L.A. SOUND DESIGN VINTAGE STUDIO RACK TONES WITH TIM PIERCE.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ต.ค. 2024
- Here is fun video of Tim and I reminiscing about the gear and the tones used in the L.A. Studios in the 80's and 90's. I also try emulate similar rack sounds with some of today's coolest pedals. The rack used was built for my friend Alex Llorens. Alex like myself is a huge fan of the early rack tones of Michael Landau, Dann Huff, Steve Lukather and Tim Pierce. He began collecting all the pieces in 2013. The goal was to build the ultimate vintage studio rack.
The signal chain is as follows: Custom rack interface with L.A.S.D. buffer input, vol S/R, wet vol S/R XLR outs with grd lift----Axess GRX4 (L1 S/R to Myasnikov X88 preamp----L2 S/R 1975 Marshall 100 Watt Head Fortin Jose Mod----RJM Effect Gizmo (L1 DBX 160x---L2 Audioarts 4100 EQ----L3 Rocktron Hush IIC Ch.1----L4 Rocktron Hush IIC Chan.2-----Vol S/R------Stereo Loops L9 Fultone TERC----L10 Klark Teknik BBD-320----L11 TC1210----wet vol S/R---CAE Mixer Chan.1 in 1-----EXP out-----RJM SND to L5 Lexicon PCM 42 L/R----L6 TC 2290---L7 Yamaha SPX-90----L8 Eventide H3000----L12 Lexicon PCM-70-----RTN to CAE Mixer RTNS Ch.1 and Ch.2. L/R out to interface and external power amp. Vol#1 controls the over all vol. Vol#1 controls the Delay and reverb level. The Axess FX-1 with expander controls the rack.
The pedals used are 70's Dynacomp, XTS Atomic, Free The Tone Tri Avitar Chorus, Free Thee Tone FF-Y1 Delay, Boss FV-300L, L.A. Sound Design PI-01 into a Blankenship Twinplex and Diamond Spitfire with two Kerry Wright 4x12's with Celestion Blackbacks.
I'm 54 and when I was young back in the 80s this was stuff of dreams. An d still is.
I’m 39 and this is still the stuff of dreams. Guitar rigs sounded so much better back in the day.
Im 34 and this what guitar ahould always be !! Rack era was the best !! Late 80s early 90s
58, Canadian, came here to say the same thing.
Great tones and loved the pedal dancing.
GREAT video as always Tim!
This is so good. I could watch a 2-hour documentary on this rack.
Oh, man. My favorite guitarists as I was learning to play were Huff, Landau and Lukather. These tones bring back great memories.
Those are my tones.!! I chased these tones forever.!! Finally got it..
I got a mullet and feathered bangs just watching this video.
I brought out my Acid-Washed 501's from 1986 before I played this Video LOL
@@1970borntorun 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
the monsters -- PIERCE, HUFF, THOMPSON, LANDAU -- the greatest sessions players EVER!!
You forgot Luke!
Oh man the tones of yesteryear, when rack gear and crazy wet effects ruled everywhere. We all pray those days return, maybe we need to force it into existence!!!
LA Sound Design did my pedal board and it sounds awesome. These guys know their tone.
Have to admit ,as good as the pedal units sound ,the rack units just have a lot more depth to them for some reason.even while listening through my phone speakers the difference is pretty drastic. Great video .cheers guys !!
9:15 really sounds like Luke's 80's rack! Love that sound, as it stirs up awesome emotions in me.
So many 80s canadian rock band sounds. Northern pikes, grapes of wrath, Brian Adams so many memories
so much nostalgia for me....... highschool in the eighties. love it!
I still love the sound of a good chorused clean tone. Thanks!
The James Tyler guitar is the perfect choice for demo of the rack gear
Agreed.
The lead tone with pedals at the end of the video incredible.
That Tone reminds me of Peter Frampton and Steve Lukather in the late-80s! :)
6:52 I could listen to this part all day long.
I’ve always been addicted to these tones.
Great video.
Pretty sure I’ve watched this 50 times. Thank you, Dave! Very informative & fun.
Awesome! Great tones! Thanks for the vid.
Been waiting for this one!
Such a cool idea for a build, and it’s thrilling to hear you talk so passionately and play so wonderfully on it!
Thanks so much.
Priceless!!!!
Yes!!
Funny how you're into an 80s phase right now, but you didn't like it when it was current.
@@BrazenNL Sometimes you have to be able to look back on something with hindsight to be able to fully appreciate it...or appreciate it at all.
@@BrazenNL You have no idea how many hours of Toto albums and Steve Lukather Star Licks video viewings went down in Dave's house. lol
@Steven Turner Probably not. And the people that did answer think I'm serious.
Love it, great setup and sounds you're getting there, somebody give me a towel!!!
So good.Thanks for posting this.
no Fractals or Helix's were modeled in this video, just pure classic rack tone!!
THANKS GOD!!!
this is my standard solo dr8ve tone on the helix. dont need racks anymore.
@@tetramusicstudio yeah... right.... let's have some fun...
No double hernias - reliability issues or freight charges or sound sacrificing when fractal took over !
Helix has the be the worst sounding piece of trash around. All compression no tone at all junk
Love this!!! Thanks so much for sharing!
Once I was at a session with M Thompson, Neil Stuberham on bass and I believe J Peña in drums. Unbelievable, 1994
'80's flash back! Great video
Good to "see ya" Dave, sounds great1
Thanks John.
Beautiful Tones and Gear thank you gentlemen!
Great tones... and the suggestions for a budget/pedal version are highly appreciated !
Trichorus the best sound of 80s years!!!
Defintely! Did you listen to the eventide tricerachorus? It's really close to the tri chorus and way less expensive, about 350$ :)
Maaaan, did that sound good 👌👍 Nothing like those old rack units, they have a magical sound to them that imo modern stuff just doesn`t have.Except the TERC, that thing sounds aweeeesome 😎 Awesome video guys 👍
There is no digital modeller that can come close to the 'tone nirvana heaven' of a rack like this. Fractal and other modellers are fine to play in one's bedroom or through earphones, but there is nothing like a tube amp, tube pre-amp, and quality effects rack units like the ones is this rack. Rack & Roll Forever!
James Tyler Guitars back on the game.
9:10 Lukather (Fahrenheit era) all day!
I wish I had just one of those guitars you have, wow, love the tyler
Soooooo good!
I like big racks and I can not lie. Always room for one last rack unit on top.
If no one's checked out RJ Ronquillo's build of an 80's rack converted to modern floor pedals with the exact same signal path I highly recommend you do so. I got curious and priced out what this rig would cost today buying all the rack elements off Reverb. If you've got north of $12,000, you can have this sound. Or you can go RJ's route get within .1% of the actual tone of the original equipment and STILL spend $3,260... They didn't call this an EXPENSIVE TONE back then for no reason lol.
I can feel the air moving!
This is the sound i dream of❤️
The tri chorus is crazy! You definitely need more chorus tones 😅
I need to get my gear out to you to be assembled more proper. I'm going to have to pickup some of the free the tone pedals to try out. I can't stand the Strymon Timeline's high end response. Thanks for the Video Dave!
Amazing tone!
I don't know man, I kind of just wanted to hear that Marshall clone along the back wall plugged straight in. 80's tones were coming from the same place as 80s haircuts.
th-cam.com/video/91gmWDasB3U/w-d-xo.html
Great video. I love the pedal options but the downside is you can't set multiple effects without having to bend down and manually adjust them. This is where rack - or one of the new-fangled all-in-one floor units - wins out.
Thanks. :)
Best guitar sound is @1:45 honestly.
The others sound "more like synth".
Very impressed with the Free the Tone pedals. Not bad at all.
The chorus sounds and playing took me straight back to the tales from the bulge era. What great sounds. This video could have lasted an hour with the both of you demoing different settings of this rack
Oh boy, back in the days...
Sold my fridge 1996/1997. What i'm really missing is the Dimension D and my beloved TC2290
I think I prefer the pedal setup...Wow!!
Just catching up after a year of life getting in the way. Love this video Dave, makes me start to yearn for a rack set up! First time i have seen you talk too! :)
Thanks.
Tim, you rock & inspire! Have you done a vid on Dann Huff?
Descriptions of sounds is funny as hell. Nobody calls it what it really is.
Hey bro! Back again lol can't get enough of that tone! Really want to learn those riffs can you steer me to tabs??? 🙏 sounds so good mage keep it up!
My god all of the legends together. Come guys the Dimension D calling card is Flesh for Fantasy! Liked the 1210 over the TERC but would gladly take either one. Awesome rack thanks for sharing.
I'm a fan of this sound
For those who now hate or are "embarrassed" by the 80's, it was no doubt one of the best eras of rock music... ability, talent, technologically, progression, innovation, etc... nothing compares in rock, fusion and some forms of jazz or "light" jazz. Then came the "Learn how to strum only 4 or 5 chords and you too can be a rock star" 90's. In my opinion, "Alt and Nu" "rock" killed the melodic, talent era and progression of the rock genre.
I know kids who grew up in the 90's/early new millennium era, who listened to all of the stuff starting with grunge and now rarely listen to any of it. They lament the fact they didn't get to experience the 80's in real time... and listen to 80's-era rock mostly all of the time now.
I read an article about Tim Pierce and his studio stints in the 90's, and it was almost as if he was either embarrassed or afraid to admit he played with Rick Springfield and contributed to other 80's ventures. Well, I don't want to put words or thoughts into Tim's mouth or mind, but the article sure seemed like it was something he wanted to hide from his past. If so, I got news for you, Mr. Pierce... your Springfield work, your guitar tone and playing was some of the best -- if not the best -- stuff you've ever done. Nothing to be ashamed of! I heard Tim with Rick for the first time I and said, "Oh my God... who is this ripping, incredibly melodic guitarist with the great tone? Where the heck did Rick find this guy?" I was an instant fan.
I miss the 80's era of rock... because it was the best. Nothing has even compared since. The 60's, 70's and 80's for rock and talent absolutely rules this far! Now? With the exception of a very few... MEH!
On gear... I have an original Dyno-My-Piano Tri-Stereo Chorus.... the ORIGINAL baby! 😛 Then came the Songbird, and then the Dytronics CS-5 (I think that was the order -- the Dyno-My-Piano definitely came first)... all basically the same choruses. NOTHING like them by anyone. They're the undisputed Kings of choruses. The only other choruses that sound close are the Eventide Tricerachorus, the Strymon Ola chorus, and the original BOSS CE-1 chorus. The latter is not a tri-chrous, but it is one of the best sounding choruses ever produced. Wish Roland/Boss would do a same design remake of the original CE-1. I owned one but it was stolen.
Anyway, great stuff... great memories!
Would love to see someone make a PCM42 in a pedal!
Me too.
@@RACKDOCTOR :)
Oh yeah like the Korg SDD-3000 pedal.
Awesome Dave ! I could watch these vids all-day , would luv to see a rack /modern day rig comparison ,
Oh wow man😃
Cool!!!
Hi Dave, love those Landau and Dann Huff 80s influenced chords and tones your playing there and just wondered if any plans to do any videos about them on your channel demonstrating them mayby? that would be really cool i think :-)
Thanks. I will try to make one.
@@RACKDOCTOR That's great many thanks for considering Dave :-)
I always remember dudes on forums being so vague about this stuff..."those guys get that tone with a big expensive rack unit it's not possible to duplicate" and I watch this to find it's mostly just delays and chorus units. 😂
Pedals at the end sounded the best, bit more heft with more than enough spread .. think live.
That was GREAT Dave! That blue Axess controller looks familiar! I was surprised at the sound you got with the pedals too! It was great! Were you running that in stereo with 2 amps? Cheers
Thanks. The pedals were in stereo to a Blankenship Twinplex and Diamond Spitfire.
It seems Michael Nielsen has really started something with his rack gear videos’s!
That's what I'm thinking too. A guitar youtuber finally comes up with a unique thing and all the others copy it.
You seriously think David Phillips got inspired by Michael Nielsen ? That's so cute... lmao
Well-... I started way before him... th-cam.com/channels/hRXGm_7EGQeIB4CbEK9t0A.htmlvideos
Love this! Am I correct to assume that the graphic EQ was set as a global setting for all programs?
The EQ was used just on the clean tones.
Lepas ni boleh buat Studio Rack with Dr. Bode. 😅😂
@@akmlmhd 😁 Tgh timba ilmu 😁
@@KauffeyBean Mantap Dr. 👍
MYASNIKOV sounds great!!
It’s funny though. They are in LA and can’t find an original soldano?
if you can't afford all this stuff, wether they be rack or pedals, you can still get very close combining a regular chorus pedal (Full Depth and very slow rate) and a Detune (I use a Boss Hr2)...a bit of delay (Boss dd3 or else) and a compressor will complete the sound (you can also use a hall or plate reverb to taste). If you want even more "lushness", simply add another chorus pedal with slight different setting (I suggest to keep always low the speed). Better if you can run all in stereo.
My rack sounded close. I miss the 80’s. I worked at a pro audio shop and spent lots of money on gear. You had to have the pro gear.
Amazing sounds Dave!!! Is a vintage DynaComp the closest thing in a pedal to the DBX160X tone? What do you think about the DynaComp reissue? Also what do you think about the Source Audio Collider/ Boss DD-500 for rack style delays?
Thanks. I would say a Diamond Compressor running at 18V would be the closest. Not a fan of the Dynacomp reissue. Have not messed with the Collider. The Strymon Dig does a good rack delay. The D-500 is decent.
DynaComp are based on a OTA amplifier CA3080, on the other side the DBX160x is VCA based so it's very different to me. I love both anyway :)
Funny, my little girl walked in while watching the intro with all the chorus and said, “that doesn’t sound good!” But when she heard Peter Green’s “Black Magic Woman” she thought it sounded good. Just something to think about.
No Tim. The H3000 is a 16 bit unit. Full CD specs... 44.1KHz/16bit. Some algorithms use a different sampling rate.
Cool reverb
Woww !!!
The Rockman.of the upper 1%. ;-D
Find me a Rockman that sounds like this. I am in. th-cam.com/video/FVutsXhFNls/w-d-xo.html
It should be illegal to play through that rack without wearing spandex.
When you consider what a lot of effort it was, because only with this official hardware one could produce such a Sudiosound, less had at best DEMO quality! Nowadays it is just as doable, if not better, with the best plug-ins! Best regards, Horst Lemke, Musicproducer, Germany
Fully agreed, for recording. For playing live though my tool of choice is the Kemper. I went through this rack processors phase. I took me ages to program the different devices, and this stuff required a lot of maintenance due to the many connection cables needed, despite of efforts to be taken to get the things transported from a to b. Having entered the Kemper world all the programming happens in just one device. Anyway, it took me six weeks to get the Kemper initially programmed for 40 songs, which are real different. It was worth the effort, and I won‘t go back.
Hallo Klaus, wir leben ja wohl beide in Deutschland, deshalb schreib ich Dir auch auf Deutsch...smile Gebe Dir in allen Punkten recht,, arbeite selbst als prof. Gitarrist und Produzent u.a. mit dem Kemper und vielen anderen Tools, natürlich auch, wenn es unbedingt sein muss, mit der direkten Amp Abnahme, wobei es mittlerweile doch so ist, dass im gesamten Arrangement, auch sog. "Supergitarristen" nicht mehr den gravierenden Unterschied zwischen Emulation und Original Amp deutlich heraushören. Man könnte auch sagen, wer das auf Anhieb in allen Punkten deutlich nennen kann, der hört auch "das Gras wachsen"... Es gibt eben immer noch Erzkonservative Gitarristen, die meinen alles drauf zu haben und alle zu hören!
@@horstlemke9591 Hallo Horst: manche meinen die Latenz beim Kemper zu hören. 3 ms bedeutet: Du hörst das Signal so als wäre der Amp 30 cm weiter weg. Aha.
Inzwischen hab ich so einige Amps und Sounds „geprofiled“. Über die Studiomonitore hören viele andere und ich keinerlei Unterschied, überhaupt keinen. Und anfühlen tut es sich für mich exakt genauso. Es wird immer Gitarristen geben, die mit Röhrenamps arbeiten wollen ( oder müssen, wegen Endorsement-Verträgen). Ja, auch ich liebe Mesa-Boogies oder einen Marshall JTM-45 heiß und innig. Und ich bin auch überhaupt nicht bereit, Kompromisse zu machen, was den Sound angeht. Aber das müssen wir ja nicht mehr. Und schleppen auch nicht. Und Mikrofone vor der Box so lange positionieren, bis es passt, müssen wir auch nicht mehr.
Hallo Klaus, mir gefällt Deine Argumentation sehr gut, so sehe bzw. besser, höre ich es auch so. Diese "Schlepperei" war doch mit am nervigsten. Okay war `ne andere zeit und es ist doch schön, wenn wir wissen, worüber wir sprechen, die ganz junge Gitarristen Fraktion wird sich mehr mit allen möglichen Guitar plug-ins dieser Welt beschäftigen...smile
This is awesome! Now can someone tell me how to get David lindley's lap steel tone on " running on empty" without a Dumble?
th-cam.com/video/JhbNjPyl558/w-d-xo.html
How important is having a parallel mixer in a setup like this?
Pretty important. A lot of the pieces are mono in stereo out.
The alternative would be to use it as a wet/dry rig. Then you would record the amp without the delays and modulation and send this signal to the effects and mix them in in the console. Lukather did something different at some point, but sending this signal to a stereo FRFR system for the wet part of the signal. The Edge does something similar in using three amps (dry in the center and wet for left and right).
These setups give you more clarity, because you can crank the dry amp without losing definition in your delays.
Can you go into more detail about the EXP out of the CAE, and how the various signals re-enter the CAE Mix 1 and Mix 2? Also, did you use the Gizmo with the al- stereo- loops option?
80's in a box! albeit a rather large, heavy, and expensive box.....
Would you mind sharing the Pitch Shift setting?
The rack sounds way better than pedals
Dave, what pickups are on the Tyler Strats you’re playing in this video, especially the one you’re playing at the end when you’re demoing getting that sound with pedals? Loved all the sounds and I was impressed how good the pedals sounded. I assume there’s no micro pitch shift/detune effect being used in addition to the pedals? Thanks for any info on those questions.
Thanks. The Black Tyler has two Lindy Fralin Vintage Hots and a 60's Gibson Patent Sticker Hum. The Tobacco Burst Tyler has two Lindy Fralin Real 54's and a Tom Holmes Humbucker. No detune in the pedal clip.
Thanks for the reply. I bought the free the tone tri chorus after hearing your demo of it. It arrived today and I love it. I want to ask what would be your “desert island” delay/echo pedal? If you could only have one delay pedal. Would the free the tone future factory that you demo in this video be the one? Or would it be the caitlinbread echorec, or the Ibanez echo machine, or any of the others you’ve run across through the years? I know there are many factors to consider, style of music etc, but for you, have you found a favorite?
@@JustAGuitarPlayer For running in front of an amp. Ibanez Echo machine.
I had the xts atomic, Never had a chance to have a decent lead or that kind of marshallesque lead, maybe I mistake something...
What pickups are in the strat? Sounds awesome
Thanks
Thanks. Lindy Fralin Real 54's and a Tom Holmes Humbucker.
I am the 1k like yeah!
How do you get it so quiet? I bought one of the Fulltone TERCs and wound up selling it because it was so noisy.
Might not matter. But I used the XLR in and outs.
I bet that’s it. I used the 1/4 inch ins and outs.
Hello David Any recommandations for a "budget" rack system for "Studio Rack Tones" please. Power amp, Preamp, Delay, Reverb, pitch (or micro pitch), Tri chorus, comp etc Why not 90's racks Thanks
NB: I don't have 5000$ in my pocket at this time.. lol Nicolas (from France)
USED PRICES: TC D-TWO-$275.00(or a pair of Yamaha D-1500 Delays)., SPX90-$199.00, LEXICON PCM-60 $399.00, FREE THE TONE TRI AVITAR-$350.00, DBX 160X-$199.00 Total- $1422.00. For a preamp you could look for a used Marhsall JMP-1, ADA MP-1. Boogie Studio Preamp, Hafler Triple Gaint, Kasha Rockmod I or II. Power amp could be Carvin DCM 1500. HH VX series.
@@RACKDOCTOR Thanks David Very Kind :-)
Looking some advice on power amps… Carvin tube 100 or the Carvin TS 100.. or the VHT 2/50/2
Any recommendations ?
VHT 2/50/2.
It bothers me that Mason Marangella and the others don't pay homage to this guy David! David makes the cleanest pedalboards I have seen and gets the tones!
Thanks, but I would rather he not mention my company at all. I don't want anything to do with that guy.
@@RACKDOCTOR I understand completely..
I appreciate the work you do.
@@fiddlefolk Thank you.
The 2290 is still king
What power amp Dave?
Carvin Tube 100.
Dave did you have a dedicated dry signal to turn on and off when you are 1210, Tri, Dimension D ?
@@larryrolando3542 No. The Tri, 1210, Dimension D are in series in stereo feeding Mixer Chan.1 in 1-----EXP out-----. The modulation signal then feeds RJM SND to L5 Lexicon PCM 42 L/R----L6 TC 2290---L7 Yamaha SPX-90----L8 Eventide H3000----L12 Lexicon PCM-70-----RTN to Mixer RTNS Ch.1 and Ch.2.
How does the XTS Atomic compare with the Way Huge Geisha Drive?
Thanks again
I have not compared them.
Where were the guys getting the distortion in these 80s rack tones? Weren't they going DI or through amps for distortion?
The rack was using the Myasnikov Custom X88R clone preamp and Carvin Power amp. The pedal setup was using a distortion pedal into clean amps.
Mainly preamps. Soldano , Custom Audio Electronics, Egnanter, Boogie. Also slaving heads was popular.
So, you think the 'Free The Tone" Chorus nails the Tri-chorus better than the Neunaber- Inspire-Tri Chorus plus?
I have not heard the Neunaber in person. From the clips online I think the Free The Tone is closer to my ears.
@@RACKDOCTOR Thanks
Wasn’t the dbx 160A the compressor of the 80’s? Is there a big difference with the 160x?
The 160X was the early model that everyone used. The 160A came later. It was a updated version. I have not compared them.