The Gear Mall » Tone Profiles

Artist Gear Profile – Jim Campilongo

admin — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:58:50 +0000

Jim Campilongo is one of those rare artists that' works every inch of tone, style and technique, without ever losing you emotionally. He's definitely a guitar player's guitar player, but you get the sense that he thinks as much like a songwriter when you hear his solo albums. His music conjures the ghosts of classic country and early rock and roll, but through a modern lense. At times haunting and ethereal, upbeat and swinging, dark and disonant, Campilongo keeps you guessing and thoroughly entertained. I can't say I've heard all his stuff, but one listen to Live At The Du Nord is enough to make a convert out of anyone.

I think it's fair to say that Campilongo's sound isn't something that anyone is just going to cop by plugging into the right gear. As with any great tone there is alchemy going on there that can't be distilled down to a method or blueprint. But perhaps if we take a look under the hood it might provide us with a cool starting point on our own quest for the right sound.

Influences:
Before we get into gear though, I think the first place to look would be the players that influenced him. He sites his biggest influence (and mentor) as Roy Buchanan, which makes total sense. Buchanan was a master at things like pitch harmonics, tone & volume pot swells, bending behind the nut, and all matter of pedal steel style innovations. Getting a grip on these types of techniques would no doubt be a great starting point. Buchanan's first self-entitled album is a treasure trove of these ideas.

In addition to Buchanan, Campilongo tips his hat to Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant's quirky blend of Telecaster infused uptempo bop and country. The two Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant albums are like the missing link in the evolution of country inspired jazz and are full of great vocabulary. There;s also more than a hint of Chet Atkins, and guys like Hank Garland, Roy Nichols and Django Reinhardt in Jim's playing.

Guitars:
After you've got some of those chops under your fingers then look at your guitar and if not's a Telecaster then put it down and go get your hands on one. Campilongo plays a '59 "Toploader" Tele, which is different from all other Telecasters in that it was the only year that Fender made a string through bridge as opposed to body. According to Campilongo the sound is a bit more "Rubbery" than a standard Telecaster. The only thing that isn't stock on his Tele are the tuners which are Kluson copies made by Gotoh. The reason being is that they twist super easy but have no play at all. A Jim Campilongo Signature Telecaster is slated to be out sometime soon from Fender Custom Shop which you can read more about here. Aside from his Telecasters, he also plays a '58 Gibson 225, Chet Atkins with a Bigsby modified by Paul Gambon, '62 Custom color Strat, 58 Martin 015 and a 70 Martin D-35

Amps, Speakers & Tubes:
Campilongo's goto amp of choice is the Princeton Reverb of which he owns: two from 1966, three from the 70's, and two reissues. He likes a Celestion G-10 for a compressed dark sound and the 60's "Gold Back" Jensen C-10 N which gives him more headroom and bite. As far as tubes he goes with all NOS (New Old Stock) tubes. He biases all his Princetons pretty hot at 30 at the very least, where the norm for Princeton's is around 22.

Check out some of Jim's Playing below and for more on his gear visit the Jim Campilongo website.

Classic Tone Profile – Clapton The Cream Years

admin — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 02:11:05 +0000

This is just some great classic rock tone and playing by Clapton using two 1959 Superlead 100 watt Plexis and a of course the Gibson es-335. Clapton has gone through many different rigs and setups over the years but his sound with Cream captured here is definitely a classic signature rock sound.

Today two Marshall full stacks may a bit on the impractical side for most players but at the time of this video sound reinforcement for big venues was definitely in it's infancy. As bands like The Who and Hendrix started to raise the decibel barrier and rock and roll started playing to bigger venues, it made perfect sense as the P.A pretty much only handled the vocals.

Drop a comment and let us know what you think:

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Rockabilly Tone Profile – Cliff Gallup

admin — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:20:38 +0000

Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps helped to define the style and sound of early rock and roll. Blue Cap's guitarist Cliff Gallup , had a playing style in the mid-fifties that is still heavily sought after to this day. Cliff's unique style and tone is perhaps the blueprint for Rockabilly Guitar.

Below is a breakdown of Cliff's gear from the mid-fifties during his recording sessions with the Blue Caps, along with suggestions for boutique & reissue gear substitutes. Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any experience with the vintage or reissue gear mentioned, or if you any have other suggestions for copping this classic sound.

Cliff Gallup 50's Gear:

1956 6128 Gretsch Duo Jet with fixed arm Bigsby
Tape head Echo & Delay
Standel Amp 26-watt tube amp 25L15 Used in studio recordings
Fender Tweed amps when playing live

Comparable Reissue & Boutique Gear

Gretsch Duo Jet Reissue Fulltone Tube Tape Echo Fender Vintage Reissue '59 Bassman

To cop some great Cliff Gallup licks check out eMusic.com. They have like 15 Gene Vincent albums as well as a ton of other great rockabilly guitarists. I also like Emusic because they have no restrictions on the files types like itunes, and they offer 25 free downloads for the trial account.

Below are links to two excellent articles on Cliff Gallup and his sound:

http://www.rockabillyhall.com/gvCliffGallup.html
http://www.rockabillyhall.com/soundlikecliff.html

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