The guitar sound on Appetite for Destruction

[auad]

I used google translator...so...

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How to speak the sound of Appetite for Destruction without talking about Izzy Stradlin? Despite the image of Guns N 'Roses to be entirely connected to the double Axl Rose and Slash, each member certainly has a key role both in composition, is in the final sound of the band. Since Axl Adler, anyone who was replaced result in a change in the sound achieved on Appetite for Destruction.

But as we are here to talk about guitars now let's focus on the sound that comes out of the left speaker to your stereo. I say this because in general the parts you hear coming from the left side are the parts played by Izzy while you hear the parties on the right or in the center are Slash.

When we hear the disco music are impacted by all of the work. But it is interesting to note how the riffs played by both guitarists intertwine. At the end we get the impression of the whole, but the whole is composed of 2 guys with opposite personalities, addressing a song in entirely different ways and forming a very interesting sound unit.

The way the mix is that's playing the guitar sound of a musician on the left and one on the right, with the soil in the center. Thus we have a balanced sound (half to one side and half to the other), and have a certain level of separation that is very useful. What I mean is that you hear the band as one thing, but if you have attention to detail can easily distinguish which is run by one and which is run by another because the mix (how music is regulated, and set to sound in speakers) favors this.

Well, all this talk has more to do with form, with recording of exactly what the sound of Izzy. In general it sounds like the sound of it? I must say that compared to the sound of Slash Izzy sounds less distorted and less aggressive. The sound of it is simpler too. While Slash performs the song with a heavier, more aggressive and fast notes sound, Izzy is a guy who makes a lighter sound, leaving you sound longer a classic rock sound with simple yet cool things on the bases that complement well the band's sound.

To GUITAR magazine in September 1988 he defined his sound this way: "I'm a really basic guitar. I always hear the simplicity of a song. "

And that is exactly what we expect and we enjoyed the Izzy. The guy is practically a Rolling Stone 80. So to perform this type of sound, what equipment he used? What is the tone necessary?

clarity

To play the simple sound that Izzy refers, I believe the best way is with a simple device. If we go back in time we see that Izzy has always been a fan of Gibson. See photo below:

This is a Gibson Les Paul Black Beauty. What is the basic difference between the Les Paul that Slash used for this? Besides color (this is all black) wood is the differential. While the Les Paul Slash and the vast majority of LesPaul is made of Mahogany with Maple Top, this Izzy is totally made of Mahogany.

Sonically, what changes? The Mahogany is a hardwood with excellent sound and full-bodied and when you put a maple top you add more brilliance and a "popping" more timbre. Crudely summarizing guitar Mahogany Izzy: more mahogany, more body and less bright sound.

The Les Paul is a beautiful guitar with a classic look, full-bodied sound and punch. Izzy had been playing on Les Paul guitars for a few years, but before the recording of Appetite something changed.

Izzy is seen touring with another guitar:

It is well known that the Guns got the money the advance contract with Geffen, Slash acquired Hunterburst, his first high quality guitar, a replica of a Gibson Les Paul.

The other members also municiaram. From what we read in the biography of Slash, Izzy and he visited the U.S. in Los Angeles Guitar Store (now defunct Los Angeles), where Izzy got two guitars Gibson ES-175 and Mesa Boogie amplifier.

On Semi-Acoustic Izzy told Guitar Player magazine in 1993 as follows: "I like Les Pauls, but the hollowbodies are great, because I can play Them in hotel rooms or anywhere without an amp. I just love the look, the feel, and the sound Those Things get. Especially Those old pick-ups soap-bar "

So we have to pass Izzy Les Paul blackbeauty for the semi-acoustic ES-175. That was a guitar model that Gibson launched at the end of the 40s, focused on jazz guitarists (think rock was not even there). This guitar was a cheaper version of other models and cost only $ 175, hence the name ES-175. A highlight are the P90 pickups are single pickups from Gibson that equipped almost all models of guitars until the creation of the Humbucker. The sound is more open and brighter than the humbucker.

Thus Izzy got the tone that sought at the time.

Well, I can say that when I see shows where Izzy play with other guitars like Les Paul or Telecaster, feel that something is missing. For me the semi-acoustic with P90 is a key element in the sound of Appetite equation.

Izzy also made some modifications so that it could be even closer to the sound he sought.

"I anchored the bridges. This new Gibson I've got, Which is 5 "deep, had a sliding bridge Which I superglued down."

What does that mean exactly? Well, from what I could figure out the bridge of his guitar was subtituída by a bridge closest to a Les Paul, the famous bridge Tune-o-Matic, which has a much more sophisticated mechanical system than the one that originally came in the ES-175.

Despite also being heroin user, Izzy apparently did not need any equipment to sell to fund their addiction, because the next shows Izzy was photographed with both the Les Paul and with the ES-175. But when asked about the recording of Appetite was adamant he only used the ES-175.

"Most of the time I use a semi-acoustic, actually most of the tours is only what I use. It is an ES-175 with P90 pickup. It is one of the best guitar sounds I've ever heard. I did all the recording (Appetite for Destruction) with her. "

I conclude this text by saying that despite the sound of the guitar base is balanced 50/50 to face musician, ie, Slash and Izzy have an equal share in bases, in my view the sound of Izzy is more "readable". When I hear the songs I feel more clearly hear parts of the Slash, and I believe that this is due to the use of less distortion. When I hear the audios isolates also feel that the sound of Izzy is more defined, while the sound of Slash is more aggressive and sometimes ends up being a little more "bunched".

Strengthening these are personal impressions, but it makes me appreciate the bases, plus the sound that is made by Izzy than the sound made by Slash. I mean, as a player, I'd rather get a sound like the Izzy, when I touch a base, than the sound obtained by Slash.

Another important ingredient equation is also the amp a Mesa Boogie which unfortunately do not know exactly what model head:

Izzy - "The sound Mesa Boogie head is amazing. Slash plays a Les Paul with a Marshall. Between these two sounds that you have a good distinction. "

A little more about amplifiers ...

In 1988 he said it was like the sound he was looking for: "There is a sound that I prefer; Something between a country and a clean Marshall distortion. "

But it is interesting that Izzy was not 100% satisfied with the result he wanted meaner sound. What I find most interesting to note is that most musicians think the only way to resolve this is to increase the average EQ, amp or sound mixing desk on the disc, but there are N ways to raise average in their sound, see how Izzy thought to "solve" this for the next album:

"I do not think this record has come to light as I would have liked. I recorded with a Full Stack (2 boxes of 4 speakers) complete. When I look back now I see that the way to go is to use a small amplifier. I wish I had a little more average out next time.'ll try a printhead with 1 (speaker) 12 (inches).'ve been playing with Carvin amps and sounds good obttive them. "

Ie, wanted to move to a smaller amp to get meaner. These creative solutions are very interesting. Well since we started talking about amps let's dive into this topic as well estentendo for amps used by Slash, but this is now subject for another post ...

http://whiplash.net/materias/curiosidades/207624-gunsnroses.html

Edited August 1, 2014 by auad

[EvH]

Axl Adler is better than the old one.

[YOUCOULDBEMINE.]

The Guns N' Roses is strong in this one

[maynard]

The nice article.

[RandallFlagg]

I'm a really basic guitar too, lets be friends.

Cool article with some nice info though, the Stradster certainly has a way with raw simplicity. It's the little nuances that matter when you hear Stradlin play. I like his stuff with the embellishments tinkling along but his compositions are certainly the bones of many great tracks. Without the bones you can't hold the structure upright, imagine some CD tracks with the sane shell of Stradlin, they'd be glorious but less convoluted, there's beauty on both sides but merging would've been an intriguing possibility.

[DieselDaisy]

Izzy is GN'R. Totally agree with that article - the dual guitars on AFD is actually about 80% of the reason why I loved the band in the first place.

One other thing about the guitar sound on Appetite. Slash's sound has never sounded the same since. He lost that amp and he has never been able to recapture that sublime sound.

[Coma16]

I wonder if Izzy actually interviewed or if it was *someone* else

[TeeJay410]

Yeah, the fact that slash and izzy's rhythm guitars rarely did the exact same thing and had different tones produced a unique sound particularly in that era where typically the rhythm was the exact same guitar part simply doubled, one for each ear.

[SlashisGOD]

As much as I love the tone on AFD from both Slash and Izzy, I still think UYI has Slash's ultimate tone.

[DieselDaisy]

As much as I love the tone on AFD from both Slash and Izzy, I still think UYI has Slash's ultimate tone.

Nahh, cannot agree there. His tone on Appetite is superior in every way. UYI, it is too, metallic; less grease for my liking.

[bacardimayne]

Izzy is GN'R. Totally agree with that article - the dual guitars on AFD is actually about 80% of the reason why I loved the band in the first place.

One other thing about the guitar sound on Appetite. Slash's sound has never sounded the same since. He lost that amp and he has never been able to recapture that sublime sound.

How do you feel about Slash's rhythm playing on the UYIs (and in general)? We may finally agree on something.

[AxlisOld]

Izzy is GN'R. Totally agree with that article - the dual guitars on AFD is actually about 80% of the reason why I loved the band in the first place.

One other thing about the guitar sound on Appetite. Slash's sound has never sounded the same since. He lost that amp and he has never been able to recapture that sublime sound.

How do you feel about Slash's rhythm playing on the UYIs (and in general)? We may finally agree on something.

His UYI tone fucking sucks. It sounds hollow and fuzzy.

[DieselDaisy]

Izzy is GN'R. Totally agree with that article - the dual guitars on AFD is actually about 80% of the reason why I loved the band in the first place.

One other thing about the guitar sound on Appetite. Slash's sound has never sounded the same since. He lost that amp and he has never been able to recapture that sublime sound.

How do you feel about Slash's rhythm playing on the UYIs (and in general)? We may finally agree on something.

Well it is excellent in itself, but turn up Izzy. I am not sure if this was Bill Price's or Clink's, Slash's - or even Axl’s - decision, but Izzy needs to be higher in the mix. Perhaps Axl was mad at Stradlin for not wanting to show his ballsack to the crowd while making 10mins videos. Who knows? Slash’s Illusion sound is still a very good sound but his leads on AFD seem to snarl at you. It actually seems like the amp will meltdown or blow-up at times (listen to his leads on Nightrain). And that was this modified pre-amp which he nicked from SIR (well, he rented it than said it had been 'nicked' because they wanted it back). They reclaimed it so UYI has a JCM 800 which does not have the same feeling.

And Izzy is low. So a combination of that means, Illusion does not have the same guitar sound. Illusion is more metallic. The rhythm lines are sharper, with less grease - the switch to Sorum, a ‘thumper‘ and not a ‘groover‘, may also contribute. It is not an unsatisfactory sound by any measure but Appetite crushes it.

[bacardimayne]

Izzy is GN'R. Totally agree with that article - the dual guitars on AFD is actually about 80% of the reason why I loved the band in the first place.

One other thing about the guitar sound on Appetite. Slash's sound has never sounded the same since. He lost that amp and he has never been able to recapture that sublime sound.

How do you feel about Slash's rhythm playing on the UYIs (and in general)? We may finally agree on something.

Well it is excellent in itself, but turn up Izzy. I am not sure if this was Bill Price's or Clink's, Slash's - or even Axls - decision, but Izzy needs to be higher in the mix. Perhaps Axl was mad at Stradlin for not wanting to show his ballsack to the crowd while making 10mins videos. Who knows? Slashs Illusion sound is still a very good sound but his leads on AFD seem to snarl at you. It actually seems like the amp will meltdown or blow-up at times (listen to his leads on Nightrain). And that was this modified pre-amp which he nicked from SIR (well, he rented it than said it had been 'nicked' because they wanted it back). They reclaimed it so UYI has a JCM 800 which does not have the same feeling.

And Izzy is low. So a combination of that means, Illusion does not have the same guitar sound. Illusion is more metallic. The rhythm lines are sharper, with less grease - the switch to Sorum, a thumper and not a groover, may also contribute. It is not an unsatisfactory sound by any measure but Appetite crushes it.

I find that the Izzyless songs suffer hard from Slash's rhythm playing. Sounds like he's playing through a plastic tube. His rhythm tone needs more crunch and less snarl. Edited August 3, 2014 by bacardimayne

[AxlisOld]

Izzy is GN'R. Totally agree with that article - the dual guitars on AFD is actually about 80% of the reason why I loved the band in the first place.

One other thing about the guitar sound on Appetite. Slash's sound has never sounded the same since. He lost that amp and he has never been able to recapture that sublime sound.

How do you feel about Slash's rhythm playing on the UYIs (and in general)? We may finally agree on something.

Well it is excellent in itself, but turn up Izzy. I am not sure if this was Bill Price's or Clink's, Slash's - or even Axls - decision, but Izzy needs to be higher in the mix. Perhaps Axl was mad at Stradlin for not wanting to show his ballsack to the crowd while making 10mins videos. Who knows? Slashs Illusion sound is still a very good sound but his leads on AFD seem to snarl at you. It actually seems like the amp will meltdown or blow-up at times (listen to his leads on Nightrain). And that was this modified pre-amp which he nicked from SIR (well, he rented it than said it had been 'nicked' because they wanted it back). They reclaimed it so UYI has a JCM 800 which does not have the same feeling.

And Izzy is low. So a combination of that means, Illusion does not have the same guitar sound. Illusion is more metallic. The rhythm lines are sharper, with less grease - the switch to Sorum, a thumper and not a groover, may also contribute. It is not an unsatisfactory sound by any measure but Appetite crushes it.

I find that the Izzyless songs suffer hard from Slash's rhythm playing. Sounds like he's playing through a plastic tube. His rhythm tone needs more crunch and less snarl.

*Cough* Garden of Eden *cough*

[bacardimayne]

Locomotive is the worst one for me. I genuinely think that song is lowered from what could be a 9 to about a 7 because of Slash's abysmal rhythm tone/playing.

[bacardimayne]

Back on topic - Slash's tone on AFD (and not to forget Izzy's contrasting tone) is perfect. It doesn't even sound like a guitar. More like some perfectly fine-tuned hard rock machine. All of the little snarls, squeals, whines and stuff that he gets out of it without bearing into wank territory is astounding. I've never heard harmonics sound so good.

[Crash Diet]

Fuck South America

Locomotive is the worst one for me. I genuinely think that song is lowered from what could be a 9 to about a 7 because of Slash's abysmal rhythm tone/playing.

Without that abysmal rhythm that song wouldn't have existed

Edited August 3, 2014 by Crash Diet

[bacardimayne]

Fuck South America

Locomotive is the worst one for me. I genuinely think that song is lowered from what could be a 9 to about a 7 because of Slash's abysmal rhythm tone/playing.

Without that abysmal rhythm that song wouldn't have existed

Wtf are you talking about? He could have easily just used a better tone and the song would have existed. Stop being an idiot.

[Gackt]

The "It's not supposed to sound good" excuse just doesn't ever work

I prefer Appetite's guitar sound because the track layering sounds a lot better than some tracks on Illusions, which get a bit messy.

[DieselDaisy]

Back on topic - Slash's tone on AFD (and not to forget Izzy's contrasting tone) is perfect. It doesn't even sound like a guitar. More like some perfectly fine-tuned hard rock machine. All of the little snarls, squeals, whines and stuff that he gets out of it without bearing into wank territory is astounding. I've never heard harmonics sound so good.

Christ, we can agree.

(John is still better than Paul though.)

[bacardimayne]

(John is still better than Paul though.)

at being shit

[foghat43]

Question from a non-musician about achieving/replicating a certain guitar sound, for example the AFD sound/tone which is the topic being discussed... Not being a musician, I obviously don't really understand all the different aspects that go into producing a particular sound. I get that different styles/brands of guitars with different woods, setups, strings, pickups, etc. played through different amps and with various effects and production techniques can achieve a wide variety of different sounds. But what I don't get is why when the desired tone/sound of a guitar is achieved on an album why is it sometimes so elusive and hard to replicate that same sound on subsequent albums? For example, if Slash had desired to replicate the AFD sound/tone on the UYI albums wouldn't it have been fairly easy to do if he simply used the same guitar/amp setup (or at least one very similar)/effects/production techniques, etc. Like I said...I'm not a musician...but I do know what my ears like...and to me the sound/tone of the guitars on AFD is vastly superior to what I hear on the UYI albums. Imagine what "You Could Be Mine" and some of those other tracks would have sounded like with that mean AFD tone...was Slash intentionally trying to move in a different direction with his sound/tone or was he just not able to replicate that AFD tone?

[DieselDaisy]

Question from a non-musician about achieving/replicating a certain guitar sound, for example the AFD sound/tone which is the topic being discussed... Not being a musician, I obviously don't really understand all the different aspects that go into producing a particular sound. I get that different styles/brands of guitars with different woods, setups, strings, pickups, etc. played through different amps and with various effects and production techniques can achieve a wide variety of different sounds. But what I don't get is why when the desired tone/sound of a guitar is achieved on an album why is it sometimes so elusive and hard to replicate that same sound on subsequent albums? For example, if Slash had desired to replicate the AFD sound/tone on the UYI albums wouldn't it have been fairly easy to do if he simply used the same guitar/amp setup (or at least one very similar)/effects/production techniques, etc. Like I said...I'm not a musician...but I do know what my ears like...and to me the sound/tone of the guitars on AFD is vastly superior to what I hear on the UYI albums. Imagine what "You Could Be Mine" and some of those other tracks would have sounded like with that mean AFD tone...was Slash intentionally trying to move in a different direction with his sound/tone or was he just not able to replicate that AFD tone?

As I said, it was a 'modified' amp he was using from SIR. Every guitarist wanted this amp on the cheese rock circuit. It sounded, wonderful. Instruments and amps are like that; sometimes you just get one which sounds wonderful. But, as I said, this one had been modified. Slash's rental had expired so Slash tried to pull a fast one by faking a theft but SIR were not buying any of it and reclaimed the amp from GN'R's rehearsal space whenthe band was absent (probably off doing drugs).

So sadly he did not have this amp for UYI!

[foghat43]

Question from a non-musician about achieving/replicating a certain guitar sound, for example the AFD sound/tone which is the topic being discussed... Not being a musician, I obviously don't really understand all the different aspects that go into producing a particular sound. I get that different styles/brands of guitars with different woods, setups, strings, pickups, etc. played through different amps and with various effects and production techniques can achieve a wide variety of different sounds. But what I don't get is why when the desired tone/sound of a guitar is achieved on an album why is it sometimes so elusive and hard to replicate that same sound on subsequent albums? For example, if Slash had desired to replicate the AFD sound/tone on the UYI albums wouldn't it have been fairly easy to do if he simply used the same guitar/amp setup (or at least one very similar)/effects/production techniques, etc. Like I said...I'm not a musician...but I do know what my ears like...and to me the sound/tone of the guitars on AFD is vastly superior to what I hear on the UYI albums. Imagine what "You Could Be Mine" and some of those other tracks would have sounded like with that mean AFD tone...was Slash intentionally trying to move in a different direction with his sound/tone or was he just not able to replicate that AFD tone?

As I said, it was a 'modified' amp he was using from SIR. Every guitarist wanted this amp on the cheese rock circuit. It sounded, wonderful. Instruments and amps are like that; sometimes you just get one which sounds wonderful. But, as I said, this one had been modified. Slash's rental had expired so Slash tried to pull a fast one by faking a theft but SIR were not buying any of it and reclaimed the amp from GN'R's rehearsal space whenthe band was absent (probably off doing drugs).

So sadly he did not have this amp for UYI!

Seems like he probably made enough $ off of AFD to go back and purchase that same amp or have another one "modified" to the same specs?

But, yeah...I get what you are saying...

Do we know if any other well-known guitarists used that same amp on other albums...would be interesting to hear.

Edited August 3, 2014 by foghat43