Rockola Posted July 27, 2005 Posted July 27, 2005 Does anyone have a link or any info on the RioGrande amps the used in the 70's? I've come up blank on google stuff and have always been curious.Mr. Gibbons has always seemed somewhat guarded about what he has used through the years. I think, in some part, the reason he's so clandestine is that he used soooo much different stuff, he can't recall the details. I hear a bunch of tweed & blackfaces and read about an occasional Vox (used on Sheik solo) but RioGrandes? Real or red herring?Steve
SteveB Posted July 27, 2005 Posted July 27, 2005 No clue, he's been all over the map. Besides, what does it matter when your sound comes from chaining 5 overdrives together? I always laugh when someone says "Billy G. Has the Best TONE!". I'm like, "Which one?" That said, I like all incarnations of Billy G.'s tone for the most part, although the last album has almost gone into a parody of his distorted tones, its a bit much. As far as his distorted tone, I really like what he got on "Antenna". Great combination of uber-fatness while still having note distinction.
JohnnyB Posted July 27, 2005 Posted July 27, 2005 Does anyone have a link or any info on the RioGrande amps the used in the 70's? Mr. Gibbons has always seemed somewhat guarded about what he has used through the years. I think, in some part, the reason he's so clandestine is that he used soooo much different stuff, he can't recall the details. I have a friend who's a vintage nut/expert and a HUGE ZZ/BG fan since the get-go. Accd'g to him, the Rio Grande amps were modified Marshalls, presumably by US (and possibly specifically Texan) techs. There may even have been a Rio Grande electronics company back then unrelated to the current pickup maker, but I'm not sure.Billy isn't just "somewhat" guarded about how he gets his tone. It's a huge game with him. There probably isn't another guy in the biz who works as hard at getting a particular tone as him. Trust me, he remembers how he got 'em all. Sometimes in interviews he's very enlightening and revealing about how he gets certain things. But get down to specifics, and he throws out red herrings and jokes (he once said he used Popeye strings -- same co. that makes the fried chicken).The 5 daisy-chained OD units are for show -- not part of the signal chain. Sometimes even the wall of stacks behind him are decoys. He sometimes uses a large box positioned offstage, which internally encloses several speakers of different sizes and characteristics aimed at a mic inside the box, that's then fed into the PA.He also has an Orange cab, but any resemblance between its internals and a stock Orange unit is purely coincidental.He also used one of those little mini-Marshall SS stacks (with a mod) for the guit part in "My Heart's in Mississippi" (or is it his head?).
Guest teefus2 Posted July 27, 2005 Posted July 27, 2005 imho, delving into the gibbon's legend is like arguing about evh's vh1 and vh2 tone. no one know for sure (except the people involved) how they got "the tone". lots of folklore and speculation and some of it intentionally misleading. having said that, i am sure there is a web site devoted to the answers you are looking for. seems like there was a similar post on the gear page about equipment used on a particular rush album. there were several web sites that covered it.
Rockola Posted July 27, 2005 Author Posted July 27, 2005 I have a friend who's a vintage nut/expert and a HUGE ZZ/BG fan since the get-go. Accd'g to him, the Rio Grande amps were modified Marshalls, presumably by US (and possibly specifically Texan) techs. There may even have been a Rio Grande electronics company back then unrelated to the current pickup maker, but I'm not sure.Ding, Ding!Finally put a few choice word combinations in Google and came to a forum thread with Terry Manning's contributions. Some(Fender tweeds) , but some are also from BG's customised Marshall heads, which he renamed "Rio Grande" brand. The controls were all labelled in Spanish, and the logo was palm trees.Also, quick mentions to Legend and AlamoInteresting read hereSteve
kurtsstuff Posted July 27, 2005 Posted July 27, 2005 I always thought of his tone as "thin and nasal" sounding...cool stuff but...it's an easy tone to cop
Rockola Posted July 27, 2005 Author Posted July 27, 2005 I always thought of his tone as "thin and nasal" sounding...cool stuff but...it's an easy tone to cop Wait...I never knew Billy Gibbons played on Blizzard of Oz! Dude, you're smoking toothpaste.
JohnnyB Posted July 27, 2005 Posted July 27, 2005 I always thought of his tone as "thin and nasal" sounding...cool stuff but...it's an easy tone to cop You either need to get to a live ZZ concert or upgrade your CD/clock radio. Playback on a high-rez audio system reveals a tone as big as West Texas.
kurtsstuff Posted July 27, 2005 Posted July 27, 2005 I always thought of his tone as "thin and nasal" sounding...cool stuff but...it's an easy tone to cop Wait...I never knew Billy Gibbons played on Blizzard of Oz! Dude, you're smoking toothpaste. BUT I DID'NT INHALE!!! hehe I guess thin and nasal were'nt the right descriptive words and maybe it is just me but....never considered his tone to be big and ballsy at all....kind of mid scooped and like I said...it's cool stuff but no secret to getting that tone goin...
Moose Posted July 28, 2005 Posted July 28, 2005 it's cool stuff but no secret to getting that tone goin... OK, then tell me, specifically, how to get that tone. What amp, guitar, pickup, and floor box would I use to get a tone like on the first couple of ZZTop albums? How would I set the amp up?And I'm not talking about the clean stuff like Shaking Your Tree, I'm talking about Brown Sugar or Koko Blue tones.
kurtsstuff Posted July 28, 2005 Posted July 28, 2005 it's cool stuff but no secret to getting that tone goin... OK, then tell me, specifically, how to get that tone. What amp, guitar, pickup, and floor box would I use to get a tone like on the first couple of ZZTop albums? How would I set the amp up? And I'm not talking about the clean stuff like Shaking Your Tree, I'm talking about Brown Sugar or Koko Blue tones. Grab yourself a Marshall JMP-1 preamp..using OD2 set controls as follows...volume to taste, gain about 15, presence 4, bass 6, mid -2 to -4 treble 2..plug it into anything and you'll pretty much be in the ball park...season to taste and let bake for 30 minutes
Stike Posted July 28, 2005 Posted July 28, 2005 it's cool stuff but no secret to getting that tone goin... OK, then tell me, specifically, how to get that tone. What amp, guitar, pickup, and floor box would I use to get a tone like on the first couple of ZZTop albums? How would I set the amp up? And I'm not talking about the clean stuff like Shaking Your Tree, I'm talking about Brown Sugar or Koko Blue tones. Grab yourself a Marshall JMP-1 preamp..using OD2 set controls as follows...volume to taste, gain about 15, presence 4, bass 6, mid -2 to -4 treble 2..plug it into anything and you'll pretty much be in the ball park...season to taste and let bake for 30 minutes Funny you mention the JMP-1, I've seen that piece mentioned several times in Gibbons pieces over the past several years. Though all the lingo, misinformation, and voodod Billy sounds like Billy. Hell Eliminator sounds like a Rockman direct but it still sounds like Billy too.
killertone Posted July 28, 2005 Posted July 28, 2005 BG has been using the JMP-1 for many years. He uses just about anything he can get his hands on. He used a Korg Pandora for a bunch of stuff on Antenna. The truth. I have very good sources close to Billy.
Stevieconlon Posted July 28, 2005 Posted July 28, 2005 Rockola--thanks for the link to the forum postings on ZZ Top recordings.It was a great read and full of cool info!
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.