Yngwie on Gibson:

Inspector #20

Inspector #20

Ambassador of Tone
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From an interview -

Have you ever used a humbucker guitar on an album for a different texture?

About 15 years ago I went into the studio and I brought some Gibson Les Pauls and Flying Vs and an ES-335. I figured I could use them for fatter rhythm parts. The funny thing is, they didn’t sound fatter. One would think the Strat would be brighter, but a Strat through a Marshall isn’t the typical twang. It’s very fat sounding. For textures on the new record, I doubled lines with an Ovation acoustic, especially on the title track. When it comes to layering, Brian May is my hero. But for me, and what I do, a lot of layering tends to make the music messy. I like the simplicity of one guitar really soaring over the music.
 
I initially rolled my eyes at this.. then I started working with my 1987 Squire Stratocaster again with the DiMarzio Virtual Vintage SoloHS3/YJM Stacked Single Coils.

After my tone modifications, I was able to drive the amp so hard and cleanly it was percussive.

I was surprised.
 
I had a Gibson that I tried on a Marshall. Sounded horrible! I like my strats better on that Marshall.
 
Chubbles said:
I had a Gibson that I tried on a Marshall. Sounded horrible! I like my strats better on that Marshall.
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I can get good tones from both...the Stratocaster allows me to dial in more bass with good clarity...you can feel the air from the speakers hitting you!
 
Same here Robert, I get good tones with both humbuckered LP & SG or SSS strat. Yngwie, if you couldn't find a single useable tone with a Gibson straight into a Marshall, IMO you weren't trying. This combination (Gibson/Marshall) has been used by countless great guitarists on countless great recordings & continues to be used. Kinda says something IMO. Cheers
 
ivan H said:
Same here Robert, I get good tones with both humbuckered LP & SG or SSS strat. Yngwie, if you couldn't find a single useable tone with a Gibson straight into a Marshall, IMO you weren't trying. This combination (Gibson/Marshall) has been used by countless great guitarists on countless great recordings & continues to be used. Kinda says something IMO. Cheers
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I can EQ either one to sound great.
 
Robert Herndon said:
From an interview -

One would think the Strat would be brighter, but a Strat through a Marshall isn’t the typical twang. It’s very fat sounding.
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This is absolutely true.

The other guitar dude in my band plays two American Strats through a Marshal valve amp and I NEVER could make my strat tone sound as fat and rich as his with my Fender amplification. I mean EVER.

The first time I ever felt my tone as rich and creamy as his was when I finally hung a Gibson SG on me and made the 57s growl LOUD.

You just don't Intercourse with Marshall.


Robert Herndon said:
I can get good tones from both...the Stratocaster allows me to dial in more bass with good clarity...you can feel the air from the speakers hitting you!
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That is true too. Stratocasters do have a distinctive and clear rumble on the bass side that mahogany/humbucker just won't give you. These will sound MUCH thicker, though.
 
Sérgio said:
This is absolutely true.

The other guitar dude in my band plays two American Strats through a Marshal valve amp and I NEVER could make my strat tone sound as fat and rich as his with my Fender amplification. I mean EVER.

The first time I ever felt my tone as rich and creamy as his was when I finally hung a Gibson SG on me and made the 57s growl LOUD.

You just don't Intercourse with Marshall.




That is true too. Stratocasters do have a distinctive and clear rumble on the bass side that mahogany/humbucker just won't give you. These will sound MUCH thicker, though.
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I'm torn between guitars at the moment. I find aspects of all three (my only 3 guitars) that I like.

In all honesty, when I'm playing "Million Miles Away" by Rory Gallagher, I play it very clean, and I have started using my Gibson SG for that. The Gibson has a more refined, smoother tone than my Squirecaster and more so than my Schecter.

The Gibson has low output PAF clones - only 7.93k bridge and 7.88k neck - so it's not a snarling beast. It sounds good through my Marshall's...very reminiscent of Angus's H to H tone. Very controllable even at higher volumes.

The Squirecaster has more high end, even with a 220k ohm treble cut, so I can EQ the bass and mids and the tone literally gives you the feeling of a bass following the guitar, but there is still enough top end that the tone cuts through.

Now the Schecter is a different kind of beast. The EMG's drive the amps so hard that the tone at less than 1/2 gain, is more dramatic than the Squire or SG even at full gain. The signal is totally quiet too. I find the Schecter really cleans up nicely at lower gain settings and the tone rolls off nice and clean.

I'm not sure which I will rely on most for my new CD.....
 
Not a snarling beast but much thicker and stronghearted than any SSS strat, through a 40watt Fender Valve amp...

57s are highly underrated.

Through Marshalls they are fire breathing dragons, without being too acid like the hotter Gibson pups.
 
smitty_p said:
Exactly!
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One thing I don't like.....the Fender neck pickup. I like the tone, BUT when I move it close enough to the strings to give me good tone, I cannot use it when overdriven because I cannot get rid of the oscillation, unless I employ constant vibrato. It is GREAT clean, but I cannot use it at high gain. The Dimarzio YJM (my neck pickup) isn't really a high output pickup either.

What do you other Strat players do about this???
 
Sérgio said:
57s are highly underrated.
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No joke. Truly some of the best Humbuckers I have ever used, at least the ones that came stock in my guitars, which are unpotted. There is some kind of freaking black magic going on with unpotted '57's, squeal be damned.

Robert Herndon said:
One thing I don't like.....the Fender neck pickup. I like the tone, BUT when I move it close enough to the strings to give me good tone, I cannot use it when overdriven because I cannot get rid of the oscillation, unless I employ constant vibrato. It is GREAT clean, but I cannot use it at high gain. The Dimarzio YJM (my neck pickup) isn't really a high output pickup either.

What do you other Strat players do about this???
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The neck pickup in my Legacy (Strat) is by far my favorite. I find it to be the most controllable and even-sounding as a "rock" pickup, no matter how much gain is involved. Must just be differing designs (YJM vs. G&L), but I don't recall any sort of oscillation with any of the Fender Strats I have owned over the years either. I do keep the poles/magnets pretty far from the strings on mine though, so maybe the pickup height is the difference?
 
gball said:
No joke. Truly some of the best Humbuckers I have ever used, at least the ones that came stock in my guitars, which are unpotted. There is some kind of freaking black magic going on with unpotted '57's, squeal be damned.



The neck pickup in my Legacy (Strat) is by far my favorite. I find it to be the most controllable and even-sounding as a "rock" pickup, no matter how much gain is involved. Must just be differing designs (YJM vs. G&L), but I don't recall any sort of oscillation with any of the Fender Strats I have owned over the years either. I do keep the poles/magnets pretty far from the strings on mine though, so maybe the pickup height is the difference?
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I can't handle the squeal from unpotted pickups, especially at high stage volumes. These GFS's are superior in every respect to my 57 Classics and much, much quieter too....

The "oscillation" is string pull from the neck pickup magnets...
 
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gball said:
I do keep the poles/magnets pretty far from the strings on mine though, so maybe the pickup height is the difference?
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Have pics or measurements???

For years I ran all three pickups about .100" to .125" up off the pickguard....that's measuring to the top of the plastic cover, not the pole pieces. But I recently discovered the 1992 Dimarzio Virtual Vintage Solo sounds better closer to the strings...so I raised it. The other pickups, a 1982 Dimarzio HS3 and a 1993 Dimarzio YJM, don't have nearly as much output to match the VV Solo....
 
gball said:
but I don't recall any sort of oscillation with any of the Fender Strats I have owned over the years either. I do keep the poles/magnets pretty far from the strings on mine though, so maybe the pickup height is the difference?
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Me, too. My bridge pickup on my Strat is VERY close to the strings, a la Blackmore. But, my neck pickup is much lower.
 
smitty_p said:
Me, too. My bridge pickup on my Strat is VERY close to the strings, a la Blackmore. But, my neck pickup is much lower.
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Pics!!!!! :)

Dude, I would have to say my VV Solo in the Strat is as huge and fat as the bridge in my Gibson SG...It's as far up as it can go and notes are always clear. The tone modification made the Stratocaster a keeper...f course, I am literally cranking my DSL40C to near Three Mile Island overdrive levels....
 
Robert Herndon said:
I can't handle the squeal from unpotted pickups, especially at high stage volumes. These GFS's are superior in every respect to my 57 Classics and much, much quieter too....

The "oscillation" is string pull from the neck pickup magnets...
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I find that I can control the squeal pretty easily and the tradeoff in better tone is worth it to me even if I have to lower the gain. Come to think of it, when I am playing at full band volume I use about 1/3 to 1/2 less gain than I do at lower volume so that is already taking care of a lot of the problems.

I don't know the measurement of the Legacy pickups, I adjust the heights by ear, but the neck one is easily 1/4" lower than the strings when fretted around the 15th/16th fret. The middle not much higher and the bridge not much higher than that. I don't like Strat/Legacy pickups very close to the strings since the polepieces are actually the magnets and the tone gets too compressed for my taste.
 
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