Gary Moore's Sound

This article is taken from Argento's Guitar Nation group website, so I'm not the autor of this.

Hi viewers and welcome to another Guitar Cookery course. Today we are going to learn the recipe for Gary Moore. So first of all the Ingredients that go into this delicious sound.

If you don't have the gourmet ingredients like a Les Paul Gibson and a stack system that looks like a Semi detached house, then fret not cos we can get by with much cheaper Supermarket ingredients.

You'll need:
- One 10w or 15 w practice amp (Gary uses a marshall one at home btw)
- A delay pedal (optional)
- A distortion pedal
- And of course a guitar preferably an Epiphone Les Paul (so you like him as well & Iým not being biased lol) but if not something close with three way switch and twin humbuckers.

Set the guitar to bridge pickup and tone and volume to full.

Amp settings should be as follows:
- Gain (distortion): 6
- Bass: 6
- Middle: 5 (adds more sustain)
- Treble: 6
- Volume: 5
- Reverb (if you've got it): 4 (slight thickening sound)

Delay pedal set to about 250 ms (if you've got one) and if you've got a mix control set it to very little just so theres just a sneak of echo. And away you go, thats the end of todays recipe.

Comments

[frigginjerk]

yeah, he stated the source. and i'm dumb too. who's Gary Moore? is he in a band, or is he a session man?

[Backup Guitar]

Pardon my stupidity, but who's Gary Moore?

And why would you just copy something that someone else wrote. I hope it was with permission, or UG could get sued.

No comment, as it wasn't your own.

[gboblimar]

one of gary moore's hits is "still got the blues".
nice info anyway.

[frigginjerk]

ahhhhh... Thin Lizzy. should have known that. i hang my head in shame. he did have good tone too.

[SRVGuitarFreak]

Gary Moore Is a very fast guitarist, I can't believe frigginJerk doesn't know who he is

[MattyB]

Gary Moore... u don't know gary moore! =/ Download or get ya hands on parisienne walkways live in '93. Now that is good guitar playnig. If any1 can hold a note as long as that.... wanna join my band!?

[face990]

my god people dont know who gary more is? and yuo play guitar? have i just passed into a parallel universe.
please remember there were about 3 or 4 guitarists with thin lizzy and gary more wasn't with them for long so it may not be his tone you think of when you think of thin lizzy.

probably the most annoying guitarist ever. (the man never makes a mistakes) and can play so fast its scary

[Steph Bets]

hes got a sig les paul, saw one at the shops

[hippypants]

he only played a few songs with Thin Lizzy:
in the fields, parisienne walkways.
he had a much bigger solo career.
And most importantly, he's irish.

[Oswald]

Everybody should know Gary Moore.

[danc446]

The delay effect is what makes his sound... him.

[OzzyCat]

FUCK! Who the hell is asking who Gary Moore is!!!??? That's some crazy ass shit! Gary Moore is ... ah ***, this is bad news for music when people (especially guitar people) don't know.

It's like I was watching a video the other day and some kids were asked if they knew who Guns N' Roses were... and it was like... Guns and who???

I'm going CRAZY at this point!!!!

[OzzyCat]

Funnily enough his Signature Les Paul is mentioned... my second guitarist in my band plays one. :P It's nice.

[maui85]

i thought gary moore was in Skid Row

[maui85]

i thought gary moore was in skid row

[cantshreddave]

ok calm down... thers a first time 4 everythin and ther was a time wen u ppl didnt know who gary moore was.... im sure these ppl know now

im not so sure if tht would make u sound like gary moore, i mean the guitar he used was a bute ('59 les paul sold/given to him by blues hero/fleetwood mac guy pete greene) and apparently he used a lot more distortionthen you think, achieved by wat i think was a marshall bluesbreaker pedal and/or amp (apparently he laughed at peoples attempots to get this tone)

interestingly if you have a line 6 pod use the rectified setting (usually associated with more modern rock sounds) for his solo tones according to total guitar as the marshall model doesnt quite "soar enough"

[woody_j888]

JEASUS!!!! All you frickin' so-called 'guitarists' don't know who Gary Moore is?!!!

Anyone learning guitar really needs to study this guy. He has what would I call 'pure' playing ability, no gadgets or gimmicks in his playing, just raw, hard driving/screaming solo work. This said, he is a master of many styles and can be surprisingly soulful.

Its unfortunate to think that younger players are missing out on Gary's influences - I can see their prejudiced little minds leaning more in favour of the current guitar 'heros' of today.

Look guys, there's way more to life than blasting out power chords, song in, song out. And don't one of you say that Gary's 'shit' becuase you've never heard of him. Can you play like that? That fast? That accurately? WITHOUT using your right hand on the fret board? Thought not.

You see, Gary Moore comes from a world which time forgot. Where talented musicians worked hard and were creative enough to make each song/album sound different to the last.

If you are, indeed, a young and naive 'guitarist' and would like proof of how truly great Gary Moore is, there's a fairly recent DVD which you'd probably like more than his other material. 'GARY MOORE: LIVE AT MONSTERS OF ROCK '03'. Not only do I have this DVD, but I was there on the night, so I can tell you this really was a great show.

If you still need convincing, because you've never heard of him, for your reference Darrin Mooney (drummer from Primal Scream) and Cass Lewis (former Skunk Anansee bassist) also play alongside Gary.

Now, GO FORTH PEOPLE AND LEARN!

P.S. cantshreddave: I'm afraid the legendary Peter Green guitar has just been sold by Gary to maverick music for [a lot of money]. Apparently it will be on show somewhere or other for a limited time.

[woody_j888]

If you want to really sound like Gary Moore, there are two pedals you need to buy:

Marshall Guv'nor - gary made these famous
Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9

Then you need a marshall of some description. garys
used almost every tube model they've ever built. For the blues stuff in the 90s he used a Bluesbreaker combo JTM45 - look for the 'handwired' reissues from marshall (expensive).

Currently I noticed gary has been using more modern amps. DSL 2000s. He's used these for rock and blues stuff. I was at a show in Birmingham, UK where gary played bues with BB King. He used DSL 2000s then.

I think the point I'm trying to make is that guitars and amplifiers are simply tools. Its really the player that gives them their 'sound'. Sure, you could walk up to Gary's own equipment, right after he's used it, and start playing yourself. How many of you are going to sound like him?

Answer: very few.

Similarly, I knew someone a few years back that had this thing about Brian May's tone. So he went out and bought this signature Red Special, the treble booster and the Ac30 at massive expense. 6 months later he sells the lot for a fraction of what he paid, because, "I can't play guitar".

The moral of this long-winded post:

practice and find your OWN sound...

[mcjibly]

Wow gary moore... shame on you people that do not know who he is! songs like remake of oh pretty women, still got the blues and midnight blues. These songs show the differences in the styles he can play! He has grew up to hendrix and peter green.. adapted the styles of play and created his own, GM is most proberly the best guitarist of this era, all the new stuff is crappy chords with poor tone. there are no tricks to this man tone, no one can play like him, he loves the music to much, loves playing to much, plays with spirit. the way he plays with all that distortion and the harsh bends, fast fingers you name it he can play it.. not only play it but so accurately ive only ever heard this guy mess up once, out of the 200 different live songs ive got and 5 DVD/videos i have!
I also visit birmingham to watch him at BB kings farwell show... i wished he stayed around to duo with him, that show was for BB and i dont think gary wanted to ruin it by blowing off the roof himself even though he shown what he can do!!
woody_j888 u sound like a decent guy knows what hes on about GM rocks and fair play to you...
music is in his blood and no one will play the blues like him for along time!
keep listening people!

[jon3782001]

Gary Moore is the most remarcable guitarist! Have you all never heard pariseanne walkways?

[Mr. Diamond]

Sad reflectin sof the times when there is this little knowledge of one of the best guitarists on the planet. I remember when Whitesnake hit it big and John Sykes (also from Thin Lizzy - wrote and played on THE Whitesnke album but did not tour) mentioned Gary Moore in practically every interview he did. moore actually asked him to stop.

Lizzy had a load of guitarists but Moore was undoubtedly the best. He did solo albums long before turning to the blues and also was in Coliseum 2 with Cozy Powell. He did a great song with Greg Lake - please don't ask 'who is Greg Lake' - called Nuclear Attack.

Here are some recommended items - I've intnentionally left the Blues phase out as there have been comments on this already.

Thin Lizzy - Black Rose album. He is just incredible and be sure to check out the title song for some of the most incredible guitar work you will ever hear.

Corridors of Power - Gary Moore album. Falling In Love With You is worth the whole album, as good as the rest of the album is.

Run For Cover - Gary Moore album. There are golden items here but the standouts are Out In The Fields & Military Man with Phil Lynott. Empty Rooms is a classic. This is one of several versions.

Wild Frontier - Gary Moore album. The whole thing is brilliant. Check out The Loner - a killer instrumental.

Scars - Gary Moore. There are some great tracks on here and Ball & Chain is INCREDIBLE.

Check out Itunes for samples.

[gitarmorten]

MattyB wrote:

Gary Moore... u don't know gary moore! =/ Download or get ya hands on parisienne walkways live in '93. Now that is good guitar playnig. If any1 can hold a note as long as that.... wanna join my band!?

I can hold a tone that long, and even longer!
The trick is to get a slight feedback from the amp.

Here is what i do: First i stand right in front of the amp, and then i play the tone.
If you bend the tone remember to go straight on it.

And, no i cant join your band.
i alereadey have one

[whodoudo]

All you soooo called guitarists out there who don't/didn't know who Gary Moore is... I suggest you go throe your f****n axes in the bin you dumb shits!!! got to be Yanks!!! or is that W**ks??? I play a Gibbo Les Paul through a 1962 Marshall Bluesbreaker amp does the trick for me

[whodoudo]

For all you soooo called guitarists out there who don't/didn't know who Gary Moore is I suggest you go throw your axes in the bin jeeez! got to be Yanks! or is that W**ks??? I play a Gibbo Les Paul through a 1962 Marshall Bluesbreaker amp does the trick for me

[littlericky]

Gary Moore is one of the baddest mother****ers on guitar that I have ever heard or seen. All you morons that have Jimmy Page and Hendrix fetishes don't know a good guitar player. Page and Hendrix were so ****ed up on heroin most of the time, they were lucky if they could stay awake or stand up. When you figure out how to make your guitar sound exactly like Gary Moore's, you let me know. In the mean time, he's the KING!

[elgrande]

I find it hard to beleive that someone doesn't know who Gary Moore is - but that's life. Today he's playing in my city and I'll get a chance to hear him live - a dream come true. For all of the "guitar players" that never heard of Gary: be 10 times worse than Gary and you'll probably be greater than you ever imagined you would ever be...
Cheers!

[tom_martin_123]

"who is gary moore?" "WHO IS GARY MOORE?"
peoples ignorance angers me! how can you not know that as a serious guitar player?
FYI : gary moore is the guitar player from thin lizzy who then went on to have a successful solo career.

[slbradley01]

I think he's been using some Soldanos recently..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWp-Mazmf88