Phil X Guitar Tone
 

Here's the thing - I love his tone and the way he plays in songs like Always and Keep The Faith. It's really nice - and makes some of the songs sound new and fresh - especially during the solos.

However - I just can't get over the talkbox sound, and the Octave pedal he uses for Bad Name. (I just watched the recent iheart video from yesterday - reference being here: http://rocktivity.com/bj/bjIHeartRadio2018awd.mp4 ) The Pog 2 is a great pedal having personally used it myself, however it just doesn't have that sound for bad name - or if it does, the octave can actually be adjusted to not be as ridiculously prominant - it's an extremely diverse pedal. (Does anyone know what octave pedal Richie uses?) Like, it works for the solo - But that intro riff just doesn't sound good.

Same with the talkbox - the MXR doesn't work for a Bon Jovi sound. If memory serves me correct, Richie uses the Peter Frampton Talk Box - which doesn't have nearly as much of a high end as the MXR has. But I also have never used a talkbox, so maybe it's just the way Phil is using it?


But then I'm faced with a dilemna - Is it just Phil X bringing his own sound in, and that's okay? Or should he be trying to be replicating the original sound Richie had as best as he could? What are your thoughts on his tone?


I'm saying a lot of stuff, and not really asking any specific conversation. I generally just wanted to talk about Phil X and his guitar tone, and I asked a few questions to get the conversation started.

I prefer Shanks tone, or even Matt O'Ree tone; but Phil is sounding better lately...
I'm not saying he has to play like Richie, but at least HIT THE NOTES AT THE RIGHT TIME!!!

oooh I didn't want to bring up Shanks because his tone is soooo not good, at least for my taste. He's trying to mesh hardrock and coldplay tones and it just is... something. :mrgreen:

When did Phil-X play the wrong notes/rhythms?

This article/video made a comprehensive list of the gear Phil uses, have you checked it? He could be using different stuff now, according to his videos he's designing things that fit BJ and offer him the versatility to adapt his style to the band's (pharaprasing)

https://www.premierguitar.com/articl...ndown-bon-jovi

Phil ruins These Days, thank God he won't be playing it much. It's a matter of taste, but I associate Richie so much with These Days, and the way Phil plays the solo is just...no. Maybe it's perfect technically, but it sounds cold and passionless to my ears

To me the main riff of It's My Life sounds off when Phil does it. When Richie does it it sounds like, and this so so hard to just type, woah-oah and Phil sounds like a second W, Woah Woah. It looks silly like that but something sounds off the way Phil does it.

If I remember correctly Phil just the Frampton Talkbox but since it was blowing up the amp almost every time they decided to switch to another one


Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk

Talkbox sucks

It's not like you don't know the music. It's about getting the sound right. (btw these are Shanks words >_< hahahah)
Phil himself has said his style is a dial back with jovi, so I guess we can't change his style.

Phil X was a great replacement to jump in but i wonder why Jon didn't look for a guy who has a similar style to Richie or is at least able to play like him.
5 years are gone since 2013 and he isn't even trying to get to a talkbox sound that is close to Richie's. He is miles off. I am sure he is an extremely good technical player but from the playing side Phil X and Richie have nothing in common.
I know that Phil X will be there forever but in 2014 Jon could have looked for a permanent replacement who has a similar style and sound to Richie.
Also the vocals from Phil X don't suit Bon Jovi (except for Prayer maybe).

Very much agreed! He is a very gifted player in his own right, but his sound simply doesn't fit Bon Jovi.

Gesendet von meinem Nexus 5X mit Tapatalk

I just listened to the Prayer Version of Brisbane. The intro from Phil X at 1:30 is absolutely horrible. I never heard such a bad intro to Prayer. Every cover band gets an better intro together. I am shocked how bad Phil X sounds. He needs to improve massively. I don't understand why a professional studio musician is not able to copy richie's intro and get a talkbox sound that is close to Richie.

Yeah, that does sound bad.

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk

I honestly think he just got it wrong as opposed to trying to get it to actually sound like that.

I've always thought he sounds quite bad on it. That was worse than usual, though.

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk

Aloha !

No, he's deliberately doing it like that. It sounds very different but it's not a mistake. I don't think it sounds bad, it just doesn't fit very well. It's these things that make clear Phil X just doesn't fit Bon Jovi. The predictability of Richie is still better than Phil X's improvs.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

https://twitter.com/TheRealPhilX/sta...36293826564096

Pretty close??
"hahahahahahaha."

Note wise, he is pretty close. You can tell that he has listened a lot to the way Richie played them live. However, what a player like Phil can't grasp is how to get the same level of emotion out of his playing. Phil is more of a technical guy, while Richie's playing comes from a blues influence...

As nice as it is that Phil X does these Q&A's, he answers the same people every single time. He answers about 4 questions from a guy called Jerry every single time. Half the time, his questions are shit.

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk

Phil X has said this before:
https://twitter.com/TheRealPhilX/sta...78785762611202

Richie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0nx...youtu.be&t=154
Phil X https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12iU...youtu.be&t=143

But as richiefan95 said above, to me the guitar player of my local bar sounds miles better than Phil X >_<


http://www.antiheromagazine.com/inte...x-of-bon-jovi/
ANTIHERO: When you first joined Bon Jovi was it frustrating having to accurately replicate exactly another guitarists work?
Phil X: It wasn’t frustrating at all. I found the recipe early on which was respect the music, respect the band, respect the fans and of course Richie. You can accurately PLAY the licks and riffs of another guitar player but the trick is capturing the intended emotion of that player. There are moments in the show where you can stretch out a little bit but if you think you can stray from a perfect rendition of the Livin’ On A Prayer solo night after night, you’re way off. Solos such as that are simply expected.

Bingo Bango!!

https://twitter.com/TheRealPhilX/sta...03722046746624

https://twitter.com/TheRealPhilX/sta...83504105943040

Says It all really doesn't it...I like the Phil is so honest about it...it's a refreshing change...

I kinda wish that they'd at least let Phil play on the album, even if he didn't write for it. He plays with much more passion than Shanks. Fingerprints is the only song he's done with a good solo in the last few albums that I can think of.

JBJ has always been like that, he doesn’t like to talk too much about his decisions, HE is a mystery...
but somehow I remembered this that JBJ said: “Phil X is the consummate player, he could play the next night, wich was a miracle.”

kinda like this: https://www.instagram.com/p/BtL5vkvhykq/

I don't like it

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuXKCnKHUf8/

I loved it!

Same for me! Loved it!

I like it. Besides being a nice sound, it reflects the way the whole Young Guns thing came about with them asking to use Wanted and Jon persuading them to let him write something new instead.

It would be a cool way to introduce Blaze of Glory in a concert - if Jon thought they could get by without performing WDOA.

(Now I want to get out my banjo and try it on that. The sound is kinda similar.) :)

I mean I like the sound of the instrument, but I would like the plucking of the last notes of every line more defined in Wanted, and that Blaze needs a lot more than that to sound good to my ears... -_-

Phil X on writing lyrics for JBJ:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOQM...youtu.be&t=224

Phil X is literally playing with Bon Jovi just for the paycheck.

Jon wants Phil cos he looks the part but until now hasn’t allowed him to express himself . 4 piss poor 5 second solos on the last album is a total waste.
I was hoping for long solos and good riffs last time but got nothing.
Hopefully it’s better this time but doubt it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The first 2-1/2 minutes of this video makes Jon's motive for hiring Phil-X crystal clear. Everyone knows Jon never got over that first Rolling Stone interview. He obviously hired Phil so he can finally turn the "amazing hair" interviews over to someone else. :D

When JBJ wanted to replace Phil X... Lol


Interviewer: Speaking of lead guitar, I've been told you auditioned a few years back to become Bon Jovi's lead guitarist and were very close to getting that gig. Is that true?

Damon Johnson: Well. let’s just say that I did have a jam with those guys. There was a minute, about four years ago they weren’t really sure what they were going to do - (guitarist Richie) Sambora was out, he was back in, then he was back out, they did a run of dates without him. And so, Jon (Bon Jovi, singer) and I have a mutual friend and that mutual friend mentioned me to him and Jon was in Nashville, we had a meeting, it was a good hang and he was like, “Yeah. Here’s a list of,” I think, “five songs,” all the ones you would think. And so, I went up and had a jam. And it was awesome.

Interviewer: Those are good songs.

Damon Johnson: Great songs. And certainly, one of the most surreal things I've ever experienced, you know standing close enough to (Bon Jovi drummer) Tico Torres' hi-hat that I could like thump it with my right hand. That's where I stood. Everyone was on headphones, it was that kind of thing. I had a blast playing those songs. I can't hit those vocal notes man that Sambora hits. I'm not ashamed to admit that. Some of those biggest hits, like "Livin' on a Prayer," Jon is singing way out of his range well then Sambora was singing a harmony on top of that. I can play all if that guitar stuff, easy. But Richie is a special talent.
So, what they ended up doing was they kept working with Phil X, who is an incredible guitar player and singer and they also added my old friend John Shanks, who has produced the last two or three records for the band, and so they simply added John as a second guitar player. And they're carrying on. But yeah, that's another story for the great grandkids one day.

https://www.al.com/life/2019/03/did-...-bon-jovi.html

If it was 4 years ago it would have been after Bobby didn't come back and Matt O'ree played those dates with them in Asia...

He also said Shanks has produced 2 or 3 albums. Not knocking the guy but his timelines are all over the place. For Richie to be out, in and out again, is that referring to 2011 and the eventual departure of 2013 or was Richie almost back in? His wording seems to sound like Richie almost came back or was briefly back in around 2015.

His timeline is accurate for anyone not being a diehard fan like us. Richie out means in this context probably Richie not playing with the band and in this context, it's correct. He was gone for a leg in 2011, came back the same year and was there in early 2013 before being out again.
And for someone not following the band, he knew that Shanks had worked with Bon Jovi on a couple of albums. I couldn't tell who produced how many albums of other bands I like to listen to, but am not a diehard fan of.

I mean that's fair but...4 years ago = 2015 which ties in EXACTLY to "So, what they ended up doing was they kept working with Phil X, who is an incredible guitar player and singer and they also added my old friend John Shanks, who has produced the last two or three records for the band, and so they simply added John as a second guitar player." Wasn't 2015 when Shanks officially started playing with them live? 2015/2016-ish? Plus he says "they KEPT working with Phil X" implying he was already in the fold at that point.

If he's talking about the run of dates they did in 2013 without Richie that would make me think this took place right after the WAN tour if he brought up Phil X coming back and that wrapped up end of 2013 so we'd be talking 5ish years.