Just a note for you – the reader – as you approach this page: we suggest you click now on the media player and start listening to the audio interview and all the while, you read the preamble to the show as I wrote it below. Just read, look at the pics and listen.
Sit back, relax and enjoy your time here, as always. (more…)
Hello fellow SD Members,
I hope you don’t mind me sharing this with you. It’s been a while since something has been published, so I thought why not ? 🙂
So here I am posting pieces of my gear:
1: 2005 Gibson SG VOS Guitar Center exclusive
2: 1976 Marshall Superlead 1959 with a hybrid design
Let’s start with the SG, which I called Blackie.
I acquired this one a bit over a year ago. She was initially cherry red, but since I wanted a black one just like Angus, I decided to refinish her.
She does look 1 to 1 like Angus’ SG on the 91 Donington Show. Stock Grover tuners, stock Trussrod cover with ‘ LesPaul ‘, stock knobs.
I changed the pickups though. I never liked Gibson pickups ( and probably never will 😆 ). They’ve been replaced with what to me are probably the best Seymour Duncan pickups out there: Pearly Gates.
I am not a huge ZZ Top fan, and I didn’t even know that these where Billy Gibbons signature pickups, but the way the sound in that SG is just terrific !
Neck feels really great. It’s not as thin as a 60’s, but it’s round, really round, which makes it very comfortable to play. It is by far not as thick as a typical 50’s baseball bat. I’d say it is between a 59 and a 60’s neck.
Schaller security locks are fitted on as you can see. One of the first things I do ( besides changing pickups 😆 ) when getting a new guitar: security locks !
Costs only a few bucks and may save you from a heart break, believe me, I know how it feels to get a broken headstock…
The guitar has been taken care of. No dings or dongs. Coming with a like new Ibanez leather ‘ Tree Of Life ‘ strap ( with the rest of the locks on it of course )
Here’s a recent video of me playing Blackie.
Note that it was recorded with a 50 bucks camera. Last solo is pure improvisation. I’m just way too lazy to learn note for note atm 😆
Let’s come to the Marshall:
As I said, it’s a 1976 Superlead, hybrid design, a design you don’t see everyday. I got this one a year ago, just before I got the TSR. I was gasing for one pretty badly, and it was the only around me, so I snagged it 😀 . First owner was the father from the seller I got it from, so you can say I’d be the second owner. It’s been completely taken over lately, new tubes, 2 small caps, 1 input and removed the PPIMV, which has been installed by the first owner ( that’s why there’s a hole in the back of the amp ).
Sounds as good as it smells when it’s running. The smell of a vintage Marshall is delicious. This sound is just fantastic, chunky and punchy, bright, cleans nicely down when you play with the volume of your guitar.
Tubes are as you can EL34 and ECC83 ( TAD’s ). They’ve been running for maybe 10 hours or less. I didn’t play it much since I got it back. Reason: I was mostly playing in small clubs and a few weeks later I got the Wizard… so yeah, you can understand why 😆
Let’s come to the interesting part of the post. I’m actually selling ( yes I am ) these babies !
For the SD community I’m willing to sell the SG for 2000 € ( excluding shipping ! ) Note that I advertised it on some forums for 2200 and that I considered european prices and markets. Shipping will be insured up to 3750 € and the costs are between 30 and 75€. Can’t tell you exactly how much since in depends on the country it will be heading to. Shipping receipt will be scanned and sent too if needed !
I’m willing to let the Marshall go for 1100€ ( excluding shipping ). Once again I considered the european market and, knowing this one has been fully set up and is now ready to be rocked, I think it’s more than a fair price. Shipping will be insured up to 2500€. Shipping costs for this one are between 30 and 135 €. I can’t tell exactly how much because it depends on the country. I’ll check that afterwards 😉 Shipping receipt will be scanned and sent too if needed !
There are a few reason why I’m selling two beloved parts of my gear.
With the SG first: This is my best sounding SG, no doubt there, but I’m not emotionally attached to this one. I can’t sell my 94 Std because it was the first SG I entirely paid myself and it’s my year of birth, and I can’t sell my Angus Young VOS, present from my dad and well… it’s an Angus Young VOS 😆
Need to sell because I’m paying back the Wizard I got this year, so I gotta get rid of some stuff… Also I need/want to get a Strat with a floyd and humbucker, a new acoustic guitar and a few pedals.
Reason why I’m selling the 1959 is once again no emotional connection to this one. I have to keep my 2203 from 79, this was a present from my dad for my birthday last year and my first real Marshall, simply can’t sell that one. So the 1959’s gotta go, even though I know I’ll regret it ( Fil’s words, not mine 😆 ).
So there you have it all 🙂 . If you’re interested and got any questions feel free to comment on here or shoot me an email: depuis1899@gmail.com
Thanks for reading and a happy new year 2015 with everything you lovely folks could wish for ! 🙂 I know what I want for 2015, and already got part of it 😉
Love
CM
To all the members (and non-members as well), we wish you a rockin’ 2013!
Let’s welcome the new year with some loud ass ROCK ‘n’ ROLL!
“We’re just talkin’ about the future
Forget about the past
It’ll always be with us
It’s never gonna die!”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdM6bIqCD8M
Your SoloDallas team.
All the best!
One more year goes by, and once again this date comes.
So, to everyone here at SD.com…
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Best wishes to all, with lots of Rock n Roll, and most importantly, LOTS OF LOVE!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z_GOtAy64I
Your SoloDallas Team.
I guess most “gearheads” and “tonefreaks” are already very used to boutique pickups. It seems that most variations and options offered out there are reproductions of the sought after “Patent Applied For” pickups (PAFs), which are very special in their own right, but also very elusive. The inconsistent character of that era makes reproducing them very hard, as there’s hardly any set “standard” for the true PAF tone.
The quantity of people who offer high quality replicas of said pickups is overwhelming. From $75 to even $200 or even more for a single pickup, there are many to choose from, be it from big names such as Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan, as well as other small winders. Truth is, all of them sound great in their own way, what you get, though, are different tastes.
But I’m not here to talk about boutique pickups in general. Thing is, I have something that might interest you.
I’m not sure if you can get this outside of the U.K but here’s the link. If not try Internet radio.
BBC Radio 2 Thursday nights at 22:00 GMT. Starts at 3 mins after the news.
See Also http://www.contactmusic.com/news/brian-johnson-lands-radio-show_1403983
Week 1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01m35r4/Brian_Johnsons_Rockers_and_Rollers_30_08_2012/
Week 2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01mfbzm/Brian_Johnsons_Rockers_and_Rollers_06_09_2012/
Week 3 http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01mk3cj/Brian_Johnsons_Rockers_and_Rollers_13_09_2012/
Week 4 http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01mnzcf/Brian_Johnsons_Rockers_and_Rollers_20_09_2012/
Week 5 http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01mw55k/Brian_Johnsons_Rockers_and_Rollers_27_09_2012/
Week 6 http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01n0yrk/Brian_Johnsons_Rockers_and_Rollers_Robert_Plant/
Hugs 🙂
Hello folks.
Just writing up this article to discuss a few rumours and facts about the “If You Want Blood” live album
Marcus (username Mackollas) and I, while casually talking, realized that “Whole Lotta Rosie” is, perhaps, the most obviously “patched up” track for a very tangible fact: It is, basically, the edited LTBR LP version.
Now… wait… Just wait…. Before you start jumping at me with “WHAT??” or “Are you nuts/ insane/ f*cked up???”, please listen to this file:
[jwplayer mediaid=”8246″]
This is the intro of the IYWB version (slowed down, so the pitch is lowered) followed by the studio version.
Note how the final A of the riff second time around is longer and then the third run of the riff is stiffer on both versions.
More importantly: The guitar tone is EXACTLY THE SAME.
Later on, the “She’s got it ALLLLLLLLLL” line also matches the studio version 100%
[jwplayer mediaid=”8251″]
“BUT…. The solos are different!!!! They can’t be the same!”
Here:
[jwplayer mediaid=”8249″]
[jwplayer mediaid=”8252″]
Just listen to it carefully. No need to even compare to the studio version.
The tone is also 100% the same. It’s even scary. It IS that very same “overloaded mic preamp” sound.
And a more stupid giveaway. listen to Malcolm missing the chord slightly here:
[jwplayer mediaid=”8247″]
What does this mean? The instrumental rhythm part is simply the sped up (and slightly edited) album version, but with different solos and vocals.
So… what these solos are exactly?
My bet: They are unused outtakes from the LTBR sessions.
Also, let’s consider this: as much as Angus always change up the solos live, he always keeps the same “formula”. If you listen to ALL the “Whole Lotta Rosie” versions from 1977, through the ’80s and up to today, you will notice they always start with that signature rhythmic riff.
Instead, here, we have that messy (yet powerful) “C notes followed by an A note with vibrato” lick. Why only during this night? Why didn’t we ever hear it again ever since?
Plus, the solo as a whole on the “IYWB” live album is considerably “more primitive” (structure-wise) than either the final studio take or the later live versions. So, we can assume it was an earlier outtake, perhaps even from the same day.
What about the vocals? Well
Rumours say that many backing vocals were also re-recorded for the album. Some cite “Rock n Roll Damnation” as one of these tracks. I’d dare to say that “High Voltage” could be another example. After all, being as good as they are at guitar and bass, Malcolm and Cliff are not exactly good singers.
It’s important to remember that it was a common thing for the band to use “instrumental” versions of their songs as playback during TV promo clips, while Bon would do his vocal performance right at the spot.
The first assumption we can make is that, most probably, the vocal track of “Rosie” was also especially recorded for this version. The very demanding “she’s got it all” line just after the intro is the same as the original studio track, so maybe Bon couldn’t get that line right during this possible 1978 session, forcing them to re-use the LP version line.
Another possibilty is that the vocals also could be LTRB session outtakes.
The shorter ending can be explained as well: seemingly, it was chopped off.
You can hear Bon’s wail stopping exactly at the same time as the band changes from the G# note to the closing A chords. A coincidence? Maybe not.
This fact may suggest that the vocal track really is from the LTBR sessions, because if it was recorded for the IYWB album, maybe the final “Rosieeeeee” wouldn’t stop so suddenly.
Another thing is that Angus’ transition from the G# note to the closing “mini-solo” doesn’t sound very natural either. Usually he would play a longer solo, building up until it reached that boiling point.
Of course. this is only speculation of my part, though.
Another giveaway? This time it’s Phil Rudd who gives us a clue. Listen to the final drum fill (first, the “live” version, then the studio one and, finally, the two together):
[jwplayer mediaid=”8285″]
UPDATE!
I never thought I could manage to do this, but it was easier than I thought. I just had to adjust the speed and cut the end… well… This is the final evidence:
[jwplayer mediaid=”8286″]
It’s amazing, but the quieter part of the solo is also the EXACT SAME take as the studio one. Just note how the guitars are perfectly in synch and the palm mutes happen at the exact same time.
BUSTED!
So… Is the whole album “FAKE”??
No. Quite not. It’s a very common thing for bands to “edit” their live performances before releasing them. As controversial as this fact may be, it’s more common than we usually would like to imagine.
The other detail is that “Rosie” is the ONLY track that has a slightly higher pitch, so this fact itself says quite a lot. .
So, all in all, this was not the “Whole Lotta Rosie” the audience at Glasgow heard.
The question now is: Why was this done? Perhaps something happened with the original recording? Or maybe they didn’t perform it well? Maybe we will never know.
But simply using the sped up studio track with a different vocals and solo is beyond anything I could ever imagine. They could have replaced it with “Dog Eat Dog” instead, or even use the extended “Rocker” solo to fill in the missing time. Yet, this is what we got instead.
But then again, Rosie has always been a fan-favourite, so maybe they couldn’t let the album go without it.
On the bright side, we got an amazing “Alternate Studio Take” to listen to. 🙂
