Rockman Tone in 2017

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

Haha ok!
And play with little blue and black boxes...going eeberfeneeber diooouurr diiiddiiel diiiddiel (optional sweep sounds)
In spandex so that when singing, it only sounds like....27734849409404 octaves high

After 29739863426512432+0767+207965+072072587254+7659627+22+67872872+2+586 notes later crammed into about a 5 seconds break...then the MIDI controller crashes.....
And the chorus gives up the ghost.....

I liked the 80's....but the hair thing never really got to me....
When I think about it, the alternative and more creative pop stuff was more to my likings.
I do have an HSH Ibanez, while it needs a new neck, the dead spots on the middle of the neck just will not be banished....odd never had a guitar doing that to me before.

Maybe it needs a Rockman

 

[Securb]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

LLL thanks for making my point. All of your examples were recorded in the 80's. By the 90's people were pushing away from that tone. Including some of the people in your examples.

Don't get me wrong I am one of the biggest Boston fans. The tone works for them and Tom Scholz. Keep in mind when Boston releases new material it is for a nostalgic crowd that is hungry for more AOR classic rock. The Boston fans want to hear that sound. However, Boston fans are not even buying Boston albums these days.

If there were an application for the gear or demand for a "Rockman" tone, Dunlop would surely be putting out reissue SR&D gear or at least a "Boston" stomp. At this stage of the game, any engineer or producer would laugh a guitarist out of the studio if they walked in with a Rockman Guitar Ace in hand.

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

The point being that the Rockman isn't just a one-trick pony if you know how to work it.

Hysteria doesn't sound like a Rockman at all. (I could care less about the album or tone itself; that's the album that I stopped listening to Def Leppard.)

I'll bet you could get Pantera tone out of one... Pantera tone being very SS-ish and midrangey. Slayer? Who cares about faux-satan-worshiper tone. :eek13:

EQ is everything.

Pantera is anything but midrangey. Dimebag's sound was annoyingly mid scooped, and it inspired a bunch of meathead wannabes to sound terrible with all the gain and 10-0-10 EQ settings. I'd actually prefer listening to a Rockman sound, because it wouldn't give me a headache as easily, but I still wouldn't like it.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

I have to say, that sound gets to me after about 5 minutes. I can't say it is a sound I would ever actively seek.

 

[Securb]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

Pantera is anything but midrangey. Dimebag's sound was annoyingly mid scooped

You are absolutlly correct. Dime kept the mids on his amp at around 2 and everything else was cranked. He also used an MRX 6 band EQ set up the same way. There was so much other incorrect information in this thread I just kept scrolling when I saw that. Trying to get Dimebag's tone (or most 90's+ tones) with a Rockman would be a waste of energy and time.

 

[LLL]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

Ya, 500Hz ain't for everybody.

But it does do wonderful things on the way in to the amplification stage; really lets your guitar sing.

You can tame it on the way out (post eq).

 

[LLL]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

Pantera is anything but midrangey. Dimebag's sound was annoyingly mid scooped, and it inspired a bunch of meathead wannabes to sound terrible with all the gain and 10-0-10 EQ settings. I'd actually prefer listening to a Rockman sound, because it wouldn't give me a headache as easily, but I still wouldn't like it.

Oh undoubtedly 1k is scooped. But there's still plenty of 500Hz honk to my ears to sound in the ballpark for Rockman. He sounds like he's using a Rockman, added more gain, then took the 1k freq and dropped it down to hell. :lmao:

 

[LLL]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

LLL thanks for making my point. All of your examples were recorded in the 80's. By the 90's people were pushing away from that tone. Including some of the people in your examples.

Don't get me wrong I am one of the biggest Boston fans. The tone works for them and Tom Scholz. Keep in mind when Boston releases new material it is for a nostalgic crowd that is hungry for more AOR classic rock. The Boston fans want to hear that sound. However, Boston fans are not even buying Boston albums these days.

If there were an application for the gear or demand for a "Rockman" tone, Dunlop would surely be putting out reissue SR&D gear or at least a "Boston" stomp. At this stage of the game, any engineer or producer would laugh a guitarist out of the studio if they walked in with a Rockman Guitar Ace in hand.

Today's application would be inconsequential as the rock music genre is all but dead compared to the 70's & 80's. Nevertheless, that genre is still extremely popular with the very large generation that grew up with it, and will remain so.

Regardless of anyone's opinion of it (here or otherwise), it is a legendary tone that inspired & intrigued millions.

Legendary guitar players & bands have bought into it & have used it on platinum albums. Even Jeff Beck bought one. :laughing:

We could only be so lucky as to have another Scholz & his whizbang gear & mindblowing rock guitar tone in this day and age.

Ain't gonna happen.

 

[Securb]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

I don't know why you are still hanging onto this Rockman thing. There are iconic guitar tones that have survived the test of time that are still used to this day. A lot of the doom and stoner bands thrive to get that Iommi sound. Page's RAH tone is still a staple and duplicated to this day. If someone copped Page or Iommi's tone at a gig or audition even today, it would be cool. Walk into a gig or audition in 2017 with a Rockman tone, and you might give someone and aneurysm from laughing too hard.

This has nothing to do with "rock" dying. There are plenty of people out there playing rock. Simply put none of them wants to sound like Tom Scholz anymore. If people did SR&D would still be in business.

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

Oh undoubtedly 1k is scooped. But there's still plenty of 500Hz honk to my ears to sound in the ballpark for Rockman. He sounds like he's using a Rockman, added more gain, then took the 1k freq and dropped it down to hell. :lmao:

1K doesn't exist in Pantera, but even some 500 Hz is missing. I'd say it's pretty much cutting or missing everything between 250 to 3k or 4k. Just pure fried ass. To my ears, it sounds kind of like a gradual slope off from 250 until it hits ~800 and it all falls off a cliff that doesn't come back until 2.5k, which slopes back up to 4k. I would love Pantera if it wasn't for the horrible tone (it'd be fine if it was just EQ'd enough to actually sit with the bass and drums) or Anselmo (I can't stand his pig squeals for vocals - or him).

 

[LLL]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

I don't know why you are still hanging onto this Rockman thing.

Presumptuous much? (again)

There are iconic guitar tones that have survived the test of time that are still used to this day.

Can you provide examples of top-selling albums from this decade that use these particular "iconic guitar tones" as you mention?

For an even more difficult challenge (if you're up to it), can you provide examples of top-selling albums from this decade that feature new and innovative guitar tones that influence millions?

A lot of the doom and stoner bands thrive to get that Iommi sound. Page's RAH tone is still a staple and duplicated to this day. If someone copped Page or Iommi's tone at a gig or audition even today, it would be cool. Walk into a gig or audition in 2017 with a Rockman tone, and you might give someone and aneurysm from laughing too hard.

That all depends; tone is subjective. If you walked into a gig touting Iommi sound, you might hear chuckles from the audience if they don't like it. The audience dictates what is "cool".

This has nothing to do with "rock" dying. There are plenty of people out there playing rock. Simply put none of them wants to sound like Tom Scholz anymore. If people did SR&D would still be in business.

Yes, there are plenty of people out there playing rock... in their mom's basement, garage or the bars. But not a whole lot in the big music biz scene which is mostly populated by hip hop, pop, country and other non-rock genres.

Furthermore, you're confusing affinity for a legendary guitar tone with wanting to sound just like Tom Scholz all of the time. :laughing:

Yeah, we get it: you're not a Rockman tone fan. But that still doesn't take away form the fact that it was a tone that inspired and influenced millions of guitarists (impeccably-credentialed ones as well). That's an achievement that very few have ever done in the history of guitar-based music (EVH is another that comes to mind).

 

[LLL]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

1K doesn't exist in Pantera, but even some 500 Hz is missing. I'd say it's pretty much cutting or missing everything between 250 to 3k or 4k. Just pure fried ass. To my ears, it sounds kind of like a gradual slope off from 250 until it hits ~800 and it all falls off a cliff that doesn't come back until 2.5k, which slopes back up to 4k. I would love Pantera if it wasn't for the horrible tone (it'd be fine if it was just EQ'd enough to actually sit with the bass and drums) or Anselmo (I can't stand his pig squeals for vocals - or him).

Well, I'm not a fan of it either.. not really a fan of Pantera in general. They came on the scene at the time my musical brain stopped taking in new music.

LOL at Anselmo "pig squeals"

 

[LLL]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

Speaking of Rockman tone & Satriani... makes me wanna break out the tab for "Flying In A Blue Dream" and re-visit a tune I haven't played in prolly 2 decades.

...with a Rockman. :laughing:

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

Just curious - are the Boston albums after the first two even any good? The first two sound nothing like the '80s Rockman tone to me (probably because Marshalls were used on those two albums). I've only listened to those two albums from Boston (and I thought Scholz sounded like an American trying to emulate Brian May, which I'm alright with), so I've never associated Scholz with the Rockman sound, even if I already knew he created it.

 

[LLL]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

Just curious - are the Boston albums after the first two even any good? The first two sound nothing like the '80s Rockman tone to me (probably because Marshalls were used on those two albums). I've only listened to those two albums from Boston (and I thought Scholz sounded like an American trying to emulate Brian May, which I'm alright with), so I've never associated Scholz with the Rockman sound, even if I already knew he created it.

There's some good ones on Third Stage. That album had Rockman / Rockmodules all over it.

After that I don't bother (and I definitely don't bother with the non-Brad Delp albums)... not because they aren't good, but because they're newer and times had changed.

Same thing, for example, with Def Leppard: On Through The Night, High n Dry & Pyromania are it for me. After that, nada.

In other words, it's about the tunes I grew up with.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

Dunno never payed them much attention...must be an American thing...?!?
I think we liked Queen more around here...
Haha...we thought it to be too sugarcoated I guess...overly produced blue eyes music.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

Just curious - are the Boston albums after the first two even any good? The first two sound nothing like the '80s Rockman tone to me (probably because Marshalls were used on those two albums). I've only listened to those two albums from Boston (and I thought Scholz sounded like an American trying to emulate Brian May, which I'm alright with), so I've never associated Scholz with the Rockman sound, even if I already knew he created it.

Third Stage is good (in its own way). But not near as iconic as the debut and Don't Look Back. I even like Walk On (more than Third Stage) and still listen to it often. Scholtz was a genius at songwriting, recording and technology. But as has been mentioned, genius often goes hand-in-hand with ego. I'm not a fan of Tom Scholtz the man, but I certainly am a HUGE fan of his work. My favorite Boston song will always be "Peace of Mind".

I remember really lusting after the rack mount Scholtz R&D gear back in the 80s. But now I feel the same way about it as the GK guitar stuff... one trick ponies. Would be nice to have some laying around just for the brief moment I'm in the mood to recreate it, but I would tire of it very quick.

Regarding Def Leppard's "Hysteria"... loved the songwriting and production, but not a fan of the thin, compressed guitar tones. My holy grail DL album is "High & Dry" and to a slightly lesser extent "Pyromania". Both of those albums couldn't be further from "Hysteria" in terms of classic guitar tones. Whenever I plug into a great Marshall-inspired amp (or even a modeler like my Line 6 Helix)... I'm looking for those early tones. I'm never looking to recreate the tones from "Hysteria". It's stood the test of time in terms of great songwriting, but certainly not guitar tones.

 

[Securb]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

Yes, there are plenty of people out there playing rock... in their mom's basement, garage or the bars. But not a whole lot in the big music biz scene which is mostly populated by hip hop, pop, country and other non-rock genres.

In other words, it's about the tunes I grew up with.

There is a lot of great new rock and metal out there. If you got your head out of the 80's and stopped listening to the classic rock station all the time you might hear something new. Hit some metal/rock sites you might be supprised at what is out there for new music. Sadly none of the guitarists sound like Tom Scholz.

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

There is a lot of great new rock and metal out there. If you got your head out of the 80's and stopped listening to the classic rock station all the time you might hear something new. Hit some metal/rock sites you might be supprised at what is out there for new music. Sadly none of the guitarists sound like Tom Scholz.

Danzig's first few albums were pretty good. Not guitar virtuoso music at all (and nothing like Boston), but that band/solo project was mainly a '90s act that had a lot of elements from rock/metal in the '70s; the most obvious influence being early Sabbath. Fun fact: On the first album, James Hetfield provides backing vocals on the songs "Twist of Cain" and "Possession". Some goofy lyrics, but it's not like you're supposed to understand what Danzig is singing half the time.

 

[Securb]

Re: Rockman Tone in 2017

Danzig's first few albums were pretty good. Not guitar virtuoso music at all (and nothing like Boston), but that band/solo project was mainly a '90s act that had a lot of elements from rock/metal in the '70s; the most obvious influence being early Sabbath. Fun fact: On the first album, James Hetfield provides backing vocals on the songs "Twist of Cain" and "Possession". Some goofy lyrics, but it's not like you're supposed to understand what Danzig is singing half the time.

I love Danzig but there is even more current stuff out there that stands out. Gone Is Gone, Mastodon, Royal Thunder, Code Orange, Dying Fetus, the list goes on and on. If you look for it, it is out there. Even on the more traditional metal side you have bands like Hellyeah, Avenge Sevenfold and Five Finger Death Punch. There is plenty of great rock and metal still being made. You just won't find it on Classic Rock Radio 101 FM, you will find it on Sirus/XM.