Looking For The Steppenwolf Tone...

good song...have you ever herd the blind melon version? and sorry man i can't help you with the tone...i don't no enough about finding the right tone...usually though if you just play around with it you can find it...

I'm listening to a short clip of The Pusher on Amazon.com. I seem to hear a Fender Rhodes electric piano in there - maybe a Wurlitzer - and it's distorted, playing chords along with the guitar.

Which guitar part though? The clip only had a bit of that down and dirty rhythm part and then a tiny bit of slide for fills.

The rhythm part, maybe use the LP and the Line6 model that's closest to the 60s/70s Marshall amp - the one that's not as crunchy as the JCM800 model whatever it's called. Use a fair amount of gain, but I think you could get that not-so-distorted tone by backing the volume knob off on the LP so that the distorted amp model is getting a slightly weaker signal from the guitar. Sort of dirty-clean you could say.

The slide leads have that icy semi-distorted sound. Use the same amp and setting (or experiment) and maybe use the RG (if that's the Ibanez Strat-ish model). But also fool around with the guitar's volume to get that weaker-yet-distorted sound.

Hope this helps.

Michael Monarch of Steppenwolf in interview was aasked the question:

"Did you use anything besides the (Fender) Esquire on the first album? “Born To Be Wild” and “The Pusher” have some interesting tones."

His reply:
"I used the Esquire on the whole album. On those songs, it went through a Fender Concert amp; volume way up. We recorded onto a Scully eight-track, through a custom board with A.P.I. EQ, along with other assorted vintage gear. It took about a week to record at American Studios in Studio City."

Michael Monarch of Steppenwolf in interview was aasked the question:

"Did you use anything besides the (Fender) Esquire on the first album? “Born To Be Wild” and “The Pusher” have some interesting tones."

His reply:
"I used the Esquire on the whole album. On those songs, it went through a Fender Concert amp; volume way up. We recorded onto a Scully eight-track, through a custom board with A.P.I. EQ, along with other assorted vintage gear. It took about a week to record at American Studios in Studio City."

I was thinking "tele" with a fender amp. The concert amp was pretty cool, you don't see many around anymore. -the dog

If you got a flextone try the Vox AC30 with the gain at about 7.If you got a Spider try the crunch tone with gain turned up.Reverb at about 6 or 7.
Hope this helps.

I think all of Led Zeppelin I was recorded with a Tele and a supro tube amp, or was it a vox?

Has anyone officially been kicked off this forum for being a complete dumb-a&&? I might be the first.

OK, so I finally found the tab for this tune. I try it, bust my butt trying to find some sort of hint of that tone I was looking for. I post on the forum, get some good answers. Try 'em out, still sounds like crud.

Then I see it on my print out. A simple little "capo at III". I'll admit it was small, but damn.

Don't feel bad. I started learning "Sleepwalk" by Santo & Johnny - it sounded terrible and I couldn't think why. I tuned my guitar, I checked the tab, tried again and then gave up.
It was only some time later, when I started looking at slide playing, did I see that it is played in open tuning (open G - DGDGBD) AND a capo at 1 to boot!!!

I haven't played this song in a while, but I know I didn't use a capo. The chord progression is just G, C, Dm, C, and I used the G minor pentatonic for lead, adding notes from the major pentatonic.

hey stormy,
your little thing you use in your signature is wrong btw i dont use and will never use IE lol just thought id let ya know!!!!

lol parker, it happens.

Everything sound good now?

along with other assorted vintage gear.

I hate replies like this. "Yeah, I used a guitar, an amp and some other stuff which I'm not gonna tell you but they did play a vital role in my sound."

Why did he bother to answer is he isn't really going to answer in the first place? Unless, ofcourse, 'assorted vintage gear' means a cable and a pick. :D

Hey Arjen....you gotta preserve the mystique maaaan!

Seriously, a lot of musicians don't like giving away their secrets....I saw a few interviews Paul Kossoff did in the 70's, he'd never say what amp he used, what settings he used, what pedals etc.....he was talking about "All Right Now"...

To me, that smacks of elitism....if you're going to write a classic song, people are going to want to know how you did it....they ARE going to want to know what amp, what settings, what chords.....and they are going to want to play it....

:D :D :D

Vic

There seems to be a trend against that elitism now, at least with some bands I listen to. They all have gear pages with pics of their stuff, and what settings they use.

The only drag is all these alternate tunings! I'm hoping someday I can grasp it all...