"Take Me With You" - Early Gary Louris -> Tele Fuzz

[Jayhawk]

I've been trying to get Gary Louris' tele fuzz tone from this record for years. See the 2:00 mark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLSf0...eature=related

I'm using a 98 Collectors Edition Tele -> pedal board -> 62 Fender Tremolux

My current pedals are: Swart Atomic Boost -> Tuner -> Klon -> Throb Tremolo

Fuzzes I've tried: Foxrox Hot Silicon, D*A*M Drag'n'fly, D*A*M Super Bee, MJM Britbender II, MJM Foxey Lady, several Rat variations.

Any thoughts/advice?

[cntry666]

I think a Big Muff would be best. I've played with them before and I think he used that or a Fuzz Face. You have to realize he is also overdriving the amp a bit. One of the best tones I ever heard.

[getbent]

hey, you might try friending him on facebook or something... and just asking him...

I think he is pretty approachable and cool etc.... I absolutely love the Jayhawks and Gary's stuff specifically... their performance on Austin City Limits is one of my favorites...

here are some old pics of his pedalboard

[SatelliteOrders]

And, be aware that in the HTH/TTGG era, he was playing an SG.

[getbent]

good one satelliteorders.... when i saw him he played the sg the whole time... the other guitar player had a matchless and a tele.

[SatelliteOrders]

Originally Posted by getbent

good one satelliteorders.... when i saw him he played the sg the whole time... the other guitar player had a matchless and a tele.

Always been a big fan. When I was in college, everyone I knew had HTH and Blue Earth.

And it was only last year that I worked out the solo. I've redone the look of the site, which makes the tab messed up.

[Jayhawk]

Originally Posted by SatelliteOrders

And, be aware that in the HTH/TTGG era, he was playing an SG.

Originally Posted by getbent

good one satelliteorders.... when i saw him he played the sg the whole time... the other guitar player had a matchless and a tele.

Right, but in that clip he is not and yet he's generating a huge fuzz tone.. better than any SG performances I've seen... and he's playing a HTH tune.

[getbent]

maybe it is the fuzz face then?

[Jayhawk]

Originally Posted by getbent

hey, you might try friending him on facebook or something... and just asking him...

I think he is pretty approachable and cool etc.... I absolutely love the Jayhawks and Gary's stuff specifically... their performance on Austin City Limits is one of my favorites...

here are some old pics of his pedalboard

It's my understanding Gary doesn't much like talking gear. The story bout that fuzz face is he didn't even know it was silicon for like 10 years til someone took it apart and told him. He'd been saying it was a germ fuzz. Yea, he uses a silicon fuzz pushed by a Ts-type pedal (Fulltone Fulldrive) to achieve his SG lead tone... but I'm looking for some way to get that out of a standard tele setup... which of course, he's doing in the clip above.

Seen the first pic before, but not the second one. Is that a Superfuzz? the fuzz face is silicon, which to this point, I've yet to find a silicon fuzz that plays well with a tele. Tried big muffs and Foxrox's Hot Silicon. They either sound way to big and sustained without the grit or they sound too thin and ice-picky. I'm wondering if he didn't use a superfuzz for leads with the tele now that I see that.

[SatelliteOrders]

True, true.

[getbent]

could very well be.... It would be interesting to see if he rolled a lot of treble off on his tone control (on the guitar) as well... it has more of that sound to it too...

[Jayhawk]

Originally Posted by getbent

could very well be.... It would be interesting to see if he rolled a lot of treble off on his tone control (on the guitar) as well... it has more of that sound to it too...

He does appear to adjust the tone knob right before the solo. could be part of it for sure.

[imsilly]

Originally Posted by Jayhawk

Fuzzes I've tried: Foxrox Hot Silicon, D*A*M Drag'n'fly, D*A*M Super Bee, MJM Britbender II, MJM Foxey Lady, several Rat variations.

Any thoughts/advice?

I'm surprised that the Drag'n'fly doesn't get you that sound?

Maybe try some nice 2 Germanium transistor type fuzzes. I think they sound closest to that clip. There are a tone of flavors, Tonebender MK 1.5 types, Tonebender Vox types, Fuzz-Face types, etc.

[Tarnisher]

HTH is one of my favorite albums of all time. I'm going to see The Jayhawks perform it in Brooklyn in a few weeks, and I couldn't be more excited unless I was the opening act.

This is an good site for anyone interested in Gary's gear:
http://www.jayhawksfanpage.com/Jayhawks%20Guitar%20Scrapbook.html

[czech-one-2]

Thanks for sharing that video and the link with his interview. I must confess I never really listened to the band in the past,But this interview was so nice to read -
Gary on his guitar playing: " I definitely like things raw and gutsy, which is why Neil [Young] is one of my favorite guitarists. But I'm really not much of a jammer. I'm very self-conscious about doodling. I like to sit down and figure out a part that fits with all the other elements. That makes for strong guitar melodies, but makes playing live a little boring, because once I have a part down, it seems like that's the part."
From the July 2000 issue of Guitar Player: "I've never been a real fan of technique that much. I'm more into feel, sloppiness, and tone."

While I'm nowhere near the caliber of player,thats been my approach for many years,work out a solo,anti doodling,feel and vibe over flash.Its just cool when you find somebody that validates your take on playing like that.

[straightface]

Originally Posted by getbent

maybe it is the fuzz face then?

I think you might be right. I seem to remember a pic of one inside the HTH CD.