Creating guitar sound for Whitesnake 87 - Bob Rock, John Sykes - complete story
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
- This is my new story which I wrote on how the guitar sound for the legendary Whitesnake 87 album was created by Bob Rock and John Sykes. My good old friend Shawn Staples from California made the introduction video and narrated the story. I wrote this review using known facts. My stories and reviews represent a great value for guitar players, musicians and rock fans. I do my best to create original and interesting content. Hope you enjoy it guys!
I can attest to John Sykes as being one of the coolest "rock stars" I've EVER met as well...met him in 89 in Toronto at a Blue Murder show...my friend and I talked to him for about an hour about Thin Lizzy and he was absolutely enamored with Phil Lynott...it was SO GREAT....when the show ended and he was leaving the stage he came right up to my friend and I and hugged us and said words that I will never forget...he said "Phil was here tonight!!!" ...we were both blown away!!! John actually remembered us from earlier in the evening!!!...it was one of, if not the best encounters I've ever had....my friend has since passed on so I'll dedicate this post to him... I'll always love ya Jim!!!...rest in peace my friend!!!
Thank you so much for sharing this story here!
Would have loved to see Blue murder
your friend would love this your comment on this.
RIP
What a great post !
RIP to your friend and God bless John Sykes
What a nice story!
The best thing that happened to David Coverdale was meeting John Sykes. Great songwriter and killer guitar player.
i wanted so bad just one more album with these guys... i remember finding a cd 1987 after 10 years with two etxtra songs... i was so happy
Plus Cozy Powell on drums for Slide it In.
And Tawny Kitaen in the videos. Gorgeous!
Bernie, Moody and Mel Galley wrote better songs
@@jtommyprice Hell Yeah!!!! Cozy BROUGHT it!!
Blue Murder were Magnificent
They were amazing
You couldn't ask for a more talented group. They were the epitome of the power trio.
John Sykes Is Phenomenal.
One of the best for sure!
No one touches him, in that style.
Yup!
John Sykes is definitely criminally underrated. For anyone who hasn't heard them I strongly recommend listening to Thin Lizzy's thunder and lightning album and the 1st blue murder album. Sykes also doesn't get enough credit for his singing voice.
I agree Neil! Thunder and Lightning simply Kicks Ass!!!
@@ametalman66 that was a great album. Such a shame that most people only know Thin Lizzy from "boys are back in town."
Strong guitarist, writer, and singer.
Thunder and Lightning is one of those rare "back to front" albums....you know, every song is killer!! I've probably bought it more than I should because I've either worn it out or it was stolen out of my collection...but it's worth it!!!
@@tboysrocknroll9252 I completely agree, that is a phenomenal album that hardly anyone has ever heard of. The song Cold Sweat alone is one of the hardest rocking songs ever.
When Sykes left Whitesnake he brought the sound of the 87 Whitesnake album with him. The Blue Murder album sounded like 87 part 2. Loved Sykes Mesa Boogie tone he got back then.
❤❤❤❤❤❤
I had the pleasure of recording and staying with Phil Lynott. I used to sleep i the dungeon (Phil's Dark room for photos) Lots of Black and white photos of John Sykes. I met John when we played at the point depot(O2 arena) 96 10th vibe for Philo. We were at the bar and i told John about the dark room and the question i asked Phil " Why so many photos of John Sykes ? Phil Lynotts reply was "Because he is the finest guitar player to ever play with Thin Lizzy!" John Smiled and bought me a pint straight away! Nice Guy. Watched him all the way from the Tigers of Pan Tang! Boss of the guitar!
Amazing!
Get out of town!!! That's friggin' fantastic......thanks for sharing your experience. One of my favorite Thin Lizzy albums is "Thunder and Lighting." That's the first time that I heard Sykes guitar. Stay Blessed, Barry. 🙏
Nice! I’m glad someone of Phil’s immense talent and stature recognized what a lot of us mere mortal players suspected the moment we first heard John Sykes’ guitar. My only regret is that John Sykes doesn’t have the catalog of so many other, better known guitarists have (like Van Halen). In my mind, we really need MORE Sykes - and Vivian Campbell, too.
Sykes was & is my fav rock guitarist. Such a ferocious player.
Agree! SYKES is probably the best guitar player ever... the combination of skill, sound, and composition are unmatched.
Nice video. So I opened up for Thin Lizzy with the band I was in at the time. This was in around 2002 or 2003 I believe. For me it was Marco Mendoza on bass who was really cool to me. He was interested in playing my 5 string Rickenbacker bass. And watching Tommy Aldridge sound check on his drums was amazing. The gig was in Santa Ana, Ca. John Sykes was singing lead and playing guitar in that band!!!
Amen brother. John Sykes is the real deal. Huge influence to me.
I remember when I heard Lizzy's "Thunder&Lightning" for the first time (while being accustomed to their classic sound) and though "Whoa! Who's this demigod on the other guitar?". Was hooked on John Sykes ever since! PHENOMENAL guitarist! \m/
Thank you for this. John's soul is heard coming thru his fingers... He is an absolute legend. His control of his notes is just jaw dropping....
My personal fav album I grew up on Whitesnake '87 But John SHOULD of toured with them on that album ! He is an amazing guitarist and song writer. I'm a huge fan of his my fellow UK brother. His guitar solo on " Crying In The Rain" almost left me speechless. That guitar is like a drug. Thanks for the vid.
As for Sykes suggesting bringing in a new vocalist and carrying on without Coverdale, Sykes thirty years later denied that. This is what John Sykes said: "Now I want to correct a rumour that I know has been out there for a long time. It's been said that when David was having his troubles, I went to Geffen and urged them to bring in another singer to replace him in Whitesnake. That's rubbish. How on earth could you ever have anyone fronting Whitesnake apart from David Coverdale?".
What ive heard is Sykes suggested singing himself
@@PhilJakes That's the rumor. However, when it came to Blue Murder (after Whitesnake), Sykes was still looking for a frontman, even trying out Ray Gillen, Tony Martin, both from Black Sabbath.
When Martin bailed out, the band began recording the main body of the instruments for Blue Murder's debut, while still trying out singers. It wasn't until Geffen's A&R John Kalodner, and his bandmates, Carmine Appice and Tony Franklin all persuaded Sykes to do the lead vocals, as they all preferred his voice on the songs, compared to everyone else.
In a just world, the Whitesnake legacy would've followed John Sykes over to Blue Murder, making them the biggest band in the world. According to Carmine, it was their lack of management that was the biggest problem in them not becoming what they were destined to be.
Blue Murder is way overrated, and nothing they ever recorded rises to the level of '87 or even Slide It In. That Blue Murder debut is cheese.
@@Matt-fs1yy I don’t want to be super critical of Blue Murder but I don’t like ANY of those songs. I think that Land of Egypt song or whatever it was called was a weak first single. I was never a fan.
I love John Sykes’s playing with Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy but I think Blue Murder never quite got there. The song writing was weak. Maybe that’s why he’s refused to put it back together?
@@isaiahmarquez9717 Yes, that song is called "Valley of the Kings" and the hokey lyrics are the least of it's problems. There are too damn many parts on that song. You are correct about the lack of songwriting 100%.
No, That genre of music faded. I never thought John got the credit he deserved.
I used to hang out with Tony, Carmine, and John at their apartment they leased on Beach Avenue in Vancouver while recording at Little Mountain Sound.
Amazing!
Super jelly
Great! + lucky!
At that time, I was in a different part of Vancouver. I missed them by that much! 😖
@@WineSippingCowboy ya same here. I lived in Vancouver at that time too. So close yet sooooo far. Lol
Before home recording + The Internet, Vancouver was a hot bed!
Bc of relatives, I often travelled there from San Francisco. 🌁
Great times! ❤🇨🇦😃
This is Great!!!! Many Thanks!!!! Hope John works again be fantastic to see him play live in the UK!!!
You are very welcome, thank you!!
Yes John is without doubt "a phenomenal player" !!! For pure skill and flair I would put him in top 5 in the world. Add his ability to sing at the same time and he is off the charts.
"They Called Him Public Enemy Number One, But Their The Ones Who Don't Know Whays Going On"
I'm going to go way back with Sykes and mention Tygers of Pan Tang...check out the Spellbound album. The dude was born a guitar god!
Oh Yes.
A criminally underrated band !
John Sykes sooooo awesome!!
Whitesnake's '87 album is so cool in every single way- even the artwork Rocks!
As for Sykes? Good God! He had it all: *Incredible* guitar player! He could also sing ,compose, arrange - and he was so good looking.
Some of those attributes must've made Mr Coverdale a little bit twitchy .......
Out of this world❤❤John we love You❤
Such an underrated guitarist.
John's performance at Rock in Rio was biblical!!!
Both John and Bob are the best at what they do! Kings of their craft!!!🤘💪🎸
The guitar on Still of the Night is epic in my opinion. Its a shame he never got the full recognition he deserved for that work.
Bruce Fairbairn was also a great producer who worked with Aerosmith, AC/DC and Van Halen. So 4 great record producers were working at Vancouver's Little Mountain Sound Studios at that point. Amazing!
Bruce Earl Fairbairn (December 30, 1949 - May 17, 1999) was a Canadian musician and international record producer from Vancouver, British Columbia. He was active as a producer from 1976 to 1999, and is considered one of the best of his era. His most successful productions are Slippery When Wet and New Jersey by Bon Jovi, Permanent Vacation, Pump, and Get a Grip by Aerosmith, The Razors Edge by AC/DC, and Balance by Van Halen, each of which sold at least five million copies.
@Robert Sapolsky Oh really Rat Bat Blue? Do you believe that? Blackmore's riff? Believe me, the riff is 100% John Sykes
@Robert Sapolsky Forget Blackmore, it's John Sykes!
@Robert Sapolsky I heard something like that, but I don't think so. I think the riff doesn't sound like any Blackmore's riff. And many guiatrists used the blues scale to write hard rock riffs in the 70s and 80s. I know that Coverdale says that it's kinda reworked version of an old Blackmore's riff, but I don't believe that. Anyway, Rat Bat Blue is on "Who Do We Think We Are" album and it's Ian Gillan who sang on that album. David Coverdale came after.
@Robert Sapolsky rat bat blue sounds like moby dick to me.
The guitar on the entire Thunder & Lightning album is SMOKING.
By early 1986, much of the record had been recorded. When it came time for Coverdale to record his vocals though, he noticed his voice was unusually nasal and off-pitch. After consulting several specialists, it was revealed that Coverdale had contracted a severe sinus infection. After receiving some antibiotics, Coverdale flew to Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas to resume recording. However, the infection resurfaced which caused Coverdale's septum to collapse. He required surgery, followed by a six month rehabilitation period. John Sykes disputes this and maintains that Coverdale was just suffering from "nerves", and that he used "every excuse possible" not to record his vocals.
A collapsed septum sounds like too many drugs up the nose
John and Cozy are Epic musicians two of my all time favorite Rockers .. Great upload Love it !!!
Big thanks Scott, I appreciate!!! When I first heard Still of the Night, I was a teenager, that was like a mixture of Metallica and Led Zeppelin II. For me Still of the Night is Whole Lotta Love 2.0. Awesome!
I know that Metallica also used Mesa Boogie amps in the 80s. Great metal sound!
@@karsguitarchannel6088 2.0 for Sure !!! Mesa Boogie Amplifier used by John and other musicians with Great sound now I know why,, Very Cool... Thx :)
Blue Murder had ridiculous amounts of talent. They could out-Whitesnake Whitesnake and then bring the musicality up to a new level. Carmine and Tony were great musicians and John shredding on the guitar AND singing only showed what a force John was.
Everything you said is true! However, Blue Murder album sales sucked. Blue Murder had a cup of coffee. That's it. And Sykes really didn't do much after that. Was the 87 album his masterpiece? No doubt! And he lived off that moment and (for people who care) continues to live off that memory of what he accomplished on the 87 album. Sad but true.
I agree with you about how iconic this riff is. I'm 40 now but I grew up with a father that was a HUGE whitesnake fan. So this is deeply ingrained in me.
Bob Rock is one of the greatest living producers
No doubt about it!
Damn rights. And a very talented song writer in his own right. If you like 80's pop, have a listen to Eyes of a Stranger by the Payolas. Amazing song.
What a lot of people don't know was that Bob got his start working at Little Mountain Sound as an engineer. Vancouver had a pretty good punk scene at the time (late 70's; bands like DOA and the Subhumans) and Bob would produce many of those bands late at night at the studio.
The guy is a full on legend. Too many people listen to moronic Metallica fans, and have no clue.
Sykes guitar sound on that album has stood the test of time. 1987 is a cracking rock album. Blue murder was a great band. Didn't do very well sadly. Can't wait for sykes album this year 2021. The song already released is great.
Gates of Hell? It’s outstanding
@@adamsherley-dale9503 Dawning of a brand new day 2021.
Studio phenom, Dann Huff, was brought in to play on some songs because Sykes was struggling
@@markmiller4013 Other than the solo on the radio edit of Here I Go Again, I highly doubt Huff played on any other songs on the 87 album. Sykes had a Jackson with a whammy bar. Listen to it on Standing in the Shadows 87 edit.
Sykes is the reason I took up guitar. The first song I've played from start to finish was "Is This Love" including the solo after 1 year of picking up the guitar. I think the 1987 Album is a masterpiece. The guitar is so amazing and I thought I'd get to see him on tour, I got Steve Vai and Vandenberg, not a bad lineup. I really like Sykes though and the first Blue Murder album was extremely good.
Great video!! John is one of my absolute guitar heroes!
Major truth... one of the best rifs ever. John Sykes rocks!
If you could describe a guitar tone and style as sexy, it would be Sykes tone and style.
You did not not mention his time in Tygers of Pan Tang, were he was as was all the members of this group fantastic. Seen him with them in 80/81.Some great tracks which Tygers are still playing today. I also loved his periods with Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy.
Blue Murder was great! To think they auditioned singers!
Awesome story, very informative! Thanks
Sykes was shat on from a great height . His talent knows no bounds and those in the know understand the ‘87 album was pretty much all his work. The Blue murder stuff was great but so short lived IMO
I'm watching this because in 1987 my parents gave me Whitesnake 87 as a Christmas present. I had never really listened to them much before. John Sykes guitar/sound blew my fkn mind
I was around 15 years old...back in 1992, already playing guitar for two years, when a friend from school showed me a video of Whitesnake's 1985 concert at the Rock in Rio, he had on a VHS tape.
How lucky was I???
At such a young age, in Brazil, to get my eyes on such a powerful performance from John Sykes on that concert, literally changed my life.
Thanks for sharing this and God bless John Sykes.
Watching John sing and play guitar at the same time is just wow. How does he do that?
I love Blue Murder
by writing it in a way that he could do it --- dummy
Love the song Sexchild
Awesome!! love to hear Sykes stories
Many thanks Syker, I appreciate!!!
Thank you for posting this John Sykes has been my favorite Guitar player since I was 11 i am 39 now his sound is a thing of beauty!
I agree Beauty is a great way of describing John’s Guitar playing & sound .. :)
@@nickhewitt6344 You are very welcome Nick!!!
Syker, your covers of Sykes’ works are amazing. Please post some more videos!
I love these stories 🤩😎
Thank you David!
So cool learning about music history 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
You are very welcome, thank you!!!
Jelly Roll is one of the best songs from the 80's, ever. John Skyes was one of the reasons (if not the main reason) Whitesnake took off the way they did in the 80's, They never were able to duplicate that success like they did from that '87 album nor the Slide It In album And there has never been a guitarist to replace Sykes in that band since!
Pretty much all the guitar player in Whtesnake after 87 are better than Sykes. Most of them before 87 were better too. Vai, Vivian, Vandenburg and Joel Hoekstra are all better player technically.
@@mikeraz594 but none of those guys are on that 87 album, except a Vandenburg solo put on after the initial recording
@@jamminjohn right and the point is other than one song 87 album is pretty bad
@@mikeraz594 but not as creative, or not the same feel!
Campbell beat Sykes to the guitarist position in Dio. They both auditioned however Ronnie thought Vivian had more about his playing. Both great players but just shows that who is the bester player is subjective.
Crying in the rain 87 and its solo are a piece of art and appice in human being beside of great pyramid, monalisa
Blue Murder 'trouble' album is absolutely badass,
Coverdale couldnt handle the competition of having a guy that looks like john sykes, plays great and sings.
The 80s was my hay day !!! Thunder and lightning !!! the bars were absolutely rockn !!!!! Sykes rules !!
Nice to hear he was using a dirty fingers, I'm using a 500t right now and feel pretty good about it !!
🤟🤟🤟🤟
Excellent video.
I love John Sykes.
The Thunder and Lightning album he did with Lizzy was fucking incredible!
I have a pseudonym Guy Gadbois with a similar photo.
That is a very esoteric reference
Cool! Thanks for sharing that! JS is one of my favorites. I wish he'd done more stuff with DC. They were a great team. Sound-wise anyway!
Dude, I love John Syke’s style! I also record 2 rhythm guitar tracks and then I hard pan each. This gives you more of a lively sound and makes everything sound bigger!
John always had the very best Hair of any guitarist of that time.
Johns a Leo, he's always had a great mane.
After leaving Dangerous Toys I stayed in LA, no band, no money till the record dropped. I got a job with A&S Flight Cases an SIR company. I delivered the road cases for the first Blue Murder tour to where they were rehearsing in the valley. Since they were running thru the set I stuck around till they took a break. Being a wide vibrato, Black LES PAUL Custom player myself I was blown away. Not as a Fan but as a Player. I recognized the Firm's bassist Tony Franklin and remember how John Sykes gave him "the Look" when he played a bad note on his fretless. As for the band they were all very down to earth when we talked. Ego was not in the building but I knew my place and ranking of who was the better player and I drove the Box van back to my day job.
I saw Dangerous Toys at the Irvine amphitheater in '87, you were opening for the biggest act in hard rock. I'd say you were more of an equal if anything. You guys needed a singer. On a side note, Cinderella's singer actually surprised me that night, I thought he'd be all studio magic, but he sounded just as good live!
Sam, always good to hear the stories through someone else's eyes. Funny is Jason was singing for my guitar techs cover band when they did "Shake Me" I asked him to join Toys cause Keifer's voice was the next best thing to an ACDC sound.@@samfisherv30
What a great Video ! Thank you, i am also a huge John Sykes Fan ! Not only his studio guitarsound was huge. Also his Live sound. If you search for "Still of the Night 8/20/89 Japan" his Live sound blew me away :)
Great stories about the inner workings of these iconic albums. It’s awesome seeing someone with my last name who has met so many guitar greats from the 70’s and 80’s. Keep rocking Shawn! 🤘
John used a Mesa Boogie mark 3 Colosseum head. Awesome sound Tony Iommi used the mark 2b colosseums on mob rules and live evil. Those ate 2 of the best Boogie sounds ive heard.
I don’t agree that John’s Blue Murder stuff is better than his Whitesnake stuff, but I will totally agree that he is one of Rock n Roll’s best guitarists, he is my second favorite idol and mentor of Guitar. He was awesome in Thin Lizzy and playing his solo shows, when he played Thin Lizzy and sang Philip’s parts. The one song that separates John from all other guitar players, is his performance of “Still In Love With You” on his LIVE solo album. That guitar solo, is the best guitar solo that I have ever heard, and I hope John reads this. That solo had more emotion and feeling than anything I ever heard. John, you made love with that guitar. It was sexy, tight and romantic, the kind of solo that this song needed. God bless you John, I really wish that you and David Coverdale could have got along, his voice and your playing were awesome.
Thank you Kar/Shawn for producing this accurate & entertaining piece of work. Congratz, there's so much on the interwebz that not only iz far from accurate but more then anything iz ego driven garbage with zero factual basis. Kinda lame to be thanking u for doing what should be a given 'proper research' but I feel it was important. Hope to enjoy more productionz from your camp in the future. Cheerz
-Dannyboy: John'z personal/in-studio tech during the making of BM'z Nothin' But Trouble 91'-94'
Thank you very much DB Simmz, I appreciate!!!
Man this is great info. Thankyou for sharing. I had no idea rock was involved with that white snake album. So cool.
Solo from "Is this love" by Whitesnake is still a legacy....
Kick ass guitarist! Thank you for posting
You are very welcome, thank you!
Great story! I had heard that Coverdale got pissed at John because it took so long to get his sound and track the guitars. In my experience, guitars are always the most difficult to capture in the studio (also drums can be very tough).
John Sykes belongs in Top 20 rock guitarists. 🎸
John is in monk mode now.
Bob Rock started his band Payola$. Underrated outside of Canada.
Late Bruce Fairbairn (RIP) had Bob as his caddy/engineer for Prism (another underrated 🇨🇦band) + Loverboy before going further.
Bob, Bruce, Mike, David Foster, Jim Vallance, Bryan Adams know each other. The Golden Age of Lower Mainland music in the 1980s + 1990s. 🇨🇦
Bob Rock widened his producing with Cranberries (RIP Dolores) + Michael Buble. 🇨🇦
luv you man ! great channel! im a young punk guitarist not even an old blues guy but thats kind of content what internet has a purpose, or why youtube is great ! you deffenetly deserve some hype, i hang your channel for days ! thx for make the vids youre awesome cheers!
Big thanks, much apreciated!!!
Have an awesome rocking day!
'The tone was heavy but clear' Words of wisdom!! Awesome video, Awesome info!! Keep it up man!! (oh, I want that LP Custom! haha...)
Big thanks Manos, I appreciate! Rock on
GREAT VIDEO! GREAT INFO! John Sykes was the first to inspire me to play.
Big thanks, much appreciated!
Sound-tone is very important for music
I love that Mike *Stone* is working next to Bob *Rock*
Bob rock also produced John Sykes next album for blue murder in 1989
Yes we said that in the end of the video
@@karsguitarchannel6088 my apologies 🙏🏽
Nice work both Kar and Shawn.
All aspiring aspiring record-makers (younger folks especially...) as well as the generations who were fortunate enough to be around when this music/these records were being made need more great content like this. so please keep it coming.
However, there may be a few pieces missing.
No one will have the equivalent of the 'Rosetta Stone' from those sessions to know exactly what every aspect of the guitar to amp(s) and mics to mic pres, to EQ's to desk summing, to tape and where the room mics were placed (Bob Rock is all about room mics...) but I have a hunch there's more to it, and for those who are into knowing the intimate details of 'record-maker nerd stuff' like this (yes, I was, and still am afflicted - spent 30 + years working in studios in L.A.) , well... maybe I can offer a bit more insight, or at least some interesting clues.
If it was possible to get Bob Rock, Mike Fraser AND Ron Vermeulen (a.k.a. Ron Obvious) together in the same Zoom call, it might be possible to verify and augment, or modify the critical details to satisfy the obsessive 'tone-chasers" out there. You'd need Ron Obvious (as he preferred to be called) as he was the chief tech/mad-scientist, genius studio tech (super talented musician as well) at Little Mountain in those years and later was involved with The Armory (Bruce Fairbairn's studio) The Warehouse (Bryan Adam's place) and put Bob Rock's Maui place partially together.
That "split" that you referred to would no way have been a passive split with a 'Y -cable', 'mult' or primitive A/B A+B box from the period, the lack of electrical isolation between the front end of the amps would have destroyed the tone. So the split would almost certainly have been helped out by some custom circuitry (on a breadboard maybe) using very high-quality audio transformers. Bob Rock would have been experimenting with this style of early/primitive active guitar splitting, as that's the kind of thinker he always has been, and would have been on Ron Obvious to build, and continue improving/refining something along these lines. Another innovative Canadian studio tech guy, Kirk Elliot, who was the Ron Obvious equivalent at Phase One in Toronto, built a handful of amazing 1 in x 6 out units called a GBX-95 boxes that did exactly this a few years later. Kirk had been working on his circuitry for quite a few years, so it's also possible that there was some "East coast input", who knows. I got one of these GBX-95 units through Garth Richardson in '93 or maybe early '94 and it never let me down, it was wonderful.
When we were fortunate enough to have Bob Rock as a client at Royaltone (I was chief Engineer from '94 until we sold to Linda Perry in 2005) I knew he used the same device, loaned him mine on occasion and discussed with him the fact he had been actively splitting guitar signals to multiple amps in this manner starting back in the 80's. These days, a box like that is common, Radial Engineering does a good one, Jonathan Little (Little Labs ) makes a great one, plenty of others out there, but in 1987 this was on the cutting edge. I would essentially willing to guarantee that something along these lines was involved. And that would have had an effect on the tone, most likely a favorable effect (audio transformers usually make things sound better).
And... that there was more to the recording signal chain. But that's a more in-depth discussion.
And as alluded to above, I was always a huge fan/student/admirer of Bob Rock's work and know him to be a staunch proponent of room mics on just about everything. I would be shocked to learn that no room mics were recorded. Keith Olsen would have used them at mix (GNLA had very sparse outboard processing 2 SPX-90's an EMT 140 an Echoplate III and that was about it).
Did I work on the '87 record , no. But I was staff at Record Plant starting right about that time and began working in my spare time for Keith Olsen, whom I'd met during the ill-fated , inferior "Slip of The Tongue" follow -up (no John Sykes on SOTT, so already we have glaring shortcomings...) in both a technical and engineering capacity, so I know a great deal about his contributions as not only the person who mixed the record, but also someone who produced many, many overdubs throughout, including a zillion more guitar tracks.
Indeed the photo of Sykes with the “San Dimas era Charvel” (7:34 to 7:52) shows him at the rear of the control room of Goodnight L.A., in front of one of the Studer A-80 ½” 2 -track machines, sitting in a chair I sat in many times. (That Studer 2-track was a finicky beast and needed constant attention, and probably had its shining moment doing the gorgeous analog tape flange on the Joe Walsh song, "The Confessor"... worth a listen).
I have had direct experience with most everyone on the production/engineering/studio side mentioned in the video, and was fortunate enough to learn something, and in many cases a great deal about how all of them work. So if you tone-chasers and fans of record making craft want more info, then let me know in the comments and I will try and put more together, but it will be an even longer, more verbose post than this, one and everything is 'TL:DR" these days.
But before I stop typing, If I have potentially offend anyone by seeming to contradict them solely for the purpose of being a self-aggrandizing jerk, please accept apologies and allow me to express the following:
“TONE COMES FROM THE HANDS”. John Sykes’ work sounds the way it does and has the uniqueness of style and tone not because of the gear but because of HIM. Sure, the amps and the boxes and the speakers and the custom splitters, the room and the desk, and the mics and the discrete class-A Neve 1081’s and all of the other stuff in the various signal chains, the amazing staff at Little Mountain and Bob Rock’s amazing skills all contribute…
But, at the end of the day, even if those of us who have been playing guitar since we were kids (yep, I have “that disease” too…) could have been handed that exact guitar, driving that exact rig and signal chain on that exact day, and even if John Sykes had given us a full day’s coaching on exactly how he plays those parts, none of us could have sounded like John Sykes playing those parts if our lives depended on it.
Hope this stream of consciousness from my misspent youth (and adulthood) is helpful or at least somewhat entertaining.
Cheers...
I thoroughly enjoyed your observations and innate musicians knowledge to flesh out the technical characteristics of capturing Johns unique playing. I love your videos. Engrossed and entertained throughout. Your assessment of John as a phenomenal guitarist is spot on 💛😊
Thank you so much Wendy for all your kind words and support, I appreciate it very much! Have an awesome rocking day!
@@karsguitarchannel6088 wishing you a hot Rocking day 💛😊
Hey guys, Still of the Night is Whole Lotta Love 2.0. Great mixture of Metal and Led Zeppelin II!
Actually, Sykes played those riffs and David Coverdale sang some Led Zeppelin stuff over them. That's how they wrote that song.
Yup. Immigrant song is in there too.
@Robert Sapolsky And you can add Speed King to that list as well. Do you really believe that? Blackmore's riff? The riff sounds 100% original.
@Robert Sapolsky Where did you get that information? Who told you that it's Blackmore?
@Robert Sapolsky When I first heard Still of the Night, I heard a big influence of Led Zeppelin II in that song. I said that for me it sounds like Whole Lotta Love 2.0, because of the lyrics first of all. The both songs are about wanting making love to a very attractive woman. Plus Coverdale's vocal sounds like Led Zeppelin. Then both songs have a middle section. You see, the structure of the song Still of the Night is very similar to Whole Lotta Love. The solo goes after the middle section. Then the riff which is based on E chord is pretty close to the Whole Lotta Love riff. But that's just what I personnaly feel when I listen to Still of the Night.
(Very end of the signal chain) DUAL PITCH SHIFTER. RIGHT SIDE - panned hard right, +8cents, 4.1ms delay. LEFT SIDE - panned hard left, -8cents, 5.2ms delay. Mix in the DRY CENTER MONO signal to taste. BONUS DELAY(s) - 50% level, Panned hard right, 400ms 60% feedback. Another 50% level, panned hard left, 600ms 40% feedback Mad Deceit Arizona - bringing world-class sound to dive bars all across the planet lol
Top work. A big fan of Sykes with a very particular sound and there were some fantastic insights in here.
Big thanks, much appreciated!
Whitesnake 87 is a top 10 album of all time. Sykes is a legend.
Yep, thats why I use Roland SDE 1000 and SDE 2500 Digital Delays that have modulation in a WET DRY rig. Kids today are clueless and can't get it with pedalboard delays. If you don't know how to set a delay at 20ms with the right setting with modulation, well.. you are missing out on one of the best rock guitar sounds that is timeless....no matter what guitar, or what amp.
The wet dry Digital Delay modulated is the secret.
John is one of my idols. Him, Randy, Zakk, Slash and Jake E were My top 5. The first song I learned on guitar was In the Still of the Night way back when I was 11 in 1987. I was lucky enough to be a very quick learner and made sure the first popular band I played in covered a John Sykes White Snake song when we did covers.
It is fascinating listening to the cassette tape of Still of the Night coming together as a song. John Sykes went from a a bare bones blues shuffle with Coverdale shouting nonsense to the riff forming within 2 minutes.
Sykes is the definition of underrated
overrated
@@mikeraz594 ahh, you want Whitesnake with Micky Moody/Bernie Marsden?, BUT the punch and the songwriting on "Thunder And Lightning" (Thin Lizzy) made Sykes so special, "Cold Sweat" is a killer :-)
I was lucky enuff to see John w/both
Whitesnake & Blue Murder. The BM gig was phenomenal! It's ashame he walked away from the project w/Mike Portnoy!
The whole blue murder album is absolutley the best of the 80s!
First and second Blue Murder Records are.
I saw blue murder at the bayfront center in st.petersburg fla.the album with jelly roll on it and they jammed and john sang some whitesnake songs that he co wrote
Great guitarist, great vocalist,very underrated.
solid rhythm playing, bro
John Sykes gets a bad rap - I always found him to be a lovely bloke. Over in the UK I did some work with him and also sold him a Hofner guitar. Really miss that he is not gigging.
Still of the Night is my fav rock song all time!!
Sykes is phenomenal!! Try his one and only album recorded in Japan, Nuclear Cowboy ❤❤blown me away❤
Bob Rock/Bruce Fairburn were working in the next studio with Canadian band Honeymoon Suite...on the album The Big Prize. A great sounding 80s album with plenty of songs that I still enjoy today. Bob has a magical touch.
Love Honeymoon Suite. I’ve opened for them twice in Buffalo. Great guys Derry Grehan is also a great guitarist with killer tone. I heard John Sykes was actually supposed to be the guitarist in winery dogs.
Bruce Fairbairn and Bob Rock were recording Slippery with Bon Jovi at the time Whitesnake were recording 87 album. Both were recorded at Little Mountain Studios.
Honeymoon Suite's 88 release Racing after Midnight was recorded at One on one studio's at North Hollywood....cool story bro 👉👌
@@joemartucci4786 John was supposed to work with guys from winery, however he works at an extremely slow pace which wasn't conducive for the other guys. Explains why John has retired from music and is living comfortably from royalty cheques..good on him 🤔
I loved the sound of John Sykes. When he teamed up with thin lizzy he took them to a new level.
Learn something new everyday! Cool video! I had no idea Bob rock had anything to do with that album… I honestly thought it was all Mike Stone and Keith Olson. Totally cool!
Sykes is my hero!! :D
That riff based on E chord, you play like the Whole Lotta Love riff, pretty close
Pretty much every song on that album is in GM/Em. That is my most comfortable key to play in and it is most likely because I was obsessed with learning all of those songs when the album came out.
Funny thing is they must been starting to think Sykes was a little too eccentric.....chasing a guitar sound that the sound mix guy couldn't find...but apparently Rock new what John wanted....an John new the sound but not the tech end....that's cool they got it...in the end... thanks
Loved Thin Lizzy line up when John was in Thin Lizzy before Phil passed away. Brian Downey great drummer. Still big Blue Murder fan as well, both albums. I used to listen to Still of the Night as loud as I could. Still have the album on vinyl and the cassette tape for the car. Then, CDs! Love Animal Drive’s version of WS’s “Judgement Day” from 89. Talk about some tasty bass and drums. Yum, yum. ✌️💀✊🏼🎸🎶🎶🥁🎸🎶🎶🙏