A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

Hey all!
It's been a while since I've posted, truthfully I've been in a pretty large musical rut the last few months. A lot of things happened in my personal life and I'm only finally starting to feel like myself musically again. I've also been on a big Randy Rhoads high since the 43rd anniversary of his passing, learning riffs and licks and such. I've been getting back into buying actual gear of years only using amp modelers. So I dusted off some of my old amps and mic'd them up to do a little guitar layering experiment using the Ozzy song "I Don't Know", since thats the one I've been learning lately.

What you will hear is three different versions of the main riff in the left, right, and center channels each recorded with a different set up, then they will all come in playing to a backing track through the intro, first verse, and first chorus.

The left channel was played using:
Gibson Les Paul Studio w/ EMG "Het Set" pickups ---> Marshall MG10CD combo amp ---> Mic'd with an SM57.
This was my first ever amp, and I have a soft spot for it despite it's fizzy and rough sound.

The right channel was played using:
Gibson Les Paul Studio w/ EMG "Het Set" pickups ---> Behringer TM300 Tube Amp Modeler pedal --> Peavey MP-4 mixing head ---> custom 4x12 cabinet --> Mic'd with an SM57

The center channel was played using:
Gibson Les Paul Studio w/ EMG "Het Set" pickups --> Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier "Hit That Diode" present in Amplitube

All recorded and mixed using reaper.

What do you all think? I think it came out better than the sum of the individual pieces for sure, and it was a fun experiment to help get some of my groove back.

I think the real take home message here is that even a Marshall MG10CD sounds better than Randy's tone on Blizzard of Ozz.

But seriously, it sounds really good. I've always struggled with the 8th notes on that main riff. There's just something about it that eludes me. I liken it to the opening riff of Van Halen's "I'm the One." It's not just straight notes played mechanically, but there's a bounce and swing to it that you just have to feel.

toomanycats wrote: ↑Sat Apr 12, 2025 7:24 am I think the real take home message here is that even a Marshall MG10CD sounds better than Randy's tone on Blizzard of Ozz.

But seriously, it sounds really good. I've always struggled with the 8th notes on that main riff. There's just something about it that eludes me. I liken it to the opening riff of Van Halen's "I'm the One." It's not just straight notes played mechanically, but there's a bounce and swing to it that you just have to feel.

Doesn't that bounce come from interaction with the bass though? While Randy's grinding away on the A, the bass is bomping along underneath at a slower speed, creating a kind of counter-rhythm, and making the whole thing less intense.

If the bass was simply pedaling on A and matching Randy, the track would be way heavier, and not in a good way.

That is a pretty cool experiment. No question that multi-tracking almost always sounds better than any of the individual parts.

My question, though, is how did SoundCloud not block this for "copyright infringement"? I played about 20 seconds of something over a backing track, and they immediately blocked it. What's your secret?