OP
@gball - Skip to 0:48 and listen to the tone JT is getting from his Hot Rodded Origin 20 and Gibson les Paul Gold Top with Suhr Thornbuckers:
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@gball - Skip to 0:48 and listen to the tone JT is getting from his Hot Rodded Origin 20 and Gibson les Paul Gold Top with Suhr Thornbuckers:
syscokid
Ambassador of War & Peace
I'm assuming you're singling out EBMM's Axis model (EVH inspired). IMO, the Axis is my least favorite looking EBMM. The EBMM Luke III's, the Alvin Lee's, the Sabre's, and the Silhouette's are my favorite EBMM'S.
OP
Would much rather have a Valley Art's Lukather Model...They were very, very well made instruments and not bad looking.
OP
Both Pete Willis and Steve Clark were indorsing Gibson products and both had guitars that were equipped with none other than "Dirty fingers" pickups. Check out the YouTube clip and clearly you will see them playing guitars with black and white & black dirty fingers on their guitars.
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
That does do a nice job of copping those dimed Plexi type of tones. Now, I am definitely of the school that thinks if you need to mod an amp to get the sound you want out of it then you bought the wrong amp, but cool tones nonetheless.
Y'know, Bringin' On The Heartbreak is probably the only song on that album I don't like, and I'm reasonably sure Mutt Lange made them put it on there for the chicks, but the guitar playing is undeniable.
Fun fact: back in the day we used to play 'Switch 625' by Def Leppard and 'Coast To Coast' by Scorpions back-to-back to give our singer a rest. Speaking of which, Matt and Rudy are getting some SICK live tone in this clip:
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gball
Ambassador of Boogie
Would much rather have a Valley Art's Lukather Model...They were very, very well made instruments and not bad looking.
Only play/endorse one guitar, huh?
I had bought one about 20 years ago and remember selling it as the neck was not wide enough for my fat fingers and sloppy playing.
OP
Great tones by Scorpions. This video was from a Japanese concert that took place between August 4-12 1984
Mathias Jabs has said in interviews that they switched to the Dommenget Musclebucker (20k) in 1984.
Then you started playing guitars made by Boris Dommenget, fitted with Musclebucker pickups around 1984…
“Yes, you mention the Musclebucker - honestly, I’ve never heard a pickup with so much output and yet still all the clarity. We used relatively high gain, yet you can hear every string in a full barre chord without it sounding washy, like one noise. You can hear all the individual harmonies – those are some great pickups. A lot of care goes into Boris’s guitars. He uses the best wood, with a stock of 'orina mahogany that’s very old (late-'50s), plus he uses nitro lacquer, which is the key to that sound. It’s the kind of cellulose that rubs very well into the wood, the vibrations feel more unlimited, as opposed to a polyester lacquer that feels more like a diving suit! You feel uncomfortable. Nitro is more like silk pyjamas by comparison!”
Boris Dommenget Guitarmaker handmade Guitars and Pickups
played by the Scorpions, Richie Sambora, Neil Schon, Stephen Stills,Ken Hensley, Carl Carlton and many more
www.guitarmaker.de
OP
Only play/endorse one guitar, huh?
Yes,
In his early days, he was known for playing only Valley Arts. He would later go on to endorse a lot of gear from different companies....
I am down to just three - My Gold Top, My Yellow-Strat and my Double-Neck.
That's quite an improvement from this:
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gball
Ambassador of Boogie
Well, yeah...high gain for 1984
. Polite church barbecue gain levels in 2021. Couldn't agree with him more on the nitro. I think a lot of people downplay the role of finishes, but its the one area of construction that has some mythology that I think is well earned. Hide glue feels like BS for example.
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
Oh, I know, I know. And if the Valley Arts guitars were that great he'd still be playing them IMO. Valley Art is a lot of Los Angeles guitar nerd folklore to me.
chilipeppermaniac
Ambassador of Decibels
Gball, who was on the ES335 in this clip? It is Klaus, right?
I love Francis Buchholz Bass on this song. Imagine it without his powerful riffs n bottom.
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OP
I've played them. Lot's of them. True, we here in Socal do tend to kind of embrace the 'L.A. Folklore" to some degree, kind of the same way with Echo Park Guitars, who operate in the old movie studio where all the silent films were made. But, here's what I ca tell you about the valley Arts guitars. The build is impeccable. No sharp fret ends, Prefect fretwork. Accurate intonation. Just absolutely nothing wrong in terms of quality. I think that attention to detail kind of grabbed people.
Valley Arts Guitars – The Lost Years
Valley Arts (VA) were a boutique guitar brand from the 1980’s. The original shop was located on Ventura Boulevard and burnt down in 1990. It continued to function for 2 more years but was eventuall…
thepickwickian.wordpress.com
OP
Klaus
OP
Well, yeah...high gain for 1984
Couldn't agree with him more on the nitro. I think a lot of people downplay the role of finishes, but its the one area of construction that has some mythology that I think is well earned. Hide glue feels like BS for example.
Yes, I would tend to agree. There are so many factors that offer a small, yet significant contributions to tone. I think finish could be one of the overlooked factors. TBTH, I think that people try to zero in on one thing that affects tone and I believe that is impossible. For example, a Telecaster is a product of pickup placement and scale length (to a large degree) and without those factors take into consideration, one could not replicate that tone.
The fact that Leo Fender was not a guitar player could be no more evident than in the Stratocaster's lack of a bridge tone control and the shrill, ice-pick twang of the telecaster. I frequently record at a Glendale studio that has a vintage Broadcaster and we are always asked to track with it. I am almost nauseated by the twang from those guitars. If you could bottle that tone in spray form, you could sell it as a bear repellant - its that atrocious. But then again, I am repulsed by the over-use of a Telecaster in country music as the "monkey see - monkey do," small block Chevy of guitars.
OP
LOL!!! Yes!!! Very True!!!!Well, yeah...high gain for 1984
Couldn't agree with him more on the nitro. I think a lot of people downplay the role of finishes, but its the one area of construction that has some mythology that I think is well earned. Hide glue feels like BS for example.
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
Right, Klaus Meine. Always thought it was funny the little guy would be running around with a freaking 335!
Frank Bucholz and Herman Ze German are one of the most solid throwdown rhythm sections in hard rock. Nothing too fancy but the job just doesn't get done without them.
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
I never met a Fender I like in stock form. I've modded the hell out of every one I have ever had just trying to get something usable (to me) out of them. Teles especially are just appliances to me - ugly, uncomfortable, awful tones. At lease Strats are pretty. Oh, and I blame Freddy Tavares for the ridiculous knob situation, not Leo.
chilipeppermaniac
Ambassador of Decibels
Gball, Tried P and J basses?
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
Sure, fooled around with them, but I am definitely no bass player. Just that every guy I ever played with had either a P/J or a Rickenbacker, so they were always in the practice space and I would sometimes dick around with them. Always preferred the Ricks to be honest.