I LOVE The Cure so so much. It's always been more about the sound of their guitars that does it for me. It's those hollow, dark and melancholic tones that define their sound and style. It's omnipresent, even in the more upbeat songs - there is always that amazing Cure sound. It's truly brilliant.
As a huge Cure fan, I loved your video. Great demo. I think Robert Smith is very much underrated as a guitarist. His style is unique- punkish but at the same time esoteric as well. Sometimes they are very Indian, sometimes Japanese and evokes sounds from music heard in Eastern cultures. Well, overall The Cure's music sounds like that- even in the bass playing, it is a very unusual style. Also sometimes, Robert would play guitar like a bassist (especially in more atmospheric songs).
I've heard people go as far as to say he's bad at playing the guitar. In reality he just doesn't follow the conventional rules of guitar playing and I feel like this makes him even more special. God bless him, the sweetest man that ever lived
4:30 Well, here you're wrong. That was Porl Thompson's part back in the days. And up to these days someone else plays this part. Robert plays on acoustic in this song.
Sound wise, The Ovation Breadwinner and the Boss flanger weren’t quite up to the job compared to the Yamaha SG, Yamaha delay and TWO Mxr flangers.That said, his guitar playing is as good and innovative as John Mcgeoch’s…
People criticised Robert Smith for his limited fret hand work, but on the early albums his right hand speed and accuracy was one of the best in the business, up there with Lindsay Buckingham.
@@guitarandstuff3513that’s awesome! I’m working on a couple of cure covers and I definitely cheat the downstrokes. You can get up and down to sound like downstrokes in a forest, you just end up accenting two upstrokes. It’s counterintuitive but it grooves
Great video! Just saw them a week ago. Always been fascinated by Simon's bass playing but was super impressed with Robert's guitar work in concert. Love the Linux and web development books in the background.
Thanks for this. I love The Cure. I sat with Robert’s parents at a gig once and went to the after show. They were all so very nice, sweet and humble. Forever grateful. ❤
Just discovered you channel - Thank you for explaining Rob`s techniques in a way a layman can also understand. I love Robert`s approach in keeping things quite simple yet transferring alot of emotion in his melodies.
Good stuff. However, Jazzmasters don't have P90s. They have Jazzmaster pickups. Completely different sound than P90s, though they do look similar when installed.
There’s more to it than that, too. Robert Smith loved the pickups in his Teisco (the first guitar he ever had) that he installed one of them slap bang between the two JM Pickups and favoured playing with that pickup selected. Google any picture of his Jazzmaster and you’ll see the Teisco pickup right there in the middle
Robert Smith appears to be a self-taught guitarist like myself because I have been using these techniques from back in the late 70s / early 80s even before I listened to The Cure and became a huge fan (I was late comer to The Cure b/c I was focused on more pure punk rock bands). I understand scales, but don't often use them as a trained guitarist would. The sliding up the string, or drop sliding on a string has a particular sound effect that can be most satisfying. I also like to mess about with altering the timing of the riff notes so they don't fall on straight lines, either hanging on them a moment too long, or coming in early, or what have you. Also using an open string or strings to constantly ring out while playing other strings is a hallmark of psychedelic rock and shoegaze styles; REM's Peter Buck did this a lot and I picked that up from seeing them a couple times on their first two tours. Smith does all this stuff, too. It gives the riffs a certain groove that just swings. I had no idea Smith used Boss pedals - if you look @ my pedal board it's probably close to 40% Boss all mounted on my old school 80s skateboard.
Thank you for this video. Robert Smith, and many of the other post-punk/new wave guitarists were super inventive with their approach to guitar playing and their use of effect pedals. It enabled young players to find easy approachable ways to playing the guitar without the need of virtuoso technique and theory knowledge.
Always thought Robert was a very underrated player. Usually he’s just seen as the songwriter or frontman but not enough focus is on his playing, people forget how good he is on guitar. Very melodic and influential, not typical what you’d find in more standard rock guitar players, he had a unique approach.
Nice video. Let me please notice just to add to your great performance that on Pictures Of You RS plays on a Fender VI, so it's more on what you mentioned as to use the same string. Also the topic of open strings also applies to chords a lot in Cure's songs, like the bridges of Play For Today with power chords and the rest of the strings sounding open. The 4th chord in Three Imaginary Boys is also different, it goes from 7 fret on E string, and then 6 on A, 5th on D, and the others open, you can see that on live versions. By the way, love to see your Dune book, best ever! Greetins from another long time fan of both Cure and Dune
Robert Smith is one of the greatest singer songwriters that had ever lived. He is totally under-rated. So great. Emotional. And inspiring. Huge Cure fan. He wrote better sings than most people. Only one I can say who wrote better songs is Bob Dylan
What I'm saying is? Yes he may have sold a billion CDs? But when people talk about the best songwriters? They don't mention Robert Smith. That's what I meant by him being under rated as a recognized/brilliant songwriter.
On Never enough, there is a big mix with many takes played by Porl. Porl was a great guitarist! really inspired sometimes! I love that song too (one of the best for me) . VIVE THE CURE (and The Beatles, of course, see our channel) :)
@@HeyBulldog-Beatles-Tribute it’s actually hard to tell who recorded the guitars on the big mix because Robert suggested in a guitar magazine years ago that it may have been him.
Now that I hear his technique in isolation, I'm getting a lot of Persian music vibes. The untuned drone string, sliding up and down the neck, non-Western approach to scales
Robert's use of non traditional scales and his phrasing and not selection (see the solo in M) are amazing. Is he a guitar god, no. But he is very inventive and his playing is incredibly distinctive.. This is a great video and demonstration. Thanks so much for sharing.
All I can do is thank you for taking the trouble to make these videos and providing us with all this information. This, along with Mcgeoch's video, are very helpful (at least to me). I would also like that you make a video about Will Sergeant, guitarist of Echo and the Bunnymen and one of the best of his generation (although I'm sure you already know him). psdt: sorry for my bad english. I'm still learning.
I saw the Cure a load of times during the 80's and when I was close enough to the stage on one occasion noticed Robert was using a Morley flanger (big silver box, much larger than the Boss pedals. I think they were made in the US and can change hands now for around $400 2nd hand) One of my favourite guitarists of all time as he inspired me to learn to play because I could hear every note i.e. it wasn't buried beneath a sludge of distortion like most rock players. Ditto John McGeoch and Will Sergeant who also emerged from Post Punk
A lot of post punk players used the morley back in the day. Most probably Robert owns several flangers and chooses whatever suits the occasion. The pedalboard I was referring to in the video was the one mentioned here. mixdownmag.com.au/features/rig-rundown-robert-smith-of-the-cure/
Thanks a lot. The Pickups are Seymour Duncan P Rails and can be switched to be either a P90, a humbucker or a single coil. That's also what the switches are for. I have a video on this: th-cam.com/video/gdlE3K7mk-k/w-d-xo.htmlsi=0PWEN5hJYGtF1QJH
Thanks Jakob. You have clarified for me stuff that I tried to figured out for years. If you decide to expand on the Cure sound, could yo someday talk about how the bass guitar,complements Robert Smiths playing, especially in the first incarnations of the band? Thanks again.
I was never a Cure fan when they were doing their thing but I appreciate the music of Robert Smith now. Thank you for the video, it was enjoyable and I learned from it.
Very nice mate 👏 I think at the end of the 'three Imaginary Boys' chord sequence it is not B7 but rather is G on the D string, D# on the A string sliding to E complemented by the discord of the open E 6th string throughout, though I haven't played it in 30yrs and do not have a guitar to hand, it stuck in my mind apparently 🤔, I suppose because it was so peculiar. It might ofcourse be remembered wrong and a load of old bollocks, you shall have to try it 😊 Like deployed 👍
Part of it is that Telecaster I think. Also he wasn't afraid of using more modulation pedals at the same time. And yeah, the In Orange sound is *the* Cure sound to strive for (well, one of them, anyway ;) )
@@Case_ The tele is part of it for sure but I also heard somewhere that he used some rack type effects for that concert but I might be wrong about that
Hello, i use the Schecter Ultracure (buy dec. 2022), its a very good guitar. The sound is very versatile and of good quality with its Seymur Duncan pickups (humbeckers changeable to singles ). The only flaw is its potentiometers and low quality wiring. The neck takes a bit of time but then you realize that it is very well calibrated for Smith's game with a small radius. I love the matte black finish and the Bigsby!
The cheap guitar was a Woolworth's Top Twenty, a rebranded Teisco from Japan. By sheer coincidence i had exactly the same one as my first electric too! they are not great players but there is definitely something special about the pickups, they have a particular tone that can't be found elsewhere. Nice vid, some good explanations of how he did stuff!
Jazzmaster Pickups are NOT P90's. The P90 pickup is a good deal narrower than a Jazzmaster pickup. Jazzmaster pickups are wider than P90's A P90 coil is twice the height of a Jazzmaster coil. Jazzmaster pickups are built like wide stratocaster pickups with non-adjustable magnetized alnico rod pole pieces. P90s have adjustable pole pieces magnetized by a pair of bar magnets attached underneath similar to humbuckers. They're also mounted completely differently.
I appreciate your enthusiasm. Your phrasing is off on many of your examples. Close but off. A number of things you played were written and played on a bass vi by Robert which changes how and where they are played and greatly impacts the sound. Good to point out for those that might be trying to faithfully recreate Robert’s tone. The traditional jazzmaster pickup isn’t a P-90. Common misconception. Also Robert Smith didn’t write or play the guitar solo on Just Like Heaven, Pearl Thompson did. Credit where credit is due.
It' correct that Robert uses a flanger in a lot of songs and most of his pedals are Boss. Never the less he creates very unique sounds who are sometimes very hard to reproduce. In fact, I'm struggling with the sound needed for the song "The Loudest Sound" of the "Bloodflowers" album. The guitar played as riff in the background is hard to reproduce. It has a chorus like very unique vibe. Do you know how to get this sound? I would be very thankful ! Thx
Nowadays The Cure sounds nothing like they used to in the 80's, at least when it comes to guitars. Since 2004 all they use are mostly Schecter instruments, a company known for its heavy, dry sounds so a lot of their atmospheric clean sounds dont exist anymore.
love it! also, Java, linux, perl... I'm also a guitar player and software developer that loves the Cure, Dune and Star Trek too. It's not uncommon but still fun. Great video!
Thanks for this video. I've been learning guitar for 3 years now and I've been listening to the Cure since the 80s. I'm old too :). I just saw the Cure at the Hollywood Bowl last week. Freaking amazing show.
Maybe it’s just because I was young and so were they but my favorite shows were I think around 87-88. The Kiss Me Tour. Saw them 3 times throughout California. Amazing shows. Back when Robert would end A Forest with a 5 minute ending. That and 100 Years and 3 Imaginary Boys were tweaked, and twisted into long masterpieces. Porl/Pearl is the greatest
2:30 this part is wrong. First, he does not play that on a guitar but on a Bass VI. Second, the reason he stays on the B string is that he is droning the open E string at the same time.
Early days in the studio he used the electric mistress more than the boss. The boss flanger was more used live. There are pics with the mistress and the producer said he tried lots of different old flangers
Thank you for making this. So helpful. I never thought about the open string approach vs the scales. Way easier to those other harmonics with the open strings.
I’m a big fan of the current always have them. Are you stating that Robert Smith is not technically knowledgeable and guitar theory and as a result, he uses single strings and simplistic melodies to create his sound? Thank you again.
No, I think he does it on purpose to distance his playing fron the lead guitar playing which was prominent when the cure were started. After all they were a post punk band...
Robert plays Three Imaginary Boys a bit differently though. As far as I can tell, he plays the normal Emi, then normal G, then B as a A barre on the second fret, and then he holds a simple G shape again, except on the 7th fret, and strums the open strings as well. No idea what that chord would actually be ;) (obviously B of some kind). And the part with the "Three...imaginary...boys..." where the chords "walk" down also involves some open strings and weird-ish chord shapes (especially the last one, which is like an Emi, except held on the 1st fret - yeah, I don't know my music theory at all, sorry ;) ) Also speaking of open strings "droning", one of the best examples I'd say is the main riff of Push (though the open strings are partially muted most of the time). In fact his entire part in that song is rather interesting when it comes to using open strings and chord shapes for melody.
Thanx for posting this video,it made more clear about little secrets of the unique robert smith guitar tone...Mr. Smith is really a great artist who create his own style in all aspects of his art...he inspired the gothics with the his dark wearing and also create a new sound with own identity
Really Really nice cool lesson! The Cure is one of my favorite bands of the 1980s. Love it. Do you have that preset for the Line6 Pod GO? Thank you for posting this.
I'm sorry, but the Preset is for Helix Floor. Since I do not own any other Line6 Devices (besides an old M5 :-) I cannot provide Files which work with a POD Go.
Speed cones from many things. In said lick, you have to have good control over your right hand and be very relaxed at the same time. This is all very general, I would have to see your posture and motion to give you specific tips.
Great video! Ill add thar during 1980/85 aprox he used a flanger called electric mistress by electroharmonics. Thats the sound you hear on A forest for example
Thank you for your video To top his playing skills off he has a great sense of finesse when it comes to his playing volumes. Oh and Play for today, chords are an Asus2, A7, Em/A, A7, Asus2.....not A, Asus4, A. Sorry I couldn't help myself
A couple of comments: The pickups in a Jazzmaster are Jazzmaster pickups, and are nothing like P-90s. P-90s are a different magnet, different wind, and much more powerful. You didn’t mention Robert’s use of the Fender Bass VI.
Of course I don't have any primary sources, but from what I hear these should be Flangers and the Roland JC 120. Of course Reverb and Compression are always added when mixing and mastering, nbut the main attraction here is the modulation effect, wich I perceive to be a flanger.
The BF-2? It's a great flanger. I had one back in 1984 or 1985. But I can't say I liked it more than my MXR (the 80s blue/grey one) or my original Electric Mistress. All three are very cool for different reasons. I'd love to have all three back. I loved how he took that pickup from that first guitar (Woolworth's guitar) and put it in his Jazz Master. Ha!
@@jakoblangenohl im just a beginner. ive learned G, Cadd9 Eminor and D, chords on the 3rd fret, ive figured i can break up those chords to produce a basic melody it sounds good made me cry with emotion first time playing that way. also i can play these chords with my eyes closed, they so close together its fairly easy to hit the chord with feel alone.
Super fascinating thanks. I am a big fan but never paid attention to how he plays which is kinda how I play, and interestingly I began as a bassist and have been told I approach guitar like a bassist
I liked it. I grew up in the 80s and I never got that into the Cure. I saw them play live in about 2015. I was totally blown away. I guess I didn’t realize Smith even played guitar😊
I LOVE The Cure so so much. It's always been more about the sound of their guitars that does it for me. It's those hollow, dark and melancholic tones that define their sound and style. It's omnipresent, even in the more upbeat songs - there is always that amazing Cure sound. It's truly brilliant.
As a huge Cure fan, I loved your video. Great demo. I think Robert Smith is very much underrated as a guitarist. His style is unique- punkish but at the same time esoteric as well. Sometimes they are very Indian, sometimes Japanese and evokes sounds from music heard in Eastern cultures. Well, overall The Cure's music sounds like that- even in the bass playing, it is a very unusual style. Also sometimes, Robert would play guitar like a bassist (especially in more atmospheric songs).
I've heard people go as far as to say he's bad at playing the guitar. In reality he just doesn't follow the conventional rules of guitar playing and I feel like this makes him even more special. God bless him, the sweetest man that ever lived
4:30 Well, here you're wrong. That was Porl Thompson's part back in the days. And up to these days someone else plays this part. Robert plays on acoustic in this song.
I saw Robert Smith play but not with The Cure it was when he played with Siouxsie and the Banshees in the early 80s
Sound wise, The Ovation Breadwinner and the Boss flanger weren’t quite up to the job compared to the Yamaha SG, Yamaha delay and TWO Mxr flangers.That said, his guitar playing is as good and innovative as John Mcgeoch’s…
People criticised Robert Smith for his limited fret hand work, but on the early albums his right hand speed and accuracy was one of the best in the business, up there with Lindsay Buckingham.
Really ?
Dude wasn't a John McGeogh. ❤
Robert Smith, in my opinion, is a guitar hero...i started to play for him😂.
I'm currently the guitarist in a cure tribute band and trying to get my right hand up to his speed is a workout.
@@guitarandstuff3513that’s awesome! I’m working on a couple of cure covers and I definitely cheat the downstrokes. You can get up and down to sound like downstrokes in a forest, you just end up accenting two upstrokes. It’s counterintuitive but it grooves
Great video! Just saw them a week ago. Always been fascinated by Simon's bass playing but was super impressed with Robert's guitar work in concert. Love the Linux and web development books in the background.
Simon is an extension of his guitar playing.
Thanks for this. I love The Cure. I sat with Robert’s parents at a gig once and went to the after show. They were all so very nice, sweet and humble. Forever grateful. ❤
That’s so awesome, I envy you heavily.
Just discovered you channel - Thank you for explaining Rob`s techniques in a way a layman can also understand.
I love Robert`s approach in keeping things quite simple yet transferring alot of emotion in his melodies.
Good stuff. However, Jazzmasters don't have P90s. They have Jazzmaster pickups. Completely different sound than P90s, though they do look similar when installed.
There’s more to it than that, too. Robert Smith loved the pickups in his Teisco (the first guitar he ever had) that he installed one of them slap bang between the two JM Pickups and favoured playing with that pickup selected. Google any picture of his Jazzmaster and you’ll see the Teisco pickup right there in the middle
I was just thinking about the Jazzmaster vs P90 misunderstanding, also the Firebird vs Mini humbucker misunderstanding.
I was looking for this comment about the pickups. Overall I enjoyed the video though.
😂 th-cam.com/video/fJWK7jrruzM/w-d-xo.html
Robert Smith appears to be a self-taught guitarist like myself because I have been using these techniques from back in the late 70s / early 80s even before I listened to The Cure and became a huge fan (I was late comer to The Cure b/c I was focused on more pure punk rock bands). I understand scales, but don't often use them as a trained guitarist would. The sliding up the string, or drop sliding on a string has a particular sound effect that can be most satisfying. I also like to mess about with altering the timing of the riff notes so they don't fall on straight lines, either hanging on them a moment too long, or coming in early, or what have you. Also using an open string or strings to constantly ring out while playing other strings is a hallmark of psychedelic rock and shoegaze styles; REM's Peter Buck did this a lot and I picked that up from seeing them a couple times on their first two tours. Smith does all this stuff, too. It gives the riffs a certain groove that just swings. I had no idea Smith used Boss pedals - if you look @ my pedal board it's probably close to 40% Boss all mounted on my old school 80s skateboard.
Thank you for this video. Robert Smith, and many of the other post-punk/new wave guitarists were super inventive with their approach to guitar playing and their use of effect pedals. It enabled young players to find easy approachable ways to playing the guitar without the need of virtuoso technique and theory knowledge.
Always thought Robert was a very underrated player. Usually he’s just seen as the songwriter or frontman but not enough focus is on his playing, people forget how good he is on guitar. Very melodic and influential, not typical what you’d find in more standard rock guitar players, he had a unique approach.
Nice video. Let me please notice just to add to your great performance that on Pictures Of You RS plays on a Fender VI, so it's more on what you mentioned as to use the same string. Also the topic of open strings also applies to chords a lot in Cure's songs, like the bridges of Play For Today with power chords and the rest of the strings sounding open. The 4th chord in Three Imaginary Boys is also different, it goes from 7 fret on E string, and then 6 on A, 5th on D, and the others open, you can see that on live versions. By the way, love to see your Dune book, best ever! Greetins from another long time fan of both Cure and Dune
Robert Smith is one of the greatest singer songwriters that had ever lived. He is totally under-rated. So great. Emotional. And inspiring. Huge Cure fan. He wrote better sings than most people. Only one I can say who wrote better songs is Bob Dylan
He's the greatest person that's ever lived!
Bob Dylan definitely didn't
Rob is a corporate. I don't get the under rated thing. He has sold over 100 mil records.
What I'm saying is? Yes he may have sold a billion CDs? But when people talk about the best songwriters? They don't mention Robert Smith. That's what I meant by him being under rated as a recognized/brilliant songwriter.
awesome video.. :-) and I don't play guitar.
Love the tips and tricks on Robert Smith’s playing. Thank you so much for sharing! Really good content.
I want to know how he achieved the tone on Never Enough (particular the Big Mix). There's something about his playing on that that is so fluid.
On Never enough, there is a big mix with many takes played by Porl. Porl was a great guitarist! really inspired sometimes! I love that song too (one of the best for me) . VIVE THE CURE (and The Beatles, of course, see our channel) :)
@@HeyBulldog-Beatles-Tribute it’s actually hard to tell who recorded the guitars on the big mix because Robert suggested in a guitar magazine years ago that it may have been him.
@@HeyBulldog-Beatles-Tribute pearl
@@thunder_heads He was Porl at this time. And still Porl for me.
Porl is better than lol.
Great video! I’m a 40 year fan of the band and just saw them recently here in the States. Absolute perfection.
Pedal chain: Mxr 117 Flanger + Boss Dm 2w (waza craft) Delay + Boss RV-6 Reverb;
Amp: Roland Jazz Chorus 120;
Rack: ASHLY CLX-52 2 Channel Compressor / Limiter Processor
As a huge The Cure fan who's trying to replicate their sound, this video is amazing. Thank you?
Thanks a lot.
small correction, Jazzmasters dont have p90s. Theyre single coils that looks like p90s
Now that I hear his technique in isolation, I'm getting a lot of Persian music vibes. The untuned drone string, sliding up and down the neck, non-Western approach to scales
I came for The Cure, I stayed for the Linux book on the shelf 🙂
I have one on perl as well. I will show that next time.
Robert's use of non traditional scales and his phrasing and not selection (see the solo in M) are amazing. Is he a guitar god, no. But he is very inventive and his playing is incredibly distinctive.. This is a great video and demonstration. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thanks so much for watching.
Is he a guitar god..yes😅 listen
Late 80's to late 90's it was the best sounding The Cure in my opinion.
I'd like to hear more about how Robert uses the Bass VI
All I can do is thank you for taking the trouble to make these videos and providing us with all this information. This, along with Mcgeoch's video, are very helpful (at least to me). I would also like that you make a video about Will Sergeant, guitarist of Echo and the Bunnymen and one of the best of his generation (although I'm sure you already know him). psdt: sorry for my bad english. I'm still learning.
Making a video about Sergeant is a brilliant idea. I added him to the list! Thanks for the compliments!
@@jakoblangenohl absolutely, please do one on Will Sergeant, massive genius !!
The Kiss and one hundred years its the BEST moments in guitar all the times
Gosh The Kiss is an absolutely mind blowing guitar song
I saw the Cure a load of times during the 80's and when I was close enough to the stage on one occasion noticed Robert was using a Morley flanger (big silver box, much larger than the Boss pedals. I think they were made in the US and can change hands now for around $400 2nd hand) One of my favourite guitarists of all time as he inspired me to learn to play because I could hear every note i.e. it wasn't buried beneath a sludge of distortion like most rock players. Ditto John McGeoch and Will Sergeant who also emerged from Post Punk
A lot of post punk players used the morley back in the day. Most probably Robert owns several flangers and chooses whatever suits the occasion. The pedalboard I was referring to in the video was the one mentioned here.
mixdownmag.com.au/features/rig-rundown-robert-smith-of-the-cure/
he been often used a mesa vtwin pedal live ...huge chrome box thing along with the regular boss flanger
Forest .. the octave is played 9th fret D string ..
Great video abd playing
What type pickups and settings can you do on that guitar? Looks like you have extra switches at the bottom
Thanks a lot. The Pickups are Seymour Duncan P Rails and can be switched to be either a P90, a humbucker or a single coil. That's also what the switches are for. I have a video on this:
th-cam.com/video/gdlE3K7mk-k/w-d-xo.htmlsi=0PWEN5hJYGtF1QJH
Thanks Jakob. You have clarified for me stuff that I tried to figured out for years. If you decide to expand on the Cure sound, could yo someday talk about how the bass guitar,complements Robert Smiths playing, especially in the first incarnations of the band? Thanks again.
I was never a Cure fan when they were doing their thing but I appreciate the music of Robert Smith now. Thank you for the video, it was enjoyable and I learned from it.
Very nice mate 👏
I think at the end of the 'three Imaginary Boys' chord sequence it is not B7 but rather is G on the D string, D# on the A string sliding to E complemented by the discord of the open E 6th string throughout, though I haven't played it in 30yrs and do not have a guitar to hand, it stuck in my mind apparently 🤔, I suppose because it was so peculiar. It might ofcourse be remembered wrong and a load of old bollocks, you shall have to try it 😊
Like deployed 👍
Yes I tried it, and I think you are right! Thanks a lot! I played it for 30 years and always wonder what could be this 4th chord ;) Cheers! :)
His sound on the In Orange live album is legendary. Not sure if he used a different flanger sound for that but it’s amazing
Part of it is that Telecaster I think. Also he wasn't afraid of using more modulation pedals at the same time. And yeah, the In Orange sound is *the* Cure sound to strive for (well, one of them, anyway ;) )
@@Case_ The tele is part of it for sure but I also heard somewhere that he used some rack type effects for that concert but I might be wrong about that
Hello, i use the Schecter Ultracure (buy dec. 2022), its a very good guitar. The sound is very versatile and of good quality with its Seymur Duncan pickups (humbeckers changeable to singles ). The only flaw is its potentiometers and low quality wiring. The neck takes a bit of time but then you realize that it is very well calibrated for Smith's game with a small radius. I love the matte black finish and the Bigsby!
wow! what a great tutorial.............I've been a The Cure fan since the 80s!
I am currently learning A Forest ...very helpful
The cheap guitar was a Woolworth's Top Twenty, a rebranded Teisco from Japan. By sheer coincidence i had exactly the same one as my first electric too! they are not great players but there is definitely something special about the pickups, they have a particular tone that can't be found elsewhere. Nice vid, some good explanations of how he did stuff!
Thanks a lot. Now I get an idea why he kept the pickups.
Like this vid. The Cure were the reason why I started to play guitar in the early 90ies.
Agree, Boss flanger is the best. UAFX has flirted recently but the I'm still going with my old analog, made in Japan BF2
Jazzmaster Pickups are NOT P90's.
The P90 pickup is a good deal narrower than a Jazzmaster pickup.
Jazzmaster pickups are wider than P90's
A P90 coil is twice the height of a Jazzmaster coil.
Jazzmaster pickups are built like wide stratocaster pickups with non-adjustable magnetized alnico rod pole pieces. P90s have adjustable pole pieces magnetized by a pair of bar magnets attached underneath similar to humbuckers. They're also mounted completely differently.
The Drowning Man { I’m pretty certain } is my favourite Cure song
That was super informative. What a cop sound he has. I'm testing with the wrong flanger. I now have to find this boss one. Yes.
Hello, it's a common mistake to think that jazzmasters have p90's but they don't. They have jazzmaster pickups they are wide range single coils.
I appreciate your enthusiasm.
Your phrasing is off on many of your examples. Close but off.
A number of things you played were written and played on a bass vi by Robert which changes how and where they are played and greatly impacts the sound. Good to point out for those that might be trying to faithfully recreate Robert’s tone.
The traditional jazzmaster pickup isn’t a P-90. Common misconception.
Also Robert Smith didn’t write or play the guitar solo on Just Like Heaven, Pearl Thompson did. Credit where credit is due.
He had such a huge impact on how I play guitar.
The Jazzmaster pickups are not P90’s. They are single coil Jazzmaster pickups
Thank you for all. Very cool you read books about Linux because I use Ardour on Debian most time I record.👍🙏
It' correct that Robert uses a flanger in a lot of songs and most of his pedals are Boss. Never the less he creates very unique sounds who are sometimes very hard to reproduce. In fact, I'm struggling with the sound needed for the song "The Loudest Sound" of the "Bloodflowers" album. The guitar played as riff in the background is hard to reproduce. It has a chorus like very unique vibe. Do you know how to get this sound? I would be very thankful ! Thx
Nobody ?🤔😔
Jazzmaster do not have P90 pickups. Just saying. He was also quite fond of the Fender (Bass) VI.
Nowadays The Cure sounds nothing like they used to in the 80's, at least when it comes to guitars. Since 2004 all they use are mostly Schecter instruments, a company known for its heavy, dry sounds so a lot of their atmospheric clean sounds dont exist anymore.
My favorite example of point #2 is the intro to “All I Want”: played on the G string with open D string.
Even though I disagree with a lot of the playing, thank you for keeping the discussion and love for the Cure going
love it! also, Java, linux, perl... I'm also a guitar player and software developer that loves the Cure, Dune and Star Trek too. It's not uncommon but still fun. Great video!
First example is Simon
Second and third example is Porl
My man what are you doing? Stopped watching here
Thanks that's a great lesson I like robert Smith playing. He was the guitar player in susie and the bandshies
Thanks for this video. I've been learning guitar for 3 years now and I've been listening to the Cure since the 80s. I'm old too :). I just saw the Cure at the Hollywood Bowl last week. Freaking amazing show.
Was amazing! One of the best times ive seen them- ever. Still killing it!
@@RyanField-vl5vi It really was one of the best times I've seen them! It was magical!
Maybe it’s just because I was young and so were they but my favorite shows were I think around 87-88. The Kiss Me Tour. Saw them 3 times throughout California. Amazing shows. Back when Robert would end A Forest with a 5 minute ending. That and 100 Years and 3 Imaginary Boys were tweaked, and twisted into long masterpieces. Porl/Pearl is the greatest
Thank you for knowing Post-Punk. And great video. 👍
I don't understand much of the theory lingo, but I do understand playing smarter, not harder.
No mention whatsoever of the Bass VI and the semi hollow and hollow guitars ???
Thanks...I've always been a Cure fan since 85..the guitar is something i picked up over the pandemic. Thanks for the tips they helped a lot.
well, all over my head!
2:30 this part is wrong. First, he does not play that on a guitar but on a Bass VI. Second, the reason he stays on the B string is that he is droning the open E string at the same time.
Love this🎉
Early days in the studio he used the electric mistress more than the boss. The boss flanger was more used live. There are pics with the mistress and the producer said he tried lots of different old flangers
Thank you for making this. So helpful. I never thought about the open string approach vs the scales. Way easier to those other harmonics with the open strings.
Great stuff. I also started on the guitar at this point and grew up playing just like heaven in early bands.
I’m a big fan of the current always have them. Are you stating that Robert Smith is not technically knowledgeable and guitar theory and as a result, he uses single strings and simplistic melodies to create his sound? Thank you again.
No, I think he does it on purpose to distance his playing fron the lead guitar playing which was prominent when the cure were started. After all they were a post punk band...
@@jakoblangenohl
That’s good to know. Thank you.
great video!
Great video but your hanging mic cable is triggering my ocd😅
MEGA!
Robert plays Three Imaginary Boys a bit differently though. As far as I can tell, he plays the normal Emi, then normal G, then B as a A barre on the second fret, and then he holds a simple G shape again, except on the 7th fret, and strums the open strings as well. No idea what that chord would actually be ;) (obviously B of some kind). And the part with the "Three...imaginary...boys..." where the chords "walk" down also involves some open strings and weird-ish chord shapes (especially the last one, which is like an Emi, except held on the 1st fret - yeah, I don't know my music theory at all, sorry ;) )
Also speaking of open strings "droning", one of the best examples I'd say is the main riff of Push (though the open strings are partially muted most of the time). In fact his entire part in that song is rather interesting when it comes to using open strings and chord shapes for melody.
Thanx for posting this video,it made more clear about little secrets of the unique robert smith guitar tone...Mr. Smith is really a great artist who create his own style in all aspects of his art...he inspired the gothics with the his dark wearing and also create a new sound with own identity
Very good video, thank you for creating - I've always enjoyed the sound of Robert Smith and you taught me how to use his tones - Thank You!
Nice thanks!
Robert smith is not underated lol what are ppl talking about
Really Really nice cool lesson! The Cure is one of my favorite bands of the 1980s. Love it. Do you have that preset for the Line6 Pod GO? Thank you for posting this.
I'm sorry, but the Preset is for Helix Floor. Since I do not own any other Line6 Devices (besides an old M5 :-) I cannot provide Files which work with a POD Go.
Thanks for doing this video.
Another secret is Robert is a fan of Peter Hook’s bass lines.
im still new to guitar, robert seems to play fast on Play for today, 'down-up-down' between chords very fast. i cant do it yet. any tips?
Speed cones from many things. In said lick, you have to have good control over your right hand and be very relaxed at the same time. This is all very general, I would have to see your posture and motion to give you specific tips.
Jazzmasters pickups are not P90.
Nice Godin! I absolutely love mine!
And the solo in "bloodflowers" live....😮
Great video!
Ill add thar during 1980/85 aprox he used a flanger called electric mistress by electroharmonics. Thats the sound you hear on A forest for example
Robert Smith is my master on guitar 🌹
Thank you for your video
To top his playing skills off he has a great sense of finesse when it comes to his playing volumes.
Oh and Play for today, chords are an Asus2, A7, Em/A, A7, Asus2.....not A, Asus4, A. Sorry I couldn't help myself
Are those Seymour Duncan P-Rails you have on that Godin? You like them?
Yes, I like them very much. Great pickups imho. I did a video about them if you like to know more about them: th-cam.com/video/gdlE3K7mk-k/w-d-xo.html
this means u gotta do johnny marr next (;
Another secret is that his guitar is often a bass.
A couple of comments: The pickups in a Jazzmaster are Jazzmaster pickups, and are nothing like P-90s. P-90s are a different magnet, different wind, and much more powerful. You didn’t mention Robert’s use of the Fender Bass VI.
Sir may i know what type of effects was used in primary and forest.?..thanks so much
Of course I don't have any primary sources, but from what I hear these should be Flangers and the Roland JC 120. Of course Reverb and Compression are always added when mixing and mastering, nbut the main attraction here is the modulation effect, wich I perceive to be a flanger.
No mention of the Fender bass VI?
The BF-2? It's a great flanger. I had one back in 1984 or 1985. But I can't say I liked it more than my MXR (the 80s blue/grey one) or my original Electric Mistress. All three are very cool for different reasons. I'd love to have all three back. I loved how he took that pickup from that first guitar (Woolworth's guitar) and put it in his Jazz Master. Ha!
Hey if it sounds good, you're doing it right! ;)
Which is probably the truest thing you can say about music.
@@jakoblangenohl im just a beginner. ive learned G, Cadd9 Eminor and D, chords on the 3rd fret, ive figured i can break up those chords to produce a basic melody it sounds good made me cry with emotion first time playing that way. also i can play these chords with my eyes closed, they so close together its fairly easy to hit the chord with feel alone.
What type of guitar are you playing?
Extremely enjoyable video! I share your love of The Cure, and have also been a fan since the 80s. Thank you for sharing your expertise!
Thanks!
Super fascinating thanks. I am a big fan but never paid attention to how he plays which is kinda how I play, and interestingly I began as a bassist and have been told I approach guitar like a bassist
"Three Imaginary Boys" doesn't use any major 7ths. I think the chord you're referring to is something more like a B9th.
I liked it. I grew up in the 80s and I never got that into the Cure. I saw them play live in about 2015. I was totally blown away. I guess I didn’t realize Smith even played guitar😊