Adrian Smith

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OK, I know Gary Moore is considered one of H's major influences, but I thought they were talking about during his formative stages.
I threw Run For Cover on the player today and was stunned by how parts of that album and particular this song could have been the template for what he was trying to accomplish with Silver and Gold. What do you guys think?

 
The influence is very recognizable indeed. It certainly has played a significant role for Adrian's playing and songwriting, but this side of his music could not be used with Maiden and that is why he did Silver and Gold in the first place. Early on, when he was just starting in the Urchin years, he probably just wasn't able to play like Gary Moore. :D
 
And more on topic, check this guy out with his Somewhere in Time-Adrian Smith sound.
I like the clip where he plays Dave Murray's parts in Deja-Vu (according to him) with "Adrian's" sound:
And here Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner:
Caught Somewhere in Time
Awesome playing.
 
Alright. :) As you'd probably guessed, I accidentally came upon it when searching for Adrian Smith interviews on YouTube.
 
Just getting back to the guy & his SiT sound above --that was a nice sound; a bit of reverb & chorus is, pretty much, all it is. However, most tone freaks would suggest you can't really get that SiT sound with a Yamaha preamp, a Digitech pedal, or a Jackson guitar; Adrian model or not --as Adrian didn't (I don't think) use any of these on SiT. Certainly a good enough tone for playing along to pretty much everything on the album though; plus, he seems pretty able & familiar with the material, which always helps! :)
 
He (apparently; see my previous comment) used the Roland G-707 synth controller (below) in the studio (i.e. which contributed to that SiT "sound"), which was needed to operate the Roland synth floor unit (GR-700) that he was using at the time. (You can't plug a normal guitar into it.) It's true that he had a Jackson (his guitar) gutted & the synth controller's electronics put in it, for the tour. That would be the one you're referring to; see below. But I think he used the controller in the studio. For all that it matters, since Dave (I assume) just used his Strat.

Roland G-707.jpgAdrian Smith Jackson circa 1988.jpg
 
Also, they all, famously, used Gallien Krueger amplifiers (like Alex Lifeson, of Rush) in the studio for SiT. Some people swear no other amplifier produces quite the same chorus as GKs. (I bought one, just so I could get the sound... because you know I love Adrian! :D)
 
That's the guitar I'm talking about.

86mrsmithplays.jpg


Of course, I'm just talking about the tour.
 
Indeed. Although, I've just gone back to watch the ASAP video & there is a photo of him in the studio (SiT-era) with his standard Jackson; the G-707 is in the backround. So ignore what I said. He undoubtedly used both, I suppose. Not sure why I sounded so definite, above, as I genuinely haven't seen that many photos from around that time...
 
I don't know, different Jackson though. Not his synth-fitted one I don't think, as it doesn't have all the switches.

I can't seem to post the screenshots from the Fighting Man video (that originally caught my attention) here; for some reason they're Bitmap (.bmp) files... hmmm, that's annoying.
 
Seriously Forostar, SiT is not super, super hard for guitarists; it's just a fantastically constructed album; sound/tone & writing. When you see that guy play Deja Vu, for example, you see it isn't that difficult. Maybe you think it looks good (it does!), but it's not that hard. Again, I know I've mentioned this, but once you actually learn SiT tracks, they're quite fun to play. Most of the sound is just that --the sound; the guitar tone that everyone attempts to replicate. Once you get that, you're half way there; provided you're a half decent player. The solos/leads are something else. But, again, some of them are beautifully simple, like Stranger In A Strange Land for example.
 
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