Added: 3 years ago
From: iRawk
Views: 209,569
Sort by time | Sort by thread (beta)

Link to this comment:

Share to:
see all

All Comments (293)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • That's a player.

  • Obviously a long shot question, but is anymore aware if this is the VH4 or the JVM? I assumed he uses the VH4 and just endorses Marshall...well because. I like the JVM head's though. Not sure. Anyone?

  • THANK YOU, Thedirk444 - I couldn't have said it better myself. Not to put anybody down, but "Kurt Cobain", and even WORSE, "Dave Grohl"..(urp...urp..Had to hold down my lunch)..I heard that Zakk Wylde said, Who you gonna get, to go out and play Randy Rhodes every night? Dave Grohl? Don't make me laugh.."

    But Neal Schon, apart from Woodstock or Santana (although those are SERIOUS accomp.), Neal is Mr. Melodic- the guy SWEATS melody. Young kids don't understand, yet. I didn't either. Takes time

  • Hey. This guy is pretty good.

  • This man RADIATES the guitar

  • Probably the best guitarist ever I think. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO melodic.

  • @ncboy65 Not only that, but his tone is just like liquid man. So smooth and easy to digest haha

  • tasty

  • If you guys were old enough to know the real story about Neal Schon's career you would have more respect. And not even try to compare those losers that can't play solos, limited to 3 string bar chords, and think the gain dial should always be set on 10. Cobain didnt play with greats like Santana at 18 neither

  • Awesome.

  • Schon's guitar not only sings it speaks.

  • i want a strat now

  • The underlying problem is, and starting with hip hop, rap and grunge, it eliminated true musicianship. Who can we consider a guitar hero from the current music that is on the radio? Are any of these new cats masters of their instruments? Neal Schon was playing with Santana when he was 16 years old. Judowes, you are far above the rest in your mentality.

  • Yea, he's got a sound like no other. For years he played a Les Paul, a totally different sound than a strat. But his soul comes through no matter what he plays. I was a teenager at the height of their career, with Frontiers, and I'd given anything to have an iPhone with you tube. You younger guys just don't know the opportunities that's available today. Ok...... I better shut up, I'm starting to sound like my father.

  • Timeless playing! Stuff like this is still topical, can't say the same about all the 80s' shred canon.

  • Hell, he's always had it like that. He was a prodigy as a kid and that won him a spot in Santana. SANTANA.......like they needed another guitarist. But they sure as hell had room for Neal. He has always had it like that. He's a virtuoso. Period. Find me one like him today.........with his staying power.

  • one of the best styles ever

  • Pretty Strat , me likey

  • Neal Schon/Journey FOREVER!

  • Shit he's good.

  • he's got a great blues tone

  • great - now the only thing missing is Steve Perry. There are bands that, with one decision, could turn music on it's head if they ever got their shit together. One is Guns n Roses...the other is Journey (W/ STEVE PERRY!). I'm sure I'm leaving out tons of others. But egos, drugs, lawyers, and other factors have ruined those prospects. Most of the bands touring today are doing so on past fame and are (sadly) a joke. I don't know who pays to see them. If it's you - STOP!

  • i wouldn't be a musician if it weren't for this genius

  • best strat sound ever...so full, resonant, bright but not harsh

  • 8 people dislike this?!!! WHAT?!!!!

  • He always has the best tone ever i mean just delicious

  • check out i on u. I'm always impressed by how Neal has consistently pushed himself as a musician throughout his career.

  • Awesome tone he gets from that Strat.

  • AWESOME !

  • And with a Fender!!

    this is feeling!

  • thi nk it is amazing how he can play at the volume level he does and he still makes it sound clean. I always get lots of string noise and noise at higher volumes. What is the secret?

  • @myway43 dedicated 100 watt heads with low output preamp tubes and low output single coil pickups

  • wow, neal is the man - awesome!

  • this is the first time ive seen neal playing a not gibson les paul.

  • WOW!

  • Exceptionalemte' Fino ! Rock dawg MoFo from wayyy back ,,, dig

  • I hear so much Hendrix in that tone! What an influence he had on him, as well as Clapton.

  • Totally thanks Neil, I have always loved this passage... ltr e

  • Make it look easy? This guy has been playing guitar professionaly for so long it should look easy for him. I know what your saying though

  • am i seeing a satchurator in his pedalboard?

  • Really Good!!!!

  • is this the tone he plays with at the show but louder?? doesn't sound that good, very processed and I know neil is the master

  • @glassbottleblues It's just the sound quality of the upload. I don't know about the camera though. However, I've heard this live or at least the Lights non-solo version so to say, and it is a smooth blues tone like this, but cleaner and much louder.

  • @glassbottleblues I meant to say Neal, sorry mate

  • nice strat!!

  • YES JAMES CAAN YOU CALLED IT. WHAT A BEAST WITH A GIUTAR IN HIS HANDS. RIDICULOUSLY TALENTED

  • this is the first time i've seen him play a strat. He sticks to les pauls

  • One of the most underrated guitarist EVER!!!!

    But is it me or is he turning in to James Caan as he gets older? LMAO!

  • Say what you will about the type of music he played with Journey...I think he's one of the best and criminally overlooked guitar players of any genre.

  • christ, put a shirt on

  • Neal Schon hace unas melodias preciosas, muy original.... uno de los grandes guitarristas.

  • looks like james caan , like hell break yer fuckin face when hes done

  • THE TONE! THE TONE IS AMAZING!

  • Neil doesnt play guitar...he looks at the guitar till the guitar plays wat neil wants it to. aha Neil is a true "Guitar Hero" his awesome playing and kick ass solos!!

  • That clean tone is amazing...great phrasing as well, Neil. Love the chord jam in the beginning with the use of bass strings.

  • He was playing a world tour with Santana when he was like 17 years old! Of course he knows his shit! One of the best!

  • @customkramer He was only 15 when he joined Santana. He was probably the only person that played Woodstock at 15 years of age.

  • @blackguitar86

    What kind of pick ups are those. I know it is a fender strat. if you also know what pedals, could you tell me please. Thanks

    Drew27368

  • @blackguitar86

    I don't think he ever played Woodstock. As far as I know he joined Santana on the 3rd record.

  • @stevedabestperiod You might want to check that out. I have various resources that say he did. I even think one source was in an interview that I saw.

  • @blackguitar86

    I don't think I saw him in the video of Soul Sacrifice taken from the Woodstock performance. I'm kinda sure there was only one guitarist standing up there, that was of course Carlos.

  • Yeah amazing makes it look so easy, most of his stuff is very difficult to sound right.

  • the man knows his stuff!!

  • podrían mostrar también los solo de piano a manos de Gregg Rolie y el solo de batería por el mismísimo Aynsley Dunbar

  • podrían mostrar también los solo de piano a manos de Gregg Rolie y el solo de batería por el mismísimo Aynsley Dunbar

  • damn.......Hendrix-esque !!!!!!

  • Neal is amazing, zakk wylde even said that when people think of journey they think of great vocals but neal can really play.

  • One of the best ever

  • such a mean lookin' guy lol

  • He is not underrated, just kind of forgotten because of the talentless shit that is out right now. Rap, Hip Hop and Grunge killed it for true talent. Anyone can get a contract now. He is one of the greatest guitarist of all time bar none!!!!!!!!!!

  • @69nicoboy well, there was at least a small handfull of actually good grunge bands...

  • @69nicoboy +1 Lol, I couldn't agree more.

  • i agree with you im only 16 going on 17 in a couple of months and i ask people if they know who AC/DC is or journey or boston is and they say no i feel sorry for people who havent heard this great talent and version of rock

  • @judowes I love all those bands, but when people think of Journey they only think of Don't Stop Believin'. They have no idea of the incredible musicianship all the members possess.

  • @LeeJayBird21 IMO Separate Ways is the best.

  • @69nicoboy he's honestly not that great, and not just anyone can get a contract. You still got to earn those

  • @bandana32 ,

    Go back to your cave doucheboy!!

  • @bandana32 getting a contract is easy as hell you just need a computer. Add a ''boom'' then a ''clap'' then you just sing some random melody, exactly like lady gaga, rihanna and all those shitty artists out there, Neal has a great talent. He is underrestimated so go fugg urself

  • Comment removed

  • @bandana32 Your taste in musical talent is not that great

  • @69nicoboy

    Hey don't get on Grunge, get on Nirvana and more specifically Kurt Cobain.

    Grunge had some really great guitarists overall; Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Stone Goassard (Pearl Jam), Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), etc.

  • @ianvomsaal C'mon, dont diss on Nirvana. It might have become mainstream, but Kurt Kobain was an extremely talented songwriter and had some real feeling behind his playing and singing. It was just unfortunate that he took his own life, but that was the cost of his greatness. Sorry for the little pro-nirvana rant on a Neal Schon video, but I don't like great musicians being thoughtlessly disregarded.

  • @dethmetal999 Grunge was brought into the equation by lumping it with other shit & saying "it eliminated true musicianship" - I'm not dissing Nirvana, I'm pointing out Kurts lack of musicianship compared to other Grunge guitarists who could honestly play their guitars - Cobain could hardly play his way out of a paper bag - he was more Punk than Grunge & most of the time he couldn't be bothered to tune his guitar - I hate when Grunge gets epitomizes by Nirvana when they were only 1 small element.

  • Just an amazing, tasteful player!

  • overload/ Journey rocks// with steve and Neal of corse..

  • He's a bad boy.

  • great vid!

  • an ( fyi ) for those who dont know, neal 1st started playing with carlos santana, he is definatly one of my favorits... awesome guitarest..

  • too much reverb and delay for my taste

  • The Solo from 'lights' is the best in the entire album;)

  • I will admit he is quite influencial

  • I want to check out some other jams,,,But It's hard to think all of a sudden after this awesome stuff from Mr. Schon. I can do it too I just need the electronics he has on hand,,,,, I can do it really close already,,,I just need money for a processor?? LOL Great Playing anywho,,,,,,,

  • He Shines man!! LOVE IT!!!

  • thats jeff beck strat?

  • @PartyInTheUSA1516 close but no i managed to get up close to it at a concert they did with def leppard in L.A all his guitars are special to his needs and they all have tremolos and locks at the head joint les pauls/strats/jacksons

  • neal is the reason i got my les paul years ago

  • @retroboss that my friend is a pre-cbs 62-63 fender strat..very nice!!

  • Wow. That was just amazing. Thanks for posting!

  • Damn... sometimes you just have to have a fender to get your point across. Looked like it had a double locking tremolo, did it have a humbucker? Also looked like an ebony board...

    So little time & money... So many cool guitars... (sighs)

  • Thanks NEAL for your beautiful guitar playing !

  • I have never heard Tchaikovsky do anything with a viola or cello that this man hasn't done on a guitar. Jesus, what I wouldn't do to hear him have a go at some Brahms. He is SO damn good.

  • Hey guys, could anyone make a rough assumption of what are the fx used by Neal Schon to produce this fantastic sound out of his strat?

  • great playing. needs to button up that shirt though.

  • gosh that strat sounds amazing

  • Water is the only thing that is more fluid than Neal's playing. There's just no other.

  • @pswallace saw them in concert a few years ago when def leppard was with them and he will never change one of the best guitar players of all times and he doesnt need a "hollywood star" so many people have listened to journey and might not even know who he is but they know they like it and thats all the matters..

  • @pswallace Not even.

  • Neal's playing on this song is very Hendrix-like

  • @JJLipton

    Yea, you can really hear his influences while he's playing.

  • I met this guy in the pisser, at a convention in LA, I looked over and said Neal! He was so cool, We shook hands with our right hand while holding our peckers with the left. I didn't sneak a peek so I don't know what he was working with.

  • LOL

  • @benthemiester

    hahahaa

  • haha that story made my day

  • 40 seconds in i don't like the pickup change!

  • @tannerleudy36 thats the best part! lol

  • Neals pick hand always looks kinda odd its like he sort of curls it around the guitar to play. Doesn't matter cos the dude is awesome anyway.

  • Neil has been a huge influence in my guitar playing and its not always speed but soul and emotion, was at one of jouneys concerts was tearful absolutely amazing

  • his chordal playing is awesome, it shows what a consummate guitarist he is, he can do everything, from the meanest licks high up on the fret to just picking an open D chord.

  • @joshyjosh55

    Hey bro you wish you had Neal's body, but on top of you.

  • I tell ya ........the greats make it look easy! Neil's a bad ass player .always has been...

  • beautiful strat

  • he is insane when he wants to be and then he can be so mellow and passionate!

  • Thanks for posting that, it's really special to have the opportunity of listening to someone as good as Neil Schon playing in that way.

  • I love Neal! He's so passionate about his playing. And he's an incredibly underrated guitarist!

  • dirty: absolutely. He is barely mentioned in the instrumental electric-guitar community.

  • He should be all over it.

  • @dirtysouthlepluv seriously i think he is one of the most underrated guitarists out there.

  • @dirtysouthlepluv I Agree 1,000 Percent . Neal is AWSOME !!! He has Recorded with Santana , Sammy Hagar , Bad English and JOURNEY of Course but His Solo Albums are Cool and His Hard ROCK Guitar Work with the Band HARDLINE the Eclipse Album is still one of My Favorite Albums EVER not to Mention playing on the Band Aid 80's Fund Raiser Album with the Likes of Judas Priest,George Lynch,Yngwie Malmsteen,Iron Maiden and Ronnie James DIO . I guess the Question is what has Neal Schon Not Done ..

  • @MisterGUITAR1000 The funny part. In MY OPINION, is the fact that between Neal & George! Everybody else fell short! They all played great !!!!!!! but in comparison. They just did'nt compare! My opinion only! Please I don't want to debate with anybody!

  • @dirtysouthlepluv He is one of, if not the! Most UNDERATED PLAYER around!

  • Fair comment...but i wonder how we all would feel if we had nothing but negative press for being a commercial success for the past 30 years...i'm sorry , but i'd be an asshole too !!

  • one the greatest guitarists ever.... he's cool, but his stomach rolls arent necessarily

  • that made me laugh

  • One of Neal's finest works on a strat!... I have a Neal Custom Shop Strat for sale on eBay... search for "Neal Schon Custom Guitar" if you're interesed...

  • In some ways he's a lot like Jeff Beck. Not the style, but you can hear his personality through his playing to such a degree.

  • ...and that's far more priceless that being able to play a gabillion notes per second.

    Very insightful man.

    All, STOP HATING ON NEAL's Java-the-Hut-gut! It's adorable....in a kind of "Honey, look at that guys' rolls!" kind of way ...

  • Lovely melodic playing =)

  • An original guitar hero. Great to see him in raw form like this. But please, please button up that shirt brada...

  • Nice as always...but Jeez dude- get the tube sound back.

  • i think that the tube sound sounds great, but thats just me. i see what you mean though. i just think it sounds good, especially since its just him by himself

  • I heard that too, but in all the footage ive seen of him he seems like a nice guy

  • Actually he is. I met him when he was sound checking like this once, and he was very cool. He seems like a quiet guy and probably doesn't like to get mobbed, but very cool one-on-one.

  • Love his rig. I agree about the shirt...but what ya gonna do? The old man rocks.

  • I wish that I could play like him. he is the freakin best.

  • Do you hate puppies too?

  • nice,

    back in early 90's I got to help Steve Morse set up for a guitar workshop at Memphis State and he did a similar gigi with the effects recording different tracks and making a song out of it and playing along.....

  • No mistaking Neal's sweet tone.

  • Guitar Godness!

  • I can almost hear Steve singing along with it. Damn, I miss that!

  • simply classical

  • does that strat have tuning locks ?

  • Its the Floyd Rose system that locks, but it probably has locking tuners too.

  • I recently posted my cover of :Santana"'s "Song of the Wind", it's funny, I played this song back in '74 , and all this time I thought it was Santana playing. It made me buy all his records ( "Love Devotion and Surrender","Welcome"), and I felt I never heard that sound again,was so disappointed, all those albums. Now I know that Neil Schon played ALL of Song of the Wind, 30+ years later, I now know whose albums to buy! Not only was he a "backup" to Santana, he was never given credit for SOTW.

  • nice same as what we heard in concert...

  • Very cool - Does anyone know what that Zoom H4 live recorder is doing there on top of the Mic stand ???

  • my guess is that it was to record the audio for this video, or for the interview part of the magazine feature.

  • Its funny how he was Santana's back-up guitar, and he blows Santana away, in my opinion.

  • I agree.  It's actually very common for many guitar techs and backup guitarists to be much better than the guys they're behind.

  • LOL. So true, it's almost not an opinion!

  • i strongly disagree, alot of what ppl hear of santana is his stuff from really early in his career with woodstock black magic woman, so on, or his latest stuff, but i grew up on santana and if u check out his stuff from say late 80s to 90s, that boy is in his prime, and it shows.. but dont get me wrong Neal Schon is one of the most phenomenal artists with that guitar.

  • @RocknDaily1989 It's allright to disagree. I respect the fact that Carlos is a consumate musician, and has chops that I've never heard. Music is art, and art is subjective; That is, what really hits it for one person, is just mediocre to another. I think the fact that Journey was basicaly born from Santana is a testament in itself to Carlos' prowess. Thanks for disagreeing without being disagreeable.

  • @RocknDaily1989 Didn't Neal and Santana also play together for a while back in the 80's. I seem to recall hearing something to that effect...

  • I agree with you, man. Actually, it makes me sad that people feel they have to put Carlos down to exalt Neil. They are both awesome. I'll never forget when Santana III came out. Obviously Carlos thought he was great - hell, he was child prodigy, really, I am exactly his age and I remember at 16, 17 we were all blown away. Those 2 albums and what he Carlos did on that Luis Gasca album can't be beat if you ask me.

  • You're an idiot, michaeljamsmith. It's an obvious and well known fact that Neal Schon endorses Gibson guitars. All those guitarist you've named have at one point or another used a Gibson. Most notably would be Eric Clapton with Cream, who uses a Les Paul almost exclusively. No decent guitarist uses Gibson or Fender exclusively. They all use a mix and and a combination to get a wide range of sounds.

  • Seems its real idiots who call people that. Clapton primarily played an SG and and ES-335 with the Cream. Those other guys RARELY played a Giibson. Jimi , Malmsteen, Johnson, Blackmore used Strats on 95% of their recordings (or more). Jimi, use a V on maybe 2 songs,. SRVs first 2 albums 100% Strat. I could name 50 guitarists who favored one guitar for 95% of their work. Bassist James Jamerson used a single Fender P with the original set of strings on 100%. You really don't know shit.

  • One last item. Not about Schon in particular. With an endorsment deal you just need to have on stage at some point. Did you know Stevie Ray Vaughan endorsed Tokai. How many of those did you see him play?

    I still can't get over the Clapton/Les Paul thing. SG, 335, and Strats. Sure he used the Les Pauls in his early days with the Bluesbreakers, but certainloy not exclusively from the Cream on. And yes, the SG said "Les Paul", but its still an SG. Les Paul insisted Gibson take his name off.

  • WELL MY FRIENDDD IM LONELY TOOO

  • why is he playing a strat

  • He used a strat on that song on the album. Why wouldn't he use a strat to play it on stage?

  • Well, maybe its because the Strat is the best ax ever made. Ask Jimi,SRV,Blackmore,Clapton Guy, Malmsteen,Eric Johnson, even Eddie's Frankenstein that spawned an industry was modeled on the Strat. Did I mention thatn God plays a Strat?

    Or maybe is cause he considers the guitar work in the song a tribute to Jimi Hendrix, whom he loves like the rest of true believers. The influence is strong on this one. Probably why its my favorite from him. He does a lot of Hendrix tribute shows.

  • > "Did I mention that God plays a Strat?"

    Yeah, but on his days off he whips out the Les Paul!

  • I was actually refering to Hendrix. He did have one Les Paul, but on his days off he preferred a Flying V.

  • why not

  • My guess is most of sound is from a modeling system. Very few touring acts use regular amps these days live. Between the foot pedals, rack FX, cabling, stage, beat up mics, monitors, mixer, PA stacks, hall acoustics, and crowd noise, most of the nuance of that vintage tube amp gets lost anyhow. A good sim direct is going to get you a more solid and consistent sound. Sure, if you are playing theatres, have a great soundman and you go direct, that old Fender or Marshall is going to rule.