Robin Guthrie (Cocteau twins) sounds

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Re: Robin Guthrie (Cocteau twins) sounds

Post by yaksox » Sun Oct 05, 2008 5:25 pm

shadowplay wrote: Robins a don and a very funny guy.  I think all periods of his work; including the cleaner Gretsch sounds of Violet Indiana; have merit, but for me it's the early stuff that impresses the most.  On Garlands he got the most unearthly sounds out of bog standard equipment (Kawai guitar, wem copicat, HH amp, big muff, clone theory), I remember hearing the album for the first time and hardly having a reference point beyond Final Solution by Pere Ubu having a similar grey scream.  Having said that my own sound is more akin to mid period stuff- the early sounds being intouchable
Yeah, I only started getting into Cocteau Twins earlier this year, and have only listened to Garlands and Treasure - but to me, those (esp Treasure) are awesome. It was the really unusual vocals that drew me in first, but the guitar work is great too. I guess I'm a little hesitant to listen to anymore because I think it won't be as good.

Robin Guthrie also has a weblog. Unfortunately not updated for a while.

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Re: Robin Guthrie (Cocteau twins) sounds

Post by tremolite » Sun Oct 05, 2008 6:48 pm

dc wrote: when i saw him with Harold Budd last year in Seattle, he was running his signal through a laptop. it wasn't working properly when he took the stage, prompting him to ask the crowd, "is there anyone here from Microsoft?" some guy went up and rebooted it for him while he played the first song more or less dry.
I was at that show too!
8)

Mr. Guthrie is probably the biggest influence on my guitar playing. I've known for years that he did the majority of his recording direct, sans any amps. Of course when you have primo studio equipment at your disposal you can more than get away with it. I've gotten some great sounds over the years doing it that way then sending out my tracks to amps and rerecording them. He really is a master at committing an effects-laden sounds to tape (or disc).
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Re: Robin Guthrie (Cocteau twins) sounds

Post by dc » Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:03 pm

tremolite wrote:
dc wrote: when i saw him with Harold Budd last year in Seattle, he was running his signal through a laptop. it wasn't working properly when he took the stage, prompting him to ask the crowd, "is there anyone here from Microsoft?" some guy went up and rebooted it for him while he played the first song more or less dry.
I was at that show too!
8)

Mr. Guthrie is probably the biggest influence on my guitar playing. I've known for years that he did the majority of his recording direct, sans any amps. Of course when you have primo studio equipment at your disposal you can more than get away with it. I've gotten some great sounds over the years doing it that way then sending out my tracks to amps and rerecording them. He really is a master at committing an effects-laden sounds to tape (or disc).
apparently for a long time, he got his great clean (read: non-fuzz) sounds through one of those little Tom Scholz "Rockman" boxes. it's really hard to say "Cocteau Twins" and "Boston" in the same sentence, but there you are.
in the coldest night / huddled 'round the dying embers

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Re: Robin Guthrie (Cocteau twins) sounds

Post by cestlamort » Mon Oct 06, 2008 10:12 pm

I was at that show, too.  Ha.  Good times (writing on a mac, fwiw).  (I'm amused that most of the posts are from WA state... hmmm. )

I had thought I got pretty close to some of the sounds with delay and chorus, but then started really listening and realized I was nowhere near, nor would I ever be.  I appreciate the dimension c pedal because there's no fuss.

I've also found that running mod (chorus or flange) into delays gets you in a similar space.  (and running space station synths (patches 4-8, mostly) into chorus then delay will do it even better).

Or, to disappoint any faith fuzzjunkie has in me (and the secret to "my" sound):

"turn them all on" 

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Re: Robin Guthrie (Cocteau twins) sounds

Post by SonOfJazzmasterE » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:04 pm

One of the real keys to getting the depth is after your delay/reverb effect, you run a mod effect, flange phase chorus. And
OF COURSE you HAVE TO RUN STEREO. Without stereo you are dead.

A friend of mine works with him - I'll pump for some more info.
Go earth! ( the true war of our time)

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Re: Robin Guthrie (Cocteau twins) sounds

Post by noirengineer » Wed Oct 08, 2008 9:32 pm

love it!  tthanks for the infos!

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Re: Robin Guthrie (Cocteau twins) sounds

Post by katie » Thu Oct 09, 2008 5:22 am

dc wrote:
spacecadet wrote: He got back to that a little bit with Milk & Kisses
no shortage of good sounds on that record, like the noisy swells beginning at 2:10 in "Violane," and the series of soaring riffs from 3:50 of "Treasure Hiding"....  :?
yes!  :-*

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Re: Robin Guthrie (Cocteau twins) sounds

Post by dc » Thu Oct 09, 2008 7:36 am

shadowplay wrote: On Garlands he got the most unearthly sounds out of bog standard equipment (Kawai guitar, wem copicat, HH amp, big muff, clone theory), I remember hearing the album for the first time and hardly having a reference point beyond Final Solution by Pere Ubu having a similar grey scream.  Having said that my own sound is more akin to mid period stuff- the early sounds being intouchable
yes, his signal chain for Garlands was  Big Muff distortion=>Watkins Copy Cat tape echo=>Clone Theory chorus/vibrato=>second tape echo=>amp. you know, for those times when just one tape echo isn't enough!  ;D

not to diminish the album at all; it really was a unique sound he conjured up, bleak and frankly kind of scary.
Last edited by dc on Thu Oct 09, 2008 11:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Robin Guthrie (Cocteau twins) sounds

Post by shadowplay » Thu Oct 09, 2008 1:53 pm

[quote="dc"]
[quote="shadowplay"]
bleak and frankly kind of scary.

the live sound at that time even more so, but so long ago I can barely remember except the general awe.
Are you loathsome tonight?

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Re: Robin Guthrie (Cocteau twins) sounds

Post by dc » Thu Oct 09, 2008 9:40 pm

i did stumble across a Guthrie sound a while back, although it's a subtle one. toward the end of "Evangeline" on "Four-Calendar Cafe," there's some crazy stuff in the background that sounds like, i don't know, cosmic bottle-rockets slowly lifting off and then swooning back to ground. he said in an interview that he got those with "an old delay line," and indeed, i found it using the modulated delay on an Ibanez DM-1100 rackmount.

or pretty close, as these things inevitably will only ever be.  :(
in the coldest night / huddled 'round the dying embers

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Re: Robin Guthrie (Cocteau twins) sounds

Post by olywhite » Sun May 02, 2010 11:48 am

cestlamort wrote:I had thought I got pretty close to some of the sounds with delay and chorus, but then started really listening and realized I was nowhere near, nor would I ever be.
Same here :'(

It's pretty much impossible to get that signature chorus-y keyboard-y CT sound.

There've been so many unforgettable sounds throughout the CT catalogue. That's why he's the "Jimi Hendrix of dream guitar".

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Re: Robin Guthrie (Cocteau twins) sounds

Post by eggwheat » Sun May 02, 2010 12:33 pm

3 items of massive importance to Robin Guthrie's recorded sound. Fender electric XII, Eventide H3000, MXR flanger on fast speed. I had an h3000 for a long time..then I got a secondhand Eventide H7600...HMOG

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Re: Robin Guthrie (Cocteau twins) sounds

Post by fuzzjunkie » Mon May 03, 2010 11:25 am

:w00t: ha! I was just playing around with some of this yesterday:
'77 op-amp Muff - A/DA Flanger - A/DA Final Phase - RE-301 Chorus Echo - Roger Mayer Voodoo Vibe - stereo out.

Not ALL ON at the same time! Well, maybe once :blush:

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Re: Robin Guthrie (Cocteau twins) sounds

Post by olywhite » Mon May 03, 2010 4:30 pm

eggwheat wrote:I had an h3000 for a long time..then I got a secondhand Eventide H7600...HMOG
Ahhh pro gear prices.... :-X

So Eventide over Lexicon? I guess the harmonizer aspect of the Eventide is the crucial factor.

BTW how would one go about setting the phaser for say the solo to "Heaven or Las Vegas"? I'm only assuming it's phaser, probably a whole mix of crazy stuff...

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Re: Robin Guthrie (Cocteau twins) sounds

Post by eggwheat » Wed May 05, 2010 4:16 pm

olywhite wrote:
eggwheat wrote:I had an h3000 for a long time..then I got a secondhand Eventide H7600...HMOG
Ahhh pro gear prices.... :-X

So Eventide over Lexicon? I guess the harmonizer aspect of the Eventide is the crucial factor.

BTW how would one go about setting the phaser for say the solo to "Heaven or Las Vegas"? I'm only assuming it's phaser, probably a whole mix of crazy stuff...
Yes..expensive..although you can pick up older H3000's for reasonable money..and they sound amazing...all sorts of crazy modulation/delay/hamonizer effects in there..Crystal Echoes....is a favourite and a classic preset...

Lexicon is better for studio reverb, Eventide for guitar....the H7600/8000 is insane.

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