Fuzz Face? MXR D+? You make the call! I do not know the answer.

JeffB

JeffB

Let it B
1978.

HiWatt 100w stack and cabs. It has been some time, but I have played through a cranked old 70s DR103...they do not sound like this all by their lonesome.

HE HAS to be using a pedal here...Been known to use a Fuzz Face early on, and a MXR Distortion + circa 1980-81.

any guesses? It sounds MXR-ish to me. And FWIW, dig the CE-1 all over this first clip :bigthumb:

around 1:35 you can get the guitar acapella sans CE1





also guitar clearly heard at the beginning here
 
Re: Fuzz Face? MXR D+? You make the call! I do not know the answer.

Hiwatt stacks are amazing, thundering beasts, but they're a lot cleaner than a Marshall unless you hit them with a pedal.

Fortunately, a Hiwatt is a great base for a pedal-heavy rig. Gilmour's boosted his Hiwatts with a slew of different pedals over the years.

The Distortion+ is a love/hate pedal for sure, but I bet it would absolutely rule the school through a Hiwatt stack. You could probably get the Lifeson tone there with a D+, or likely any other simple distortion pedal like a Rat or a MIJ DS-1.
 
Re: Fuzz Face? MXR D+? You make the call! I do not know the answer.

Heyya RD, not trying to emulate it really, I have my own 70s type thing going on,and lord knows my little setup will never get close to a couple of HiWatt stacks :)

I was just curious what pedal other people thought it might be... For my tastes it is a killer sound, whatever pedal he is using there.
 
Re: Fuzz Face? MXR D+? You make the call! I do not know the answer.

My vote goes to the D+. I get a lot of the live Rhoad's vibe in some of the parts is what's making vote that way. I've heard the Tribute enough that that tone is ingrained in my melon permanently.

A Passage to Bangkok is my one of my fav. Rush tunes as well! I'll have to see if I can find that album.
 
Re: Fuzz Face? MXR D+? You make the call! I do not know the answer.

JeffB said:
Heyya RD, not trying to emulate it really, I have my own 70s type thing going on,and lord knows my little setup will never get close to a couple of HiWatt stacks :)

I was just curious what pedal other people thought it might be... For my tastes it is a killer sound, whatever pedal he is using there.
Click to expand...

The Hemispheres / Permanent Waves / Moving Pictures era was his best for tone IMO. I didn't think he had the D+ until Moving Pictures, but I could be wrong. They were all Hiwatt - I know that.
 
Re: Fuzz Face? MXR D+? You make the call! I do not know the answer.

ratherdashing said:
. I didn't think he had the D+ until Moving Pictures, but I could be wrong. They were all Hiwatt - I know that.
Click to expand...

What you say about when he got the D+ was my understanding as well. Only other pedal he stated he used in previous years was a fuzz face, but IDK if a fuzz face can do that or not...the tones on that bootleg from the hemispheres tour....sounds more like the D+ to me. thus the point of the thread :D

Brent, the studio version of bangkok is much less gainy, but still kin dof has a pedal type thing going on. He was using his workhorse old jmp 1987 50w, but maybe he is just cranking the level and backing off the gain big time on the FF?

As I do not own a FF, I was just wondering if it is capable of such tones...i.e. not overly blatant fuzz ala Hendrix, Gibbons, Trower, etc.
 
Re: Fuzz Face? MXR D+? You make the call! I do not know the answer.

JeffB said:
What you say about when he got the D+ was my understanding as well. Only other pedal he stated he used in previous years was a fuzz face, but IDK if a fuzz face can do that or not...the tones on that bootleg from the hemispheres tour....sounds more like the D+ to me. thus the point of the thread :D

Brent, the studio version of bangkok is much less gainy, but still kin dof has a pedal type thing going on. He was using his workhorse old jmp 1987 50w, but maybe he is just cranking the level and backing off the gain big time on the FF?

As I do not own a FF, I was just wondering if it is capable of such tones...i.e. not overly blatant fuzz ala Hendrix, Gibbons, Trower, etc.
Click to expand...

It miiiiight be able to, depending on the specific FF. The tone seems to have a lot more clarity than a FF could provide though - even with the gain turned down they tend to be pretty sputtery. My ear says it's a distortion pedal of some kind.
 
Re: Fuzz Face? MXR D+? You make the call! I do not know the answer.

I wouldn't discount it simply being a cranked HiWatt....are they clean, sure...are the cleaner than most Marshalls, yes again but they will crunch

That said I am pretty sure it's not a Fuzz Face...the sound it too clear in the lows and to lean to be a Fuzz Face.

He might have a D+ on but if he does it's more volume than drive...
 
Re: Fuzz Face? MXR D+? You make the call! I do not know the answer.

^ yeah, true, a Hiwatt will crunch, but only at ear-bleeding, skull-splitting levels! I guess when you're Alex Lifeson that's not really an issue.
 
Re: Fuzz Face? MXR D+? You make the call! I do not know the answer.

JeffB said:
What you say about when he got the D+ was my understanding as well. Only other pedal he stated he used in previous years was a fuzz face, but IDK if a fuzz face can do that or not...the tones on that bootleg from the hemispheres tour....sounds more like the D+ to me. thus the point of the thread :D

Brent, the studio version of bangkok is much less gainy, but still kin dof has a pedal type thing going on. He was using his workhorse old jmp 1987 50w, but maybe he is just cranking the level and backing off the gain big time on the FF?

As I do not own a FF, I was just wondering if it is capable of such tones...i.e. not overly blatant fuzz ala Hendrix, Gibbons, Trower, etc.
Click to expand...

I think this is the first time I've ever heard a live version of this song. I didn't get into Rush until a few years ago when they had that documentary out. I definitely have a new found respect for the group and especially Neal Peart.
 
Re: Fuzz Face? MXR D+? You make the call! I do not know the answer.

I too was thinking its a bit too clear and tight for a fuzz.

i have heard some modded 103s that sound similar in tone and timbre...frank hannon from Tesla...but the original ones I have played will not get that raw even when they do start to crunch up at max volume(?).

Its interesting no doubt. D+, dod250, brand new DS1 (he did go on a roland kick at this time dumping the maestrophase for a ce1, and exchanging the echoplex for a space echo....hmmmm). Could be a few things I guess.

Treble booster?
 
Re: Fuzz Face? MXR D+? You make the call! I do not know the answer.

JeffB said:
I too was thinking its a bit too clear and tight for a fuzz.

i have heard some modded 103s that sound similar in tone and timbre...frank hannon from Tesla...but the original ones I have played will not get that raw even when they do start to crunch up at max volume(?).

Its interesting no doubt. D+, dod250, brand new DS1 (he did go on a roland kick at this time dumping the maestrophase for a ce1, and exchanging the echoplex for a space echo....hmmmm). Could be a few things I guess.

Treble booster?
Click to expand...

I'm really leaning toward cranked amp...I used to have a 50 watt HiWatt and a tone like that would be pretty easy to dial in if you could get it loud enough.
 
Re: Fuzz Face? MXR D+? You make the call! I do not know the answer.

the guy who invented fire said:
I'm really leaning toward cranked amp...I used to have a 50 watt HiWatt and a tone like that would be pretty easy to dial in if you could get it loud enough.
Click to expand...

I am not discounting it either. Anything is possible, just not my experience with the dr103 I played, which was more of that loud clean with some hair on the edge. I wish I could remember what speaker cab my buddy was running it through at the time. It may have been a marshall major cab.
 
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