TOM SCHOLZ's 17 Greatest Guitar Techniques!

-TOM SCHOLZ's 17 Greatest Guitar Techniques!
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Thanks!!!

[@TheArtofGuitar]

Gotta add that the leads on Long Time were played by Barry Goudreau. I'd change the video's name to "Boston's Greatest Techniques" but since over 90% of the techs are Tom I think I'll just leave it as is. Thanks to everyone who informed me.

[@TheArtofGuitar]

That's literally what I said in the pinned comment that you commented on. hehe. @@tonyolivieri3345

[@tonyolivieri3345]

@@TheArtofGuitar LOL! Lazy me didn't read it..............apologies!

[@in2livinit]

Thanks for the hat tip to Barry, who's been credited with writing the leads to FP/LT. Tom is Def a studio master and innovator. But Barry is no slouch on the Axe. (Ref Orion the Hunter & RTZ) It's hard to know without actually witnessing it, how much Barry potentially influenced Tom during all the pre-Boston years of Mother's Milk. When Barry plays Boston, eyes closed, it's hard to tell both parts & playing apart. Great Video !!! 👍

[@midiman5045]

@@TheArtofGuitarSorry I didn't see that. No offense . I must have had to many drinks.

[@skullduggery3377]

Oh, you mean 'That other guy'?... The Don Felder to Joe Walsh?

[@douglasmijangos3327]

The Solo on Hitch a Ride is in my top 3 best guitar solos of all time 🎸🔥❤

[@KingXanadu]

Agree!

[@peterwinters8587]

The solo on A Man I'll Never Be is in my top 1

[@dphachey]

For sure! Hitch a Ride may be my all time favorite tune. Puts me right back to the late 70s. The ending of that song is epic and brings chills up my spine.

[@williammartinez1751]

The solo always makes my eyes sweat and if you listen closely to the end of it, you can hear an audience yell out "Woooooooooo!!!!!". Pardon me while I play the song, now.

[@BluesDelux12AX7]

⁠@@williammartinez1751 Yeah, I’ve heard that. I think it’s Brad. My favorite singer.

[@SO-ym3zs]

Awesome! Tom Scholz is a true musical Renaissance man: inventor, producer, engineer, writer, guitarist/bassist/keyboardist. Boston's debut album is one of, if not the, greatest rock albums. (It's also the only one I know of where literally every single track ended up in regular rotation on rock radio, not just the official singles.)

[@minkorrh]

He was Boston.

[@dominiquez5643]

This the exact, perfect right on the spot way of explaining Tom Scholtz to whoever doesn't know him!!!! Love it !!!

[@raydelrosario2366]

He played most of the drums too

[@Greggster1]

Spot on!

[@user-du1yk7uk9v]

Third Stage is at the same level of the 1st album

[@robindavis726]

Wow. Concise. No fluff. Thank you for your work and time in researching these and presenting them. Absolutely fantastic!

[@gergemall]

Wonderful video. Love the tabs and the foundations of the lead riff.

[@tedgerard333]

Tom Scholz is a genius. I've been down the youtube rabbit hole looking for all his videos.

[@dwightvoeks9970]

Me too 😂

[@metalkid8106]

1:52 Self-Harmonizing 2:31 Rhythmic Vibrato 3:17 Guitar Layers 5:26 Hyperspace effects 6:34 percussive mute strums 7:22 Melodic Line Solos 8:32 Single-Finger Barres 9:37 Scholz Scrapes 10:46 One-Man Dueling Duo 11:28 End of Solo Climb 12:16 Pre Bend Variations 13:41 Motifs 15:29 The Scholz Flutter 16:27 Dirty Arpeggios 17:22 Slip of the 5th 18:11 Bass Walk Rhythms 19:18 stretch 6th

[@TheArtofGuitar]

Tanks!

[@metalkid8106]

@@TheArtofGuitaryour welcome

[@john564holloway]

Thank you, metalkid8106!

[@jasonjohnson4170]

​@TheArtofGuitar you need more helpers like this

[@greggcorbett9344]

That was a great video - how about doing one on Michael Schenker's techniques?

[@jfo3000]

This!!!!!!

[@lostinpa-dadenduro7555]

Got my vote.

[@jeffthorup9503]

Love the video! Tom is one of my favorites. Keep in mind that all the solos in Long Time were actually done by Barry Goudreau along with the solo in Let Me Take You Home Tonight and Used To Bad News. Barry also did the intro solo for Don't Look Back. He contributed some great stuff.

[@jfo3000]

The long sustained notes...sometimes the sign that Barry is playing. I've read that Barry taught Tom how to play guitar, you don't stumble across that too often. Maybe Tom keeps that hidden because of the bad blood that developed... It seems Tom played organ only, started jamming and forming a band with Barry, and Barry showed him lots of guitar. And Tom was playing great very quickly, super intelligent guy, of course. Other projects with Barry, like Orion The Hunter sound much like Scholz, so maybe it's largely Barry's style, possibly tone as well. The half-wah tone may have come from Schenker or Ronson, with Ronson being the originator, I'm pretty certain.

[@TheArtofGuitar]

Good to know. I always thought the first album was Tom geeking out in his basement. Great to learn that he allowed others to play main parts on this classic album, thanks.

[@Lance37a]

@@TheArtofGuitar I believe the whole band only played on 1 song on the debut album, and that's Let Me take you home tonight

[@georgeprice4212]

@@Lance37acorrect. That song was reportedly cut at Capitol Studios, while Tom furiously and meticulously recut the demos in his basement studio - albeit between floods, freak snow storms and power outages!

[@Lance37a]

@@georgeprice4212 which is kind of weird because the band could play. I guess he wanted to control everything.

[@zaturnneo]

Another great video, sir! I grew up hearing my mom blasting Boston, Foreigner, and Journey every Saturday while she cleaned. Always loved how precise and tight their music is. Then I learned how picky they were in the studio, so it made sense. 🙂

[@FingersOnAFretboard]

Despite never having to seek these band's music out, it was always 'just there', it became a musical influence in the rock guitar DNA. One day you ask yourself "Why do I know the lyrics to these REO Speedwagon ,Journey, & Bon-Jovi songs??? & sing along to the solos" Oh, thanks Big-Sister, Mom, etc.

[@dwightvoeks9970]

What a great mom. I still do that 😂

[@thomasjohnson7735]

Excellent deep dig. Boston like Kansas were bands that weren't covered well back in the 70's or hardly at all. The muscle of their music was way out ahead. Tom's 😊tone was sought out by Def Leppard or even EVH. Huge influence. Your video is 11 minutes of encyclopedia for future pickers to take guitar in the next era. Us old guys appreciate your discipline and skill. Well done.

[@daveshepherd7582]

I got hooked on Boston and the huge guitar sounds years ago and I’m still digging them today. Thanks for showcasing them!

[@machineryman7197]

Love Scholz, though it was Barry Goudreau who did all the lead parts on Long Time.

[@jonahguitarguy]

Tom's the guy that inspired me to pick up a guitar. I'd never heard that pick scraping before. He's a monster player and deserves a spot up there with Clapton, Page and Jimi.

[@MascarasMil]

I’m a 15 year old when Boston came out. I was blown away. Mesmerized. One of the things that was most fascinating was that Tom was a MIT graduate and built these devices to fit his needs. That’s just incredibly insane. Watching you unravel the sound is beyond amazing. Thank you!!!

[@davetheguitarplayer]

The extra details in his pick scrapes you pointed out are SO cool! Even being the HUGE T.S. fan I am, I TOTALLY missed them! Thank you for sharing - killer video!!

[@Antman-cy8ch]

Barry Goudreau is a big part of the playing and sound of the first two albums also.

[@tommccann9269]

Not big part, but monster lead on Long Time, slide on Let Me Take You Home, and intro/outro on Don’t Look Back. That’s pretty much it. The rest is all Scholz, including bass guitar.

[@geraldhartley]

It's probably already been said, but at 2:53 that intro solo for Long Time is all Barry Goodreau. You should properly give him credit! He's a master and taught Tom a lot of tricks.

[@jeffokriya3389]

Yes Scholz is one of the 70s best Rock guitar players very neat style and his devices were genius . . I have some pedals . . I´m a bit surprised because you are pretty young and have an appreciation for this music . . you can´t go wrong. . keep on rocking. Very nice video.

[@JTB--]

Great Video. Tom Scholz's may be one of the most overlooked Guitarists and Musicians ever. Even invented his own pedals. Guy is a genius

[@rockhead69]

Fantastic, dude... you're a hell of a guitar teacher !

[@jasonwest3283]

Every video you do is done extremely well! Thanks for putting in the time.

[@DCShaneTours]

Tom Scholz is one of the best rock and roll guitarists ever. I had tremendous respect for him and marveled at all his guitar techniques, I'm a guitar player also, your video has made him 10000% even more awesome in my eyes.

[@kaynesantor8136]

Boston really is GOATED, in my book. The instrumentals are ridiculously tight and, lack of a better word, perfect, in every way. Execution and writing wise. Also, if you ever get the chance, check out the isolated vocal tracks. Mind, and ear blowing performances. And that's all natty, no pro tools, no bullshit. Just brilliance. Nice work, Mike.

[@kevink2731]

Just a quick thank you. You're becoming on of my favorite channels now. I really enjoyed this.

[@Zerofluffsgiven]

Geez, no wonder they're so hard to replicate for the average cover band. Now I appreciate them even more! ❤️🤘🏼

[@bryandean5563]

This is weird, I hadn't heard Boston in a while so I turned it on on the way to work this morning. I get to work and you post this video. You must've known I needed this. Love Tom and Boston.

[@jeffyoung8726]

Mike, you definitely need to do more of these kinds of videos. They're AWESOME!

[@VaGdude]

Man that Les Paul is my favorite …what an eye candy and amazing sound and quality

[@TheArtofGuitar]

I fall in love all over again whenever I play it. Still can't believe it's in my life.

[@abtechgen2943]

@TheArtofGuitar can you leave a link for it, so I can windowshop online for that piece of beauty lol

[@TheArtofGuitar]

Link to what? I’m not selling this thing. ;)

[@VaGdude]

@@abtechgen2943 just Google it bro there are dozens of shops online

[@jono5900]

@@TheArtofGuitarI think he meant what model Les Paul is it specifically..

[@stringslinger6]

Boston was the sound that shaped my childhood. Don't Look Back was probably the first album I bought when I was beginning to learn about Rock and Roll. I have everything they have released and some days I listen to all of it nonstop. Also, KQRS 92.5 FM is not only one of the best stations ever, there morning show was for decades the best in the world.

[@TheArtofGuitar]

Morning show for me through some tough times.

[@keithmartin1067]

Excellent seminar - thank you. Rock on!

[@JoeChecketts-bi6xs]

Nice video, Mike. Your sound and production was great as usual. Thanks for bringing back the Artist Series.

[@stephend3961]

Love Boston, listened to them a lot in the late 70s and through the 80s, when I was in my 20s -- really miss those years. Anyway, it always amazes me how artists can put music together, and I listen a lot to music anymore just to try and pick out the different musical components. Thanks for the memories.

[@robertgladstein]

Thank you as a guitar for almost 50 years I just love Boston music and thoroughly enjoyed your spot on leads of Tom Scholz..

[@catsofsherman1316]

That was a great episode. I'm a huge Boston fan. I think some of those things seeped into my playing through osmosis without my conscious work on it. It was the artist technique videos that introduced me to your channel in the first place. Glad to see you return to it, especially with an old favorite of mine. Cheers.

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

One of my other favorite music channels is Rick Beato. He does this series "what makes this song great?" and he breaks down iconic songs to their cores. He's done two Boston songs and really digs into not only the guitars, but the bass played by Tom and the keyboards. If you haven't seen them, I HIGHLY recommend them. But the one thing Tom does is pushes the mid frequencies way up. The graphic eq is the opposite of scooped, it's the Anti-Metallica curve. That pushes it so far forward into the mix and makes it jump out at you. Very aggressive tone. Heavily distorted and his playing is so tight. My local rock station is WFBQ Q-95 in Indy. Same as yours, nothing but Boston, Aerosmith, Forigner, Journey, Eagles, etc. It was so ingrained into how my music taste developed.

[@justinhorn2395]

The Beato Boston Breakdown is one of Beatos best, that speaks volumes.

[@str8shooter159]

I always liked playing boston songs when i was a kid and now 38 yrs later i still do😅 smokin is my favorite song by boston.

[@johngutierrez591]

Some of the best leads in all of guitar, sweet video!

[@gilbertnorum4366]

Great explanation of Tom´s guitar playing

[@bertonorr8393]

I love your descriptions and analysis of things. The ability to accurately intuit then translate and express. This is why you're about the only guitar guy I pay attention to.

[@allthegoodnamesareinuse]

Wait, KQRS? I didn't realize that you were a fellow Minnesotan. Rock on!

[@andrewjensen8642]

I thought the same thing - was listening to KQ today!

[@Silas-lc9op]

Love your videos man. You have a great enthusiasm!!

[@jcstevegigs]

Awesome stuff! Your production quality is fantastic

[@magic2506]

Always enjoy Mike's videos. On point every time.

[@marcelbelanger4424]

Wow, thank you for this! It's truly one of the best guitar videos I've seen in years of watching. I've loved Boston since they came out when I was a kid, and I got chills when you layered all the parts at 4:19.

[@tony69rocks]

GREAT Job on this one! Really very helpful, and not just for Boston songs. Bravo!

[@takat1113]

Good choice of guitarist for this video. Love the layers in a Boston track.

[@jeffgilbert147]

Well done. Clear and concise. I really liked this.

[@richardtaylor8189]

Very nice job! You captured a lot in this video.

[@musicmanj1642]

Waking up to find a new Art of Guitar video is the best! thanks mike, from one guitar teacher to another

[@gregcharles6528]

Absolutely loved it! You are a tremendous teacher and I promise to use what I've learned immediately. Thank you for all that you do 🎸✌️

[@Halenrocks5150]

I love your Greatest Techniques series! So fun, informative, and they make me realize the subtle guitar specialties that makes these artists unique! Tom Sholtz and Boston rule!

[@OddTimeMan]

Scholz

[@SuperdangerStudios]

Tom is one of my favorite guitarists and heroes. Thank you for this video.

[@HannahCope88]

🤘🏻🔥🤘🏻 Yess!! I've been looking forward to this. I have always loved the sound of Boston. That harmonizing is just quintessential Boston to me. I love that solo on More Than a Feeling, makes me feel pretty happy when I hear it. I think that one has to go on my Happiness Playlist. Definitely a unique sound for sure :-) That Les Paul just looks and sounds killer. I can't wait til the day I get to own one 😊

[@zeus014]

A large part of that Boston sound was in the way their vocals and guitar work were so inter-twined. We often could not tell exactly where Brad's vocals ended and the guitar mind-fuckery began. Pure genius...

[@gsmeeuwsen]

GREAT video, Mike! Tom is one of the most underrated guitarists AND bassists!

[@user-du1yk7uk9v]

Tom Scholz in an absolute GENIUS... he can play several instruments and he is a MONSTER on both guitar and keyboards!!! I do like especially Third Stage ..it sound majestic ! I'd love to see new young bands in the vein of Journey ..Toto...Boston...Foreigner...Van Halen...the great REAL timeless American Rock!

[@edwardippoliti626]

Thank you for the lesson ,and video!!

[@robertearl963]

Excellent job Tom is a genius many times over. Incredible songwriter, guitarist and recordibg engineer. He'has been one of my music idols for many years along with Brad Delp. They made an incredible team... RIP Brad

[@doctordetroit4339]

I thank God daily for allowing me to be alive in the 70s and 80s and hearing Boston, among many others. I listen to Boston every day. Tom is a true genius, and his Rockman created more studio music sounds (e.g. Def Leppard) than most realize.

[@LordLarryWho]

Barry Goodreau said in an interview once that the key to the Rockman sound before the Rockman was a wah pedal locked in a permanent position, but it was paralleled with the guitar's dry signal rather than exclusively in series. The rest was just basic tools like a compressor/expander and a good old Marshall. He continued to use this on his first solo album and Orion The Hunter, he never used a Rockman, even though it may have sounded like it.

[@robshrock-shirakbari1862]

The most I've enjoyed a YT video in months. I'm a huge Boston fan; they were my favorite band growing up and my first concert (Sammy Hagar opened). Great video... many thanks.

[@hughjanus5518]

Thank you for this. My long since passed father always told me about how Great Tom was and now as a guitar player myself you have inspired me to learn the entirety of their debut album.

[@sauletto1]

Excellent video, Mike !

[@music2heart4u]

Honestly one of the most tasteful guitar channels well done !

[@dennisdewinter1997]

What a great video. Thanks so much.

[@lbarj]

Many great tricks to add to the bag. Thanks -Cheers

[@joebarrera9741]

Thank you ..i love your playing and insight on Tom Sholtz

[@OddTimeMan]

Scholz

[@user-wu8db6dv2i]

I love that band and was my favorite back in the day and today!! Great video!

[@dandtintennessee7675]

Solos don't have to be blazing fast. Tom and David Gilmour both are masters of making simple solos sound incredible.

[@anthonyw5261]

Even the demos from the first release sound insanely awesome. Great video

[@JHoliday330]

Thank you for this video! It'll be a huge 'refresher course' help as I've been getting back into practice post-surgery with a steel plate in one shoulder. I was just starting to advance from Rhythm to Lead as a guitarist in '86 when the Third Stage album was brand new. The 'Dirty Arpeggio' technique just naturally found its way into my emerging style of lead playing without me or my guitar teachers (in two different towns, one during semesters and the other during breaks) ever really analyzing it and breaking down the exact source(s) of what was becoming my style at the time.

[@suzannecoholic1467]

Great expose on Tom Scholz's techniques!

[@eljodon]

It's not too hard to build a Hyperspace pedal. But you have to buy a Maestro Echoplex and they're expensive. He built a device that you can move 2 parameters with a gutted wah to control the echo repeat mounted into "pivot" that you can move the pedal side to side to control the delay time. There an assembly that attaches to the delay time slider which can be moved side to side with the "pivot" You also need a on off button. You'll need to find spare parts because you could wear out the heads by constantly moving them while using it.

[@clayw6850]

Boston fan here!! And I must say that you are both a great artist and teacher yourself..tyvm

[@LowFlyer1200]

Good stuff man. Sound is spot on. Subscribed.

[@VPicksGuitarPicks]

Just a note. The unit that gets the closest to Tom's sound is the Distortion Generator. I had one for years and loved it. Another good trick for his sound is replace your caps with .01. Throw it in the distortion channel and turn the tone all the way off. Also sounds good for Money for Nothing and Killer Queen. Believe it or not, those three sounds are very similar. I have chased Tom's tone since the 70's. Tom is a great song and solo writer. I get tired of hearing solos that just wank all the time. A lot of 70's bands play the same solo as on the record. For instance the Eagles.

[@Lance37a]

Barry Goudreau played on some those solos as well.

[@tommccann9269]

Some, not a lot…in the video it was just lead on Long Time. The rest of what he showed is all Scholz. That said, Barry was an outstanding player and I would have liked to see more of him on other Boston albums. Was not to be. I never really liked any of his other bands or solo work.

[@Lance37a]

​​@tommccann9269 He was on Don't Look Back a little bit more but yes you're right it's mostly Tom

[@pleasepermitmetospeakohgre1504]

@@tommccann9269 Barry played lead on 'Hitch A Ride' and 'Let Me Take You Home Tonight' too.

[@54fighting5]

Fantastic video! Thanks for sharing.

[@joeysawdust]

Great vid! Happy that you mentioned Something About You - one of my favs too! Boston's been my favorite band since 1976 and I think one of the many reasons why is that you can blast the music and the guitars don't go right through you (i.e. are painfull) like some bands. Thanks!

[@jesseserna8424]

Boston is my all time favorite band after 40 years I still listen to Boston weekly 🙌🏼🎸

[@SandcastlingGuy]

This was a lot of fun to watch. Great job on the solo harmonies. You really showcased how Tom pushes those notes to a whole new level. And another thing, been listening to Boston since the debut album and never picked up on the addition of adding a "quick 5th" into a solo. As soon as you played it I had one of those, "Oh man! THAT's what I was missing" moments. Isn't it fantastic how music can surprise even after close to 50 years?

[@analytics8055]

Great material… See that you really appreciate and understand music and guitar solos. Had the joy of playing guitar on many of these songs in a 1977 cover band…in Humboldt county, CA.. Wild times…

[@ragnadrabinowitz7629]

loved this! thank you!

[@x3a3x3]

That guitar riff in the chorus of “Don’t look back” sounds 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@jrenaud22]

That was such a great video! I grew up on Boston and as a kid in the 70s, many many years before I started playing guitar, I always thought I'd love to play like Tom Scholz because he has a one-of-a-kind sound. When I started trying to learn some of his riffs, I was bummed to find out most of them were multi tracked guitar parts. We're Ready is one of the songs I can max out the volume when I'm alone in my Jeep and it doesn't distort the speakers or hurt my ears.

[@antondiatonikk2256]

Wooh! Glad to see Scholz getting some recognition

[@marcmedina4376]

Do I love this this is so great! Thank you and keep up the good work!

[@logix9881]

Amazing video as always, do you think you could do more of these, I love these!? (Maybe Devin Townsend, The guitar players from Mastodon, or even Eric Johnson?)

[@pg1171]

Always wanted one, but never could. Forgot about them for years until about a year ago. Now I can afford it! Thanks!

[@bobirving6052]

Good stuff! Thanks!

[@curtisbeasley3443]

Dude that LP is absolutely beautiful.

[@ryanpeterson1418]

Such an underrated guitarist and engineer. Great video!

[@Maxreverse]

Great video. Grew up in Boston in the 70s listening to Boston all the time. Own several Rockman rack units. They nail the sound of the 80s.

[@BillyE5150]

Dude, this is one of the best videos EVER! Thank you 🙏 for doing it. I love the music of Boston & Tom Schultz. Got to see them on the south terrace of the Biltmore Estate with the sun going down several years back, had no dream I would ever get to see them. Some of the first albums I bought in the Columbia House 10 for a penny. Been a fan since they started. Have some of their album art tattoed on me somewhere…

[@ExpatZ266]

Nice! I grew up with Boston. Tom always had a super unique tone, so huge, wall of sound stuff.

[@craig3540]

Absolutely! It is an awesome solo. Good call!

[@67Pepper]

"Once bitten twice shy" Ian Hunter wrote it in 1975. Enjoyed the video.

[@bendurrence]

Ill always remember Boston as my first album, my dad still had his old cassettes and luckily for me he was willing to share

[@edsnotgod]

Tom made his guitar sing " rah rah oompah pah" over and over on "more than a feeling"... over and over and over...

[@NickNicometi]

Thanks for the no-fluff, humble presentation. Great job Saved to my YT Boston🎸 album.

[@bobsbarnworkshop]

If you listen to Grand Funk’s early albums you will hear Mark Farner perfecting the “chucka-chucka” percussion on his guitar! Like “Into the Sun” for example