Zakk Wylde Tone without expensive gear

[warlockking 0]

I'm trying to get a tone like Zakk Wyldes on recent Ozzy Albums like Black Rain and especially the Live DVD Ozzy at Budokan, without buying a JCM800. I've tried a suggested setting i found on the web, which had the mids at 3 and treble and bass at 10, which sounded terrible and not even close. I have a suspicion alot of it has to do with his EMG pickups, because he doesn't use alot of special gear, just an OD, Wah, Rotovibe, EVH Phaser, and MXR Chorus, yet he makes all sorts of cool, almost synth like noises with his guitar. anyone have any ideas? Please don't just bash zakk, i'm serious. i've tried looking it up on google and haven't been able to find anything but what gear he uses, which i'd like not to have to buy. (nothing under 100 dollars, and the amp is several thousand)

[SurveyofSociety 0]

zakk wylde hasn't got any tone :poke:

 

 

now that that's out of the way, les paul, humbuckers, marshall style OD and yes, the setting you found should do you....

 

anything else you hear comes from the guys fingers. he plays pinch harmonics a lot and also he'l repeatedly hammer on/off a note and glide his right hand up the strings which gives you more squeling harmonics. theres other les paul guitar tricks he uses but someone else can type them out. ive a broken finger

[O'Rourke 0]

Plug into a shitty solid state amp with a super high gain channel like a Crate with a "lead" or "solo" channel and bury you signal with a bunch of time based effects run into the front of the amp, use all the Zakk signature pedals turned all the way up on every setting at once.

 

Then play at least 2 pinch harmonics out of every 5 notes you pluck and you are in The Zakk Zone.

[wiseguy21690 0]

I got pretty close to Zakk's tone with my Boss GT-8. I put it on a Hi-Gain Marshall setting (Bass 6, Mid 5.5, Treble 5)with an OD in front and a stereo chorus on at all times. For solos i kick on a wah between the middle and toe-down position. I've seen Ozzy/BLS at Ozzfest and even when Zakk uses the Dimarzio-equipped V he still sounds like Zakk, so it's not just the EMGs.

[book_of_lies777 2]

believe it or not, this will damn near nail it(minus the wah & effects):

 

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Marshall-MG15MSII-Micro-Stack?sku=482705

 

whether one likes Sakk Mylde or not, doesn't enter into it...

 

I obviously think he's a nutsack.

[bigfatmonkeyboy 0]

When you fart, pull your cheeks apart. sometimes, you will get a high pitched squeely sound.

 

Welcome to zakktown!

[V-Type 0]

As said above Zakk uses way too many tone sucking pedals and his Marshal amp signal is buried amongst the always on Chorus's and Univibes and whatever else Zakk endorses.

And I thought EVH overused effects.

I get some Killer Zakk tones both Early and BLS era with my XT pretty easy as will a lot of modelers as well as amps.

Sadly Zakks Marshall tone hardly comes through as well as it used too IMO.

I liken his tone to a 800 with a 3/4" down comforter draped over the speakers.

Many Amps will get you Zakks tone ala Vox,Line 6,Crate,Peavey,etc....

[Mudder1310 0]

I'm a big fan of Zakk's "No Rest for the Wicked" era tone and licks. There's some really solid stuff there.

 

For the most part you're looking for marshall, OD to push it, wah, and chorus. You can cover all that for relatively cheap.

 

Peavey VTM

Avatar cab

Bad Monkey

Vox wah

Danelectro Cool Cat chorus (18v if possible, highly underrated pedal)

 

I bet you could do that whole set up for under $500 if you're a smart shopper.

[eyeball987 0]

I could nail it with a Sovtek Mig 60 boosted with an OD. His Ozzy tone is buried in chorus and things but that is the person recording the CD. Not Zakk. His BLS stuff does not have the overbearing chorus thing going on.

[~Abstract~ 0]

Why the hell would you TRY to copy that?

 

 

Just do some pinch-harmonics...you're 90% there.

[SurveyofSociety 0]

yeah, a tube screamer or similar OD pedal before some marshall OD with loads more bass and high output pickups will do the job

[metalheadUK 1]

I Zakk.

 

You clueless lot.......

 

[Exocaster 1]

yes, the setting you found should do you...

 

10/3/10 is garbage tone on any amplifier. It'll get a halfassed old-school thrash tone, but that's it. Zakk's tone is very midrangey these days, with loose bottom end- but not "bass on 10" boom, and certainly not treble on 10. Or likely even 5, for that matter.

 

Zakk's tone could be approximated with something vaguely Marshall-voiced with the mids and bass turned up and the treble and presence comparatively low, running a fairly high- but not modern metal- amount of gain. Then try boosting the amp with a Boss SD-1 (what Zakk used before his signature OD pedal, which is more or less a tweaked SD-1 clone, and cheap to boot... about $30 used) with the level maxed, the tone below 12:00, and some gain from the pedal as well, though not too much. The OD pedal with the level turned up and additional gain from the pedal is more the "secret" to that tone than the pickups are. The EMGs are actually fairly counterintuitive to Zakk's current tone, as they're very bright and have tight low end. They do have a lot of output, though, and that's really the key to what he does- hitting a medium-gain amp (a JCM 800 on its own is not a gain monster unless it's modded) with a ton of output from the guitar and a boost pedal.

 

All the rest is just effects. A ton of 'em with Ozzy, and usually fairly dry tones with BLS.

[bacosta72 0]

"no more tears" tone, bad ass, heavy, clear, not a wah or pinch harmonics every note. (maybe to much chorus). new tone, sounds like ass. detuned guitar, wah on every solo, no punch or definition.

[Acid Test 1]

Effects:

 

Digitech RP350 or RP500

 

Amp:

 

Peavey XXL

[the_bleeding 0]

Get a used Mode 4. im sure you can find one for aroundd 450$ now.

[Sutto 0]

Get this:

 

Dial in "Insane" here:

 

Plug in something like this:

 

Put on a pair of these:

 

and one of these:

 

Detune your guitar until the strings are dangling down below the fretboard and start wanking uncontrollably. Don't stop until you're carried away in a Pringles can.

[wylderubicon 0]

not many zakk fans here for sure.

 

you can try using any mid-gain tube amp, over drive channel boosted with an overdrive pedal (BOSS SD1). He used to use a chorus pedal in heavy amounts in the early days, but only a small amount these days. EQ: bass maxed, high at 8, mids at half way. use a wah as freq boost for the solos.

 

The EVH phase and the Rotovive pedal are rarely on.

 

Listen the "alchohol fueld brewtality" CD for some of his best BLS tone.

[ashasha 1]

Not something that I would strive for either, only albums I liked were his earlier couple with Ozzy (No more Tears and No Rest...) and he used a TON of chorus and I don't think that it was post production either. My favorite (actually the only solo album of his that I LOVE) is Pride and Glory. His best singing, songwriting and playing and it covered a lot of genres. I think that he has a lot of a scooped type of flavor, but there are a lot more mids in there when you start dissecting it. He sucks up a ton of the mix.

 

Either way most of his sound comes from his style; like it or hate it you know its him playing when you hear it. Really wish that he would have went more southern rock than that dirtbanger death metal shit; he's got the pipes and the licks.

[knucklechutz 0]

When you fart, pull your cheeks apart. sometimes, you will get a high pitched squeely sound. Welcome to zakktown!

 

Too funny!!

[D34dBaWx 0]

Man when I saw the thread title I knew the bashing was coming. I think his tone is pretty slaming. I do also think he is a butt plug.

Marshall sounds with some decent mids and humbuckers can take you close. Check modelers cause you want cheap.

[Phishmonkey 0]

357 Customs can help you with that!

[DaveAronow 18]

Hate THIS.

 

[YOUTUBE]HFQOZ8mL4-g[/YOUTUBE]

[ctestdummy 0]

if you think you hate that you are most likley lying to yourself

[Le Blur 0]

junjunSQUEEjunjunjunSQUEEEjunjunSQUEEWAHHHhhhHHHWAAAHHHHhhhhjunjunjunSQUEESQUEE

 

 

 

 

 

Wash, rinse and repeat.