Izzy Stradlin's Guitar Sound in 5 Minutes

[@AndyMillar]

I made a Discord server intended to connect people who are learning the guitar, so that you can all learn from and help each other. Join here: discord.gg/VagQUEEYe5

[@jackbeckett2838]

Years on from obsessively listening to Appetite as a teenager, I realised how much of the guitar I was listening to was Izzy. When everyone plays Welcome to the Jungle for instance (even when playing Slash's parts) they play it how Izzy played it. Izzy and Slash were the perfect guitar duo, Izzy playing chordy riffs with those funky scratchy muted strums with a lower gain but still menacing sounding classic crunch. Slash playing high gain single note riffs which played around the chords with chromatics with lots of palm muting, tight vibrato and extremely nuanced rhythm with the right hand. Both very different styles which worked incredibly well, add in the rest of band (who were each extremely nuanced and equally as vital to their overall sound) and you have a once in a generation band, the perfect storm.

[@lets_rock_it]

They really were the best dancing patners for each other🤘 I love Richard Fortus but what Slash and Izzy had was special and unique in another level 🤘

[@phantasmagora6542]

Izzy is one of my favorite guitarists for the way he adds a loose, groovy texture to anything he plays on. I always appreciate tutorials on his playing style but I''d like to mention a few things I noticed: 1:57 is the exception rather than the rule. Downpicking reminds me of Metallica and is not really an Izzy trait. The whole reason why he plays so many hollowbodies in the first place, as he himself stated in an interview, was that they could be approached like an acoustic guitar. While it's true, judging from ebay pictures, that Izzy preferred large, thick picks, he's not as heavy-handed as Slash is. Watch any live video and you'll see that his picking hand is very light, constantly moving, and adding accents when need be. It's this light, controlled attack that allows him to get that airy, funky scratch strumming that he does a lot. 2:07 is Slash's part. Izzy rarely did any of the chunky palm muting on AFD. His part on the verses of OTGM only consists of sustaining the dyads on the main riff. 4:09 Likewise with the rhythm part, this is way too tight for Izzy's approach. On the record he's playing pretty loose Chuck Berry-style rhythm guitar behind Slash. 2:33 Izzy really only used Marshalls live with GNR; I'm pretty sure at the 1988 Ritz show both guitarists were running through a wall of JCM800s. Very likely he does not use pedals and chooses to plug straight in. His tone, as he once described, is "somewhere between country clean and Marshall distortion". A cranked Fender tube combo would probably be closer to his tone, but the Marshall is valid. With Izzy, think overdrive, not distortion, and use your volume knob, which he constantly does. 3:56 The Nightrain lead sounds pretty close! Tone is in the hands :)

[@AndyMillar]

Wow - Amazing comment, thank you. I appreciate the level of detail you went into. Well done for spotting the OTGM part!

[@DigitalCollision]

I would LOVE a video about his STYLE. His rhythm preferences. Where he tends to place licks and what those licks are often like. He and Slash have an amazing "banter" on Appetite. They rarely play the same parts, and yet, they never step on each other. Lots of people have videos on Slash's parts--or, some hybrid of their two parts. But, it's hard to find analysis of what Izzy is doing.

[@captainkirk70]

Search "izzy isolated tracks" on KZbin. Something will come up that's better than nothing.

[@jaybirdk7414]

It’s great to see Izzy getting some attention! I can’t talk down on Slash, nor any of the other Guns for that matter, but Izzy approached his craft the consummate RHYTHM player. Yeah, he could play lead, and did on occasion, but the rhythms he played were unique, weaving expertly around and between Slash’s rhythms and Duff’s bass lines. While Slash’s parts have gotten much publication, Izzy’s get overlooked quite often. Sadly, rhythm guitar is usually relegated to “touring guitarists” or singers who can play guitar, and so many would-be rhythm guitarists wind up playing bass (Duff is an accomplished rhythm guitarist himself). Thank you for shining the spotlight on Izzy, mate!

[@CutiePie-hh3gg]

Izzy was the quiet genius

[@livers2451]

I love Izzy Thank you so much for doing this !!!

[@hazworther]

i don't have a guitar. how do i get the izzy stradlin sound without one please?

[@Pastrana4]

Step 1: Steal a guitar

[@ashpreet.singh07]

basically u gotta get throat cancer and then shout as loud as you can

[@captainkirk70]

This is the golden age of getting decent guitars for cheap. I would just get a Les Paul clone or a semi hollow body. You can use the Affirm company to pay like $12 a month if you have just decent credit. But if you are just kidding maybe someone else will read this and get some help from it. Tons of reviews on cheap guitars on KZbin. If you want to spend a little more money the Gretsch Streamliner series is great. I'd just get one without a tremolo arm. Izzy avoided them and I do too. Harder to keep in tune and just a pain in the ass totally. Hardtail semi-hollow is the way to go.

[@sweetgav9163]

I wanted more examples of how he held the band on beat by being the rhythm guitar for the band.

[@slashtrio]

Izzy is super cool. He definitely brought something important to the GnR sound.

[@paddytguitar]

Cheers!! Find this super useful for a school research project

[@userillusion86]

Love Izzy he was the soul of Gnr great video. Ps where did you get the hat?

[@johnsguitarmusicanddemos]

I thought fizzy was using Fender amps that were lower gain but I think he changed at some point to Marshall amps. Definitely a cool video!

[@ashpreet.singh07]

bro said fizzy

[@captainkirk70]

Izzy was using Boogie Mark I. Which is what the Stones were using during the late 70s and early 80s. And a Bassman which was a 50w. Those amps cranked would not be clean. I also noticed he was using 70s JMPs which again would sound great cranked. Obviously he would have had all those amps cranked. A late 60's Silver faced 50w Bassman is one of the greatest vintage amp buys still. I got one for $500 and it sounds great. Especially cranked. I would recommend getting the Bugera Power Soak. PS-1. About $100 and you can crank those amps to whisper quiet. Actually a great way to save money because you can use one amp for stage and the same amp for home practice.

[@ndenadie6871]

Izzy was the most experimented one of G'N'R. NO DOUBT

[@TheDankBoy]

Bro, you upload very good content, too bad you don't have as much support...

[@AndyMillar]

Thank you! More is on it's way

[@sebastianavalos1917]

Izzy le daba todo el estilo medio blues, medio funky medio de granja que nos encantaba y guns nunca volvió a tener.

[@anthonylynch4737]

Satchel.from Steel Panther would be cool.

[@russellfarrington4845]

Mick Taylors guitar tone?

[@antoninblouin2713]

Thanks a lot

[@philsironi]

Actually most classic marshall amps don't have overdrive or distortion..

[@captainkirk70]

Exactly. I recommend getting the Bugera Power Soak PS-1 for about $100. Whisper quiet for bedroom then stage ready as well. Also the Friedman Small box pedal is by far the greatest JMP sound. It gives me chills. But if you have a great Marshall already then the power soak is the way to go. Had mine for 5 years with zero problems.

[@jmd76family]

He's the Ronnie Wood of gnr!

[@captainkirk70]

I would say the Keith if we are talking about the Mick Taylor years. Slash is closer to the Taylor leads all over every song.

[@jmd76family]

@@captainkirk70 agreed!

[@captainkirk70]

Every Marshall comes with a built in Overdrive unit or gain? Do some research. And while yours is getting a good sound it's hardly a Marshall tube amp he would have used.

[@mikaelfreitas7703]

So what ? You mean to tell me I need to break the bank to sound close to Izzy ?

[@captainkirk70]

@@mikaelfreitas7703 No. I was referring to your statement about how Marshalls come naturally. Someone might have a real tube Marshall.

[@johnhareiel5118]

​@captainkirk70 if someone had a real tube Marshall allready then I highly doubt they would even be bothering with this video then. So argument in void