How to Capture Brian Setzer's Tone

[GAD]

I wrote this article that pretty much details my obsessive quest for Brian Setzer's tone. It's long, but I think it's a worthwhile read if you're into it.

I split it into two sections:

Analog - Real '63 Bassman, Roland Space Echo, etc.
Digital - Axe-FX Ultra

I do mention my Guild X170T briefly, so it's fair to post it here.

I'd love some feedback if you've got the time to digest it all. I worked a lot with Tavo Vega, self-proclaimed "archiver of all things Setzer" and producer of the Dyno Brain pedal. A lot of what I'd gathered came from him and his research. He was thrilled to have it documented all in one place, which was really my goal with this little project.

Anyway you can read it here: http://www.gad.net/Blog/2011/06/07/how- ... zers-tone/

And to think, it all started with this pic.

 

[taabru45]

There was a treble boost pedal on our cl. a while ago, made to capture the B.S. tone, I think it was a 'Guild' pedal....Steffan
sorry, it was a Brian May treble boost..... http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/m ... 56159.html

 

[fearless]

Wow, that is a fantastic article. I skipped straight to the AxeFX section as I also have an Ultra and am just starting to get a bit deeper into tone shaping. I use a Mesa 20/20 power amp and a 112 cab with Celestion V30 , so I don"t know how well your settings will translate, but I'm keen to give it a try when I can.

It sounds like you are way ahead of where I am when it comes to tone-shaping, but I'll provide some thoughts anyway.

There is a handy trick I lucked on for patch adjustments. Put a Delay block in front of the signal chain, set it it to Looper and record a dry guitar part. Then you can simply tweak your patch "live", without having to pick up and down your guitar. (I put a nasty dent in my Strat by leaning forward to adjust a parameter and having the Strat bang on my computer desk. Darn.)

As to why a parallel shunt improves the sound, my first thought is that a shunt would simply be diluting your Drive mix by having a clean signal in parallel. If you have Drive mix set at say 50% mix (wet) wet and add a shunt (0% wet), you should have the same result as 25% wet. i.e halve your your Drive Block in the mix and you should get the same result. In theory, anyway. That seems a bit obvious though - I assume you've tried it? If it does not sound the same, it could be a stereo effect, depending on how you have your signal set up. Other than that, no idea.

Keep up the good work! If you can nail the Cult guitarists Billy Duffy' full and fluid tone in the signature parts for She Sells Sanctuary and Here Come the Rain, I'd love to hear about it. He uses a Gretsch too. I'm using an SG with P-90s, compressor, a JCM 800 and JC120 in parallel and some delay and reverb. I can't nail the EQ though.

 

[6L6]

GREAT ARTICLE!!!!


Many thanks for posting!

6

 

[Default]

Loved the article, even though I'm not as much of a Setzer fan as I used to be.

I'd rather be a bad Default than a bad Setzer! :lol:

 

[Thunderface]

Mr. Setzer married a local gal and now lives in the Twin Cities.

 

[Walter Broes]

I used to have a "tuxedo" blackface bassman with the presence control, but I sold it as it was too loud for me before it reached any kind of "give".

 

[Default]

Mr. Setzer married a local gal and now lives in the Twin Cities.

He also hangs out at an undisclosed location 8) because nobody knows/cares that he's a guitar player. It's a break for him, because he doesn't have to discuss music, just the regular, everyday stuff that we take for granted.

 

[Ravon]

My wife and I went to a concert of his a few yrs. back in Louisville and he did have the best tone. He was a great showman as well and it was a great concert. As we were leaving some boob in front of us turned to his gal and said in all seriousness "It was ok but a little too much guitar" she looked at him like he was an embicile and raised her voice "OF COURSE! Thats what it was kinda supposed to BE ABOUT!" :lol:

 

[northbayj]

Bravo GAD. Your wrap up about how Setzer's technique is far more complex than it sounds was spot on. The man plays full on jazz material but with verve and sly wit. I'm going to check out that strymon El Capistan pedal. I've got a cheap NEXT analog delay that does a lot of fun stuff, but the tape crinkle features sound to be a real game changer.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[GAD]

Thanks all!

That "local gal" is one of his backup singers!

 

[FNG]

That's a serious article, GAD. Nice job!

 

[taabru45]

Loved the article, even though I'm not as much of a Setzer fan as I used to be.

I'd rather be a bad Default than a bad Setzer! :lol:

.....a.k.a. Setzer..... :lol:

 

[jmac]

Very interesting article. But whenever I read articles like that I wonder, if Brian changed the tubes he's using at a show, or used a model 201 instead of a 301 delay, or played with a 20 foot cable not a 60 foot cable, would any of us know the difference?

 

[Walter Broes]

Very interesting article. But whenever I read articles like that I wonder, if Brian changed the tubes he's using at a show, or used a model 201 instead of a 301 delay, or played with a 20 foot cable not a 60 foot cable, would any of us know the difference?

That's not entirely the point, is it? It's very obvious he's found the gear he likes - apart from maybe the guys in AC/DC, there are very few guitar players on that level who have played the exact same rig for that long.

And he uses the Space echo as much as a gain boost as for the echo, so if you saw him play without, or with a different model with a different preamp in it, he probably would sound different, because his tone would be cleaner and a little thinner.

If you start analysing a guy's rig like that, it's very easy to think he's anal about his gear, while it really comes down to "he's found his comfort zone and the tone he likes", and he's sticking with it. Which I understand completely, every room sounds completely different, and a lot of them really bad, so you'd at least want some consistency from your rig.

 

[jmac]

That's not entirely the point, is it?

The original question, "what do I need to sound like Brian Setzer?". GAD did a great job detailing the gear that Brian Setzer uses, but GAD also asked for feedback so I gave my two cents.

Here's my question, if Lee Ritenour uses Brian Setzer's gear. is Lee Ritenour going to sound like Brian Setzer? Or, more along the lines of the comment I made, if Brian Setzer changes his gear slightly, is he going to sound any less like Brian Setzer?

If you think that the answer to either of my questions is "no", then I think my two cents was worth stating. If you think the answer to either of my two questions is "yes", then I probably didn't have a legit point to make.

 

[Walter Broes]

I was just talking man, and apparently that must have come off a little cranky. Sorry if it did, I was just talking.

Of course the answer to both those questions is "no", agreed.

 

[Default]

While I stated that I'm not as big a Setzer fan as I used to be, I do want to add that Brian fits my definition of a "great" guitarist, i.e. you can recognize him when you hear him play.
I'm looking forward to his usual appearance at the Keswick and hopefully I can get tickets before they sell out this time.

 

[jmac]

I was just talking man, and apparently that must have come off a little cranky. Sorry if it did, I was just talking

I got a little defensive, I'm sorry.

Your point about AC/DC not changing their gear after all these years is something I never stopped to notice. Its very cool. I've been wracking my brain to think of other groups or at least a guitarist who has been as consistent with their equipment.

 

[Walter Broes]

No worries!

I can think of a couple of people - BB King's played the same gear since the early 60's, Johnny Ramone pretty much stuck to his Mosrite/Marshall combination, and there's gotta be a couple of others.