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Author Topic:  Sneaky Pete tone question
Jim Cohen


From:
Philadelphia, PA
Post  Posted 14 Aug 2019 4:52 pm    
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On the intro to this track (first 16 seconds only), Sneaky sounds pretty close to emulating a saxophone (to my ears). How is he getting that tone? I assume it's a non-pedal steel. Is it just fuzz on it, or something else? Anyone know what effects (brands/models) he would have been using at the time to get this sound?

https://youtu.be/4CjwjPcM_9w

Thanks,
Jim
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Lee Warren


From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Post  Posted 14 Aug 2019 5:13 pm    
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Sounds a bit like an early monophonic synth to me.
Could it be a Korg X911?
http://www.vintagesynth.com/korg/x911.php
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K Maul


From:
Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL
Post  Posted 14 Aug 2019 5:54 pm    
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No - it is the old Fender 400 with fuzz, maybe an octave divider, chorus and delay. That's just what he did, made those cool sounds and orchestrated overdubs to sound like a string section, horn, synth or whatever. Lots of innovation and thinking out of the box that lots of steel players, no matter how proficient, are in.
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Jack Stanton


From:
Somewhere in the swamps of Jersey
Post  Posted 15 Aug 2019 4:36 am    
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I'm with K Maul. I'm hearing the slightest bit of octave up, like the old Foxx Tone Machine
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Donny Hinson

 

From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
Post  Posted 15 Aug 2019 5:55 am    
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I'm hearing reverb, a compressor, and a fuzz. (I think the overtones are mainly due to the fuzz.)
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Michael Johnstone


From:
Sylmar,Ca. USA
Post  Posted 22 Aug 2019 7:29 pm    
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He had a custom built one-of-a-kind fuzz box and it was built into his Fender 400. I hear maybe a little analog chorus which was a stand alone unit. I heard him get that sound right there many times at the Palomino out of two Session 400s and his Fender 400 8-string w/9+2. Unique licks, copedant and overall approach to the instrument. An American original and a great rock pedal steel player. There's nobody remotely like him.
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Skip Edwards

 

From:
LA,CA
Post  Posted 22 Aug 2019 9:47 pm    
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Amen, Mike.
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K Maul


From:
Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL
Post  Posted 23 Aug 2019 5:32 am    
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When I saw him, the analog chorus was the big brown Boss Chorus Ensemble. What a cool sound they made. He did great work on the Rock tunes, but also a very nice job on things like SLEEPY LAGOON. https://youtu.be/WrS_e_NT5lY
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Kevin Maul: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Decophonic, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Webb, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing.
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Mitchell Smithey


From:
Dallas, USA
Post  Posted 31 Aug 2019 11:17 pm    
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I think it’s the Foxx tone machine. That’s what he had when I saw him live in Dallas in the late 70’s.
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Kelcey ONeil


From:
Sevierville, TN
Post  Posted 13 Sep 2019 8:07 pm    
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One thing to remember on his recordings is he overdubbed himself repeatedly in the studio, sometimes only a single note on top of another, to get his desired sound. Although
I’m sure he did his best to create those sounds playing live, some of his sounds are purely studio tricks.
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Fred Treece


From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2019 8:49 am    
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I agree with it just being a chorused OD. It may be an upper end gizmo, but you can approximate lots of sounds with a decent chorus or flanger pedal after a guitar center overdrive with some post eq. If you turn the chorus rate all the way down and just use the depth adjustment you can get some synth-ish sounds.
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Jim Sliff


From:
Lawndale California, USA
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2019 6:45 pm    
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Pete used a fuzz he built himself - it was based on an old Valley Arts schematic but he took most of the "edge" off of it.

he combined it with an envelope filter, very subtle low octave, Roland Space Echo; and a blend of the two slightly overwound pickups (done by Seymour Duncan.

he didn't use his Phase 90 on this track, but recalled there may have been some studio chorus. It was hard for him to recall everything because his "part" in this song - typical of many of the studio parts he did - is actually 5or 6...or more...tracks stacked on top of each other, and mixed in and out by him and the producer.

Live, Pete used the effects built into his guitar plus his space Echo (early on an Echoplex), but in the studio all bets were off and he'd use anything he found interesting.
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No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional
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Joe Goldmark

 

From:
San Francisco, CA 94131
Post  Posted 18 Sep 2019 9:13 pm    
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Nah, it's a saxophone trying to sound like a steel. Sneaky comes in after that. Smile
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Ron Pruter

 

From:
Arizona, USA
Post  Posted 19 Sep 2019 2:43 pm    
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Maybe it's Gumby rolling around on the strings Very Happy
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John Brabant

 

From:
Calais, VT, USA
Post  Posted 20 Sep 2019 9:57 am    
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I think Ron Pruter has figured it out for you Jim. Go on EBAY and buy a used Gumby and give it a try!
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John Brabant
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Craig Stock


From:
Westfield, NJ USA
Post  Posted 20 Sep 2019 6:40 pm    
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I think it's more Davey or Goliath myself, but then again. That's just the Lutheran in me😊
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