I could watch/listen to Eric's techniques all day. He seems like such a down to earth, zero-ego kind of guy that would be happy to chat to you extensively if you had a tonne of questions about recording. Another great video in the series.
That's so true. Once you become aware of intonation inconsistencies as a guitar player there's no going back. You always hear it with every guitar that you pick up and it'll drive you mad. But the best thing is to chill and realize that it's really not that important.
Brilliant stuff, Eric... it's obvious to me that your passion for your craft fully engages your mind in terms of creativity and experimenting with tones/sonic shades/textures...
We've got another one from Eric on Queen of the Stone Age (sosm.ag/evqotsa) as well as track breakdowns from top engineers including Vance Powell, Cenzo Townshend and Jacquire King. Check out the full playlist of monthly video features here: sosm.ag/vidfeatures
21:18 slash has used an 1176 since appetite. Mike Clink mentions using it. Used heavily on the Illusion records. Slash has one in his own studio. When you listen carefully it’s a key part of glueing that tone into its own pocket in the mix ✌️
What a fantastic vid!!! So informative. The micro bot on the cab is about the coolest thing I've seen. It was also a massive relief to hear that even in pro studios with world class equipment, engineers and musicians, you guys STILL have constant tuning issues and have to tune certain strings flat or sharp depending on what you're playing. I always assumed that was just down to the foibles of cheaper equipment in my home studio, so knowing that you guys do it too helps me not lose my shit when YET AGAIN I have to tweak this string or that string!!!
MIC ROBOT. It wasn't a tiny robot, but it was... In fact... a robot for holding microphones. But you chose MICRO BOT. That's ok..... consider the details of the situation next time and you could probably choose the correct version. MICROPHONE ROBOT. MIC ROBOT. I'll give you this.... if you don't think about It AT ALL, it does sound just as much like Micro bot. It's holding a mic though, so if you hear micro bot...you should assume the mic part is separate. If only I would have got here 2 years ago.
Interesting comment about the DI going straight to the computer - back in July 2010 issue of SOS interview with EV there was a lot made of the analogue pedigree of the "Slash" album and the failings of digital recording.
Fascinating. Not what you necessarily expect. And Slash's amp sounds REALLY harsh at times. Quite different through mics than what I remember when I tried it in the store.
tlkshowhst "it's a very simple setup...here is my robot". In fairness I think he was talking about the amp/speaker/mic. It's not like he used racks of gear and huge pedal boards etc.
I was thinking the same. It's the same when guitarists talk about their gear, like having a dry/wet setup with multiple amps, MIDI, a fuckton of pedals and then go like "Yeah, this is quite a simple setup." Shut it, simple setup would be guitar into amp.
you should see steve vai's 90's setup.. with his 'rack of wham' and pedalboard.. its like 2 huge refrigerators worth of gear.. but i admit he had a better tone those days than today
That's a lot of real estate for a guitar signal . The guy is passionate and it shows , all hail to that . Some of the sounds he got on both albums are perfection and doubtless he will strive on . Some of the best recordings of guitar players were done straight into the amp no holy grail quest . I hope he keeps grounded , too Far East ends up west .... G street . Rock on though ! Credit where it's due .
So, that's why I can't sound like Slash... jajaja I use a Les Paul as my main guitar and always has third and 6th string a little flat because I use a lot of power chords more than anything, so every time a friend take my guitar and play it sounds out of tune and look at me like ..wtf? Very very good video, I can't imagine how loud must sound that beast. Thanks Eric
If I were in his shoes, I'd get fired for just playing that Les Paul all day, forgetting about recording and such. He mastered that tone, I could be there for a lifetime.
About the amp Slash used for "Appetite for Destruction": "It ended up going back to SIR"..... Yes, I have heard that before... BUT WAIT... WHAT.... "The guy that did them is still around and actually makes an amp of his own that is based on those modifications"... Who is he and what amp is he talking about?
Tim is the one he's referring to. But there is another man in the mythos named Frank Levi. Levi claims that he ripped the Caswell mod out and replaced it with his own "super kill mod." But Marshall never contacted him when doing R&D for the AFD100. Frank is still alive, but he's had a rough few months so I doubt he'll be down to building an amp. He might be a good source of information though.
+Dakota Gill Frank is active on the Slash guitar collectors facebook group and has contributed some great info, as you said he hasn't worked on amps in quite a while
I got one (the 220v EU version) Thinking of selling it, as I want an amp capable of delivering a "thrashier" sound without any extra pedals/Eq . I've only used mine as a bedroom amp, sounds great for that hot-rodded classic rock tone.
everything here is great, and there are some magificent guitar tones that you're getting as well. but all throughout the video where you're playing guitar at the mixing desk, I was hoping you would've switched over to the bridge pickup... LOL
5:20 I'd kiiiinda-sorta expect the speakers themselves to start breaking up (way) before the power amp does, but... Well, without having an oscilloscope hooked up on the output, i'm just speculating :)
KhronX Randy Rhodes put Altec's in his cabs. He didn't like cone/voice coil breakup of the stock Celestion's in his Marshall cabs. I read that in an old guitar magazine.
A 57 can sound very warm, depending where you put it. He has it pointed directly at the speaker, I put mine off axis. I'll hit a chord and find the sweet spot. Of course, he has a lot more to work with. But I love a good 57. That and a condenser for room sound and I'm in heaven.
need help i'm looking for slash's tone idk what to get should i go with gibson or ephiphone and getting his signature wah pedal and his amp he still has or the 1987 plexi
The tubes can really get hit by vibration when the head is on the cab. Obviously everybody knows this. Was it part of the sound ? Most hard/heavy players have the head in the control room and run a speaker cable out to the miked up cab for a few reasons.
Frank Levi worked for SIR & modified #34, #36 & the Caswell amp. Frank was the amp wizard, not Caswell. Frank was a friend & unfortunately has passed away.
Could this just be the best "how to sound like Slash?" video on the whole internet?
- Eric, how many mics are you gonna use?
- Yes.
Dear God this tone is so good... To this day, my favorite Slash recorded tones are from this album. Thanks Eric for capturing Slash the way you did 🙏
I could watch/listen to Eric's techniques all day. He seems like such a down to earth, zero-ego kind of guy that would be happy to chat to you extensively if you had a tonne of questions about recording. Another great video in the series.
This was really educational, really cool to see that in depth behind the scenes.
Cheah it is...
CHEEAHH! This will make your guitars sound EHHREEEEEAAALL good
Eric is the fucking man.
"worked with some fenomenal rock acts... Smash Mouth" this man knows what he's talking about
phenomenal
Who?
That's so true. Once you become aware of intonation inconsistencies as a guitar player there's no going back. You always hear it with every guitar that you pick up and it'll drive you mad. But the best thing is to chill and realize that it's really not that important.
Brilliant stuff, Eric... it's obvious to me that your passion for your craft fully engages your mind in terms of creativity and experimenting with tones/sonic shades/textures...
"Fucking loud as shit." yes
Shining Trapezoid
poet of a few words
This video is a great example of how different mics can have an effect on your tone. Great video SOS!
Anyone know Eric from his days as drummer and producer for T-Ride? They only released one album, but it was phenomenal. Check it out.
That 1176 sounds so subtle but it’s huge in the mix, and if you listen close you can hear the low end detail bloom so nicely.
18:07
….wow, that Royer really does do great 💪😎👍
this whole series has been incredible. so much detail. love it, good work gents
i was smashing my head at the wall with this tuning problem in my LP... now Im feeling much better. Thanks!
17:46
THAT TONE
嗨
How many more of these do you have? I love this and hope to see more in the future, thank you.
We've got another one from Eric on Queen of the Stone Age (sosm.ag/evqotsa) as well as track breakdowns from top engineers including Vance Powell, Cenzo Townshend and Jacquire King. Check out the full playlist of monthly video features here: sosm.ag/vidfeatures
21:18 slash has used an 1176 since appetite. Mike Clink mentions using it. Used heavily on the Illusion records. Slash has one in his own studio. When you listen carefully it’s a key part of glueing that tone into its own pocket in the mix ✌️
What a fantastic vid!!! So informative. The micro bot on the cab is about the coolest thing I've seen. It was also a massive relief to hear that even in pro studios with world class equipment, engineers and musicians, you guys STILL have constant tuning issues and have to tune certain strings flat or sharp depending on what you're playing. I always assumed that was just down to the foibles of cheaper equipment in my home studio, so knowing that you guys do it too helps me not lose my shit when YET AGAIN I have to tweak this string or that string!!!
NerdOut I’m pretty sure it’s mic robot not micro bot
MIC ROBOT.
It wasn't a tiny robot, but it was... In fact... a robot for holding microphones.
But you chose MICRO BOT. That's ok..... consider the details of the situation next time and you could probably choose the correct version.
MICROPHONE ROBOT.
MIC ROBOT.
I'll give you this.... if you don't think about It AT ALL, it does sound just as much like Micro bot. It's holding a mic though, so if you hear micro bot...you should assume the mic part is separate. If only I would have got here 2 years ago.
Let's go again, I watch this every year and learn something new every time
This album came out when i first started playing and i still listen and think, "dang. They got it right. This is how rock and roll should sound."
Much better than videos which claim that guitar is only the source of the tone
I almost cried because it sounded so good :'(
Wow that’s so neat. You record the guitars direct signal and use that to run into the front of the amp
PIlotrcm yes, very common place. Anyone who runs a professional studio and doesn’t take a di of their guitars and basses is really fuckin up
Interesting comment about the DI going straight to the computer - back in July 2010 issue of SOS interview with EV there was a lot made of the analogue pedigree of the "Slash" album and the failings of digital recording.
Fascinating. Not what you necessarily expect. And Slash's amp sounds REALLY harsh at times. Quite different through mics than what I remember when I tried it in the store.
Great video. I'm sure the sounds he's hearing is beefier than what we are hearing.
Eric Valentine is brilliant
Lol "This is a very simple setup" :)
tlkshowhst "it's a very simple setup...here is my robot". In fairness I think he was talking about the amp/speaker/mic. It's not like he used racks of gear and huge pedal boards etc.
CIRCLE OF TONE Your friend for guitar tone Actal LOL on the robot comment.
I was thinking the same. It's the same when guitarists talk about their gear, like having a dry/wet setup with multiple amps, MIDI, a fuckton of pedals and then go like "Yeah, this is quite a simple setup." Shut it, simple setup would be guitar into amp.
you should see steve vai's 90's setup.. with his 'rack of wham' and pedalboard.. its like 2 huge refrigerators worth of gear.. but i admit he had a better tone those days than today
It is.....compared to others.
This is why playing live is so cool. Your ears hear all of these different mic placements. AMHIK 🤘
This guy is a freagin guitar sound genius, really love this 3-part series!
Eric is one of the masters. He knows how to capture first class guitarsounds. Like the other 2 clips as well. Thanks very much for sharing. Greetz
That's a lot of real estate for a guitar signal . The guy is passionate and it shows , all hail to that . Some of the sounds he got on both albums are perfection and doubtless he will strive on .
Some of the best recordings of guitar players were done straight into the amp no holy grail quest . I hope he keeps grounded , too Far East ends up west .... G street . Rock on though ! Credit where it's due .
You know you're doing it big when you don't need an assistant engineer to move the mic around... you get a controllable robot to move the mic for you!
That’s a pretty darn good guitar sound
Very cool, I love learning the details of how Slash gets his amazing sound.
That neck pickup is soooooo bright sounds like a bridge pickup
Btw, Matthew McConaughey totally could play this guy, if his life ever got filmed. :-)
Eric could play Matthew too
So, that's why I can't sound like Slash... jajaja
I use a Les Paul as my main guitar and always has third and 6th string a little flat because I use a lot of power chords more than anything, so every time a friend take my guitar and play it sounds out of tune and look at me like ..wtf?
Very very good video, I can't imagine how loud must sound that beast.
Thanks Eric
Excuse me while my mind is blown to bits. This guy is just fantastic.
awesome!!!
Thanxs Eric and SOS for sharing these informations!
If I were in his shoes, I'd get fired for just playing that Les Paul all day, forgetting about recording and such. He mastered that tone, I could be there for a lifetime.
Another excellent video. Brilliant job
Oh man I hope they make a video on Third Eye Blind's self titled... pleaaaasseee
The next one is going to be a surf guitar sound - it really is worth the watch.
Yeah man. That third eye blind record rules!
super2thesam
Great video
Really informative video - cool guy and great insight into the recording process
is his guitar pickup switch turned? His neck pickup sounds doope, almost like bridge? anyone else got that feeling?
Very nice tutorial !!.......Love experience !!!
omg a strong confession... I just confirmed something devil is going with g-string, luckily everyone has to deal with it.
I have the same issue on a brand spankin new R9 lol. Oh well.
About the amp Slash used for "Appetite for Destruction": "It ended up going back to SIR"..... Yes, I have heard that before...
BUT WAIT... WHAT.... "The guy that did them is still around and actually makes an amp of his own that is based on those modifications"...
Who is he and what amp is he talking about?
Sonny Soul Tim Caswell : Google Caswell Amps etc.
Tim is the one he's referring to. But there is another man in the mythos named Frank Levi. Levi claims that he ripped the Caswell mod out and replaced it with his own "super kill mod." But Marshall never contacted him when doing R&D for the AFD100. Frank is still alive, but he's had a rough few months so I doubt he'll be down to building an amp. He might be a good source of information though.
Thanks ;)
+Dakota Gill Frank is active on the Slash guitar collectors facebook group and has contributed some great info, as you said he hasn't worked on amps in quite a while
I love this video. Eric knows his shit.
Excellent episode!
These are fascinating. Great stuff guys :)
That Marshall AFD 100 is my dream amp, one day You Could Be Mine, you will be mine.
I got one (the 220v EU version) Thinking of selling it, as I want an amp capable of delivering a "thrashier" sound without any extra pedals/Eq . I've only used mine as a bedroom amp, sounds great for that hot-rodded classic rock tone.
RickyboyH Orange Dual Dark, Rivera KR7, Bogner Uberschall are the short list for that if you got the big stack of cash for them.
adam brown Yeah, my dream preamp at this point is the (Bogner) Fish, I'm only familiar with the Uberschall, but I'll check the others out, thanks!
everything here is great, and there are some magificent guitar tones that you're getting as well. but all throughout the video where you're playing guitar at the mixing desk, I was hoping you would've switched over to the bridge pickup... LOL
He was on the bridge, the switch is just rotated/reverse-wired.
Wow, this tone is with a neck pickup too
I would like to do this kind of videos so good to see all the work flow 🙃
"It's fucking loud as shit" lol
Fascinating insights - thanks for sharing !
5:20 I'd kiiiinda-sorta expect the speakers themselves to start breaking up (way) before the power amp does, but... Well, without having an oscilloscope hooked up on the output, i'm just speculating :)
KhronX Randy Rhodes put Altec's in his cabs. He didn't like cone/voice coil breakup of the stock Celestion's in his Marshall cabs. I read that in an old guitar magazine.
This has some great info, love these vids!
Most insightful. Thanks Eric!
Is capturing that signal between the DI and the ReAmp > Head, what they mean by recording 'stems' ... ?
A 57 can sound very warm, depending where you put it. He has it pointed directly at the speaker, I put mine off axis. I'll hit a chord and find the sweet spot. Of course, he has a lot more to work with. But I love a good 57. That and a condenser for room sound and I'm in heaven.
Great tone. Good job 👍
Thank you for that! I wanted to know how you deal with that buzz. We
run a studio and this is a constant problem for us?
settings 5:04
FANTASTIC!
need help i'm looking for slash's tone idk what to get should i go with gibson or ephiphone and getting his signature wah pedal and his amp he still has or the 1987 plexi
just awesome video,thanx
With the amount of mics he uses I'd really like to hear his productions mixed for surround sound...
Good solid information!
this is awesome!
The tubes can really get hit by vibration when the head is on the cab. Obviously everybody knows this. Was it part of the sound ?
Most hard/heavy players have the head in the control room and run a speaker cable out to the miked up cab for a few reasons.
Great video. does anyone know what brand of D.I. that was?
Anybody recognize what that re-amp box is that he's using?
anyone? I'm curious as well.
I know it's been 7 years, but that looks like a prototype of the Undertone Audio Satellite.
sound sooo good!
Does anyone have any information on the re-amper he's using here?
Been a fan of Eric's since he was the drummer for T ride.
I do love the desert burst Gibson's
Must be nice to sit there and play a while with all this gear
Does anyone knows who is the guy that modded the Appetite amp and now make his own amps?
where's the 4th mic? round the back catching cab rumble. ?
ryan bailey 3 mics front of cab, @6:45 he states another C12A mic is further back which captures lead sounds. I was wondering the same thing too.
On the robot man duh!
Yo, dudes, whens the new vid going live??
my brain would explode trying to learn all this stuff...
jeez that is very, very bright
and I'd love to hear some paradise city with that setup
Eric Valentine. Is......Awesome......
Did you ever use #34 channel?
Cooool video!!!
'Slash has a lot of 'Patience'!' very good...
Someone needs to tell eric about those true temperament necks
Most Washburns had Buzz Feiten stock & few cared.
Never did much ime
Frank Levi worked for SIR & modified #34, #36 & the Caswell amp. Frank was the amp wizard, not Caswell. Frank was a friend & unfortunately has passed away.
Can't understand how the ribbon mic works in loud volume like this!! 🤦🏻♂️
Wow.
How shows he get that tone using the neck pickup...??
"Sounds in tune there... doesn't sound in tune there" I wish I had better ears :(
Don't feel bad, this guys ear is rediculous, I mean I can hear the differences, but this guy is special. Countless hours doin exactly this.
Great info eric.
Cool! Thanks a lot!
Eric valentine hes the drummer from a band called T-RIDE
My ears appreciate it!