SLEEP tone on a budget.

[SirJackdeFuzz]

This is a combination of the Sludge Amp thread and the UK based guitar store Andertons', Youtube Challenges, how to created a famous rig for very little money.


So, here is the question :


All SLEEP fans know that the band spend about $75 000.00 (in the early 90's) on amps.
( ... this is also well documented.)

So, assuming you already have a humbucker guitar, what amp / pedals will you need to nail that Dopesmoker tone ?

NO specific target price, just as cheap but convincing as possible :




GO !

 

[ex-250]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

I think the Sludge Amp thread had it pretty well covered with Hovercraft.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

I think the Sludge Amp thread had it pretty well covered with Hovercraft.

But if that amp is too expensive ?

I am talking TIGHT budget here !

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

Meh, all you need for a sludge doom is a neck humbucker and something really loud with a Rat or a Muff. I haven't looked at that other thread.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

Meh, all you need for a sludge doom is a neck humbucker and something really loud with a Rat or a Muff. I haven't looked at that other thread.

Never knew a Muff can sound like a GREEN 120 MVU :dunno:

 

[Maggot]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

Laney AOR Pro Tube. It's a little bit more the Holy Mountain tone, but I think the Dopesmoker tone is a bunch of different really expensive amps plus the Laney. It's a pretty good start. Hovercraft is another good idea. The main thing is lots of power, lots of speakers, and lots of time in the jam room cranking it loud and, errrr, smoking dope.

Most of the people I know who have awesome doom sounds spend a lot of time scouring Craigslist for anything old and loud. Lots of Peavey, Laney, Sunn, Ampeg V4s, plenty of solid state Acoustic and Sunn amps (although, not specifically for Sleep tones) bass speakers, cabs with 15s and 18s, fuzz pedals, etc. It's not something you can buy in a box; it comes from mixing and matching large quantities of cumbersome crap. If you get with a Laney Pro Tube and a good 4x12, you're off to a good start. But 4x12 is more of a starting point. It really is quantity over quality to a certain extent.

If you want to buy new, then Hovercraft, Verellen, Orange.

For Pedals, Black Arts Toneworks has an entire line dedicated to doom. The Black Forest is really versatile. I'm thinking Sleep is probably more amp/boost distortion. The classic doom fuzz is the Boss FZ-2 as used by Electric Wizard. It's a loose Superfuzz clone. For Muffier flavors, Earthbound Super collider or Black Arts LSTR, or anything based on a Russian Muff. On the cheap, RAT, Bass Big Muff or Colorsound-ish one-knob fuzz. Vick Audio makes good clones of much of this stuff. But as with amps, quantity, experimentation and volume are key.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

I was going to say that the Anderton's version would be Orange plus Russian Muff.

Any links to the list of gear on Dopesmoker?

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

I was going to say that the Anderton's version would be Orange plus Russian Muff.

Any links to the list of gear on Dopesmoker?

Not that i am aware of . . . but, Matt Pike do mention some things in this Must-See Rockumentary.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

Never knew a Muff can sound like a GREEN 120 MVU :dunno:

I wasn't referencing that sound specifically, but I personally don't split hairs when it comes to tones. In my view you can get close enough with a little effort. That tone is not even a hard one to cop, I don't think. PAF-ish neck pickup, tone 1/2 to 3/4 down, and you're halfway there plugged into damn near anything with enough gain to fuzz out the low end. Is that how it was done on the record? No, but it sounds close enough for me.

My point is that I think it's really, really stupid, to spend big bucks for an amp to play something we refer to as "sludge".

 

[Maggot]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

Just to paraphrase what I was rambling on about earlier. If you already have a tolerable half stack, get a Black Forest Overdrive and more speakers. If not, get an AOR 100 or similar and the equivalent of at least six 12" speakers.

If you don't have enough gain add another pedal.

 

[autologic]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

.

 

[Maggot]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

OK. Here's what it'll cost. You could certainly get it lower and keep it doomy.

1) AOR Amp + Cab 800 on EBay. You could easily go cheaper, but this is almost glamorous in its utilitarian nastiness.

2) Black Forest Pedal $162

3) Seismic 2x15 bass cab. $229.

4) Paying your friend to re-wire the bass cab from 4 to 16 ohms. 12 pack of beer, a gram of weed, or if you're strong, you could just agree to forget about the time he made out with your girlfriend. Assuming you're not strong, $20

Total: $1211. It would be fairly easy to get it a couple hundred cheaper, though.

 

[Maggot]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

Although, I don't think it could possibly make sense not to have one of these:

4 x 15! At $850 loaded, it's a steal!

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

Although, I don't think it could possibly make sense not to have one of these:

4 x 15! At $850 loaded, it's a steal!

$900.00'ish tax incl. . . . that is a bit of a bargain !!!!

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

How you gonna move that with no wheels?!!!

 

[Maggot]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

Hand truck! It's only 4' tall. Impressive- looking thing. Even though I'm not entirely sold on the concept of 4x15 as opposed to 2x2x15.

But then again, I played through an old 6x12 Peavey once, and it was way more fun than 4x12. You could really hear and feel the excessiveness. I'm usually more tone hound than size queen (and probably more cheapskate than either), but that was my best amp experience ever. Outdoor show in a big valley. The whole nine yards.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

Seems like an odd shape for a 4x15, they must be offset like the Sunn Beta cabs.

 

[Maggot]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

They are.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

On the topic of cabs that can DOOM.

This one is never gonna be cheap, but it sure as hell reads like something i would love to have :

. . . maybe connect a Twin Reverb + DbA Fuzz War to it.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: SLEEP tone on a budget.

before i bought my green matamp, sunn model t and orange overdrive i used to get shockingly close with my 69 bassman and a modded DS-1

it's more about what you're playing than the gear you play with. Sleep's amps gave them special stoner powers because they were green and so is pot. Mystery solved. Go play music.