"Wicked Game" guitar sound

[UstadKhanAli]

I came across this, and it occurred to me that some of you might be interested in this as well.

 

James Wilsey, the guitarist for Chris Isaak, has apparently been posting, and mentioned this about his guitar tone for "Wicked Game":

 

As far as echo/reverb goes- I've always used the good old spring reverb (and tremolo) in a twin, and a delay of some kind...digital or analog- I favor a purple Maxon analog delay these days....

 

One little 'trick' I use is to run the straight gtr signal thu the reverb channel and the delay into the 'normal' channel. Makes it easy to control the wet/dry balance with the channel volumes, and you can turn down the highs on the repeats if they're too bright. It seems to keep the straight singal less 'mushy' with the echo as they are going thru seperate pre amps.

 

For recording I would generally keep the gtr slightly dryer than normal- to be able have more control in the mix. We would add more delay and verb in the mix to spread it out in stereo a bit.

 

Also- Hank B Marvin (and the Shadows) has been a big influence in my sound and playing style- If you like this sound, do yourself a favor and pick up a Shadows CD..."the Shadows are GO!" is available in the US and is a good strting point....

 

 

the entire thread that this post appears on

 

And here's an article about the recording of "Wicked Game" in general:

 

Article

 

Another striking effect on Wilsey's guitar, which was played through a 1964 Fender Deluxe amp miked with a Shure SM57, is a long, quarter-note, triplet delay that swells up at the end of certain notes. To create it, his mono guitar track was sent to a TC Electronic 2290 for pre-delay, then fed to an Eventide H3000 stereo Rich Chorus program. The effect is that the mono guitar hit swells up into the delay, then spreads out into the stereo chorus to create a kind of pad. Needham rode the effect up at each spot by hand, then automated it and printed onto a track of the MCI.

[the stranger]

[panthalassa]

Yeah, I love that Shadows album cover, what with those kickass dolls and that rocket ship - styled car! Great stuff. I had no idea how many bands and players those guys inspired, too (Beatles, Jeff Beck, et al.

[blue2blue]

It's a great guitar sound on Wicked Game.

 

 

Spurred by this thread, I'm listening to the "Final Tour" album from the Shadows now (2004 -- it's the only thing on my 'script service from them, so far).

 

That is some artful wobble bar work.

 

 

To the near-impossible-to-simulate list add spring 'verb.

[John Sayers]

Yeah - when I first heard it I said - wow what a neat Hank Marvin sound. Hank used an echolette tape delay.

 

he's also being rather humble about his ability to hold a sustain

 

cheers

john

[Tele-vania65000]

At least the tele geeks didn't kiss his ass too much!

 

Good lord!

 

They were lining up around the block.

 

I love the guitar sound on Wicked Game--it's classic.

 

He forgot to mention the use of a volume pedal. Essential to nailing the sound.

[UstadKhanAli]

 

Originally posted by Tele-vania65000 He forgot to mention the use of a volume pedal. Essential to nailing the sound.

 

 

Could you explain the use of the volume pedal more? It'd be interesting to hear this!!!