petejt
Active member
...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!
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.
...On paper, his guitar tone should be scorching...
...Yet when you listen to Blizzard of Ozz, it sounds like shit!
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.
