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40K views 24 replies 20 participants last post by  Def Bungis 
#1 ·
I'm looking to recreate that sound from those ever popular 80's hair metal bands. Whar effects or pedals were used in those bands that gave them that sound. And did they use distortion or Overdrive? Thanks guys
 
#6 ·
Tube Screamer, DS1,MXR Distortortion+ and a LOT OF CHORUS..
 
#9 ·
+5 ! ;) I have one, a 3TM moded. 80-ies early nineties, tons of usable gain and quite (thanks to the 3MT Ultra Mod, check adadepot.com, but a stock MP-1 is really cool already).

If you can get your hands on a used BBE sonic maximiser. works very good on the MP-1
 
#10 ·
The ol' Boss Metal Core is great for recreating all hair metal tones - no matter the amount of gain. Of course running it through a good Marshall stack or half stack really gives it that 80s metal sound.
 
#11 ·
I can nail that 80's tone with my Vox modeller (AD30VT). I use the UK 80s amp model (which is a JCM800 2203), and I run the master wide open and the gain on about 6. EQ is on 4-6 for bass/midd/treble and I run a chorus/delay combo with the chorus mixed low. I run a modded DS-1 into the front end to basically tighten up the low end. My main guitar is a mahogany-bodied Charvel Strat-style with dual GFS Crunchy PAT humbuckers and a Floyd.
 
#13 ·
first you got to look like you were in the 80's
then you can play like you were in the 80's
----Boss Heavy Metal (HM-2) Pedal, havent made in years but can find them on ebay, I still have mine.
 
#15 ·
if you are looking for a amp modeler, try the Digitech RP500
I guarentee you will be able to find the sound you are looking for
 
#19 ·
I don't think he wants to model it I think he wants to live it. the marshall jcm 800 is where its at. alot of people were using preamps for practice and song writing and they liked them so much they just went with that. ADA MP-1 was mentioned by tunghaichuan. another one is the carvin quad. your gonna need a power amp and speakers. I'm a DJ so its actually cheaper for me to pick up a carvin quad and plug it in.
 
#25 ·
Yeah, you need the one that has the LM308 chip set in it.
They go on E-bay for about $150 - $200 bucks.
These were made in Kalamazoo Michigan from about 1980 to 1992.
Then they moved to China...... :throwup: and ruined everything.
They tried to do a vintage re-issue in the 90's but I don't think they ever recovered from moving away from the original design.
But man, those originals nail the 80's like no other amp or effect.
 
#23 ·
Just curious, is there a specific guitarist/tone you're looking to recreate? There were enough variations in tone, even in 'hair metal', that it'd be helpful to know what/who's sound you're gunning for, specifically. Just curious.

While the JCM800/900s were absolutely a staple, if you're looking to recreate (just for example) a typical '80's hair metal sound', then I'm afraid you're going to be pretty bummed when plugging into a JCM800 doesn't quite do it. As you're probably aware, 80's hair metal tones were typically SO processed - loads of chorus, delays, compressors, phasers, etc. - that simply plugging into an 800 is highly unlikely to yield the results you're looking for (clearly a great amp, though!). Hell, there were plenty of well-known guys using solidstate Randalls/Crates (most of who eventually came to their senses and opted for tubes :grin:).

FWIW, I'm a big 80's hair metal fan and have spent lots of time trying to build a modest rig to approximate that sound. After loads of trial and error, various byzantine rack set-ups, and lots & lots of amps (including two mid 80's JCM 800's and later a JCM 2000) over the course of a few years, my humble/stripped down 80's metal rig now consists of a '89 Carvin X100B 100 watt tube amp, matching cab loaded w/Celestions, a Boss RV-3 (Delay & Reverb), CE-5 (Chorus Ensemble), and a Keeley modded SD-1 Super Overdrive. With my old MIJ Ibanez RG, very easy to get virtually any 80's hair metal sound, from DeMartini to Lynch to Jake E. Lee to Steve Vai. As mentioned previously by other posters, the ADA MP-1 is a great tool, as well!

Anyway, sorry for the long-winded response, you just happened to bring up a subject near & dear to me. ;)
 
#24 ·
I agree

I was able to open for A LOT of national acts during the 80's and 90's. All these guys are right.
Ratt-Laney AOR 50's and 100's
Lynch-Marshall's, ADA's, Soldano's and boogies
38 Special - Boogies gagged with the 4x12 backstage in a big plywood box
Pantera- Randall solid states, with sequencers
Dangerous Toys- Marshall 800's with preamp pedals
Y&T -boogies
extreme- ada and macintosh power amps
mr big- ada
metallica- Marshall,Boogie, tri-axis

the list goes on and on. the really big guys all had huge rack setups. the boogie tri-axis, ada, intellifex, some of the early digitech rack gear, Sans amp. Almost every big rack had a dual channel noise gate.

Sd-1 boss was a biggie, so was the ibanez tube screamer.

At one point or another, I have had most of these, my favorite most versitle setup was an ada mp1, intellifex, marshall 50x50 power amp, bbe sonic maximizer, eventide harmonizer, and yamaha gep 50 with a switching system and a laney aor.
It took 3 guys to load it lol but wow when it was cranked it rocked.
Also you may want to look at the Peavey Tubefex, on one of your cd's it sounded every bit as good as the tri-axis
:chucks:
 
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