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JOHN SYKES....anyone know what gear he uses?


bleedblack

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Does anyone have any idea what sort of rig Sykes is running? Saw him on the last Lizzy tour (for the first time), and i was well impressed by his sound. Looked as though he was runnin some old marshalls, but it sounded real thick and saturated, so i was wondering if he uses any pedals / rack equipment to achieve his overall tone.

I have heard that he has or does also use some boogie stuff too, but i think that may have been with the Blue Murder thing.

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Posted

 

Originally posted by bleedblack

Does anyone have any idea what sort of rig Sykes is running? Saw him on the last Lizzy tour (for the first time), and i was well impressed by his sound. Looked as though he was runnin some old marshalls, but it sounded real thick and saturated, so i was wondering if he uses any pedals / rack equipment to achieve his overall tone.

I have heard that he has or does also use some boogie stuff too, but i think that may have been with the Blue Murder thing.

 

 

Gibson + Marshall!

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I had the rare opportunity to visit the studio he was laying tracks for the Whitesnake '87 album one day (a friend was asst. engineer on the proj). I didn't get a chance to be up-close-and-personal with Sykes' gear, but can report his guitar parts were recorded with his Black Les Paul Custom through (4) Mesa Boogie heads (model/options unknown) and (8) 4x12 cabs.

 

Yes, it was FA-HUCK-IN LOUD!

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He used Mesa Boogie Mark II and MarkIII heads on the Whitesnake and Blue Murder CD's. He used a Marshall on one song, Is This Love. IMO it would be a hell of a lot easier getting his tone by using a Boogie rather than a Marshall.

I think that on his recent Thin Lizzy tours he is using Marshalls. I believe for speakers he used those EVM200l 200 watters.

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Millions of people everyday (so I exaggerate sometimes) use modded Marshall's and Les Pauls but nobody sounds like Sykes.

 

How about that wide vibrato he does...amazing.

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Originally posted by danyeo

He used Mesa Boogie Mark II and MarkIII heads on the Whitesnake and Blue Murder CD's. He used a Marshall on one song, Is This Love. IMO it would be a hell of a lot easier getting his tone by using a Boogie rather than a Marshall.

I think that on his recent Thin Lizzy tours he is using Marshalls. I believe for speakers he used those EVM200l 200 watters.

 

:cool:

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Posted
Originally posted by riffy

Am I crazy or didn't I hear he was using Cameron Marshalls on the last tour?


Gary

Nope, youre crazy Bro, That was Doug Aldrich on the last Whitesnake tour

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He uses the same old Jose Arredondo modded JCM800 Marshalls with Thin Lizzy that he has had since the 80's. He uses Marshalls for the Lizzy stuff and the Boogies for the other stuff he does.

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Originally posted by STEEL KAGE

Nope, youre crazy Bro, That was Doug Aldrich on the last Whitesnake tour

 

I thought I was:D ...lol

I listen too little and talk too much...lol

Well Doug's tone kicks all kinda ass from

what I have heard then...;)

 

Thanks bud!!!!!

 

Gary

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These days John uses his Jose modded Marshalls with lizzy.

 

Back in the whitesnake days he used a pair of coliseum MKIII heads. one slaved into another with some chorus and a wah out in front. the Wah was used as a filter on the leads. He only used the Jose Modded marshall on the "this is love" solo and that was it.

 

as far as his solo stuff he stopped using boogie amps in 1995 after he recorded the SYkes " out of my tree album"

Everything after the out of my Tree album was the modded Marshalls.

 

 

I'm one of the guys who prefers his boogie sound to the Modded Marshalls. I always have and I always will.

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Originally posted by yngzaklynch

Trace told me John used a modded Marshall for the 1987 album but to my ears thats Mesa Mark tone. Of course I could be wrong.

 

 

I love Trace to Death but IMHO he is Wrong or the person whoi gave him that info is wrong. There might have been a layer of the Marshall in the Background but that tone is definitely a slaved MKIII coli head IMHO.

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Originally posted by gainfreak



I love Trace to Death but IMHO he is Wrong or the person whoi gave him that info is wrong. There might have been a layer of the Marshall in the Background but that tone is definitely a slaved MKIII coli head IMHO.

 

 

Like I said it sounds like the Mesa Mk tone to my ears. By the way my Mk IV fukin ROCKS!!!!

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Originally posted by yngzaklynch



Like I said it sounds like the Mesa Mk tone to my ears. By the way my Mk IV fukin ROCKS!!!!

 

 

Sup bro!!!

I totally agree with you and that's why I chimed in!

I remember Trace mentioning that a while back but I never thought it was true. My first reason is well.. My ears.. The coli heads have a VERY unique sound adn that album reeks of it. I also have an article with John from an 1989 guitar mag where he says exactly what he used in whitesnake and Blue murder and if that is not enough.....one of my good friends played bass for John on 2 Lizzy tours.

 

you know that I asked him to get the skinny on Johns gear from back in the day ;) and The coli MKIII was mentioned from the horses mouth................. John Sykes

 

and I am glad you are digging the MkIV!!

 

I freaking love the thing!!

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Oh I also forgot........ John told my friend personally that he can make his MKIIC+ and MKIII sound identicle.... Just a heads up for the knuckleheads who still think that you cant get a III to sound like IIC+.

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Well, like I said the day I stopped by, they were working on ODs for what became Children of the Night, and all I saw were a rack of Boogie heads with the built-in EQs on em. Not a Marshall in sight.

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Originally posted by gainfreak




and I am glad you are digging the MkIV!!


I freaking love the thing!!

 

 

Dude I'm playing my Strat into the Mk IV everyday. If this keeps up for a few months maybe I will finally sell the Schecter to Kage. But I better be sure it's not a phase before I go a part with one of my all time favorite guitars. But yeah... I'm running the Strat into the Mk IV, using reverb or delay from my Magic Stomp and of course using the Uberkab and I am just loving life!! The tone and feel are out of this world good.

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Originally posted by BerkleeBill

Well, like I said the day I stopped by, they were working on ODs for what became Children of the Night, and all I saw were a rack of Boogie heads with the built-in EQs on em. Not a Marshall in sight.

 

 

I wish i could have stopped by that day. Man, that Whitesnake album was HUGE when i was in High school. Every hot blonde chick in my high school played Here I Go Again in their little VW convertibles.

 

And yes, that Sykes tone is one of my most favorite lead tones. Right along with the lead tones of Gillis and Watson and the crunch sound of Madhouse by Anthrax. HMM, see a pattern here. LOL. I just read in a magazine that the guys from Anthrax said that Kirk Hammet turned them onto Boogies. You can easily hear it in the tone. And listen to the first Living Color CD. I love his crunch sound, his lead playing playng bugged me but i love that grind he had in his tone.

 

Now, i just need an amp that sounds like the Jake E Lee tone. What a {censored}in unique tone he had!!!!!!

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