Hey all. So I'm wanting to get an acoustic and am willing to spend some bucks for it. This may sound goofy but I'm not sure how else to explain it, bear with me please. One of the things that got me into learning to play guitar is some of the acoustic work on "Express" by Love and Rockets. I don't know how many folks are familiar with the style/sound but I have been unable to find out what guitar Daniel Ash used on that album. I realize the style part will happen at a later time but the sound is something I really want.
So what I think I'm asking is if I can't find out what he used, can anyone suggest an acoustic that would have a similar if not the same sound/tone? If you need particular songs for reference, they would be "An American Dream," "Love Me," and "All In My Mind."
Thanks so much everyone. I hope this is not too oddball a request. :)
Hey Eirraca,
Yeah the ol L&R... I used to love those guys..still do. I'll listen to them this weekend and let ya know. I also have a DVD of them and they do some live stuff on it and I'll look careful at what he plays.
D-
Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. - Wernher Von Braun (1912-1977)
From an interview:
ASH: The EBow is a great bit of gear. I have shares in the company, and they're doing quite well, thank you very much. [Laughs.] My Fernandes guitar is called the Sustainer, and it works on the same principle as an EBow. You hit the strings, and they go on forever. You can sustain the primary note, or the third or fifth harmonic. It's a great invention that nobody's heard of. The other thing I used for guitar sound is a Casio DG-20, one of those plastic guitars. It's like a kiddie thing, really, with a little built-in drum machine and a built-in speaker and all kinds of corny sounds. The nylon strings on it are very floppy, so you have to hit them very gently.
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
OK, after reminiscing some of my mis-spent youth during those "Golden Years" of the Alternative Genre and listening to Danny Ash's acoustic on the three albums from them, "Express", "7th Age" and "Earth, Sun, Moon" I know this:
1. the guitar is heavily processed. (not so much by today standards, but by the standards from the 80's)
2. His accoustic sound is a bit different on each song, one song I hear a lot of "Chorus", on another I hear some "Compression" and another nothing except the sound of brand new strings, and I'm pretty sure the guitar track was EQ'd quite a bit. Also there's the obligatory delays and such in there too.
Its hard to pick it out though sometimes cuz of the complex sounds they're so famous for. My thoughts are most of the effects were done in the studio.
I watched some live vids as well and they seem to lose a bit of their refinement live, which is common with alot of that Genre.
I think if you get a good solid top and keep your strings fresh you can get really close to his sound. Also key to nailing their songs is in the playing technique and getting the rhythm right. (ie Express) you have to keep that going for the entire song. Once you have the chord changes down it should be pretty simple to do. However there's so many more sounds going on in the background too. the rythmic brush on the snare and that excellent bass groove too :)
They were a great band!! :)
Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. - Wernher Von Braun (1912-1977)
Thanks much guys! Slej, I think the Ferndandes is on some of his more recent work but I could be wrong. I know he used the ebow quite a bit while Bauhaus was in it's heyday. I had also heard that he played a Martin acoustic but I went to their site browsing the artists and didn't see him listed...I checked the Dean site as well and nada. I know I won't play like him right off the bat but I thought if I had the tone similar that it would help greatly. Daniel J and Kevin were great too...I love Kevin's drumming on "Dog End of a Day Gone By." It's just awesome.
Thanks so much for the research!
So for now, I think I'm looking at either a Dean with a solid top or a Martin D-15. There's a custom on Musician's Friend that I'm dying to get...we'll see what happens. :D
