TC Electronic Alter Ego delay review

March 21st 2012 | Posted in Reviews | 99 Comments

Rarely have I been this bombarded with questions about a pedal that just hit the market. The new Alter Ego delay is a collaboration between TC Electronics and Pro Guitar Shop designed as an alternative to the already hugely popular Flashback delay with a couple of new additions that caught the attention of us Gilmour fans. Here’s my review.

One thing that always brings out the sceptic in me is when products are so clearly branded or made for a specific audience. Using Pink Floyd throughout the ad and pictures of David with his Binson is a cheap marketing trick for sure and no doubt that TC and PGS knows this. However, I’ve always had a great respect for TC Electronics. It’s one of the few companies that makes pedals that it’s hard to find anything wrong with. Also, the guys over at PGS are serious when it comes to good tone.

©ProGuitarShop.Com

The Alter Ego is basically a Flashback with two new presets based on a Binson Echorec II and an Electro Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man. Two classic analog delays that has put their unique stamp on countless recordings. The Alter Ego is housed in the same chassis as the Flashback with the same controls for delay (time), regen (repeats), mix and effect mode. There’s also a three-position mini toggle switch for subdivisions. The pedal has true bypass switching and runs on Boss-style 9v adapter. It’s also Toneprint enabled although I don’t think there’s any features for this yet (mine didn’t come with a manual, so I’m not sure how this works).

Soundwise, the Alter Ego (or Flashback) is a top end delay pedal with a dead silent circuit. There are 11 modes for multiple tones ranging from pristine, studio quality digital delay to classic analog sounding tape warble. An excellent choice when you need different tones for the set and not least, it fits right into a cramped pedal board. But the interesting thing about the Alter Ego is the new Binson and Memory Man settings.

Binson Echorec II (ER)

I have to admit that I was quite disappointed at first. Perhaps my expectations was too high but the Binson mode has too much modulation for my taste and I still find it hard to get a decent Gilmour tone on a clean signal. Those haunting, almost reverb-like tones just isn’t there. Obviously, it’s hard to do justice to such a complex effect like the Binson with just three controls. If it one day comes to design a dedicated Binson pedal, I hope they see the need for a control controlling the amount of modulation.

Now, that being said, the Binson mode isn’t made entirely with David’s tones in mind. As the presentation says, the tone is based on PGS’ own Binson unit that has a distinct tape warble. Problem for me, is that the warble sounds a bit artificial, which isn’t surprising since these old units have an organic tone that changes from day to day. Anyway, the effect really comes alive when you add a loud tube amp and a screaming fuzz. At 300ms the warble melts into the sound of the guitar and fuzz and creates a huge ambience. You can really hear those classic Dark Side and Pompeii tones pouring out of the speakers! It’s also possible to get a pretty convincing multiple head effect for the intro on Time.

Soundclips:
- Binson mode (300ms) clean tone
- Binson mode (300ms) fuzz tone
- Deluxe Memory Man mode (300ms) clean tone

Soundclips recorded with a Fender Strat (Fender CS69 neck and mid and Duncan SSL-5 bridge pickups) into a Laney Cub12 with a BK Butler Tube Driver and MJM London Fuzz (red, germanium) mic’ed with a Shure SM57 slightly off center 8″ inches away from cone.

Deluxe Memory Man (DMM)
I’ve always been a huge fan of the Memory Man. There’s something about that dark, muddy decay that no other delay unit has managed to replicate. Again, the effect has a bit too much modulation for my taste (I’ve never used the featured chorus on the Memory Man) but it’s much more subtle than the Binson setting.

Personally I like the Memory Man setting better than the Binson. It’s closer to what I associate with the original effect and it works better for my tones. It has warm, smooth repeats and just a hint of modulation that instantly reminds me of The Edge. While the Binson sounds great with fuzz the Memory Man handles the cleans and milder overdrives (as well as fuzz tones).


TC 2290 Digital Delay
 (2290)
The 2290, TC’s legendary delay unit, is also featured in the Flashback and by no means new but it’s worth mentioning in terms of David’s tones. The 2290 has been one of David’s main delay units since 1987.

 The studio quality repeats are hard to match and perfect for the more modern Gilmour sounds and just about anything else. It might be difficult to dial in accurate settings for songs like Another Brick (part 1) and Run Like Hell without any display but a marker pen will do the job. 



So, is the Alter Ego worth it? For a reasonable $165.00 you’ll get an incredibly versatile delay unit loaded with all the tones you’ll need for your pedal board. This is not a David Gilmour delay pedal and it was never meant to be either but rather a very enthusiastic project between TC and PGS. You could very well just buy the Flashback but the new Binson and Memory Man features are a nice bonus. In terms of more authentic tape delay you can’t really beat a vintage Deluxe Memory Man. There are also a wide range of great sounding units with more controls and tone options like the TRex Replica, Boss RE-20 Space Echo, Empress Vintage Modified Superdelay etc.



See Pro Guitar Shop for more technical details and TC Electronic for more about the Flashback delay.

David Gilmour live at Douglas Adams birthday party!

March 12th 2012 | Posted in News | 7 Comments

Yesterday David performed at the Douglas Adams 60th birthday party! The event held at HMV Hammersmith Apollo was a celebration of the great writer with his closest friends and family sharing memories, comedy and music. David Gilmour closed the evening performing three songs with the band.

The event was a benefit for two charities – the EIA (Environmental Investigation Agency) and Save The Rhino. The first half was largely filled with chats and comedy about science and not so serious matters and apparently a mix of both! David, announced as a special guest, did Wish You Were Here, Too Much Monkey Business (Chuck Berry) and Whiter Shade of Pale (Procol Harum). The latter with a great vocal performance by Gary Brooker.

David was not announced for the show so it must have been a huge treat for those attending. However, if you know your Floyd history you’d know that David would have been greatly missed if he hadn’t showed up. Douglas Adams, being a close friend of David, gave name to Division Bell and also performed with Floyd at one of the shows in London’s Earl’s Court in 1994. The larger part of the evening’s band had also played together before in one of Adam’s private parties in the late 90s, including David, Gary Brooker (vocals/organ), Robbie McIntosh (guitar), Jodi Linscott (percussion), Wix Wickens (keyboards), Margo Buchanan (vocals/guitar), Dave Bronze (bass) and Paul Beavis (drums). Read more about the event and earlier history here.

David performed Wish You Were Here with the 1959 Gibson Western acoustic (with a L.R. Baggs M1 active pickup) that he used on the On an Island tour. Too Much Monkey Business and Whiter Shade of Pale was performed with the Black Strat (with the Hendrix strap indicating it’s the original Black Strat) and an amp rig that consisted of a Hiwatt SA112 and (from what I can see) an Alessandro Bluetick amp with a matching cabinet. Only an Ernie Ball volume pedal can bee seen in front of David but my guess is that he had the 1999 Pete Cornish All Tubes pedal board behind the monitor (same setup used at the Crisis Hidden Gig show in 2009).

Big thanks to Jørn-Terje Larsen for the pictures!

The Big Muff – tone tutorial

February 7th 2012 | Posted in Big Muff | 69 Comments


No other pedal is as synonymous with David Gilmour’s tones as the Big Muff. This well over 40 years old beast still continue to inspire and define the guitar tone of thousands of guitarists. In this article you’ll learn how to choose the right model for your rig and how to achieve those killer tones.

The Big Muff is by far my all time favourite pedal. Still, no other pedal has caused me more frustration and anger. It’s a love and hate relationship but the more you understand this moody beast the more you’ll appreciate it. The thing that did it for me was that I realized that the Big Muff has its limits both in terms of how you use it and how it sounds. Being able to nail David’s tones and maybe even track down the exact model he’s using is incredibly rewarding but it can turn out to be a hopeless process too. Choosing a model that works for your specific rig is essential for getting the tones you want.

Vintage Big Muffs VS modern clones

Before you start searching Ebay for a vintage Big Muff you should keep in mind that unless you are very aware of what you are about do to, you can end up getting very disappointed. In most cases, you’re better off with a clone. Back in the early 70s Electro Harmonix were quite inconsistent with their designs and components. Add forty years and heavy abuse from former owners and it’s quite obvious that these pedals won’t sound as they once did. It’s also a well known fact among collectors that there’s very little difference between the so called “triangle” and “ram’s head” models other than the chassis (and placement of the knobs). Aged parts and the inconsistency between circuits means that two seemingly identical pedals will sound quite different to each other and you might very well end up with a “ram’s head” that sounds like a “triangle” or vice versa.

The reason why we today consider these to be two different models is perhaps largely to be “blamed” on the early clones that were based on one or several similar original circuits and therefore have a much more defined tone and consistency. Most cloners will also improve or modify the circuit by using better parts and wiring techniques in order to eliminate noise etc.

Visit The Big Muff Pi Page for all there is to know about classic Big Muff models and modern clones.

Fuzz VS Big Muff

It may be hard to tell the difference between a fuzz and Muff especially in terms of David’s tones because his Pompeii and Dark Side fuzz tones are almost as smooth and sustained as a Muff. The difference, apart from the circuit, is that Big Muffs generally has a more saturated tone, more sustain and compression. Although most Muff models will cover David’s Pompeii and Dark Side tones, the “triangle” and “ram’s head” are closer to the classic silicon transistor Fuzz Face with much of the same edgy and raw fuzz tones. However a Muff is far too aggressive and saturated for the 1968-70 tones so for authenticity you might want to consider a germanium fuzz or simply an overdrive.

Volume

The Big Muff needs volume to operate properly. Volume is its fuel and it needs plenty of it. The louder you play the smoother the tone gets and the more the Big Muff opens up and reveals all its subtle nuances. The old treble boosters, fuzz pedals and Big Muffs were designed specifically for loud and powerful tube stacks. You could crank the amp and use these gain pedals to bring it over the edge. This is important to acknowledge. If you can’t get a Muff to work on a small solid state amp then it’s because it wasn’t intended to be used on these amps. However, by the late 70s you had a new generation of gain pedals like the RAT, Boss DS1 and MXR Distortion + and these were designed to capture the tone of a cranked Marshall with a fuzz. Now people could get that fat, creamy tone on their small amps too.

Gilmour keeps his Hiwatts just on the edge of break up. The tubes should be glowing hot but not so much that they’ll start to distort. When you reach a certain volume level, the speakers will start to clip and compress the sound waves. This combination can’t be achieved at home nor with an attenuator. This old school way of achieving a powerful tone was sort of a result of the fact that guitarists didn’t have front stage monitors like today. You had to rely on a huge wall of amps and an insane volume. A good example is Hendrix live in Albert Hall 1969. If he wasn’t deaf after that gig…

But volume isn’t just about how loud you’re able to play but also how to control it and learning how to use the guitar volume control can do wonders to your tone. Hendrix had only one fuzz in his setup but it sounds as if there are several but all he did was to control the amount of gain with the guitar volume. Keep in mind that contrary to a volume pedal, which controls the overall volume, the guitar volume control the amount of signal that’s fed into the chain. The slightest adjustment will roll off harsh overtones and make the Muff sound smoother. Around 5-6 you’ll get a warm overdrive tone and at 2-3 you’re almost on clean. This of course, depends on how hot your pickups are and how saturated the Muff is.

Check out Tip of the week: Tone
 for a better understanding of how we perceive tone and what it takes to create the tones you’re looking for.

Boosting

David has always used the Big Muff in combination with a booster or overdrive. Not so much for more gain or volume but more like an EQ enhancing the overall tone spectrum. If needed, he can also add more gain and volume and by using a booster for this, rather than maxing the Muff, you’re able to tame and control the tone more easily.

As you’ll see in the setup examples below both the Muff and booster is set fairly mild with moderate gain and about unity volume with the amp. Again, the vital ingredient is volume and as explained above the more you push the amp the less gain you need from the pedals and the better you get to control the tone. Likewise, the more you’re able to control the tone the more you get to work with it. Using an EQ won’t give you the same result because an EQ doesn’t have any tone on its own and it’s very easy to adjust the wrong frequencies and ruin your tone. A booster the like Colorsound Powerboost or BK Butler Tube Driver has lots of tone and they also allow you to adjust the gain, volume, treble and bass individually.

These clips will give you some idea of how a Big Muff sounds alone and with a booster, modulation and delay. The tone changes dramatically with the addition of other pedals, making a single Big Muff very versatile.

There are different opinions about what’s the best way to combine boosters/overdrives with Big Muffs. David always keep transparent sounding boosters like the Colorsound Powerboost and BK Butler Tube Driver after the Muff. This allows the Muff to dominate and the boosters acts as EQs as explained above. Placing these in front of the Muff can take away much of the bass frequencies and it can be hard to find the right amount of gain. Also, using overdrives with too much mid range, like the Tube Screamer, often make the Muff sound dark, muddy and choked.

Compressor and equalizer
Compressors and EQs can often do more harm than good. These are tools and not effects like an overdrive or chorus and they should be used for specific things only. Volume should give you the compression you need but you might want some for your cleans or for creating dynamics in your playing. Leaving it on for your Big Muff + booster combo will add noise, too much gain and feedback. However, if you do need to add compression (more sustain on lower volume), be sure to lower the gain on your Muff with 10-15% and set the booster as clean as possible.

You should always base your tone on your guitar and amp. Never, ever on pedals! An EQ should only be added if the other pedals need something extra like a lower end boost for the RAT or perhaps some mids for the Big Muff. Don’t be fooled by David’s huge collection of EQs in the 80s and 90s. These were assigned for specific tones. As we talked about above, transparent boosters like the Colorsound Powerboost or Tube Driver (or similar) has lots of tone and you can set the treble and bass frequencies to enhance the tonal spectrum of your amp. This is a much more efficient way of shaping your tones than using dedicated EQs.

Read more about how to incorporate compressors and EQs into your tones.

Setups and settings

Which Big Muff model you should choose depends on how you intend to use the pedal and whether or not it works for your setup. I could go on and on about how much I love the green Sovtek or a SUF ram’s head clone but it doesn’t matter much if the pedal doesn’t go with your guitar and amp. Some models are better for recording, while on stage you need one that cuts through the band mix. Likewise, if your amp has a pronounced mid range flavour then a Sovtek might be just a bit too much but a triangle could work very well.

Both the model and what settings you should use depends on how loud you play, where you play, what you’re playing, what other pedals you use and what guitar/pickups and amp you use. There’s very little point in me suggesting settings that sounds amazing on my Reeves amp and Strat if you’re using a Bassman and a Telecaster or perhaps different pickups than I. Use the settings and setups as shown below as a guide and make your own adjustments for the desired tone. I’ve listed both David’s and my setups to give you an idea how you can alter for your rig.

Amp settings:
Clean channel and if possible combine the normal and bright/brilliance channels with a small patch cable in the upper normal and lower bright and plug the guitar into the upper bright. Set the normal slightly higher than the bright and the master to about 1/3 of the normal (regardless if you’ve combined the channels). Bass 50-60%, treble 40-60%, mids 35-50%, presence 40-60%.

1977-83 Animals/David Gilmour/The Wall/Final Cut

David’s typical setup for this period was based on the Black Strat (DiMarzio FS1 bridge pickup 1976-79 and a custom wound Duncan SSL1 bridge pickup 1980-present) and the Pete Cornish 1976 pedal board split into a Hiwatt/WEM rig and Yamaha RA200 rotating speaker cabinets. The Yamahas were mixed lower than the Hiwatts for a mild chorusy tone. The setup was used both on the albums and tours.

David’s setup

Electro Harmoix “ram’s head” Big Muff

- gain 50-60%, tone 40%, volume 50-60%

Colorsound Powerboost

- gain around breakup, treble 9-10:00, bass 12-1:00 (set the master on reissue models to unity)

Electro Harmonix 9V Electric Mistress

- rate 11:30, range 10:30, color 12:00

MXR Digital Delay

- time 370-440ms

My setup

This setup is based on my DG inspired Strat (Duncan SSL5 bridge pickup) and a Reeves Custom 50w tube head with a Sound City 4×12” cab loaded with Weber Thames 80w ceramic speakers.

Electronic Orange Pig Hoof

- gain 1:00, tone 10:00, volume 12:30

Colorsound Powerboost

- gain 11:00, treble 10:00, bass 12:00 (master level set to slightly above unity)

Electro Harmonix Deluxe Electric Mistress

- Color 10:00, range off, rate 10:00

TRex Replica delay

- tempo 7 (370ms) and 8.5 (440ms)

1994 PULSE

David’s setup was based on the Cornish/Bradshaw effect switching system split into a Hiwatt/WEM+Marshall rig and custom Doppola rotating speaker cabinets. The Doppolas were mixed lower than the Hiwatts for a mild chorusy tone. Essential was also David’s candy apple red Stratocaster loaded with EMG SA pickups and the SPC (around 8) and EXG (usually off) active tone controls.

David’s setup (Comfortably Numb main solo)

Boss CS2

- level 2:00, attack 11:00, sustain 11:30

Sovtek Big Muff Pi “Civil War”

- gain 50-60%, tone 40%, level 50-60%

Chandler Tube Driver

- level 2:00, hi 2:00, low 2:00, drive 8:00

Boss CE2

- speed 11:00, depth 1:00

TC2290 Digital Delay

- time 650ms

My setup (Comfortably Numb main solo)

This set up is based on my ’65 reissue Strat (EMG DG20 pickups, SPC set to 8) and a Reeves Custom 50w tube head with a Sound City 4×12” cab loaded with Weber Thames 80w ceramic speakers.
Boss CS2

- level 2:00, attack 11:00, sustain 11:30

Sovtek green Big Muff Pi

- gain 50-60%, tone 40%, level 50-60%

BK Butler Tube Driver

- level 2:00, hi 11:30, low 2:00, drive 9:00

Boss CE2

- speed 11:00, depth 11:00

Boss DD2 digital delay

- level 11:00, feedback 12:00, time 3:00 (aprox 650ms)

2006 Live in Gdansk

David’s setup was based on the Pete Cornish 2006 On an Island stage board and and the Black Strat (custom wound Seymour Duncan SSL1C bridge pickup) fed into a Hiwatt/WEM rig.

David’s setup (Comfortably Numb main solo)

Pete Cornish P1

- sustain 1:00, tone 10:00, volume 11:00

BK Butler Tube Driver

- level 2:00, hi 2:00, low 2:00, drive 8:00

MXR Digital Delay

- time 650ms with long feedback and moderate level

My setup (Comfortably Numb main solo)

This set up is based on my DG inspired Strat (Duncan SSL5 bridge pickup) and a Reeves Custom 50w tube head with a Sound City 4×12” cab loaded with Weber Thames 80w ceramic speakers.
BYOC Large Beaver “triangle” (old 3-knob model)

- gain 1:30, tone 10:00, volume 13:00

BK Butler Tube Driver

- level 2:00, hi 11:00, low 2:00, drive 9:00

Boss DD2 digital delay

- level 11:00, feedback 12:00, time 3:00 (aprox 650ms)

Budget setup

A Big Muff should be affordable for most budgets. The current Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi US reissue is a bleak cousin compared the classic models but it’s well worth checking out the new EHX Bass Big Muff Pi, which is very similar to the early Sovtek pedals and David’s PULSE tones. Among the many clones the BYOC Large Beaver is one of the cheaper models and in my opinion one of the best sounding Muffs on the market. Buy a kit from BYOC or a pre-assembled pedal from Axe, And You Shall Receive. A RAT and Boss DS-1 will also do the job and maybe a better choice for solid state amps and typical bedroom setups.

The Tube Driver and Colorsound Powerboost are quite expensive and hard to find in some territories. The Boss BD2 and OD3 are great alternatives for and you might also want to check out the TRex Tone Bug Booster.

Check out Tip of the week: Overdrive and distortion for tips how to set up for smaller amps and bedrooms.

My setup
This is a versatile setup I often use at home or when I gig with friends. I’m usually using a Strat with vintage pickups but no particular amp. Often just a small combo. The RAT can easily be set up for classic Big Muff-ish tones, Hendrix fuzz or more modern rock or metal.
RAT (vintage model)

- gain 1:30, filter 2:00, volume 2:30

Boss BD-2
- level 2:00, tone 10:00, gain 09:00
BYOC Analog Chorus (any chorus will do or the Boss RT20 for rotary tones)

- speed 11:00, depth 11:00

TRex Reptile (any delay will do)
- repeat 4, echo 4.5, level 8 (unity), time 9 (aprox 650ms)

Further reading:

See this feature for tips on how to record your Big Muff tones and this extensive guide to Comfortably Numb and how to achieve the tone.

Please use the comments field and share your favourite Big Muff models and setups!





 




The Big Muff – a tribute

January 29th 2012 | Posted in Big Muff | 42 Comments

The Big Muff. Anyone who’s stomped one knows its power and tone and when you hear one you nod and go “yeah, that’s a Big Muff”. The larger than life tone is as mythical as the pedal it self. Let’s dip into the wonderful world of the coolest sounding pedal of all time!



I got my first Big Muff in 1996. I had played guitar for some time but never really cared much for effects. Well, I did care for tone but this was before the internet revolution, or at least at the very beginning of it, and the local guitar stores only offered Boss and Ibanez pedals. I remember asking if they had Big Muffs, never really knowing what it was, but they just waved me off. Anyway, by 1996 the whole grunge era was almost gone. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden etc was past their peak but they left a legacy – the music and their guitar tone. The grunge guitarist didn’t care for DS1 or chorus. They wanted an old school nasty tone and the Muff saw its comeback. Electro Harmonix founder Mike Matthews had just moved to Russia and started Sovtek. The timing couldn’t have been better as a new generation was eager to buy their first Big Muff.

Sovtek green Big Muff

Finally, my local store had gotten a green Sovtek Big Muff Pi. I remember trying the pedal in the store and thinking “what the fuck…” It sounded like shit. Of course, now I know that a Music Man Wolfgang into a Marshall stack is hardly the best combo for a Muff and certainly not for replicating David’s tones. Luckily, I was so determined to get this pedal that I bought it. I never figured out the settings so the first year or so I hardly used it.

One day, probably around 1998, I found some settings on the net. A guy recommended something that would fit David’s PULSE tones. I plugged the Muff into my old Sound City 50w stack, maxed the volume as usual, stomped the green beast and “whoa!” I felt like Marty McFly almost being thrown to the other side of the room. The tone was so powerful that I almost fainted. After some tweaking around and adding a delay I was soon fooling around with Sorrow, Echoes, Comfortably Numb etc. I’m sure it sounded horrible but I never forget that day and I still have the pedal.

I’m sure David didn’t feel the same when Phil Taylor presented the Big Muff to him around 1975. After all, he was used to standing in front of a wall of speakers and the sound of his Hiwatts being violated by a screaming Fuzz Face. Apparently, David didn’t care much for the Big Muff at first but he did end up using it for most of his lead tones on Animals and the pedal has been with him ever since.

Electro Harmonix ram's head Big Muff

It’s hard to say just why David settled with the Big Muff. I mean, no matter how much we love the pedal we must admit that it’s quite… unique… in lack of a better word. It’s a perfect match for Floyd, Santana, grunge or Sabbath but hardly for Bon Jovi or a mellow jazz improv. The Big Muff is a nasty beast that can sound quite out of place if you don’t appreciate its limits. But, this was 1975-76 and still a couple of years before the classic distortion appeared, like the Boss DS1, ProCo RAT and MXR Distortion +. Guitarist didn’t have that much to chose from so a Big Muff must have sounded quite sophisticated compared with the fuzz they’d been struggling with for some years.

David’s first Big Muff was a so-called ram’s head model (named after the ram head logo on the pedal). The pedal has the unmistakable saturated gain, scooped mid range and thunderous lows. The pedal became his main distortion for well over three decades. He also got Pete Cornish to make him a clone that would fit his new pedal boards – the P1.

But all this praise and admiration doesn’t mean shit when you sit at home with your little amp while trying to get your newly purchased Big Muff to sound like David’s guitar on PULSE. How can this be? Have I been fooled? You toss the pedal out the window while you demand to know what NASA shit he’s put into his amps to get that tone. Well, this isn’t really about gear or how much money you spend but about physics.

To get that silky smooth sustain and growling bite you need power. Lots of power. And with power I mean volume. People often ask me why David’s Muff tones almost sound as if he’s playing with a clean tone. That’s the essence of a Big Muff. It was designed to boost the clean tone for a smooth sustain. The “bonus” was that to achieve this it needed to clip or distort. That’s why a Muff is often referred to as a booster or sustainer. All you need is a guitar a loud tube amp and a Big Muff. David’s 100w Hiwatts and 200w WEM cabinets are furiously loud and he can set these almost as loud as he wants without them distorting. What he gets is this incredibly powerful clean tone that’s just on the very edge of tube breakup. This is the perfect combo for the Muff. The louder you’re able to play the smoother the Muff gets and the more it opens up.

A little snippet of the wonderful On the Turning Away solo from Delicate Sound of Thunder. The tone is inspired by David’s tone at the 1994 Modena, Italy gig. I’m using a Fender CIJ ’65 reissue with EMG DG20 pickups into a Laney CUB12 stack, Sovtek green Big Muff, Boss RT20 and digital delay and reverb.

To understand how a pedal works and how to get the tones you want, you need to understand how the pedal was designed and how it was intended to be used. The Big Muff was designed at a time when guitarists used loud amp stacks on stage as their only source of monitoring. These amps could distort to some point but for most this wasn’t enough. Treble boosters and fuzz pedals were designed to take these amps over the edge. The Big Muff was designed to offer something more. Something louder and nastier. Now guitarists could make their overdriven Marshalls and even their clean Hiwatts sound like some beast from hell. The louder you played the more the pedal reacted with the tubes and the more compressed the tone got but equally important, the speakers reached their limit and sent out sound waves that would get your ears to cut the high frequencies. This loudness, the bass, the compression and clipping is the secret of David’s Big Muff tones. Sadly, this is almost impossible to recreate on a smaller amp in your bedroom.

So what do you do? Well most of you I guess, have already gotten a clone that’s tweaked for smaller amps or perhaps found ways to combine the Muff with other pedals to simulate a cranked tube amp. The distortions that started to appear in the late 70s were designed to capture the tone of a cranked Marshall and a fuzz. This meant that you could use a RAT or Tube Screamer to make your small solid state amp sound like a huge stack. Of course these won’t recreate the sonics and physics of an amp that’s about to blow but it will be a far better option than forcing a Big Muff to be something which it ain’t.

But why is David always using a Big Muff with a booster or overdrive? well, he’s using the booster just like an EQ. It’s not needed to get that smooth tone but it allows you to emphasise some frequencies depending on the nature of the booster and you can also make the amp slightly hotter by adding more volume and gain. This is important to understand and not just go ahead and crank both pedals for an insane amount of gain. That will only add noise. We’ll look at ways to combine the Big Muff with booster later.

The first Pink Floyd album I got was Animals. It must have been in the late 80’s. It forever changed my life and after hearing Dogs for the millionth time I realised that David Gilmour was the greatest guitarist in the world. Tonewise I didn’t have a clue. It was until I heard Delicate Sound of Thunder some years later that I knew that I wanted THE tone. The soaring, thunderous opening on Sorrow and the silky smooth sustain on Time and Comfortably numb had me completely mesmerised. Now I prefer David’s 70s tones but I still get goosebupms when I put on Delicate and I still can’t quite believe how he managed to get that tone. The Big Muff operates in mysterious ways.

Check out Big Muff guru Kit Rae’s Big Muff site for details on just about every Muff ever existed.

Please feel free to share your favorite Big Muff moments!





Competition – win an Evidence Audio Reveal!

January 23rd 2012 | Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments Closed

Congratulations to Steve Brown from the UK. An Evidence Audio Reveal is on the way! Of course as 99.9% of you knew, David first started to use Evidence Audio cables at the Live 8 Pink Floyd reunion in July 2005. A big thanks to everyone for participating!

___________________
It’s time for a new competition and this time you get the chance to win an Evidence Audio Reveal instrument cable. All you need to do is to answer one simple question and submit your entry!

The Reveal is the latest addition to the Evidence Audio line of instrument and signal cables. Built with the same high standard as all Evidence Audio cables the Reveal is slightly thinner and more flexible, making it a perfect choice for both stage and small bedrooms. Read more about the Reveal here.

Evidence Audio Reveal - Competition

On which historical event did David first start using Evidence Audio cables?

See this Q&A with Evidence Audio founder Tony Farinella for some great tips on the importance of good cables. I also recommend visiting E.A.R.S. Pro Audio for other Evidence Audio models and your custom requirements.

The winner will be drawn monday February 6. Good luck!

CostaLab ChorusLab review

January 13th 2012 | Posted in Reviews | 18 Comments

The chorus effect has been a crucial part of guitarists’ tone since the early 80s. Dismissed by some as cheesy, others can’t play without it. Italian CostaLab has received a lot of praise for their Cornish-inspired pedals and clones of old classics. Here’s my review of the ChorusLab.

I must admit – I’ve never been a chorus kind of guy. Still, I tend to use it quite a lot. It’s one of those effects that, to me at least, sounds better when someone else is using it but I also appreciate how it make a dull overdrive or distortion sound quite sweet. David Gilmour has been using chorus since 1980. Two Boss CE2 pedals were featured in his Wall stage rig assigned to each channel for a wide stereo spread. As most other guitarists in the 80s David featured the CE2 in all of his rigs, either for stereo spread or a single pedal depending on the purpose of the setup.

Gilmourish.Com CostaLab ChorusLab review

The CostaLab ChorusLab is housed in a TRex sized box with true bypass switching, a bright easy to see led and it runs on either 9V battery or Boss-style power supply. The pedal feature controls for depth, speed and mix.

It feels almost sacrilege to not dismiss every Boss CE2 clone but I’ve ways found analog chorus like the CE2, EHX Small Clone and similar to be just a little too dominating with too much mid range. The ChorusLab is quite the opposite. No doubt the pedal is based on the classic CE2 with the same analog flavour but the ChorusLab is much warmer and smoother and blends better with other pedals. A huge improvement in my opinion.

I’m using a Fender Road Worn 60s body with a Warmoth 57 super thin neck and TexMex pickups into the ChorusLab and a Laney Cub12 15w stack. Reverb and delay is added in Logic.

A welcomed bonus is the mix control allowing you to mix the effect signal from 0 to flat to near flanger-ish. This makes it easy to adjust the chorus effect to match the other pedals. Clean tones and mild overdrives could do with a fat chorusy tone, while distortions sounds better with a milder setting. You can also dial in a pretty convincing rotary tone that stays in pitch unlike most chorus pedals, which tend to get all wild and swirly when you increase the rate and depth.

Chorus pedals tend to be a bit noisy. Part because of age but also due to the boosted mid range. The ChorusLab is dead silent and the true bypass switching makes it easy to blend it demanding vintage pedals.

If you’re not really a chorus guy or simply think that other chorus pedals doesn’t sound warm or natural enough then the ChorusLab is highly recommended. Whether you’re seeking the magic ingredient for David’s PULSE tones or just something that will beef up your tones you’ll find that the ChorusLab nails pretty much everything. Check out the CostaLab website for more info and ordering.

D. Allen pickups review

January 2nd 2012 | Posted in Reviews | 35 Comments

The pickups in your guitar are as important as any stompbox and a good set of quality pickups can do wonders for your tone. California based D. Allen pickups has gained a lot of praise lately for their hand wound custom pickups and I recently got a couple of sets that promised classic Gilmour tones. Here’s my review of the Tru Vintage 54, 69 Voodoo and Voodoo Blues.

Choosing the right pickups for your setup can be a challenge. You might realize that the pickups you finally decided on doesn’t sound anything near what you’d expected. All of my Strats has featured Fender CS69s at one point and all of them sounded different. The reason is that there’s no such thing as two identical guitars. Even though they have the same wood, contour, lacquer etc, there are all these little nuances that creates a unique tone. So what pickups should you choose? Well, that really needs to be your decision, based on the gear you have but one thing is for sure – hand wound quality pickups will always be a welcomed upgrade.

All D. Allen single coils are made by hand, making each bobbin with laser cut fiber flatwork, hand beveled alnico magnets, scatter wind, wax pot, use USA cloth push back hookup wires, finish off with a fabric tape. The tone character is designed in close relationship with guitarists and by meticulously studying vintage models.

Tru Vintage 54
The Tru Vintage 54s (alnico 3) are based on the pickups featured in the very first line of Fender Stratocasters. These are known for their glassy transparent tone with a rounded lower end and a hint of mid range. This is instant surf and Shadows but also a perfect match for David’s legendary #0001 Stratocaster.

I’ve always been a fan of the 54s and in my opinion they’re ideal for big pedal boards when you want a transparent tone as possible. They can sound a bit thin and bright though. Especially if they’re combined with maple necks or if you’re used to hot overwound pickups or humbuckers. However, the Tru Vintage 54 has an incredibly smooth top that stays creamy even when you crank the amp really good. The fat lower end and slight mid range makes them very dynamic and versatile – almost to the point that you forget that these are indeed low output vintage style models. Highly recommended if you’re desperately seeking that Stratpack 2004 tone or simply a set that’ll cover most of David’s 70s tones.

VP 69 Voodoo
The 69 Voodoo’s (alnico 5) are based on the late 60s Fender pickups employed by Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, SRV etc. Recognized by their transparent tone, thunderous lower end and crisp top, this is as close as you’ll get to Machine Gun and Echoes!

Over the years I’ve become more and more fan of the 69s. Although similar to the 54s, they respond even better to tube amps and high gain pedals and the boosted lower end makes them slightly warmer. Having used numerous different Fender 69 clones over the years I must admit that the Voodoo’s gave me a huge grin when I plugged in my trusted Strat. These are so scooped (middle frequency rolled off) that they can easily be mistaken for John Mayer’s Big Dippers. I also think Allen has better achieved the balance between the punchy lower end and the fairly bright top, which sometimes can be hard to combine with certain pedals.

Recognizing that many players feels that the stock bridge can be just a tad too bright, D Allen has beefed it up from the usual 5.8k to 6.2k. Not a huge difference but enough for the pickup to sound considerably warmer with just a hint of mid boost.

Voodoo Blues SSS
The Voodoo Blues set feature a neck and mid 69 Voodoo (both 5.8k) and a slightly overwound bridge pickup (7.58k) wound with extra thin thread to bring out the dynamics. A common complaint about the late 60s pickups, is that while the neck and middle sound fat and well balanced, the bridge often sound thin and spiky. The Voodoo Blues bridge is designed for a higher output and smooth, creamy mids while still maintaining that classic late 60s tone with a distinct, bright top.

The Voodoo Blues is very close to what you’d get from combining Fender CS69 with a Duncan SSL5. However, the Voodoo Blues bridge sound much more open than the SSL5, which on some guitars can sound just a bit too dark. I must say that I prefer that dark tone but the Voodoo Blues bridge is probably a better choice if you’re running lots of pedals and cables that kills some of those top frequencies.

I always try to stress the importance of a good sounding guitar and amp. This is a much better and longer lasting investment than any pedal. After all, playing an instrument is about inspiration and no pedal will sound inspiring without a good basis. This, however, doesn’t mean that you need to blow all your savings but a guitar that you’re comfortable with will sound even better with proper pickups. A good rule when you buy a new guitar is to focus on the comfort, playability and how it sound acoustically. If the pickups do sound good, then you got yourself a bonus. If they don’t then I strongly suggest a new set of good quality hand wounds. For me, good quality pickups can be measured by how well they respond to your picking technique and whether they maintain their character when you adjust the guitar volume. Dave Allen has got me convinced with his great sounding pickups. Highly recommended!

Check out the D. Allen Pickups website for more details and ordering info.

I haven’t recorded any clips for this review. Soundclips will never do pickups justice because you can manipulate the sound with different recording techniques (choice of mic, mic placements, recording and mastering software etc). Check out these songs for a close reference:

TruVintage 54s: David Gilmour performing Marooned at the Stratpack show, Wembley Arena 2004. #0001 1954 Stratocaster with Demeter Compulator, Chandler Tube Driver and MXR digital delay into a Hiwatt+WEM setup.

VP 69 Voodoo’s: Pink Floyd performing Echoes from the Live at Pompeii film, 1971.. The Black Strat clean for all the rhythms and a (silicon) Fuzz Face with Binson echo for the leads into a Hiwatt+WEM setup.

Voodoo Blues: David Gilmour performing Then I Close My Eyes at Royal Albert Hall, 2006. The Black Strat with Demeter Compulator, BK Butler Tube Driver and delay into a Hiwatt+WEM setup.