When GAS Inspires... (Brown Sugar!)

Steely Glen

Steely Glen

I been down so long, down don't bother me.
I'm constantly on the hunt for gear, buying and selling to bring about inspiration, but I find that much of the time, the stuff doesn't accomplish that mission. However, lately I've been inspired to take my playing in new directions...and I'm playing more.

I recently acquired a Line 6 Helix that has knocked my socks completely off. I can't believe the tones that come out of this box. It's uncanny. And to bring another tool to the table, I got a Line 6 Variax JTV-59. It's a normal LP-style guitar, but also had the Line 6 modeling technology built in: a library of electric models as well as acoustics, banjos, sitars, resonators. And it'll do alternate tunings with the turn of a knob.

Today, I was watching a documentary on the Rolling Stones called "Crossfire Hurricane" and I heard a few of Keith Richards' riffs, especially the iconic opening to "Brown Sugar." I know he plays in Open G a lot so I thought, "Hey, I'll go try that on the Variax." After a little noodling with some online tabs, I figured it out and set out to recording it. This is my first foray into Open G and it's a super fun tuning.

Keep in mind that the guitar in the video below is obviously not a Telecaster, but is modeling the bridge pickup of a vintage Tele. And it's not even in Open G tuning. It's in standard tuning modeling Open G. I was pretty satisfied with how the Helix + Variax performed. If there are any shortcomings, it's definitely in my guitar abilities. I'm not saying my GAS is cured, but it certainly has opened some fun new doors!

 
JimmyTheKnife

JimmyTheKnife

Blues Newbie
Awesome playing!

And while Keef eventually played this number on a Tele, one account states that t was recorded in 1969 using a black Gibson SG:

"What guitar was Keith playing?

It was a Gibson, but not a Les Paul. Do you know that model that was right under the Les Paul, the solid body double cutaway-what is that? Oh yeah, the SG. I think it was an SG, and as I recall it was black. I remember it had those sharp horns on the cutaways. That’s what he played most of the time he was here."

http://www.prosoundweb.com/channels...ng_the_rolling_stones_brown_sugar_sessions/2/

Best regards,

Jim
 
Steely Glen

Steely Glen

I been down so long, down don't bother me.
JimmyTheKnife said:
Awesome playing!

And while Keef eventually played this number on a Tele, one account states that t was recorded in 1969 using a black Gibson SG:

"What guitar was Keith playing?

It was a Gibson, but not a Les Paul. Do you know that model that was right under the Les Paul, the solid body double cutaway-what is that? Oh yeah, the SG. I think it was an SG, and as I recall it was black. I remember it had those sharp horns on the cutaways. That’s what he played most of the time he was here."

http://www.prosoundweb.com/channels...ng_the_rolling_stones_brown_sugar_sessions/2/

Best regards,

Jim
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I learn something new everyday! But the Variax doesn't model an SG so what am I to do now?!?!? I think the hardest part of the exercise was to get the amp sound right, which I don't think I did as well as I would've liked. I knew Keef's tone had the sound of an amp cranked wide open...no drive pedals really, just a tube amp pushed to break up. Your article refers to this:

"On the guitar amplifiers, let’s see there were two different ones, on Mick’s I had a SM57, and then on the other I was using… I might have been using an RE15 on Keith. But I had a real problem with Keith because he was running a Fender Twin amp wide open, I mean that sucker was getting it."
Click to expand...

The cool thing is that a modeler makes this possible, whereas actually buying a tweed Twin and doing this would get most us evicted. So the tone is possible to achieve, even if I didn't nail it. And it's sitting back in the mix in a way that I don't (yet) know how to accomplish when I master the track. There's always more to learn.
 
Steely Glen

Steely Glen

I been down so long, down don't bother me.
Davy said:
Class setup! And great playing. That's a lovely looking rack of guitars in the background.
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Thanks Davy! Unfortunately, I learned long ago that it's a lot easier to buy guitars than to actually learn to play them, so I've accumulated a pretty healthy herd.
 
PapaRaptor

PapaRaptor

Father Vyvian O'Blivion
Staff member
Nice work on the cover. I was surprised to see "Brown Sugar" this morning on the title. On the way in to work this morning, ZZ Top's "Brown Sugar" popped up on my playlist in the car, so I was half expecting that. Your vid was a very pleasant surprise!
 
Steely Glen

Steely Glen

I been down so long, down don't bother me.
paparaptor said:
Nice work on the cover. I was surprised to see "Brown Sugar" this morning on the title. On the way in to work this morning, ZZ Top's "Brown Sugar" popped up on my playlist in the car, so I was half expecting that. Your vid was a very pleasant surprise!
Click to expand...

I wasn't even aware that ZZ and the Rev. Willie G had a song by the same name. So we both had a pleasant surprise this morning!
 
PapaRaptor

PapaRaptor

Father Vyvian O'Blivion
Staff member
david moon said:
I don't think I've ever heard that first album. I'll have to check it out. I don't think I was really aware of the band until Eliminator and all the MTV play in the 80s.
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A friend of mine from Midland TX heard them at a festival in 1971. Said I had to buy the first album. "They are going to be big," he told me.
 
david moon

david moon

Attempting the Blues
From Wikipedia there were several albums before the Eliminator/MTV period. So got some catching up to do.
 
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