Neal Schon's Equipment

[*Laura]

Well,Nora's question for the guitar-heads here,reminded me of Huge Racks - a forum which I visit from time to time.(I LOVE tech talk! )

Thing is that this Forum is visited by a lot of pros,and to my surprise Neal Schon's tech,Scott,posts there from time to time in Gear Talk.
Lots of info on what NS is using to sound as good as he does.

Here's a thread about Neal's rig,posted in the Summer of last year.(guitonit is Scott's screen name)


http://www.hugeracksinc.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=24137&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=egnater+m4+settings&start=0

[whocares]

no doubt there'e some good stuff to learn about...

I wasn't sure, (because I'm a guy) where you were going when you said something about huge racks...

[NealIsGod]

Funny how Tapegate even made it's way onto that board (page 2 of that thread).

[larryfromnextdoor]

no doubt there'e some good stuff to learn about...

I wasn't sure, (because I'm a guy) where you were going when you said something about huge racks...

just a little disapointing , huh?

[whocares]

a little, but I've never been one for huge racks (does that revoke my guy card?).

Back in the day I can understand having huge racks at the concerts, but since going to see INXS in '87, I've been mostly deaf in my right ear, from sitting too close the speaker system. Crappy auditorium at the time, and Speakers were way too much for what the little place could handle. Aside form seeing INXS for the only time live, it was a pisser having lost so much hearing for almost 19 years now.

[(Crazy)Dulce Lady]

no doubt there'e some good stuff to learn about...

I wasn't sure, (because I'm a guy) where you were going when you said something about huge racks...

hehe. my thoughts exactly...........

[*Laura]

Back in the day I can understand having huge racks at the concerts, but since going to see INXS in '87, I've been mostly deaf in my right ear, from sitting too close the speaker system. Crappy auditorium at the time, and Speakers were way too much for what the little place could handle. Aside form seeing INXS for the only time live, it was a pisser having lost so much hearing for almost 19 years now.

Sorry to hear that...Loud live music is dangerous,although not many realize it.You must have something that's called sensoneural hearing loss.
I have it too,but it's not as severe as yours,I still have a great hearing (passed a whispered speech test at the hospital),only that I became very sensitive to noises.

In my case it happened because I have been working with headphones at the radio for 15 years.
Always turned them up too loud and felt the need to get them louder as years passed.
I had an audiogram,the Doc said that I should be careful when I go to concerts and avoid standing to close to the speakers,as I could go partially deaf.
Or use earplugs at shows... No way I could stuff my ears,so that's why I choose to stay in the mixer area.Plus the perfect concert sound is at the mixer.

Guess that's what happened to you,Whocares,it was a noise trauma on your ears...You still like INXS?

[StevePerryHair]

no doubt there'e some good stuff to learn about...

I wasn't sure, (because I'm a guy) where you were going when you said something about huge racks...

hehe. my thoughts exactly...........

Okay (because I'm a girl) I wasn't sure where you were going with the TITLE of this thread.... j/k

[Lady Luck]

Okay (because I'm a girl) I wasn't sure where you were going with the TITLE of this thread.... j/k

Nice to see I'm not the only one with their mind in the gutter.

[*Laura]

Okay (because I'm a girl) I wasn't sure where you were going with the TITLE of this thread.... j/k

Crossed my mind when I was typing the title....Because I'm a girl...LOL

[*Laura]

Guess it would have been really confusing to name the thread "Neal Schon's Huge Racks"...

[(Crazy)Dulce Lady]

Guess it would have been really confusing to name the thread "Neal Schon's Huge Racks"...

[StevePerryHair]

Guess it would have been really confusing to name the thread "Neal Schon's Huge Racks"...

Oh, noooo! Now we might get a photo shopped pic of that. (maybe no one will read that)

[nutz4Neal]

no doubt there'e some good stuff to learn about...

I wasn't sure, (because I'm a guy) where you were going when you said something about huge racks...

hehe. my thoughts exactly...........

Okay (because I'm a girl) I wasn't sure where you were going with the TITLE of this thread.... j/k

Me either!

[Lady Luck]

Guess it would have been really confusing to name the thread "Neal Schon's Huge Racks"...

Oh, noooo! Now we might get a photo shopped pic of that. (maybe no one will read that)

Where's yulog when you need him?

[SteveForever]

Back in the day I can understand having huge racks at the concerts, but since going to see INXS in '87, I've been mostly deaf in my right ear, from sitting too close the speaker system. Crappy auditorium at the time, and Speakers were way too much for what the little place could handle. Aside form seeing INXS for the only time live, it was a pisser having lost so much hearing for almost 19 years now.

Sorry to hear that...Loud live music is dangerous,although not many realize it.You must have something that's called sensoneural hearing loss.
I have it too,but it's not as severe as yours,I still have a great hearing (passed a whispered speech test at the hospital),only that I became very sensitive to noises.

In my case it happened because I have been working with headphones at the radio for 15 years.
Always turned them up too loud and felt the need to get them louder as years passed.
I had an audiogram,the Doc said that I should be careful when I go to concerts and avoid standing to close to the speakers,as I could go partially deaf.
Or use earplugs at shows... No way I could stuff my ears,so that's why I choose to stay in the mixer area.Plus the perfect concert sound is at the mixer.

Guess that's what happened to you,Whocares,it was a noise trauma on your ears...You still like INXS?

I just heard about the "mosquito" ring tone. Maybe old news, but I was surprised. If you are under 20 you can hear it, but after that your ears can not...kids are using it at school so teachers won't know. My hearing is shot, the doctor said women suffer a lot of damage from hair dryers day after day=very loud decimals way too close to the eardrum!!!

[Clasicrockldy]

Back in the day I can understand having huge racks at the concerts, but since going to see INXS in '87, I've been mostly deaf in my right ear, from sitting too close the speaker system. Crappy auditorium at the time, and Speakers were way too much for what the little place could handle. Aside form seeing INXS for the only time live, it was a pisser having lost so much hearing for almost 19 years now.

Sorry to hear that...Loud live music is dangerous,although not many realize it.You must have something that's called sensoneural hearing loss.
I have it too,but it's not as severe as yours,I still have a great hearing (passed a whispered speech test at the hospital),only that I became very sensitive to noises.

In my case it happened because I have been working with headphones at the radio for 15 years.
Always turned them up too loud and felt the need to get them louder as years passed.
I had an audiogram,the Doc said that I should be careful when I go to concerts and avoid standing to close to the speakers,as I could go partially deaf.
Or use earplugs at shows... No way I could stuff my ears,so that's why I choose to stay in the mixer area.Plus the perfect concert sound is at the mixer.

Guess that's what happened to you,Whocares,it was a noise trauma on your ears...You still like INXS?

I just heard about the "mosquito" ring tone. Maybe old news, but I was surprised. If you are under 20 you can hear it, but after that your ears can not...kids are using it at school so teachers won't know. My hearing is shot, the doctor said women suffer a lot of damage from hair dryers day after day=very loud decimals way too close to the eardrum!!!

I don't use hair dryers, but my hearing is shot somewhat. Maybe it was all those loud concerts I went to in the 80's!

[strangegrey]

a little, but I've never been one for huge racks (does that revoke my guy card?).

Back in the day I can understand having huge racks at the concerts, but since going to see INXS in '87, I've been mostly deaf in my right ear, from sitting too close the speaker system. Crappy auditorium at the time, and Speakers were way too much for what the little place could handle. Aside form seeing INXS for the only time live, it was a pisser having lost so much hearing for almost 19 years now.

Reminds me of my experience seeing Journey back in like 03...IIRC. They played at this place called Bald Hill out on long island. My friend mike and I went...We were front row right in front of Neal. Due to the height of the stage, Neal's active 4X12s were pointing right at our heads. We essentially heard nothing but Neal's guitar all night...since we got more of the stage bleed from neal's guitar than anything coming out of the FOH speakers.

Bleed is a good word for it...because Neal was *so* loud that we weren't the same afterwards. we stumbled to the car...and went home. The next day, we played 18 at the local muni-course. I was playing like crap and at one point I realized that Mike was as well...we both concluded that our equilibrium was way-off due to the volume we endured the night before...we literally couldn't walk in a straight line that day...it was strange...


As far as equipment goes, I got a chance to do the whole Roadie for a Day thing with Allan Craft back during the 2001 tour. I was going to be doing a "behind the scenes" report for the website, but it never materialized into anything...and most of my pictures from that day got lost...

Anyway, I saw Cain's rig up close (LP custom plugged straight into a JCM800 Marshall half stack, now that's R&R!!!). IIRC, Ross wasn't even going into an amp...he was going into a Line6 Bass Pod Pro...then straight to FOH.

I then got about 20-25 minutes with Neal's guitar tech...I wanna say his name was Jason, but my memory is fuzzy. He was gracious enough to spend 20-25 minutes with me...but I still came away not liking the guy...Regardless, I got to check out Neal's rig for the 2001 arrival tour in rather specific detail:

At the time, he was playing a custom-made gibson LP. It's in alot of pictures from the period. It was based on his Domenget LP copy...the tone knobs operated as cut filters (probably very similar to the way his current LP model works). I don't remember if it had a sustainer in it...I wanna say it did....but it had a recessed floyd rose...and I believe the guitar was a 25.5" scale guitar (most LP's are 24.75" scale). The one thing I took away from the guitar when I strummed it, was that the action was WAY HIGH. Far higher than I was ever used to. It impressed the shit out of me that Neal could play as fast as he could, with such precise attack, with action that high. The guy is a monster.

As for his amp rig, it was something to behold...and not because it was expensive or excessive...but because it was so simple. (He later went on to huge Diezel amp back lines). The guitar plugged into a Boss GT-3 floor processor (at the time, retailed for $400 bucks, you can get em on ebay for less than $150 now). That GT-3 controlled 1 or 2 fender Cybertwin combos on the floor. There was also a 4X12 marshall cabinet with a fender marshall EL34 power amp. The GT-3 was essentially the routing controller. The signal went into the GT-3, and for dirty tones, was routed to the Cybertwins...If I recall, the clean tones were all generated right out of the GT-3 and were then sent to the Marshall 4X12/power amp setup. But frankly, it seemed to me that the majority of Neal's tone generation was essentially the Les Paul into the Cybertwin. that's it! Oh there was a Boss SD-1 in there as well, used for minor boosts here or there.

It was eye opening for me, to see such a monster player play through just a good guitar and a modeling amp....and sound fucking monstrous...it made me realize that equipment, as long as it's decent, is a non-factor for a good player. A player like Neal could sound amazing through almost anything....

[larryfromnextdoor]

a little, but I've never been one for huge racks (does that revoke my guy card?).

Back in the day I can understand having huge racks at the concerts, but since going to see INXS in '87, I've been mostly deaf in my right ear, from sitting too close the speaker system. Crappy auditorium at the time, and Speakers were way too much for what the little place could handle. Aside form seeing INXS for the only time live, it was a pisser having lost so much hearing for almost 19 years now.

Reminds me of my experience seeing Journey back in like 03...IIRC. They played at this place called Bald Hill out on long island. My friend mike and I went...We were front row right in front of Neal. Due to the height of the stage, Neal's active 4X12s were pointing right at our heads. We essentially heard nothing but Neal's guitar all night...since we got more of the stage bleed from neal's guitar than anything coming out of the FOH speakers.

Bleed is a good word for it...because Neal was *so* loud that we weren't the same afterwards. we stumbled to the car...and went home. The next day, we played 18 at the local muni-course. I was playing like crap and at one point I realized that Mike was as well...we both concluded that our equilibrium was way-off due to the volume we endured the night before...we literally couldn't walk in a straight line that day...it was strange...


As far as equipment goes, I got a chance to do the whole Roadie for a Day thing with Allan Craft back during the 2001 tour. I was going to be doing a "behind the scenes" report for the website, but it never materialized into anything...and most of my pictures from that day got lost...

Anyway, I saw Cain's rig up close (LP custom plugged straight into a JCM800 Marshall half stack, now that's R&R!!!). IIRC, Ross wasn't even going into an amp...he was going into a Line6 Bass Pod Pro...then straight to FOH.

I then got about 20-25 minutes with Neal's guitar tech...I wanna say his name was Jason, but my memory is fuzzy. He was gracious enough to spend 20-25 minutes with me...but I still came away not liking the guy...Regardless, I got to check out Neal's rig for the 2001 arrival tour in rather specific detail:

At the time, he was playing a custom-made gibson LP. It's in alot of pictures from the period. It was based on his Domenget LP copy...the tone knobs operated as cut filters (probably very similar to the way his current LP model works). I don't remember if it had a sustainer in it...I wanna say it did....but it had a recessed floyd rose...and I believe the guitar was a 25.5" scale guitar (most LP's are 24.75" scale). The one thing I took away from the guitar when I strummed it, was that the action was WAY HIGH. Far higher than I was ever used to. It impressed the shit out of me that Neal could play as fast as he could, with such precise attack, with action that high. The guy is a monster.

As for his amp rig, it was something to behold...and not because it was expensive or excessive...but because it was so simple. (He later went on to huge Diezel amp back lines). The guitar plugged into a Boss GT-3 floor processor (at the time, retailed for $400 bucks, you can get em on ebay for less than $150 now). That GT-3 controlled 1 or 2 fender Cybertwin combos on the floor. There was also a 4X12 marshall cabinet with a fender marshall EL34 power amp. The GT-3 was essentially the routing controller. The signal went into the GT-3, and for dirty tones, was routed to the Cybertwins...If I recall, the clean tones were all generated right out of the GT-3 and were then sent to the Marshall 4X12/power amp setup. But frankly, it seemed to me that the majority of Neal's tone generation was essentially the Les Paul into the Cybertwin. that's it! Oh there was a Boss SD-1 in there as well, used for minor boosts here or there.

It was eye opening for me, to see such a monster player play through just a good guitar and a modeling amp....and sound fucking monstrous...it made me realize that equipment, as long as it's decent, is a non-factor for a good player. A player like Neal could sound amazing through almost anything....

wow!! strange- im copying and pasting this to a word file for future reference!! very cool of you to share.. btw.. i play with such low action that i buzz when not plugged in ,, i just have to have it that way,, i cant even imagine high action..

[*Laura]

Reminds me of my experience seeing Journey back in like 03...IIRC. They played at this place called Bald Hill out on long island. My friend mike and I went...We were front row right in front of Neal. Due to the height of the stage, Neal's active 4X12s were pointing right at our heads. We essentially heard nothing but Neal's guitar all night...since we got more of the stage bleed from neal's guitar than anything coming out of the FOH speakers.

Bleed is a good word for it...because Neal was *so* loud that we weren't the same afterwards. we stumbled to the car...and went home. The next day, we played 18 at the local muni-course. I was playing like crap and at one point I realized that Mike was as well...we both concluded that our equilibrium was way-off due to the volume we endured the night before...we literally couldn't walk in a straight line that day...it was strange...


As far as equipment goes, I got a chance to do the whole Roadie for a Day thing with Allan Craft back during the 2001 tour. I was going to be doing a "behind the scenes" report for the website, but it never materialized into anything...and most of my pictures from that day got lost...

Anyway, I saw Cain's rig up close (LP custom plugged straight into a JCM800 Marshall half stack, now that's R&R!!!). IIRC, Ross wasn't even going into an amp...he was going into a Line6 Bass Pod Pro...then straight to FOH.

I then got about 20-25 minutes with Neal's guitar tech...I wanna say his name was Jason, but my memory is fuzzy. He was gracious enough to spend 20-25 minutes with me...but I still came away not liking the guy...Regardless, I got to check out Neal's rig for the 2001 arrival tour in rather specific detail:

At the time, he was playing a custom-made gibson LP. It's in alot of pictures from the period. It was based on his Domenget LP copy...the tone knobs operated as cut filters (probably very similar to the way his current LP model works). I don't remember if it had a sustainer in it...I wanna say it did....but it had a recessed floyd rose...and I believe the guitar was a 25.5" scale guitar (most LP's are 24.75" scale). The one thing I took away from the guitar when I strummed it, was that the action was WAY HIGH. Far higher than I was ever used to. It impressed the shit out of me that Neal could play as fast as he could, with such precise attack, with action that high. The guy is a monster.

As for his amp rig, it was something to behold...and not because it was expensive or excessive...but because it was so simple. (He later went on to huge Diezel amp back lines). The guitar plugged into a Boss GT-3 floor processor (at the time, retailed for $400 bucks, you can get em on ebay for less than $150 now). That GT-3 controlled 1 or 2 fender Cybertwin combos on the floor. There was also a 4X12 marshall cabinet with a fender marshall EL34 power amp. The GT-3 was essentially the routing controller. The signal went into the GT-3, and for dirty tones, was routed to the Cybertwins...If I recall, the clean tones were all generated right out of the GT-3 and were then sent to the Marshall 4X12/power amp setup. But frankly, it seemed to me that the majority of Neal's tone generation was essentially the Les Paul into the Cybertwin. that's it! Oh there was a Boss SD-1 in there as well, used for minor boosts here or there.

It was eye opening for me, to see such a monster player play through just a good guitar and a modeling amp....and sound fucking monstrous...it made me realize that equipment, as long as it's decent, is a non-factor for a good player. A player like Neal could sound amazing through almost anything....

You have an amazing memory,Frank...And of course,you are a guitarist!

What a great read!Thanks for posting this.

[*Laura]

I just heard about the "mosquito" ring tone. Maybe old news, but I was surprised. If you are under 20 you can hear it, but after that your ears can not...kids are using it at school so teachers won't know.

Now THAT is weird! Never heard of this "mosquito" ringtone.And sadly,I'm never gonna hear it.

[conversationpc]

The one thing I took away from the guitar when I strummed it, was that the action was WAY HIGH. Far higher than I was ever used to. It impressed the shit out of me that Neal could play as fast as he could, with such precise attack, with action that high. The guy is a monster.

Malmsteen does the same thing. He always sets the action very high, not to mention the scalloped fretboards he uses, which makes it even more difficult to play, at least in terms of speed combined with accuracy.

[whocares]

Back in the day I can understand having huge racks at the concerts, but since going to see INXS in '87, I've been mostly deaf in my right ear, from sitting too close the speaker system. Crappy auditorium at the time, and Speakers were way too much for what the little place could handle. Aside form seeing INXS for the only time live, it was a pisser having lost so much hearing for almost 19 years now.

Sorry to hear that...Loud live music is dangerous,although not many realize it.You must have something that's called sensoneural hearing loss.
I have it too,but it's not as severe as yours,I still have a great hearing (passed a whispered speech test at the hospital),only that I became very sensitive to noises.

In my case it happened because I have been working with headphones at the radio for 15 years.
Always turned them up too loud and felt the need to get them louder as years passed.
I had an audiogram,the Doc said that I should be careful when I go to concerts and avoid standing to close to the speakers,as I could go partially deaf.
Or use earplugs at shows... No way I could stuff my ears,so that's why I choose to stay in the mixer area.Plus the perfect concert sound is at the mixer.

Guess that's what happened to you,Whocares,it was a noise trauma on your ears...You still like INXS?

Yeah, I still do Like INXS. Fact of the matter is, that it was P.I.L. (Public Image Lmtd. - Johnny Rotten from the Sex Pistols) who opened the show and it was terrible and way too loud. My equalibrium was off badly for nearly a week afterwards. Had my Brother not been in a serious car accident a few night before, I never would have been at that concert. As loud as the music was, I was young (22-23) at the time and I was gonna live forever and my hearing was gonna last forever as far as I was concerned. I too had hearing tests done and passed whisper tests etc. The Doctors told me there was nothing wrong with me (boy they didn't know me well!), my hearing was perfect, but couldn't explain why much later my ears still rang and it was hard to hear. These days, I notice it more and more, I can't have a normal phone conversation with the phone to my right ear (the one that was nearest the speakers), and when I switch to my left, it's about 100 times better.

Anyway, back to Neal's huge racks...

[*Laura]

Fact of the matter is, that it was P.I.L. (Public Image Lmtd. - Johnny Rotten from the Sex Pistols) who opened the show and it was terrible and way too loud.

Ah,it makes sense now!That band was a complete waste of music notes.I just can't stand J.Rotten.

[strangegrey]

High Action is something that has always been one of those secrets among pros to getting 'good tone'. Guitar's setup with higher action allow the strings to ring better. The difference was that I was of the opinion that there were diminisioning retuns with respect to how fast a guitar could play vs its playing action.

Guys like Neal and Yngwie explode that as myth, however. These guys can play super fast, highly-technical runs with guitars that seem better suited (to the average player) to shooting arrows, than playing....

[Carlitto H@kk]

High Action is something that has always been one of those secrets among pros to getting 'good tone'. Guitar's setup with higher action allow the strings to ring better. The difference was that I was of the opinion that there were diminisioning retuns with respect to how fast a guitar could play vs its playing action.

Guys like Neal and Yngwie explode that as myth, however. These guys can play super fast, highly-technical runs with guitars that seem better suited (to the average player) to shooting arrows, than playing....

That may have been the case awhile back, SG.
But according to what Scott said in the link at the beginning of
this thread, (He posted this 16 Jul 06)
it sounds like Schonny is digging the lower action now...

FastGoKart wrote:
Here are a few questions for you:

1. If "Lights" is in the set, what amp/amps is he using for the intro and verses, and what effects?
2. When Neal uses the pedal to "increase the delay" is he just raising the volume of the delay (level) or it is changing the feedback and delay time as well?
3. You said that the "verb" is always on.....what type of verb is running (plate, hall, gate, etc)? How much pre-delay is typical for Neal's verb?
4. What type of delay times are you running for leads/solos? Is it the same on all songs or is the delay set up song by song with different delay time and feedback?
5. On the "wide harmony" thing, what is the interval or is it micropitch?
6. Do the delay and verb run in series or parallel? If in series, which is first?
7. What type of action do you set the guitars at for Neal?
8. What tunes use the loops in the Echoplex?


Scott answers some questions.....

1- Stock Eric Johnson Strat, all the amps, verb, bit of delay, and compressor on the solo. Uses the volume pot to lower/raise the gain level.
2- Just the level. Feedback and delay time are static
3- Usually a large hall. Don't remember if there is any pre-delay, will have to check.
4- We stuck with 600ms, which is the delay time for "Open Arms", for all the presets on both the GT-6 and JFX-1.
5- More of a micropitch. I don't recall the settings off hand.
6- Series. Delay first.
7- As low as they can go without string buzz. Typically, if you push down the the string at the first and last fret, there is about enough room to put a playing card between the string and the 7th fret.
8- This tour, none. Used it for all the backwords loops on "State of Grace" on past tours. Right now, it is more of a fun thing for soundchecks.
Scott

[nutz4Neal]

I then got about 20-25 minutes with Neal's guitar tech...I wanna say his name was Jason, but my memory is fuzzy. He was gracious enough to spend 20-25 minutes with me...but I still came away not liking the guy...Regardless, I got to check out Neal's rig for the 2001 arrival tour in rather specific detail:

At the time, he was playing a custom-made gibson LP. It's in alot of pictures from the period. It was based on his Domenget LP copy...the tone knobs operated as cut filters (probably very similar to the way his current LP model works). I don't remember if it had a sustainer in it...I wanna say it did....but it had a recessed floyd rose...and I believe the guitar was a 25.5" scale guitar (most LP's are 24.75" scale). The one thing I took away from the guitar when I strummed it, was that the action was WAY HIGH. Far higher than I was ever used to. It impressed the shit out of me that Neal could play as fast as he could, with such precise attack, with action that high. The guy is a monster.

As for his amp rig, it was something to behold...and not because it was expensive or excessive...but because it was so simple. (He later went on to huge Diezel amp back lines). The guitar plugged into a Boss GT-3 floor processor (at the time, retailed for $400 bucks, you can get em on ebay for less than $150 now). That GT-3 controlled 1 or 2 fender Cybertwin combos on the floor. There was also a 4X12 marshall cabinet with a fender marshall EL34 power amp. The GT-3 was essentially the routing controller. The signal went into the GT-3, and for dirty tones, was routed to the Cybertwins...If I recall, the clean tones were all generated right out of the GT-3 and were then sent to the Marshall 4X12/power amp setup. But frankly, it seemed to me that the majority of Neal's tone generation was essentially the Les Paul into the Cybertwin. that's it! Oh there was a Boss SD-1 in there as well, used for minor boosts here or there.

It was eye opening for me, to see such a monster player play through just a good guitar and a modeling amp....and sound fucking monstrous...it made me realize that equipment, as long as it's decent, is a non-factor for a good player. A player like Neal could sound amazing through almost anything....

What an interesting read, Frank! Nothing like front row in front of Neal.

Nioki (I think that's how he spells his name) has a great fan site for Neal with lots of info about his equipment.

http://www.nsblues.com/index.htm

[Matthew]

Anyway, I saw Cain's rig up close (LP custom plugged straight into a JCM800 Marshall half stack, now that's R&R!!!).

You know it! Let no-one call this man a pansy ever again....

[Crazie Scarab]

Neal's active 4X12s were pointing right at our heads. We essentially heard nothing but Neal's guitar all night...

I've been in the same situation and, IMO, that's the best seat in the house! Fuckin' A, man!

[strangegrey]

High Action is something that has always been one of those secrets among pros to getting 'good tone'. Guitar's setup with higher action allow the strings to ring better. The difference was that I was of the opinion that there were diminisioning retuns with respect to how fast a guitar could play vs its playing action.

Guys like Neal and Yngwie explode that as myth, however. These guys can play super fast, highly-technical runs with guitars that seem better suited (to the average player) to shooting arrows, than playing....

That may have been the case awhile back, SG.
But according to what Scott said in the link at the beginning of
this thread, (He posted this 16 Jul 06)
it sounds like Schonny is digging the lower action now...

FastGoKart wrote:
...
7. What type of action do you set the guitars at for Neal?
7- As low as they can go without string buzz. Typically, if you push down the the string at the first and last fret, there is about enough room to put a playing card between the string and the 7th fret.

Eh, I dunno...the above is more an indication of neck relief, not action. When you press on the 1st and last fret, measuring the space between the string and a 'middle' fret really allows you to gauge how much neck relief there is and set the truss rod apropriately. Think about it...pressing down on the 1st and last fret doesn't really tell you what his action is set at.

As for 'low as they can go without buzz' really depends on a large number of factors including the size of the frets, radius of the fingerboard, etc....

I'm personally, far more comfortable playing a lower action guitar...but I can pull it off with the action up a little higher. The action on Neal's LP back in 01 was simply amazingly high...

I've read similar comments about high action by Sambora and EVH...but again, much akin to what you were saying, I've also seen em both say "I like em low!" So it really sounds like their preferences change, like the rest of us...

-F