Okay, so how do you actually make one of those awesome 80's glam tones?

Y

Young Angus

Kometose Tonologist
So ive got one of the greatest distortions an amp has to offer which im absolutely loving in my ENGL...but what other factors contributed to those amazing thick rock tones that 80s players like CC Deville/skid row guy/nuno etc...ie was there lots of chorus involved, or just cranked amps?

And usually what speakers for stuff like CC deville and warrant etc?

The reason i ask is that im pretty sure those guys had racks full of stuff going...but what kind of stuff exactly?

Just thought it would be a good thread...im not chasing their tone ;)
 
Re: Okay, so how do you actually make one of those awesome 80's glam tones?

My JB-equipped Jackson, and My Line6 Flextone Modern Hi-Gain (Soldano X88R model) factory setting all by-itself gets pretty close to my ears.

It has me "looking for nothing but a good time" every time I plug into that one.

However, my 80's tone experts (TO and GJ) tell me, for most typical rigs, to lower the gain, boost the bass and mids, and put a Tubescreamer or Fulltone in front, and that seems to work for my Marshall setting w/Les Paul. Hope I haven't misquoted... please correct me if I did.
 
Re: Okay, so how do you actually make one of those awesome 80's glam tones?

CC used a bunch of Crate stuff for awhile. Any decent mid gain amp with a jb should be really close. Nuno used Bill Lawrence l-500 pups, don't know about Skid Row. I always used a P-90 or an A2P. I used a Randall RG120 head into 4x12 cabs with various Celestions.
 
Re: Okay, so how do you actually make one of those awesome 80's glam tones?

Matt, you're right on the money:

Set the gain to about 1/2 of what you would normally use if you were just using the head for distortion and put an OD in front of it. This will give you that thick, harmonically rich, old school tone.

That being said, the ENGL specializes in more of a power metal tone, a la BLIND GUARDIAN, SILENT FORCE, and HELLOWEEN. I have one, so I speak from experience. Personally, I get better results just using the ENGL without an OD in front of it. I didn't notice any benefit by putting the OD in front of the ENGL. That may not be the case with your particular amp, tho, so my suggestion is try it.

Also, you wanna run at LEAST a 4x12, if not a full stack.
 
Re: Okay, so how do you actually make one of those awesome 80's glam tones?

Everything have been said: 4x12" with Greenbacks, a modded JCM800, moderate gain (compared to today's ultra style), bolt-on strat with a hot humbucker in the bridge.
 
Re: Okay, so how do you actually make one of those awesome 80's glam tones?

My style now is more along the lines of Joe Perry, M. Knopfler, Derek Trucks, but I'll admit to being a Sunset Strip hairband guy, back from 86-93.

I'd say most of the best guitar tones from that time weren't too different than now....there were just much better players behind the strings, then. Arguable, but true. Mostly Frankenstrats w/JB's, Distortions, or 59's into a good OD, into a Marshall or Mesa half or fullstack. Then, came the rack phenomenon, where the gain was smoother, but the overall sound was more narrow. Also, guys got too carried away with delay and chorus. Then, after everyone got tired of lugging rack systems, people went back to basics....a head/cab or combo. However, by this time, the amps weren't built as good as the old days, so pro players gravitated toward boutique amps. That's where it's at now......just waiting for the big co's to either play catchup, or watch the best of the boutique companies drop their prices, cut a few corners and mass produce their stuff. That's where we're at now.
 
Re: Okay, so how do you actually make one of those awesome 80's glam tones?

Cover your lead in chorus and delay.

I find the chorus gives it that very processed 80's sound, and the delay gives it that thickness.
 
Re: Okay, so how do you actually make one of those awesome 80's glam tones?

Duncan JB into a JCM 800 Marshall head into 4x12 Marshall cabinet.

:D
 
Re: Okay, so how do you actually make one of those awesome 80's glam tones?

TwilightOdyssey said:
Matt, you're right on the money:

Set the gain to about 1/2 of what you would normally use if you were just using the head for distortion and put an OD in front of it. This will give you that thick, harmonically rich, old school tone.

That being said, the ENGL specializes in more of a power metal tone, a la BLIND GUARDIAN, SILENT FORCE, and HELLOWEEN. I have one, so I speak from experience. Personally, I get better results just using the ENGL without an OD in front of it. I didn't notice any benefit by putting the OD in front of the ENGL. That may not be the case with your particular amp, tho, so my suggestion is try it.

Also, you wanna run at LEAST a 4x12, if not a full stack.
Click to expand...

Yeah i get great results from just the ENGL on its own, even without any delay or anything, its high gain channel sounds amazing!

Just needs a better player behind the strings ;)
 
Re: Okay, so how do you actually make one of those awesome 80's glam tones?

Having your chops down is a big part of getting a really tight tone.

For a cool trick on "big" rhythm and lead tones I take the chorus and set the rate way down (about 10' oclock on the dial) and the depth fairly high (about 2-3 oclock) and it creates this big wide fat split sound that there's really no other way to get.

Delay is cool but be careful not to overuse it. It adds a nice 3D quality to the sound.

I prefer setting the amp to medium gain or just clean really loud and then letting a top-notch distortion pedal do the work. Everyone else's descriptions have been pretty accurate as those rigs (JB frankenstrats, Marshalls, Greenback cabs) tend to produce a lot of 2nd-order harmonics in the distortion tones, which is what you want, makes it very rich-sounding.

I would NOT opt for the overprocessed sound. I tend to not like that though it has it's place. I've heard lots of distortion with chorus and delay that sounds awesome and I've heard the exact same recipe sound as fake as velveeta cheese.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top