I will never forget - I was in Basic Training for the Army and I knew Vai was working on DLR first solo album, so I was pretty stoked to see who this guy was. Toward the end of Basic, my platoon had been the top platoon the entire time, so we got to see a movie. I convinced everyone to go see Crossroads. I was in HEAVEN thru the entire thing. I had been a guitarist since 11 and finally a movie that drilled right into my heart! Steve Vai blew my mind!
Such great amps - Listen to Vai's song, "Blue Powder", which was recorded with an X-100B, instead of his Marshall JCM900's. Much smoother and rounder tone than the Marshalls. I wonder just how loud he had it set for these tones. I'm betting it sounds much fuller if the 6L6 power tubes are being maxed out. Steve is know for recording very loud.
Haha - Absolutely. I sold my mid-80s x100B (6L6 version) about 3 years ago in a move to smaller amps. Wtf was I thinking??? That dirty channel that everyone complains about is a fair point if you're trying to switch back and forth to the clean channel. BUT, if you don't give a rats' about cleans and focus on the lead channel (gain knob pulled, around 11 o'clock) you can build a gain-pedal-ridden pedal board around it. I have my eyes peeled for one.
I still have mine, and overdrive is great at the high and low settings... though mine is the grey fuzzy el34 version. I’ll never get rid of it. Just recently recapped and new pots.
You hit the nail on the head. I remember watching this on vhs at my great aunt's apartment. I had no idea Steve Vai was in this movie. I was enjoying the movie for what it was, and then the ending came. I was flipping out screaming at my great aunt saying "do you know who this is?!!!!" "This is Steve freaking Vai!!!!" Changed my out look on guitar forever. I still can't duplicate it though. :) Great work on the guitar parts! And thank you for all your hard work educating us on all of this. I'm back to being 14 years old again! (Real age 48) Thank you for the memories.
I agree. This was the second time my mind was blown by a guitar player (since I could speak I had requested Hendrix from the Woodstock or Band of Gypsies LPs). I'm also 48 btw, and I bought my first guitar after watching the VHS in 1986; still playing.
Crossroads is the reason I play guitar. I remember waiting until the credits so I could figure out who Jack Butler was. It never occurred to me as a 15 year old that he could just be an actor. lol The film was released like 4 months or so before the first DLR album so it was the first video on MTV where I was like "Its Jack Butler!".
Damn man. This is exactly the way I feel about the Crossroads tones. Insane... Never heard Vai play or sound like this ever since. Great playing as always Michael! Also really love the Zakk Wylde video you made! The actual rig Vai used during this era included 2 Roland SDE-3000 delays, a Lexicon PCM60 digital reverb, a 6-channel mixer and a Mutron Bi-Phase pedal. There're images of this rig on Vai's website. The same rack is also visible in the movie if you watch closely. Maybe the chorusy/detune effect you hear is the Mutron Bi-Phase.
YES!!! I actually only JUST last week noticed the rack sitting next to his Carvin in the movie! It's that red rack with the huge mixer in it. haha. Thanks for watching!
the English gentleman 001 i always told my wife if I could talk to anyone of my favorite musicians it would be Vai. He seems like he would be an interesting person to talk with. I thought that I read an article at some point and he said the hardest part of him doing his solo in that movie was messing up on purpose.
the English gentleman 001 wow that’s awesome man! I was hoping I would get to see him on the generation axe tour, but unfortunately they didn’t come close enough to where I live. How did his guitar play as for as set up and feel. I have 3 JEM’s but I’m sure they aren’t comparable to his.
Quote from Steve Vai: It was 1983 and I had just received my first amplifier stack. It was a Carvin X100B amp and it had a head and two 4x12 cabinets. I was over the moon about this towering skyscraper of sound demolition. Carvin agreed to give me this amp in return for a demo song where I used the amp. I immediately created "Blue Powder".
Crossroads was such a HUGE influence on me! I watched it so many times! I got so mad that the Karate Kid beat Steve Vai! That time was so great for music to me! I’m so glad I got to grow up at that time! Thanks for such a cool video! :)
The red Jackson Vai played in the movie was a prop guitar, the music was actually recorded with Vai's Green Meanie Charvel. Also I'd be surprised if he was using an MXR distortion, he's pretty well known for using a Boss DS1.
Ralph Macchio's too....and even though he won, after the filming he taught Vai the licks he'd struggled to play during the competition. Not everyone would have been that kind.
So how can I pitch shift like this on a budget ? Is there a cheap pedal for the pitch shift ? I have a boss pitch shifter but it is t as subtle it is dominating . Steve has a subtle supernatural effect
All the slide stuff is Ry Cooder. The final portion of the duel (paganinis 5th caprice and whatnot) is all Steve Vai. It then returns to Ry Cooder for the blues jam.
I ran around the house at 3 with a beat up yamaha acoustic everytime I heard Jump lol. And then when I seen crossroads I started taking it a little more serious.
Agree with the 'blow your hair back' moment when Vai's onstage. The "Bad Horsie' bit and the over-the-top aggressive play by Vai was what made me FF to this part of the VHS constantly. Good tone from a Carvin(?). Who knew?!? Nice demo!
Found this movie buried in a bargin bin, in a forgotten dvd store in the mall back in 2007 I had been playing guitar for a year or so and everything about this movies story from helping people to facing your fears and all the tone that comes from being a righteous dude.
Not sure what that is, but the riff on around 10.30, I guess it is Vai stuff and one of the really cool ones coming from him. And executed so well by you. Great video.
That’s “Two Fools A Minute” from DLR Skyscraper. I LOVE that tune. It’s a bluesy jazzy thing with brass and a bunch of little solo breaks. And a great Vai “blues” riff
Awesome!! Love this! Yes!! I was 14yrs old when this came out! That’s when I started playing guitar. I got tabs in one of the Guitar Player magazines a year or so later. I spent the next few days learning it. And the next few years trying to perfect it.
The early X-100B with vinyl covering and 6L6 tubes has amazing clean tone and passable "Hot Rod" lead tone when you spend time dialing it in. The later ones with carpet covering and EL-34 output tubes DESTROY for crunch tones. They are really different amps. I don't know what other mods they had done by that time, but clearly they had tweaked more than just the covering and output tubes. If you like crunch tones, the later X-100B is a Marshall JCM800 destroyer. Take my word for it. Another thing to consider, the original Carvin X-Series cabinets were extremely well built. IIRC, mine had the white label G12M-75 watt Celestions originally. They had seriously tight bottom end, and the cab itself complimented this. Very thick plywood construction with front-loading speakers and completely sealed back. As well made as Boogie cabs of the 80s.
I used a fuzzy el-34 100 watt head and cab for awhile, just it and a Les Paul, gigged with it once in a pretty big room. I think with those things cranking them is better than bedroom stuff...I mean it's a 100 watt tube amp lol.
I've had both 6L6 (multiple times, including 212 combos and heads) and one el34 version. I don't know if it was something with just the one el34 version I had, but it was overly compressed-sounding. It had more gain but lacked dynamics and sounded strange IMO. The best one I had was a 6L6 head that had a master volume added on in place of one of the inputs. Anyway, great amps when boosted with an old TS10, IMO.
When that movie came out...I couldn't watch it enough...Over And Over....Loved it...After watching this....I'm gonna watch it some more ! ! ! Hell Yeah !...Thanks Michael...You were awesome as always...Please keep posting !
Love this video, wonderfully done! I could swear that I read an interview in a guitar magazine back in the 80s that the pedal Steve used with his Carvins was a Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive. I had an X-100B back in the day and it sounded great with that pedal boosting it.
Perhaps the best analysis of one of the most iconic guitar moments and sounds in rock guitar history. Congratulations Michael. As a very small reward for this colossal effort, you now have at least one new subscriber.
you made it very clear to understand the signal chain and thought process and I think you nailed it. Its a bright lively sound with a 80's vibe, but god damn the karate kid's tele combo sound is equally impressive,(also played by Vai himself) such a great moment in music/flim history
Great video, don't know if someone else mentioned it in the comments but the chorus sound wasn't the Eventide Micropitch, it was the Roland SDE-3000. He talks about it in his book. He would run out of the dry Carvin amp to the Roland SDE-3000 set to a 30ms delay with the modulation on and run out to a second amp/cab. In the studio he may have just panned the dry track left and then panned the SDE3000 to the right at the board, but seems like he said they just mic'd both cabs and panned one left and one right and didn't do it at the mixing board. He did that all the way through recording Eat 'Em And Smile. John Sykes, Chris Holmes and Steve Morse use to do the exact same thing except they used a Lexicon PCM-42 instead of the Roland SDE-3000. He also used the Carvin X100B on Goin' Crazy which is why that track sounds a bit different than the rest of Eat 'Em And Smile because the rest of the album was a Marshall. Seems like it has the modulation settings, but I can't remember and the book is at home at the moment. I could probably scan those pages where he talks about it if you haven't read/seen them.
Thanks! I have that book. Love it. I don’t believe that the sound I was hearing was that SDE3000 trick. I’ve been meaning to do a video showing that. It sounds more like doubling than the chorus micro pitch fx. I’ll try to do that video and you can decide
Very nice! That movie blew my hair back too man! Carvin is making the 100B pedal now. Has the entire preamp & 5 band EQ as well & is a large pedal but when I saw them I could hear that washy-growling Vai tone & was instantly transported back to my teen years & found myself GAS'n for yet another piece of gear! GAS NEVER sleeps!! Great video & you absolutely nailed this tone! Keep doing the good stuff!!!!!!! 🤘😁🤘
I was just starting out on guitar when Crossroads came out. I distinctly remember my mom telling me "if you want to learn guitar you should really watch this movie, Crossroads". It was playing on HBO at the time. I watched it and yeah, the head cutting duel is just as awesome today as it was back in the 80s. It's one of those movies, like Raiders of the Lost Ark, that immediately takes me back to my teenage years. La Bamba is another similar movie. My mom was a big fan of Buddy Holly when she was growing up, so she played that a lot around the house when I was growing up. Ritchie Valens was in there as well as The Big Bopper and lots of others.
I still have the 2 x100b amps i bought in 87 used them in a sterio rig all through the 90s with a carvin quadx4 preamp ,and continue to use them nearly everyday.
Steve had a history of using the SDE-3000 as both a regular delay and, on lower millisecond settings with 'slight' modulation, for a chorusing effect. In the book Steve Vai Guitar Extravaganza it has some of the settings for the DLR albums right around that same time and he lists it as being used for Crossroads on his website so I'd assume that's the proto-Eventide sound you're hearing (it's certainly subtle). Awesome work, really cool to see something like this and a surprisingly close result.
Nice work. I wonder if Vai had the el34 version? If so, it would've gave him a tighter low end than the 6L6's. BTW, I agree with you 100% that considering the STELLAR tone Vai had on Crossroads, it's surprising more pro players didn't use the x100b. I've heard it described as a mix between a Mesa and a Marshall. I hope to pick one up one day because I Love it's tone. God Bless & Rock On!
wow so cool! an ocean way plugin that simulates being in a large area. Never knew they even had anything like that pretty cool man! Great video btw crossroads was one of my favorite movies of all time to :)
First time I heard ANY Metallica EVER in my life was "(Welcome home) Sanatarium"....I was HOOKED on not only Metallica, but guitar soon after, and haven't looked back since. This scene from crossroads was still a HUGE influence on me later on when I was already playing fairly well. It's hard to get rid of that feeling once you feel it. It's a passion that nothing can ever replace, in it's own way.
@MICHAEL NIELSON, Amazing job at recreating this tone! You got scary close to the recorded tone 👍 About the pickups yes it was absolutely the dimarzio "PAF Pro" that was used in the actual recording guitar(Charvel Green meanie) and sadly the only missing element here. I use those pickups myself and really love them because they are "specialty pickups". They were designed for a perfectly balanced EQ and a tight low end and a present cutting top end. The Friedman p'u sounded very muddy and sludgie compared to a PAF Pro. Had you used a PAF Pro in that Jackson built guitar this would have been a dead on balls exact copy of that tone!
having grown up watching this film, this demo was awesome. you def nailed jack butler’s (Vai’s) tone, and his playing. I thoroughly enjoyed this, well done. 👊🏼👊🏼💥💥👏🏻👏🏻
All that was missing at the finale was a profligate level of facial expression, akin to being under Jack Butler's spell. As such, an unerring portent of your inexorable descent into eternal hell fire and brimstone. Rest assured, having sold my soul to rock n roll long ago, your's truly fulfilled that aspect of the musical performance myself. Therefore, in conclusion, audience participation puts the icing on the cake, of what was a thorough, and most thoroughly entertaining tour of an important milestone in my life too. Top stuff!
That was a badass video. This one and the Zakk Wylde have been my 2 favorite vids of yours. These deep dives into tones are excellent and super informative. Thanks for doing them
wow U nailed it! I remember watching the movie when it came out...It was a mind blower for sure...U can play Man! those Vai blues boogie phrases you played at the end was outta this world!
Somebody finally showed me how to make this amp sound huge. I was wondering why I couldn't get a decent overdriven/distortion tone. Thanks a million for the help.
Yes! that was amazing!!! Completely nailed it. You're right, that was also my Beatles on Ed Sullivan moment. That movie is a big reason I started playing guitar. I was 13 at the time, saw it in the theater and was blown away-both by the blues and the rock playing. You recreated that so spectacularly-great job Michael. It reminds me of a Paul Gilbert vid recently where he said he was thinking about why he wanted to play guitar in the first place, and it made him get back to that and I feel like if I nailed this recreation like you did so well (the playing too-awesome job!) that would feel like the crowning achievement-why I started this journey in the first place. Great video.
This is so friggin' cool. Recorded guitar sounds are 30-40% studio techniques. Kudos to Michael for explaining the Carvin thing (I had the same questions!!!) and then using his knowledge of the history of studio gear to posit a very educated guess as to what was really going on. I'd guess 224L instead of 480L. Michael - I hope to meet and hang. Nice work man. So fun!
Nailed it! Thanks Michael, very cool video and it's takes me back to my pre-playing days of watching this movie and thinking Vai was just the COOLEST I'd ever seen!
Nice tone and playing Michael. Up until 2017, I had an '86-'87 x100b for years - it had a lot of back-of-the-van miles on it and was built like a tank. Primarily I used the HI-lead channel in 50W mode with the gain on 6 and used pedals for gainier stuff. The clean channel was great for jazz and R&B. Cheers
Thank you very much for this video. I went to the crossroads in Mississippi that was featured in the movie. If you want a little bit of soil from there let me know and I’ll send you some.
Yes, an interesting amp indeed. This one caught my eye when I saw Vinnie Vincent had them for the ASG tour, though they were of course dummy heads and cabs. I've had my eye on one at the pawn shop and am thinking of using it as a slave for my ADA MP1...
Thanks for this! Nice job, as always. I don't know what the used price on the Carin X100B is, but I suspect it's cheap enough to justify getting one just for the one good tone it has. On a side note, the best live and recorded tones Vai has ever gotten, and I've seen him live several times, was hands down his Bogner XTC 100B tones. Really don't care for his current Carvin Legacy tone live. Wish he would go back to Bogner.
Still have my Carvin ½ stack bought in 1986. A nice amp overall but I was never crazy about the gain channel. Always thought it needed a bit more ‘hair’. A few years ago I installed a full set of JJ’s along with every mod I could find online and it made a big difference. Plugged into it the other day (after having sat idle for years) and I was surprised at how great it sounded w/no pedals in front.
Wow....great video man, I’ve always wondered how Vai got that super clean tone on Crossroads? Thanks for clearing that up, and great solo at the end too. You got a new sub👍
Bro!!!!!!!! Love that Steve Vai lick!!! God man that movie is an all time fav! Grew up in south Mississippi and have physically been to the exact spot where Robert Johnson sold his soul!
Thanks for demo-ing the Carvin X100B, I happen to own a Carvin for late 1982 Early 1983, it even has "Carvin" branded 6L6GC Tubes... Will take me some time try demo mine because it needs a cap job. There are several versions and the internal circuits vary on the X100B in the 80s.
Love it. I got the Crossroads duel mp3 from Napster or something as a kid. Didn't know it was from a movie until years later. I tried to learn that arpeggio part for a year straight and failed haha. Just got my Cali a couple days ago...better get back on the horse!
You failed to mention the best scene in the movie.....when they are getting out of the rain and walking into the old abandoned house....the beautiful girl standing in her knickers....
Ah...ummm...aahh....speechless! That was so cool, you are one bad mo'fo (meant in endearing terms) dude. Thank you for the education and killa' playing!!!!!
Myself and my cohorts at USA Charvels have studied Vai's guitar, frame by frame. It is one of the 1986 transition era Jacksons. You can clearly see that it has a Charvel/San Dimas neckplate and that the 'Jackson' logo is covered with gaffers tape. Very cool guitar!!
I read interviews of Vai talking about using Dimarzio X2N which was their highest output pick up, in his words, 'an ice pick in the forehead'. Love your channel btw! Brilliant content.
hah - soon as you actually started jamming on the Carvin amp, those first chords and I'm like "oh geeze, there's 80s Starship right there". impressive. :)
Great video, playing and tone. I purchased your Kemper X100B profiles and your Jack Butler profile is spot on! It is providing great motivation for learning this piece.
Great video. You nailed it I think. I thought he was using an eventide harmonizer? Maybe that's what you meant? I've never heard of the micro chorus, but it's very cool. The Distortion plus makes sense too. I can't remember where I read it, but I thought it was at his web site and he said he used a rack eventide harmonizer, or someone told me that on the Jemsite maybe. Anyway. Very cool and great playing. I'm 59, and knew about Steva already, but was still shocked by the cool movie and his killer performance!! Great tone. Why did he cover the Jackson logo? Because he had already signed with Ibanez or was it a movie thing or? Thanks for this killer vid.
So it's definitely the Carvin. 'Nuff said... no one else sounds like Vai because no one else uses the amp! Worked well for Vai. Nice vid dude. Keep it up!
I also love the tone that Steve Vai gets in crossroads. Years ago I looked into it. It doesn’t appear that you’ve done any research whatsoever. Vai has said in an interview that he recorded the crossroads guitar parts on his charvel based green meanie guitar. I don’t recall what pick up was in it, but then again you didn’t even know what guitar used. I would also not assume he used his Carvin head, even though it was his main amp for quite a while. Spoiler! Ralph Macchio didn’t play guitar in the movie either.
Hi Micheal. Great video. I came here from Leon Todds recomendation . I watched the podcast too recently with you which was great. Anyway, I had asked Leon how to get that cross roads tones. He recommended you. ❤ Great video. I would like to see you do this with a clean amp and all pedals like the Eventide micro pitch to see if you could get close. ❤ Thanks man. I've been subscribed for awhile and watch your videos. I jsut don't comment too much. Regards from South central Indiana. USA. Tim.
Dude! You NAILED it! I saw this movie in the theater when it came out. My buddy and I were excited because Steve Vai was in it and he had played with Frank Zappa. Plus we had both heard "The Attitude Song" sound page from Guitar Player magazine. Awesome \m/
What a fantastic job on recreating that tone! I got into playing guitar after my dad brought home crossroads on VHS also. From that point on I was hooked, I must have watched that scene 10+ times before he returned the tape.. Now when I hear Butler's Bag, it bring me right back there to that time. You nailed the tone and the playing. I love it!
Nice playing as always. Goes without saying. I got that movie in VHS mode for $75. I was leaving a job and they gave me money for a now closed record store. Loved it. Still do. That’s a lot of money for a video these days.
Wow! that was so awesome! I don't know why it took me so long to watch this video - especially since I have a Carvin X100B amp! I'm going to go put the knobs at these settings right now! Thanks!
I have the X100B IV reissue and run EL34's ... I agree with the bass and mids both on mine are below 5 , like 3-4 and then use the Eq ..... Gain is at like 7 Also have an 80's X60B that of course is more similar to your X100B .... It also lacks some balls on the gain but boy oh boy the clean channel and the reverb!
I will never forget - I was in Basic Training for the Army and I knew Vai was working on DLR first solo album, so I was pretty stoked to see who this guy was. Toward the end of Basic, my platoon had been the top platoon the entire time, so we got to see a movie. I convinced everyone to go see Crossroads. I was in HEAVEN thru the entire thing. I had been a guitarist since 11 and finally a movie that drilled right into my heart! Steve Vai blew my mind!
I see an X100B, I smash the like button.
Such great amps - Listen to Vai's song, "Blue Powder", which was recorded with an X-100B, instead of his Marshall JCM900's. Much smoother and rounder tone than the Marshalls. I wonder just how loud he had it set for these tones. I'm betting it sounds much fuller if the 6L6 power tubes are being maxed out. Steve is know for recording very loud.
The local Sam Ash store had one for like a year... for $399. I kept thinking I should have bought it. Now it's gone and I'm whining.
What up Leon!
Haha - Absolutely. I sold my mid-80s x100B (6L6 version) about 3 years ago in a move to smaller amps. Wtf was I thinking??? That dirty channel that everyone complains about is a fair point if you're trying to switch back and forth to the clean channel. BUT, if you don't give a rats' about cleans and focus on the lead channel (gain knob pulled, around 11 o'clock) you can build a gain-pedal-ridden pedal board around it. I have my eyes peeled for one.
I still have mine, and overdrive is great at the high and low settings... though mine is the grey fuzzy el34 version. I’ll never get rid of it. Just recently recapped and new pots.
Amazing video and fantastic playing too... Jack Butlers gonna like you...
LOL
kkkkk
You mean "Jack Butla"
You hit the nail on the head. I remember watching this on vhs at my great aunt's apartment. I had no idea Steve Vai was in this movie. I was enjoying the movie for what it was, and then the ending came. I was flipping out screaming at my great aunt saying "do you know who this is?!!!!" "This is Steve freaking Vai!!!!" Changed my out look on guitar forever. I still can't duplicate it though. :) Great work on the guitar parts! And thank you for all your hard work educating us on all of this. I'm back to being 14 years old again! (Real age 48) Thank you for the memories.
"screaming at my great aunt saying "do you know who this is?!!!!""
really dude? he is not Pavarotti - and he is certainly no Beethoven.
I agree. This was the second time my mind was blown by a guitar player (since I could speak I had requested Hendrix from the Woodstock or Band of Gypsies LPs). I'm also 48 btw, and I bought my first guitar after watching the VHS in 1986; still playing.
Crossroads is the reason I play guitar. I remember waiting until the credits so I could figure out who Jack Butler was. It never occurred to me as a 15 year old that he could just be an actor. lol
The film was released like 4 months or so before the first DLR album so it was the first video on MTV where I was like "Its Jack Butler!".
Jason Becker and Marty Friedman also used the X100B during Cacohony (more specific on the Go Off album). !!!
yeah with the DS1, so he gave us, Vai's, Becker and Friedman tone :p
I wish Vai would channel his inner "Jack Butler" again. Nice playing man!
Karate Cross 2.0 ⁉️
Damn man. This is exactly the way I feel about the Crossroads tones. Insane... Never heard Vai play or sound like this ever since. Great playing as always Michael! Also really love the Zakk Wylde video you made!
The actual rig Vai used during this era included 2 Roland SDE-3000 delays, a Lexicon PCM60 digital reverb, a 6-channel mixer and a Mutron Bi-Phase pedal. There're images of this rig on Vai's website. The same rack is also visible in the movie if you watch closely. Maybe the chorusy/detune effect you hear is the Mutron Bi-Phase.
YES!!! I actually only JUST last week noticed the rack sitting next to his Carvin in the movie! It's that red rack with the huge mixer in it. haha. Thanks for watching!
Also the Boss DS-1 distortion.
Btw I live in Mississippi and the guitar that he plays and dropped is hanging at the Hard Rock casino. You can see the crack where he dropped it.
the English gentleman 001 that must have been awesome. I had to watch the movie again the other night after watching this...
the English gentleman 001 i always told my wife if I could talk to anyone of my favorite musicians it would be Vai. He seems like he would be an interesting person to talk with. I thought that I read an article at some point and he said the hardest part of him doing his solo in that movie was messing up on purpose.
the English gentleman 001 wow that’s awesome man! I was hoping I would get to see him on the generation axe tour, but unfortunately they didn’t come close enough to where I live. How did his guitar play as for as set up and feel. I have 3 JEM’s but I’m sure they aren’t comparable to his.
the English Rocker where’s the club they filmed the duel?
Thanks brother, I loved your comentary.
Quote from Steve Vai:
It was 1983 and I had just received my first amplifier stack.
It was a Carvin X100B amp and it had a head and two 4x12 cabinets.
I was over the moon about this towering skyscraper of sound demolition.
Carvin agreed to give me this amp in return for a demo song where I used the amp.
I immediately created "Blue Powder".
🤘🏻 🌟 🤘
Wow.
So your sayin he got it for a song,,,,
Crossroads was such a HUGE influence on me! I watched it so many times! I got so mad that the Karate Kid beat Steve Vai! That time was so great for music to me! I’m so glad I got to grow up at that time! Thanks for such a cool video! :)
The red Jackson Vai played in the movie was a prop guitar, the music was actually recorded with Vai's Green Meanie Charvel. Also I'd be surprised if he was using an MXR distortion, he's pretty well known for using a Boss DS1.
Robert W he had an SD-1 in his Alcatraz rig, so that was probably the overdrive used. www.vai.com/alcatraz-gear/
Ry Cooder's slide playing was fantastic in this movie... and Arlen Roth's Acoustic Blues playing is incredible.
Ralph Macchio's too....and even though he won, after the filming he taught Vai the licks he'd struggled to play during the competition. Not everyone would have been that kind.
Man, you missed that Cacophony recorded "Go Off" with the carpeted, EL34 versions of the X100b.
That was awesome!
So how can I pitch shift like this on a budget ? Is there a cheap pedal for the pitch shift ? I have a boss pitch shifter but it is t as subtle it is dominating . Steve has a subtle supernatural effect
I STILL can't believe the karate kid beat Steve Vai...
I haven't been that shocked since the Ewoks beat the empire
why are you surprised. Steve Vai can't Karate.
Your defo an 80s kid!
Steve vai beat himself
Or since Chris Brown....well, we know what he beat.
All the slide stuff is Ry Cooder. The final portion of the duel (paganinis 5th caprice and whatnot) is all Steve Vai. It then returns to Ry Cooder for the blues jam.
That movie, along with finding my dads Van Halen 1984 cassette are the 2 exclusive reasons I play guitar and am obsessed with music
I ran around the house at 3 with a beat up yamaha acoustic everytime I heard Jump lol. And then when I seen crossroads I started taking it a little more serious.
Yo! That DS-1 sounded legit!
Really like this in-depth analysis, toying around with the amp tones, getting to know the gear.
Agree with the 'blow your hair back' moment when Vai's onstage. The "Bad Horsie' bit and the over-the-top aggressive play by Vai was what made me FF to this part of the VHS constantly. Good tone from a Carvin(?). Who knew?!? Nice demo!
Found this movie buried in a bargin bin, in a forgotten dvd store in the mall back in 2007 I had been playing guitar for a year or so and everything about this movies story from helping people to facing your fears and all the tone that comes from being a righteous dude.
Thank you for made this! I'm around 20 years old but Jack Butler is why I started playing electric guitar!
Reeeeeeeal good guitar player......name a jack butlah....
Not sure what that is, but the riff on around 10.30, I guess it is Vai stuff and one of the really cool ones coming from him. And executed so well by you. Great video.
That’s “Two Fools A Minute” from DLR Skyscraper. I LOVE that tune. It’s a bluesy jazzy thing with brass and a bunch of little solo breaks. And a great Vai “blues” riff
Please DO MORE. VIDEOS LIKE THIS 🥺. PLEASE. The analysis is golden.
Awesome video!
For anyone interested, Troy Grady has a great breakdown of some of Vai's licks from that scene.
Awesome!! Love this!
Yes!! I was 14yrs old when this came out! That’s when I started playing guitar. I got tabs in one of the Guitar Player magazines a year or so later. I spent the next few days learning it. And the next few years trying to perfect it.
The early X-100B with vinyl covering and 6L6 tubes has amazing clean tone and passable "Hot Rod" lead tone when you spend time dialing it in. The later ones with carpet covering and EL-34 output tubes DESTROY for crunch tones. They are really different amps. I don't know what other mods they had done by that time, but clearly they had tweaked more than just the covering and output tubes. If you like crunch tones, the later X-100B is a Marshall JCM800 destroyer. Take my word for it. Another thing to consider, the original Carvin X-Series cabinets were extremely well built. IIRC, mine had the white label G12M-75 watt Celestions originally. They had seriously tight bottom end, and the cab itself complimented this. Very thick plywood construction with front-loading speakers and completely sealed back. As well made as Boogie cabs of the 80s.
I used a fuzzy el-34 100 watt head and cab for awhile, just it and a Les Paul, gigged with it once in a pretty big room. I think with those things cranking them is better than bedroom stuff...I mean it's a 100 watt tube amp lol.
I've had both 6L6 (multiple times, including 212 combos and heads) and one el34 version. I don't know if it was something with just the one el34 version I had, but it was overly compressed-sounding. It had more gain but lacked dynamics and sounded strange IMO.
The best one I had was a 6L6 head that had a master volume added on in place of one of the inputs. Anyway, great amps when boosted with an old TS10, IMO.
When that movie came out...I couldn't watch it enough...Over And Over....Loved it...After watching this....I'm gonna watch it some more ! ! ! Hell Yeah !...Thanks Michael...You were awesome as always...Please keep posting !
Man full on guitar nerding is so fun
Love this video, wonderfully done! I could swear that I read an interview in a guitar magazine back in the 80s that the pedal Steve used with his Carvins was a Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive. I had an X-100B back in the day and it sounded great with that pedal boosting it.
Ah yeah, the sweet memories. I was 16 when this came out and it made a huge impact on me. Loved it. Great video and stellar playing, as always.
Ok, admittedly going back through your old videos and just found this one. Jack Butler/Crossroads was my Beatles/Ed Sullivan as well. Dude. Nice work.
Thanks! :)
Perhaps the best analysis of one of the most iconic guitar moments and sounds in rock guitar history. Congratulations Michael. As a very small reward for this colossal effort, you now have at least one new subscriber.
you made it very clear to understand the signal chain and thought process and I think you nailed it. Its a bright lively sound with a 80's vibe, but god damn the karate kid's tele combo sound is equally impressive,(also played by Vai himself) such a great moment in music/flim history
Great video, don't know if someone else mentioned it in the comments but the chorus sound wasn't the Eventide Micropitch, it was the Roland SDE-3000. He talks about it in his book. He would run out of the dry Carvin amp to the Roland SDE-3000 set to a 30ms delay with the modulation on and run out to a second amp/cab. In the studio he may have just panned the dry track left and then panned the SDE3000 to the right at the board, but seems like he said they just mic'd both cabs and panned one left and one right and didn't do it at the mixing board. He did that all the way through recording Eat 'Em And Smile. John Sykes, Chris Holmes and Steve Morse use to do the exact same thing except they used a Lexicon PCM-42 instead of the Roland SDE-3000. He also used the Carvin X100B on Goin' Crazy which is why that track sounds a bit different than the rest of Eat 'Em And Smile because the rest of the album was a Marshall. Seems like it has the modulation settings, but I can't remember and the book is at home at the moment. I could probably scan those pages where he talks about it if you haven't read/seen them.
Thanks! I have that book. Love it. I don’t believe that the sound I was hearing was that SDE3000 trick. I’ve been meaning to do a video showing that. It sounds more like doubling than the chorus micro pitch fx. I’ll try to do that video and you can decide
Very nice! That movie blew my hair back too man! Carvin is making the 100B pedal now. Has the entire preamp & 5 band EQ as well & is a large pedal but when I saw them I could hear that washy-growling Vai tone & was instantly transported back to my teen years & found myself GAS'n for yet another piece of gear! GAS NEVER sleeps!! Great video & you absolutely nailed this tone! Keep doing the good stuff!!!!!!! 🤘😁🤘
I was just starting out on guitar when Crossroads came out. I distinctly remember my mom telling me "if you want to learn guitar you should really watch this movie, Crossroads". It was playing on HBO at the time. I watched it and yeah, the head cutting duel is just as awesome today as it was back in the 80s. It's one of those movies, like Raiders of the Lost Ark, that immediately takes me back to my teenage years.
La Bamba is another similar movie. My mom was a big fan of Buddy Holly when she was growing up, so she played that a lot around the house when I was growing up. Ritchie Valens was in there as well as The Big Bopper and lots of others.
I still have the 2 x100b amps i bought in 87 used them in a sterio rig all through the 90s with a carvin quadx4 preamp ,and continue to use them nearly everyday.
Steve had a history of using the SDE-3000 as both a regular delay and, on lower millisecond settings with 'slight' modulation, for a chorusing effect. In the book Steve Vai Guitar Extravaganza it has some of the settings for the DLR albums right around that same time and he lists it as being used for Crossroads on his website so I'd assume that's the proto-Eventide sound you're hearing (it's certainly subtle). Awesome work, really cool to see something like this and a surprisingly close result.
Nice work. I wonder if Vai had the el34 version? If so, it would've gave him a tighter low end than the 6L6's. BTW, I agree with you 100% that considering the STELLAR tone Vai had on Crossroads, it's surprising more pro players didn't use the x100b. I've heard it described as a mix between a Mesa and a Marshall. I hope to pick one up one day because I Love it's tone. God Bless & Rock On!
Your videos about tone on certain guitarists are class A +.
11/10
wow so cool! an ocean way plugin that simulates being in a large area. Never knew they even had anything like that pretty cool man! Great video btw crossroads was one of my favorite movies of all time to :)
First time I heard ANY Metallica EVER in my life was "(Welcome home) Sanatarium"....I was HOOKED on not only Metallica, but guitar soon after, and haven't looked back since. This scene from crossroads was still a HUGE influence on me later on when I was already playing fairly well.
It's hard to get rid of that feeling once you feel it. It's a passion that nothing can ever replace, in it's own way.
Wow, an OG Carvin amp! I remember drooling over the Cavin catalogs in the mid 80s.
excellent video!!we all guitar freaks remember that movie,Steve Vai was on fire on that movie.thank you for making this video buddy.
This is one of my favorite videos that I come back to every now and then, like a favorite movie.
@MICHAEL NIELSON, Amazing job at recreating this tone! You got scary close to the recorded tone 👍 About the pickups yes it was absolutely the dimarzio "PAF Pro" that was used in the actual recording guitar(Charvel Green meanie) and sadly the only missing element here. I use those pickups myself and really love them because they are "specialty pickups". They were designed for a perfectly balanced EQ and a tight low end and a present cutting top end. The Friedman p'u sounded very muddy and sludgie compared to a PAF Pro. Had you used a PAF Pro in that Jackson built guitar this would have been a dead on balls exact copy of that tone!
having grown up watching this film, this demo was awesome. you def nailed jack butler’s (Vai’s) tone, and his playing. I thoroughly enjoyed this, well done. 👊🏼👊🏼💥💥👏🏻👏🏻
All that was missing at the finale was a profligate level of facial expression, akin to being under Jack Butler's spell. As such, an unerring portent of your inexorable descent into eternal hell fire and brimstone.
Rest assured, having sold my soul to rock n roll long ago, your's truly fulfilled that aspect of the musical performance myself.
Therefore, in conclusion, audience participation puts the icing on the cake, of what was a thorough, and most thoroughly entertaining tour of an important milestone in my life too. Top stuff!
That was a badass video. This one and the Zakk Wylde have been my 2 favorite vids of yours. These deep dives into tones are excellent and super informative. Thanks for doing them
I guess I’m one of the few who drooled over Ry Cooder’s slide playing and was drawn to Delta style blues as a newcomer to the guitar
wow U nailed it! I remember watching the movie when it came out...It was a mind blower for sure...U can play Man! those Vai blues boogie phrases you played at the end was outta this world!
Somebody finally showed me how to make this amp sound huge. I was wondering why I couldn't get a decent overdriven/distortion tone. Thanks a million for the help.
Yes! that was amazing!!! Completely nailed it. You're right, that was also my Beatles on Ed Sullivan moment. That movie is a big reason I started playing guitar. I was 13 at the time, saw it in the theater and was blown away-both by the blues and the rock playing. You recreated that so spectacularly-great job Michael. It reminds me of a Paul Gilbert vid recently where he said he was thinking about why he wanted to play guitar in the first place, and it made him get back to that and I feel like if I nailed this recreation like you did so well (the playing too-awesome job!) that would feel like the crowning achievement-why I started this journey in the first place. Great video.
That was awesome! It’s amazing how much that dry sound transformed with the reverbs.
This is so friggin' cool. Recorded guitar sounds are 30-40% studio techniques. Kudos to Michael for explaining the Carvin thing (I had the same questions!!!) and then using his knowledge of the history of studio gear to posit a very educated guess as to what was really going on. I'd guess 224L instead of 480L. Michael - I hope to meet and hang. Nice work man. So fun!
Nailed it!
Thanks Michael, very cool video and it's takes me back to my pre-playing days of watching this movie and thinking Vai was just the COOLEST I'd ever seen!
Spot on with the Beatles reference for our generation 🤘🏻
Yeah, except even a 5-year old has heard of the Beetles. 95+% of the people walking down the street have never heard of Steve Vai.
Nice tone and playing Michael. Up until 2017, I had an '86-'87 x100b for years - it had a lot of back-of-the-van miles on it and was built like a tank. Primarily I used the HI-lead channel in 50W mode with the gain on 6 and used pedals for gainier stuff. The clean channel was great for jazz and R&B. Cheers
That was awesome playing at the end. I'd pay for that Jack Butler lesson!
Thank you very much for this video. I went to the crossroads in Mississippi that was featured in the movie. If you want a little bit of soil from there let me know and I’ll send you some.
blcouch dude the soil 🤘 so cool love that idea
WOW! That's amazing. YES PLEASE!
bighairyprofiles at g mail can you mail me? I'll send you info
How much would you charge to send one to me in southern Indiana?
yeah i need some of that shit check out my videos on my channel and tell me bruh I need that shit fo sho right the fuck now boi
Gracious! Thank you! I was 14 when Crossroads came out
Yes, an interesting amp indeed. This one caught my eye when I saw Vinnie Vincent had them for the ASG tour, though they were of course dummy heads and cabs. I've had my eye on one at the pawn shop and am thinking of using it as a slave for my ADA MP1...
Thanks for this! Nice job, as always. I don't know what the used price on the Carin X100B is, but I suspect it's cheap enough to justify getting one just for the one good tone it has. On a side note, the best live and recorded tones Vai has ever gotten, and I've seen him live several times, was hands down his Bogner XTC 100B tones. Really don't care for his current Carvin Legacy tone live. Wish he would go back to Bogner.
Still have my Carvin ½ stack bought in 1986. A nice amp overall but I was never crazy about the gain channel. Always thought it needed a bit more ‘hair’. A few years ago I installed a full set of JJ’s along with every mod I could find online and it made a big difference. Plugged into it the other day (after having sat idle for years) and I was surprised at how great it sounded w/no pedals in front.
Wow....great video man, I’ve always wondered how Vai got that super clean tone on Crossroads? Thanks for clearing that up, and great solo at the end too. You got a new sub👍
I bought a x100B in 1979, the bass was massive and tight. I played on the road for 5 years with that amp.
Bro!!!!!!!! Love that Steve Vai lick!!! God man that movie is an all time fav! Grew up in south Mississippi and have physically been to the exact spot where Robert Johnson sold his soul!
Thanks for demo-ing the Carvin X100B, I happen to own a Carvin for late 1982 Early 1983, it even has "Carvin" branded 6L6GC Tubes... Will take me some time try demo mine because it needs a cap job. There are several versions and the internal circuits vary on the X100B in the 80s.
Crossroads changed my life too! Incredibly thorough well-researched video
Love it. I got the Crossroads duel mp3 from Napster or something as a kid. Didn't know it was from a movie until years later. I tried to learn that arpeggio part for a year straight and failed haha. Just got my Cali a couple days ago...better get back on the horse!
You failed to mention the best scene in the movie.....when they are getting out of the rain and walking into the old abandoned house....the beautiful girl standing in her knickers....
This. Pack. Is. Legit! Do not hesitate. Might be his best one yet. Plays as great as it sounds.
Ah...ummm...aahh....speechless! That was so cool, you are one bad mo'fo (meant in endearing terms) dude. Thank you for the education and killa' playing!!!!!
Thank you so much for this video! Very helpful, I always loved Vai's sound in this movie
Myself and my cohorts at USA Charvels have studied Vai's guitar, frame by frame. It is one of the 1986 transition era Jacksons. You can clearly see that it has a Charvel/San Dimas neckplate and that the 'Jackson' logo is covered with gaffers tape. Very cool guitar!!
I come back and watch this every few months!
I’d love to have a x100b.
I’d like to put a dod 250 in front of it!
Great video.
I read interviews of Vai talking about using Dimarzio X2N which was their highest output pick up, in his words, 'an ice pick in the forehead'. Love your channel btw! Brilliant content.
One of these x100b heads is for sale locally for $350, I remember them from Vai and found your video. Great video dude!!!!
hah - soon as you actually started jamming on the Carvin amp, those first chords and I'm like "oh geeze, there's 80s Starship right there". impressive. :)
Great video, playing and tone. I purchased your Kemper X100B profiles and your Jack Butler profile is spot on! It is providing great motivation for learning this piece.
X100B is also the amp Steve used on Blue Powder from the Passion and Warfare album. (Source Steve Vai interview)
Great video. You nailed it I think. I thought he was using an eventide harmonizer? Maybe that's what you meant? I've never heard of the micro chorus, but it's very cool. The Distortion plus makes sense too. I can't remember where I read it, but I thought it was at his web site and he said he used a rack eventide harmonizer, or someone told me that on the Jemsite maybe. Anyway. Very cool and great playing. I'm 59, and knew about Steva already, but was still shocked by the cool movie and his killer performance!! Great tone.
Why did he cover the Jackson logo? Because he had already signed with Ibanez or was it a movie thing or?
Thanks for this killer vid.
So it's definitely the Carvin. 'Nuff said... no one else sounds like Vai because no one else uses the amp! Worked well for Vai. Nice vid dude. Keep it up!
Loved the “2 Fools a Minute” riff. Don’t be staring at your stereo, fool.
🌟
I also love the tone that Steve Vai gets in crossroads. Years ago I looked into it. It doesn’t appear that you’ve done any research whatsoever. Vai has said in an interview that he recorded the crossroads guitar parts on his charvel based green meanie guitar. I don’t recall what pick up was in it, but then again you didn’t even know what guitar used. I would also not assume he used his Carvin head, even though it was his main amp for quite a while. Spoiler! Ralph Macchio didn’t play guitar in the movie either.
A very worthy amp. I own a Quad X preamp for the minimal space requirements I've had, but I still want to get my claws on one.
Nice job. I actually sold my X100b series IV last year. 🥺. I know, but I needed the money. Now I want another one!
LOVED IT!!! Thanks for putting that together! Yes... the Carvin amps were way underrated for sure. Great playing and way to dig in to get that tone!
Hi Micheal. Great video. I came here from Leon Todds recomendation . I watched the podcast too recently with you which was great. Anyway, I had asked Leon how to get that cross roads tones. He recommended you. ❤
Great video. I would like to see you do this with a clean amp and all pedals like the Eventide micro pitch to see if you could get close. ❤
Thanks man. I've been subscribed for awhile and watch your videos. I jsut don't comment too much.
Regards from South central Indiana. USA.
Tim.
Dude! You NAILED it! I saw this movie in the theater when it came out. My buddy and I were excited because Steve Vai was in it and he had played with Frank Zappa. Plus we had both heard "The Attitude Song" sound page from Guitar Player magazine. Awesome \m/
What a fantastic job on recreating that tone! I got into playing guitar after my dad brought home crossroads on VHS also. From that point on I was hooked, I must have watched that scene 10+ times before he returned the tape.. Now when I hear Butler's Bag, it bring me right back there to that time. You nailed the tone and the playing. I love it!
You nailed it buddy!
That DS1 sounded awesome with the amp
well done ...
Makes my old ART express Mach2 want to play again !!!!
Nice playing as always. Goes without saying. I got that movie in VHS mode for $75. I was leaving a job and they gave me money for a now closed record store. Loved it. Still do. That’s a lot of money for a video these days.
Shit dude.......some nice playing you did there..........Great production and historical detail/story telling as well.
Wow! that was so awesome! I don't know why it took me so long to watch this video - especially since I have a Carvin X100B amp! I'm going to go put the knobs at these settings right now! Thanks!
I have the X100B IV reissue and run EL34's ... I agree with the bass and mids both on mine are below 5 , like 3-4 and then use the Eq ..... Gain is at like 7
Also have an 80's X60B that of course is more similar to your X100B .... It also lacks some balls on the gain but boy oh boy the clean channel and the reverb!