Legendar Tone: Boards of Canada

Legendary Tone:

Boards of Canada

Boards of Canada is a unique electronic music duo. They are highly influential for many other electronic music groups and are sort of pioneers of this genre of music. 

One of the reasons that BOC's sound is so unique is because they only use analog equipment (as opposed to digital). This is different from the equipment that most modern electronic musicians use to achieve their sound. Analog gear makes BOC stand out above the rest. There are a few other groups such as Tycho that followed suit with this idea and absolutely have an apparent influence when it comes to their sounds.

To achieve the sounds on songs such as ROYGBV, BOC used a mono-synth called an SH-101. This is an analog synth that can produce very unique sounds like deep bass lines. It is extremely possible that this is their only mono-synth.

On songs such as Olsen, they use a blue Yamaha CS-1X. It can be used as a sampler trigger for samples in some songs and it is more likely used for this than generating its own sounds. However, it is possible that is is used to create the filtered piano sound in Olsen. it is also seen on the 199 Lighthouse Part photo. 

BOC is also a fan of recording their music to tape. This creates a unique saturation in the music that creates a very grainy sounds that makes the track sound very vintage. They are quotes saying Grundig is their favorite tape machine because is saturates the track in a way that is very different. It makes the tracks sound almost 100 years old. The Tascam 4-track is another favored tape machine used by the group for the same effects.

And finally samplers are the last piece of equipment on the list. These are used for triggering certain sounds in BOC's music. This could be any sound from a vocal drop to kids laughing. 

Boards of Canada are one of the most unique electronic artists on the scene and because they are very secretive about their gear, they cover up labels with their own stickers. But the equipment I have listed will generate most of if not all of Boards of Canada's sounds.  

 

   

Legendary Tone: Mark Knopfler

Legendary Tone:

Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits

I have loved Mark Knopfler's style ever since I first heard, 'Sultans of Swing,' by Dire Straits. His playing is very smooth and melodic, much like David Gilmour. His tone is very Blues oriented and very clean much of the time.

Like most blues players, Knopfler primarily preferred playing Fender Stratocasters. He played a few other guitars here and there like his Les Paul's but his Strat gave him a very unique sound. He was specifically fond of 1950's and 1960's models.

Amplification included Marshall and Fender amplifiers. Fender amps like Twin Reverbs and Vibrolux were his favorites for his spanky clean and sometimes twangy tone. For Overdrive he would at times incorporate his Marshall amps. But because of the nature of his tone, his fender amps were used most of all. The sounds of these amps can be heard on songs by Dire Straits such as: 'Tunnel of Love' and 'Sultans of Swing.'

Knopflers preferred BOSS choruses and flangers for achieving his modulation tones. These pedals give off a swirly stereo sound to make his guitar tone a little bigger and wider. This allows for some interesting sounds during buildups in certain songs.

as for his choice in delay, like many players, he used analog. Analog delay is a more organic sounding delay than that of digital delay which is much more cold and precise. Analog delay gives a more organic and natural sound than digital delay. this is why many guitarists prefer analog.

Compressors are very important in achieving Knopfler's tone because they are what make it so smooth and clean. He preferred using the BOSS CS-2 for his compressed tones.

These effects I have mentioned will do well in delivering the type of tones desired while playing Mark Knopfler's music.

Click Here for an example of Mark Knopfler's Tone!

Legendary Tone: My Rig

Legendary Tone:

My Rig

While my guitar tone isn't consider legendary, I decided to take time to write a blog piece on my own rig that I use for the studio and live situations. 

My favorite guitar player is David Gilmour of Pink Floyd; so I've tried my best to build a pedal board that will both, cover my favorite Pink Floyd sounds while also being versatile enough to cover a wide range of music. I play Pink Floyd music for fun, but playing live obligates me to play music by many other groups and for this reason, my pedals must be versatile.

My guitar is a Fender 1957 reissue Stratocaster. It is modeled after the guitar that David Gilmour is currently using. It is fitted with Fender '69 Custom Shop Single Coil pick-ups and a custom switched that I had installed in order to combine with neck and bridge pickup simultaneously. All of the hardware was replaced including the whammy bar, which was replaced by a shortened version like Gilmour's.

My current amp is a Fender HotRod DeVille. This is a highly sought after amp that is versatile on many levels. It has a good amount of headroom, which is essential to the way I set my tone.

My main distortion units are a ProCo vintage RAT and a North Effects clone of an Electro Harmonix 1972 Violet Ram's Head Big Muff. These can be used for anything from Smashing Pumpkins to Jimmy Hendrix.

For Overdrive I use a Fulltone OCD and a Colorsound Overdriver. The OCD I use for crunch tones a la Jimmy Page, while I use the Colorsound for a clean boost.

My modulation effects are: An EHX Electric Mistress, Fulltone Uni-Vibe, and an MXR Phase 90 Script. These can be used for anything from the Police to Robin Trower. These are very versatile pedals. 

Finally one of my favorite pedals on my board is my TC Electronic Flashback delay. I have mentioned this delay previously because it has almost everything you would want in a delay unit. And TC Electronics has been the leading company in delay effects manufacturing for many years.

These pedals give off as much of the Pink Floyd sound as I want while also allowing for highly versatile tones when needed.

     

Legendary Tone: Kurt Cobain of Nirvana

Legendary Tone:

Kurt Cobain of Nirvana

I have been a fan of Nirvana since I was a boy, which isn't surprising considering that I am a 90's kid. Something about his raw guitar and vocals stood out to me. Kurt was absolutely one of my childhood guitar heroes.

Cobain was known for playing many guitars but primarily he used his left-handed Fender Mustang. This isn't as well known of a Fender as the Stratocaster, however it was Curt's favorite (specifically his 1969 "Lake Placid Blue" Fender competition Mustang). This is the same guitar seen in the Smells Like Teen Spirit music video. These guitars are most recognizable by the shape and the racing stripes on the body.

For amplification, Kurt mainly used Fender and Marshall. His Marshall stacks are also seen in the Smells Like Teen Spirit music video. As most guitarists do, he used the Marshall stacks for his crunch tones and Fender amps like the Fender Twin Reverb were used for his clean tones. These two amps have been the choice for many classic players. 

For distortion, Kurt experimented with many different pedals his most popular choices was the ProCo RAT and the Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi. These pedals were used by countless "grunge" bands of the era. These pedals have very unique sounds, which is one of the reasons they were so popular. The ProCo RAT is a distortion pedal designed to emulate an amplifier (many say a Marshall) boosting a fuzz pedal. The EHX Big Muff sounds more like a cross between a fuzz pedal and a distortion pedal. These two pedals were primarily used during the recording of the album Nevermind.

Finally, for modulation, Kurt's favorite pedal was the Electro Harmonix Small Clone chorus pedal. This pedal may also be heard on Nevermind. It can be heard on tracks such as the guitar solo on Smells Like Teen Spirit.

While Kurt experimented with different pedals, these pedals will cover more than enough of his famous guitar tones.  

Legendary Tone: Introduce Myself

Introduce Myself

In this particular piece I just wanted to take a few minutes to introduce myself and why I started this blog.

My name is Hunter Hansen and I am a recoding artist, producer and certified audio engineer via Recording Connection. I grew up in Montgomery, AL and graduated from Evangel Christian Academy. My father is Bob Hansen who is currently working in sales and my mother is Kay Oswalt, a PC technician for the State of Alabama. My sister, Brooke Hansen, is a nursing graduate of the University of Alabama.

My passion for music has been a big part of my life since I was around 2 years old. Since the day I learned to put headphones on I have never looked back.

I started playing guitar around the age of 7. I played other instruments later on as well but guitar is my primary instrument. When I was growing up I wanted to imitate my "guitar heros" that I had grown up listening to. Naturally this led to years of research and not to mention experimentation of gear. 

I wanted to create this blog because there are many kids growing up just like me who want to sound like their favorite players and it is important to me that they have the right information to do so. 

I try to take all the knowledge I have learned over the years and put it all in one location. This way information on equipment will be a little easier to acquire.

I know how hard it is to find the right information about this subject so hopefully, it will help some people. 

I will be posting weekly here at: www.legendarygear.blogspot.com  

Legendary Tone: Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top

Legendary Tone:

Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top

Billy Gibbons is one of the biggest names in classic rock. His technique and tone are also highly recognizable. His tone is very gritty and muddy sounding but sharp and clear at the same time. 

As far as guitars are concerned, it is a bit controversial as to whether Gibbons was primarily a Strat player or Les Paul. However most people believe that his Gibson Les Paul was played on every recording. Personally, when listening to songs like 'Just Got Paid' I cant help but feel that I'm hearing a Les Paul. The Humbuckers are pretty distinct but due to studio editing, anything is possible.

Also like many players of the time, Gibbons used Marshall Amplifiers in his rig. These were the choice for many, many classic rock artists of the 70's and 80's. They just produce a sound that is hard to beat when it comes to its primary uses.

Gibbons used his Marshall amps for overdrive but when he wanted to make a solo sound more interesting he would - like many players then - used a fuzz pedal. This would give his sound more bite and sustain. 

Like Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn, Gibbons also used an octavia. There weren't many pedals being made back then so it was common for players to discuss gear and experiment with the effects that were available to them at the time.

While Gibbons tone is seemingly simple, the tweaking of the settings on the effects is crucial. He is very careful with the settings that he chooses. This combined with his flawless technique is what gives him such a recognizable tone. Buying the gear is only half of the battle; the rest is perfecting the technique. However achieving Billy Gibbons tone should't be all that difficult even in a tighter budget.

Legendary Tone: Stevie Ray Vaughn

Legendary Tone:

Stevie Ray Vaughn

Stevie Ray Vaughn is one of the greatest blues guitar players of all time. He definitely set the bar when it comes to tone and technique. His tone was very dry but and extremely clean. This was due to his unique way of using his equipment.

Vaughn was primarily a Fender Stratocaster player and his most favorite guitar, Lenny, was the one he used most often. Stratocasters work very well with blues oriented music.

While most players used Marshall Amps for overdrive and Fender for clean, Vaughn did just the opposite. He used his '64 Fender Vibroverb for his crunch tones and the Marshall for his clean. 

Vaughn used two Ibanez TS9 overdrive pedals, which he would incorporate for a solo or to stand out, that he had set for a clean boost tone. Because they were so important to his tone, the TS9's became very popular and sought after. 

The Octavia, also used by Hendrix, was another integral piece of Vaughn's tone. He used it much like the way Hendrix used it. This pedal produces a fuzz sound that is also an octave up so the sound is very unique. These pedals also became very popular because of both, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimi Hendrix.

Like many players of the time, Vaughn was using a Vox wah pedal. This was mainly used on solos or to add variety to a song. Vox is a very well known brand of pedals. They are most famous for the Wah pedal used by countless professional guitarists.

Finally, the Fender Vibratone rotating speaker was added to Vaughn's rig (another trend among guitar players of the era) to modulate the sound and give off a swirl type of tone heard on songs like 'Cold Shot'.

Stevie Ray Vaughn has a very distinctive tone which he acquired using very little effects. Overall his tone is fairly easy to achieve considering only a few effects are required.