Another add in if you want to dial in an additional 80's tone is a chorus pedal. High depth with a super low rate. We used that one a good bit in those days.
The thing about 80s hard rock and metal is that it gets rightly dissed for the outfits and lyrics, but a lot of the music is really, really good. And in my opinion has the best guitar players. EVH of course being #1, but many others.
Yes. The ridiculously cheesy, hormone overdrive Lyrics and hairspray did the music a dis-service. T Shirts and Jeans was the way to go and it needed lyrics from above the crotch and less recycled. If it wasn't for the guitar work and the drums I wouldn't have bought half of the music that I did back then. Even though some of the singers were great, the lyrics that they sang were just stupid.
@@AnAmericanGuitarist I'm 54 and grew up in the heyday of hair metal, but you've hit the nail on the head. Even back then it was a little cheesy, but it was fun which is something laudable. We will say the same things about all the nu-metal bands that are so processed/quantized and clones of each other you can barely tell them apart, and we will mock their attitudes of 'tough'.
Love this so much! Quit playing for years and started again..'23 was a bad year as I watched my son pass. After about four months I find this, this morning. Your videos are very inspiring and I touched my guitar. Thank you so much for posting. I love Lynch and a lot of the 80's guitarist. 64 years old now and it's different. Just thank you for doing what you do
Rob, I grew up seeing you play in metalcore and death metal bands in 2006-2009. It’s so interesting to see your take on 80s influence and how to dial this in. Also, had no idea you had such an incredible studio and set of gear. Keep rocking man. -Travis Porter
@@thrashislife2654 So many used the scoop in the 80s. That's the main difference between SOD and MOD tone. SOD is wicked scooped, MOD is boosted mids. Not everyone did, but Glam and Thrash used it a lot.
The 80's were the best time period for guitar. Lynch and Reb are out of this world. Please do some more 80's lessons with DeMartini/Vito Bratta/Jake E. Lee/John Sykes material!
John Sykes played with Scott Gorham & Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy during their heavy rock time in the early 80's prior to Lynott's death. Great guitar heavy sound. George Lynch was superb with Dokken too. Wish Lynch & Gorham would have played together.
Perfect timing for me as I’m possibly joining a great band that has that 80s hard rock sound, and I come from more of a thrash background... this was just what I needed, thanks!
I've never seen anyone demonstrate the difference between Rock N' Roll and '80s Rock; but it's a pretty clear difference. It's like one of those things you know you know, but it's hard to define. Great job!
Those chords bring back memories of Ratt, and even Queensryche. At the tail end of the 80’s, I remember hearing some of those types of progressions taken to the next level by King’s X on my first listen to Gretchen Goes To Nebraska. Goood times... Great video!
@@kennethmabus381 - Def Leppard was heavily influenced by AC/DC in the early days. The tone was too. One of my favorite albums ever is High N Dry. Loved it.
@@kennethmabus381 - Interesting. I think Collin is the least AC/DC influenced. Before Collin, Pete Willis was the complimentary guitarist. Collin came in on Pyromania. Everything on the previous records was done by Clark and Willis. Mutt Lange was producing both bands around 1980, so there was some definite overlap in the production and tones.
Amazing video Robert! You did a great job summing up the 80s sound. Definitely the best time period for the guitar. So many innovations on the instrument came from that time period. Everything from lightning fast alternate picking techniques to crazy legato and tapping as well as the best melodies played on the guitar. I would love to see a video from you on 80s inspired legato licks. That would be awesome 🤘
Sitting here looking at a 5fx, a 1986 model 6, a charvel bass, sold the skull and snake soloist, and the lightning graphics soloist. Had a rose installed, actually preferred the Kohler, due to the fine tuners horizontal , and you can't beat one out of tune!
I graduated high school in 1985, so I was there. My rig was a Crate G130C and a Crate 4 X 12 loaded with Celestions. Heavy use of stereo chorus, reverb, and scooped eq pedal. That's what I used. I had two guitars, a B.C. Rich Gunslinger and a Les Paul Standard.
Of course it sounds massive,it's the 80's. It was a great time to be a teen. Everything was massive at that time. Technology, partying women music.wouldnt trade it for the world.
Excellent video. I'd say another component of sounding 80s is getting that 'hair metal' guitar tone, where you drop the bass to around a quarter, then boost the mids and highs to around 3 quarters to get that really nasal sounding, biting 80s distortion tone which slams through the mix, in the vein of George Lynch, Vito Bratta, Warren DeMartini etc. In my opinion, the quintessenial 80s sounding amps/premamps were the Soldano SLO 100 or the ADA MP-1 preamp, but you can achieve the 80s 'hair metal' tone with Marshalls if you work the EQ in the way I suggest.
Kind of a trip watching this as I grew up starting guitar playing in the 80’s. A couple defining style differences though from an era where the genre had fewer categories. We had hair metal, power metal, thrash metal, punk, speed metal, and of course - no false metal! 🤘🏻 As someone that naturally writes 80’s metal style (Power Metal, Thrash Metal) the one thing I get is a high gain, percussive tone that has good note separation but chunks pretty hard on palm mutes and make those high chords grab a dissonant low E string note extra for thickening it because we didn’t play 7 strings or much low tuning. Standard tuning on a six string - late 80’s and 90’s the dropped D started coming in more. Delay on the leads and maybe some chorus without a ton of depth and zero modulation for thickening the sound a la Dave Murray, Adrian Smith style. Also a bit more modulation for the KK Downing, Glenn Tipton style. Some thickening of the midrange for Vivian Campbell, or Michael Denner, or scoop it for Hetfield/Hammet. Somewhere amongst all that you’ll find the tone you want. Whammy bar tricks for 80’s refer to KK Downing or Brad Gillis. It’s interesting to watch you play though because I can hear a lot of 80’s influence on your playing and tastes. Leon Todd is kind of the same way with a definite 80’s influence. Great video!
Amazing how much I wanted to sound like this, never really succeeded, though. Other than the power chords, anyway. I guess I'll never get Hendrix, Pink Floyd, the Stones and electric blues out of my system...but thank you for this video. The Eighties were a magical time to play guitar and be in a band! Hell, it was a magical time to be on a music scene, period...
Buy some Rockman equipment. Some people used them, of course adding EQ. For you guys that don't know, the Rockman equipment was created by Tom Scholz, the guitar player of Boston.
The late 70's and the 80's was the time of technique and knowledge mixed with flash, flair, and style. Lyrically fun getting together and checking out the opposite sex was the main stay. The colors were vibrant and bright and hair was long and piled high. A great time to grow up and come of age.
distortion, delay, a bit of reverb. big bends, good controlled wide vibrato (vibrato is super important) medium to high output passive pickup such as a jb. oh, and it's in a minor. you know it's gotta be in a. floating tremolo guitar is a great bonus such as a Floyd Rose
New to your channel here, I've played for about 15 years now and i really love your videos man. You're a great presenter i think, but most of all the content is like super awesome dude, like, totally. Subbed!
Thank you… just… thank you. Man I miss hair metal… like uh… Heavy Bones that never make it cus of grunge. But the song 4am TM… was absolutely INSANE!!!!
My 80s power metal set up was a Kramer stagemaster with holoflash finish, peavey solid state teal stripe bandit amp, morley wah volume distortion pedal, ibanez sound tank flanger, boss digital delay, run through a rockman practice amp on the effects loop just for the chorus.....maiden to queensryche tone with a change to a few pedal knobs.....good times thanks for the video. The secret is in the hair...and the ammount of holes on your jeans ;)
Here's what I do that works like a charm: Tune to E standard, play in A or D minor, and do your best to get a Marshall JCM800ish sound out of your amp.
David Black Haha Yngwie Malmsteen man. Once the American boys heard him shred, they chased that sound. Eddie was influential but all the fast/precise stuff is a direct nod to Yngwie.
@@Vaultzero yngwie wasn’t a big icon of the 80s sound. He is more of the guitar players guitarist. VH and other bands like Def Leppard were huge parts of that sound
Remember its important to put any reverb or delay effects pedala/rack units in the effects loop of your amp, for additional clarity of the effect. If put in front like most other pedals it's going to sound muddy
That tone is what I dreamed of circa 1989 for sure! I love the variations on rhythm guitar playing. I had actually kind of forgotten how different rock players had their own unique versions of the style, i.e. George Lynch, Kiss, etc. Jake E. Lee is another one used a different approach to chording. He almost reminds me of a hard rock Johnny Smith (Jazz player, look up "Moonlight in Vermont" with Stan Getz) in that he played melodies that sound similar to typical metal riffs, but I always knew I was missing something with Jake E. Lee. He was a master of interesting chording. Awesome video amigo, and actual great lesson!
When I worked at GC many years ago, I'd push off George Lynch Screamin' Demon pick ups and got a lot of people coming back ranting and raving about them
bro you kick ass thanks for helping a lefty to understand that i can play too . flipping our music upside down is not easy but u are so easy to follow thank you from ohio .
How I used to do it: Marshall jcm 800 50 watt head. pre amp maxed. Boss hm2 pedal with the output maxed and the gain about nine o'clock for solos, heavy riffs. Boss chorus and delay for sauce. Lots of thumping E and A strings underpining simple two finger chords. Not difficult but your timing has to be spot on and tbf the attitude just has to be eighties. So your looking for a full sound at all times unless you are rolling the volume back for the power ballad! You've got to cover the power ballad next, Rob.
Hi, I'm from the '80s. There were many other great & complex guitar tones that weren't (hair)metal, or even distorted. U2, The Smiths, The Police, Rush, Tears for Fears, REM, and the list goes on. I think the title of this video should be "Sounding Hair Metal..." And indeed CHORUS was major. Explore New Wave from the first half of the 80s. Cheers.
Yes, I was thinking the same. I listen to 80's metal but British (and lots of other European) metal bands were sounding very differently. This video should have been titled something "How to do 80's LA glam sound".
Awesome vid man. I love integrating a little of that 80s vibe into my own heavier tunes (especially on a 7 string). You just kinda subtly sneak it in there!
I want to reiterate a comment I read from another one of your videos, you are one of the best guitar TH-camrs period. Also, that cracked lava Charvel is sick!
I've got parts of a Charvel-style guitar but they need a fair bit of work to be made into a playable guitar, I've also got a BC Rich Warlock as well, very 80's, it also needs some work to make it playable, as a guy who grew-up in the 80's, I miss those good times.
Like a flashback to my teens. Thank you for this video. My ensembles are always saying I'm stuck in the 80's. Power chords and hair. And it was still cool to be left-handed back then too.
watcheed the andertones sound like evh the other day and realized the importance of adding phase,flange,chorus,and delay to pad out the space of the saturated guitar but in very small ammounts really adds the "sparkle" to the glam riffs
Before I watch the video here is my 'how to sound 80's on guitar': 1. Get a super strat. 2. Get a Peavey 5150 block letter amp 3. add chorus and flanger for the occasional variant.
Love the vintage Charvel. I have a couple of vintage Kramers and want a Charvel and have 4, but newer Fender collaboration Charvels I'm thinking like a EVH Bumble Bee. Nice vintage cracked paint they called those?
If you're going to be guitar player, you need to be 80s. There's no other time worthy of the effort it takes to get good. Gonna specialize in Nirvana? Seriously? After Kurt Cobain had a week of sobriety, he came across a Nirvana cd in his studio. Popped it in the player, heard Smells Like Teen Spirit, grabbed his car keys and drove to the local sporting goods store, and the rest is tragic history. Spebd your time deeply in the 80s. I started playing hair guitar in 1985. Loved every minute of it. 😁
Without Reverb and Delay, it still sounds good, more like 70’s tone, in which what was desired then was sweet warm and creamy feedback. The reverb and delay, brought in the Mountain High/ Cascading effect. Effects are very nice, but some just rely on it to the point that it’s the “end all, be all”, and it really isn’t. But, to each is their own; because it helps me determine how to use effects in ways that aren’t like the majority uses; for instance I try to use no more than two at a time, going thru 100 watts into 2-12” cab. But then again, who’s not doing that. The whole idea is to be able to have variety at your feet, with the idea of distinct sound coloration; not being limited with “Old School Bland Sounding Guitar”( no effects; I won’t be to do that one 😂😂😂😂).
I was able to dial this sound in damn close (and might keep refining) on my Line 6 Catalyst (200w) using the Dynamic Amp, manual setting the boost, gain & eq then adding hall reverb and simple tape delay. Starting with an LTD '87 M-1 Custom w/FR 1000. Need to thicken up the sound a bit. More tinkering.
yeah...this butter-Jesus tries to pretend like the all-basic rock sound we build our unique styles on, and base our lives around are like some outrageous museum circus-act?!
About the 11 minute mark showing the reverse power chord ascending the neck, those are almost the cords played in reverse for to late for love def leppard 🤘
the A shape you mention @6:25 on the higher strings, I always think of it as a D shaped chord. If you added the rest of the strings, you find it's the same shape as an open D major.
I think one of the reasons the 80's are so fondly remembered by guitarists is because it was really the last age of the guitar god type of personality. Out of that era we got Lynch, Mars and of course Slash and then rock hit the grunge era and the guitar gods really took a back seat from there on. That's not saying there were not some great players since the 80's, it's just more that the guitar was not the focus as much. I remember an interview with Gene Simmons asking how he felt about KISS being one of the top "heavy metal" bands, and what stuck out in my head most of all was his saying KISS was not heavy metal, they were more of "guitar focused (centered) band" . I think that is how you can pretty much describe most 80's rock bands and also why that era is so lovingly remembered. After the 80's the guitar wasn't and still isn't the focus. Hey Robert, if you had to pick just one person, who would you say was the "originator" of that 80's sound? I know it was more a development out of several guys, bands, sounds and tones and even styles, but if you had to say this one guy was "it" and everyone followed him, who would you say? I think EVH started what would become the 80's style, shredding, but I am talking like who do you think is the first "post-EVH" player that influenced that sound more so than anyone else.
@@daveclelland1188 Warren Demartini and George Lynch were more talked about overall in the guitar circles back in the 80s than anyone else. I've played for 34 years and was in a couple of local bands as lead guitarist all through the 80s and early 90s. I got to meet MANY fellow guitarist in Atlanta during this time and it is true. Warren Demartini was my biggest influence and was the sole reason I picked up the guitar with a serious determination to play it and become good. There are many great players but not too many can approach Warren's ability and phrasing on lead playing.....Its an opinion but one shared by many.
Don’t lie Robert, we know its all in the hair.
But he needs about two cans of hairspray...
@@onlyfromadistance7326 and he needs some bangs
yeah exacly :D
Heavy metal hair whip!
Yeah, he should've 80s out for the video.
What you really need to sound 80's is talent and creativity! The spirit of the 80's was originality and style!
A lot of Great talent, like Guitar re-birth
And shitloads of cocaine
Everybody was trying to innovate and change the game! It was like a competition
And drugs
Nice Charvel .
Really love the sound Ratt used to get especially on Lay it Down. Warren just rules on that 80's tone
Fuckin right!
And Round and Round, two legend 80s riffs.
Don’t forget Robbin Crosby, warrens the man , but Robbin had a big part in that band too.
If it wasn't for Jake E Lee getting the Ozzy gig Warren wouldn't of been in Ratt.he was living at Jakes
Robbin is RATT KING
80s and 70s was such an amazing time to be a guitarist! Awesome work here man, and now time to sound like an 80s rocker!
Here's to that
Another add in if you want to dial in an additional 80's tone is a chorus pedal. High depth with a super low rate. We used that one a good bit in those days.
Reverb and delay on a really saturated tone is damn near an out of body experience 😂 I love how it just feels larger than life.
nothing more 80's than Kramer, BCRich pointy guitars, and Charvel.
Old school jacksons
Also ibanez
Pretty much any super strat with vibrant colors, a floyd rose and a pointy headstock
@@thrashislife2654 Jackson is owned by Charvel
Jackson Ibanez ESP
The thing about 80s hard rock and metal is that it gets rightly dissed for the outfits and lyrics, but a lot of the music is really, really good. And in my opinion has the best guitar players. EVH of course being #1, but many others.
Yes. The ridiculously cheesy, hormone overdrive Lyrics and hairspray did the music a dis-service. T Shirts and Jeans was the way to go and it needed lyrics from above the crotch and less recycled. If it wasn't for the guitar work and the drums I wouldn't have bought half of the music that I did back then. Even though some of the singers were great, the lyrics that they sang were just stupid.
@@AnAmericanGuitarist I'm 54 and grew up in the heyday of hair metal, but you've hit the nail on the head. Even back then it was a little cheesy, but it was fun which is something laudable. We will say the same things about all the nu-metal bands that are so processed/quantized and clones of each other you can barely tell them apart, and we will mock their attitudes of 'tough'.
EVH was never metal. NWOBHM and the bands it influenced were actually heavy.
@@AnAmericanGuitarist You're just no fun lol.
the BEST players all competing against one another it was a wondrous time for music, especially rock and blues!
Love this so much! Quit playing for years and started again..'23 was a bad year as I watched my son pass. After about four months I find this, this morning. Your videos are very inspiring and I touched my guitar. Thank you so much for posting. I love Lynch and a lot of the 80's guitarist. 64 years old now and it's different. Just thank you for doing what you do
Rock on!!
Rob,
I grew up seeing you play in metalcore and death metal bands in 2006-2009. It’s so interesting to see your take on 80s influence and how to dial this in.
Also, had no idea you had such an incredible studio and set of gear.
Keep rocking man.
-Travis Porter
Our society needs to bring this tone back.
Synth keys, stunt guitar, electric drums, keytar/slap bass, huge high scream vocals, AquaNet, spandex..,
Heat and enjoy, serves 1 stadium.
Some 80s drum sounds were good and many others were horrendous!
Needs more saxophone.
without reverb and delay is also 80's, but it's thrash metal
Most had still quite a bit reverb on though.
Must cut all mids first.
@@djtripnosys thats so wrong that scooped sound is a stereotype coming from ride the lightning and ajfa tone
@@thrashislife2654 So many used the scoop in the 80s. That's the main difference between SOD and MOD tone. SOD is wicked scooped, MOD is boosted mids.
Not everyone did, but Glam and Thrash used it a lot.
Why else would it be a stereotype? Because one band did it on two albums?
The 80's were the best time period for guitar. Lynch and Reb are out of this world. Please do some more 80's lessons with DeMartini/Vito Bratta/Jake E. Lee/John Sykes material!
Damn, I miss Vitto Bratta! I understand why he left, but it still sucks.
This comment thread has been approved.
You might like a channel called "Late Night Lessons".
Yes. DeMartini.
guy was like a metronome his timing was so good.
John Sykes played with Scott Gorham & Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy during their heavy rock time in the early 80's prior to Lynott's death. Great guitar heavy sound. George Lynch was superb with Dokken too. Wish Lynch & Gorham would have played together.
"I'm not really sure what I'm playing right now..."
It's called Van Halen 👍
Mike Heinz yes
Yes
It's called Gary Moore...
Perfect timing for me as I’m possibly joining a great band that has that 80s hard rock sound, and I come from more of a thrash background... this was just what I needed, thanks!
Definately one of my favorite videos youve put out. 80's for the win!
I've never seen anyone demonstrate the difference between Rock N' Roll and '80s Rock; but it's a pretty clear difference. It's like one of those things you know you know, but it's hard to define. Great job!
Dude! Where’s the chorus? That’s an 80’s STAPLE!!! Haha
No kidding, I was thinking the same thing
Agreed
and flanger..
You all forgot about compression
Stereo de-tune ;-)
Loved Reb Beach's style... great player.
Those chords bring back memories of Ratt, and even Queensryche. At the tail end of the 80’s, I remember hearing some of those types of progressions taken to the next level by King’s X on my first listen to Gretchen Goes To Nebraska. Goood times... Great video!
I’ve always loved the guitar tone from Def Leppard’s in the round in your face!
True their rock in the first couple albums was in your face awesome.
@@kennethmabus381 - Def Leppard was heavily influenced by AC/DC in the early days. The tone was too. One of my favorite albums ever is High N Dry. Loved it.
@@paulhb yeah me too! Angus played some heavy blues rock influence. Collins with def leppard had some great sound the same.
@@kennethmabus381 - Interesting. I think Collin is the least AC/DC influenced. Before Collin, Pete Willis was the complimentary guitarist. Collin came in on Pyromania. Everything on the previous records was done by Clark and Willis. Mutt Lange was producing both bands around 1980, so there was some definite overlap in the production and tones.
Phil Collen's trademarks: Heavy gauge strings (13s) and metal picks. And the amazing Gibsons-and-Kahlers rhythm work of Steve Clark (RIP).
Amazing video Robert! You did a great job summing up the 80s sound. Definitely the best time period for the guitar. So many innovations on the instrument came from that time period. Everything from lightning fast alternate picking techniques to crazy legato and tapping as well as the best melodies played on the guitar. I would love to see a video from you on 80s inspired legato licks. That would be awesome 🤘
Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas with Floyd Rose. Profit.
Chris Naish went with a So Cal myself, but YMMV 👍
Sitting here looking at a 5fx, a 1986 model 6, a charvel bass, sold the skull and snake soloist, and the lightning graphics soloist. Had a rose installed, actually preferred the Kohler, due to the fine tuners horizontal , and you can't beat one out of tune!
I graduated high school in 1985, so I was there. My rig was a Crate G130C and a Crate 4 X 12 loaded with Celestions. Heavy use of stereo chorus, reverb, and scooped eq pedal. That's what I used. I had two guitars, a B.C. Rich Gunslinger and a Les Paul Standard.
I had a Charvel Dinky (blue crackle, HH.) I bought it about 30 years ago. It is still in my parents’ place.
Of course it sounds massive,it's the 80's. It was a great time to be a teen. Everything was massive at that time. Technology, partying women music.wouldnt trade it for the world.
Ikr. Id go back in time and stay there.
wish I could do it all again too,.... WAIT, I am,.... in my mid life crisis
Excellent video. I'd say another component of sounding 80s is getting that 'hair metal' guitar tone, where you drop the bass to around a quarter, then boost the mids and highs to around 3 quarters to get that really nasal sounding, biting 80s distortion tone which slams through the mix, in the vein of George Lynch, Vito Bratta, Warren DeMartini etc. In my opinion, the quintessenial 80s sounding amps/premamps were the Soldano SLO 100 or the ADA MP-1 preamp, but you can achieve the 80s 'hair metal' tone with Marshalls if you work the EQ in the way I suggest.
Bro that is actually one of the coolest designs I’ve seen on a guitar
Kind of a trip watching this as I grew up starting guitar playing in the 80’s. A couple defining style differences though from an era where the genre had fewer categories. We had hair metal, power metal, thrash metal, punk, speed metal, and of course - no false metal! 🤘🏻 As someone that naturally writes 80’s metal style (Power Metal, Thrash Metal) the one thing I get is a high gain, percussive tone that has good note separation but chunks pretty hard on palm mutes and make those high chords grab a dissonant low E string note extra for thickening it because we didn’t play 7 strings or much low tuning. Standard tuning on a six string - late 80’s and 90’s the dropped D started coming in more. Delay on the leads and maybe some chorus without a ton of depth and zero modulation for thickening the sound a la Dave Murray, Adrian Smith style. Also a bit more modulation for the KK Downing, Glenn Tipton style. Some thickening of the midrange for Vivian Campbell, or Michael Denner, or scoop it for Hetfield/Hammet. Somewhere amongst all that you’ll find the tone you want. Whammy bar tricks for 80’s refer to KK Downing or Brad Gillis. It’s interesting to watch you play though because I can hear a lot of 80’s influence on your playing and tastes. Leon Todd is kind of the same way with a definite 80’s influence. Great video!
Amazing how much I wanted to sound like this, never really succeeded, though. Other than the power chords, anyway. I guess I'll never get Hendrix, Pink Floyd, the Stones and electric blues out of my system...but thank you for this video. The Eighties were a magical time to play guitar and be in a band! Hell, it was a magical time to be on a music scene, period...
if you have a whammy bar you don't want to use it all the time.
jeff beck: "hold my beer"
This is absolutely the best overview lesson on sounding 80s that I've ever seen. Thanks!
If you want an 80’s sound just use gear from the 70’s.
True!
@@voronOsphere That's more of a half truth. True in terms of amps, but the best 80's sound you can get is from a Bob Bradshaw rig.
@@petesorensenguitar the whole idea behind the Bradshaw switcher is no sound coloration whatsoever
JCM 800 baby!!
Buy some Rockman equipment. Some people used them, of course adding EQ. For you guys that don't know, the Rockman equipment was created by Tom Scholz, the guitar player of Boston.
Rock on 80's shredder here \m/. Best damn guitar era ever!
I keep coming back to this video. Best upload Robert Baker has done. WE NEED AN 80s GUITAR COURSE ROBERT!
The late 70's and the 80's was the time of technique and knowledge mixed with flash, flair, and style. Lyrically fun getting together and checking out the opposite sex was the main stay. The colors were vibrant and bright and hair was long and piled high. A great time to grow up and come of age.
You went from ratt straight to Judas priest when you turned the delay and reverb off.
distortion, delay, a bit of reverb. big bends, good controlled wide vibrato (vibrato is super important) medium to high output passive pickup such as a jb. oh, and it's in a minor. you know it's gotta be in a. floating tremolo guitar is a great bonus such as a Floyd Rose
don't forget you need spandex too
New to your channel here, I've played for about 15 years now and i really love your videos man. You're a great presenter i think, but most of all the content is like super awesome dude, like, totally. Subbed!
Thank you… just… thank you. Man I miss hair metal… like uh… Heavy Bones that never make it cus of grunge. But the song 4am TM… was absolutely INSANE!!!!
That was my guitar I got for my 18th birthday, the Charvel Jackson Lavacrackle, although mine had the reverse headstock. Got it in 1989.
My 80s power metal set up was a Kramer stagemaster with holoflash finish, peavey solid state teal stripe bandit amp, morley wah volume distortion pedal, ibanez sound tank flanger, boss digital delay, run through a rockman practice amp on the effects loop just for the chorus.....maiden to queensryche tone with a change to a few pedal knobs.....good times thanks for the video. The secret is in the hair...and the ammount of holes on your jeans ;)
The Kiss chords were also used by .38 Special quite often. Both make great music.
We need an 80's Guitar Course Robert. Make it happen. Build it & students will come brah.
Perfect timing for me... I’m possibly joining a band that has an 80s hard rock sound and I come from a thrash background...thanks Robert!
Here's what I do that works like a charm: Tune to E standard, play in A or D minor, and do your best to get a Marshall JCM800ish sound out of your amp.
Thanks for showing the diagonal approach to the scale. Already use the major version but I never thought to look at the minor scale like that
The biggest influence on the 80s sound was Eddie Van Halen!
David Black Haha Yngwie Malmsteen man. Once the American boys heard him shred, they chased that sound. Eddie was influential but all the fast/precise stuff is a direct nod to Yngwie.
Lets also not forget, there would be no malmsteen without richie blackmoore.
Randy Rhoads carved his own path. He actually started in 1977.
That's who I thought of when I heard these riffs.
@@Vaultzero yngwie wasn’t a big icon of the 80s sound. He is more of the guitar players guitarist. VH and other bands like Def Leppard were huge parts of that sound
Man....I did 80s...
On the road and the whole 9 yards
Love your videos dude!!
The 80s my favorite time for music by far!
Robert distortion reverb delay and Chorus. Still the tone to rock today.Cheers James.
Remember its important to put any reverb or delay effects pedala/rack units in the effects loop of your amp, for additional clarity of the effect. If put in front like most other pedals it's going to sound muddy
That tone is what I dreamed of circa 1989 for sure! I love the variations on rhythm guitar playing. I had actually kind of forgotten how different rock players had their own unique versions of the style, i.e. George Lynch, Kiss, etc. Jake E. Lee is another one used a different approach to chording. He almost reminds me of a hard rock Johnny Smith (Jazz player, look up "Moonlight in Vermont" with Stan Getz) in that he played melodies that sound similar to typical metal riffs, but I always knew I was missing something with Jake E. Lee. He was a master of interesting chording. Awesome video amigo, and actual great lesson!
When I worked at GC many years ago, I'd push off George Lynch Screamin' Demon pick ups and got a lot of people coming back ranting and raving about them
bro you kick ass thanks for helping a lefty to understand that i can play too . flipping our music upside down is not easy but u are so easy to follow thank you from ohio .
How I used to do it: Marshall jcm 800 50 watt head. pre amp maxed. Boss hm2 pedal with the output maxed and the gain about nine o'clock for solos, heavy riffs. Boss chorus and delay for sauce. Lots of thumping E and A strings underpining simple two finger chords. Not difficult but your timing has to be spot on and tbf the attitude just has to be eighties. So your looking for a full sound at all times unless you are rolling the volume back for the power ballad! You've got to cover the power ballad next, Rob.
Great tones! Maple MIJ neck swap on a Model 3DR - super nice touch. Super fun video, smiled the whole time.
Hi, I'm from the '80s. There were many other great & complex guitar tones that weren't (hair)metal, or even distorted. U2, The Smiths, The Police, Rush, Tears for Fears, REM, and the list goes on. I think the title of this video should be "Sounding Hair Metal..." And indeed CHORUS was major. Explore New Wave from the first half of the 80s. Cheers.
Yes, I was thinking the same. I listen to 80's metal but British (and lots of other European) metal bands were sounding very differently. This video should have been titled something "How to do 80's LA glam sound".
Hello Robert, thank you for this post. I am still learning a lot of this stuff and you really broke it down nicely for me.
It does sound 80's ! Greetings from El Paso Tx. Rob Baker
Sounds like 80’s to me! Kickass lesson!
Hey we missed meeting you @ NAMM 🤘🏻🎸😎💥 #BringBackThe80s
That pinched harmonic at 3:58 says it all. Nicely done.
MK
Awesome vid man. I love integrating a little of that 80s vibe into my own heavier tunes (especially on a 7 string).
You just kinda subtly sneak it in there!
For a truly 80's metal sound you gotta have gated reverb! 🤘😬🤘
I want to reiterate a comment I read from another one of your videos, you are one of the best guitar TH-camrs period. Also, that cracked lava Charvel is sick!
I joined his guitar courses online and have learned so much more than in person teaching great teacher
Love this video. You are getting better and better. Just got a refret done in Nashville on my 86 Baretta. I have the axe fo sho!!
I've got parts of a Charvel-style guitar but they need a fair bit of work to be made into a playable guitar, I've also got a BC Rich Warlock as well, very 80's, it also needs some work to make it playable, as a guy who grew-up in the 80's, I miss those good times.
Like a flashback to my teens. Thank you for this video. My ensembles are always saying I'm stuck in the 80's. Power chords and hair. And it was still cool to be left-handed back then too.
Love it! Guitar sound in the 80s is so Rad!
Wow nailed it! Definitely takes me back thanks
From a thrash perspective it's a Marshall with a Duncan distortion and a boss ds1 and a tubescreamer but that's my opinion
Dry accurately done sir. Please put out more videos on this !
watcheed the andertones sound like evh the other day and realized the importance of adding phase,flange,chorus,and delay to pad out the space of the saturated guitar but in very small ammounts really adds the "sparkle" to the glam riffs
Before I watch the video here is my 'how to sound 80's on guitar':
1. Get a super strat.
2. Get a Peavey 5150 block letter amp
3. add chorus and flanger for the occasional variant.
Stemming from this you should do videos on the play styles of different 80s players.. that would be sick
This should be top comment
A fellow bucketbot, very good.
The best decade for rock.
I could watch you do 80's stuff all day🤟
Mr. Metalhorse id go 70s with 80s second 🤘🏻🎸
Love the vintage Charvel. I have a couple of vintage Kramers and want a Charvel and have 4, but newer Fender collaboration Charvels I'm thinking like a EVH Bumble Bee. Nice vintage cracked paint they called those?
If you're going to be guitar player, you need to be 80s. There's no other time worthy of the effort it takes to get good. Gonna specialize in Nirvana? Seriously? After Kurt Cobain had a week of sobriety, he came across a Nirvana cd in his studio. Popped it in the player, heard Smells Like Teen Spirit, grabbed his car keys and drove to the local sporting goods store, and the rest is tragic history. Spebd your time deeply in the 80s. I started playing hair guitar in 1985. Loved every minute of it. 😁
Please post a video or tab on how to play the intro harmony guitar lick. Such an amazing riff!
Outstanding points here - love it !
especially the thirds chord trick
That was fun to watch, brought back some great days
Without Reverb and Delay, it still sounds good, more like 70’s tone, in which what was desired then was sweet warm and creamy feedback. The reverb and delay, brought in the Mountain High/ Cascading effect. Effects are very nice, but some just rely on it to the point that it’s the “end all, be all”, and it really isn’t. But, to each is their own; because it helps me determine how to use effects in ways that aren’t like the majority uses; for instance I try to use no more than two at a time, going thru 100 watts into 2-12” cab. But then again, who’s not doing that. The whole idea is to be able to have variety at your feet, with the idea of distinct sound coloration; not being limited with “Old School Bland Sounding Guitar”( no effects; I won’t be to do that one 😂😂😂😂).
Thanks man that was an awesome breakdown! 3rds 5ths sevenths and aeolian mode. Got it!
Rockin' Robert *tm* :)
all you need is .. a Charvel, a Rockman Sustainor ....
and -- Talent !!
Proco Rat into a SD-1 into a Boss Chorus into a MXR phase 90 into a delay… that’s all the pedals you need
You just started a new effects pedal . The Power Gourde . Every one will want one :-)
I was able to dial this sound in damn close (and might keep refining) on my Line 6 Catalyst (200w) using the Dynamic Amp, manual setting the boost, gain & eq then adding hall reverb and simple tape delay. Starting with an LTD '87 M-1 Custom w/FR 1000. Need to thicken up the sound a bit. More tinkering.
Love the 80's vids Robert,.... and thank you for sparing us the Spandex pants.
That 80s metal and thrash crunch is probably my favorite tones to dial in 🤘💀🤘 dig it
Sounding 80s? That is just my normal sound 🤷♂️
Brett Lieberman Same!
yeah...this butter-Jesus tries to pretend like the all-basic rock sound we build our unique styles on, and base our lives around are like some outrageous museum circus-act?!
yep. me too. still scooping out the tone like mullets are still in fashion.
80's!!!!!! Awesome video as usual, Robert.
Great video ! I am getting ready to partake in an 80s band project , this is extremely helpful . That Charvel is a sexy axe ! Cheers !
Enjoy your videos dude. Love the shirt WHOO!
About the 11 minute mark showing the reverse power chord ascending the neck, those are almost the cords played in reverse for to late for love def leppard 🤘
Fragmented Triads
Tasteful + Melodic= Vito Bratta.
Sweet Charvel. Those Duncan super distortions were the cornerstone of rock high gain music!
the A shape you mention @6:25 on the higher strings, I always think of it as a D shaped chord. If you added the rest of the strings, you find it's the same shape as an open D major.
I think one of the reasons the 80's are so fondly remembered by guitarists is because it was really the last age of the guitar god type of personality. Out of that era we got Lynch, Mars and of course Slash and then rock hit the grunge era and the guitar gods really took a back seat from there on. That's not saying there were not some great players since the 80's, it's just more that the guitar was not the focus as much. I remember an interview with Gene Simmons asking how he felt about KISS being one of the top "heavy metal" bands, and what stuck out in my head most of all was his saying KISS was not heavy metal, they were more of "guitar focused (centered) band" . I think that is how you can pretty much describe most 80's rock bands and also why that era is so lovingly remembered. After the 80's the guitar wasn't and still isn't the focus.
Hey Robert, if you had to pick just one person, who would you say was the "originator" of that 80's sound? I know it was more a development out of several guys, bands, sounds and tones and even styles, but if you had to say this one guy was "it" and everyone followed him, who would you say? I think EVH started what would become the 80's style, shredding, but I am talking like who do you think is the first "post-EVH" player that influenced that sound more so than anyone else.
I will answer.
George Lynch and Warren Demartini probably the most prominent leaders of the entire 80s
Yeah id have to say Demartini...loved his style, and still do!!
@@daveclelland1188
Warren Demartini and George Lynch were more talked about overall in the guitar circles back in the 80s than anyone else.
I've played for 34 years and was in a couple of local bands as lead guitarist all through the 80s and early 90s.
I got to meet MANY fellow guitarist in Atlanta during this time and it is true.
Warren Demartini was my biggest influence and was the sole reason I picked up the guitar with a serious determination to play it and become good.
There are many great players but not too many can approach Warren's ability and phrasing on lead playing.....Its an opinion but one shared by many.