Kirk Hammett lead tone from the Quad, has anyone got close?
- Thread starter Mr.Buu
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Did you look in your fingers? That's where Kirk gets his tone.
Surely you jest. Kirk Hammett will sound like Kirk Hammett on any amp, you know that.
Ted Nugent, Eddie Van Halen. Ted thought Ed had a black box after he played Ed's rig so Ed went over to Ted's rig, turned a few knobs and blasted Ted. Ted tells the story better. Tone's in the man.
Ted Nugent, Eddie Van Halen. Ted thought Ed had a black box after he played Ed's rig so Ed went over to Ted's rig, turned a few knobs and blasted Ted. Ted tells the story better. Tone's in the man.
Markedman said:
Of course Ted Nugent still sounds like Ted Nugent playing through Eddies amp, hes not going to suddenly change playing style and start finger tapping, but theres no way Eddie could get his tone from Ted Nugents setup, theres a reason players use the specific gear they use and obsess over it. Whats your point exactly?
"Whats your point exactly?" Tone is in the fingers!
The Ted/Ed story is well documented. Type it into the web for yourself. Here - https://metalheadzone.com/ted-nugent-shares-his-special-story-with-eddie-van-halen/
The Ted/Ed story is well documented. Type it into the web for yourself. Here - https://metalheadzone.com/ted-nugent-shares-his-special-story-with-eddie-van-halen/
Markedman said:
Tone is not in the fingers, playing style is, you cant turn a Marshall into a Soldano with your fretting technique, those amps put out very different tones
This sounds unmistakeably like Allan Holdsworths tone, because the guy is using the preamp Holdsworth used.
https://youtu.be/iFqxMN7rx2o?t=28
I still dont understand your point.
"Absolutely. Van Halen, it was their first tour; it was '78, '77-'78, it was the biggest tour on planet Earth. I was a bad ************ in 1978, and I heard all about this Eddie Van Halen guy.
"And they're out there doing a soundcheck - we want them to have a good checking of their sound, and I'm listening to the guys and, of course, they're just world-class musicians, Alex [Van Halen, drums] and Michael [Anthony, bass] and Eddie and David [Lee Roth, vocals], and they're out there with this brand new thing called Van Halen, and it was a monster.
"And I'm listening to this screamy high end - he [Eddie] had a little bit of phaser going on, he had some kind of electronic warfare going through his amplifier that he completely tore apart and rebuilt - he's just an electronic maniac.
"And I listen, and I'm going, 'God ****, what kind of an instrument and an amp does that son of a ***** use?!'
"I went out to watch those guys and they went to talk about the tour, the music, the inspirations, and the tone, and he goes, 'How did you get that Byrdland to sound like that?'
"And I saw my Byrdland right there, and I said, 'Well, here, plug this son of a ***** in, we'll keep it in my Fender amps.' And of course, my Byrdland feeds into that low volume, the Byrdland wants to eat your phase.
"So, Eddie's playing, but once he got out of the feedback - there's a feedback that will literally eat the notes you're trying to play. The feedback is so strong, you could go for a scale in the key of B, but the feedback is resonating in the key of D and there's not a **** thing you can do about it.
"So he repositioned himself, he started pulling these mystical licks, and it sounded just like him, but out of my rig.
"And I grabbed his Strat - his mutilated, bastardized Strat - and I started playing 'Dog Eat Dog' or 'Cat Scratch [Fever]' or something, and it sounded just like me.
"If music is anything, it's not only the universal language, not just the universal communication for people anywhere in the world at any time, but it's also a personal execution of the musician's sonic vision.
"And when you practice your balls off, when you dedicate yourself to be the very best you can be, which describes every musician that you and I love...
"It's you, not even the Fenders or the Gibsons. It's you coming through your musical vision and attack of the instrument. You could have an amp and a guitar, don't change any of the settings and put 10 of your favorite guitar players on that set and it will sound just like each individual.
"So it is a mystical Samurai adventure of self-expression, and going right back to my opening statement with you many years ago, 'We love the fucking music.' If you love it with all your heart and soul, you're gonna put all your heart and soul into making your music, and that's why it's so contagious and universal."
"And they're out there doing a soundcheck - we want them to have a good checking of their sound, and I'm listening to the guys and, of course, they're just world-class musicians, Alex [Van Halen, drums] and Michael [Anthony, bass] and Eddie and David [Lee Roth, vocals], and they're out there with this brand new thing called Van Halen, and it was a monster.
"And I'm listening to this screamy high end - he [Eddie] had a little bit of phaser going on, he had some kind of electronic warfare going through his amplifier that he completely tore apart and rebuilt - he's just an electronic maniac.
"And I listen, and I'm going, 'God ****, what kind of an instrument and an amp does that son of a ***** use?!'
"I went out to watch those guys and they went to talk about the tour, the music, the inspirations, and the tone, and he goes, 'How did you get that Byrdland to sound like that?'
"And I saw my Byrdland right there, and I said, 'Well, here, plug this son of a ***** in, we'll keep it in my Fender amps.' And of course, my Byrdland feeds into that low volume, the Byrdland wants to eat your phase.
"So, Eddie's playing, but once he got out of the feedback - there's a feedback that will literally eat the notes you're trying to play. The feedback is so strong, you could go for a scale in the key of B, but the feedback is resonating in the key of D and there's not a **** thing you can do about it.
"So he repositioned himself, he started pulling these mystical licks, and it sounded just like him, but out of my rig.
"And I grabbed his Strat - his mutilated, bastardized Strat - and I started playing 'Dog Eat Dog' or 'Cat Scratch [Fever]' or something, and it sounded just like me.
"If music is anything, it's not only the universal language, not just the universal communication for people anywhere in the world at any time, but it's also a personal execution of the musician's sonic vision.
"And when you practice your balls off, when you dedicate yourself to be the very best you can be, which describes every musician that you and I love...
"It's you, not even the Fenders or the Gibsons. It's you coming through your musical vision and attack of the instrument. You could have an amp and a guitar, don't change any of the settings and put 10 of your favorite guitar players on that set and it will sound just like each individual.
"So it is a mystical Samurai adventure of self-expression, and going right back to my opening statement with you many years ago, 'We love the fucking music.' If you love it with all your heart and soul, you're gonna put all your heart and soul into making your music, and that's why it's so contagious and universal."
Markedman said:
So he played Cat Scratch Fever and it sounded like him? Who would have guessed...
As for my above post, yes or no, does that not sound almost exactly like Allan Holdsworth?
You still ignored my question as to why players chose certain amps, if the amp is irrelevant and that the tone is all in the fingers, it would make no sense as to why Eddie only uses 5150's and his modded Marshalls, clearly its not all in the fingers otherwise he would have no use for his own signature amp series. Maybe that has something to do with his sound too?
You're right, you win. If you could just get Kirk to tell you his settings, you will sound just like Kirk. Rock on! 8)
I remember getting quite close to it using an ESP KH2 Custom Shop, quad, a lexicon g2 and a strategy 500. However, now that you make me notice that grainy distorted sound on high frequency was missing, the sound was a bit more fluid than that.
Did you consider any eventual pickup mods? I remember reading in some websites (so it means nothing) that he sometime boosted his EMG voltage using more than a battery.
Did you consider any eventual pickup mods? I remember reading in some websites (so it means nothing) that he sometime boosted his EMG voltage using more than a battery.
"Can't for the life of me figure out how to get in the ballpark even with a parametric in the loop, its quite saturated, I know hes not using wah either."
Simple answer, get a Quad pre and whatever power amp and effects he was using at the time along with the proper guitar and pick up, string guage and cables. The speaker choice will play heavily into the tone as will the microphone choice and microphone placement. The pre amp for recording and the media you use to record with must be similar also. After that all the settings must be the same on all of the different things, so a quick call to Kirk will save a lot of time. (I have his # if you need it)
You'll get there if you don't give up, but only Kirk can give you the answer, you can share it with us too!
Simple answer, get a Quad pre and whatever power amp and effects he was using at the time along with the proper guitar and pick up, string guage and cables. The speaker choice will play heavily into the tone as will the microphone choice and microphone placement. The pre amp for recording and the media you use to record with must be similar also. After that all the settings must be the same on all of the different things, so a quick call to Kirk will save a lot of time. (I have his # if you need it)
You'll get there if you don't give up, but only Kirk can give you the answer, you can share it with us too!
Nate DC-10
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Kirk's playing in the posted recording is pretty bad for him. If he were on top of his game I might say the tone is in his hands but he is downright lead fingering the notes. I'd bet you that his lead tone goes through 17 boxes that his personal sound tech works during the shows. Forget trying to get that sound and invent your own. You will be happier for doing so. 2:54 he leans into his wah pedal. He may very well be leaving it on and getting the focused eq boost but not rocking it.
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