The Many Tones of Tom Scholz (Boston)

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I demonstrate the different guitar tones that Tom Scholz invented for the albums of Boston.
All of these are done through a Rockman Sustainor or Rockman X100.
Guitar is a stock Agile AL-3200MCC
My lousy playing at least proves that the sounds coming from my guitar are real.

[@nightshift8249]

Jesus, those tones are practically dead on. As a fellow Boston/Scholtz admirer, I have to tip my hat to you. Might just have to get one of these units.

[@margix1172]

Boston one of the best rock band ever appeared on this planet

[@erichsh58]

As an electrical engineer, Tom invented the Rockman devices demo'ed here. I watched an interview where he explained how being both a musician and engineer eliminates the communications problems between the two. He didn't have to put into words to try and explain to someone else the sounds he heard in his head.

[@drdre4397]

Who didn't already know Tom Scholz invented the rockman? Literally everyone knows... Also in the interview you reference, he is referring to what he calls the "hyperspace pedal"... Not the doubler harmonizer...

[@ColtraneTaylor]

@@drdre4397 Two months ago I hadn't heard of the Rockman.

[@metalEric69]

@@ColtraneTaylor I saw those around in the '80s

[@donavonmacallister3101]

He says he created it but who knows

[@JimPerdue14]

With a little EQ you can tweak that X100 to get all of the ZZ Top tones from the Eliminator album and most everything after.

[@jbusk6298]

There isnt a EQ on the x100 tho

[@JimPerdue14]

@@jbusk6298 I should have clarified, the EQ on the mixing console. I think Billy Gibbons used a stomp box EQ before the X100 input to get that mid squack.

[@shanemarcotte2062]

Where your playing lacks a little bit, your nailing of the tones are superb!! Bravo!!

[@ck2music712]

LoL, a "comp-sult"- a back-handed "compliment" that is ACTUALLY an insult... Like "Even though your playing sucks, your tone is KILLER..."

[@shanemarcotte2062]

@@ck2music712 🤷‍♂️call it like I hear it...

[@patrickmcquillan3039]

This was so fun to watch , grew up with boston , l had a Boss GT 6 that had a boston channel that was awesome , l need to get that back

[@shanemarcotte2062]

Didnt Def Leopard use the rockman quite a bit on some albums?

[@TheZenbudda]

If you could recreate the engine/thunder noise Tom would probably sue you. This is undoubtably the best boston cover sound on youtube

[@donnorton5018]

Awesome. I see you've posted a lesson vid. Please post more Boston lessons showing the main riffs and accompanying Sustainor settings for those riffs. I'm always fiddling with my Rockman setup (2 EQ, Chorus, Echo, 200 series Sustainor in a stereo setup) and it'd be great to get some settings. Thanks! The 'tour setup' you demo is sweet.

[@Vutsman1]

Love the sounds. Should do a video of each sound and show the settings on video.

[@tenbroeck1958]

Damn good job of recreating those awesome tone. Great playing as well. I was playing my bass along to Don't Look Back. I subscribed and will tell my other music nerd friends!

[@George-wx5rt]

damn king I nearly spat out my drink when you started playing, that sounds so good

[@kgriff1205]

You missed his dry lo-fi clean electric guitar tone on the 1st album, it is mixed in behind the heavily distorted guitar parts, with an MXR 10 band graphic eq set with bass and treble frequencies rolled off and a peak at 1k. This tone added a lot of clarity to the heavier distorted guitars.

[@vic.joe.lee06]

Like in Hitch a Ride and more than a feeling

[@Cpt_Adama]

Good job of documenting the different sounds. It would definitely enhance your video to some how list the sound settings and unit with the appropriate songs.

[@thecman26]

Great work! What made Tom a genius was the fact that he mixed that Boston sound! He played a BUNCH of the instruments, and he invented many of the effects! He used lots of tricks to make that sound, double tracking, hidden clean guitar sounds, and Brad frikin Delp! Without him...

[@adrianreyes4702]

This is the closest I've heard anyone come to getting the Boston sound I played, and event went to sleep with at age 12. Excellent job!!!! Excellent playing too!

[@bobmorgan1762]

Agreed. He nailed all the tones.

[@orejotus]

great video, you described very well the sounds of Boston

[@Imnotyourdoormat]

your probably right on with the british rock analogy...not only was he influenced by that brit sound...its what actually grabbed him ...as an adult...he had some piano instruction as a child....supposedly taught himself guitar in around a year....great video...really shows what a rockman can do....had mine 30 years...use it mostly on clean and chorus 4 my 12 string acoustic/electric.......enjoyed this video....kutgw......

[@Thompsongs]

On top of great, accurate tones, I must say your vibrato is also excellent.

[@harryt988]

Well explained - you are a gifted artist ! Thanks for posting !

[@obscurebandfan]

My favorite Boston tone has always been "Let me take You home tonight". There's that really cool, almost steel guitar like, clean tone with just the right amount of wetness to it.

[@drdre4397]

The only song off the debut not written by Tom. That was a Brad Delp tune, hence the difference in sound.

[@hoosierdaddy2308]

Man you've nailed it buddy. Love that guitar.

[@TavaresProject]

Totally nailed those tones!!!!

[@SuperJiggawhat]

Great review man. You nailed the riffs perfectly also!

[@zhou_sei]

great ears for tone. i love it. i think a lot of the boston sound is due to mastering, as well as layering guitars (not sure if you mentioned it, i was more paying attention to the tone, tbh), just based upon my listening (im willing to be wrong) and yet you still pretty much nail it. nice job.

[@dawnpoint]

No you're right, there's a lot of sound-engineer sorcery in those albums. Really brilliant stuff, even by today's standards.

[@Twobarpsi]

Boston never disappoints!!

[@dejanostojic5496]

Bravo friend😎

[@andredeniz8658]

Nicely done, Taylor... First time I see those tones nailed!

[@robertmichalscheck3072]

Wish I had that original rockman if that’s what that is,I had one back in the day,damn,he’s getting a great Boston tone.

[@roberttosa2560]

Boston…so great they named a city after the band.

[@alexchubbymclynn6060]

Great video, thanks! Tones are almost identical, but showing the settings would have been very useful. Regards.

[@patrickmcquillan3039]

Love Boston love the guitar

[@in2driving]

Nailed them!

[@Twobarpsi]

Great demo!!

[@bobpeterson4930]

Fun! Thanx for sharing.

[@Terrysoddy]

Great playing man . And great Boston tone . Is all that coming from the sustainer

[@patrickmcquillan3039]

A real boston fan , wish we were friends

[@DJBuglip]

I'd disagree, the reason the first album was so successful is that the songwriting and performances were so exceptional. However, the sounds were certainly quite distinct and innovative.

[@DJBuglip]

Really great dissection of those tones though, man, you're dead on.

[@johnpabst2960]

Nice job brother. Now I have to go out and spend big cash to get these tones. lol

[@johnyacovazzi8873]

Would you be willing to share your EQ settings? I have the X100 and would love to toy around with this!

[@UnderSprayedWhiteSkies]

Good job, it would have been nice to hear your comments about clean tone. I like the no-fret-marker look on your guitar.

[@TheTaylorlocke]

amazing. this is a treasure trove. do you have resources for parts/repairs of the x100? i have an original that needs some help.

[@ericbrecht9473]

What effects were you using on Tom's live setup?! Walk on and more than a feeling . Right at the end of your video

[@lightinme217]

Totally outstanding. BEST Boston tone demo I have seen ever!! I see a laptop not sure if you are running direct into a recording platform or is there a amp miced on the floor. I have a X100 and was looking at picking up a Sustainor a little later. Just wondering what your complete single path is and hoping you would share!

[@dawnpoint]

Thank you sir, I am just running my Rockmans (Rockmen?) straight into my laptop. The only additional gear I use is a 6-band EQ in the Sustainor FX loop.

[@lightinme217]

@@dawnpoint Are you using any effects on your laptop?

[@dawnpoint]

@@lightinme217 EQs mostly, sometimes a little extra delay, reverb or chorus.

[@Phambleton]

@Taylor Rhodes How do you obtain a Rockman X100 or Rockman Sustainor? They are impossible to find, great demo btw

[@dawnpoint]

PhambletonMR Thanks, check Reverb.com. The come up reasonably often on there. House of Scholz and Mike’s Gear Bazaar are the two best people to buy from

[@gfx2943]

Great vid!

[@transampete79]

Your very good thanks for video

[@ck2music712]

So... Mids, Marshall, Chorus... Got it, LoL...

[@orbithesun1]

The Rockman is nothing like the AC/DC straight Marshall Plexi tone. Angus Young of AC/DC does not use any distortion, overdrive, wha or FX pedals going into his Marshall plexi amp(s).

[@Twobarpsi]

Just his wireless...that provided some overdrive.

[@johncecilia4517]

Great video Does Soloist sound same as X100 minus the extra settings and echo?

[@paulyblun]

Good job mate

[@mrlionel1965]

So, now to mimic this on a Marshall code 100.

[@Elizabeth-lg6zb]

💕 Thanks.

[@rickaitkins6539]

Aaawwesome job on ALLL you’ve accomplished!!!!! Really enjoy and value your videos!! Are you using a Dimarzio Super Distortion pickup? -Rick

[@danielbethke3213]

You've earned a subscriber

[@buzzcrushtrendkill]

Nice Agile.

[@frankwarren466]

Taylor, how about a video on getting a Boston tone on the Spark amp???

[@dawnpoint]

I might if I had a Spark!

[@frankwarren466]

@@dawnpoint You need to hit them up. So many other youtubers have gotten a free one to do an online demo. I've been following you for a while as I have also been on a quest for the Boston tone. I think you have nailed them all in this video. The problem is the equipment you use is hard to come by and Frail to say the least. I have a rockman distortion generator, it is very noisy. I also have a Rock man headphone amp that has stopped working. I see a lot of people on youtube claiming they have created Boston tones with various other products and they are close but not totally there. The best one I have seen was done with the Line 6 Helix, which I can't really afford.

[@TheBeatleJoe]

Your not lousy pal. Where did you find the rockman gear ive been trying to find that stuff for years had it back in the day.

[@twotone9908]

List and where to buy them

[@joepipe1010]

Finally a real tone very close to Tom scholtz.

[@pullthereins]

Awesome guitar!!! What kind and model is it?

[@ericbrecht9473]

Are you adding effects to the sustainor or do you have the x100 connected to the sustainor?

[@dawnpoint]

I added a stereo delay and a chorus, similar to the effects the X100 has.

[@partydeer1640]

What are the settings you use on the Sustainor for the tone at around 1:30? The super cocked wah one? Haven't been able to figure it out myself. Thanks!

[@vicjames2743]

Are you running any effects pedals on the sustainer.

[@themodernguitarist]

The X100 sounds arguably "worse" but man it's such a cooler sound in my opinion.

[@garygrinkevich6971]

💯👍🎸🤘

[@Mr.56Goldtop]

Tom didn't make do with anything. If he didn't have it, he created one!!

[@moparbee1523]

You got the secret sauce!

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

Not only is your playing NOT lousy, Taylor (in fact it sounds pretty hot), but it’s also great that you’ve got the courage to play through original Scholz Rockman models. I used to have an X100 myself. Loved using it, but it was not meant for gigging. Got to dig the way you switched to the X100 from the sustainer module.

[@pgestudio75]

"I used to have an X100 myself. Loved using it, but it was not meant for gigging." Not true at all! The X100 was indeed just as much of a live tool as it was a studio tool. The X100 manual even describes this in it's "To Play Live" setup within the manual. www.tom-scholz.com/Manuals/X100.pdf

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

Thank you very much. I was referring to how I attached my X100 to my hip during a gig, then discovered that the output signal kept cutting out on me. Plus, the volume of the clean channels always seemed louder than the distortion and edge channels.

[@pgestudio75]

Oh ok, gotcha. :) Yes, the X100's had plenty of issues when it came to the actual physical durability of them. I think the jacks, slider switches and battery/battery compartment issues were always the majors being serviced to these units back in the day, so I totally agree that trying to go live with issues like that were probably a nightmare. I know that in the mid 80's, a separate company made what was called the "Rock Box" by Electronics Specialty Services, which essentially you placed and plugged your X100 inside of this Rock Box foot pedal and controlled the X100 effects via pedal for live hands-free use. I'm pretty sure the kicker to this was that you had to send your X100 in to have it modded for the footswitch. Then there was another company that made what was called a "Rockmount", which was similar to the Rock Box but only it was a rack mount that housed and controlled Rockman headphone amps. Seems to me that some of these third party products might have been a good idea for live/studio use of the Rockman headphone style amps back in the day to eliminate the problematic physical issues that these units often suffered from. But nevertheless, they are very much intentionally designed for both live and studio use. :)

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

I distinctly recall having seen the Rock Box it least once on eBay. Can’t remember what it cost, only that I couldn’t raise that amount at the time. Ever since I bought my ex 100 and discovered it was in adequate for me to use life, my quest has been to find a way of emulating the sound using digital modeling. Incredibly, I just heard someone doing so in a video today. His name is Glenn DeLaune, and he did it using a Line 6 Helix.

[@charleswind8298]

And how are you achieving these tones..

[@ericbrecht9473]

Can one use the sustainor by itself along with a distortion, delay and chorus pedal?

[@ericbrecht9473]

Meaning I wouldn't also need the rockman x100

[@davidpace7914]

can u please tell me exactly how your getting these tones please....I have never used a laptop to get any sounds ....straight Marshall MA50 ...6 band mxr eq and a Rockman Stereo Chorus.....Thanks

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

David Pace, there’s got to be a secret in the Sustainor.

[@atamize]

An almost Patrick Bateman-like level of analysis. You like Huey Lewis and The News?

[@JamesGreenier]

👍🏼

[@vishalky]

Is the output coming from studio monitors or any amp?

[@johndoe-br9kv]

what are the rockman components needed to achieve the boston tone? what computer platform are you using? PC or MAC? looking forward to hear from you. thanks

[@ZER0AO]

Hey man, interesting videos. I too am a big BOSTON fan. Question, I have a Rockman Sustainer and I'm having trouble finding a footswitch that works properly with it. Do you know one which does?

[@Infinityplus1111]

Most any switcher should. (simple Tip to Sleeve short) They are super easy to build. Even with LEDs.

[@bossgt6]

Im sick on this sound from youth,Boston have the best sounding guitars in the rock era ever. im must say you nailed it very well , im really impressed , i just dont understand how today with all the technology all these effect companies dont dig these sounds and make an efects that will mimiq them

[@razor75250]

What tuning are you using

[@kencohagen4967]

The tunes are really good, but the nets are alive the place.sldo it would be nice if you showed us how you got the tones.

[@aiden_macleod]

You really should invest in a noise gate to remove the hum when you're not playing. It's really is quite annoying.

[@aiden_macleod]

@Luke Scholz didn't have hum on the recordings, and I think he knows a little more about Rock than you do. So YOU get over it. You probably wouldn't even know what causes "hum" unless you Googled it.

[@aiden_macleod]

@Luke Quit being a little shit, asshole.

[@aiden_macleod]

@Luke What you call negative, I call constructive. It's not like I said it sounded like shit, or that his playing was horrible or he was ugly or anything like that. You just need to quit being so sensitive and charging to the rescue of people who don't need saving. Oh, and just relax, buttercup.

[@shredhed572]

Back in the day we just learned to be quick on the vol knob

[@nededs1114]

dude..........THE MOST IMPORTANT tone...the clean tone from we're ready!?!?!? where is it? i have it as a clean tone with subtle distortion and chorus. what say you?!?!? i watched the entire video for that.

[@JimPerdue14]

It's the "Edge" setting on the Sustainor with the guitar volume knob turned down. And stereo chorus (of course).

[@ericbrecht9473]

I hate to be a bother to you but could you tell me exactly what I would need to get that Tom scholz live tone that you played on this video I would really appreciate it thanks a lot keep rocking man

[@ericbrecht9473]

At the 7:00 mark

[@evinrudej]

You should post some tabs or lessons !

[@MichaelCaliri]

what guitar is that?

[@mcdude0192]

It's a hondo Agile

[@MichaelCaliri]

@@mcdude0192 I"ve got a 12 string from them,love it

[@playAgainMe]

Good stuff thumbs up and subscribe here .

[@ZeekMX]

You have to pay for your musical sins. You have failed to show love to Berry. I hope that changes.

[@brianmorrison4865]

my favorite Boston tones were Barry Goudreau. The rockman units sound NOTHING like the power soaked Marshalls. There was a difference in tones because there were 2 guitarists. When Tom fired everyone and did it all, then you just heard him. And it's been pure boredom ever since. Go watch Barry. No rockman, just his hands. That's the tones of Boston. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYrTmWmqfd9mha8

[@richardturk7162]

That sock hat looks silly sitting on the back of your head. Kinda look like an elf or a smurf. Decent playing tho' and Boston rocked back in the day.

[@micjam1986]

Where's Waldo hat :) but great playing!

[@garretthes]

Nicely done. The 3rd Stage was a major disappointment for me primarily because the performance was so tame and caged. The drum sounds stunk and the guitar sounds were certainly over processed. The first album had the best raw energy and interest with guitar tones and the 2nd was a cool extension. The 3rd.......naaaa

[@garretthes]

@Big B Kenobi I agree, it's sad

[@jimzeleny7213]

They all sound very good, but for the most part very much the same sound to me.

[@johndevine6687]

Dude.

[@ethanphelps5790]

I can tell that you are a very well put together guitar player but you need to pause and calm down because it sounds like your spazing out when u play

[@dawnpoint]

No, I'm just genuinely not a good guitar player.

[@pablomarrero6062]

go listen to the mars volta

[@mikeball188]

Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm M M . ...

[@CaptainCraigKWMRZ]

Less time playing more time spent telling us how to get our greedy hands on one... Almost impossible.

[@fredvalencia2205]

Its not about making do with what he had its about inventing his own sound you got it all wrong kid.go back to playing your covers .

[@chris-thumper7205]

One of my favorite lines of his in an old interview is "I didn't know how to tell someone exactly what I wanted. So I just made it myself". I guess if you're an MIT engineer, this is what you do. Lol

[@vbros7]

I don't mean for a moment to demean your effort in putting this video together or your talents as a musician and gear nut, BUT...it seems to me that if you want to continue to do this sort of this, you should take it more seriously. I really think that if you did, the quality of your videos would improve considerably. There are just too many times where you just kind of throw up your hands and say "whatever" or "something like that", when with a bit more effort you could complete the thought or the phrase and add a lot more professionalism to the video. I honestly don't know if you care that much, but if you so, it's something to think about. Cheers

[@trust1124]

Plastic toy tone

[@fcukeround]

Nailed it!