Klay

Axl's brilliant and I'm sure that if it wasn't for his distinct voice/singing and songwriting abilities, GN'R wouldn't have made it. This comes from someone who's a big admirer of Slash; still what sells a band is always the singer and the songs.

I'm sure that Axl would have made it in any band he were; there's no denial that all the rest of the guys were the perfect fit, as they say only those 5 guys could have pulled out AFD. Still Axl's a one of a kind singer with a one of a kind voice, he would always have made it.

It's cool for Slash to recognize it because it's the truth. As for the personal questions and the relationship with Axl, it's up to them so no comments from my side.

"Great Music is Spontaneous, Not Tinkered With Over Years" = bullshit.

There's no right or wrong way for creating music. It can either be one of those moments of genious or it can take years to mature and need a lot of effort to come out great.

Also people work at different paces, there's no right or wrong.

It's been 18 years since Slash quit GN'R.

In between we heard stuff like "not in this lifetime", "[slash's] like a cancer"," never", "one of us will die before it happens" and so on.

It amazes me how people still believe these kinda rumours of insiders and that crap.

Axl and Slash have moved on, you should too...

Axl tries to keep them but... members come and go, life goes on, don't worry much.

although I didn't hear what they were saying to each other, I could see that Axl did most of the talking and Steven was just nodding his head in agreement. Sort of like yea I know I fucked up. Also Im sure Axl did plenty of venting about the things that he is upset with regarding Slash.

On a different note, I had a dream last night that things were cool between Axl and me again. It was cool for a bit to not have the stress that comes with what I do (promoting the old days) knowing Axl is unhappy with it. It was like a breath of fresh air to see Axl in a good mood while standing next to me.

We forge our own paths, don't have regrets.

Your presence here on this forum is a ray of light in a house mired in shadow with so many non-sense posted by some of us; your care in sharing your stories with the band is deply appreciated by the fans of both the original and current GN'R.

Accept the diagnosis, not the prognosis, I'm sure Axl see's a trusted old friend in you and it'll be just fine in a near future.

He's sick of reading crap like these kinda topics, that's why he doesn't comes here anymore.

In Slash's book he says that Snakepit II was a mess, to some of the guys involved this was their first real band, some guys of the band even fighted each other.

To share some information with you, basically Perla took Slash out of Snakepit II . She wanted Slash to be hanging with known and popular musicians and his career wasn't moving any forward with Snakepit II.

Perla's always been very pro-active in guiding Slash's career towards what she thinks it's the right path , kinda like what you guys claim Beta does.

Also some bandmates in Snakepit II would be mocking Slash on his back, which didn't go so well.

Slash simply pulled it off and went to pursue bigger projets again, as his next project turned out to be VR.

These journalists don't get tired of asking the same stuff over and over again and apparently Slash doesn't gets tired telling the same stories over and over again.

Guns N' Roses it's not his thing anymore, he quit the band 18 years ago - he should be mature about it by now, I think he should just stop talking about it and move on, there's not much left to say.

Currently if you want to ask about Guns N' Roses ask Axl or any of the current members.

Let the great past rest in peace and move on everybody in the press, it's 2014!

Signature gear is great if you want to sound like the artist.

I think you can always trust that companies like Seymour Duncan put out great signature stuff, I bet those pickups kill if you want to sound like Slash.

But I think that unless you're a beginner, you'll want to make your own sound and not chase somebody else's tone.

Seymour Duncan has a great catalogue and a very informative website where you can find out which kind of sound each pickup has: the output, the bass/mids/treble balance, mp3 sound demos, ... do a research before you buy and I'm sure you'll make a fine choice.

Over the course of his illustrious career—one that includes time in Guns N’ Roses, Slash’s Snakepit and Velvet Revolver—Slash has amassed album sales of more than 100 million, garnered a Grammy (to go with his seven nominations) and was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Slash also has seen plenty of success with his solo albums. Both his Slash and Apocalyptic Love offerings landed in the top five of the Billboard albums chart.

World On Fire, which will be released September 16, is Slash’s second album with his official band, the Conspirators, which features Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums) and Todd Kerns (bass).

From the infectious up-tempo aggressiveness of the album’s title track to the sexual politics of songs like “Battleground," “Dirty Girl” and the coming-of-age “Bent To Fly," the 17-song opus delves into a wide range of topics. World On Fire also features a rocking instrumental, “Safari Inn.”

Produced by Michael “Elvis” Baskette (Alter Bridge, Falling In Reverse, Incubus), World On Fire is a diverse record that covers a multitude of musical feels with a rawness and energy that’s reminiscent of Slash’s early work with Guns N’ Roses.

Make no mistake about it: World On Fire is not a solo project. It was recorded by a band with all four members contributing their strengths as a whole.

Slash is touring with Aerosmith on the “Let Rock Rule” tour. I recently spoke with him about World On Fire, touring, his love of Les Pauls and, of course, some of the most memorable moments from his career.

GUITAR WORLD: One of the first Guns N’ Roses tours was with Aerosmith in 1988. What are some of the differences touring with them now as opposed to then?

That was the tour GNR really broke through on. Obviously I’m in a different band now, but the road trips and venues are pretty much the same. It was a blast then and it’s a blast now. I do know I’m not as fucked up as I was! [laughs]. We were at the height of our debauchery back then.

World On Fire feels similar to Appetite For Destruction in terms of its rawness. Was that your intention?

There was never any real etched-out intention. It was really just to go in and do the songs. I think a lot of the rawness comes from Mike Baskette [producer] really knowing what the album should sound like and what we were trying to achieve as a rock band.

The sonic landscape has completely changed in the recording world. Mike really cut his teeth working as an engineer in the studio trying to record rock and roll the way that it should be. I think it was a relief for him be able to work with a band that was actually going to play through the songs and then be able to use his own chops to achieve what the band sounds like. It was a really good pairing.

What are some of the differences recording live to tape as opposed to digital?

The main thing is the warmth of the drums and the amplifiers. Capturing that is the main reason for using tape. I know they’ve tried to make plugins that are supposed to sound like tape, but it’s not something they’ve been able to pull off. Two inches is way better sounding.

What’s your writing process like with Myles?

While we’re on the road, I’ll record acoustic/electric ideas into the voice memo recorder on my phone. It’s very laid back, with no pressure to make a hit song or even to try to make a record. It’s just me putting ideas down. I’ll do that through the course of the tour, and at the same time Myles will sing melody ideas into his phone. After the tour is over, we’ll collect the ideas and then I’ll go through all the different musical concepts we’ve created and pick out the ones that sound good.

While Myles is out with Alter Bridge, I’ll go into a rehearsal room with Bret and Todd and start getting the grooves together and send the loose arrangements to Myles. Once Myles is off the road with Alter Bridge, he’ll come in with us and we’ll work out the arrangements and put it all together.

What’s your live setup like these days?

I’m using just a few new Marshall JCM800’s along with a couple of cabinets. I’ve learned a lot about Marshalls over the years and have modified the heads so that they have a bit more gain, but nothing that’s over the top. I want it to retain a lot of the punch.

Why a Les Paul?

Growing up, the guys whose sound I liked typically played Les Pauls, and I think that’s what first drew me to them. I remember the first guitar I ever owned was a Les Paul copy made by a company called Memphis. I had that guitar until it fell apart and then got a late-Seventies BC Rich Mockingbird that became my main guitar. After that, I went through this whole trial-and-error with Strats, Teles and Jacksons and eventually ended up back with a Les Paul. I actually had Steve Hunter’s Les Paul for a while. That was when the honey, flame-top became my thing.

You’ve mentioned in previous interviews that Aerosmith’s Rocks album played a huge role in your early years playing. Can you explain how influential that album was to you?

I remember first hearing Rocks at a party I was at, and it immediately caught my attention. Then shortly after I started picking up guitar, I was exposed to it again and started listening to it over and over. It had this manic, punk rock attitude and a rhythm and blues sleaziness to it. There was something about that particular album that really hit a nerve with me. It was everything—the vocals, the bass and drums, Brad [Whitford] and Joe [Perry]. Their sound really set me off in the direction I wanted to go.

Can you tell me the origin of “Sweet Child O’ Mine”?

After Guns N’ Roses got signed, we had a period where the record company didn’t want us performing live. They just wanted to get us in the studio. A lot of people were scared of the band at the time and didn’t want to work with us. So there was a lot of sitting around.

A management company that was courting us thought they would impress us by putting us up in this really big house in LA—which of course, we totaled! [laughs]. One day Izzy, Duff and I were all sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace in the living room. I had been working on that riff for a while and Izzy and Duff started to play along to it. What we didn’t know at the time was that Axl was upstairs and had apparently overheard us and started writing lyrics.

The next day, we went in to a pre-production session and Axl said, “Hey, play that thing you guys were playing yesterday.” So I started the riff and Izzy had the chord changes and started to play along with Duff and Steven and it all just suddenly materialized. It came together pretty quickly after that.

Duff McKagan has performed a few gigs with Axl’s current lineup of Guns N’ Roses, which leads me to ask: Do you ever foresee a time when you might write and record with Axl again?

People have been speculating about it for years, but I really have a hard time picturing it. There hasn’t been any communication along those lines between he and I. I have a hard time picturing it because I’m always focused on the next show. I’m one of those people who lives in the moment. I don’t look too far into the future and I don’t dwell too much on the past.

What would you say has been the highlight of your career thus far?

There have been a lot of moments dotted all along my career that I would consider memorable. The beginnings of Guns N’ Roses, the gig that that got us the record deal, the first tours with the Cult and Aerosmith, the first Snakepit tour and the beginnings of Velvet Revolver. Those are all moments filled with moments.

Then there’s the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For as much as everybody tried to dismiss it at the time, when it finally happened and we actually got up there and did it, it turned out to be a very poignant, memorable and significant experience.

And it just keeps going. We just had a show last night at an arena that was the biggest show we’ve done in the States as a headliner. I appreciate all of them and really take the time to ingest what’s happening while it’s happening. Especially now that I’m not flying drunk all the time! [laughs].

Source:

http://www.guitarworld.com/world-fire-slash-discusses-new-solo-album-gibson-les-pauls-and-guns-n-roses#slide-0

Please, delete this in case it has been posted before

This is like Illusions VS AFD

AWESOME stuff, man!

Thanks!

I've got several ideas ready to record and I think they're cool, all around hard rock with a modern touch of synths; I've only got 2 problems:

- I do it all myself and it takes around 2-3 months to get each demo done; yeah, it's a lot and they're just rough demos (I can fully understand why Chinese Democracy took so long!)

- I don't have a singer yet ...

Hopefully one day I'll have a full album of demos done

These tribute bands leave me a funny feeling, they seem closer and closer to the real thing!

That Axl impersonator from Dust N' Bones does sounds close, as well as the rest of the band, it gives you flashbacks to the real thing!

Still I would be able to tell the difference to the real and only one Axl

Thanks for sharing!

He only recorded Civil War.

However he wrote many of the drum parts that Matt would latter record.

Many of the UYI songs were written even during the AFD days, they just either weren't finished yet or were saved for latter albuns.

Min Etune is an automatic tunning system, battery powered with automated tunners. Here's a video:

There's just to many Les Paul models around, it gets confusing.

The Signature T is a model series made as a tribute to Les Paul himself.

The current Traditional is equivalent to the old Standard: the body is solid (and heavy!), has no weight relief holes.

The current Standard is different than what a Les Paul Standard used to be: the current Standard has holes inside the body (under the top) to remove weight. Some people like it because it's more confortable to play, a solid body Les Paul is heavy! Others claim that the tone and sustain ain't the same.

Weight relief holes are kinda like this:

To be honest, like it or not, the hardest thing to replicate in GN'R is Axl's voice.

Everything else can be replicated realistically enough to fool most of us.

Surely, it became this:

You can tell that Izzy was the foundation musically by listening to shit like this. I hear a little bit of GNR in some of Slash's shit. I hear a little in Duff's music, but when I hear some of Izzy's songs? It's like 75% classic GNR. If you took that song, put Axl's melodies and voice on it, Duff's baseline and a Slash solo...it's a brand new original GNR song.

To be honest - that song is practically a cover of 'Sweet Home Alabama' with different words

I also got that feeling, the chorus sounds like Sweet Home Alabama.

But anyway, this same chords structure thing has been going for decades and you heard so many hits and never cared about it. Here's an example:

Locomotive with Steven Adler on drums sounded even better:

Despite the mistakes, that Steven groove is just impossible to replicate, the way he makes the hi-hat and crash cymball sound is so recognizable, instant AFD flashback!

He wrote most if not all the UYI drum parts.

On a side note:

I'm not a drummer neither ever played drums in my life; still one day around 15 years ago I was listening to a unknown tune on the radio and I thought... that druming, must be Steven Adler! Latter they announced it was Vain with the song Cindy; I went to the internet to search details for it only to find out that the drummer was indeed Steven Adler!!

Here's what I'm talking about, 2 examples where the drummer is Steven and you know it imidiatelly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX3NEJSzqSg

Bumble's tone on that one has q-zone pedal or a wah pedal kicked in at a fixed position, that's why it sounds like that.

Is he using the same here?

He sounds utterly awful in that video too. Terrible tone.

No, I don't think so; his tone here is cool.

On the other video the tone is quacky, clearly a wah kicked in at a fixed position or a q-zone pedal which does the same effect.

Here's a rig rundown of Bumble's gear:

Bumble seems to be a nice guy, down to earth, got to respect that.

Slash

Bumblefoot

Utterly awful.

Bumble's tone on that one has q-zone pedal or a wah pedal kicked in at a fixed position, that's why it sounds like that.

Best tone I've ever heard was Slash's live tone from 1989 till middle 2000s, in particular on the UYI tour. It was courtesy of the best Marshall ever produced, the Silver Jubilee that marked 25 years of Marshall amps and latter in 1995 was reissued as Marshall JCM Slash, altough it was the same amp.

Slash doesn't uses it anymore, that's why he doesn't sounds as good as he used to in my opinion (talking about the tone, not the playing).

Congrats mate, take good care of her and she'll take good care of you, looks gorgeous.

Never tried the Min Etune but watched several reviews - does it worth it?

As for the amp, you seem to be a Fender guy so it's not important to mention that at the same price range you also had the Marshall DSL 40C which sounds very good. The Fender I never tried but on the reviews seems to sound cool.

Now put it all to use and give us some music!

I'm just happy that Axl's still around, playing gigs, working on records (even if it takes some time), I hope he'll be around forever.

He's older but so are we, life moves pretty fast.

His voice changed but what can he do about it? If you don't like don't listen, don't go.

All this bashing is unecessary, you call yourself fans and hang out here but all I see is criticism. Let's just enjoy that all these guys are all still around and making music, it's a miracle

This is all so subjetive.

A band is a collective effort and that's what GN'R has always been.

You may like much more one specific line up than other but rating musicians and their contributions just by reading the credits feels wrong.

A 4 chords song can be molded into something great.

You can also turn great songs to forgetable ones.

Just think if the only SCOM that existed was Sheryl Crow version; I wouldn't listen to it twice, yet it's the same song, the same chords, the same lyrics.

As so much in life a band is more than the sum of it's members and GN'R have always been that, there and now.

love both songs...definitely have a strong 70's feel although they both kinda remind me of Raging Slab...

Thanks!

I didn't knew Raging Slab, checked them on Youtube, they seem cool, kinda like The Allman Brothers Band.

What my songs miss are the vocals with their melodie lines. I think Deception is more towards a prog rock feeling like Locomotive. Always Unchanged sounds kinda sleaze to me, with the cowbell pouding on and on

Thanks for your input!

Izzy wrote and writes cool tunes, that's Izzy ; by themselves the songs are pretty average (still I like them).

Slash and Axl put Izzy's song on acid and twisted them to morph them into something great.