Why was Randy Rhoads' tone so crap?

  • Thread starter Thread starter petejt
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petejt

petejt

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...Such a phenomenal player with genius talent & musicality....

...On paper, his guitar tone should be scorching...

...Yet when you listen to Blizzard of Ozz, it sounds like shit! :aww: :confused:


I've read old interviews about his gear and the recording process. Fat Gibson Les Paul guitars and the Jackson Flying Vs. Cranked up Marshall amps & 4x12 cabs. 400ms delays. Microphones placed on the cabs, 3 feet back, 6 feet back, and possibly also 12 feet back along a cellar stairway (for depth). Every guitar part double-tracked, if not triple-tracked. It looks like a recipe for greatness.

Yet it's puzzled me why his tone sounded so boxy and small. Very narrow. Almost too compressed. And almost quite shallow. He may as well have recorded just with his guitar and a cheapy dirt box straight into the mixing desk.


Don't get me wrong- I love his live tones, particularly when he threw a few effects in. It just bugs me a bit every time I've listened to the album itself. Sometimes the tone is a little better (e.g. Suicide Solution, Mr. Crowley) compared to other tracks on the album (like I Don't Know, Crazy Train).


Was it just the recording process that stuffed it up? Well whoever was on the desk to record Dee sure done a good job, because that sounds fantastic. Some of the best recorded acoustic guitar ever.
 
His tone, playing, song writing was all great and unique. This topic has to be in the all time internet forum beat to death top 5.
 
zuel69":2hl47mt8 said:
His tone, playing, song writing was all great and unique. This topic has to be in the all time internet forum beat to death top 5.

Yeah ok but it still bothers me, and I've been silent on this issue until now. Nothing wrong with continuing a discussion.
 
locoed":68cu3vm2 said:
Max Norman had broken ears. :doh:
^This. Max Norman should be brought up on charges for his production on the two Rhoads albums.
 
Yup, probably the guys who recorded it. Even the drums sound like shit on the 2 Ozzy CD's, it wasn't just Randy's guitar. Compared to the early VH records from a production standpoint.........well there is no comparison. However, at the time in the early 80's the Ozzy CD's sounded great and Randy had a unique sound. Plus, the live album sounds great.
 
Why hasn't anyone thought to discuss this before? What a great, fresh topic!

FWIW, I can't imagine the opening riff to Crazy Train being played with any other tone other than whats on the album...Norman may have f'd up alot of the tones but there were a few songs (Flying High Again comes to mind) where the tone worked for the riff/song.
 
Easy. Because it was the recording and production quality that made Blizzard sound like crap.

Randy had good tone as evidenced on live bootlegs, the Tribute album, etc. And I even think Diary sounds just fine. The Blizzard tone is the only bad tone I've heard from Randy.

This should go to show that any tone or amp can be made to sound bad on a recording, even a professional one.
 
Even the bass tones on Blizzard were fucked up sounding.
 
rupe":2nd29xzf said:
Why hasn't anyone thought to discuss this before? What a great, fresh topic!

FWIW, I can't imagine the opening riff to Crazy Train being played with any other tone other than whats on the album...Norman may have f'd up alot of the tones but there were a few songs (Flying High Again comes to mind) where the tone worked for the riff/song.
I agree.
 
Some of the songs the tone seems to fit fine for me, I was and still am listening to the skill and chops too much to start railing the tone.
 
'Do we obsess over tone and buying amps way too much when we should be just practicing and writing more?' because Randy Rhoads, with a not great recorded tone, still becomes a legend among rock players.
 
thegame":3t2jvp9k said:
Easy. Because it was the recording and production quality that made Blizzard sound like crap.

Randy had good tone as evidenced on live bootlegs, the Tribute album, etc. And I even think Diary sounds just fine. The Blizzard tone is the only bad tone I've heard from Randy.

This should go to show that any tone or amp can be made to sound bad on a recording, even a professional one.

I agree. I guess it was just the recording. It's just that when I read the description of the recording process, it looks like it would have sounded great. But it always spins me out that it doesn't sound good at all.

The live guitar tones on the other hand give me chills down my spine. :rock:
 
just42dave":24aetjnr said:
it was 1980

The year these albums were made didn't matter.

Back In Black

First Boston Album

First couple VH albums

Pink FLoyd The Wall.
 
Shit studio tone but great live tone in my opinion. Crapping producing is all.
 
danyeo":17alga5g said:
just42dave":17alga5g said:
it was 1980

The year these albums were made didn't matter.

Back In Black

First Boston Album

First couple VH albums

Pink FLoyd The Wall.


Hey?


Back in Black (1980) has superior sound.




Sounds good even when played over a PA at a big party and recorded on a digital camera then uploaded to YouTube...





Boston's first two albums came out in 1976 and 1978 respectively, and the production still sounds fresh and new.
 
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