Hey everybody.
If you heard the song, then you probably still remember the sound that Eric has there on his solo. Does anyone knows what he used?
one of the "classic" Clapton tricks is to have a two-humbucker guitar, be it a Les Paul or an ES335, and put the pickup selector in the middle, and roll the tone off of ONE of the pickups. I've tried it with either pickup rolled off and get slightly different but both usable tones. Combine that with an overdriven amp and you have some sweet and dark tone.
Roger
who really shouldn't know that much about Clapton.
The tone rolloff trick with a Fuzzface is what it sounds like to me. In fact the rhythm track sounds for all the world like a Fuzzface straight into the mixing board. Kinda nasty-edgy.
RDV
sounds very "transistor" to me...
It's a hammer grey Vox Tonebender straight into the board...he used that set-up alot for his "leads"...
I would have to say some type of feedback amp, with gain on guitar volume or treble rolled off just enough to reduce saturation enough so it fades soon after a hard note is attacked.
The sound is too in your face not to have a couple feedback looped transistors like a FF or Tonebender.
That wrote...could be anything.
Jh seems to get alot of gear rundown questions, answered, theorized on etc. I've never read all about early Clapton stuff, other than he used a Marshall Bluesbreaker...JTM45 with 2 X 12'' combo...looking at videos, I see Marshall stack, IIRC Selmer amps...etc. ?
The picture of the dog that pissed on 'Clapton Is God" graphitti...too funny...
Early Cream...before I had a Guitar... :idea: ..."That's the sound I want" !!! Hence began my long [and somewhat trubbled until sorta recently] relationship with Marshall [and other] Tube Amps.
At that time there was no Rock and Roll radio available to me, but the Page [zeppelin] sound and Cream, it turns out, was as good as it gets anyway...
Could be he used a little single Ge device with a rare egg in it...
..."and if you lose your Guitar', Pleaze don't fool with mine!!!"
I used to really appreciate the 'wierd cream'..."As You Said",.."Pressed Rat and Warthog"...Jack Bruce being the wicked lyricist ans all...early Clapton guitar stuff ...I got tons of information from that, the guitar just sounded so 'well informed', like you couuld always trust it's truth, even through it's mind melting intrinsic learning, like there's a message in it, intended specifically for me to understand.
Anymore, I try to replicate Exactly the conditions that were present at 'that' time as best I can...which is pretty much what I'm doing at 'This' Time..."working with available circuits and components, to get the most expressive sound possible".
I have best luck with 'Strange Brew" [seems to lean on the treble side] using a feedback loop clipping device {FF] some how, whether FF, FF w/1Q booster in front, or Tonebender, by using/experimenting with FF type circuits, and a tube amp, and cap tuning you can come PDClose.
I recommend piggybacking the input FF Q, it sees the 100k feedback resistor and the input from incap.
It sounds to me as there is a fair amount of bass rolloff in the 'S.B.' guitar tones.
I think these guys were 'in' on the mods. Manufacturers like pleasing popular musicians. They were probably often consulted to be a part of the design process. most of my heroes probably had engineers doing the actual circuit work...just picture a guy sitting around with a hot iron, some solder, a buncha parts, going dweawww dwaewwww, Chunka Chunka, WEeeeeoaoooaooooooo a aaa aa aaa, then changing one component, making a measurement/adjustment, then going Chonka Chonke Weeeeaoooaoooeoooeoeeoo, Dwaaaae dwaaeeeeee, then trying the same basic technique with a different, but quite similar circuit.
These guys really taught me alot of stuff. I still hold those early endeavors of sound recording in the very highest regard.
Would it not be the coolest thing if one of them actually decided to drop in here unexpectedly? Unfortunately their histories of that era are so scattered, authenticity would inevitably be questioned.
On another rambling note...has anyone here viewed the post entered at HC by a Mark Tremonte, depicting the Morley Bad Horsey Wah as " This pedal defines the sound of MY' [lol] Band"...sounds like something a poser would write.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/
look in the right hand corner for 'listen again' and you'll see EC live in concert from last Saturday. The link will probably only be there for another day or two so get it while you can...
Although not mentioning that track specifically, the May 2004 GP has Eric answering the question about his tone from that album with:
Quote from: Eric ClaptonI was full-tilt on the wah pedal for a year-and-a-half. Also, the Gibson thing was really sort of exaggerated for me. I used the bridge pickup, but with the tone control all the way off, so it was all just bottom end, and then I played on the high strings, getting a really fat tone and feeding back. I just played like that all the time. Even with power chords, there was never any variation in my tone.
I would trust Amscray's research on this for that specific track, but I thought this general comment was interesting.
Kerry M
I don't think EC would have recorded straight to the board back in 67, nor would anyone else for that matter. I think his sound was a straight forward Marshall amp or similar hard driven by the gibson pickups. The only pedal EVER in evidence when I saw Cream many times was a wah pedal.
Absloulte not true...lots of poeple did it, and clapton said he got the idea of doing it with the Vox TB (there's lots of pix around with him and that pedal BTW) from the Beatles, who recorded guitars direct ALL the time...
two great examples are the twin strats recorded direct for the solo in "nowhere man" and the distorted guitar in "revolution"
direct was quick and easy and allowed you to overdrive the tube stages in the old consoles, which of course isn't desirable today thanks to SS...
the other thing is, try it...Vox TB with Gibson into your 4 track or 48 track or whatever...it's there unmistakably
also clapton used the TB in the studio, not live...
I have to agree with Ammscray. It sounds like a box straight into the board. Its a fairly distinct sound that has been used by others. It was a common practice back then.
Andrew
Well, OK but maybe there's a touch of the "emperor's new clothes" here. I personally think the guitar sound on Strange Brew sounds bloody awful along with most of the other tracks on the Disraeli Gears album. I much prefer the "Live Disraeli Gears" Bootleg. It's a shame a lot of you are too young to have experienced Cream at full volume. I was at the London School of Economics gig, well documented, when Jimi Hendrix jammed with Cream - 3/6d to get in (that's three shillings and sixpence!) in October or so 1966 - anyone else there?
You were at that show? I've heard about it in books and the Hendrix movie. Please share.
As for Strange Brew, I can get that tone if I use a FF into a clean amp, or an amp set for clean operation. Think Marshall at volume 2 with a FF in front.
I remember 2 or 3 false starts at NSU which opened the show, Jimi Hendrix played Killing Floor, and Eric Clapton just stood there in amazement. It was just another Cream Gig really. I also remember seeing EC jam with the Yardbirds at the London Marquee Club and played Jeff Beck off the stage. At that time he was with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and what a sound they made!
Love that stuff...
Putting aside all rumore, and as a side note, by coincidence today I tried a Vox Treble Booster into an input buffered MP Fuzz Face with input cap blend and input gain controls.
I did some incap modding and knob twisting, long story vry short...I'd say it's worth a try for that semi set wah type tone. I thought it was doing a PDG job of nailing the Strange Brew sound...having the small cap before the Ge as 'Q1' [the Vox TB], renders a whole new tone to the FF.
I recorded this concert - it actually ran over time for a change. You can't fault his playing, that's the trouble in my view, nothing adventurous any more. Mind you he had Doyle Brammel (spelling?) on second guitar who seems pretty good.
Quote from: StephenGilesYou can't fault his playing, that's the trouble in my view, nothing adventurous any more.
Agreed, though I always give him a listen when he's on the box/radio.
:D He may have blown Beck of the stage then, but Beck has come along way since. I don't think Eric has! They are both Heros! 8)
I quite agree, he has advanced more than most and still finds time to tinker with cars.
What do Eric Clapton And Coffee have in common ???
They're both just not the same withought the Cream !!!
Terrible joke, but unfortunately true. Given my taste in music I always thought that I was born 20 years too late ... I'm 31. My Cream CDs always find a place in my weekly musical rotation!
Mike
haha i feel you pain. im 15, and im well into the led, and cream, and sabbath, and jimi, and stevie ray vaughan, and lately ive been going even further and listening to robert johnson and chuck berry.
im a 60 year old trapped inside a 15 year olds body haha :D
cheers
Jim
That's the way to do it. Starting out listening to the sixties greats, then going back to see where they were inspired from, then coming back full circle. Gives you a good understanding and appreciation. How could you get that from Motley Crue?
It was nice to see the greats in action. There's still a few left, see em' before they're gone. What I liked the best was seeing the greats in bars on their way up or down the ladder. I saw Stevie in a little bar right after Texas Flood came out. Awsome!. Others, like Ronny Montrose and Robin Trower, I got to see in arenas during their heyday, then in bars in the late 80's and early 90's. I got to see Trower 3 times in bars in a year and a half. Or Kim Simmons (Savoy Brown) gig in a local bar. A much better experience than sitting in an arena, with some idiot waving a sparkler 3 inches from the back of your head, screaming the entire concert.
Small Halls are the best for studying.
You get a 'class' of 1000's and each 'student' gets a smaller precentage of the available attention, and can be quite distracted by other agendas in the surrounding audience, many of whome are not there to pay attention or learn anything, but insead, have a show of their own to perform.
Trying to discern note attacks and tones that have been rendered nearly illegible by bouncing off different walls that impart a cocophone of delays, and trying to hold your binoculars still, while being bumped and shoved is for the birds...
What is Strange Brew? Is he talking about drugs or a woman?
Quote from: Chris GoodsonWhat is Strange Brew? Is he talking about drugs or a woman?
Bad english beer! :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink:
Just kidding guys!
RDV
Quote from: RDVBad english beer!
Sadly, not that difficult to find on these shores. Though this stuff is about as good as it gets (could give the Germans a run for their euros) :D
http://www.bottledbeer.co.uk/index.html?beerid=291
To my taste buds ALL English beer tastes bad - although it's better to be in bad taste than to taste bad! Give me some gin any day.
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/cream/34169.html
Mmm, Newcastle Brown Ale - my absolute favourite! Drink three and you've essentially had a loaf of liquid bread. :)
Jim
QuoteIt was nice to see the greats in action. There's still a few left, see em' before they're gone.
I remember all the hollow words that ensued after Roy Orbison died. An absolute legend, they said. But only 20 people attended his last concert in my area.
I wished I'd seen Muddy Waters in action. I went to see BB King two years ago. The guy is playing great and he's nearly 80 years old, so you're not gonna see him too many more times (you guys right there in the USA don't know how good you got it - it's 5000 miles for me to go see BB!).
When I think of all bands I saw in the 1970s and 1980s (Deep Purple, David Bowie, Neil Young, ....) I feel that I must have had a big attraction for the crap/exhausted/wiped out ones. Or maybe they just toured Australia exhausted at the end of long roadtrips, collecting material for that omnipresent and always awful "double live" album.
A coil in the signal path, say after a boost er later.
Input to primary side to the middle or last lead or transformer + 8k2-15k in series out..EZ, add small rolloff cap to ground...but why?
I used a Mouser Tyco Oct type tranny.
Quote from: brett
When I think of all bands I saw in the 1970s and 1980s (Deep Purple, David Bowie, Neil Young, ....) I feel that I must have had a big attraction for the crap/exhausted/wiped out ones. Or maybe they just toured Australia exhausted at the end of long roadtrips, collecting material for that omnipresent and always awful "double live" album.
Hey! Deep Purple's double live album (Made In Japan) was great, and Yes had a TRIPLE live album that stomps ass to this day. Bowie's "David Live" isn't what I'd call awful either. God, I even had Uriah Heep Live amid the stacks of vinyl in my mid 70's lair. Wall decorations consisted of: the booklet from "Yessongs" dismantled and displayed on my wall, and Assorted Jethro Tull and Blue Oyster Cult imagery.
BTW- On the topic of younger generations listening to the music from this era: Watching "School Of Rock" with the commentary of the kid actors on is pretty amazing. Those kids are hardcore into this stuff. There wasn't too much pop music from 20-30 year previous I knew about when I was 10.
Kerry M
QuoteGod, I even had Uriah Heep Live
Oh yeah. That was a great album. And Procul Harum live...fantastic. BB King live at the Regal is maybe in my top 10 albums of all time...
Hmm..I'll have to re-think my apprehension about live albums.
Speaking of classic concerts, I've seen more than a few (betraying my age). The Who with Wishbone Ash opening for them one year after Woodstock. Blues Image, original Jethro Tull, Grand Funk, others, and that same summer ('70), Led Zeppelin in St. Louis at the old Kiel Auditorium. They opened with Immigrant Song but LZIII hadn't been released yet. Powerful show. Made my way down to the stage. I remember Page had his Les Paul slung real low and (during Dazed and Confused?) would smack the strings twice with his violin bow then hold the bow up and smack the sky to the repeats from the Echoplex sitting atop his Marshalls. Boy oh boy they put on the show. I was 16 and was at the time rather ... and amazed. Someone could have told me they were from Mars and I might have believed them then. 8)
Quote from: brettI wished I'd seen Muddy Waters in action.
I was lucky enough to catch Muddy before he passed, with Eric Clapton of all people! Muddy was great, and had Johnny Winter with him, so Eric for me was a bit of an anti-climax!
RDV
Johnny Winter! In the early ninties, he played a lot of club dates in my area. It was always a crap shoot though. On the few occasions he was sober enough to walk and play, he was awsome!! Other times, it was over in two songs. But he was always worth the chance.
"Made in Japan"...... My favorite album of all time. A serious axe feast! If you saw the MKII lineup during their heyday, you know why Deep Purple made the Guiness book of records as the loudest band! It was good sonic pain, though.
...And the tone of [whos'e that Eric singing/?] make me want to 'cry funny'. :? :) 8) :P :idea:
We waited four hours guarding uncomfortable barstools in the then new 'Cleveland Palace Theatre", opened the same year as the 'Rock Hall'.
No re-entry. Place was packed.
Anyway JW comes out, and tries to play a little Chuck Berry, with his well seasoned band he'd assembled two days before [he said, and I believe it]. :cry:
I kinda was hoping for some killer sound with a lead riff I'd remember, but the build ups didn't ever seem to make it past the initial planning stages, every once in a while part of one measure started to make a little sense, but with the nasty aftertaste of 'losing it' repeatedly, it became like hard, fruitless work. :?
What a bill of goods, ROCK AND ROLL !!! I had to almost feel sorry for the guy. Interesting appearance...thin like stop sign post, whiter than white, tatoos all over, definitely an interesting looking character.
Looked like he went to, stayed at, and closed all the week long parties of the 70's 80's and 90's. :P
I've seen Johnny 6 times, and only two were good shows. But when he's on, there ain't many that can touch him. Uses a thumbpick like nobodys business. I did feel sorry for him once, when he played one song and almost fell over. He mumbled something, and people started throwing beers at him. No way to treat a guitar legend, even if he was toasted.
I'm surprised he's still alive, even without the partying. I don't know the medical reasons, but I heard Albino's have a shorter life expectancy. Maybe it's just an old BS myth.
Back when he signed with Alligator, he started to have a comeback. Third Degree is a great album that really showcases his playing.