Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: mikey5 on September 07, 2008, 09:46:37 PM
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I just had a thought for the new topic and that is What pickups come closest to Randy the tone of Randy Rhoads. Were randy still alive which humbucker set do you guys think he would use or which set comes closest to his classic Les paul tone???
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Riff Raffs?
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man, the Mule gets me there...so, too, does the Crawler(Mule in Standard..Crawler in Custom...)RR rules!!!!!!
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Amen to that hes my favorite. Did you mean mule neck crawler bridge?? I didnt think the crawler could replicate that kind of Mr Crowley suicide solution distortion?? I would have thought the Cold sweat or something tighter in the bass?? Elaborate on the tonal qualities of the crawler I am curious
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The Crawler is more than tight enough in the bass for Death and Morbid Angel. It is for Ozzy too then ;)
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yes...agree...I have a cal. set of Mules and a Crawler(bridge) mule (neck ) combo-I have Boogie Mk IIC+ amps which are very versatile-I can dial in that RR tone, but with more bottom-that Marshall is a big part of the true RR tone_in terms of pups, I want something with sizzle and pinch harmonics-both deliver-seems like Tim used a Mule in his Ozzy tribute band :D
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Didnt randy use SD JBs? the rr-1 seems to come with jb/jazz combo now but im sure i read he used two JBs... so im unsure what you would use to get close to the JB... something mid to high output... a cold sweat maybe??
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Didnt randy use SD JBs? the rr-1 seems to come with jb/jazz combo now but im sure i read he used two JBs... so im unsure what you would use to get close to the JB... something mid to high output... a cold sweat maybe??
he used T tops in his LPC, Super Disortions in his polka V, and I think you're right about SD's in his 'concorde' V.
the RR1 is only the body shape really, I think Randy's was a bit different in most areas, especially the fact that he preferred lower wider frets I think
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What pickups come closest to Randy the tone of Randy Rhoads....which set comes closest to his classic Les paul tone???
he used T tops in his LPC...
I say again - Riff Raffs ;)
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Didnt randy use SD JBs? the rr-1 seems to come with jb/jazz combo now but im sure i read he used two JBs... so im unsure what you would use to get close to the JB... something mid to high output... a cold sweat maybe??
I'm pretty sure both the black sharkfin guitar and the white Concorde V had a Duncan Jazz in the neck and a Duncan Distortion in the bridge.
That could be wrong... but I think it stuck in my mind because it seemed such a weird combination of high and low output.
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Have any of you played the RR1 Jackson?? It sucks I don't think I have never been more disappointed by an instrument. I am a huge Randy fan and I don't know but it didn't have it. Even the guy working at the music store was a little surprised. Then again the quality of the Jackson has gone waaaayy down since Fender bought then out a few years back. I loved an SL1 I played that was made in the late 80s. You guys think the Crawler has similiar output to the JB?? I dont know the JB specs I love the Alnico2 pros that I have. I heard good stuff about the JBs but I didnt like what I heard
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I think what's been said above is correct:
'stock' pickups in his LP
SD Distortion/Jazz in his V. I'm also sure I remember reading that atleast 1 of his guitars had a Dimarzio Super Distortion in it.
When I was looking for a bridge pickup for my V a few months back I told Tim I was going for the Randy Rhoads/Michael Schenker sorta thing and he suggested a Riff Raff.
As regards the SD JB, I've read atleast 1 interview where Steve Stevens talks about his Rebel Yell pickups and he likens the bridge RY to an old JB that he used to own.
Me personally, I don't hear that, but that's what the man said :)
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That dosent answer which BareKnuckles come closest to his tone
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Maybe it's just me, and I have to preface this by saying that Randy's untilmely death and his incredible playing were what made me know I wanted to play lead guitar. BUT, I think his tone, or at least the portion that came from his pickups, wasn't all that groundbreakingly unique. Most of his best solos (Mr Crowley, etc) were recorded on a stock Les Paul custom with stock Gibson pickups. His studio tone was the result of putting a Marshall halfstack at the bottom of a concrete stairwell and playing from the top of the stairs, and then rerecording and layering the same parts for a big thick tone. His live solos were just the brute force of a Paul going through a Marshall halfstack with a couple light effects and OD. That's just it, there's really not a huge amount of magic, aside from his soulful playing which most certainly was magic.
I'm still shopping my first set of BKP's, but I'd side with most of what I'm hearing here, something that approximates classic Les Paul tone, maybe with an extra little touch of gain would probably do the trick nicely. Black dogs or mules or riff raff. Or hell, I'm looking very hard at the Cold Sweat myself, what with Sykes being my other icon, and his tone on a Les Paul was no slouch either.
I think just about any hot PAF style from BKP will do a good Randy tone, in the right guitar with the right amp rig. The rest comes from a lot of talent and a lot of practice. Best wishes in that endeavor.
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That dosent answer which BareKnuckles come closest to his tone
err, yeah it does.
if you want the LP - Riff raff
the polka V tone - Cold Sweat / old Holy Diver (low ouput ceramics) depending on guitar you want to put it in
Concorde - Rebel Yell / Holy Diver / Crawler again, depending on guitar you want to put it in
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You could also look into what Tim used/uses for his own Ozzy Tribute band.
I know he uses atleast 1 Mule Loaded Les Paul, and the Randy Rhoads style Polka Dot V he had when I saw him had Nailbombs in it.
You also need to factor in a cranked Plexi with an MXR Distortion + on it aswell as an MXR EQ with a /\ shape for a huge midrange push.
Same with everything, but the pickup is only a relatively small percentage of his tone imo :)
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You could also look into what Tim used/uses for his own Ozzy Tribute band.
I know he uses atleast 1 Mule Loaded Les Paul, and the Randy Rhoads style Polka Dot V he had when I saw him had Nailbombs in it.
You also need to factor in a cranked Plexi with an MXR Distortion + on it aswell as an MXR EQ with a /\ shape for a huge midrange push.
Same with everything, but the pickup is only a relatively small percentage of his tone imo :)
I think his refinished Gibson Gothic Polka V with white Nailbombs is still on ebay
I saw it announced for at least 6 months
I'd buy it in a second if I had cash
but the whole Randy tone thing always ends being a matter of taste
he used PAF pickups in his Les Paul, but he had so much gain and mid boosting plus the cascading mod on his Plexi, that is hard to tell how much of his tone comes from the pickups
I'm not a huge fan of his tone and I think Vivian Campbell's tone on Holy Diver absolutely smokes it
and for that I'd recommend the Cold Sweat, but I like the Holy Diver a bit better for Randy stuff
but if you're boosting the shite out of the guitar like he did, get something less hot
but I love how the Cold Sweat works so well for most 80's stuff
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Nahh Holy Diver cant smoke Suicide Solution. Not for guitar at least
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You could also look into what Tim used/uses for his own Ozzy Tribute band.
I know he uses atleast 1 Mule Loaded Les Paul, and the Randy Rhoads style Polka Dot V he had when I saw him had Nailbombs in it.
You also need to factor in a cranked Plexi with an MXR Distortion + on it aswell as an MXR EQ with a /\ shape for a huge midrange push.
Same with everything, but the pickup is only a relatively small percentage of his tone imo :)
I tried the MXR + and to tell the truth I thought it was weak yet he used it, but Something that not many may know about his tone is that a large part of having his tone is from either a stereo chorus with the effect level turned down really low ,or a harmonizer/pitch shifterand set the pitch control at 0.1(a tenth of a tone) Thus perfecting that harmonized full effect. The way his tone was always so full in his solos and rhythms is just awesome. I like it. Neat huh
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the quality of the Jackson has gone waaaayy down since Fender bought then out a few years back.
Yes, I agree.....Fender is the Microsoft of the music industry. Try and find a decent fender that is not a custom shop model......good luck. Same thing with Gibbo.
Just my 2 cents.
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I think Gibson and Fender get my award for the two least innovative electric guitar companies in the world. I've worked with both here in the US, and their attitude is pretty much that they haven't changed or improved much of anything in the last 50 years so why start now. I remember when Mustaine was parting with Jackson, so Gibson calls him up and says, sign with us. He says build me a fast 24 fret guitar with a Floyd. they say no. He says seeya.
Typical attitude from Gibson. They'll build 300 les pauls with different knobs or a new color, and it's like a limited edition collector classic somehow. Sorry to go off on an unrelated rant, but the big retailers in the US have such a hardon for Fender/Gibson that it just hits a nerve with me.
I've owned Prestige Ibanez guitars that have twice the crafstmanship of any USA Fender or Gibson.
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Yea it sucks big time I love Les Pauls In my opinion they are the electric guitar king, but the f***in quality control is so bad that they dont even always weigh the same or sound the same. My two Les Pauls are copies made privately imitating a 60s Les Paul's thinner neck profile and such they are awesome. But the new ones are so inconsistent that if you are lucky enough to find a good one then that is like a jewel. Craftsmanship based on that kind of chance makes for a horrible buying experience