Grateful Dead Music Forum

Anyone have any info. on that wailing tremolo (i think that's it) sound that Bobby made on certain songs? For instance, on the 10/1/94 Boston Garden show, during So Many Roads, right before Jerry starts his 1st solo, Bobby uses this loud, screeching sound that carries out and waves (sort of like a wah, but it doesn't have that drippy sound - it's very metallic sounding), but it kicks ass.

i hope i described this well enough for someone to know what I am talking about. I would love to get that sort of sound out of my guitar. Thanks in advance for any/all help.

~Ben

shakedown_04092 wrote:Anyone have any info. on that wailing tremolo (i think that's it) sound that Bobby made on certain songs? For instance, on the 10/1/94 Boston Garden show, during So Many Roads, right before Jerry starts his 1st solo, Bobby uses this loud, screeching sound that carries out and waves (sort of like a wah, but it doesn't have that drippy sound - it's very metallic sounding), but it kicks ass.

i hope i described this well enough for someone to know what I am talking about. I would love to get that sort of sound out of my guitar. Thanks in advance for any/all help.

~Ben

Ben, let's break it down:
Loud, screeching carries out and waves

Sounds nothing like a tremolo or vibrato. I have a true tube tremolo in my rig and would not describe ti that way at all.

However, you are in luck, I know what you are talking about!

That sound can be accomplished by combining an auto-wah and phaser. I use these 2 together during trippy jams and they work well.

Now that's the waves and the increase in tone. We still need loud and screeching. That's simply cranking the guitar volume to 10 which automatically increases trebble and volume to get the loud and screech!

Peace!

strumminsix - thanks for the info. did you listen to the 10/1/94 So Many Roads? That's the sound I am looking for, and you say I can get it w/ an autowah, which I have. Actually, I have a Danelectro autowah (piece of crap, but I love the sound), and an Ibanez autowah (not great, but it's got a distortion switch that I love), and I have the MuTron III+, which may suffice. I also have a Crybaby, which come to think of it, I'd probably try that first. I do not have a Phaser, though...I'll have to look into getting one.

But, I just wanted to make sure you knew the sound I was talking about, because I don't really hear it being used in and real "trippy" jams, so to speak, but I could be wrong. If you could just give me a confirmation that we're on the same page, that would be great! If so, I'm off to buy a phaser tomorrow!


ps - here's the link to the So Many Roads.

http://www.archive.org/audio/etree-deta ... p?id=14425

I was at work when I posted so no I had not listened to it. However, the auto-wah can sound trippy or envelopy or just subtle depending on how hard you hit the strings and guitar volume. Same goes for the phaser.

Listening now... Are you talking about what Bobby plays subtly in the verse and more pronounced around 1:44?

It sounds very metalic almost a MIDI synth effect mixed with distortion mixed with a rotary effect.

Plus he may be using a slide with heavy compression playing the 1 & 3 of the chord.

That's what I hear very much around 4:02.

Or maybe instead of a slide a strong hand vibrato playing inversion power chords (the 5 followed by 1).

Honestly, it's all very subtle and can be accomplished, closely, using many things. But I cannot tell you for sure.

I tried a few things and got it by:
inversions
overdrive
swell modulation

I tried a few things and got it by:
inversions
overdrive
swell modulation

I think you are dead on. We always kinda called it bobby's squashy sound. Alot of Bobby's clangyness is indeed from his inversions and extended chords. Add harsh distortion and that swell modulation and voila! 90's Bobby.
Can't say as I totally enjoy the shrillness of it, and sometimes in the later years, he was very low in in the mix except for the occasional SKAAAWAAAANG