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Guitarist slash and his guitars. Guitar Collection Slash Slash from guns n roses

Slash (eng. Slash, real name Saul Hudson, eng. Saul Hudson; July 23, 1965, Stoke-on-Trent) - Anglo-American guitarist, played in the bands Guns N 'Roses (1985-(According to some reports October 1996) 1994 ), Velvet Revolver (since 2002), Slash's Snakepit (1994-1996, 1998-2001), Slash's Blues Ball (1996-1998).

Slash was born July 23, 1965 in England (Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire). His real name is Saul Hudson. His mother was black American and his father was white English. Both parents worked in show business.

Mother was a stage costume designer (for example, David Bowie's unforgettable costumes). My father was involved in the art of albums (including for Neil Young and Joni Mitchell).

When Slash was 11 years old, he and his mother moved to Los Angeles (USA), while his father stayed in England. He was a native of England and subsequently emigrated to the US, joining his family in Los Angeles.

Long hair, jeans and black T-shirts, which Slash was already wearing at that time, distinguished him from the general mass of his peers. A stranger at school, he lived a bohemian life at home. Surrounded on all sides by the artistic natures of his parents' friends, he soon got used to all these whims and whims of people from the world of music. People like Joni Mitchell, David Geffen, David Bowie, Ron Wood, Iggy Pop have been in their house. Slash says that all this hangout carried into his mind the awareness of the eternal conflict between art and business.

In the mid-70s, Slash's parents divorced. The atmosphere in the house was not very good, and so that this would not particularly affect the child, Slash was sent to his beloved grandmother. Grandma gave Slash his first guitar. And although it had only one string, Slash tried to learn how to play it. In those years, he was crazy about the music of Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Neil Young. He says Aerosmith's ROCKS album just turned his life around. That's what he remembered when many years later in Paris, Slash played on the same stage with their idols Jeff Beck and Joe Perry. In addition to them, Slash also played with many other musicians, including Eric Clapton, Lenny Kravitz, Paul Rogers, Iggy Pop, Michael Jackson, Brian May.

Soon after the introduction of the little Slash guitar, he abandoned his beloved bike and began to sit with her all day. Sometimes he played 12 hours a day. Of course, through the guitar, he often missed classes at school, which caused his academic performance to suffer. But all this was nothing compared to the happiness that the guitar gave him. Many peers then considered Slash a very tough guy.

After one of some collective jams, Slash is part of a group of schoolchildren like him. Soon he leaves school and, having organized the Road Crew with his friend Steven Adler, he begins to search for a vocalist for a new team.

They soon came across Izzy Stradlin, who played Axl Rose on one record. Slash immediately went to the performance of Axl Rose, after which he tried to lure him to his team. However, Axl Rose was very friendly with Izzy Stradlin and therefore did not succumb to the persuasion of Slash.

Then it was decided to unite the two teams. The bassist was Duff McKagan, who joined the band after Slash advertised in the newspaper looking for a bass player. This whole team has undergone many changes and combinations, which resulted in the well-known Guns'n Roses.

In 1987, this group released the super-successful album Appetite for Destruction, after which the group and Slash in particular became world famous. The group began to tour extensively around the world, and its albums were sold in millions of copies.

In the early 90s, after another world tour, Slash finally accepted American citizenship (before that, he was considered a citizen of England). He explained this step by the fact that he was tired of all these troubles with visas and residence cards, which especially interfere with the abundantly concert musician.

In the mid-90s, for a number of reasons, Guns'n Roses did not conduct any joint creative activity. Each member of the team went about their own business. Then Slash formed the collective "SLASH's Snakepit" and released with him the widely known album "IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE".

In the summer of 1996, Slash played in Europe with his other band, SLASH's Blues Ball. Then this team performed in America.

In 1997, after unsuccessful talks to re-create Guns'n Roses, it was announced that Slash would no longer be a member of Guns'n Roses.

And then he returned to his project "SLASH's Snakepit". A new line-up was recruited and a new album was recorded. However, this work was not widely known. But Slash didn't seem to mind in the slightest.
In 2001, Ain't Life Grand was released. Only Slash remained from the old squad in Snakepit. In 2002, Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Stone Temple Pilots Scott Weiland and Dave Kushner form Velvet Revolver.

Saul Hudson, better known as Slash, was born in 1965 in Hampstead to a white English father and a black American mother who both worked in show business. Contrary to popular belief, his father was not Jewish. His mother was a stage costume designer for David Bowie, and his father created record covers for musicians such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. At the age of 6 he moved with his mother to the United States, his father remains in England. In the mid-1970s, he attended Beverly Hills High School and was raised by his grandmother, as his parents were divorced, and his mother was far from Saul.

At the age of 15, his grandmother gave him the first acoustic guitar, which had only one string. Soon, together with Stephen Adler, he founded the first group, The Road Crew. Then Slash met Axl Rose. Slash (lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass), Izzy Stradlin (rhythm guitar), Axl Rose (vocals) and Steven Adler (drums) formed Guns n "Roses". Slash becomes one of the leaders of the group. In 1987, the album " Appetite for Destruction "rises to first place in many charts. Two other albums of 1991, "Use Your Illusion" I and II, had a huge success. But in 1996, Slash and Axl Rose had a final break, and he left "Guns N" Roses. In 1994, Slash created the group Slash's Snakepit. In 1995, the group released the album It's Five O'Clock Somewhere. After a break during which Slash founded the blues cover band Slash's Blues Ball (1996 -1998), Slash's Snakepit released "Ain't Life Grand" in 2000. Only Slash remained from the old Snakepit line-up.

In 2002, Slash, with two former Guns N "Roses" colleagues - Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum, founded the Velvet Revolver group. Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots became the vocalist. The group releases quite successful albums and conducts concert tours. Slash also repeatedly performed with Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, Michael Jackson, Zach Wild.

In 2010, Slash released a solo album. The recording was attended by: Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Dave Grohl, Kid Rock, M. Shadows, Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper and many others.

For a long time he had the following stage image: a top hat, long black curly hair and glasses, a cigarette in his teeth, tight leather pants, and a blue bandana in the back right pocket of his pants. He plays predominantly Gibson Les Paul guitars and is a great collector of these guitars, the oldest of which is from 1959. There are about 10 personalized ones made by Gibson exclusively for him in the arsenal.

In 2012, Slash received an honorary Kerrang Icon! Award from the British publication of the same name.

On May 22, 2012, Slash, in collaboration with Miles Kennedy (co-songwriter), Todd Kearns and Brent Fitz, released his second solo album, Apocalyptic Love.

Discography (Solo)

Slash (2010)
Made in Stoke 24/7/11 (2011)
Apocalyptic Love (2012)
World on Fire (2014)

Slash's Gear

Main Guitar(s):

1987 Gibson Les Paul Standard

Marshall JCM Slash Heads & Cabs
Marshall Silver Jubilee
Vox AC30

Effects/Pedals:

Bob Bradshaw Custom Footswitch
Ampeg SVTMP, Tube Mic/Line Preamp
Boss DD-3 Digital Delay
MXR 10 Band Equalizer
Boss GE-7 Equalizer
Yamaha SPX-900, Digital Reverb/Multieffect
DBX 166 Dual Compressor
Dunlop Heil Talk Box
Dunlop Crybaby Q-Zone (controlled by a volume pedal)
Rocktron Hush 2CX Noise Reduction System

strings:

Ernie Ball Power Slinky R.P.S. .011, .014, .018, .028, .038, .048

Other Guitars:

Gibson Les Paul Slash Signature Prototypes
Gibson Les Paul ‘57 goldtop reissue
Gibson Les Paul Standards
Gibson EDS 1275's
Gibson Flying V
Gibson Explorer
Gibson Melody Maker
Les Paul Standard copy by Chris Derrig
B.C. Rich Mockingbird
B.C. Rich Beach Double neck
Guild Crossroads 6-6 electric acoustics
Fender Stratocaster
Fender Telecaster

This material was originally published in November 2005. Translation - Sergey Tyncu

It is believed that Slash has almost the most guitars in the world. Moreover, there are almost more different kinds of expensive and old ones among them than anyone else. But whether this is actually the case is unknown. At one time, let's be honest, having escaped from poverty, he began to buy tons of decent guitars, actively promoting collections of dozens of different instruments. Photos of Slash deposits of the past are well presented on the Internet. However, when you have a lot of guitars, sooner or later you start to single out the most valuable specimens, so to speak, the most juice, and the most beloved ones. Something like this is presented here.

I'm really attached to my guitars a lot. Every single one I have, for whatever reason - the look or whatever - is a favorite. Of course, I'm partial to Les Pauls. A couple of mine are replicas and one of them is very dear to me. It was made by Chris Derring and I got it from Guns N' Roses management when we were writing the basic tracks for Appetite For Destruction. I experimented with guitars, but I didn't have the money, so I couldn't just go out and buy what I wanted. Being in the studio for the first time, I realized that I needed a guitar that sounded really good. I had Les Pauls, but something was stolen, and something had to be sold because I needed money. So Alan Niven, the group's first manager, gave me this handmade copy of a '59 Les Paul Standard. I went into the studio with a rented Marshall and everything sounded great! This guitar features Seymour Duncan Alnico II zebra pickups.

Les Paul Standard replica built by Chris Deering, 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard

My very first electric guitar was a copy of a Memphis Les Paul. I didn't know much about guitars and how they sound different. But I liked Les Pauls. When I got older, Memphis leaned back and then I came to B.C. Rich Mockingbird. I was working in a music store and I had a chance to buy a Strat and then a couple copies of Les Pauls went through me. When Guns N' Roses started, my idea of how different guitarists sounded and what they played was already better. I had one of Steve Hunter's Les Pauls, but then I had to pawn it. Then I was addicted to substances, and so did B.C. Rich. Then there were some Jacksons that Albert from Guitars R Us loaned to me.

1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard

I ended up in the studio with a copy of the Les Paul that became my main guitar at the start of the first Guns N' Roses tour. Later I got another copy made by someone named Max. The first year I went on tour with these two guitars. Then Gibson offered me two Les Paul Standards, after which I put away the copies for the sake of safety. I played those Gibsons a lot with Guns N' Roses, Snakepit and Slash's Blues Ball. But now I put them aside as well, because they are very good guitars. I started using newer guitars, including my signature model.

1956 Gibson Les Paul goldtop, 1958 Gibson Les Paul goldtop

Over the years I've picked up guitars that I've paid a fortune for and they're all very special to me. True '59 and '58 standard Les Pauls, '58 and '57 goldtops, and another 56 with P90 pickups, a '67 EDS-1275 double neck that I found at Guitars R Us. It has been repainted black. I bought it when I was looking for guitars for specific songs. It was for “Knocking On Heaven’s Door” and I took it on the Use Your Illusion tour in the 90s just for one song. And then there's the '58 Flying V and '59 Explorer, which I just have to have. I never took these two on tour. My goldtop was stolen. Since then I have another one, but it is a different model. The goldtop inspired me to release a reissue from the Gibson Custom Shop, the 1960 Classic, which sounds amazing. I also like Les Paul Juniors and have a few of them. When I compose this or that song, I know the sound of which guitar I need, so I need them at hand.

1958 Gibson Explorer (Refinished), 1959 Gibson Flying V

I've never taken really old guitars on tour, because when I play, I don't care about anything. You will never see me throw a really good guitar on the floor or do anything really scary, but on stage I break a lot of the instrument, so for concerts I need something that I don’t have special feelings for. I'm addicted to a new guitar if I discover how to do what I want on it. And then, if she becomes my baby, then after the tour I will remove her, and on the next I will go with another guitar. But I haven't bought old guitars for a long time. I take them out when I write in the studio.

1958 Gibson TV Junior, 1964 Gibson Firebird V

I pulled Firebird from Guitars R Us, which was my main guitar source for a long time. I went down to them to make some video for the guitar shop and saw it on the wall. I've always liked firebirds. They're great, but I've never been able to figure out how to use them, with the exception of Slash's Blues Ball. But I wanted it! I love the way it looks and it sounds great with a slide and for a Johnny Winter style - that type of nasal pseudo Strat sound.

1967 Gibson EDS-1275 (Refinished), 1940 Gibson J-35

I have two old Martins and a Ramirez classical guitar. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to grow up to Martin. Therefore, as soon as the opportunity presented itself, I immediately took a couple. Same with Ramirez. I use a lot of acoustics on my recordings. The Martin I played the most was Use Your Illusion. There's also a song called "Double Talkin' Jive" with an ending where the electric part of the song fades out and the flamenco-style part appears. This is what I bought Ramirez for. I realized that if I played nylon, the sound would be better. I haven't really bought any more classical guitars since then because this one is beautiful. I also played it on a kind of instrumental pseudo-hit with Spanish guitar. If you listen to modern adult radio, it will be right after Kenny G and you will never guess that I am playing. It's called "Obsession Confession" and it was on the soundtrack of the movie "Curdled", which was produced by Quentin Tarantino. I hear it all the time in malls. I was scared when one day my mother called me and said that she was sitting in the bathroom - that's too much information (laughs) - and heard this song on the radio, after which the DJ said that it was Slash.

1964 Martin D-28, Jose Ramirez classical

One of the main reasons why a Les Paul is my go-to guitar is because I get the sound and feel I want so I can do what I want. And when I take a strat, I play in a completely different way. I think the Strat is the best rock 'n' roll guitar but it's really not my thing as they are too unpredictable and light. I'll use them from time to time if I need something that needs a real scream, but I'll have to go through a dozen to find one that fits. I'm not a chameleon like Jeff Beck, who can take anything and play no matter what type of guitar it is and still sound like Beck. If I take the wrong guitar for this or that song, it won't work.

1965 Fender Stratocaster, 1952 Fender Telecaster

Other miscellaneous photos of Slash guitars

I realized that I can usually get the guitar working, no matter when it's made. I play a lot of new Gibson and other instruments. I just know how to get used to them. You need to be able to separate them. When it comes to vintage guitars, I am not a collector who collects for the sake of collecting, and this is even though I consider guitars to be the sexiest thing in the world and I like to always have a guitar by my side. Vintage guitars have a certain charm. But my reason for getting into vintage guitars is that I can hear them and they can give me a certain type of sound and feel, especially with old beats. That's the only reason I've collected so many guitars - they all have a certain sound and their own personality. You can use this for certain songs. I honestly love and respect old guitars, but I have to use what works best in a given situation, so I don't care if it's old or new.

Slash Touring Guitars

I have an instrument on the tour bus that I compose on. This is a Les Paul Standard from around the 2000s. Another Standard of the nineties, on which I compose, is at home. With a standard, you will never get anything wrong. At home, I have Gibson acoustics with a small body. And recently, Gibson gave me a jumbo acoustic with a maple body, which I also use to compose on the road.

Live, I think I have about 16 guitars. This is tailored to each tool has a spare. I have several Les Pauls - regular standard, goldtop, black standard with bigsby. I also have a pair of B.C. Rich Mockingbird and a B.C. Rich Bich 10 which I use as a six string. And I have a couple of double neck Guilds that I came up with with Guild in the past. The top half of the guitar is acoustic and the bottom half is electric. Everything is fairly new. The red Mockingbird is probably the oldest. I bought it from some guy on the street - naturally on the sidewalk. I was at the club when he told me about the guitar and I bought it from him. I use it mostly for the vibrato bridge because I don't want to take the Strats on tour. Floyd is there.

Even those who understand almost nothing in rock music instantly recognize Guns'n'Roses by the sound, precisely because the famous guitarist Slash plays there, according to his passport - Mr. Saul Hudson, a US citizen. Everyone knows Slash's songs, but, alas, few can immediately name Slash's guitars, on which he plays them.
Want to understand why Slash's sound is so unique? To do this, you need to get to know him and the instruments he plays. His roots, his soul and heart are in the blues, hard rock and metal of the 70s. Although he himself, without exaggeration, is an influential guitarist, but if you ask him who influenced him, the great musician Slash will certainly name Jimi Page from Led Zeppelin, Mick Taylor from The Rolling Stones, Eddie Van Halen and, of course, his main idol - Jeff Beck, about whom he once said that you can truly appreciate Jeff only when you yourself play the guitar. Of course, Slash learned by listening to other people's records and trying to repeat someone else's game. He practiced 12 hours straight in his youth, and like many self-taught guitarists, the first guitar phrase he finally mastered was the famous intro riff to Deep Purple's Smoke On The Water.

Slash's first electric guitar was a Gibson Explorer given to him by his grandmother, then a great variety of instruments were tried, and by 1985 he had finally established himself in his final preference for Gibson instruments.

At the same time, the now famous slogan appeared - “Only Gibson Is Good Enouth!” “Only Gibson is really good!”

Today, Slash is probably the most famous (after Jimi Page) rock musician playing Gibson Les Pauls, he has a whole collection of such guitars, but his favorite is a replica of the 1959 model made by Chris Derrig.

Gibson Les Paul (1959 copy) by guitarist Slash

This guitar was purchased by his manager in 1986 to work on the album Appetite For Destruction. At the same time, it was equipped with Seymour Duncan Alnico pickups and subsequently became one of Slash's main studio guitars. His second equally famous guitar is the 1987 Gibson Standard, which played countless concerts.

Guns" N "Roses — Appetite For Destruction

In addition to these two favorites, Slash uses a couple dozen other guitars, both in the studio and live. They are also worth talking about.

Slash studio guitars

In studio work, Slash almost exclusively plays the already mentioned copy of the 1959 Les Paul, which is already an integral part of the sound of both Guns "N" Roses, Slash's Snakepit and Velvet Revolver, and his solo projects. However, when you need additional to get this or that specific sound, he also plays something else from his arsenal - Flying V, Explorer, Fender Stratocaster or Telecaster.

Most of the guitars were used during the recording of the Use Your Illusion album, in which, in addition to the mentioned beloved Gibson, we can hear his first Explorer, the famous Flying V in America, and the classic 1965 Fender Stratocaster, and the slide parts were recorded on a rare Travis Bean 1000.

Travis Bean 1000

Guns "N" Roses- Use Your Illusion II (Full Album)

Sometimes in the studio, Slash uses an old Telecaster from the mid-50s, and of course, almost all the guitars that we often see in his concerts.

Slash concert guitars

On stage, since the 90s, he has mainly used the Gibson Standard, and not only on tour with Guns'n'Roses, but also with Slash's Snakepit and Velvet Revolver. Since that time, he has also used at concerts and other instruments, such as the Mockingbird guitar by B.C.Rich (it sounded in the songs "You Could Be Mine", "The Alien", "Sucker Train Blues"), or the famous Gibson EDS-1275 "two-bar" (for a cover of Dilan's " Knockin "On Heaven" s Door"), also an acoustic "double neck" Guild Crossroads (for the songs "Neither Can I", "Back And Forth Again", "Back To The Moment"), and a "metal" Travis Bean 1000 with Travis Bean aluminum neck for "Bad Obsession" and "Rusted Heroes".

Guns"N"Roses — You Could Be Mine

Guns "N" Roses - Knocking On Heaven's Door

However, since 2010, Slash has chosen to primarily use only his "signature" Gibson Les Pauls in solo performances, of which he currently owns several. Back in 1990, the first of them appeared, with a "blued" stand, and in 1997, Slash presented the Les Paul model with an inlaid snake on the fretboard. In addition to them, the 2008 Aged Les Paul is very popular, an exact copy of his 1987 guitar assembled from “vintage” components.

Gibson Les Paul Aged 2008

About twenty years ago, Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash was the brightest character in the global rock scene. But even over the past 15 years after the collapse of the classic composition of the group, his image of a giant poodle in a top hat has not faded at all. Slash remains a symbol of rock and roll life - a fan of destroying hotel rooms and public foul language. On Saturday morning, December 2, 2000, Slash was filmed on UK TV - live on the children's music show CD:UK. At first, a drunken Slash delighted a younger audience with a story about how a certain porn star tried to have an affair with him through oral sex in a bar in front of an MTV crew. When the directors' fingers began to go numb from constantly pressing the mute button, Slash gave five million English children another surprise - the story of how one of his pet iguanas "bit the fuck off ..." (bit the fuck) a piece of his hand . At this point, the interview was interrupted, and Slash was escorted out of the studio. “Yes, I said fuck,” the rocker explained in an interview given three days later, “but they forced me to.” “Usually I drink until I pass out, then I don’t remember anything and, probably, I give the impression of a complete freak,” the musician admits. We wouldn't say that: when Slash was drinking on the stage of a Moscow club in the summer of 2010, he looked handsome.

Genius against drinking

1986 Guns N' Roses are signed to record giant Geffen. Slash travels to Hawaii to recuperate after drinking in Phoenix. “I then smashed the hotel room, ran around the corridor naked and all that.”

1988 Appetite for Destruction tops the US Albums Chart. After drinking, Slash takes a friend's car and drives home. “I definitely parked it, but I couldn’t remember where,” he says.

1991 Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II are released and break sales records. The group breaks alcohol records.

1992 Single November Rain, for which Slash recorded 118 guitar solos, debuts at number four on the chart. The US Department of Health criticizes Slash for appearing in an advertisement for Black Death vodka.

1996–2000 Slash leaves Guns N' Roses to focus on his own band, Slash's Snakepit. “I still often get drunk, and it doesn’t bother me at all,” the musician admits.

2001-2007 Slash goes to the hospital with cardiomyopathy and a "six days to live" prognosis. The musician gets out of the world with the help of a defibrillator and begins his career as a guitarist in the supergroup Velvet Revolver, with which he releases two excellent albums.

2008-2010 After the collapse of Velvet Revolver, he gathers an army of vocalists led by Ozzy and releases a super-solo album Slash, with which he reaches Moscow. He does not drink for health reasons.

2012 Records a strong album Apocalyptic Love.

2013 Goes on a world tour, this time covering St. Petersburg in addition to Moscow. Gives an interview to MAXIM Online. Life is good.

drinking companions