Wont Get Fooled Again Live I Wont Get Fooled Again Live Pete Townsend Slide
If you mention the Who to most musicians, the band proper name conjures up memories of Keith Moon's flatulent drumming, John Entwistle's orchestrated bass playing, and Roger Daltrey'southward powerful screams. But peradventure the about iconic of all the Who images is guitarist Pete Townshend doing windmills on a guitar while standing in front of towers of Hiwatt amps. The prototype of Townshend's theatrical gyrations onstage with a Gibson Les Paul or SG or his cherry-red Strat is probably the first matter that virtually remember of when nosotros hear a classic Who vocal.
But would y'all be surprised if I told y'all that some of Townshend's most iconic recorded tones didn't come from a Les Paul or a Strat driving huge walls of Hiwatt or Marshall amps? And so go ready.
Read on for a one-to-1 with Pete Townshend himself nigh his memories of recording this song in 1971!
What Guitar/Amp Was That?
Some of the archetype Who songs like "Won't Get Fooled Again," "Baba O'Riley," "Bargain," and "Behind Blue Optics" (all from Who's next, which was recorded 50 years ago), along with the anthology Quadrophenia, featured an unlikely guitar and amp combo — one you would never suspect. When I first heard nigh it, I honestly didn't believe it. This magic guitar-and-amp combination happened by chance in 1971. It started because Pete Townshend and friend Joe Walsh kept gifting gear to each other — swapping synths for guitars. I'll quote Townshend and Walsh here from online interviews, starting with Townshend.
Townshend: I never really got into erstwhile guitars until Joe Walsh (James Gang) rang me up 1 night and said, "I've got something for you," because we buy one another presents. He buys me one-time concert amps and I buy him synthesizers and we take become very expert friends. Anyway, he said, "I've got something for you," and I said "What?" and he said, "A 1957 Gretsch. The i with existent f-holes." I said, "Bang-up. Thank you, man," and information technology turned out to exist a real knockout. I was being polite. I opened the instance and information technology was bright orange and I thought, "Ugh! It'southward horrible. I detest it."
I went home and went into my studio and plugged it in and it totally wrecked me out, it'south the best guitar I've got now. It's the Chet Atkins model, with double pickups, f-holes and single cut-away. 1
In addition to the Gretsch guitar, Joe Walsh also said:
Walsh: And I bought you a Fender Bandmaster amplifier with iii 10s so the ohmage is crazy, and an Edwards pedal steel volume pedal. 2
Every bit Townshend remembers it:
Townshend: I linked it all up, went "Ya-a-ang" and it was there. When I go those three things out and put them in a chain, information technology'southward a sound from paradise. ii
That "sound from paradise" was a revelation to Townshend, and it became the guitar audio he used predominantly on the Who'southward next record that they started recording in March of 1971. The outset recordings (non counting a failed attempt in New York) were at Mick Jagger's house, Stargroves, with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio truck and engineer/producer Glyn Johns at the console.iii
Take a Listen
Then, could we duplicate that classic guitar tone today? Armed with all that info, Don Carr, Shawn Dealey, and I gathered upwardly some gear, and here'south the guitar tone we came up with — inspired by Townshend's guitar part on "Won't Get Fooled Again." Before diving deep into the gear we chose, take a listen. You'll hear the original recording intercut with our re-cosmos. How close do yous retrieve we got? Annotation: The original runway is panned slightly left and our guitar is panned to the right.
Re-creating the Tone
To effort to mimic that amazing tone, we started where the historical road map led us and grabbed a Gretsch 6120 (Don Carr'southward own personal 2015 '59 reissue) and an amazing facsimile of the Fender Bandmaster, the Dr. Z Z-Chief. (Read more about the fascinating history of how Joe Walsh had this amp built at the bottom of this commodity). But like Townshend, we hooked it up and, quoting Townshend, "Ya-a-ang" — information technology, indeed, was magical. Instant smiles all around. I'll allow Don Carr say a few words about the rig we used and playing that classic riff.
Don Carr Most the Rig
Carr: The guitar-and-amp combination are unique, each with their own idiosyncrasies. The Gretsch 6120 sounds like a Gibson ES-175 meets a Fender Telecaster: a big hollowbody with a floating bridge and enough of snap. Filter'Tron pickups are a big function of that equation, just so is the guitar's construction. An all-maple body with trestle bracing makes for a stiffer elevation, and the fact that the pickups and span are mounted to the internal-bracing contact points adds fifty-fifty more than snap and quick response.
The 3×x Fender Bandmaster, which the Z-Master famously replicates, is unique, even among Fender amps of that era. The utilize of three speakers creates an impedance mismatch with the ability amp, which creates some EQ anomalies. Also, the arrangement of three speakers in the chiffonier creates a point a few anxiety in front end of the amp where the sounds of the speakers run into and create an interesting synergy. All multi-speaker guitar cabinets exercise this to some extent, but this 3×10 arrangement has a truly unique sound.
One specific point of interest was Pete'due south employ of an Edwards volume pedal. It'due south a photocell-based pedal originally designed for pedal-steel guitarists. Pete liked it because he could push the amp to the brink of feedback and dorsum off or lean in equally needed. Something else it provided was capacitance, which gently rolled off the high terminate in the 6120/Bandmaster combination. We achieved the same result with a 100-human foot guitar cable since Edwards book pedals are incredibly finicky and equally rare.
Don Carr About the Performance
Carr: Anyone that'southward ever tried to play a Pete Townshend song or riff knows that the picking/strumming is critical. Pete'due south correct-mitt technique is non only savage and aggressive but too nimble and mortiferous accurate. Even something as straightforward every bit "Won't Go Fooled Again" requires a specific attitude and finesse to approximate; let'south call information technology bombastic precision. A Gretsch 6120 with a Bigsby and a floating span can be overplayed, so merely hitting hard isn't the answer. It requires more than of a snap or strike, like a snare drum or a bullwhip. Attempting to match Pete's legendary performance was very revealing in that regard. I definitely learned a lot.
Other Gear Nosotros Used
According to Glyn Johns, when remembering the tracking session for "Won't Go Fooled Again" at Stargroves:
Johns: We were recording at Mick [Jagger]'south house, Stargroves almost Newbury, and I'chiliad outside in the studio truck, playing in the synthesiser and hearing them locked relentlessly on the beat right through the vocal. I was blown abroad. I knew it was a marking in the evolution of pop music. iv
The remainder of the recording was finished at Olympic Studios. My research suggests that the preamps used were likely those in the Helios panel at Olympic5. Since we didn't have a Helios preamp, we experimented with several options and finally plant the correct tone with the Chandler Limited TG2-500 mic preamp. Nailed information technology. And the mic I chose (based on my research) was a Neumann U 67.
Mic Placement
With the historical record, putting together the right guitar gear seemed almost as well easy. Then nosotros started experimenting with mic placement. That was a different story. We excitedly started with the mic in a typical position, and the sound was . . . wrong.
With the U 67 centered on the Z-Primary cabinet, we found that mic altitude had a huge impact on the tone (duh). We started upward shut — three inches off the grill — nope. Then we moved it gradually dorsum to six inches. Nope. Then dorsum further to 12 inches. Even worse. Then slid it back to two feet. Absolutely not. So gradually to 3 feet. Finally, the sound was starting to come up into focus.
I put in earplugs (that Z-Master wide open up is loud!) and slid the mic slowly away from the cabinet while engineer Shawn Dealey listened and Don played in the control room. I was sliding the mic dorsum a few inches at a fourth dimension. "Farther. Farther, farther . . ." Then, "STOP!!"
Nosotros constitute the position where the tone was exactly right. Move the mic a few inches closer or farther away, and the audio changed from perfect to "non quite in that location." To demonstrate how extreme the deviation was (from good to horrid to amazing), we created this video of the cocky-moving Magic Mic so you tin hear the difference for yourself. Listen to how drastically the tone changes as the mic moves away from the amp.
Allow'south Hear from Pete Townshend Himself
After we finished the recording, I was delighted with the results. But coming upwardly with that iconic guitar tone seemed almost too easy. Even after all my inquiry, reading scores of Townshend interviews over the years, I all the same had questions about the session that took place 50 years agone and how information technology all came together back then.
So, I decided to get direct to the source. Connecting through his Sales Engineer, Kenny Bergle, I reached out to the man himself, Pete Townshend, with a list of questions. To my complete and utter amazement, he replied — with answers that I (and probably yous) have never heard earlier. (Yes, I'one thousand notwithstanding in shock!)
Townshend: Hullo Lynn,
Start off , I am a fan and client of Sweetwater. I'll exist happy to try to make sense of your questions.
Best wishes,
Pete
Fuston: I noticed in this video virtually the making of Who's side by side that you said you spent hours with the synth filter , modulating the organ sound. Understandably then, because it's hypnotic and, as y'all said, " harmonically complex. " And so , that sound actually inspired that role. Was the aforementioned true of the guitar sound " inspiring the role " when you plugged in the Gretsch 6120 to the Bandmaster?
Townshend: Funnily enough , I wrote the song on acoustic. And that role (from my demo) is on the Who version. Glyn Johns liked the sound and operation and used it. We also play information technology as function of the bankroll track on stage.
The Gretsch electric sound was actually first discovered on "Bargain." I retrieve that was the first time I used the rig that Joe Walsh sent. I had gifted him an ARP 2600 , so he gifted me the rig that he said Neil Young was using at the time. The secret is the Edwards pedal. It doesn't interfere with the impedance (I don't think). The Gretsch will feed back hugely immediately , and the pedal allows you lot to ride the crest of it. The amplifier is the old Bandmaster, and I nonetheless accept it, and a new ane , too, and they sound the same. Grungy!
On " Won't Get Fooled Again ," in that location are 2 electric guitars. 1 is the stage rig. And so , SG with P90s into a Hiwatt . I and then carefully doubled (overdubbing) what I'd recorded using the Gretsch. At least, that's what I recall. When I get a chance , I will check out the Principal 16-track reel and make sure.
Fuston: You lot always had such amazing demos and, from the photos I've seen, had amazing gear when you were recording at dwelling house. Was it hard to improve on those demos when you went into a commercial studio such as Olympic? Or did yous keep parts of the demos and incorporate them into the masters?
Townshend: I think I answered this above. Glyn was always gear up to utilize my demo parts. I had Dolby A on my viii – track machine, a Neve panel (Glyn hated Neves!) , and Neumann U 87 microphones. It wasn't hard to improve on my demos, but the tracks often went off sideways. That said, Keith Moon and John Entwistle were both respectful of what I may have played on drums or bass , only only used the very best bits. Quite right.
Fuston: Every bit an engineer myself, I wanted to ask about your working relationship with Glyn Johns. What value did he bring to the sessions as your engineer/producer? He oft talks near how great your demos were and what a challenge it was to try to meliorate on those. Did he button y'all to practise meliorate or but make information technology audio improve?
Townshend: I wanted to emulate The Band!! They recorded themselves. Glyn was a hard man. He could be quite catchy with some people. He liked to piece of work speedily. We liked to piece of work slowly! He and Roger never got on. But he respected me , and me him. Nosotros got on well and have remained friends. I used multi- mics on drums at dwelling house, close – miked. A mic on every drum. The audio I wanted was like Levon Helm : tight, damp, and funky. Glyn liked a bigger sound , just , as is well known , often only used three or occasionally four microphones. He built the audio with delayed reverb and incredibly conscientious mic positioning. Sometimes he'd come out into the studio and move a mic nearly a millimetre , and I'd think he was existence nuts. But information technology made a departure. He could hear phase issues I would miss.
Glyn'southward all-time trick was with acoustic guitars. Especially with my J – 200 with Tune-o-matic metallic bridges — Keith Richards had the same guitar. ( " Wild Horses " is where you lot hear that Stones' sound at its best). Glyn gear up the microphone upwards unusually far abroad from the audio pigsty, sometimes as much as 9 inches. Fifty-fifty more sometimes. He used Neumann U 67s rather than smaller capsules like KM 84s that other engineers preferred. He used Helios 69 mic-pre modules ( 78s on " Won't Become Fooled " ), a tiny amount of 2.4 and 10k , and a touch of the small-scale Helios in-console compressor that was fabricated by Audio & Design, a UK visitor. By the style , the 500 Due south eries ADR compressor is a actually practiced copy of that Helios compressor and sounds terrific on acoustic.
Fuston: In an interview you said , "I've never really enjoyed [touring that] much, but it's a necessary function of the business. The joy of what I do has been in the composing, the writing, the playing around with studio gear." I empathize. My question, and so, is what studio gear or instruments inspire your creativity today? What are you lot excited about " playing effectually with " these days?
Townshend: Correct at present , I have the best habitation studios e'er. I have a lot of vintage stuff, and tape machines, merely I do love computers and was always waiting for them to arrive when I was young. I'one thousand working with orchestration templates at the moment. I am preparing a synth studio , likewise , for large synths like Moogs and and then on. For me , the studio is like a train set , the music is like taking flight.
Fuston: Do yous know what mic(southward) Glyn Johns used on the guitar cabinet for "Won't Become Fooled Again?" (Hardly a fair question, I know, since it was 50 years ago.) Was information technology recorded alive direct into the Helios console at Olympic? Based on this soloed guitar track , your guitar part sounds like it'south all one take (with four short punches where the drums and bass drain disappear). That's amazing for an eight+ minute song. Nice punching, besides!
Townshend: I recall he used Shure SM56 and 57s. But I'm non sure.
Fuston: What was your standard recording setup (guitar/amp/mics) before you got the 6120/Bandmaster combo?
Townshend: Hiwatt phase rig. My guitar tech Alan Rogan was always trying to get me to use small-scale amps, but I had an instant sound with my Hiwatts and SGs . It was simply in the late ' 70s when I started to experiment a bit that I turned to smaller amps. In my home studio , I use a Fender Princeton. But I had a Hiwatt four×12 in my basement with a caput in the control room. Glyn never direct-injected guitar. I did at home, just merely to get really clean sounds. The Danelectro-Coral lipstick pickup DI-ed into a Neve 1066 sounds like glass, shining, glistening.
Fuston: What other guitarists from the early '70s did you admire or had a tone that inspired yous? In this interview from 1983, you mentioned John Lee Hooker.
Townshend: Nobody really inspired my sound. I fabricated it happen very early in my career. I was trying to audio like an airplane . . . or like bombs in the second World War. I liked Howlin' Wolf'south guy — Hubert Sumlin. I had heard " Rumble " by Link Wray when I was starting upwards, but he didn't make a sound I especially liked at the time because I was studying Kenny Burrell and Wes Montgomery. R&B came a little later for me. Later on I became friends with Link when he came to United kingdom , and I realised he had been making that distorted sound long earlier anyone else (except John Lee Hooker , who was doing it in 1949!).
Fuston: What was information technology about the Bandmaster that made it sound so unique compared to the other Fenders, Marshalls, and Hiwatt amps you used?
Townshend: Information technology was a filthy sound when turned upward too loud. I started with Fender amps. Bought my first Fender Pro Amp with fifteen -inch JBL speaker in late 1963 as advised by the part-time salesman at Selmer ' s, one Johnny McLaughlin!! Very clean sound. My influence then was Steve Cropper. It was that amp, and the Fender Bassman John Entwistle used, that nosotros harnessed to Jim Marshall's first iv×12 cabinets that had Celestion (UK) speakers. When Jim fabricated his first head amp , he copied the Fender Bassman. Exactly , I think. I liked it , but it wasn't loud enough ; I was using information technology with my Fender Pro and a Bassman. And then his tech guy (whose name I forget) doubled upwards the output phase and it was better, but when Hiwatt brought out their amp , I preferred it. I like a lot of treble. Marshall took off though, big time, and most other players like Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix preferred the more subtle tones of the Marshall amps.
I mainly use Fender amps in the studio and on stage. But I also like Blackstar , Epiphone, Gibson, Lazy J, and some ' 80s Roland amps , as well. Depends what I'm trying to practise.
Hope this is useful.
Pete Townshend
So, there you have it. Straight from the Who's oral cavity. Thank you, Pete, for filling in those cool details.
Conclusion
What a wonderful projection this was. As a Who fan since the 1970s, the chance to copy Pete Townshend'southward iconic tone and even to stand for with the legend himself was truly a "once in a lifetime" effect.
Dr. Z's Z-Chief – Joe Walsh's Signature Amp
Inspired by the Fender Bandmaster that he gave Pete Townshend
In 2018, Joe Walsh approached Dr. Z to re-create his favorite amp of all time: a '57 Tweed Bandmaster iii×10. While touring in the early '70s with the James Gang, Joe had gifted his original '57 Bandmaster to a particular windmilling British guitarist from the Who (Pete Townshend) who and then used it to tape the classic 1971 anthology Who'due south adjacent. And then, fifty years later, Joe Walsh reached out to Mike Zaite (Dr. Z) and tasked him with recapturing the magic of that amp, the "one that got abroad."
Starting with a to-spec replica of the paper-wound model 1848 output transformer by Triad Magnetics (the manufacturer of the original transformers of the Tweed era), Dr. Z fabricated an exacting re-creation of the '57 Bandmaster and sent it off to Joe, who was ecstatic with the resulting amp. Afterwards in the year, with some tweaks and tips suggested by Joe, Dr. Z completed the commencement prototype of what would get Joe's signature amp: the Z-Master.
What makes the Z-Master so unique?
Role of the Z-Main's magic is that information technology runs 4 ohms to three 10-inch, 8-ohm speakers that are wired in parallel, equaling 3.2 ohms. That's the mode it was in the original Bandmaster, which had a slight mismatch of output transformer to speaker load — that'due south part of the unique tone of the '57 Bandmaster.
Joe Walsh's Signature Amp
The Z-Master was road tested through Joe's 2018 concert calendar, gracing the phase with the Eagles and Joe's solo ring. Running three 12AX7s in the preamp and 2 Tung-Sol 5881s in truthful triode wiring configuration, the Z-Main pumps out 30 watts through its unique 3×x speaker configuration. It uses 3 10-inch, newspaper vocalisation coil, alnico speakers in an ultra-lite, ultra-resonant cab for a full weight of 42 lbs. Finally, the Treble, Bass, and Presence controls are available to brand the final adjustments to suit the player and the room. As the showtime "signature series" amp in Dr. Z history, the Z-Master exhibits a wholly uncanny vox not different the man himself, Joe Walsh.
In an interesting sidenote, Mike Zaite has offered several times to build one of his Z-Masters for Pete Townshend, who continues to reject. According to Townshend, "I've got the original. I don't need another."
More Iconic Guitar Tones
Here are other interesting articles in our Iconic Guitar Tones series that you may desire to explore:
- Iconic Guitar Tones: Air conditioning/DC's "Back in Black"
- Iconic Guitar Tones: John Mayer's "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room"
Footnotes
- https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=8652.0
- http://world wide web.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/guitar/fenderbandmaster.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who%27s_Next
- https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/glyn-johns-interview-my-50-years-producing-rock-classics-9830884.html
- https://www.soundonsound.com/people/keith-grant-story-olympic-studios
Source: https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/iconic-guitar-tones-pete-townshend-wont-get-fooled-again-the-who/
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