D_Malone
Tele-Afflicted
What pedal do I need to buy to cop Elliot Easton’s sound in this lead (starts at 1:55)?
Cars: It’s All I Can Do lead sound?
- Thread starter D_Malone
- Start date
Peegoo
Doctor of Teleocity
I'm hearing a mild fuzz run through a cranked valve amp, with added delay and reverb on top. Possibly a Les Paul, neck pickup.
Vegetable Man
Tele-Meister
Elliott Easton used to post on here, but I don't know if he has in a while.
It would be really cool if he commented on this (fingers crossed).
It would be really cool if he commented on this (fingers crossed).
D_Malone
Tele-Afflicted
Yep, that’s what I’m hearing, but which fuzz? Lots of mids and compression.
Peegoo
Doctor of Teleocity
Considering when this was recorded, chances are good it was an EH Big Muff Pi. A lot of the compression is added by the cranked amp.
all I can say is what they did to the album cover on that YT vid is a bleepin crime 
codamedia
Poster Extraordinaire
I agree with others... it's a loud amp with a mild FUZZ - likely a Big Muff or a Fuzz Face based on the era.
At times I feel I hear the bite of a bridge pickup, but then that smooth warmth of the neck seems to poke through. I'd roll the tone back on the guitar (start at half, then roll back more if needed) then switch through the pickups. I suspect I'd end up with something in the middle, but with that tone rolled back a fair back.
The mids are likely natural to the amp used (my guess is a Marshall plexi style)... and not scooped out.
The compression comes from many places.
1: Loud Amp
2: Fuzz
3: Studio Compression applied at various point in the chain.
The solo likely has a dedicated compressor (LA2A, 1176, Similar....) applied, then there is also master bus compression on the entire mix. If you try to emulate that type of compression with a stomp box it must be very mild... and after the FUZZ.
At times I feel I hear the bite of a bridge pickup, but then that smooth warmth of the neck seems to poke through. I'd roll the tone back on the guitar (start at half, then roll back more if needed) then switch through the pickups. I suspect I'd end up with something in the middle, but with that tone rolled back a fair back.
The mids are likely natural to the amp used (my guess is a Marshall plexi style)... and not scooped out.
The compression comes from many places.
1: Loud Amp
2: Fuzz
3: Studio Compression applied at various point in the chain.
The solo likely has a dedicated compressor (LA2A, 1176, Similar....) applied, then there is also master bus compression on the entire mix. If you try to emulate that type of compression with a stomp box it must be very mild... and after the FUZZ.
Cosmic Cowboy
Tele-Afflicted
I concur. A Les Paul or 335. Don't ask me what circuit, but def a Fuzz some verb and a neck humbucker.
Mark617
Tele-Holic
His sound is so unique. Once again, I’m a huge Cars wonk. I grew up with them and in my town , no less. You can isolate any guitar track and you know it’s him. Vastly underrated in my opinion.
He really knows how to compose a 'long' or continuous melody in a solo- it transcends the guitar and gear used
- they support it, but it's his genius that's 'the thing!'
Listen to the solo in "My Best Friend's Girlfriend"- it's amazing as he sewed rockabilly and blues licks ( and the tone that goes with them) into something really unique!
Same with " Its All I Can Do" - kind of mimicks the Chorus vocal, but there is more there...
Great guitar craft!
Peegoo
Doctor of Teleocity
Oh yeah. Elliot is easily among the best players in the pop/rock idiom. His solos never contain cliches or gratuitous wanking; they are crafted to fit the tune and they are incredibly melodic. He doesn't pull from a catalog of licks like most players do. Instead, he creates a composition within a composition, easily singable by non-singers. That's what makes a perfect solo.
But pay close attention to his rhythm work too. Much of his rhythm contains horn/organ stabs that sound like Stax/Motown to me. He usually has a funky or bluesy vibe going on that instantly sets the mood of the tune.
But pay close attention to his rhythm work too. Much of his rhythm contains horn/organ stabs that sound like Stax/Motown to me. He usually has a funky or bluesy vibe going on that instantly sets the mood of the tune.
Mark617
Tele-Holic
You’re spot on. None of his stuff feels gratuitous. It’s business like, but fits with in the frame work of the song. He gets in, gets after it and gets out. A great solo is one you can hum . Honestly, you could sit here all day and pick out his solos .
Listening to Elliot points out my own deficiencies- by comparison, I'm just a blues/country hack, stringing cliches together
Mark617
Tele-Holic
Oh my God , I’m horrendous. But as you say , listening to him and others, is what keeps us hacking
I know E.E. has always cited Gerorge and The Beatles as huge influences, and be it vocal or guitar, they were never short on melodic ideas.
Nothing sounded like The Cars, to me, when that first record came out ( but I wasn't listening to much New Wave, either, in say 1978)
Could be a Rat. He used one back in the day.
telel6s
Tele-Afflicted
Elliot Easton | Vintage Guitar® magazine
The Cars transcended the new-wave movement of the late ’70s by creating a never-duplicated sound. The band’s self-titled debut album is a masterpiece; almost 40 years after its release, nearly every song still receives radio airplay. Rhino recently remastered it and the band’s pivotal second and...
www.vintageguitar.com
I contacted Mr. Easton through this forum years ago asking where he got the distortion on the song “Candy-O”. He actually answered me and said that all the tones on that album were cranked amps, no pedals. Unfortunately, he didn’t say WHAT amps. Live, they used Ampeg in those days, but he was also known to play Gibson Lab Series.
I believe he started using a Rat later on, around the time “You Might Think” came out.
I believe he started using a Rat later on, around the time “You Might Think” came out.
D_Malone
Tele-Afflicted
That's interesting, but I find it hard to believe that the lead in "It's All I can Do" was just a cranked amp.
Sure sounds like a fuzz pedal to me. Maybe a Rat.
Lies&Distortion
Tele-Afflicted
That's what I thought. Muff.
But, I have played through an old Gibson amp that sounded like that. Years ago. Don't even remember what model.
