Zakk Wylde on Finding His Style and Chicken Pickin' | Reverb Interview 

I love you Zakk, but WTF is that awful distorted phaser guitar tone?

That tone sounds like when you're a kid with your first starter pack electric guitar and 10 watt practice amp running through a 50buck multi-effects pedal and you throw all the whacky shit up to ten because you don't know any better.

Zakk has takin the pentatonic scale to a whole new level! The man keeps progressing! The pentatonic scale regardless of how fast or slow is always listenable to the ear. I've played all the solos from Yngwie, Satriani, Via, and all of the great guitarists from the 80's all of whom are incredible musicians but Zakk stayed true to the Robert Johnson solo structure and has made it brand new! Very hard to do. Had a chance to meet Zakk but wished I could have talked to him a bit more. very busy man! BLS Forever!

I cant even descibe what I just heard in the beginning. Like 1000 trapped and tortured souls screaming from within his beard.

The way he explained how he thought he needed to create his own style was brilliant! Is someone capable of some real critical thinking , unfortunately most in this world don't have it! Gigantic fan of his! Much love and respect!

Coolness supreme. I love hearing him play it clea, but that distorted tone is the ice pick in the forehead!

Zakk Wylde - plays guitar super fast and extremely well, rarely missing notes. Also Zakk Wylde - puts so much distortion on the guitar the notes all turn to mud.

Zakk is awesome but that distorted tone is Terrible.

Zakk used to have the most amazing tone. Saw him live in Dallas on the mafia tour and his tone was legendary. Now days, it really sounds off to me in all the recent videos.

Zakk's hybrid picking has a lot of bite He is one smooth picker Very impressive His guitar tone on Book of Shadows has to be one of the greatest of all time

I saw Pride & Glory in 94 and Zakk was a force of nature. Just unbelievable presence and playing and tone - in that, you know, riffy Skynyrd-meets-Sabbath style that he had then.

I see people in the comments ragging on his weird tone, but man I was digging that shit. Sounds so different and so funky and badass at the same time. I ain't no guitar tech but that shit was magic to my ears. I wish I could find a whole one-hour vid of him just jamming that shit!

His solo on No More Tears is always epic to listen to..

would sound 1000 times better with a cleaner tone

seen him in Houston two weeks ago best concert EVER in my life

i love that he incorporates the Johnny Highland style into his metal playing. That's definitely a great mix.

His knowlage of musical theory is amazing, pleasantly surprised

The Frank Marino mention was awesome ! He doesn't get enough credit, I love his stuff!

It's not Zakks tone here, it's the mic hooking up the amp, they did a bad job with that. Don't underestimate his playing

I love how he slays every time he plays no matter the gear or tone. Weak how lots of folks seem to focus on insignificant things like the sound on a youtube video instead of digesting the actual material.

I have always loved ZAKK he is like Bruce Lee he knows everything but he chooses to get to the point.

4:16 Frank Marino mentionned = knowledgeable man. Discovering more on Wylde and mind blown everytime.

This dude is Blessed beyond measure! Would love to jam with this dude! All I need is half a measure and I know its him! Noone sounds like this dude. Pick squeal king! Chicken picken extraordinare! Imagine leaving high school and touring with ozzy! He was set from day one! The best guitar player in my book. His style is like no other! Dudes, will be trying to copy him 4 ever! Genius ,open channel, Zack is one of the best there will ever be! Just shows you how smart the "Boss" really is. Picked him from 20 thousand demos! Hope they get to jam one more time.

I always think back to them videos of him, the young hotshot new kid in 88-89, those spotlight solos. At that point, I don't care who the fuck you were, Zakk was blowing minds!! Loved it. Sometimes I still wish for him playing through the 2555 Jubilee with Boss pedals, Yamaha SPX90 Chorus, like Mr Tinkertrain. But I'll take what comes along.

Honestly I'd have loved to have heard Zakk mix in some classical style stuff on top of his pentatonic shreddery o' doom. Mix it up a little bit, create spaces, different intervals. That'd have been interesting to hear.

1:00 - 1:33 "All that's left is pentatonic scales." That also leaves you with other scales such as, The Major and Minor scales, the Blues Scale, and the Chromatic Scale. Not to mention that leaves you with the modes, Lydian Mode Mixolydian Mode Phrygian Mode Ionian Mode Locrian Mode Aeolian Mode ...and the Dorian Mode. Why do you limit yourself? I see the passion and the creativity. I see the happiness. Yet so many people think you are overrated only because you only use Pentatonics. I love you Zakk, so if you are reading this, before I end this comment I will like to remind you and anyone else reading this that Niel Peart, the drummer for Rush, completely reinvented his style for their later album(s). You can also do the same. So why do you limit yourself?

Tone is subjective. There i said it.

great guitarist and nice tone

He seems like a super cool dude. Why are his fingers orange? Has he been wearing rawhide work gloves in the rain?

I doubt very highly anybody would've confused Zakk's style with that of Randy Rhoads or Eddie Van Halen if he had used harmonic minor scales like Randy or two-hand tapping like Eddie. It's more about tone and feel that separates one guitarist's style from another. That's why you can give an identical rig to several guitarists, and each one will produce a unique sound. Think about it. Zakk, Slash, Ace Frehley, Jimmy Page, and God knows who else play Gibson Les Paul axes through Marshall stacks, and each guitarist sounds different from the next. So if he wants to go back on his word and throw a diminished scale into one of his leads, I don't think anybody will say to themselves, "Is that Yngwie Malmsteen?"

I wish he played his examples with a clean tone and no phaser or flange effect

zakk wylde is awesome!

He reached his zenith in 1991 on no more tears.

I crave for zakks tones. Mid boosted crunch with that light chorus runnin 2 stacks in stereo love giving that wide feel and ill pinch harmonic in any song love those P harmonic That rotovibe adds cool effect

3:31 what zakk reffers to as "basic pentatonic licks"

Get rid of the fuzzy distortion, Floyd Rose, and get that Wah, overdrive/boost into your amp! Old school Zakk!

Huge fan of Zakk Wylde, but incredibly bad guitar sound in this video....

He’s gotten so much better as he’s gotten older, it’s really incredible.

Zakk would prob sound pretty good with a Tele through a cranked deluxe, just want to see it happen once, his hybrid picking skills are pretty right on

Awesome licks, but it sounds like a swarm of really angry bees.......

I think he is playing through the Marshall in the background, but I've noticed in the last few videos his tone has changed even before making or using his own brand, sound/the is subjective but of recent Zakk's tone is very saturated with gain and wet signal but I'm not sure if it's just in demos and lessons.

Zakk is an incredible guitarist!

Now they have something to aim at🤣🤣🤣 Zakky kills me. Love u dime💔

I don't understand... What is the problem with phaser? I think it's better than ring modulator...

Hello you, Zack where,have you been, good timeing,Love you man,always have

St. Wylde you're a living legend

Pretty cool how he eliminated techniques that have been done before, as to not be compared to, and came up with a simple but effective way of playing pentatonic scales, I think I dug the clean work more than the super distorted, couldn’t make out the notes, it was just a blur.

HOW DO YOU DO UNISON BENDS ON A FLOYD WITHOUT THE OTHER STRINGS GOING OUT OF TUNE? He's obviously not doing anything to counter the pitch change, is he using a tremsetter? Or am I just missing something?

I think that amp was just a small practice amp and not any of his main amps. I've seen Zakk several times and met him twice, best guy , super nice! He can have a beer (or whatever) and shred on my gear anytime lol

To be fair, while Zakk has had horrible metal lead tone for a number of years in these types of videos, his live sound on the recent Book of Shadows tour was pretty epic, as was his use of the Rotovibe. And the slightly broken up lead sounds on new album are worthy of Eric Johnson.

Sounds like a drowning sack of cats

Wylde Audio has managed to capture so much of the old Hendrix and Marino tones from when they played live - which is what I'd presume Zakk was aiming for in part. However, those unfamiliar with the combobulation of tonalities that Zakk likes in other players, many people will just hear the over-fuzzed, over-distorted muffled sound: which is ironically what I think Zakk went for, as there's no way all those guitars and amps at WA ended-up the way they did by accident.

Can't help but to notice the guitars laying around that's not wylde audio.

For better or for worse his sound is instantly recognizable. You hear his playing and you know it's him! He has created his own style which is something not many can say. I will say though, something is definitely wrong with the sound in this video. It almost sounds like there's a connection issue with the battery for the emgs. Either that or he's fooling around with a bad fuzz pedal lol

His tone at the house of guitars in 93’ 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

No Rest for the Wicked!!!

he is a legend.

"So I developed this list to make it seem I only know pentatonic scales." There ya go. That's what you meant.

Never heard a Peavey Rage 15 in years!

I saw him live with Ozzy a few years ago. I love his style. Personally not crazy qbout his tone, maybe it was just that night specifically but it just sounded like he turned the bass on his amp all the way to 0. He still kicked ass though.

I've just noticed how thin Zakk's wrists are in ratio to his hands and arms. You don't often see his wrists for leather and studs.

He said he didn't wanna do whatever else was doing so what's he decide to do? Pentatonic scale, like every blues classic rocker from the seventies and metal heads from the 80's was doing pentatonic scales,

St.dime, love it

Interesting about the list he said he made on his playing style. I thought all the pentatonic stuff was just naturally how he played. When I saw him with Generation Axe last year he definitely played fast stuff. And I like him but it’s just a lot of noise most of the show. Wish he’d find a better sound, he’s definitely a gifted player.

I see people making comments about EMG pickups all the time, especially on Zakk vids, stating it automatically makes your playing go into no tone or mud land. That is totally false. I don't use EMG"s exclusively, but I do use them in my Les Pauls and they sound very clean and sweet.I could come close to the Allman brothers tone with them if I wanted.They can also be very aggressive and badass.That type of logic would mean I could pickup Ronnie Le Tekro's guitar and sound like a clone of him.I wouldn't. I would sound like me. Different pickups would enhance certain frequencies but at the end of the day you sound like yourself.

Zakk Wylde is awesome, but I have to agree with you guys about that tone. BUT! On the records the tone is OK for me. (That joke about aiming at his bullseye while he's on stage was not so funny considering the things happened in the past for a lot of times...)

That beard and moustache are just majestic

but how does he get a beard like that? it's beautiful

great video

God this guy is so good

his audio signal is clipping...

Zakk's tone in a nutshell : Tube screamer cranked up, Compressor cranked up plus lots and lots of chorus

I love and respect zakk. Why does he say because others do this and that so he can't do it also because it's their thing? I don't understand.

Dude, love you man, can you dial the effects and gain down a bit?

Geez he is so freaking good

I love zakk and his playing but wish hed go back to his Gibson Marshall rig. Wash eargasmic

Cool Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush reference! "Does anybody know the answer . . ."

Goddammit, Zakk! Your tone used to be damn near perfect, but now... That beard must have roots in your ear holes, son! Go back and listen to your Pride and Glory stuff and the Pentatonic Hardcore video. That tone was clear and articulate and still got a good running start for the kick in the nuts that your playing is. Pretty please with a Guinness on top? +10 points for the Frank Marino reference. Mahogany Rush is seriously so underrated it’s almost criminal.

beast of a player. . . but his distorted tone is awful. . . I know some players like extra hot pickups 'cuz they're playing metal... but the EMG active pickups are nasty. YUCK!!! :(

This is a BAD FUCKIN' MAN

He is a stable Genius..... at the Guitar

The guy filming couldn't have told Zakk he had some food in his beard?

How to be like Zakk Wylde...never trim your fingers nails

Factory-standard Les Paul without pedals into a factory-standard ENGL/Marshall stack or whatever would have sounded so much better than whatever kind of horrendously failed gear contraption he has come up with now.

Zakk bring back the "no more tears" tone please.

Must be his new amps making that noise or the microphone

It's such a shame that Zakk it so freakin talented and refuses to turn off his phase pedal. Almost like he uses it as a crutch. Have confidence in your clean tone man.

Tone? Where we go we don't need any tone! Love Zakk anyway

And might I add, as much as I hate to admit it... The Gibson / Marshall rig did sound better IMHO. But hey, how many guitar heros actually have their own brand of guitars???

Please lower the gain and bass a little bit please.

Ele disse que nao usa sweep?

Hearing the riffs at 3:00 clean would have been nice

Correct me if I'm wrong but his own guitars cost around $1000? Korean made.. very negative reviews.. he has his own amps.. if that's how they sound.. then damn they sound awful.. why the fuck would he stop playing his Gibson Les Paul Custom and his Marshall JCM800 he had amazing tone.. not even melodic improvisations..

Zakk is like everyone ffwd

Awesome picker

In my opinion Zakk should never have crossed all of those techniques and scales off the list of potential colors of which to build

Zakk is an amazing player, and I dig his riffing and soloing, but I don't understand why he has landed at his current his lead-sound/tone. It's not a good sound. It sounds thin, overprocessed, and like it's coming through an old telephone rather than a great amp.

Jeff BROTHER

There is something in your beard man... I quite couldn’t pay attention to his playing cause of that!

ok ,what is a penatonic scale,maybe i should ask a rap artist,ther so talented.