Alan Sparhawk on "I Could Live In Hope"?

[Echo Ranch]

Telecaster. SHO. Fender super reverb. That's what I saw back in the day. Then in early 2000s and he was using ac30s!!!! Omg. Ha. Sounded great then too! A bit more aggressive. Then he switched to small amps. Usually 2 champs. Continually evolving.

He's a genius and a gentleman. Rock solid people there

I asked him about compression and his recording. He said he just hits the tape hard on recording. That'll help a lot. Not much compression other than that. But I'm sure whoever is mixing it is giving it the love.

[Momofuku]

I saw them during this period and he used a tele

You remember what amp he was using?

I don't.
I wasn't as obsessed as I am now with gear, but it was the first time I saw a Line 6 DL-4.

now, he is obsessed with recreating Neil Young's vibe, which is great

[pacemaker]

now, he is obsessed with recreating Neil Young's vibe, which is great

He does a great job of incorporating that into a style of his own, I think. I remember the first time I heard "When I Go Deaf" thinking he'd completely nailed that out-of-control Neil thing... I hadn't kept up with the last few records before that so I don't know if he was moving that direction already, but it was a complete (and welcome) surprise to me.

[StevenO]

There's definitely more Neil Young influence when he plays the songs, old and new, live. On record, there's the few songs where it's apparent but I think he mostly keeps it in check. It's kind of his own thing at this point, which is good. I guess context is everything.

[46346]

wow - am i glad this thread got revived. i just looked - they are playing tonight at the Troubador... i'm gonna head over there now, as they say there are still some tickys!

[tdbajus]

I'm going to see them tonight at Great American Music Hall. Psyched.

[46346]

go ahead and get psyched - you won't be disappointed, if last night's show is any indication. i was quite inspired by them in like 2001, had always wanted to see them again, at long last - the Troubador show was mesmerizing. easily the best thing i've seen this year.

Alan was very approachable afterwards, and we chatted for quite a while. there were several fans hovering around as we spoke about gear, and the sound at the Troub... i was feeling guilty for taking up the time from the fans, but he was totally relaxed and very present, seemed genuinely happy to connect with another player. he strikes me to be as deep and genuine as some of the music suggests.

StevenO is spot-on about the current rig. the SHO hitting the tweed Vibrolux... yeah! and the JC for depth and cleanliness.

i figure that's their mics, too. totally fits the sound, and i don't think i've seen a Royer ribbon at the Troub before:

[WonderCouncil]

Jealous of all the people getting to see them live! Maybe once I move I'll have a better chance at catching them.

That's a really yummy looking set up! Almost makes me want to maybe get a tweed clone. Is that footswitch for the Roland I'm guessing? Did you get any pictures of his pedal board or guitars by chance? Or was the SHO the only one he was using?

Sort of off topic what was the set list like?

[tdbajus]

Funny- I played an old Polytone amp, and wanted to get it to run clean with a tube amp.

Those new ZT amps would be an excellent contender for that- they are cheap, light, and sound really nice.

[pacemaker]

Jealous of all the people getting to see them live!

You and me both... they aren't coming anywhere near here anytime soon...

[StevenO]

Damn straight I was right about his setup. I stood directly in front of him and mentally wrote down every little detail.

Also, those are different mics than what he used at the show I saw. He had either a pencil condenser or ribbon mic on the Vibrolux, I couldn't make out what it was exactly, and an SM57 on the Roland. The Roland and Vibrolux were also switched, in that the Vibrolux was on the right, WHICH TOTALLY MATTERS.

Also, the footswitch is for the Vibrolux, for turning on and off the tremolo.

[WonderCouncil]

Also, the footswitch is for the Vibrolux, for turning on and off the tremolo.

Ahh, very cool. Never thought of that, thanks.

[tdbajus]

Looking at the pedals right now, waiting for them to go on.

Alan's stuff is on the left (stage right?) And most importantly, the Roland is on the left, or towards the outside of the stage. The vibrolux will direct its rock in a more central transmission. Pedals are: boss tuner, johnny octave?, Mr echo, lofi loop junky, splitter.

I am drinking wine from The Pinot Project, which I can assure you is excellent, and made Thalia Zedek sound f'ing awesome. Pretty sure she'd have sounded good without the wine, but better safe than sorry.

[edit]

I'm deep in the grips of the nefarious Pinot Project, but I thought I'd say that I think the last pedal wasn't just a splitter, but maybe a modified SHO- it had the Z-Vex style paintjob, but had two outs and one in. I strongly suspect that one of the outs is a bypass; I'm not sure if Alan is running through the Roland JC? all of the time, but only uses the Vibrolux when he steps on the SHO, or if both amps are being boosted simultaneously when he turns the SHO on.

[chacha]

Ugggghhhh really GASing for a Trem King after this and that FS thread.

[ziess]

The SHO has two outs so it's probably just a stock one?