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Hey everyone, what did the guys from Def Leppard use in the early days? I am going to assume a late 70s 2203 in to a Marshall cab with Greenbacks? I would like to know your thoughts on the amps, speakers, pedals, etc?

These are my favorite tones next to early Van Halen.

Coming Under Fire - Amazing Marshall tones right here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRiGoUML3ic" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Die Hard The Hunter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXCnTwkJGcs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On Through The Night - Awesome tones on this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goabVfCc5vE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Any thoughts?

I am going to buy an amp sometime. Hopefully a 2203; if I can find one!

Another great example

Me And My Wine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM0jByUkv4g" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Very similar to AC/DC... but more distortion.

Although I moved away from Def Leppard in '86 (right after they released 'Hysteria' ) I will always have a soft spot for them. Mutt Lange basically pulled his 'AC/DC' production thing on 'High & Dry' and 'Pyromania' was along those same lines. I prefered Willis to Collen and I really liked Steve Clarks (rip) solo style,particuarly 'Lady Strange'.
I think you have it down concerning thier rigs of that era. Willis used a Hamer explorer that he "stuck an electrolytic capacitor between the middle volume and tone controls,which sort of compresses the sound.It's like using a wha wha pedal, where you have the pedal set at a certain spot in its range that creates a rich tone". Clark used a Les Paul standard, custom and deluxe. They both replaced the stock pick ups with "Seymour Duncan '59's". Clark used a Morley volume booster ("adds punch to leads") and Cry Baby Wha-Wha. Willis plugged straight into the amp. JCM 800 2203's, a full stack a piece . I assume that the speakers were the 65 watt celestions. The 25 watt celestions were discontinued in 1978 and werent re-introduced until 1989.

Its too bad that Willis turned into a full blown alcoholic, and imo,its too bad that they chose Phil Collen to replace him. That guy (Collen) has generic tone and chops and doesnt write. Basically, When Clark passed over it EFFECTIVELY ended the carreer of Def Leppard, artistically speaking. That dude could write.

I completely agree that Willis was a better co-guitarist than Phil Collen. Old-era Def Leppard was much better than the Hysteria era crap. Die Hard the Hunter is an great example of the quality of Steve Clark's compositions.

Here's an additional resource on his guitars.
http://www.steveclarkguitar.com/steves-gear" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For recording Pyromania, Mutt Lange brought in some of the amps from his massive stash. Mike Shipley (engineer) gave some details on the recording process on one of the recording chat boards.

There's a gutshot of Steve Clark's JCM Marshall w/ aftermarket effects loop some where on the web. I have it somewhere on a hard drive. "High and Dry" was great sounds. I saw them at Kemper Arena on the "Hysteria" Tour with the revolving stage in Kansas City. When Steve Clark died, it was all over for the Leps...

Tone Slinger wrote:Although I moved away from Def Leppard in '86 (right after they released 'Hysteria' ) I will always have a soft spot for them. Mutt Lange basically pulled his 'AC/DC' production thing on 'High & Dry' and 'Pyromania' was along those same lines. I prefered Willis to Collen and I really liked Steve Clarks (rip) solo style,particuarly 'Lady Strange'.
I think you have it down concerning thier rigs of that era. Willis used a Hamer explorer that he "stuck an electrolytic capacitor between the middle volume and tone controls,which sort of compresses the sound.It's like using a wha wha pedal, where you have the pedal set at a certain spot in its range that creates a rich tone". Clark used a Les Paul standard, custom and deluxe. They both replaced the stock pick ups with "Seymour Duncan '59's". Clark used a Morley volume booster ("adds punch to leads") and Cry Baby Wha-Wha. Willis plugged straight into the amp. JCM 800 2203's, a full stack a piece . I assume that the speakers were the 65 watt celestions. The 25 watt celestions were discontinued in 1978 and werent re-introduced until 1989.

Its too bad that Willis turned into a full blown alcoholic, and imo,its too bad that they chose Phil Collen to replace him. That guy (Collen) has generic tone and chops and doesnt write. Basically, When Clark passed over it EFFECTIVELY ended the carreer of Def Leppard, artistically speaking. That dude could write.

Oh cool... thanks! Since I have done the EVH thing over and over again, its time to move on to something else. Def Leppards early tone was very similar to AC/DC. 2203s mixed with a combo of 25watt celestions and the G1265s. I had a hunch though that they were using the G1265s. When you listen to Pyromania you get that more open head room type of sound. Makes since with the 65s. Interesting that he was using Seymour Duncan 59s.

I agree completely about Willis. He was awesome. Too bad he had a drinking problem!

Were they using any OD pedals to boost? Since its so close to AC/DC, I wonder if they were using the Schaffer clean boost. There is this guy on Youtube that is all about AC/DC, and he has a Schaffer Replica. SoloDallas I think is his name! VERY similar to early Def Leppard; depending on the amp he uses. His 2203 is very close sounding.

A sweet late 70's 50 jmp master volume is my 2 cents. killer tone all over those first 3 lp's. Lady Strange ! One of the first Lep tunes and solo's i really sat down and figured out. What a tune.