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.