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Topic: "Oldfield guitar sound": what do I need?, Starting with electric guitar< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
yanouch65 Offline




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Posted: Nov. 14 2011, 07:11

Is it your own collection in this video?

:O


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yanouch65 says: "I am in love with Scotland"
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Philippe Tavares Offline




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Posted: Nov. 14 2011, 12:02

:) No no Yannick ! i think it's a guitar shop !!  ;)
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59Bassman Offline




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Posted: Dec. 29 2011, 09:05

hahaha - Yes is a shop - Guitar Village... imagine the insurance premium on that lot if at home!

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phonometron Offline




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Posted: Jan. 14 2012, 04:21

I have always preferred the sound Mike was getting when he played an SG back in the 70s. It had a warmer, more rounded tone and sounded much less processed than when he started playing Strats and PRSs.

I put together a Guitar Rig 3 patch that I use and coupled with the right and left hand fingering techniques it's possible to get very close to it. I think. I don't so much try to copy Mike's sound exactly but I wanted to have certain aspects of his sound in my playing.

Listen to what I did with Satie's Gnossienne No.4 http://soundcloud.com/phonometron/gnossienne-no-4 which I did using this patch with only some post recording reverb and noise reduction. The guitar is a Schecter Tempest Extreme on the bridge pup only.

If anyone with Guitar Rig wants a copy of the patch I'm happy to share it.
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Philippe Tavares Offline




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Posted: Jan. 14 2012, 04:49

:p  :D Hey !! Don't ask if anyone would like to get it ! Just share it !!!  I would love to try it  ! ....hope it could work with Guitar rig demo ....
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phonometron Offline




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Posted: Jan. 14 2012, 10:56

Quote (Tubular Tos @ Jan. 14 2012, 04:49)
:p  :D Hey !! Don't ask if anyone would like to get it ! Just share it !!!  I would love to try it  ! ....hope it could work with Guitar rig demo ....

OK here you go.. http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?kcync06k6ki8y3b     ;)
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Xavi Martinez Offline




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Posted: Nov. 29 2012, 10:51

I think the key to his tone, more than any guitar /amps/ effects combination, is his playing.

His left hand vibrato is a big part of his technique, as it also is the way he hammers (should I say SMASHES instead) notes. There's a vid of him playing an acoustic in the studio where he already sounds like him :).

On the right hand, you need really long nails to achieve that attack with any interference with the tip of your fingers, it's almost flamenco technique.

Really, with the right technique, ANY combo amp with regular distortion should take you there. In fact I believe that if you give Mike any amp, he would still sound like him

This being said, what I do to approach his sound in Guitar Rig is to use a mesa Boogie emulation (called "Gratifier") into a 1x12" speaker -to mimic the Mark IIB he used to use live. I also use a treble booster as a front end, since it cuts all the boomy lows and gives a bit more "fluidness" to the playing.

Unforunately there's not much info on Mike's gear . I'd really like to know what he used in Platinum -his best lead tone imho-, although I assume he used the SG jr, the L6 and probably the Les Paul jr 24 fret. Since he recorded it in the US, probably he was introduced to the Boogie there, guitars really sound like played through an amp, but I'm just making assumptions here

here's my "Platinum" cover to illustrate my approach to his tone http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fC_4B2NQMmU
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Korgscrew Offline




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Posted: Nov. 29 2012, 11:03

Quote (Xavi Martinez @ Nov. 29 2012, 14:51)
Really, with the right technique, ANY combo amp with regular distortion should take you there. In fact I believe that if you give Mike any amp, he would still sound like him

Funny you should come along at this time - I've got a half-finished post (it's going to be a long one...) saying pretty much precisely that!

You can hear it even before you've plugged the guitar in, that clear, biting kind of sound - and if it's not sounding like that before it's plugged in, no amount of gear's going to help. There's that little bit on the Essential Mike Oldfield video where he plays his L6-S unplugged to demonstrate his technique...and there's the the essence of his sound right there.

I'd also tend to agree with you about Platinum, I think it's mainly the L6-S through a Boogie, that guitar has a very particular sound to it, a sharp quality to the attack, coupled with a certain broadness (as if it's at all clear what I mean by that :P) that's not there with the SG.
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Xavi Martinez Offline




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Posted: Nov. 29 2012, 11:16

Well the L6 is an all maple guitar, which is the reason for the ultra-biting sound it has.

I would even dare to say that Airborne is the SG jr and 1st half of part 2 is the L6, you can really hear the change.

You are TOTALLY right, that video of him playing the unplugged L6 is the proof.....see how strong he hammers the notes, you can really hear his fingers knocking on the fretboard !!!

Unfortunately I am afraid that the "tone is in the hands" is very true, and it works in most of the cases. just search for a video of Satriani playing "Surfing with the alien" with a cheapo strat and amp, guess what....it still sounds like Satriani :)
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Korgscrew Offline




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Posted: Nov. 29 2012, 13:02

Quote (Xavi Martinez @ Nov. 29 2012, 15:16)
Well the L6 is an all maple guitar, which is the reason for the ultra-biting sound it has.

I wasn't going to go there, as I know some people complain when talk turns to different woods and the sound they impart (especially as the current hot item to fiddle with seems to be pickups, so a lot of people at the moment seem to think they're all that really matters...which I can't say I agree with personally), but yes, I'd also tend to think it's at least partly that hard maple body I'm hearing there.

The strength Mike puts into playing...that's a complex one, I think, and it was going to be the subject of my half-finished post, but I might just say the essence of it here instead. Because...yes, you're totally right, there's a lot of strength going into the way he frets those notes. Getting the right control there, and in the picking, is really the secret to getting any sound you want.

I think one of the biggest mistakes is applying that strength in the wrong way and just squashing the notes, pulling them out of tune and losing all the expression in them. Learning how to apply the pressure in the right way, getting the notes to sing out really clearly and keeping the freedom in that hand to move smoothly and play expressively...that's where it's at!

I'd say the worst is thinking you have to cling on for dear life and really squeezing with the thumb on the back of the neck - particularly if it's also wrapped over the top of the fretboard in a way that all the fingers are hitting the fretboard at an odd angle, all squashed up so they can't move nicely.

Giving the note a really solid amount of downward pressure is the way to get that side to side vibrato to really do what you need it to as well. Coupled with the right picking attack, with the fingernails coming nice and cleanly across the strings (again, if they're somehow squashed up into a claw, or all limp, it's not going to work), it all starts to happen.

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Unfortunately I am afraid that the "tone is in the hands" is very true, and it works in most of the cases.

I find it quite liberating, actually. If I know I can pick up virtually anything and get it to sound how I want it to, there's a certain kind of freedom that comes with that knowledge, being able to escape that feeling of being constrained by equipment.

Just earlier today, I used that knowledge in a recording I was working on. I was after a more thrashy acoustic guitar sound (kind of like at the end of Ommadawn Part One or something like that). I could have no doubt gone out and spent a fortune buying a new guitar or two to get it...but instead I used a different pick, and there was the sound. Simple trick :)

Playing with picking techniques can really be interesting, I did a similar thing when I started really getting into jamming with jazz players and wanted to get more of that classic warm, jazzy kind of sound. Did I rush out and buy a few vintage Gibson hollowbody guitars or something? No, I just changed the angle I held the pick in relation to the string, so the tip was slightly sliding across it rather than merely striking it, just to soften the attack a little...and there was the sound I was after.

Not that it isn't good to have nice instruments. They can be really inspiring to play, and there's a kind of feedback loop where the feel of them can make you want to take a different approach, which then changes the sound you're getting yet further...but I think it's also nice to have a few familiar things which you can really get to know inside out. I know people who get stuck in the cycle of just buying new stuff all the time, and they're never happy with the sound - always hoping that the next leap will be the leap home...or something.
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