Whats with the John Petrucci obsession?

[jdurso]

To reel this back to the original poster's thoughts>
I really don't get it either, and it's not like I have anything against the guy. It's not just tone or style admiration on this site for the guy....but there is an oddly obsessive fan-boy thing with him on this site that I find strange for such a serious amp-brand site. Other gear sites have their 'icons' too....but it's nothing like this. My favorite example is a poster here recently suggesting that a John Petrucci Forum be set up on this site....which to me sounded an awful lot like girls screaming in the front row of a Justin Timberlake concert, and then breaking down and discussing every outfit he wore in minute detail at school the next day.

I know there are a lot of fans of his here, and I don't mean to upset anyone......but I've always shared the original poster's thoughts on this and saw this thread as a chance to vent what I always think on this topic.

Well I think the main reason for the obsession on this forum boils down to who (being the guitarists) do people think of when they think of Mesa Boogie (whether they should or not is another question)? If there were ever a famous rockstar face for Boogie who would it be?

If we had everyone answer that question i'll bet you my PRS ( :wink: ) JP lands in the top 3 or 4 easy. The main artists who get brought up most consistently are Santana, Metallica and JP (i always argue Dave Grohl but...ehhh). So naturally, especially on this site, your going to have a lot of JP tone loves as we share a common link with him through our amps. Not that i'm saying just because you use a Boogie your going to sound like this guy or that guy, but theres a good chance you will enjoy the same types of tone. For this reason I also agree with musicman, the seperate forum for JP tones, like the Metallica tones was a good idea. Its a very common question, especially for newer posters, so why not have one location for all that stuff. So at the end of the day, its not that people are fan boys, but they appreciate his tone to the point of wanting to duplicate it. Hell look at all the buzz STILL about EVH's brown sound.

As for my opinion on his tone, i think its incredible. i had the opportunity to meet him in Guitar World's studio in NYC (best friend works there and has met JP quite a few times now). I heard him playing up close through a Line 6 Spider.... lets just say the tone is in the bone, not the amp. He makes just about anything sound good and he's one of the nicest, most modest people i've ever met to boot. I did question for a second why i couldnt make my roadster sound that good but then i remembered who was playing.

To me though its all in his phrasing that makes his tone great... that combined with the tone and characteristcs of a Mark IIC+, Mark IV or RKII, just does it for me. Its just like how Michael Akerfeldt from opeth's tone does something for me... between the way he writes, phrases and the tones he dials in, to me he's got one of the best tones in metal bar none. Same thing with Hetfield (pre-St Anger) and Billy from APC... they just have a tone thats pleasing to my ears. BUT... BUT i dont like them for their tone, i like them for their music, the tone is just the icing. Conversely i love EVH's tones but most of there songs aren't my cup of tea (amazing player, corny band as a whole especially with Roth).

 

[73h Nils]

To me, it's just the combination that does it justice; he utilizes everything and makes them all sound great. His leads are singing and clear, his rhythm playing is tight as hell, his cleans are pristine etc. It seems whichever amp he uses, he makes the most of it, whether it be the Road King, the Mark series, whatever.

"but there is an oddly obsessive fan-boy thing with him on this site that I find strange for such a serious amp-brand site. Other gear sites have their 'icons' too....but it's nothing like this. My favorite example is a poster here recently suggesting that a John Petrucci Forum be set up on this site....which to me sounded an awful lot like girls screaming in the front row of a Justin Timberlake concert, and then breaking down and discussing every outfit he wore in minute detail at school the next day."

Replace "outfit" with "hairstyle", and that's about right.

 

[venaleschatology]

like girls screaming in the front row of a Justin Timberlake concert, and then breaking down and discussing every outfit he wore in minute detail at school the next day.

Haha, nothing wrong with that. I go ape **** over peoples tones as well. I just didn't get it with JP's. I'll probably get hung drawn and quartered for this but Jade Puget's (AFI) tone on Sing the sorrow is the best tone I've ever heard. Despite them generally being a bunch of pretentious ******s. I spent a year and thousands of $ trying, not to emulate it, but to capture certain qualities.

Well I think the main reason for the obsession on this forum boils down to who (being the guitarists) do people think of when they think of Mesa Boogie (whether they should or not is another question)? If there were ever a famous rockstar face for Boogie who would it be?

I would never have thought of JP when I thought of Mesa's but obviously my ignorance of him is rare. Though I've never thought of particular musicians when I think about brands of amps, I think about particular tones.
(I've never been one to know lots about famous musicians. I think it was a reaction against the snobbery I found in the local punk scene that I was scantily involved with when I was younger. At least that doesn't seem to be present in this forum. "You can't say you like the Clash if you don't know Joe Strummer's mother's cat's birthday". Unless you knew everything inside, outside, back and front you were a poser, which was annoying to people like me who just wanted to listen to London calling without taking a Bachelor degree in Punk History. Anyone else notice how that kind of thing seems more prevalent in punk scenes?)
Anyway if someone says Marshall, it doesn't conjure up images of Jimi Hendrix and...I can't actually think of anymore who famously uses them(case and point), it conjures up sounds, usually piss poor muddy ones. Anyone else like that?

 

[jdurso]

I would never have thought of JP when I thought of Mesa's but obviously my ignorance of him is rare. Though I've never thought of particular musicians when I think about brands of amps, I think about particular tones.
(I've never been one to know lots about famous musicians. I think it was a reaction against the snobbery I found in the local punk scene that I was scantily involved with when I was younger. At least that doesn't seem to be present in this forum. "You can't say you like the Clash if you don't know Joe Strummer's mother's cat's birthday". Unless you knew everything inside, outside, back and front you were a poser, which was annoying to people like me who just wanted to listen to London calling without taking a Bachelor degree in Punk History. Anyone else notice how that kind of thing seems more prevalent in punk scenes?)
Anyway if someone says Marshall, it doesn't conjure up images of Jimi Hendrix and...I can't actually think of anymore who famously uses them(case and point), it conjures up sounds, usually piss poor muddy ones. Anyone else like that?

Well i dont think its a matter of obsession as much as it is (at least for me and many guitarsist i know) is that when I like a tone I want to know what tools they use to create it. I know the arguement the tone is in the fingers, and while i agree, JP would sound different through a Marshall then he would a Mesa. So i agree with your point when you say Mesa i do think of a particular tone, but those tones usually are from artists who use the equipment. Its just how your brain catelogs the information... you hear a sweet Mark IV lead line which makes you think of a Mark IV which for some poeople will translate into Petrucci or other artist that you relate with that tone, because that is their tone. When I hear a recto i think of two things... my first Triple Recto which was a killer map I regret giving up and metallica, even though Metallica is promenently mark iic+ and triaxis'.

 

[masque]

i think the "obsession" comes from the fact that he's had one of the best tones ever in the history of "heavy rock" for close to 20 years now. Even though he has changed amps and what not he consistently has great tone and uses effects very well.

and pound for pound the tone on "scenes from a memory" is one of the greatest tones ever recorded.

 

[nexus]

I like that tone a lot. It just has BALLS :!:
And you can still hear what he is playing, even fast speeds.
Big influence for me to practice a lot and learn theory with his great technique+ theory based stuff.
JP6+Mesa just works!

...of course there is more great stuff and players... Steve Morse, Michael Romeo, Brett Garsed, Govan...all styles and great tones for their music.
But tone that JP has is something i liked to have, not exactly the same but from these options it´s the best

 

[MusicManJP6]

JP6+Mesa just works!

Bingo! The JP was designed for use with Mesa amps by a very experienced guitarist with a trained ear who knows what he wants so of course they are going to sound great together!

Another killer guitar + amp combination is a PRS Tremonti and a Recto. Tremonti designed his sig guitar for use with his TR so they sound tremendous together as well.

 

[Hangar18]

I understand why he has a large fan base amoung guitarists. He is very skilled. I usually like his tone, but I don't care for his drop tuning that well. I really respect what he does and how he does it, but I'm not a huge dream theater fan in general. I guess I don't like my music quite that progressive. I wish I could get into them more, but their songs just aren't catchy enough for me. I really like Pull me under and constant motion is good. Maybe I would like their older stuff better. JP does have one of the best rythem tones, it's up there with old metallica. I would say that Antrhax's 80's markIII tone is better than JP's, but I have rarely heard the word anthrax on this board. Maybe people like him because he has stuck with mesa through the years.

 

[MesaGod666]

Petrucci's tone is directly correlates to the size of his biceps.

Petrucci is God.

 

[MusicManJP6]

Petrucci's tone is directly correlates to the size of his biceps.

Petrucci is God.

So would that mean that up until Systematic Chaos his tone was thinner? :lol:

 

[MesaGod666]

So would that mean that up until Systematic Chaos his tone was thinner? :lol:

Nope it was leaner...tighter...it had more attack and tone.

Now it's just beefy, bulky, and big.

:lol:

 

[UltraGary]

I like to come to sites such as this and geek out on my gear obsession like the next like the rest of us.....but I just don't get the whole game of trying to learn about how some guitar hero gets his tones. (their gear is usually different from store-bought stuff anyways).

Mesa amps are like some of the finest paints an artist could have......so why spend so much time trying to figure out how another artist makes his reds? It would only lead to your reds looking more like his anyways. I vote for mixing our own shades of red.
(pardon the analogies)

 

[Sixstringpsycho]

I really dig his tone on systematic chaos (Systematic Awesomness) and his tones on earlier albums. But what I really dig from Petrucci is his playing is insane, period. Dream Theater to me is absolutly awesome and very progressive, they push the boundaries and I dig that.

 

[lerxst88]

I have actually listened to bands and think.... ewwww this tone stinks, but the song is good....

steve morse is the epitome of that. Amazing player but somehow a terrible sound in my opinion

Andy timmons is actually an interesting case because i got really into boogies after hearing his tone and realizing that metallica, dream theater and every 90's band arent the only ones who use mesa boogies!

as for JP...
His tone is great for the most part. not quite andy timmons or eric johnson fantastic but a very good sound nonetheless. It is true that his sound isnt much different from any other metal band out there but i think its more interesting how he plays big open major chords instead of constant palm muted riffs.

A few good JP tones that come to mind:

About to crash (reprise) (Road King i think)
The Dark Eternal Night (Mark 4!!!)
Lie (2x Dual Rectifier and 2x Triaxis)
and the Scenes album, bes album of all time!


But back to the fundamental question: why the JP obsession?
Well its either gonna be him or Andy Timmons. Who else that big plays mesa boogie exclusively?

 

[jdurso]

I like to come to sites such as this and geek out on my gear obsession like the next like the rest of us.....but I just don't get the whole game of trying to learn about how some guitar hero gets his tones. (their gear is usually different from store-bought stuff anyways).

Mesa amps are like some of the finest paints an artist could have......so why spend so much time trying to figure out how another artist makes his reds? It would only lead to your reds looking more like his anyways. I vote for mixing our own shades of red.
(pardon the analogies)

I dont buy into the whole "their gear is usually different from store-bought stuff". I say that because with all the mods i see going on and all the tube changes and experiements there are a good number of us here on this board, whose amps are far from the stock ones. The amps that we buy are the same as what bands like Metallica, Killswitch, LOG, Petrucci, etc buy. What we all do with them there after is a different story.

As far as trying to emulate a certain artists tone, I dont see where the confusion is coming from. Everyone has certain bands and guitar tones they love for whatever reason and its natural as a guitar player to try and duplicate certain tones. For most of us picking up a guitar started by wanting to emulate a certain artist so to achieve certain tones you love just seems to me like a natural progression. In fact I gaurentee most people's tone are derived from certain artists... nto exact duplications but definitely in the foundation. learning how and more importantly WHY a certain artists uses a certain piece of equipement to achieve a certain sound is actually a great tool in finding your own sound. This is especially true for those of us that use lots of guitar fx. if anything its about having a few specific tools that will overall help you define your sound and its really your writing and technique that will make that sound your own.

 

[shredi knight]

A few good JP tones that come to mind:

About to crash (reprise) (Road King i think)
Lie (2x Dual Rectifier and 2x Triaxis)

Corrected:

About To Crash (reprise) (Mark IIc+ I'm more than a little sure :wink: )

Lie (2x Dual Rectifier and 2x Mark IIc+)

 

[MusicManJP6]

Lie (2x Dual Rectifier and 2x Mark IIc+)

Man, the solo in Lie is so killer!

 

[73h Nils]

The sheer technical enormity of that solo, aside, how does he even come up with that stuff?! It just kicks you in the face!

 

[MesaGod666]

Again, Petrucci is God.

 

[MusicManJP6]

I had that solo set as my ringtone for a while on my old phone. I would miss calls coz i was listening to the ring. Haha