I know I'm not the first to say, but saying it again, Phil has to be one of the most underrepresented axe men around, that guy so knows his shit and man he can play! His style is all his own, and its so funny how many of the music pundits just never seem to give him the credit he so surely deserves, just my thoughts, thanks!
He does seem down to earth. He stayed in shape but I have to admit he is looking old. There's no avoiding father time. He looks likes a small guy, I'm betting he's no taller than 5' 7". He always had cool guitars.
I was sad when my female friend of 30 years (non-romantic) told me she lost her virginity at 15 to....Vivian Campbell.......on a DIO bus! (Viv did nothing wrong. She wanted to have sex. I just hate how CHEAP that sounds. Plus, she was super-hot when she was a teen and I had a big crush on her but i was super-sworn to celibacy for political reasons.)
Not a 80s metal fan but this dude is always a gentleman. I also like these guys because they are one of the only bands of their genre that don't look absolutely ridiculous on stage these days.
i hated EVERYTHING 1980s (i loved the 1970s) (ex: i want a snare to sound like a snare!) but i would still listen to the sunday night Metal Shows on radio, praying SOME good metal would come out. (I loved Dio and Maiden and 1980s Sabbath, so....) But EVERY band they'd play on these metal shows was GARBAGE. Then one day the opening of "For Whom The Bells Toll" and I went "WHOA!!!!! WHAT IS THIS!! THIS I LIKE!!!!" and i waited to hear who it was and when they said the name was "METALLICA", i thought that was pretty corny. (But now, I think it's the perfect name for them.)
John is the king of Rig Rundown! His enthusiasm and genuine interest put anyone he interviews at ease and gets them to open up more. He also asks the questions the fans would ask. Thanks John for your awesome contribution and style.
Campbell is still so down to earth after all these years.....had the pleasure of meeting him back in 1984 when i was 14 and skipping school in Buncrana, Donegal :)
I believe Scott Appleton was Alex Lifeson guitar tech for a number of years. So Viv is in great hands. Great rig rundown , thanks guys.🎛️🎸🎛️🎸🎙️ Cool Hendrix shirt.
All the guys in DefLeppard are amazing, the band is so beautiful and all the guys are so down to earth. I dont know any other band that stayed connected and helped their drum after the horible accident. Love you guys god bless. Hope you see you one day in Cyprus!
DL has got to be the coolest most laid back super group out there. They always talk to fans. They have been thru alot. Rick's accident. And waited on him to get back. And the loss of Steve. They took their time finding a replacement and made the right decision with Vivian Campbell. They seem to be a tight group on stage and off. And they love touring. I missed the Stadium Tour but I will be there when they tour again. And they will! Keep rockin Leppard#
Great that he actually asked about what amps they were using in the Axe Fx rather than just moving on immediately. Would have been even better to see the entire signal chains they're running inside as if they were regular analogue rigs.
@@drippinglass I actually meant the cab impulse responses they're using inside the Axe Fx. I've since learnt from the Fractal forum that Vivian at least is using York Audio 412 Greenbacks.
Here is Vivian's rig for the LAST IN LINE gig in Isernhagen/ Germany December 2019. Chain: Vivian --- Gibson Les Paul (with a well known serial no') --- cable---- Engl 100 W Blackmore Signature Head --- Engl 4x12 Cabinet...true musicianship! No pedals requested! Even us (M.)Schenker-heads in Hanover were amazed...
Phil's Tech John Zocco is a killer 80s shredder... Before he moved to Nashville and played with famous country acts,he played in a few bands in upstate NY. I believe one of the bands covered a few DL songs.
John was in a couple cover bands in upstate Although his first (our first) was Axiom. We covered Bringin on Heartbreak into Switch 625 and Rock of Ages I believe. We did a Album together of original material and John and Chris(drummer) wrote most of the music. He is welll ahead of his time in talent and a Humble guy to match!! Great times and always good to see him in his element!!
in MOST ways, it's BETTER to be in the crew than in the band. You still get all the excitement and energy of touring to big crowds and all that.....but with NONE of the hassles (or boredom of playing "Smoke On The Water" for 55 years!)
very excited for this and esp. that the interviewer is John Bohlinger, who is a favourite... already prepared to have mind-blown, anew, at Phil's string gauge
I so agree….. I stopped taking videos and lots of pictures back in 2011…… Now I take a few pictures, maybe a short video or two….. then put the phone away and I just enjoy the show….. experience the show…..
I kept laughing while watching this because that dude interviewing looks (to me) so much like Steve Martin from the sideview. I kept hearing: "He hates these cans! Stay away from the cans!"
Lovely - the stars couldn't have been nicer, the techs seem to genuinely enjoy their gig, and the host was as enthusiastic as always - lovely video; made my night
This was a super fun video. High and Dry was my first cassette tape. Handed down by my brother. Pyromania was my first album purchases. And then I found slayer......
That's incredible - the Axe FX3, on it's own(!!!) supplying all the sounds to FOH. I always knew Kempers and Axes were being used by big bands, but I always though they were going through classic power amps into speakers - and those were being mic'd for FOH etc.
Some bands are running through power amps into mic'd cabs (or from the amp into a mic'd powered cab), and some are just running direct to FoH. Some people like the more traditional approach because it gives them the convenience of modern technology with the setup and feel of a traditional mic'd amp, and some people like the modern approach of running direct because it is easier to travel with, cuts down the potential for something in the rig failing, cuts out stage volume, etc.
@@officialmetalwill The fact that famous bands like Def Leppard are happy enough with the FOH guitar sound being 100% provided by the Axe-FX3 (including simulated power amp and cabs) is the real eye opener. Yes, everyone has their own preferences, but to bypass that final link (power amp + cab) is the real/'final' ticked box for this Axe model (I'm assuming Kemper falls into this category too).
Lining the Kempers/Axes straight to FOH is much more consistent from gig to gig. And it reduces the amount of noise on stage, making it easier to mix the vocal microphones. I always use lined digital things with in-ears and its amazing
Phil Collen has...in my honest opinion... ALWAYS had the most Beautiful signature model guitar of everybody with signature models!!! My favorite sig models: 1) Phil Collen 2) Kiko Louriero 3) John Petrucci 4) Steve Vai 5) Misha Mansoor.❤❤❤
It's cool he has a guitar with fu tone parts, I've made my floyd black with red titanium components, looks awesome. I haven't seen anyone else use them.
What a treat! Thanks guys, these have just gotten AWESOMER over the years. Easily my favorite content. When are we getting a Rig Rundown on the hosts? :)
Fractal hardware/firmware and York Audio IRs. Excellent combo. York's IRs are something special. It's smart using the Axe FX 3, Like Petrucci, Metallica, and John Mayer. Sounds great, simple, customizable, and all those amps and effects in one 3U rack space. Easy on the load in/out.
Yep! I got a GE300, not quite a Fractal, but it is so great, sounds so much more articulate on high gain chords without the cloudy odd harmonic noise of a real amp, etc etc etc. I've had 5 Mesa rectos over the last 25 years. One in particular had the best sounding perfectly balanced preamp I've ever heard, loved it but had to sell it at the time for rent, thought I'll just get another someday and could never find one that sounded that great again. The GE300 dual rec nails it, almost as if they modeled my exact amp. Sounds amazing w humbuckers or single coils. Long story short, I sold off most of my gear and will never torture myself wasting finite time with a tube amp again unless I'm in a studio already setup with a great amp or something like that just for recording.
I'm the precise opposite: i'd rather be HENDRIX or LED ZEP or Sabbath or Purple or YES, or ALL THE GREATS........not one of whom needed a SINGLE rack effect! (Were they aliens from another world?? HOW did they make good music with ONE or two foot pedals and nothing else???.) Worse, I think most of us could argue the bands WITHOUT racks.....were GENIUS.....and the acts WITH Racks are nowhere near as good as the 1960s / 1970s gods. Curious pattern. Plus touring with all this idiotic and unnecessary gear is legally DUMB DUMB DUMB. ($$$$$$ flushed down the toilet! Bye bye!) (King Crimson touring with 3 drummers (!!), in the 2020s.....is the dumbest thing in rock history!) If Fripp TRULY needs the $200,000 gear in several GIANT RACKS.......A) why didn't he for 20 years in the 1970s and 80s..... yet he sounded the same??? B) then you FILM rehearsals with your big band....and MILK that gear very hard, for endless video/audio recordings and improvs. Ta-da: in 2 days, you have 50 new DVDs of all new KC music..... WITH YOUR NEEDED RACK GEAR.........but when you tour, you strip down to a power trio withOUT all the dumb extra gear! (I'm allergic to waste. Infuriates me.)
I'm a drummer but these videos interest me also. I find it amazing that the guitar tech's make the changes for Phil and Viv, the timing and song knowledge must be absolutely perfect.. (or maybe I'm overthinking it lol)
what's ironic is.....they are doing ORDINARY things backstage....vs doing CREATIVE things (by having another person work your FX). EX: I created an intro (as a drummer) to a tune, where I invite 3 audience members onstage....to TURN my rototoms as I start the tune doing a solo! FUN! EX: as a guitarist, I do a gag where I start the show shredding like a super-star.....but NO SOUND is coming out of my amp! And i'm Soooo into what i'm playing and it LOOKS incredible! BUT NO SOUND. Then, the wild female singer crawls across the stage.....and slowly TURNS UP THE LEVEL KNOB (volume) OF MY FUZZBOX onstage, ha ha, as my shredding slowly appears from the amps now, ha ha. ex: i had a DUO that was just me and my then-GF: one of us would play my sustainer guitar, while the other played with the delay/looper and fuzzbox knobs at the SAME time. Sounded like nothing you've ever heard! But LOTS of pro bands have the tech guy backstage....turn on and off FX pedals??
It was Vivian's Charvel with the Skulls that was the final push for me to buy an original back in 86. Im still a huge Charvel fan but Ive got a couple ESP's that are just one notch above then in terms of tone, the Charvels are still the most playable.
Awesome Rig rundown....shout out to Phil Tech John Zocco Breaking down the fractal stuff and Phil Guitars look stunning. I saw them at the Vegas Residency 2019 They sounded freaking awesome Vivian got some beautiful Les Paul.....
![Rig Rundown: Def Leppard's Phil Collen & Vivian Campbell [2022]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
