Classic Rock Tone Anyone?

[LightWingStudios]

I personally add in a slightly detuned Chorus to fatten it up even more.

[Tsukiyomi]

It's funny, I always thought Robbo (Thin Lizzy) used this trick and only found out recently that that was an urban myth. I do the Chorus trick myself

[nomadh]

I have 3 wah pedals and have never really figured out how to utilize any of them. I use so much touch harmonics that even intro to man in the box it seems to not matter enough to bother. I have wah built in on my mustang floor but its just horrible. Funny because my fav is schenker and I hear he keeps 1 wah cocked all the time then and another he works w the pedal during solos on top.

[Frankenfretter]

I have one of these. Fun to play with, and with an expression pedal, it can be used as a "regular" wah.
Yes, I also have a wah pedal.

[toomanycats]

I do the Chorus trick myself

I see the wah trick as more about focusing rather than fattening the tone. It's sorta a paradox that to sound more prominent in the context of a band the guitar must be narrower and thinner in a total eq sense, but more focused and pushed in particular frequencies. Some of my favorite examples are Warren De Martini's Out of the Cellar 800K bump (achieved not with a wah but with a Furman PQ-3 parametric equalizer) and Adrian Vandenberg's tone on the first Vandenburg album, for which he probably used a cocked wah. If you really listen to both those tones on their respective albums you'll notice how "thin" they sound, but also how great they sound. There's a big difference between sounding good in isolation and sounding good in the context of a band (especially a recording).

Regarding the chorus trick, would this be considered a variation on what EVH did from 5150 on, with the guitar split to both sides, with one of the sides tuned down a few cents?

[Tsukiyomi]

I do the Chorus trick myself

Regarding the chorus trick, would this be considered a variation on what EVH did from 5150 on, with the guitar split to both sides, with one of the sides tuned down a few cents?

I'd say so. The guitarist in the band who gave me my first start used to do it back in the 70's and he showed me when they'd let me jam & gig with them in the late 80's. I don't do it in any stereo capacity but I think the overall effect is the same to the untrained ear.

[eicca]

This was a Tom Scholz trick on Boston’s 1976 debut album. It’s especially noticeable in “Long Time” and the outtro guitar duel in “Hitch a Ride.”

[toomanycats]

Killer cocked wah tone here:

[Rollin Hand]

A lot of guys in the 80s used Rockmans (Rockmen?) to get that effect. It also saved miking amps.

[LightWingStudios]

Scholz used a Wah early on and then went to EQ as he used the Wah to dial in certain frequencies and boost them hence he VERY HEAVY Mid Range tone.

Those small Rockman units did not really get close to his tone. You needed to use his many half rack units to get somewhat close.

[eicca]

Scholz used a Wah early on and then went to EQ as he used the Wah to dial in certain frequencies and boost them hence he VERY HEAVY Mid Range tone.

Those small Rockman units did not really get close to his tone. You needed to use his many half rack units to get somewhat close.

A 15-band EQ tweaked in just the right spots will get you 96% there. The principle is actually fairly simple, midrange boost around 500hz (cocked wah principle) and then a hard mid-Q cut of 2000hz to clean up the pick attacks.

[nomadh]

Would this also be considered the violin type tone. Many times it reminds me of that.

[Rollin Hand]

Scholz used a Wah early on and then went to EQ as he used the Wah to dial in certain frequencies and boost them hence he VERY HEAVY Mid Range tone.

Those small Rockman units did not really get close to his tone. You needed to use his many half rack units to get somewhat close.

Or the XP100. I played a Jem 777 through one of those, and it sounded incredible. In stereo.