Slash/Robin similarities

[AxlsMainMan]

Bear in mind I'm not a guitar player, but I honestly don't think Robin's solos on tracks like Better, SOD, or TWAT sound radically different from Slash's playing style or even his guitar tone on the classic albums. For example, if I had very limited knowledge of Guns' and someone played me the Yesterdays solo and the Better solo back-to-back, I honestly would probably be hard-pressed to differentiate them as being from 2 different guitarists.

I primarily bring this up because since Robin was in Guns' fans have often mentioned how different his playing style is from Slash and that he brought a major industrial edge to Guns' unlike anything on the classic albums. Perhaps I'm hard of hearing, but as I said, I don't find his solos radically different from anything I'd expect from Slash. For example, how radically different would a Slash solo on Better or TWAT sound from what Robin recorded? Am I the only one who feels this way?

[Silent Jay]

This I love is a good example too.

The tone is quite similar, lot of melodies and chords structures going on. But the style is totally different.

[Towelie]

I think Robin makes some unusual note choices in his solos, his whole approach is quite unique and creative, you can tell he hasn't just strung together a bunch of random blues/rock licks and wanked over a four bar phrase.

Slash is a different beast altogether. I think Slash's note choices are unmistakably Slash, his sound is hard to quantify, it's a combination of his amazing tone and great ear for melody.

If you can't tell the difference without looking in the liner notes you haven't been listening very hard.

[maynard]

I think Robin makes some unusual note choices in his solos, his whole approach is quite unique and creative, you can tell he hasn't just strung together a bunch of random blues/rock licks and wanked over a four bar phrase.

Slash is a different beast altogether. I think Slash's note choices are unmistakably Slash, his sound is hard to quantify, it's a combination of his amazing tone and great ear for melody.

If you can't tell the difference without looking in the liner notes you haven't been listening very hard.

Great post. You described both of them perfectly IMO. Robin is more chaotic and yet can create great melodies (which NIN is all about btw). They're both amazing and Axl was very lucky to work with such great artists. He was also very stupid to let them go.

[Gordon Comstock]

I don't hear it... I think Robins playing and especially his tone are quite different from what Slash did or would've done. Street of Dreams sounds the closest to an Illusions-era song so I could kind of agree with you on that one, maybe some parts of the Sorry solo, but otherwise, no..... and I don't play guitar either.

[GUNNER PT]

Robin sounded likes Slash playing This I Love This ... but the new one takes the song to another level when he plays it live ...

Edited May 25, 2015 by GUNNER PT

[niceguy]

What I find comical is that Slash's favored tone (Les Paul neck pickup with tone rolled back into a Marshall) is what Axl had Robin play all over ChiDem.

This was a case of trying to find a SUBSTITUTE for Slash, rather than trying to find a REPLACEMENT. Robin did his best to ape Slash's style, but to my ears (and the world at large, because by and large no one cares about Fincke), Robin failed.

[MrSoftie]

...Axl had Robin play all over ChiDem.

Right.

[Ifdworld]

well, as a guitar player i gotta say robin isn't that far apart from slash. First of all robin was playing slash's songs for a decade and he tried to stay faithful to the sound of the band.

There's a big growth in Robin's playing and as far as getting the songs tighter from 2k2 to 2k6. Robin's playing on tour in 2006 and his playing in cd show he is a way better guitar player and composer than most of the forum seems to acknowledge him for. He seems to be really influenced by page and hendrix and comes off as sloppy, but i think that's a good thing, just like hendrix and page were. Of course no one's comparing robin's achievements musically to page's and hendrix, but his sound overall.

I think robin is capable of demonstrating so much passion in his playing that it's pretty difficult for anyone to ignore, even if they may not like it.

Slash however is anything but sloppy and even when he was making a mistake( i.e. nightrain 88 ritz last solo) he still makes the best of it and usually creates something really cool. He really knows how to improvise and he uses the minor pentatonic in a way that i think made everyone that plays guitar try to mimic what he was doing, because it sounds killer.

All in all they're 2 different guitar players that happen to play the same genre and songs so it's easy to compare. I really dig Robin, he also made me pickup the guitar and made me try to see what he was doing there, specially in Better, not only the solo, but the outro and the way he just harmonizes over the power chords, really unique work i gotta say and the melody!! That riff is amazing and nothing like slash (richard also gets props for writing the breakdown riff in this song) . He definitely is a guitar player with his own touch and artistry, so it's just a matter of relating to what he's doing.

Slash, well he needs no comments, he's the one that gave us the songs we love, so it's hard to beat him at his game. The only cool thing about having someone replace him, is that you can appreciate how different musicians play the same notes (sort of) in they're own way. Slash gave us great songs to play over. Robin, Richard, buckethead and Bumblefoot seem to be the one's that really make them their own... and i like that a lot.

Edited May 26, 2015 by Ifdworld

[wasted]

I felt like Bucket sounded more like Slash than Robin. Ultimately they just different guitarists.

Stand out solos for me are If the World and TIL. Bucket and Finck did a great job. I imagine Slash would have too on stuff like Catcher and Twat.

[Strange Broue]

I honestly don't think Robin's solos on tracks like Better, SOD, or TWAT sound radically different from Slash's playing style or even his guitar tone on the classic albums.

LOL

Those examples are the exact opposite evidence to what you just claim here

If you say TIL solo sounds like Slash, then i hear ya

Other than that, zero similarities

What I find comical is that Slash's favored tone (Les Paul neck pickup with tone rolled back into a Marshall) is what Axl had Robin play all over ChiDem.

This was a case of trying to find a SUBSTITUTE for Slash, rather than trying to find a REPLACEMENT. Robin did his best to ape Slash's style, but to my ears (and the world at large, because by and large no one cares about Fincke), Robin failed.

source?

[Johnny Drama]

You don't need a source. Anyone that plays can tell you. ..I certainly can because if there's one thing I've ripped off from Slash in my playing it's playing any slow to medium paced solo with my neck pickup and the tone rolled all the way back.

He ripped it off Clapton to the best of my knowledge.

[Strange Broue]

You don't need a source. Anyone that plays can tell you. ..I certainly can because if there's one thing I've ripped off from Slash in my playing it's playing any slow to medium paced solo with my neck pickup and the tone rolled all the way back.

He ripped it off Clapton to the best of my knowledge.

do you seriously can tell that off that clusterfuck overproduced recording? what if it's all pro tools? Axl tinkering with thta record for so long, i think nobody can tell if it's an actual solo or it's a copy paste thing

[RussTCB]

I'm a big fan of both guys and I don't hear much similarities between them at all. As far as tone goes, I think Robin had the original sound down on things like November Rain but that comes with the territory of covering someone else's material.

[Chewbacca]

You don't need a source. Anyone that plays can tell you. ..I certainly can because if there's one thing I've ripped off from Slash in my playing it's playing any slow to medium paced solo with my neck pickup and the tone rolled all the way back.

He ripped it off Clapton to the best of my knowledge.

do you seriously can tell that off that clusterfuck overproduced recording? what if it's all pro tools? Axl tinkering with thta record for so long, i think nobody can tell if it's an actual solo or it's a copy paste thing

Good point. God knows how Robin's tone was affected by it.

[shjtjustgotreal]

this is unrelated but i remember someone here saying Slash would eat finck alive then craps out the thing that teaches assba how to play

[niceguy]

For the love of God, any decent guitarist can hear the "woman tone" (as Clapton coined it and Slash used so beautifully).

That tone is the iconic tone on mid tempo GNR solos. And Axl clearly had Robin try to ape it.

This is why you don't see a single Fender guitar onstage with axls hired help. Izzy and slash used Gibson tones to make the GNR sound, and axl kept it going. Which is pathetic, because supposedly he was all about the future or some shit.

[Strange Broue]

For the love of God, any decent guitarist can hear the "woman tone" (as Clapton coined it and Slash used so beautifully).

That tone is the iconic tone on mid tempo GNR solos. And Axl clearly had Robin try to ape it.

This is why you don't see a single Fender guitar onstage with axls hired help. Izzy and slash used Gibson tones to make the GNR sound, and axl kept it going. Which is pathetic, because supposedly he was all about the future or some shit.

but the future is 8 bit sounds and sub-bass and some random speeches isn't it?

[wkuk04]

Either way Better solo is perfect symmetry, Bucket's solo before the bridge is so good also...

[magisme]

They both spent a lot of time playing classic Guns songs.

[Mendez]

Robin usually uses 2-note chords (not a guitar player so don't know if I'm using the right terminology) in his solos. He also plays in phrases (he describes it as taking a breath)

[Metal Matt]

You don't need a source. Anyone that plays can tell you. ..I certainly can because if there's one thing I've ripped off from Slash in my playing it's playing any slow to medium paced solo with my neck pickup and the tone rolled all the way back.

He ripped it off Clapton to the best of my knowledge.

do you seriously can tell that off that clusterfuck overproduced recording? what if it's all pro tools? Axl tinkering with thta record for so long, i think nobody can tell if it's an actual solo or it's a copy paste thing

You can't really protools a neck pickup tone. Less bite more moan.

[star]

Slash/Robin similarities

I had to laugh. They both hand hands and eyes?

[arnold layne]

Slash and Robin are spelt with five letters.

[CheapJon]

They are both awesome and better than the new one.