going about it the same way. Fallen Angel is a really good pop song, though.

[Gtrjunior]

80s Hard Rock/glam Metal Tone

Really? I've always considered CC to be something of an outlier when it comes to tone. Both he and Carlos Cavazo in QR had this really tones that sound really mid-heavy to me (and especially in this era), and I don't really hear too many others going about it the same way. Fallen Angel is a really good pop song, though.

Iirc, at one point CC was using Crate amps. One would assume tube(?) but I remember Crate as being mostly a SS amp. They had the Blue Voodoo series which I believe was all tube. I’m not sure if that is what CC used.
But, I agree...I’m not sure I see CC’s tone as quintessential hair metal tone. There was always something “different” about his. Not better or worse, just different.
To me, Ratt and Skid Row are more of the hair metal tone I associate with the genre. Especially Ratt.

[LLL]

Re: 80s Hard Rock/glam Metal Tone

Iirc, at one point CC was using Crate amps. One would assume tube(?) but I remember Crate as being mostly a SS amp. They had the Blue Voodoo series which I believe was all tube. I’m not sure if that is what CC used.
But, I agree...I’m not sure I see CC’s tone as quintessential hair metal tone. There was always something “different” about his. Not better or worse, just different.
To me, Ratt and Skid Row are more of the hair metal tone I associate with the genre. Especially Ratt.

Ah yes, RATT... The Rodents of Hair Metal.

Great tone, catchy riffs.