Marshall Style 1987 Build, Which Choke?

Robert Herndon said:
In general, we are seeing fewer and fewer bands using amps. Most of the bands that i know use amps only for live work. In the studio, it's all amp emulation.

Sometimes, an artist will request a certain amp or guitar to be used on their project and there are many studios who have vintage gear on site.

ES Studios in Glendale, California charges $385.00/day (8 hours) studio time and you can take your pick of the gear they have in stock. They have a Stratocaster there called the "Pawn Shop Strat" that is really remarkable.

Here's my take...

I don't want to burn up time trying to find the right amp or cabinet, or the right place in the room for it or the microphones.

The amp simulation is fast, doesn't break down and saves money too.

I've had people compliment my tone on my demos and they ask me to reveal all my tone secrets and I tell them its just a Blackstar and a fake Les Paul.

I've played through Tim Caswell molded Marshall's from SIR and they have been through Hell.

I will use my own amp sometimes on recordings, but most of the time, its more efficient to use Blue Cat Destructor or Avid and just plug into the floor.

You can't tell a real 2203 from the amp simulation, so I see no reason not to take advantage of the new technology...
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That's a cheap rate for an 8 hour day. I'll take three. Is the engineer extra?

Seriously, I was thinking after my last post that in your position of being a hired gun at times, a patch is the way to go. You want Don Rich, here you go. C.C. DeVille, here you go. I'm surprised a band would go to a studio without their own gear, planning on using the studio's instead. Too many uncertainties. Why wouldn't you take stuff that you should know like the back of your hand? Then, a good engineer should already know his room and gear, as far as set up is concerned. The only exception we always made was using a house drum set. Nothing pisses me off more than to watch an engineer spend four hours trying to dial in drum sounds. Especially drums owned by the studio that he has already set up three times during the week with other players.

First day in the studio, we always try for all the basics, depending on the number of songs. We would always try for three long days at the start of a project, so we could leave our gear at the studio overnight, and save schlepping it around. Bass player would have his preferred amp and a couple of basses. I would have a JTM, DST30, and Deluxe Reverb along with an SG, Strat, and Rick 12 string. Day two and three, I'd add a couple of more guitars as needed. and they were. At the end, pretty much everything except some embellishment and mixing would be done.

The fun thing about their amps is... when we did overdubs at Q Division for tracks that were laid at Mark Sandman's (Morphine) old loft, I didn't like the guitar part of one song because the old bass player wayyyyyyy overplayed his parts, and the song was a mess. I wrote a new guitar part on the spot, as Rafi set up my Deluxe Reverb with the studio's '64 Deluxe Reverb. Rafi is a wizard when it comes to amp reverb, and had both amps sounding really nice with a couple of ribbon mics, in about ten minutes. We hard panned them and had a nice Spaghetti Western sound going. Another great use of amplifier reverb was when he didn't like any of the outboard gear in the racks, or patches for my vocals on one song. He pushed my vocal tracks into an old tweed Gibson guitar amp that had amazing reverb. He threw a nice old giant tube mic in front of it, and it sounded great. Those are the kind of things I like to get out of my money at a studio. A good engineer who has incredible ideas is priceless.

One of the other things I love about Q Division is, they have one of Michael Pinder of the Moody Blues old Mellotrons. When we recorded "Intellevision", I wanted some Hammond organ and something else added. What, I wasn't sure. Rafi mentioned the Mellotron, and I called a friend of mine who is a gifted drummer, bassist, keyboardist, and engineer (who worked me several times in the past) and asked him if he wanted to play the Moody Blues' old Mellotron on a track for me. Q just had it reconditioned, and it sounds great. He did it for nothing, just to get to play it. It was the icing I really wanted for that song.

I can see the reasons for having the computer generated stuff, but I still really love the real thing. And I know my toys better, and can get the sounds I want real quick.
 
SG John said:
I'm surprised a band would go to a studio without their own gear, planning on using the studio's instead. Too many uncertainties. Why wouldn't you take stuff that you should know like the back of your hand? Then, a good engineer should already know his room and gear, as far as set up is concerned. The only exception we always made was using a house drum set. Nothing pisses me off more than to watch an engineer spend four hours trying to dial in drum sounds. Especially drums owned by the studio that he has already set up three times during the week with other players.
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Some do take their own gear, but most come in and use the studio's gear, largely - I believe - because some of the studio gear is better than their own...
 
Robert Herndon said:
Some do take their own gear, but most come in and use the studio's gear, largely - I believe - because some of the studio gear is better than their own...
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Very true, most working musicians are too poor to buy really nice stuff. That's why my friends started Amp Club. They donate quite a bit of time to working musicians. Since a couple of the guys have daughters who ended up being musicians, they help out Girls Rock Camp, their daughters' friends and bandmates, and many other people. Including taking me under their wing. I always struggled with songwriting, and settled on having a so called "real job" while playing in bands. Being a machinist, welder, mechanic for so long has helped me in many ways. Including being able to acquire some fun toys.
 
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SG John said:
First day in the studio, we always try for all the basics, depending on the number of songs. We would always try for three long days at the start of a project, so we could leave our gear at the studio overnight, and save schlepping it around. Bass player would have his preferred amp and a couple of basses. I would have a JTM, DST30, and Deluxe Reverb along with an SG, Strat, and Rick 12 string. Day two and three, I'd add a couple of more guitars as needed. and they were. At the end, pretty much everything except some embellishment and mixing would be done.
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I do enjoy recording with my own amp. But, I keep my stuff in good shape. All my cables are in good shape. I keep spare tubes (several sets) on hand and I am used to my rig, so there is never any 'dicking around' with it. Whatever my settings are, that's pretty much where they stay. About the only thing I adjust is my volume level.

You would not believe what some of these Kats walk in with. Guitars that look like they were dug up, switches taped in place, cords taped up...amps with taped up power cables and sections of rubber garden hose jammed between the tubes of a JTM45 to tilt them out and make contact. I'm telling you, some of the junk that I see dragged into the studio...and the delays that take place because of the equipment..it's almost beyond belief.

One of my last (recent) jobs was to replace a guitarist that was out with a hip replacement. The band had been working on recording an album - 13 original songs - and the basic tracks were completed. However, they had spent weeks in the studio, working out all the kinks. I was asked to lay down some rhythm tracks, a few solos (that were incomplete) and sing backing vocals.

We had the entire project wrapped up in a little less than 4 hours total.

I may have an advantage because this is what I do day in and day out, so I have figured out how to approach it. Everything I do is based on fluidity and economy of movement.

I am least at home on the stage, where things are not predictable... :-)
 
SG John said:
Very true, most working musicians are too poor to buy really nice stuff. That's why my friends started Amp Club. They donate quite a bit of time to working musicians. Since a couple of the guys have daughters who ended up being musicians, they help out Girls Rock Camp, their daughters' friends and bandmates, and many other people. Including taking me under their wing. I always struggled with songwriting, and settled on having a so called "real job" while playing in bands. Being a machinist, welder, mechanic for so long has helped me in many ways. Including being able to acquire some fun toys.
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That's a great and noble cause!!!!

When my bass player dies in February 2019, I got together with his widow and we donated all of his gear to Rock Stars of Tomorrow...

Norco | Rockstars Of Tomorrow

I let a lot of people use my gear, just to try and help out...
 
Mitch Pearrow SJMP said:
I am a stumbling bumbling nervous wreck till we get through the first song , then I am ok
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I've always had the attitude that "It's my fvcking stage, YOU'RE here...... to worship ME!"

Granted, in real life, I'm completely the opposite. Lack of interest seems to be the order of the day, except what's being dealt with at the time.
 
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Robert Herndon said:
I eventually get comfortable on stage, but the studio is my favorite place...comfortable chair with a ring around the bottom you can hook your boot heel on it, catered lunches, gourmet espresso makers...its awesome.
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Except for always having to teach the interns how to make coffee, I like the studio.

But I love playing live. Nothing like having your clothes blown around by an amp that's too loud. And, hanging with various folks over a few adult beverages.
 
SG John said:
Except for always having to teach the interns how to make coffee, I like the studio.

But I love playing live. Nothing like having your clothes blown around by an amp that's too loud. And, hanging with various folks over a few adult beverages.
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I love your outlook on music.

I'll tell you what playing live has done for me...it has created a discipline of practice. L rise early and I might play a solo 200 times to perfect it. I love being on top of my game...
 
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