John Sykes Whitesnake ('87) & Blue Murder Tone

[LLL]

For those Sykes tone lovers and home studio enthusiasts out there.

This info found in the vid is what I use to get that killer Sykes tone; said info hasn't really been available until the last few years.

Basically, it is a stereo rig of Mesa Boogie MkIII Coliseums (slight delay & modulation a la chorus between them)... lay down the tracks (stereo), then:

Double those tracks with another set.

Four tracks total, 2 left and 2 right.

A rough example of mine (I'm using BIAS AMP 2 Mesa Boogie IIc+ tweaked):

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Pretty close! If anything, it's a bit darker/heavier than the album version to my ears...nice work :bigthumb:

 

[NegativeEase]

I think this guitar sound is very good, but is there any quality about the Sykes/Mesa sound that you consider exceptional versus other tones of the era -(aside from his awesome playing)

I just don't hear much that stands with other iconic tones or the era like Lynch or Demartini to me.

Curious what I need to pay attention to

 

[devastone]

Not really better, just a little different, Lynch and Martini were more Marshall flavored (the other "M" amp), so a little more prominent high mids (to me anyway).

IMHO, some of the best tones of that era were the ones Brad Gillis got on the Speak of the Devil live album, he was using Mesa Coliseums too IIRC, hmm, so, maybe I need a love power version of a Mesa Coliseum amp(?). That or the Marshall tones that Zakk got on No More Tears, hmm, so on second thought, maybe I need to play for Ozzy to get great tones...

 

[NegativeEase]

Not really better, just a little different, Lynch and Martini were more Marshall flavored (the other "M" amp), so a little more prominent high mids (to me anyway).

IMHO, some of the best tones of that era were the ones Brad Gillis got on the Speak of the Devil live album, he was using Mesa Coliseums too IIRC, hmm, so, maybe I need a love power version of a Mesa Coliseum amp(?). That or the Marshall tones that Zakk got on No More Tears, hmm, so on second thought, maybe I need to play for Ozzy to get great tones...

You sent me some Jake E Lee stuff 2 years ago and there were some tones that were great.... I don't hear people talk about his tones often.

 

[LLL]

I think this guitar sound is very good, but is there any quality about the Sykes/Mesa sound that you consider exceptional versus other tones of the era -(aside from his awesome playing)

I just don't hear much that stands with other iconic tones or the era like Lynch or Demartini to me.

Curious what I need to pay attention to

I loved them all, but Sykes' tone stood out a little bit more... a little more metal.

Heavier (Mesa Boogie) plus 2x stereo doubled tracks thing (huuuuge) with the slight chorus. Similar to Eventide but not the same; a Lexicon unit IIRC.

Sykes tone was the giant metal sparkly thunder pony, while everyone else was riding the growling Marshall "tiger".

And since Whitesnake '87 and Blue Murder, I haven't heard anything close to it by anybody.

 

[devastone]

You sent me some Jake E Lee stuff 2 years ago and there were some tones that were great.... I don't hear people talk about his tones often.

Was that his solo instrumental stuff? Yeah, Jake has some great tones! The Badlands stuff was great, too bad it's all OOP.

 

[Bogner]

Sykes Mesa tone had a beautiful clarity and girth to it with bloom and punch. Smooth yet powerful, liquid like but still sharp and defined without ever being harsh or biting like Marshall's can be. Same thing when I heard Dream Theater when they launched. Heavy, clear, punchy, articulate, crisp and different from Marshall. I liked it then and I like it now. The Mesa Mark amps are cool for sure.

 

[devastone]

Sykes tone was the giant metal sparkly thunder pony, while everyone else was riding the growling Marshall "tiger".

Interesting analogies, I'm not sure I understand them, but I can't argue with them LOL

 

[LLL]

Interesting analogies, I'm not sure I understand them, but I can't argue with them LOL

Yeah I was embellishing for humor's sake.

 

[devastone]

The humor was not lost on me.

I also pulled out SOTD and was listening on the way to work, Brad's Mesa tone on that was definitely grittier than John's on the WS album. I thought Brad was using Coliseums but it may have been Mk IIBs, not that I can tell the difference by just listening, but I can google.

 

[Clint 55]

That rawks.