Need desperate help to find sound!!

Stevenmc

New member
Hello,

Can anyone help me find the right combination amp & pedal to help get me Slash's sound. I already have his Signature Alnico II pickups, I need to figure out which amp N pedal that would best go along with that. I am on a budget and cant afford to buy his signature cabinet and head, i would like to get a 50W amp with a pedal that would compliment it. Now I have a GNX3 pedal going through a Trayner DG60 amp but cannot get the sound i want.....any input would greatly be appreciated!!
 
Re: Need desperate help to find sound!!

I was able to capture "Welcome to the Jungle" with my Fender III modeling amp. I set it upas:

Amp: Bassman (gain at 8)
Fender Fuse software - Effects Rack: Chorus / Delay (440 mS) / Reverb
I use my BOSS BD-2 for more push.

I picked up my Fender III at GC for $260.
 
Re: Need desperate help to find sound!!

pickups is the last thing i would be looking at.
First you need a dirty marshall - something with diode clipping like the jubilee he used on appetite . You do not need any digital effects - especially digital modelling stuff.
Pretty well any marshall from jcm800 channel switchers, jubilees, thru 900s to DSLs and the amps of today will get you in the ball park. Also a nice quadbox will help - a marshall 1960 will work great. V30s are good if your amp sound stoo dark and g12t75s if its too bright. Get a good crybaby style wah (a slash signature model if you have to). If the amp is a pure master volume with no clipping circuit then you can cheat by using a rat pedal or similar.
Getting a sound like Slash's is not rocket science.
Les Paul, wah (maybe) and a dirty marshall...
use an overdrive if you have to - they all interact with different amps differently, so you may need to try a few to get one that gets you close). I like mxr ods with marshalls, but theres plent out there that will do the job.
The hard bit is not getting the right gear for the job - because great players always sound like themselves regardless of the amp etc. The hard bit is PLAYING like slash...not just copying his riffs.
My recommendation for a killer rig for not much dough would be a JCM900 50w MKIII master volume and an old g12t loaded 1960 cab. The master volume 900s are a totally different beast than the 900s (dual reverbs) that the tone snobs moan about - they are wicked amps. An mxr gtod (or one of the cheapo classic ods from guitar centre), or rat and a wah will give you a killer slash style tone.
oh yeah - you have the pickups already!
 
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Re: Need desperate help to find sound!!

with the slash pickups you can sound like slash regardless of the amp... we're talking of the slash pickups for crying at loud.
 
Re: Need desperate help to find sound!!

All you need is one of these

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using on of these

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into one of these

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into one of these

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*Problem solved.
 
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Re: Need desperate help to find sound!!

Seriously though, what axe you got? To me to get the tone, attitude and style of Slash, you at least need a solid LP style guitar. Now getting into the ballpark of Slash's tonal region, you need the right amp. Like Gibson stated, Slash is a Marshall guy. Sure there are other amps that sound Marshallish, but why get something that sounds like a Marshall when you can actually get a Marshall?

Seeing that you are on a budget, the 800 series and his sig will be out of the question. The DSL or 900 series would be your best bet and both can be had for relatively cheap used. If you are in the states, check out a local shop near me. Order online, they ship. They have a used DSL for around $600. Now eventually when you get the money, there are SLASH mods you can do to the amp. But both amps are really solid amps for all purposes (gigging, rehearsal and recording). Both have ALOT of gain, no pedals are required. Plus the DSL is really versatile, so if you change styles it will change with you.
 
Re: Need desperate help to find sound!!

I completely disagree heres is what I see.

1. Top hat
2. Cigarette in mouth not lit
3. Pick ups

If that doesnt get you where you need to be nothing will
 
Re: Need desperate help to find sound!!

I completely disagree heres is what I see.

1. Top hat
2. Cigarette in mouth not lit
3. Pick ups

If that doesnt get you where you need to be nothing will

This.

Also, one of the billion Slash signature LPs will get you there. Make sure it is a signature, though. Normal LPs won't work.
 
Re: Need desperate help to find sound!!

This.

Also, one of the billion Slash signature LPs will get you there. Make sure it is a signature, though. Normal LPs won't work.

you'll be sounding like Slash all the way up until the headstock decides to spontaneously break off and leave because it's sick of sweet child o mine covers
 
Re: Need desperate help to find sound!!

his sound is pretty simple, other than the hands. lp with the right pups and heavier strings into a higher gain tube marshall and 4x12.

the hands have alot to do with it
 
Re: Need desperate help to find sound!!

Yeah, Slash's sound is the culmination of his hands using his gear.

If there exists some magical combination of budget-priced modeling equipment that will mimic that sound on a smaller scale, I'm unaware of what it would be.
 
Re: Need desperate help to find sound!!

you'll be sounding like Slash all the way up until the headstock decides to spontaneously break off and leave because it's sick of sweet child o mine covers

No joke. I was at a show and that actually happened! I think it may be due to the chamberness of the Studios.
 
Re: Need desperate help to find sound!!

You also have to fill your LP with LEAD. You know to give it weight or else it won't sustain.
 
Re: Need desperate help to find sound!!

Slash did not use the Jubilee on Appetite For Destruction, he used the SIR rental, which was either Caswell-modified Marshall, or one of the partial clones that SIR had done to meet demand for those amps. I liked his tone a lot less with the Jubilees.

Both he and George Lynch made frantic attempts to get one from SIR. Borrow wasn't enough but buy, steal, beg... Nothing worked.

For speakers I'd look at G12M25s or G12H30s or a mix, myself. There are some cheap and good quality clones available, too. Eminence, Weber, Scumback, Guitar Warehouse all make various good variations, some cheaper than others. V30s are pretty strident, wouldn't be my first choice for Slash's sound.

Slash also used a studio trick of using a Mesa combo set up with enough gain and volume with EQ tweaked to make his guitar feedback, which wasn't recorded, in order to get sustain without massive distortion or compression. Not a convenient trick for a lot of playing circumstances.

A tube or tube-sounding distortion into a Marshally pedal or amp is the cheap way to go to get that sort of sound. Lots of options can get you there. Might check out a FET distortion pedal designed to mimic a Marshall preamp. Or any number of Marshall-in-a-stompbox designs.
 
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Re: Need desperate help to find sound!!

Slash also used a studio trick of using a Mesa combo set up with enough gain and volume with EQ tweaked to make his guitar feedback, which wasn't recorded, in order to get sustain without massive distortion or compression. Not a convenient trick for a lot of playing circumstances.

holy crap

I have to try this
 
Re: Need desperate help to find sound!!

Might want to tilt the combo to point it right at the guitar, as well. Or use a wedge guitar monitor cab. He was using it enough that he marked the spot to stand in for feedback with tape on the floor, so he could step in and out of the sound readily.
 
Re: Need desperate help to find sound!!

You can always milli vanilli his tone? Just push play then proceed to rock out unplugged.
 
Re: Need desperate help to find sound!!

Guys don't be so harsh on the kid. Didn't you all ever have a hard time dialing in a certain sound? I'm still there. Be easy on him.
 
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