A JUNGLE OF TONE

HOW LEGENDARY HARD-ROCKER SLASH ACHIEVED HIS SOUND ON ONE OF GUNS N’ ROSES’ MOST ICONIC HITS.

With its gutter-punk attitude and the raunchiest dual-guitar attack since Aerosmith’s “Rocks”, “Welcome To The Jungle” was the perfect choice for the first U.S. single release by Guns N’ Roses in 1987. The song made a potent first impression, mostly thanks to Slash’s dramatic delaydriven intro, massive power chords and blues-infused solos, which made a perfect foil for Axl Rose’s wailing vocals.

Slash’s tone throughout the song comes courtesy of the timeless Les Paul and Marshall combination. While metal guitar tones of the time were all about scooping out the midrange, Slash’s tone is predominantly mids. A Frank Levi-modified Marshall 1959 Super Lead head rented from LA’s Studio Instrument Rentals provided boosted gain crunch and additional midrange honk. For the clean section in the middle, Slash simply rolled down the guitar’s volume control (low/ medium-output pickups and a non-master volume amp are key for this approach).

For most of Jungle Slash’s tone is bone dry, but on the intro and for a few special stab and slide effects, producer Mike Clink employed a favourite secret weapon – the Roland SRV-2000 Digital Reverb. While the SRV offers outstanding reverb effects for guitar, it also can convert into a dedicated digital delay unit by holding down a ‘secret’ control button configuration when powering on, which Clink used for the intro. The SRV unit plays a crucial role in Slash’s sound throughout Appetite, including the intro to “Sweet Child O’ Mine”.