Randy lived on the bridge pick up whenever distorted, rarely went to the neck position. Another small but important distinction in his sound. Another beauty of Randy is he never pretended to be a bluesy guitarist. When amps were involved, he was all about straight up late 70s and early 80s rock. All of us wishing his solo classical album could've happened.
Yes, the neck pickup was mostly turned to zero when using the toggle as a kill-switch :P Randy was a bluesy player though, in Quiet Riot he even played slide-solos :D
Yep Even in his solos he stsyed on bridge...he had the open wah technique goin on too His tone was just LOUD and cut threw nice and thick, to be able to not only maintain that flat loude sound He made it sound AWSOME... He really is untouchable
Exactly... Randy is by far my biggest influence and after almost 40 years of playing,,, I still hardly ever use my neck pickup.. It just doesnt sound right to me..
Yea they are great tones i just and alot of other people appreciate the live tone alot more as it really highlighted randys fantastic playing better than the studio
Randy the legend. Had he lived music would surely be different in some way today. No doubt in my mind that he would be considered the greatest guitarist of all time if he were still with us today, because even with his short career, he has made a tremendous case for himself. The world lost one of the brightest stars to ever have been birthed in 1982. A tragedy for all mankind, imo.
I'm older than you. In1981 BoOzz came out and I was 14. It was monumental to me. I grew up with Randy and he was one of my idols. That sound on the first album was just a product of the time IMHO. I never emulated the tones as iconic but if you ever hear those songs on the radio... you KNOW it's Randy. I skipped school the day he died because I was just heartbroken. I missed that tour a few months earlier when it came through my town because I was working. I've always regretted that.
@@LeonTodd I was born in 65 and I was listening to Hendrix Iommi Page May Frehley et al in the 70s so there were plenty of awesome guitar sounds and licks to choose from
Scott Peterson You are so right man. I’m 50, so I was about 13 years old when that record came out and it was blow mind! I can’t believe this dude is critiquing the sound of the first record. It really makes me sad to hear somebody say that because the tribute album was put out just to make money by Ozzy and his freak greed beast wife. They never paid Bob and Lee, the two guys that play drums and bass in a band and co-wrote the songs and at one point they took the original studio masters and laid different drums and bass tracks in so they didn’t have to pay them the royalties owed. Bob is suing for millions of dollars in royalties. Initially the band was just called Blizzard Of Ozz. With everything I just said being total fact, like I said, I can’t believe this dude is saying it didn’t sound good.I guess he’s entitled to his opinion, but I think his opinion sucks.
I always thought Randy’s tone sounded very much like Tom Schol’s, which is an awesome tone! I remember being in Jr. High listening to Blizzard & Diary through headphones. It was amazing.
A HUGE key to Randy's tone was his Altec Lansing 417 100 watt speakers. They re very bright & clear, almost hi-fi sounding speakers. He said the Distortion Plus through stock Celestions sounded "TERRIBLE". IOWs, he didn't want speaker breakup(neither did Zakk who used EV 300 watters). You'd probably get closer to Randy's sound playing a Marshall head through a P.A. cab than a stock Marshall cab. For Randy, the MXR's distortion(as boost only) added to the cranked Marshall's distortion was perfect. He just wanted a clear & bright(almost piercing) representation of that. Aside from speakers, a decent EQ pedal set to a frown curve, a CRANKED Marshall, then double or triple track the parts. This is a huge key as well because it not only thickens the parts, it also adds a natural phasing/chorusing effect that has an unpredictable timing. He also played some fills differently between those tracks. This double & triple tracking made Randy's playing sound even more alive & exciting. Rock On!
I DIY built four white 4x12 cabs back in 1981, each loaded with four 180 watt RMS (I believe) Pyle Drivers, because of what Randy said about the Altecs, I wanted cleans to be clean, no speaker distortion, all distortion from the amp and pedals. So I had two of those white stacks with black Marshall heads on them, MXR Dist+, MXR 10 band, Echoplex, a couple other gadgets as well. When the Tube Screamer was first released I swapped it with DIST+, both were great sounds, with the TS winning out and staying on my board throughout the 80s. I still have that TS and one of the cabs. One great local guitarist played on open A string through that rig with the TS and said "It sounds like an entire chord!" He just kept hitting that A note in disbelief. It WAS massive. One of those cabs served well in a bass rig for weeks; emerged working perfectly. Randy was right about the speakers. Top Jimi recently posted a video verifying this; the speakers are the most important, and most overlooked part of a guitarist's sound, then the amp, then pedals, pickups. The speakers are so, so important.
@@jfo3000 , Cool story bro. Btw, I wasn't kidding about that PA speaker thing. I used to sometimes practice by running my ADA MP1 into my friend's Peavey 800 pwr amp into an SP2 cab. I had no cab simulation. I just EQ'd it to sound somewhat like a guitar cab. I couldn't believe how good it sounded. It was a very screaming, not unlike Randy, type tone. However, I've always been more into Frampton's Comes Alive tone. It's low gain but can go from very sweet to scream. For over 30 yrs, I've been trying to nail it. He used an early 70's Marshall(I think into Greenbacks) mixed 50/50 with a very special Ampeg Echo Twin. Also a Tubescreamer, Binson Echorec, MXR phaser and Leslie speaker. Not to mention a one of a kind, very special, '54 Les Paul. (not an easy tone to nail down!) Rock On Bro!
@@t-boog2173 Thanks! I could never get a sound happening out of a PA, i did try, cool that you made it happen. Yeah Frampton had a great tone. Tubescreamer was not invented yet for his live album, I don't recall what he used now, though it's gotta be on the web somewhere, I think he jumpered the inputs on his Marshalls as guys did with those 4 input models.
@@jfo3000 Oh sorry, you're right. His Tube Screamer came a little later. Btw, now he uses racks of gear, slaved preamps, endless pedals, etc(he has a great Rig Rundown on youtube if interested). But sadly, by the early 80's, that live tone from Comes Alive era had changed. He also lost his very unique Custom around that time. But IMO, the main obstacle to that tone is THAT Echo Twin(he said he's tried many of them and none sound even close). Considering it's mixed about "50/50 with the Marshall"(Frampton's words), that would give it a very unique sound. Anyway, I know I'll never nail that tone but I have fun trying. My Standard into my Marshall actually does it justice. BTW, one more thing about playing with that PA speaker. I'm thinking the reason it worked was the MP1 had an Active EQ. Also, I ran it into the mixer before the power amp. I can't rem exactly how I set either but I do rem both the ADA and the Mixer's EQ's were set very unorthodox. I just tried everything and kept tweaking until it sounded good. When I was done though, the whole band, incl me, were amazed at how great it sounded. All I can think is between the preamp's active EQ and the mixer's passive EQ, I was able to approximate a cab sim type curve. After all, the biggest part of DI boxes and Cab impulses is the EQ curve. The presets on my ADA for that PA rig sounded horrible thru my half stack and the presets for my half stack sounded horrible thru the PA rig. Drastically diff EQ settings! Besides that, the MP1 was an awesome sounding preamp. I'm sure that didn't hurt.
@ROCCO SMURF But if I hit an open A power chord on Randy's gear, and he hits the same chord, you could not tell the difference. The sound would be identical. If he started SOLOING, then yeah, you'll hear a difference. But it's a STYLE difference more than anything. Just my opinion.
@ROCCO SMURF I did a cover on here of Flying High Again. Many people like it and wonder how I got that sound. Well, I got a decent sound AND I played it well. :) You can listen to that and see if you think I got close on those two fronts. I used a $200 Fender Squier Affinity, stock.
You'd need an MXR graphic EQ as well, the Dist+ is not great on it's own into a Marshall, and Celestions don't do the Randy sound either, as they add too much breakup. Peavey Scorpion and EV are close, but JBL is closer, Altec Lansing is the shit!
Great to pay tribute and Give some love to our legends and Heroes! We're all emulating our influences when we play, expanding on tone and rearranging structure! Well done and thanks for sharing Leon!
Good timing - I was just playing Tribute in the car yesterday. The pedal sounds good - stop dismissing your playing man. I was 15 when that album came out and burned through the cassette tape - there was a great tab book too shortly after (Andy Aledort?) that I'm sure the neighbors regretted me getting. The live tone is THE tone - the studio doubling has that weird chorusing effect that I still can't listen to - and blew everybody away when that came out. Tribute solidified Randy's place in guitar history, and rightfully so. The man was talented beyond belief. Thanks
I used to have the bootleg from the ‘81 Cleveland Ohio concert called Bat’s Head Soup. Bought it back in’83. It had the now infamous solo spot at the end of Suicide Solution. If you want to hear it type in Randy Rhoads The Original Lost Solo on here. That is the best version of that solo spot . Randy’s tone on that bootleg was sick. Sickest live tone I’ve ever heard. Cut like a razor blade. That entire concert is the best live performance ever captured of Randy.
I actually have to say that I have always agreed with you when it comes to his sound on Blizzard. I remember being really surprised when I heard the album for the first time and a little befuddled. I was a student of Randy's back in the late 70s and I was blessed to have heard him play every week in what equates to a 100 sq ft. wooden box which was his teaching room. When I was there, he was playing through an old Vox amp with his MXR Germanium with the script writing on it. He was SUPER protective of that pedal and truly felt like it had a very special sound. And to my memory, it did. I'm just not sure what happened in between then and the recording of the album. I guess at the end of the day, there is so much that happens between the strings and the 2 inch tape that it's impossible to know. I feel like there was a ton of 500hz boost from the Graphic EQ he used. And who knows what tweaks they made in the mix. Anyway, that's my two cents. Thanks for the great video!
My guess is Randy's guitar tone on the Blizzard album was generated by the same rig he used with Quiet Riot, the Peavey Bass amp head (driven by the MXR Distortion + pedal, and his other pedals, like the MXR EQ pedal, MXR Stereo Chorus, everything in his pedalboard), through cabinets loaded with Altec Lansing speakers. Later, Randy got the Marshall Super Lead 1959 100 watt heads and used them either in lieu of the Peavey Bass amp head, or in conjunction with it (when recording in the studio is my guess,.most likely, like Eddie VH used the Fender Bandmaster in conjunction with his '68 Marshall Super Lead 1959 Plexi to get the VH1 guitar tone @ Sunset Sound/ L.A., CA). I think Randy was 'discovering' the more 'searing' guitar tone he was achieving "as he went along." I bought the Tribute album in May 1987, in of ALL places, Orlando, FL, while I was on my Senior Trip. When I got back home, I discovered the Tribute album wasn't even AVAILABLE at that time in the area of the Midwest that I'm from, so I hung onto that cassette & wouldn't let it out of my sight for MONTHS. My brother had a few arguments with guys we knew who were rock & metal addicts like ourselves, when they would say he was lying about his older brother already having the Tribute album, because they believwd that since it wasn't down at the local record store in the next biggest town with a Wal Mart in it, that the album "couldn't even POSSIBLY be released" yet. But he just told them 'they' didn't know what they were talking about and blew off thier scoffing. Told him he was better for doing so! And I listened to that cassette for MONTHS after returning home from said Senior Trip. It was Ironic, to me, that of all the places my Senior Class were allowed to go wander for an hour, while passing time until our flight time was nearer, I walked into a record store, and FOUND an album that I didn't even know had been RELEASED by Ozzy at that point! And I scooped it up QUICK. And got lost in the amazing playing, arranging, and tone chasing of Mr. Randall W. Rhoads for the next 3 or 5 hours, and for the next 4 or 5 months after I returned home from Florida.
I believe A major difference between Blizzard and Diary guitar tones is that on Diary Randy plugged into the recording console and used the EQ then sent that signal to his guitar rig.
The Tribute album is dear to me as well. When I heard it I hardly put it down. It still gives me goosebumps especially the solo on Goodbye to Romance. It hits me in the feels every time.
I saw that pedal in a British guitar magazine like 10 years ago, GASing for it because of the paint-job, and that the different issues of the MXR Dist+ aren't all the same, neither all the clones like Coron, Asama, Guyatone etc. But a nice Dist+, switchable diodes or not, won't make the signature Randy tone without the 10-band EQ ;)
It's a MXR D+. I think and knowing that the pedal does not get to nominal unless volume is all the way up is the way Randy had it and then you don't get that Fizz on the top end which he absolutely does until the Gain is turned up to 4 or 5 o-clock, so think that was Randy's setting and NOT what is shown on his pedalboard and like you were getting when dialed in this way! I think there is only a slight difference between the Germanium and Silicon transistors. The Germanium are more rounded and Silicon nor raw and open sounding. Not sure which one Randy had, as you'd need to take his pedal apart, but should be the 1N270 germaniums. It's a toss up, but think I prefer the Silicon! Great review as always, thanks Leon!
In 1987, the year Tribute was released I took my Kramer Rhoads flying V and carved RIP into the body and buried it headstock first in the woods in our back yard, sunk it down to the 12th fret and left the rest sticking straight up. That was my last flying V. Bob Daisley has numerous interviews and books, all of which I did a one time pass through in 2006. He was removed from the albums, as was Lee Kerslake and replaced in remastered versions in 2002. The original recordings I had on LP, then Cassette tape, then CD. My MP3's are from my CD rips. Those are late 80s versions. The original lineup. I again listened today, I wanted to understand what you heard, that I seemed to miss, and discovered the sounds of a Marshall being whipped mercilessly. Those amps are crying for forgiveness. In 1980 the amp of choice was Marshall, used all throughout the 70s. The Dual Rectifier emerged in 1991, a decade after Blizzard. The tones of the 90s had not been heard prior. As we were raised on 60s & 70s Rock music and popular radio music, the tone of Blizzard was unheard of at the time. It still rings true today for me as it did when I was a 10 year old, listening to my step Sister Suzy's LP. I'll never forget it. What happened after Randy died in 1982 is one of the music industries biggest travesties, and hopefully you understand that Randy's legacy, the Roads/Kerslake/Daisley trio that conceived and created Blizzard/Diary was rewritten, history was scrubbed. From the WIKI on Tribute: A live album consisting entirely of renditions of Black Sabbath songs was originally planned to be recorded at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens in mid-1982 with Rhoads. Rhoads and drummer Tommy Aldridge felt that they had established themselves as recording artists and an album of cover songs would be a step backwards artistically, and they refused to participate. Bassist Rudy Sarzo was uncomfortable with refusing to perform, not having the same recording pedigree of his bandmates, but he stood with them and the trio informed management of their decision. Osbourne felt betrayed and his relationship with Rhoads never fully recovered. Hopefully you understand that traditionalists such as myself covet the original releases, and shun consecutive remasters as a rewrite of history. I have tremendous respect for your YT contributions. I hope this post is better received. Regards.
Those re recordings are awful. I was lucky enough to buy a non re-recorded version of Diary and I ripped it into my computer much like you. Awesome story about the V, that's an incredible tribute to a great player.
Wow,I didn't know the story of Rhoads,Aldridge and Sarzo standing with them refusing to do a live recording of the songs that would later go on the Speak of the Devil album. Good for them for standing up to the record company. Thanks for posting the info.
Eddie and Randy are on top of my list, game changing players! Tribute live album amongst my all time guitar albums as well. The pedal is awesome btw, hints on getting sound in that ballpark in the Fx3 Leon?
I bought Tribute when it was released (age 16 or so). I had heard of Randy's legend but didn't really know his music (no rock stations in my area). On first few listens, I was both gobsmacked and choked up. I remember weeping at the solo to Goodbye to Romance, thinking about what we lost. I must have listened to it 1000 times since. Btw, I think that pedal/tone is quite good!
Sounded pretty close. Judging by how high you put the level knob it's probably a close clone to the MXR Distortion plus (they had the same issue). Not much to them really - couple of components, diode clippers and a single opamp. The DOD 250's about the same circuit but a little bit more level - one of the very first clone pedals I built back in the day! It's bumping around somewhere.
About 10 ms of mild delay is needed for his sound to give it the doubling effect that made it sound so large. Studio engineers often do this by micing an isolated cabinet at 1 foot and ten feet in a baffle tunnel and panning the signals accordingly.
Blizzard Of Oz and Diary Of A Madman were recorded at the same time but were released at different times so that they could tour without stopping. The reason Tribute sounds different is because Randy overdubbed many of the tracks multiple layers of leads and rhythm to get a fatter sound. All he used was his Marshall and MXR Distortion and Delay.Of course live would sound different than studio because you can’t overdub live. But it is hard to tell where he overdubbed because he had impeccable timing. On some leads he played the octave. This was done in analogue tape
5.04, there you have it, switched to Ge, sounds awesome!! And about alternating between the Tribute and Live and Dangerous albums: totally with you, did the same thing for six months in '87-'88...
That makes sense. A lot of remasters sounded great. But considering the time frame when it was recorded. I am just old enough to have a few tapes Back then. But young and unlucky enough to never have got to hear it on vinyl or tape😔
@@SheaRecordmetal Yeah, sound quality wasn't as much of a issue then. Most stereo systems sounded good, even the cheap ones. Warm and bassy. Stratchy records and tape hiss didn't seem to make listening less enjoyable unless it was really bad. It was just a pain to skip songs. But it was all analog so it had a certain realism to it. That's why vinyl is coming back. I remember the first time I heard the opening feedback scream on Crazy Train and the first Sabbath album, it actually scared me! I don't think digital can do that. It's too artificial.
Randy's tone is all mids boosted... at a time where everyone was 'scooping' their mids. I achieved his tone back in the mid '80s using a Boss OD-1 and a Boss GE-7, with mids set high and using the level to give it another OD boost. All through a 5 watt Epi Junior. Nice vid!
Hard rock/metal guitarists weren't using a scooped mids tone in 1980/81/82 - that didn't start until 1984/85, when Metallica became popular with the Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets albums (the latter especially had the heavily-scooped mids crunch tone). EVH scooped his mids slightly on the Fair Warning album (Unchained is a good example), but not to the level of Metallica, Anthrax, and thrash metal bands.
funny about your tribute album story...I'm sure many others had the same experience. That was my experience as well. My brother had this album and I listened to it non stop, then I listened to the studio stuff and was baffled why it just didn't sound as good. His tone and playing were so much better on the live album. There's also a video out there of a sound check, which seems to back up the tribute album in regards to his live playing and feel. I'm not sure what happened in the studio.
I thought the Diary... guitar sound was the ultimate metal tone back then, very innovative like Schenker, and I bet both the Priest and the Maiden guys were inspired by both. BUT - much of the nice tone on the Diary album was a result of triple tracking, maybe an attempt to recreate Randy's live sound, as he was very creative with his triple Marshall stacks, flanger, chorus, analog and tape delay units going here and there...
They're quite rare from what I understand. My friend owns it, he's a massive Randy fan and used to chat regularly with Dolores over the phone. Small world hey.
odd they included a germanium option considering he didn't have anything germanium or fuzz related in his rig. I can see why the RR estate wouldn't have wanted his name attached to it...
Coming from someone who heard Tribute and the "live" versions Blizzard initially threw me off. Oh to be alive the day that got released though, must have been exhilarating!
Dude, when you have time, relax somewhere and re listen to Dairy... Great headphones and listen to the Orchestration-Composition, Outro solos, and the Rip your head off Tone.
I love Randy but always thought the same about his tone. It really stood out at the time though. I saw the 81 tour and it was pretty terrible sounding in concert. An indiscernable wall of distortion. I couldn't tell what song they were playing for half the concert. My ears are literally still ringing. Tinnitus. :(
I saw Randy on that Blizzard tour in '81 ... the venue (Long Beach Arena) and my seat was in a pretty good location on the floor so it basically sounded like the live cuts on Tribute. Thunderous guitar tone that really shook you.
The only Randy in a box is the pine box Randy is lying in since March 19 1982. RIP. I like the germanium vs. silicon option on the pedal though, you don't see that every day.
Sounded really badass. I really like that there was a switch that can choose which diodes you want to play through. I wish I could find one now. 🫤 I doubt the newly announced MXR one will do it justice.
First time I heard crazy train I was 12. I’ll never forget 2 things. The guitar sound and the solo. I prefer the sound of diary of a madman album.. Guitar tone changed a lot between songs on blizzard. He was a inspiration and still is to me today.
The thing about Randy that truly makes him great, in my eyes anyway, is that people talk about his playing and the songs he wrote and not just the tone. Lots of guys have great tone, but how many wrote songs that went on to define a whole era?
@@LeonTodd Randy's uniquenesss was his Tone,his songwriting;and of course his solos,they were compositions within compositions,and everyone caught on to that real quick. LIve he would EMBELISH the songs to a new level. He was amazing. Yes the sound on Diary is different;Max Norman said that Randy's guitars were recorded direct into the board on Diary;where as on Blizzard they used a corridor in the basement with multiple mics close medium and far range and used the acoustics of the basement structure to create that sound.Both albums were epic.
I was 14 when Blizzard was released. The first time I dropped the needle down on the vinyl and heard "I Don't Know" was life changing for me. I saw him at the Tower Theater outside of Philly and it was next level. Diary was sonically better, no doubt. I was 16 when he died, exactly 7 days before they were to play the old Spectrum in Philly. BOO just doesn't sound the same on CD. I never cared for his sound on Tribute, and Tommy Aldridge has said he has straight sound board tapes that blow away Tribute. Unfortunately, that's pretty much all we've got.
The real key to Randy's live sound was not gain or drive. It's probably one of the biggest misconceptions about his sound. It was Volume. The gain or drive knob is an artificial breakup knob. The problem with using this knob to get Randy's sound is that if you listen closely to the tribute album or even better disc 2 of the Diary of a madman album...which is basically tribute but as it should sound, you'll hear this strange noise accompanying his sound...almost like a fatness but blistery sound. This is a speaker that's being driven too loud lol. I can get this sound using the Marshall DSL40CR by: 40 watt mode Channel 2 GREEN Gain: 2 o clock Volume: wherever you want Bass: 9 o clock Mid: 12:30 o clock Treble: 2 o clock Tone shift: out Master volume: Max Ibanez Tube screamer Volume: max Tone: noon Drive/gain: 12 o clock With these settings you'll sound nearly identical to his live sound. It's all about Volume. It's entirely volume based in conjunction with the gain at around 1 or 2 o clock. The interesting part is that this is on the Green channel which is less gainy than the red. It sounds fantastic. The MOST important part about these settings is MASTER VOLUME at max or close to max. His sound was entirely about driving the Power tubes into overdrive....which is the opposite of what most people today recommend which is turning up the channel volume. I found that when the channel is turned up and the master lower....it doesn't have enough bite and has this woody sound that's depressing to play lol. The guitar I used was an Alpine white Epiphone Les Paul with a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the Bridge. It sounds amazing and accurate. The Tribute album really does showcase Randy's playing but is ingenuine with the fact that they added a lot of post EQ that isn't accurate. For accuracy listen to the album I mentioned prior, Diary of a madman reissue disc 2. It still showcases Randy's playing and has an accurate view of his sound. It is missing some of the songs from the Tribute version but it's still pretty decent.
@@dowens3781 yeah I had an MXR Distortion + and it was difficult to use as a boost compared to the Ibanez Tube Screamer. I couldn't get my amp to sound similar to Randy's with the MXR but for sure did with the Ibanez TS.
I have heard this for the last forty years. The truth is they just can't play as he did in the sound he chose to play in. If only he had, had my setup, then I would sound just like him. Blizzard of Oz is as perfect a record anybody could ever wish to make. Randy Rhoads made that record!
It's not WORKING,, you need the power tube section adding to the gain, also run stereo amps with delay on one side. I really like your RR riffs. Your right tribute live tone was awesome.
I'm diggin' the chops dude is showing off In the video as much as the sound generated by the pedal! I liked both, but honestly don't believe Randy ever found the overall sound he wanted. Young Mr. Maestro was a perfectionist (almost to a fault), and technically the best there's ever been IMHO--but he didn't stand pat, or ever seem satisfied with what he was doing and how it sounded. He always felt that his best had yet to come to fruition. Too bad he, and we, will never know...
I thought the Blizzard of Ozz tone was badass. Hearing crazy train on that album is what inspired me to play guitar. You might not like it cause you're used to hearing the tribute album for the first time which prolly compelled you to admire it more. If you had first listened to Blizzard of Ozz I believe you'd have a different outlook on it.
@@LeonTodd absolutely! I was learning piano when I was 12 and when I turned 13 I heard that album for the first time and found out who Randy Rhoads was and I knew I wanted to play guitar and was so blown away by Crazy Train and Mr. Crowley. Best choice I've made to this day.
Anyone know what the story was of that Blizzard of Ozz guitar sound? So bizarre that made the final mix.....that producer shouldve been shot or given an award for letting an artist or label persuade him to let it publish under his name. Randy was indeed a rock pioneer.....no Sabbath/Uriah Heep/Deep Purple, = no metallica, no van halen, etc
Vai himself said randy invented his own category of metal music which was heavy metal. It was a whole new thing never heard of before. Quiet riot era RR was part of a scene of music, it had fast soloing but it wasn't seen as something all new. Vinyl LP records produce tiny thumbnail sonic images of the real sound. Increasing volume DOESN'T add more sonic pixels to the image. It really IS randy's sounds on record but they're SO SMALL its really difficult to workout what they actually are. Blizzard of oz IS the real sound of the studio sound. If you listen very closely you can easily hear this made of the les Paul AND the Carl Sandoval Flying V guitars (oddball strat and steal strings etc) Bridge pickup ONLY sounds (neck pickup volume must be set to off) (only a 1970's LP playing machine setup will give you the original sound) ( you can clearly hear the low notes HAVE BASS TONE and all notes have thin clarity. Which means bridge pickup only in use. No added influence from neck pickup magnets)
Randy's sound is classified as a 10 pedal sound, not 1. All 10 are influencing the sound in a big way. Fools try to use 1 pedal. Being a cheapass makes you uneducated. The pedals force you to only use the old marshall amp from 1980. It's not the sound of the 70's marshall. The diary album contains sounds from the 3 main electric guitars randy was know for. The track RR was recorded with the concord Flying V. It's easily recognizable with its powerful distortion and added bass warmth tone which Seymour Duncan is known for. The hot warm sounds randy makes are DiMarzio tones which they're famous for. These studio recordings are all done from 1 amp setup. Tribute is 112 volt recording from 3 amps setup and is EASILY heard as being WAY MORE complex than all studio recordings. You can hear the different era marshalls making up the 24 speaker sound. You CAN hear the sound leaving the stage and travel across the arena. It IS ALL the actual real sounds on all recordings. The sound is microscopic and blurry. It's NOT a clear, sharp well defined sound. CD does all those well defined sounds of randy's original sounds. On the CD you CAN HEAR the strings vibrating back and forth across the fingerboard. You CAN ACTUALLY TUNE YOUR GUITAR to the sound from CD's. you CAN workout the exact string gauge based on the sonic vibrations randy's strings make on a CD recording sound. You can hear how many strings he's playing in the chord.
The CD sound out of speakers (not headphones or youtube) is THAT GOOD, you can even workout what type and size plectrum randy is using for the recordings. Signature artist equipment is well worth the money. Nothing else works or will pass for it. No way!
Tribute has been heavily EQ'd after the fact. His real sound is Disc 2 of Diary of a madman Legacy edition. It's basically the Tribute album minus a few songs but with accurate EQ. Nowhere near as much Treble as you hear in Tribute. The reason you don't like the Blizzard sound is because the mids have been taken out and the gain turned down. Tribute is close to his sound but way to much treble compared to what it actually was...his sound was mid driven which is why disc 2 of Diary of a madman is so key....seriously listen to it and compare.
I use to be really good friends with some of randy's friends years ago.. im 28.. i got his distortion + settings and 10 band eq settings as well. The distortion was all the way max and the output was a hair to the left of half way.. around 45 i would say.. i was able to try that out on a friend of mines dads plexi and it was pretty close...
To anyone interested please let me know. I searched for years but today I finally found out how to get Randy Rhoads' tone perfectly and it comes down to 1 pedal.
@@jarcidiacono1 So I can normally get his distortion down with a few basic things like overdrive and an EQ however, his sound is hard to replicate in the studio or live (even for him). So I noticed the way he ran things in stereo and that is key. In the studio we all know he would double and even triple track his guitars with his tracks being very slightly staggered like a chorus effect. Live he always tried to sound more like that, so he would run tape delay and a chorus pedal in stereo and it got him somewhat close to what he wanted. So I got to thinking what would have gotten him closer to his studio tone, which he liked better? And wow I found a game changer. I linked a TC Electronic Mimiq doubler pedal into my chain (of course running it out stereo). Wow.... If they had this back in Randy's day I strongly believe that he would have used one most likely turned on almost all the time. Fuller sound, harmonics way more powerful and overall very similar sound to what he got in the studio tracking multiple guitars. Because of the way he multi-tracked guitars it gave him a very specific sonic profile. When someone double tracks their guitars (excluding the obvious like harmonized tracks) the average listener can't tell it was double tracked because it was intended for the most part, to blend into the mix. When Randy recorded multiple guitar tracks they were off by micro seconds but you can absolutely very clearly hear it in the recordings. The pedal that I found just so happens to have the same magic as that studio had, It replicates his studio sound perfectly.
I think you nailed it best anyone can! Tone is totally in the fingers, I feel like randy had harmonics spewing from every note, almost like he held his pick really close to his thumb and got random pinch-esque harmonics all the time. Anyone else or am I high? Hahah
They shouldve told deloris the RR means ?Rose Royce. it is their logo..Besides it's Too bad all that distortion live kills peoples ears..Most sound men make you back it off,ehh But who plays live anymore.. The tribute album was done on a tour where i have the bootlegs..the solo part was the best at the Rosemont Horizon in illinois 1982 he had some extra stuff aside from his every night routine which is what you hear on tribute.. but it sounds like his cable came unplugged for a second so it didn't get used on the tribute album. I know some fellow artist around chicago that remember that show i had to give him a copy....Amazing hi gain sound and playing for that time.
I tell everyone, if you haven't heard "RR Trubute" you haven't heard Randy Rhoads. Tribute album is the best album ever made. As a huge Black Sabbath fan, this one is my favorite. The sound is beyond anything I've ever heard. RR version of black sabbath is awesome!! Children of the Grave is the best ever. 🎸
Randy lived on the bridge pick up whenever distorted, rarely went to the neck position. Another small but important distinction in his sound. Another beauty of Randy is he never pretended to be a bluesy guitarist. When amps were involved, he was all about straight up late 70s and early 80s rock. All of us wishing his solo classical album could've happened.
Yes, the neck pickup was mostly turned to zero when using the toggle as a kill-switch :P Randy was a bluesy player though, in Quiet Riot he even played slide-solos :D
Yep
Even in his solos he stsyed on bridge...he had the open wah technique goin on too
His tone was just LOUD and cut threw nice and thick, to be able to not only maintain that flat loude sound
He made it sound AWSOME... He really is untouchable
Exactly... Randy is by far my biggest influence and after almost 40 years of playing,,, I still hardly ever use my neck pickup.. It just doesnt sound right to me..
it sounds so glassy with his live solos on the early doam tour like he used his neck pickup or is that just a pedal?
I liked the Blizzard Of Oz tone and Diary Of A Madman tone.
Yea they are great tones i just and alot of other people appreciate the live tone alot more as it really highlighted randys fantastic playing better than the studio
Same here. The Blizzard sound especially. Randy's live sound was just meh imo.
So do I
Same
Randy the legend. Had he lived music would surely be different in some way today. No doubt in my mind that he would be considered the greatest guitarist of all time if he were still with us today, because even with his short career, he has made a tremendous case for himself. The world lost one of the brightest stars to ever have been birthed in 1982. A tragedy for all mankind, imo.
I'm older than you. In1981 BoOzz came out and I was 14. It was monumental to me. I grew up with Randy and he was one of my idols. That sound on the first album was just a product of the time IMHO. I never emulated the tones as iconic but if you ever hear those songs on the radio... you KNOW it's Randy. I skipped school the day he died because I was just heartbroken. I missed that tour a few months earlier when it came through my town because I was working. I've always regretted that.
That would have been a really special time to be alive for a young guitar player. Hard to imagine life before Randy/EVH/YJM.
Roughly the same age as Scott. What he said, 100%.
@@LeonTodd I was born in 65 and I was listening to Hendrix Iommi Page May Frehley et al in the 70s so there were plenty of awesome guitar sounds and licks to choose from
Scott Peterson
You are so right man. I’m 50, so I was about 13 years old when that record came out and it was blow mind!
I can’t believe this dude is critiquing the sound of the first record. It really makes me sad to hear somebody say that because the tribute album was put out just to make money by Ozzy and his freak greed beast wife. They never paid Bob and Lee, the two guys that play drums and bass in a band and co-wrote the songs and at one point they took the original studio masters and laid different drums and bass tracks in so they didn’t have to pay them the royalties owed. Bob is suing for millions of dollars in royalties. Initially the band was just called Blizzard Of Ozz.
With everything I just said being total fact, like I said, I can’t believe this dude is saying it didn’t sound good.I guess he’s entitled to his opinion, but I think his opinion sucks.
As matter fact, I wish I didn’t watch this video.
Yeah agree aye. Blizzard sounds like a practice amp where Tribute sounds like a fire breathing Marshall with a shit hot guitarist coming through it.
I always thought Randy’s tone sounded very much like Tom Schol’s, which is an awesome tone! I remember being in Jr. High listening to Blizzard & Diary through headphones. It was amazing.
A HUGE key to Randy's tone was his Altec Lansing 417 100 watt speakers. They re very bright & clear, almost hi-fi sounding speakers. He said the Distortion Plus through stock Celestions sounded "TERRIBLE". IOWs, he didn't want speaker breakup(neither did Zakk who used EV 300 watters). You'd probably get closer to Randy's sound playing a Marshall head through a P.A. cab than a stock Marshall cab. For Randy, the MXR's distortion(as boost only) added to the cranked Marshall's distortion was perfect. He just wanted a clear & bright(almost piercing) representation of that. Aside from speakers, a decent EQ pedal set to a frown curve, a CRANKED Marshall, then double or triple track the parts. This is a huge key as well because it not only thickens the parts, it also adds a natural phasing/chorusing effect that has an unpredictable timing. He also played some fills differently between those tracks. This double & triple tracking made Randy's playing sound even more alive & exciting. Rock On!
Speakers are a huge part of any guitar sound. Time to track me down some Altecs...
I DIY built four white 4x12 cabs back in 1981, each loaded with four 180 watt RMS (I believe) Pyle Drivers, because of what Randy said about the Altecs, I wanted cleans to be clean, no speaker distortion, all distortion from the amp and pedals. So I had two of those white stacks with black Marshall heads on them, MXR Dist+, MXR 10 band, Echoplex, a couple other gadgets as well. When the Tube Screamer was first released I swapped it with DIST+, both were great sounds, with the TS winning out and staying on my board throughout the 80s. I still have that TS and one of the cabs. One great local guitarist played on open A string through that rig with the TS and said "It sounds like an entire chord!" He just kept hitting that A note in disbelief. It WAS massive. One of those cabs served well in a bass rig for weeks; emerged working perfectly. Randy was right about the speakers. Top Jimi recently posted a video verifying this; the speakers are the most important, and most overlooked part of a guitarist's sound, then the amp, then pedals, pickups. The speakers are so, so important.
@@jfo3000 , Cool story bro. Btw, I wasn't kidding about that PA speaker thing. I used to sometimes practice by running my ADA MP1 into my friend's Peavey 800 pwr amp into an SP2 cab. I had no cab simulation. I just EQ'd it to sound somewhat like a guitar cab. I couldn't believe how good it sounded. It was a very screaming, not unlike Randy, type tone. However, I've always been more into Frampton's Comes Alive tone. It's low gain but can go from very sweet to scream. For over 30 yrs, I've been trying to nail it. He used an early 70's Marshall(I think into Greenbacks) mixed 50/50 with a very special Ampeg Echo Twin. Also a Tubescreamer, Binson Echorec, MXR phaser and Leslie speaker. Not to mention a one of a kind, very special, '54 Les Paul. (not an easy tone to nail down!) Rock On Bro!
@@t-boog2173 Thanks! I could never get a sound happening out of a PA, i did try, cool that you made it happen. Yeah Frampton had a great tone. Tubescreamer was not invented yet for his live album, I don't recall what he used now, though it's gotta be on the web somewhere, I think he jumpered the inputs on his Marshalls as guys did with those 4 input models.
@@jfo3000 Oh sorry, you're right. His Tube Screamer came a little later. Btw, now he uses racks of gear, slaved preamps, endless pedals, etc(he has a great Rig Rundown on youtube if interested). But sadly, by the early 80's, that live tone from Comes Alive era had changed. He also lost his very unique Custom around that time. But IMO, the main obstacle to that tone is THAT Echo Twin(he said he's tried many of them and none sound even close). Considering it's mixed about "50/50 with the Marshall"(Frampton's words), that would give it a very unique sound. Anyway, I know I'll never nail that tone but I have fun trying. My Standard into my Marshall actually does it justice.
BTW, one more thing about playing with that PA speaker. I'm thinking the reason it worked was the MP1 had an Active EQ. Also, I ran it into the mixer before the power amp. I can't rem exactly how I set either but I do rem both the ADA and the Mixer's EQ's were set very unorthodox. I just tried everything and kept tweaking until it sounded good. When I was done though, the whole band, incl me, were amazed at how great it sounded. All I can think is between the preamp's active EQ and the mixer's passive EQ, I was able to approximate a cab sim type curve. After all, the biggest part of DI boxes and Cab impulses is the EQ curve. The presets on my ADA for that PA rig sounded horrible thru my half stack and the presets for my half stack sounded horrible thru the PA rig. Drastically diff EQ settings! Besides that, the MP1 was an awesome sounding preamp. I'm sure that didn't hurt.
maybe just ..... find an old mxr dist + instead? or DOD preamp 250?
mxr distortion
@ROCCO SMURF But if I hit an open A power chord on Randy's gear, and he hits the same chord, you could not tell the difference. The sound would be identical. If he started SOLOING, then yeah, you'll hear a difference. But it's a STYLE difference more than anything. Just my opinion.
@ROCCO SMURF I did a cover on here of Flying High Again. Many people like it and wonder how I got that sound. Well, I got a decent sound AND I played it well. :) You can listen to that and see if you think I got close on those two fronts. I used a $200 Fender Squier Affinity, stock.
You'd need an MXR graphic EQ as well, the Dist+ is not great on it's own into a Marshall, and Celestions don't do the Randy sound either, as they add too much breakup. Peavey Scorpion and EV are close, but JBL is closer, Altec Lansing is the shit!
Great to pay tribute and Give some love to our legends and Heroes! We're all emulating our influences when we play, expanding on tone and rearranging structure! Well done and thanks for sharing Leon!
Good timing - I was just playing Tribute in the car yesterday. The pedal sounds good - stop dismissing your playing man. I was 15 when that album came out and burned through the cassette tape - there was a great tab book too shortly after (Andy Aledort?) that I'm sure the neighbors regretted me getting. The live tone is THE tone - the studio doubling has that weird chorusing effect that I still can't listen to - and blew everybody away when that came out. Tribute solidified Randy's place in guitar history, and rightfully so. The man was talented beyond belief. Thanks
Tribute has such an amazing spontaneity and energy to it. It's a wonderful historical document to have!
I used to have the bootleg from the ‘81 Cleveland Ohio concert called Bat’s Head Soup. Bought it back in’83. It had the now infamous solo spot at the end of Suicide Solution. If you want to hear it type in Randy Rhoads The Original Lost Solo on here. That is the best version of that solo spot . Randy’s tone on that bootleg was sick. Sickest live tone I’ve ever heard. Cut like a razor blade. That entire concert is the best live performance ever captured of Randy.
I actually have to say that I have always agreed with you when it comes to his sound on Blizzard. I remember being really surprised when I heard the album for the first time and a little befuddled. I was a student of Randy's back in the late 70s and I was blessed to have heard him play every week in what equates to a 100 sq ft. wooden box which was his teaching room. When I was there, he was playing through an old Vox amp with his MXR Germanium with the script writing on it. He was SUPER protective of that pedal and truly felt like it had a very special sound. And to my memory, it did. I'm just not sure what happened in between then and the recording of the album. I guess at the end of the day, there is so much that happens between the strings and the 2 inch tape that it's impossible to know. I feel like there was a ton of 500hz boost from the Graphic EQ he used. And who knows what tweaks they made in the mix. Anyway, that's my two cents. Thanks for the great video!
I never knew anything like this existed !
What a tremendous Christmas gift that would be to receive !
My guess is Randy's guitar tone on the Blizzard album was generated by the same rig he used with Quiet Riot, the Peavey Bass amp head (driven by the MXR Distortion + pedal, and his other pedals, like the MXR EQ pedal, MXR Stereo Chorus, everything in his pedalboard), through cabinets loaded with Altec Lansing speakers. Later, Randy got the Marshall Super Lead 1959 100 watt heads and used them either in lieu of the Peavey Bass amp head, or in conjunction with it (when recording in the studio is my guess,.most likely, like Eddie VH used the Fender Bandmaster in conjunction with his '68 Marshall Super Lead 1959 Plexi to get the VH1 guitar tone @ Sunset Sound/ L.A., CA). I think Randy was 'discovering' the more 'searing' guitar tone he was achieving "as he went along." I bought the Tribute album in May 1987, in of ALL places, Orlando, FL, while I was on my Senior Trip. When I got back home, I discovered the Tribute album wasn't even AVAILABLE at that time in the area of the Midwest that I'm from, so I hung onto that cassette & wouldn't let it out of my sight for MONTHS. My brother had a few arguments with guys we knew who were rock & metal addicts like ourselves, when they would say he was lying about his older brother already having the Tribute album, because they believwd that since it wasn't down at the local record store in the next biggest town with a Wal Mart in it, that the album "couldn't even POSSIBLY be released" yet. But he just told them 'they' didn't know what they were talking about and blew off thier scoffing. Told him he was better for doing so! And I listened to that cassette for MONTHS after returning home from said Senior Trip. It was Ironic, to me, that of all the places my Senior Class were allowed to go wander for an hour, while passing time until our flight time was nearer, I walked into a record store, and FOUND an album that I didn't even know had been RELEASED by Ozzy at that point! And I scooped it up QUICK. And got lost in the amazing playing, arranging, and tone chasing of Mr. Randall W. Rhoads for the next 3 or 5 hours, and for the next 4 or 5 months after I returned home from Florida.
I believe A major difference between Blizzard and Diary guitar tones is that on Diary Randy plugged into the recording console and used the EQ then sent that signal to his guitar rig.
The Tribute album is dear to me as well. When I heard it I hardly put it down. It still gives me goosebumps especially the solo on Goodbye to Romance. It hits me in the feels every time.
GTR is just insane
I saw that pedal in a British guitar magazine like 10 years ago, GASing for it because of the paint-job, and that the different issues of the MXR Dist+ aren't all the same, neither all the clones like Coron, Asama, Guyatone etc. But a nice Dist+, switchable diodes or not, won't make the signature Randy tone without the 10-band EQ ;)
Very Close. Basically a DiMarzio Super Distortion pickup MXR EQ, Distortion + Altec Lansing speakers all in a box
Wow Man What a Pedal!!!! And you play amazimg! Long Live to the King Randall!!!
It's a MXR D+. I think and knowing that the pedal does not get to nominal unless volume is all the way up is the way Randy had it and then you don't get that Fizz on the top end which he absolutely does until the Gain is turned up to 4 or 5 o-clock, so think that was Randy's setting and NOT what is shown on his pedalboard and like you were getting when dialed in this way!
I think there is only a slight difference between the Germanium and Silicon transistors. The Germanium are more rounded and Silicon nor raw and open sounding. Not sure which one Randy had, as you'd need to take his pedal apart, but should be the 1N270 germaniums. It's a toss up, but think I prefer the Silicon! Great review as always, thanks Leon!
In 1987, the year Tribute was released I took my Kramer Rhoads flying V and carved RIP into the body and buried it headstock first in the woods in our back yard, sunk it down to the 12th fret and left the rest sticking straight up. That was my last flying V.
Bob Daisley has numerous interviews and books, all of which I did a one time pass through in 2006. He was removed from the albums, as was Lee Kerslake and replaced in remastered versions in 2002.
The original recordings I had on LP, then Cassette tape, then CD. My MP3's are from my CD rips. Those are late 80s versions. The original lineup.
I again listened today, I wanted to understand what you heard, that I seemed to miss, and discovered the sounds of a Marshall being whipped mercilessly. Those amps are crying for forgiveness. In 1980 the amp of choice was Marshall, used all throughout the 70s. The Dual Rectifier emerged in 1991, a decade after Blizzard.
The tones of the 90s had not been heard prior. As we were raised on 60s & 70s Rock music and popular radio music, the tone of Blizzard was unheard of at the time. It still rings true today for me as it did when I was a 10 year old, listening to my step Sister Suzy's LP. I'll never forget it.
What happened after Randy died in 1982 is one of the music industries biggest travesties, and hopefully you understand that Randy's legacy, the Roads/Kerslake/Daisley trio that conceived and created Blizzard/Diary was rewritten, history was scrubbed.
From the WIKI on Tribute:
A live album consisting entirely of renditions of Black Sabbath songs was originally planned to be recorded at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens in mid-1982 with Rhoads. Rhoads and drummer Tommy Aldridge felt that they had established themselves as recording artists and an album of cover songs would be a step backwards artistically, and they refused to participate. Bassist Rudy Sarzo was uncomfortable with refusing to perform, not having the same recording pedigree of his bandmates, but he stood with them and the trio informed management of their decision. Osbourne felt betrayed and his relationship with Rhoads never fully recovered.
Hopefully you understand that traditionalists such as myself covet the original releases, and shun consecutive remasters as a rewrite of history. I have tremendous respect for your YT contributions. I hope this post is better received. Regards.
Those re recordings are awful. I was lucky enough to buy a non re-recorded version of Diary and I ripped it into my computer much like you. Awesome story about the V, that's an incredible tribute to a great player.
Wow,I didn't know the story of Rhoads,Aldridge and Sarzo standing with them refusing to do a live recording of the songs that would later go on the Speak of the Devil album. Good for them for standing up to the record company. Thanks for posting the info.
Eddie and Randy are on top of my list, game changing players! Tribute live album amongst my all time guitar albums as well. The pedal is awesome btw, hints on getting sound in that ballpark in the Fx3 Leon?
Try the Brit 800 mod with the plus Dist block
I bought Tribute when it was released (age 16 or so). I had heard of Randy's legend but didn't really know his music (no rock stations in my area). On first few listens, I was both gobsmacked and choked up. I remember weeping at the solo to Goodbye to Romance, thinking about what we lost. I must have listened to it 1000 times since. Btw, I think that pedal/tone is quite good!
Randy was rare in that he could rip brutal metal solos but then play incredibly emotional, melodic solos too.
Not to mention his incredible sense of rhythm, riffing, and technique.
Sounded pretty close. Judging by how high you put the level knob it's probably a close clone to the MXR Distortion plus (they had the same issue). Not much to them really - couple of components, diode clippers and a single opamp. The DOD 250's about the same circuit but a little bit more level - one of the very first clone pedals I built back in the day! It's bumping around somewhere.
This is way cooler than the new Distortion + Purely because of that RR in the Middle!
About 10 ms of mild delay is needed for his sound to give it the doubling effect that made it sound so large. Studio engineers often do this by micing an isolated cabinet at 1 foot and ten feet in a baffle tunnel and panning the signals accordingly.
You play it well! Good sounding pedal!
Blizzard Of Oz and Diary Of A Madman were recorded at the same time but were released at different times so that they could tour without stopping. The reason Tribute sounds different is because Randy overdubbed many of the tracks multiple layers of leads and rhythm to get a fatter sound. All he used was his Marshall and MXR Distortion and Delay.Of course live would sound different than studio because you can’t overdub live. But it is hard to tell where he overdubbed because he had impeccable timing. On some leads he played the octave. This was done in analogue tape
5.04, there you have it, switched to Ge, sounds awesome!! And about alternating between the Tribute and Live and Dangerous albums: totally with you, did the same thing for six months in '87-'88...
Blizzard Of Oz sounded good on vinyl and cassette back in the day, wasn't transfered to CD well, pretty harsh.
That makes sense. A lot of remasters sounded great. But considering the time frame when it was recorded. I am just old enough to have a few tapes Back then. But young and unlucky enough to never have got to hear it on vinyl or tape😔
@@SheaRecordmetal Yeah, sound quality wasn't as much of a issue then. Most stereo systems sounded good, even the cheap ones. Warm and bassy. Stratchy records and tape hiss didn't seem to make listening less enjoyable unless it was really bad. It was just a pain to skip songs. But it was all analog so it had a certain realism to it. That's why vinyl is coming back. I remember the first time I heard the opening feedback scream on Crazy Train and the first Sabbath album, it actually scared me! I don't think digital can do that. It's too artificial.
Yeah, lots of transfers to digital sound harsh.
Awesome.I want one,and such great videos.Keep them coming
Randy's tone is all mids boosted... at a time where everyone was 'scooping' their mids. I achieved his tone back in the mid '80s using a Boss OD-1 and a Boss GE-7, with mids set high and using the level to give it another OD boost. All through a 5 watt Epi Junior. Nice vid!
Hard rock/metal guitarists weren't using a scooped mids tone in 1980/81/82 - that didn't start until 1984/85, when Metallica became popular with the Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets albums (the latter especially had the heavily-scooped mids crunch tone). EVH scooped his mids slightly on the Fair Warning album (Unchained is a good example), but not to the level of Metallica, Anthrax, and thrash metal bands.
funny about your tribute album story...I'm sure many others had the same experience. That was my experience as well. My brother had this album and I listened to it non stop, then I listened to the studio stuff and was baffled why it just didn't sound as good. His tone and playing were so much better on the live album. There's also a video out there of a sound check, which seems to back up the tribute album in regards to his live playing and feel. I'm not sure what happened in the studio.
I thought the Diary... guitar sound was the ultimate metal tone back then, very innovative like Schenker, and I bet both the Priest and the Maiden guys were inspired by both. BUT - much of the nice tone on the Diary album was a result of triple tracking, maybe an attempt to recreate Randy's live sound, as he was very creative with his triple Marshall stacks, flanger, chorus, analog and tape delay units going here and there...
Actually sounds like an awesome pedal. Throw a chorus pedal in there and you'd have a great Tribute tone.
I think it did pretty good. But what a collectible item.
They're quite rare from what I understand. My friend owns it, he's a massive Randy fan and used to chat regularly with Dolores over the phone. Small world hey.
Leon Todd wow that is truly amazing to have actually talked to his mom regularly !!
Perfect sound for the Randy tone!
Lucky Bro,I can not find this Pedal anywhere on this planet...Next stop Mars!
odd they included a germanium option considering he didn't have anything germanium or fuzz related in his rig. I can see why the RR estate wouldn't have wanted his name attached to it...
Sounds great. I think it's interesting that Randy used a Mxr distortion + instead of the classic tube screamer, it would have sound totally different.
It's definitely a part of his signature sound, along with the space echo which was super cool.
Great playing as always too!
U jam Buddy!!! I I like the Pedal !!!
I just love the way he played is all. TIMELESS
Awesome 👏 ❤️RR thank you 🙏
Others have said this but why buy this pedal when you can buy the MXR for $79? What's the advantange?
i love the blizzards of ozz tone
Blizzard is a GREAT sounding rock record. I can't believe anyone would think othrwise. I guess you had to grow up hearing it first....
Coming from someone who heard Tribute and the "live" versions Blizzard initially threw me off. Oh to be alive the day that got released though, must have been exhilarating!
Dude same thing! I listened to that album and was sold. That’s what turned me into a Rhoads Fan.
Dude, when you have time, relax somewhere and re listen to Dairy... Great headphones and listen to
the Orchestration-Composition, Outro solos, and the Rip your head off Tone.
I love Randy but always thought the same about his tone. It really stood out at the time though. I saw the 81 tour and it was pretty terrible sounding in concert. An indiscernable wall of distortion. I couldn't tell what song they were playing for half the concert. My ears are literally still ringing. Tinnitus. :(
I saw Randy on that Blizzard tour in '81 ... the venue (Long Beach Arena) and my seat was in a pretty good location on the floor so it basically sounded like the live cuts on Tribute. Thunderous guitar tone that really shook you.
Ripzalot
How long are you going to stay in the closet?
The only Randy in a box is the pine box Randy is lying in since March 19 1982. RIP. I like the germanium vs. silicon option on the pedal though, you don't see that every day.
Sounded really badass. I really like that there was a switch that can choose which diodes you want to play through. I wish I could find one now. 🫤
I doubt the newly announced MXR one will do it justice.
First time I heard crazy train I was 12. I’ll never forget 2 things. The guitar sound and the solo. I prefer the sound of diary of a madman album.. Guitar tone changed a lot between songs on blizzard. He was a inspiration and still is to me today.
The thing about Randy that truly makes him great, in my eyes anyway, is that people talk about his playing and the songs he wrote and not just the tone. Lots of guys have great tone, but how many wrote songs that went on to define a whole era?
@@LeonTodd Randy's uniquenesss was his Tone,his songwriting;and of course his solos,they were compositions within compositions,and everyone caught on to that real quick. LIve he would EMBELISH the songs to a new level. He was amazing.
Yes the sound on Diary is different;Max Norman said that Randy's guitars were recorded direct into the board on Diary;where as on Blizzard they used a corridor in the basement with multiple mics close medium and far range and used the acoustics of the basement structure to create that sound.Both albums were epic.
@@LeonTodd big facts
My first CD of heavy metal is the tribute live, amazing
SAME!
4:51 - sounds best with the Distortion at 3:00 and the switch on the Ge
Damn that sounded awesome🤘
Cool! Gary Moore was one of Randy's favorite guitarists.
Has that cool pronounced mid hump voicing, could even be cool for Michael Schenker stuff with that mid spike
I was 14 when Blizzard was released. The first time I dropped the needle down on the vinyl and heard "I Don't Know" was life changing for me. I saw him at the Tower Theater outside of Philly and it was next level. Diary was sonically better, no doubt. I was 16 when he died, exactly 7 days before they were to play the old Spectrum in Philly. BOO just doesn't sound the same on CD. I never cared for his sound on Tribute, and Tommy Aldridge has said he has straight sound board tapes that blow away Tribute. Unfortunately, that's pretty much all we've got.
The real key to Randy's live sound was not gain or drive. It's probably one of the biggest misconceptions about his sound. It was Volume. The gain or drive knob is an artificial breakup knob. The problem with using this knob to get Randy's sound is that if you listen closely to the tribute album or even better disc 2 of the Diary of a madman album...which is basically tribute but as it should sound, you'll hear this strange noise accompanying his sound...almost like a fatness but blistery sound. This is a speaker that's being driven too loud lol.
I can get this sound using the Marshall DSL40CR by:
40 watt mode
Channel 2 GREEN
Gain: 2 o clock
Volume: wherever you want
Bass: 9 o clock
Mid: 12:30 o clock
Treble: 2 o clock
Tone shift: out
Master volume: Max
Ibanez Tube screamer
Volume: max
Tone: noon
Drive/gain: 12 o clock
With these settings you'll sound nearly identical to his live sound. It's all about Volume. It's entirely volume based in conjunction with the gain at around 1 or 2 o clock. The interesting part is that this is on the Green channel which is less gainy than the red. It sounds fantastic. The MOST important part about these settings is MASTER VOLUME at max or close to max. His sound was entirely about driving the Power tubes into overdrive....which is the opposite of what most people today recommend which is turning up the channel volume. I found that when the channel is turned up and the master lower....it doesn't have enough bite and has this woody sound that's depressing to play lol.
The guitar I used was an Alpine white Epiphone Les Paul with a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the Bridge. It sounds amazing and accurate.
The Tribute album really does showcase Randy's playing but is ingenuine with the fact that they added a lot of post EQ that isn't accurate. For accuracy listen to the album I mentioned prior, Diary of a madman reissue disc 2. It still showcases Randy's playing and has an accurate view of his sound. It is missing some of the songs from the Tribute version but it's still pretty decent.
Randy used an MXR Distortion + - he said it was his favorite pedal.
@@dowens3781 yeah I had an MXR Distortion + and it was difficult to use as a boost compared to the Ibanez Tube Screamer. I couldn't get my amp to sound similar to Randy's with the MXR but for sure did with the Ibanez TS.
I have heard this for the last forty years.
The truth is they just can't play as he did in the sound he chose to play in.
If only he had, had my setup, then I would sound just like him.
Blizzard of Oz is as perfect a record anybody could ever wish to make.
Randy Rhoads made that record!
Tribute and Diary sound incredible I prefer the les Paul Plexi tone but his vs cool too
It's not WORKING,, you need the power tube section adding to the gain, also run stereo amps with delay on one side.
I really like your RR riffs.
Your right tribute live tone was awesome.
@10.24 One man’s garbage is another man’s gold.
nice sounding pedal.
YES , RANDY RHOADS !!
Randy's Diary of a Madman tone did sound a tad better than Blizzard of Oz.
Tonewise I like Jake E. Lee much better. But Randy was sooooo good. Thanks for your video as always!
Nah, Jake's tone was too mid-80's glam metal (especially on The Ultimate Sin) like Ratt - Randy's was more 70's hard rock.
I'm diggin' the chops dude is showing off In the video as much as the sound generated by the pedal! I liked both, but honestly don't believe Randy ever found the overall sound he wanted. Young Mr. Maestro was a perfectionist (almost to a fault), and technically the best there's ever been IMHO--but he didn't stand pat, or ever seem satisfied with what he was doing and how it sounded. He always felt that his best had yet to come to fruition. Too bad he, and we, will never know...
We only got to see the very tip of the iceberg with Randy!
I thought the Blizzard of Ozz tone was badass. Hearing crazy train on that album is what inspired me to play guitar. You might not like it cause you're used to hearing the tribute album for the first time which prolly compelled you to admire it more. If you had first listened to Blizzard of Ozz I believe you'd have a different outlook on it.
Definitely, first impressions are everything. Blizzard must have been mind altering to hear when it came out
@@LeonTodd absolutely! I was learning piano when I was 12 and when I turned 13 I heard that album for the first time and found out who Randy Rhoads was and I knew I wanted to play guitar and was so blown away by Crazy Train and Mr. Crowley. Best choice I've made to this day.
@@jonathanwelch809 that really speaks volumes - life changing!
Anyone know what the story was of that Blizzard of Ozz guitar sound? So bizarre that made the final mix.....that producer shouldve been shot or given an award for letting an artist or label persuade him to let it publish under his name. Randy was indeed a rock pioneer.....no Sabbath/Uriah Heep/Deep Purple, = no metallica, no van halen, etc
Vai himself said randy invented his own category of metal music which was heavy metal. It was a whole new thing never heard of before. Quiet riot era RR was part of a scene of music, it had fast soloing but it wasn't seen as something all new.
Vinyl LP records produce tiny thumbnail sonic images of the real sound. Increasing volume DOESN'T add more sonic pixels to the image. It really IS randy's sounds on record but they're SO SMALL its really difficult to workout what they actually are.
Blizzard of oz IS the real sound of the studio sound. If you listen very closely you can easily hear this made of the les Paul AND the Carl Sandoval Flying V guitars (oddball strat and steal strings etc) Bridge pickup ONLY sounds (neck pickup volume must be set to off) (only a 1970's LP playing machine setup will give you the original sound) ( you can clearly hear the low notes HAVE BASS TONE and all notes have thin clarity. Which means bridge pickup only in use. No added influence from neck pickup magnets)
Randy's sound is classified as a 10 pedal sound, not 1. All 10 are influencing the sound in a big way. Fools try to use 1 pedal. Being a cheapass makes you uneducated.
The pedals force you to only use the old marshall amp from 1980. It's not the sound of the 70's marshall. The diary album contains sounds from the 3 main electric guitars randy was know for. The track RR was recorded with the concord Flying V. It's easily recognizable with its powerful distortion and added bass warmth tone which Seymour Duncan is known for. The hot warm sounds randy makes are DiMarzio tones which they're famous for.
These studio recordings are all done from 1 amp setup. Tribute is 112 volt recording from 3 amps setup and is EASILY heard as being WAY MORE complex than all studio recordings.
You can hear the different era marshalls making up the 24 speaker sound. You CAN hear the sound leaving the stage and travel across the arena.
It IS ALL the actual real sounds on all recordings. The sound is microscopic and blurry. It's NOT a clear, sharp well defined sound. CD does all those well defined sounds of randy's original sounds. On the CD you CAN HEAR the strings vibrating back and forth across the fingerboard. You CAN ACTUALLY TUNE YOUR GUITAR to the sound from CD's. you CAN workout the exact string gauge based on the sonic vibrations randy's strings make on a CD recording sound. You can hear how many strings he's playing in the chord.
The CD sound out of speakers (not headphones or youtube) is THAT GOOD, you can even workout what type and size plectrum randy is using for the recordings. Signature artist equipment is well worth the money. Nothing else works or will pass for it. No way!
sound of heaven
this pedal sounds like diary of a madman and tribute when you cranked up the amp
I think using classic amp like Marshall jcm800 , jcm 900 or plexi are the best way to achieve that tone with this pedal or mxr distortion plus
Tribute has been heavily EQ'd after the fact. His real sound is Disc 2 of Diary of a madman Legacy edition. It's basically the Tribute album minus a few songs but with accurate EQ. Nowhere near as much Treble as you hear in Tribute. The reason you don't like the Blizzard sound is because the mids have been taken out and the gain turned down. Tribute is close to his sound but way to much treble compared to what it actually was...his sound was mid driven which is why disc 2 of Diary of a madman is so key....seriously listen to it and compare.
Listen to some of the bootleg and unreleased live recordings on RUclips. Randy rather uses the volume of the amp more than the gain I believe.
Sounds good
I use to be really good friends with some of randy's friends years ago.. im 28.. i got his distortion + settings and 10 band eq settings as well. The distortion was all the way max and the output was a hair to the left of half way.. around 45 i would say.. i was able to try that out on a friend of mines dads plexi and it was pretty close...
To anyone interested please let me know. I searched for years but today I finally found out how to get Randy Rhoads' tone perfectly and it comes down to 1 pedal.
Matt Magee let’s hear it
@@jarcidiacono1 So I can normally get his distortion down with a few basic things like overdrive and an EQ however, his sound is hard to replicate in the studio or live (even for him). So I noticed the way he ran things in stereo and that is key. In the studio we all know he would double and even triple track his guitars with his tracks being very slightly staggered like a chorus effect. Live he always tried to sound more like that, so he would run tape delay and a chorus pedal in stereo and it got him somewhat close to what he wanted. So I got to thinking what would have gotten him closer to his studio tone, which he liked better? And wow I found a game changer. I linked a TC Electronic Mimiq doubler pedal into my chain (of course running it out stereo). Wow.... If they had this back in Randy's day I strongly believe that he would have used one most likely turned on almost all the time. Fuller sound, harmonics way more powerful and overall very similar sound to what he got in the studio tracking multiple guitars. Because of the way he multi-tracked guitars it gave him a very specific sonic profile. When someone double tracks their guitars (excluding the obvious like harmonized tracks) the average listener can't tell it was double tracked because it was intended for the most part, to blend into the mix. When Randy recorded multiple guitar tracks they were off by micro seconds but you can absolutely very clearly hear it in the recordings. The pedal that I found just so happens to have the same magic as that studio had, It replicates his studio sound perfectly.
I remember reading a interview were randy could not get the amp to sound right at all when recording that album.
one question : why does mxr distortion plus is matched with the cranked Marshall tube amp ?
What do you think about the mxr 78 custom badass?
I have that pedal but without the switch on the side!
I think you nailed it best anyone can! Tone is totally in the fingers, I feel like randy had harmonics spewing from every note, almost like he held his pick really close to his thumb and got random pinch-esque harmonics all the time. Anyone else or am I high? Hahah
Sounds good I want one
get a distortion + ;)
So a RR/YJM pedal. Interesting.
Any idea where you can buy one of these? Looking to pick one up
They shouldve told deloris the RR means ?Rose Royce. it is their logo..Besides it's Too bad all that distortion live kills peoples ears..Most sound men make you back it off,ehh But who plays live anymore.. The tribute album was done on a tour where i have the bootlegs..the solo part was the best at the Rosemont Horizon in illinois 1982 he had some extra stuff aside from his every night routine which is what you hear on tribute.. but it sounds like his cable came unplugged for a second so it didn't get used on the tribute album. I know some fellow artist around chicago that remember that show i had to give him a copy....Amazing hi gain sound and playing for that time.
Hi. Whats the year of your rare pedal ? Thanks
I have the distortion plus mxr but it sounds weak on the clean channel. How do I set it up?
Your last name could be Daisley for all we know.
I tell everyone, if you haven't heard "RR Trubute" you haven't heard Randy Rhoads. Tribute album is the best album ever made. As a huge Black Sabbath fan, this one is my favorite. The sound is beyond anything I've ever heard. RR version of black sabbath is awesome!! Children of the Grave is the best ever. 🎸
That version of children of the grave is so good!!!!
@@LeonTodd yes, and randy didn't like Sabbath in the first place...then he outplayed Tony Iommi with his own version :D
Needs a chorus!
SHADDUP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!!!
Randy certainly isn’t hiding in that hat......that’s for sure
lol that's pretty harsh dude
I can't find this anywhere to buy
same : (
Where can I buy this pedal? Please let me know.
Thank you.
Discontinued - this belongs to a friend of mine.
Wow.
“Yeah, that tone on Revelation really sucked, “
Said no one with ears ever
Leon?! Axe III RR preset would be heaven and a great vid ro make as well! Whatcha think?? Thx bro and Rock On!!
Working on it!
@@LeonTodd did you make the preset yet?