Malmsteen Tone and tone in general

[rosskoss]

Does anyone know how to get Malmsteen's tone.
I know he uses Marshalls but to me they've always sounded kinda harsh while Malmsteen's tone is very warm,smooth and fluid.

Nowadays,hes also got that slightly crunchy high end which he uses a lot for rhythm.Is it because I've never really turned up the master volume all the way?I can't actually even if I wanted to because it just gets too damn loud.

Another tone that I really like is the dirty fender tone like SRV has.Also,Greg Howe has a nice fender tone but this one is very smooth.I've never been able to nail both of these tones either.

Steve Vai's tone has always been very artificial *and processed sounding to me.However it is appropriate for the kind of music he does.

[ShredHead42]

you should check into the past few issues or Guitar World or Guitar One. *they did a "50 rigs" thing and Malmsteen was one of them. *actually i think it was from the Facing the Animal tour, but it's not like his tone has ever changed anyway! * *

i believe it was something like a JCM45?? * is there a jcm45? * anyway, it was some 4 input amp, that he has specially modified and stuff. * *

have you heard malmsteen's tone on his Concerto Suite? *bleh! :sick: * * well, the acoustic guitar pieces sound very nice.

[carlos seo]

Correction: it was a JTM45

Malmsteen's tone comes a lot from his guitar and its scalloped fretboard and single coil pickups, though. The right amp helps (a JCM800 or JCM900 will do the trick), but I think it's more from the guitar.

SRV's tone is hard to get. I can get really close with this setup: Fender Strat (3 Texas Specials) w/ rosewood fretboard and huge frets into vox wah into 2 TS-808 (one for distortion and another for gain boost) then into a Fender Deluxe with the volumes all the way up. A compressor helps too.

[Josh Blagg]

The JTM 45 amplifier was the first Marshall amp and was based on the Fender Bassman. *Eric Johnson also has used this amp, as it gets a very warm, musical distortion. *This is one the rare amps still made today (the reissue) that actually uses a tube rectifier and isn't a boutique amp. *However, you must definately turn these amps up all the way to get that tone.

As for your master volume amp, most audio-philes hate master volume amps in general, but yes, you need to crank it to get the best tone. *If loudness is a problem, I would suggest going with a lower wattage. *But more importantly, you should check out a power attenuator like the THD Hotplate.

Malmsteen specifically uses the 1971-1972 era Super Leads though, which are indeed very loud. *As for an SRV tone, you will want some kind of genuine Fender amp with original circuitry, like a Blackface Super Reverb. *The Ibanez Tube Screamer is also important as it fattens and warms up the sound. *All of the elements of his setup combine to be important, like the rosewood board, huge frets, huge strings, etc., but maybe the most important thing was that his pickups were rewound at the Fender factory. *So in this respect, I think the Texas Specials are the closest reproduction. *For a smoother Fender sound, maybe try a Deluxe Reverb with a nice chorus pedal and warm analog delay.

In any case, your technique will far outweigh the equipment you are using. *Think of what tone you are trying to get and then tweak your equipment and playing style to get that tone.

[bob oakman]

Here’s another take that’s kinda’ the same, only different. :loco:

Many years ago (I always start that way-I’m old) I had a JTM 45. Yeah! It was kinda’ slick, but I fried the transformer, got it rewound, fried it again and sold it. There were 4 inputs. Two “High” and two “low”, meaning “bright” and “warm”. There was a real BIG difference in the tone of the different inputs. The bright ones were glaringly bright. The “low” inputs were even quite bright… That is, until you cranked the amp up to 10.

Don’t be deceived by what you hear on a CD. Actually Yngwie’s tone is very harsh and bright. It’s easy to fix in the studio with a little EQ on the console. His live tone (stage volume, not house mix) almost made my ears bleed.

Having been a classic Marshall user for years, IMHO, a great deal of his tone can be attributed to the Marshalls… cranked up real loud… as already stated. The scalloped Strat with custom Pickups plays a part as well. I do believe that you can come close with a Strat and most tube amps if you do a lot of tweaking and, as Josh said, figure out how he picks, etc. Every different player can make the same rig sound very different. There is nothing very complex about his rig. Just remember, as with the tone you hear on anyone’s CDs, a lot has to do with the way the cabs are miced and EQ during record and mix down. This applies to live tone as well.

[warmregards]

A commonly overlooked tip -- Malmsteen loves his neck pickup...a lot of us like out nice bright and strong bridge pickups but he uses his single coil neck pickup a lot...quite a contrast but it makes sense when you hear it.

[Josh Blagg]

Bob...was your JTM45 an original?

[bob oakman]

Quote: from Josh Blagg on 4:18 pm on April 17, 2001
Bob...was your JTM45 an original?

Yup.

It was physically smaller than it’s more contemporary counterparts. I bought it from the guitarist in a band called “Stone Deaf”. (Paper Route money) I think it was around 1972 when I bought it. I used it when our band played for the High School Turnabout. ‘Twas loud for the gymnasium.

BTW, the name of my band back then… “The Outer Mongolian Underground Balloon Crew”, which eventually became “The Orange Underground”. Heehhe… It was a different era. I guess underground must have been cool.

[Josh Blagg]

Were the AC wall outlets putting out 120V of current at the time you blew the transformer, because the amps were only designed to take 110V?

[strat110]

Just posted this elsewhere but it may help you here too. *

YJM Rig:

Its as simple as this:

Fender Strat [pref Vintage White] scalloped and dimarzio'd up.

Dod250 Overdrive Preamp [this baby does give you that Malmsteen tight low end] or Ibanez TS-9 Tubescreamer

Dunlop Wah [optional]

Marshall 50watt NON master head c.72-73 or the Marshall 1987x re-issue, an exact replica of the 72 metal panel Marshall which is what YJM uses - he is not a plexi man.

Marshall 4x12" [x2] pref loaded with Celestion 30watt speakers [70's vintage] not V30's.

In an optional rack then put in:
2x Korg DL8000R [delays]
1x TC Electronics G Force
Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor
Boss Flanger
Boss Octave.

This is all run after a line out signal has been taken from the Marshall heads then run through the rack into Marshall 400watt poweramps back into the multitude of Cabs.

For older YJM then just bypass the rack for Steeler to Trilogy tone and get a Korg SDD2000 rack delay unit.

The basis of Yngwie's sound is POWERTUBE distortion, not preamp this is why it is so smooth and not harsh, although his sound is starting to lean towards that side of late.

Also if you want the Facing The Animal or Concerto tone then you need to get a Fender Roc Pro head or combo, and go from the preamp line out into the Marshall head [in place of the Dod250 or TS-9 Tubescreamer]. *This was basically used as an elaborate overdrive pedal.

[bob oakman]

Quote: from Josh Blagg on 10:32 pm on April 17, 2001
Were the AC wall outlets putting out 120V of current at the time you blew the transformer, because the amps were only designed to take 110V?

Yes, they were putting out 120. That combined with extreme volume was probably the cause… Oh yeah, the tin foil wrapped around the fuse to keep it going during a gig probably didn’t help either. :loco: The tubes were glowing bright blue. That combined with the smoke from the transformer made a cool visual effect. :mc:

I now wish I still had that amp. I also had two Marshall heads that were built somewhere around 69 to 71. I wish I still had those as well. I now have a 78 model. It’s just not the same.

[MD]

Check this site out
http://www.guitargeek.com/
It's not only for YM but for others too and it's pretty accurate.
As for SRV sound I don't think anyone can reproduce it. He was using a lot of amps mixed at once and his playing technique is rather hard to reproduce (think 0.13 strings )

[skins345669]

Originally Posted by MD

Check this site out
http://www.guitargeek.com/

Good shout; Useful tool.

[waylay00]

Dude, this thread is almost eight years old...

[EvoGiant]

i thought SRV used Dumble amps too.....