Seymour Duncan Announces The Slash 3.0 Pickup Set!

[amdkj]

Yeah, he has (at least from what you can see on stage; who knows what's going on behind) switched to Magnatone, though it makes no difference; the SL-100 is just a Marshall 2203 with two footswitchable preamp gain settings and an effects loop. There's absolutely nothing inside one to make it sound any different from a 2203, it's just marginally more functional.

They certainly are very bright, just like the Marshalls they replaced. There's a myth that Slash's tone is very thick with a warm and smooth top, but I think that's just because he spends more time on the neck pickup than most comparable players. All the 100w Marshalls (and their clones) are noticeably clearer and thinner-sounding than the 50w equivalents, and he's mostly using preamp distortion rather than power amp distortion, to boot. Which is precisely why he keeps asking for thicker and more powerful pickups, I imagine.

 

[Anficht]

and he's mostly using preamp distortion rather than power amp distortion, to boot

Isn't it exactly the other way around?

He uses more Power Amp Distortion rather than Preamp Distortion, so his sound is actually cleaner than most think. He doesn't use too much preamp gain but pushes it with an upside-down smiley EQ.
Hence it would made sense that he requires hotter pickups, since he uses little preamp gain and maximum power amp gain

 

[amdkj]

Whenever I've seen clear enough photos of his Marshalls (granted, I've yet to see any real close-ups of his Magnatones), his preamps are up and the power amp volumes are somewhere around the middle range, which on a 100w head isn't distorting. (Again, you use a 100w head to avoid power amp saturation.) Also note that his Magnatones (both signature and standard) specifically have switchable preamp gain controls; not something you bother having if you're running a clean preamp and relying on the power amp to do your clipping!

Again, there are lots of myths about his sound, and always have been, often attributing it to the wrong parts. I remember when I first started playing and everyone would swear that Slash was the prime example of 'pure valve tone', yet most of his documented amps up to that point had diode clipping stages. (See also: Joe Perry.)

 

[Mincer]

His tone on the Back to the Beginning show (like Junior's Eyes) used more gain than you usually hear from him. He was using the SG.

 

[misterwhizzy]

I think what makes me question these threads and Slash signature sets is that I don't even know what Slash's tone sounds like. You never even hear it without accompaniment. GnR had Izzy Stradlin and Gilby Clarke. Snakepit had Ryan Roxie and Kerri Kelli. Velvet Revolver had Dave Kushner. The Conspirators have Myles Kennedy. If you want to talk about lead tones, then sure, we can have that discussion, but in a rhythm context, how can you even tell what Slash's tone is? And who buys a pickup only for its lead tones?

Dimebag? We know it. George Lynch? We know it. Tony Iommi? Unmistakable. Slash? Not so sure.

 

[Mincer]

If you watch any live GnR video, you can hear a range of playing techniques from Slash. It isn't hard to hear what he is doing- he is up in the mix pretty high.

 

[superpete]

I don't even know what Slash's tone sounds like.

that's a crazy take. slash's rhythm tracks are rarely buried in the mix and his tone is pretty distinct.

 

[uOpt]

I still can't get over the switch from Alnico 2 to 5.

 

[Bill Dennis]

that's a crazy take. slash's rhythm tracks are rarely buried in the mix and his tone is pretty distinct.

A LP and Marshall is not exactly distinct....