John McLaughlin's gear (NEVER thought I'd be posting something like this...)

[BillyGrahamCracker]

Okay, in the Wilco thread, McLaughlin's work on Miles Davis' Jack Johnson and Bitches Brew has come up.

 

I've dug around and found that he used a Mustang while working with Miles. Just wondering if anyone knows what amps, effects, etc. he was using during these sessions/this time period. Thanks in advance for any help.

[elctmist]

Well I can't add much, but Mustang (strung with heavy flatwounds, sounds right) into a Fender tube amp (probably Deluxe Reverb). The Dunlop Crybaby Classic sounds right for the wah. Fuzz: No real idea. Probably an Echoplex in there too, both for delay and pre-amp capabilities.

 

I'd be even more curious to know what effects setup Pete Cosey was using with Miles. There's some crazy sounds on the live albums. I know he had a Telecaster going into primitive guitar synth (Sythi Hi-Fli) but that's all I know.

 

DJ

[gappie]

here are the guitars mclaughlin used in that time with some comments from him. dont know about what amp etc

 

 

Here

[gappie]

ok... maybe for the ones who wanna guess. this is a picture from mclaughlin with miles. ofcourse it could be a total different amp as in the studio.

 

i also read 'somewere' that he was not using a mustang but a modified musicmaster. dont know. maybe the picture can set some light on that also.

[mrbluetone]

When I started playing in 72' John and Steve Howe were my guitar teachers only thru their albums though....I learned John's "Birds of Fire" and the "Yes~Fragile" album.......those cats cook heat up the ol' fretboard.........

[BillyGrahamCracker]

My eagle-eyed little brother and ex-member of this beloved forum, BGB22, verified that the guitar in the pic is indeed a Musicmaster. I'd forgotten about those. A buddy of mine in college, who joined me in an infamous performance as backing band for Jerry Springer, had a 60's one of them.

 

The amp, both of us think, is most likely a Sunn or even a Hi-Watt. Who knows?

 

The problem with this little bit of detection is that it started BOTH of us gassing....him for a Jaguar and me for a Mustang.

 

Either way, if you've not heard "Duran (Take 4)" from the Jack Johnson Sessions boxed set, then you've not heard {censored}y funky! Funk-a-licious! Tasty horn! Tasty, mouthy wah & fuzz! And drums up the ass! If you really need to hear it, PM me with your email.

[BmoreTele]

So what's the weird little guitar John McLaughlin is playing on the Crossroads DVD?

[Non-Digital Tom]

I interviewed Richard Mintz, who designed and built a lot of the early Maestro effects, and he told me about working with the Mahavishu Orchestra. He said John McLaughlin, Jan Hammer, and Jerry Goodman were all using various Maestro pedals. You can definitely hear a lot of phaser and wah on Goodman's violin solos. So considering the date ('71-'73), these guys were definitely using the Maestro PS-1. MXR and Mu-Tron weren't on the scene yet. You can hear McLaughlin using the PS-1 a lot on Visions of the Emerald Beyond .

[Thelonius]

John Mclaughlin is noisy. So is Bitches Brew.

[gappie]

 

Originally posted by billygrahamcracker Either way, if you've not heard "Duran (Take 4)" from the Jack Johnson Sessions boxed set, then you've not heard {censored}y funky! Funk-a-licious! Tasty horn! Tasty, mouthy wah & fuzz! And drums up the ass! If you really need to hear it, PM me with your email.

 

 

yes... great track. nice to hear the differences with take 6 of the same song.

[glasskangaroo]

 

Originally posted by BmoreTele So what's the weird little guitar John McLaughlin is playing on the Crossroads DVD?

 

 

I'm quite sure that's a Godin LG XT. This has been McLaughlin's guitar of choice for the last year. He's been using it with the latest incarnation of Shakti.

 

- glasskangaroo

[Mike McLenison]

Just a sidenote, I had the privilege of building Billy Cobham's drum kit when I worked for the drum company Fibes around 1972. Here's a backstage (mirror) pic of John McLaughlin, I'm the one blowing smoke out of my mouth, and there's Cobham behind me. This shot was taken after the performance and McLaughlin is seen there jamming with Jan Hammer (not in pic). I guess they didn't care to take a break! Both were plugged into a Fender Champ or Princeton. Hammer had one of those guitar-slinging type keyboards.

 

[threm]

Mike, thanks for a glimpse back into the great early seventies!

Your hair cut was absolutely the right one for the times(compared to Mr. Shakti).

I used to listen to Spectrum that was released the year after, I think. Did Cobham use the Fibes drums on that recording?

[BillyGrahamCracker]

Originally posted by Mike McLenison Just a sidenote, I had the privilege of building Billy Cobham's drum kit when I worked for the drum company Fibes around 1972. Here's a backstage (mirror) pic of John McLaughlin, I'm the one blowing smoke out of my mouth, and there's Cobham behind me. This shot was taken after the performance and McLaughlin is seen there jamming with Jan Hammer (not in pic). I guess they didn't care to take a break! Both were plugged into a Fender Champ or Princeton. Hammer had one of those guitar-slinging type keyboards.

 

Wow! Thanks for sharing! Little bit o' history, huh?

[Mike McLenison]

Your welcome guys. I'm not sure if Cobham used Fibes drums during the Spectrum album. I would guess he did as the time frame was close. He used a "smoke" finish at that concert, which was greenish-clear. Frank Zappa and Leo Kotke were also on the bill that night.

[Fred5]

 

Originally posted by Mike McLenison I'm not sure if Cobham used Fibes drums during the Spectrum album.

 

The LP fold out sleeve has pictures of Billy

playing a Fibes kit.

[clayton explode]

I posted this in another thread, check it,

 

 

synth info circa 71-73

 

Have you tried any of the guitar synhesizers?

 

"A few years ago. I was using Bob Easton's 360 Systems [box 1804, Santa Monica, CA 90406] pitch-to-voltage converter, going through a bank of six Minimoog modules. I toured with that setup but it was so big and difficult to carry and patch that I decided it was just too unwieldy to use for performance."

[shakti1977]

Cool photo!

 

Guess where my forum name comes from???

 

That list of guitars from Guitar Player(?) has a lot of errors. I think it's fairly correct for the earlier stuff (although the Fender used with Miles from Bitches Brew and on is probably a Musicmaster). Turn It Over I seriously doubt is a LP Custom...photos from the time (early '70) usually show him with a LP Junior with an added humbucker. Could also be the Musicmaster still at that stage. Sesisons for Carla Bley's Escalator Over the Hill (March '71) show him with that LP Junior, as does a photo from the Newport festival summer '70.

 

Inner Mounting Flame is the LP Custom, as seen in session photos on the sleeve. The SG doubleneck didn't show up until around Christmas '71, and was the guitar used until he got his Rex Bogue custom built "Double Rainbow" guitar in June(?) '73. This was used until it broke in an accident sometime in early '75(?).

 

As for amps, it's anyone's guess for the Miles sessions, but with the original MO it was a 100W Marshall halfstack in all photos I've seen. Not sure if that was the amp on Inner Mounting Flame, but it's pretty much 100% certainly on Birds of Fire. With the second MO he used original Mk I Boogie amps exclusively, I think.

[Busta]

Is he using a fuzz on 'Inner Mounting Flame" & 'Birds of Fire'? His tone is sick.

[Uriah]

 

Originally posted by Mike McLenison Your welcome guys. I'm not sure if Cobham used Fibes drums during the Spectrum album. I would guess he did as the time frame was close. He used a "smoke" finish at that concert, which was greenish-clear. Frank Zappa and Leo Kotke were also on the bill that night.

 

 

Very cool. Too bad you can't see shows like that anymore.

 

Even in the 80s (when I was coming of age) it was still possible to see some shows like they had in the 70s, you know, much more diverse (instead of 3 nu-metal bands together, or whatever).