John Norum pickups...

[Farkus]

His Les Pauls are loaded with EMG 81's and 85's (ZW Sets). He doesn't really play the strats as much as he used to, so I have no idea what he uses in them now.

Yeah, I heard his new tone when I sampled some of the new Europe songs on iTunes...I prefer the older tone, like on Wings of Tomorrow. I don't know about the band's choice of direction, but Norum kicks serious arse. He's got a lot of personality in his playing, which I dig.

[idsnowdog]

When he was in Don Dokken's band he used a super strat with a PRS HFS in the bridge.

[JohnnyGuitarCA]

JN uses a air zone and he also uses a BBQ in buckers for singles he uses
virtual heavy blues i hear

You are absolutely correct.

[JohnnyGuitarCA]

I worship Norum's playing and tones.

[SpiderFingers]

HS3 93 mv 23.72K
YJM 93 mv 23.50K
VV Blues 145 mv 8.28k
vvHeavy Blues 168mv 9.08K

[keano12]

HS3 93 mv 23.72K
YJM 93 mv 23.50K
VV Blues 145 mv 8.28k
vvHeavy Blues 168mv 9.08K

I don't understand the specs.

[SkunkWorks]

Why don't you just go to his website or myspace site and ask him? I do this all the time when I hear a tone that inspires me. Sometimes I get the info I want more from the producer who was also usually the engineer. A guy's gear in the studio is not necessarily the same as what's used live and also is not necessarily the same from album to album, song to song or even track to track within a song. That's really the only way to find out 100%. I see guys buying gear based on absurd assumptions, rumours, bad information and "the grapevine" ... or even worse, a music video (half the time the guitars in videos are rented 'cause they're pretty)... only to be frustrated and disappointed that they didn't end up with the tone they wanted. The internet allows us to do things that we would have never even imagined being able to do 10 years ago, and I don't understand why people don't just go right to the source when trying to find out what guitars, pickups, amps, mics etc. were used on albums they like. Most artists are very receptive to such questions and I've heard back from every one I've ever tried to contact. My questions were sometimes very specific such as "what pickup was used on the left channel of so and so song during the verse?" Just try to make yourself sound professional and speak on a one to one fellow colleaugue/musician basis and not like a crazed fan who wants to have the singer's baby and you'll probably get a reply. Sources to get a hold of players are their website, their website forum of which they are usually a member, their producer (who usually has his own site), webmasters of their main fansites and the band's myspace sites to name a few. This is exactly what I did before putting my current rig together this year which now includes a Gibson SG with PRS Dragon II pups, Soldano amp and an Epiphone 4x12 cab which is an exact clone of the Soldano 4x12 at a quarter of the price... Mike Soldano verified this to me himself. My tone is an almalgamation of all the info I gathered from basically 3 different bands. As a result I forked out almost 4 grand this year on my rig and mics and don't regret a single dime of it. I couldn't ask for anything more in the tone I'm getting and couldn't be happier, but I had to do my homework and do it the smart way and go to reliable sources with very detailed questions. Well actually I'll be a bit happier when I add a Les Paul to the rig with '57 classic pups... hopefully soon. Good Luck.

By the way, alot of the modern rock, modern punk, alternative stuff etc. that's out right now is using stock pups that came in the Gibsons and PRS that are being used in the studio... I don't understand why so many guys feel the first thing you need to do is yank them when you buy one of these instruments... almost like an unwritten rule. I actually sought out a set of PRS Dragon IIs and was sort of dumbfounded when I saw guys in the PRS forum spending 3 grand on an axe and then yanking the very thing that was half responsible for the amazing tone of that instrument in the first place. Oh well, their loss was my gain

[SpiderFingers]

Skunkworks, thanks for the input. Pretty cool. I haven't heard from Norum in a while so I'm not sure what his current tone is like. Did he ever get a cool tone with Dokken? I'll have to go back & check out his tone with Europe I never thought his tone was all that honestly in comparison to others at the time like Lynch or Stevens.
Pretty cool post. Maybe I'll write Blues Saraceno & ask him about his tone...

[SkunkWorks]

Skunkworks, thanks for the input. Pretty cool. I haven't heard from Norum in a while so I'm not sure what his current tone is like. Did he ever get a cool tone with Dokken? I'll have to go back & check out his tone with Europe I never thought his tone was all that honestly in comparison to others at the time like Lynch or Stevens.
Pretty cool post. Maybe I'll write Blues Saraceno & ask him about his tone...

Haven't really listened to the Dokken stuff. Although that used to be one of my fav bands, I guess I've kind of moved on and changed with the times as far my taste in music and tone so don't really listen to the old 80s and 90s stuff anymore. In fact, most of the guitar recordings from that era are like fingernails on a chalkboard when I listen to them now... way too much reverb on guitars, snare drum and just about everything else. I'll probably get flamed off the board for saying this but, although the Seymour Duncan JB is their best selling pup and an overwhelming number of people on this forum seem to really dig 'em, I can't stand them... and that was the dominant pickup in rock back then. I had one in a super strat back then when I was into Dokken and Lynch and grew tired of it really fast... too ice picky and no bottom end. I find the super strats in general in all the recordings back then to be sort of on the thin or buzzy side and kind of piercing on the leads. Nowadays I tend to lean towards the tones used in power pop, new punk, numetal, alternative etc... alot more girth to the sound and more of a close mic sound with maybe a bit of room but no verb... and Gibsons Gibsons Gibsons... and PRS. My buddy still listens to and has all the stuff from the 80s and 90s... he's kind of an encyclopedia of rock. I'll ask him about the Norum tone on the Dokken stuff.

PS - still might pick up another Strat though... always good to have a bucker and a single-coil axe kickin' around. Just sold my Mexican, will have to pick up a US one sometime this year.

[Axl H]

I personally hate the recording techniques today, it isnt raw, its just upclose and way too compressed and loud.

Try putting on a pair of headphones, and put "Rock You Like A Hurricane" on, then try a KoRn song or something like it, the massive reverb of the first, makes it sound HUGE. Not just a big pile of muddy dirt, but really the way with one guitar in each side and all the reverb gives the sound a hugeness I havent heard in the last 10-15years.

Todays recordings are just loud, louder and loudest. Muddy as hell too on a lot of stuff. The true art of recording a hit song is gone in Metal/Heavy Rock, IMO.

I might just ask him, but I wouldnt bother him if someone already knew it.

[SkunkWorks]

I personally hate the recording techniques today, it isnt raw, its just upclose and way too compressed and loud.

Try putting on a pair of headphones, and put "Rock You Like A Hurricane" on, then try a KoRn song or something like it, the massive reverb of the first, makes it sound HUGE. Not just a big pile of muddy dirt, but really the way with one guitar in each side and all the reverb gives the sound a hugeness I havent heard in the last 10-15years.

Todays recordings are just loud, louder and loudest. Muddy as hell too on a lot of stuff. The true art of recording a hit song is gone in Metal/Heavy Rock, IMO.

I might just ask him, but I wouldnt bother him if someone already knew it.

I guess it depends on which modern bands you're talking about. Although I like Mesa rectifiers I don't like the way alot of them are currently being recorded... like they're ready to blow up... no crunch and all buzz. Rectifiers don't have to sound like that and get pretty crunchy if you set them right. Most of the stuff I'm into right now leans more toward modern punk and alternative because the guitars are recorded with less gain so they crunch more and believe me they sound huge with really tight bottom end during palm mutes. This is why I bought a Soldano rather than a mesa... the perfect marriage of Marshall voicing and crunch with the higher gain of a Mesa. Funny thing is that although this is a studio "go to" amp for modern medium gain bands, this is also the amp reponsible for the flagship sound of alot of those those players and bands from back in the day like George Lynch, Ritchie Sambora, Mick Mars from Motley Crue, Bullet Boys, some Scorpions, Firehouse, Warren D. Martini from Ratt and yes, even Eddie Van Halen.

Don't get me wrong, not all the stuff back then was processed into the ground and alot of the bands I just mentioned had guitar tones I remember really liking at the time... and have just recently discovered that most of it was done with Soldano SLO100s. I was living in Toronto back in 89/90 and 2 of my buddies were engineering at Phase One Recording Studio. I remeber being up at the studio when Danger Danger and KIller Dwarfs were recording and hearing these absolutely killer tones coming off their amps, but when I heard what they'd done to the Dwarf's album with the verb and all the processing on the guitars I wanted to cry. The Danger Danger stuff turned out pretty cool and some of the John Sykes Whitesnake stuff was re-tracked there too and his stuff still sounds cool to me now. Probably the best guitar recording I remember coming out of there was John Albani from Lee Aaron on that album that had "what you do to my body."

But what I like about the modern recordings I listen to is that you can actually hear the tone of the amp sometimes to the point of being able to tell exactly what amp it is. It sounds like there's a live amp right there in the room in front of you... I can't say that about a majority of the stuff from back in the day... to me that is the stuff that sounds like processed mush. You mentioned the headphones and that's how I listen to most stuff when I'm analyzing tone and not just on guitars. I do alot of recording and am obsessed with getting my stuff to sound like commercial cds and I analyze and scrutinize stuff to death on my reference headphones. The guitar tracks on the stuff I'm currently listening to sound amazing. Guitar doesn't need to have tons of stereo verb to make it sound huge. Zak has one of the biggest guitar sounds I've ever heard and that comes from not only double but triple and quadruple tracking your parts... no verb.

By the way, it would be interesting to find out if Rock You Like A Hurricane was one of the Soldano tracks... always liked the guitars on that tune. Same with Round and Round by Ratt which was Soldano.

[SpiderFingers]

I don't believe "Rock You" by Scorps was a Soldano.

[Farkus]

HS3 93 mv 23.72K
YJM 93 mv 23.50K
VV Blues 145 mv 8.28k
vvHeavy Blues 168mv 9.08K

I don't understand the specs.

For one thing, the specs can be misleading. The YJM and HS3 use stacked coils. As a result you'll see weird readings, like a low output pickup (which definitely describes both the YJM and HS3) that has pretty large resistance. I guess the stacked coils aren't the whole story or the VV's would also look more 'off' resistance wise than they do. Point is, the specs don't always tell the whole story, especially if you're using them to compare pickups from different manufacturers.

SkunkWorks-I appreciate all the info you've shared. Personally, I never thought of talking to the artist(s) through a forum like myspace b/c I just assumed I'd never get an answer. I will say that being on this forum has helped shape my tone a lot. I've tried new things and asked questions of those with more experience than me to help shape my own sound more than trying to copy a particular tone, which is also okay but not my thing. I feel that the experience shared with me here is and has been invaluable. I guess both approaches have their place.

[SkunkWorks]

Hey no problem. I atually just popped into the forum to make a post in the gear trade forum looking for a Les Paul Raw Power. I accidentally stumbled across this thread and took an interest in it because my buddy and I were just discussing John Norum and Europe about a week ago. Although he knows I don't really listen to that era stuff anymore I told him I never get tired of listening to the tasty melodic leads of the stuff on Europe's Out of This World Album. After hitting Norum's website and myspace site and listening to some of his stuff, the style was so different I realized this couldn't be the same guy, and a quick Google search turned up the fact that Europe's guitar player on that album was not Norum but Kee Marcello who is also now known as one of the world's best guityar players... I've seen both him and Norum mentioned in regard to upcoming G3 tours. There's a cool excerpt from an old instructional video on youtube of Kee playing the Europe "Superstitious" solo which is one of my all-time favorite rock leads... there's also a bunch of vids of bedroom players playing that lead along with the cd which was interesting to watch... alot of them pulled it off pretty good. When I spent that year I mentioned in Toronto I had to take a 2 1/2 day Greyhound bus ride to get there and a buddy of mine had given me Out of This World to listen to on my Walkman during the trip. It was the only tape I had with me so I listened to it over and over and over. When I got to T.O. I told my roommate (the engineer at Phase One I mentioned) that he had to listen to this guys solos on this album... this tasty melodic stuff played so cleanly and smoothly is just right up my alley... I love slow deep vibrato... especially on the neck pickup.

My all-time favorite guitarist is a severely under-rated guy from a late 80s and 90s Canadian band... Pete Lesperance from Harem Scarem. Their first album was more corporate influenced pop fluff rock type stuff but they had more artistic control in their following albums and this guys stuff I never get tired of listening to... both his rythym and lead stuff are the tastiest stuff I've ever heard... it's hard to explain but his stuff sounds really unique and not like he's just parroting the stuff everyone else was doing during that era. I've never really been into trying to nail someone else's tone or playing style (at least not to a "T"), but this is one of the few guys that makes me dig out the cd once in a while and figure out some of his stuff. Really unique tone too. There's a buch of his stuff on youtube as well (as well as other guys playing his stuff which can be confusing if you don't know what he looks like). But I digress from the original thread topic. Sorry, I tend to babble

[SpiderFingers]

I loved Marcello's solo on "Towers Calling" from that album. VERY cool.

[ErikH]

I don't believe "Rock You" by Scorps was a Soldano.

+1. Neither was Ratt's "Round and Round". Both songs were recorded several years before Mike even released the first SLO-100. Their amps may have been modified by him, but they were Marshalls, not Soldanos.

It's been a long time since I heard any Norum stuff. It's neat knowing he's using an Air Zone. That's my favorite DiMarzio bridge pickup. The question the poster listed definitely sounds like DiMarzio singles to me.

[SkunkWorks]

Ya now that you mention it, the album with Round and Round was a little early for the SLO... I see now that it was Soldano after the first 2 albums which apparently were Marshall Plexi... I would assume modded too... stock plexis don't have that much gain.

{EDIT} Actually I'm seeing lots of different conflicting info... general consensus seems to be Plexi on early albums with some Laney and Fender mixed in there somewhere, and Soldano more recently which he also uses live. At times like this, you go directly to the source and ask them for yourself. Round and Round by the way isn't even the tune I was thinking of when I mentioned it... it was Lay It Down that I dug.

Soldano had a "Hot Mod" that tons of guys especially the hair bands were putting in their Marshalls back then too... saw one on ebay a few days ago.

[SkunkWorks]

I loved Marcello's solo on "Towers Calling" from that album. VERY cool.

Ya that's a good one too. In fact I don't think there's any leads on that album that didn't inspire me in one way or another.