All questions

1990 Tone
Asked by Dave Sharman | 3680 days ago

Hey Dave,
I’ve been chasing a late 80′s – early 90′s type guitar tone for the past three years, and I still don’t quite have it. Your tone on the 1990 album is a prime example of the kind of sound I’m going for- powerful and driving, but plenty of clarity without getting too piercing. I think so far I’ve found the right pickups for the job, now I’m just having trouble calibrating the distortion… Would you be able to tell me what amp you used to record that album, and about how much gain you think you used on a 1-10 scale? The wattage of the amp would help too, if you can remember it.

Much appreciated,
Science Penguin

Hello Science Penguin,

 

Thank you for your question and apologies for the late reply! On the 1990 album I used a combination of a Mesa Boogie Mark III 50 watt combo together with a Hughes & Kettner tubeman preamp. In terms of gain, it would be on a 10, I’d also set the eq between the bass, treble, Mid & presence channels to give the sound as much warmth, clarity and power yet with plenty of feedback if needed. There’s no real technique, just use your ears!

Regards,

Dave

 
Possible tabs
Asked by Dave Sharman | 3680 days ago

Hey Dave.just after I finished HIgh school I came across your album 1990 and I loved it
Last decade haven’t played much but would like to get back into it
Id love any tabs of your music but in particular Frantic and andromenia.

Thanks
Michael

Hi Michael,

Thanks for your question. There is indeed a tab of Frantic available which you can download if you join the mailing list, it won’t be there for too much longer as we’re going to change the format of the website. Andromeda will be available soon along with many others which will be included as part of my forthcoming ‘Guitar School’ series, details of which you can get via our mailing list newsletter so make sure you subscribe and Keep in touch for more J

Regards,

Dave