Secrets of the Glam Drone Guitar Sound (Gerry Shephard, Glitter Sound)
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- čas přidán 13. 09. 2024
- In this video, I dive into a powerful, distorted drone sound that once dominated the charts during the 1970s glam rock era. Despite its association with iconic tracks, this unique sound gradually faded from the music scene. But in this video, I'm bringing it back! I show you EXACTLY how to make the sound using only three simple tricks and no expensive gear. Then I do a live performance using the sound but in a totally different context -- a version of The Human League's classic 'Being Boiled'. Finally I end with a few words on an ethical dilemma I had making this video.
0:00 Introduction
The origins of the Glam Drone sound
The glam drone: my story
Three secrets of the Glam Drone
Playing with a slide
Selective picking
Using a special tuning
How to get different sounds
Applying the Glam Drone to modern productions
Live performance: Wellington's Theme (Being Boiled, Version)
Afterword
Ask me a question forms.gle/x2bnJeVJYouZnGZ97
Well it’s taken me 50 years to discover this. Thanks
Oh this makes me very happy! 🙏
I was 12 when I first heard "Rock And Roll Part II". That floor tom shuffle, the glam drone and the gang background vocals together sounded like something from another planet. Over 50 years later, it still does. Cheers!
I know, right! It’s still such a fresh sound!
It's like Tom Morello started playing with Kraftwerk or Depeche Mode, I love it
Huge compliment! 🙏🙏🙏
I play the piano, but I've tried to incorporate guitar into my sound for quite a while (very badly). Yesterday I went to bed frustrated with the guitars on a song I'm working on. I my dream, I was walking through a gigantic, hyper-modern shopping centre to get to a Sparks gig, with T. Rex playing constantly over the speakers in the empty mall. I woke up early, strangely moved by my dream. While I was having a cup of coffee, I decided to indulge in a bit of the old CZcams before starting my day. This video came up in my recommendations. Thank you thank you thank you! Glam is one of my favourite genres, as is Synthpop of the late '70s, early '80s, so your Being Boiled rendition is so far up my alley I can practically see it from my window. I will definitely play around with the glam drone from now on. Thank you for reminding me of what I'm passionate about! It's so easy to get bogged down by frustration.
I’m so pleased. Really awesome if this video helped at all. It’s very easy to go round in circles. Stay focussed ✊
You’ve got a new subscriber. Not only is the historical explanation interesting, the cover of Being Boiled is the kind of madness I’m in to. I’ve spent the last 30 years figuring out ways to make a guitar not sound like a guitar so this is absolutely in my wheelhouse.
Oh awesome! This is such a fantastic comment!
agree
failed for 40+ years nailing this. brilliant. Thank you
Oh fantastic! Are you a guitarist?
Once left my slide in the dressing room a floor below the gig so used the monitor engineer's Stanley knife for a few songs... The Glaswegian audience loved it!
Oh that’s awesome! 😂😂😂
Actually, Gary's favourite key was A minor.
😂 Trying to strike a chord.
Shops at 7/11...
😂😂😂
Lightly fingered.
Ooof! 😅
I just found this channel, very rarely does one find such high quality content presented professionally and all for free!!! Thank you so much.
By far the most inspiration I got in less than half an hour... Thanks a LOT!!!
Thank you soooooo much! This is so very kind! Very much appreciate you watching, making the comment, and this amazing vote of support :)
@@derived-doom really?
Mike Leander was the genius behind that sound.
The touring band, and the recording band, were not the same.
Yes, this is all true. Total genius. I thought this was a mistake before I checked it yesterday with a producer that had worked with him.
Every string tuned to the same note? Okay. That blew my mind.
It’s amazing right!
@@DistortThePreamp Such a simple idea and yet I never would have thought of doing that.
no wonder i couldn't master it at the time (aged 14)
the same concept as lou reed's "ostrich guitar" which inspired lou's connection with john cale, as he was doing the same tuning trick with his viola, pre-velvet underground
Yeah, that’s exactly right! It’s slightly different and Lou played it in a different way, but it’s exactly the same concept!
I was the live Sound engineer for GG and the glitter band in the 1980's along with some other acts. What you might add is that Gerry used 3 x 40thou strings, and 3 x 14thou strings on that john birch Star guitar, and your right, there were no effects used, It was straigt into the amp, which at the time he was using a roland bolt 60, The sound being so good from the amp, that A DI from the amp was better than A mic, another factor of the drone, is that Brian, (tenor and baritone sax player) played mostly in unison, but sometimes went for the flatted 5th under depending on the song, That Star guitar was was dropped at Bournmouth Centre in1985 i think, and the head was broken off, so I never saw it again, Gerrys other guitar was telecaster in standard tune, At the next few gigs i lent Gerry my Yamaha SG900 which he tuned to AAAAAA. and used that for about a year for gigs, That guitar then got given to the main roadie and monitor engineer Steve nash, I'm not sure why i gave it away, But hey ho. Agree with your interpritations of the Music and Artiste, and theres no doubt that it did have an effect on Gerrys later carrear. Nice Video Thank you.
Hi John, that’s so much for this comment. Really interesting. That’s a hilariously average amp, but then again if the sound was good then the sound was good! And straight into the desk too! I’ve heard bad things about the Star guitar in terms of its playability. I haven’t got any idea if they’re true but it shouldn’t be hard to make a great guitar with a custom body shape. Do you know if the Star guitar was good to play? I assume Gerry had a tech - was there anything special about his setup, or was it just truss rod to compensate for the tension change?
@@DistortThePreamp Hi, I played the star guitar a couple of times, It was actually very tatty to look at, and had been broken before, the bottom star had been broken off and evosticked back on again, It had a slim neck, and although not fitting your body very well, By the time the surge of adrenolin got going who cares about a bit of pain when you are waving that about, Gerry Never had a guitar tech, Just get it out of the case and play it. With regard to the sound, dont underestimate the contribution of the baritone sax playing along with it, It was that, that provided the depth of the riff. Most of the gigs on the 11th, 12th,13th,14th comeback tour, (HaHa) through from 1984/85/86 were 2 weeks warm ups, mainly large uni's, then another 2 or 3 weeks doing larger gigs like manchester apollo, nottingham Rock city, Hammersmith odeon, etc. All about 4000 capacity, We toured with 2 lighing crew, 2 pa Crew, 1 Stage crew, 2 catering crew, The drivers doubleing up as followspot operators. about 50KW of martin PA, and lots of lighting, nearly all par cans, genie towers etc, all fitting into one artic. The Biggest gig I did with him and the band was open air at jubilee gardens, It was estimated that there would be about 10,000 attending and so enough production was bought in to handle it, But about 30,000 showed up, so it was all a bit weak at the edges. On the other hand it was free festival. With regard to GG, I never saw him mucking about with girls, But what i can say is that he was a man of excesses, On the tour bus, If someone had a glass of wine, he had to have the whole bottle, If you had a bag of chrisps, then he would have to have a box of chrisps. The band never soundchecked after the first couple of gigs, Everybody knew what they were doing and did what was expected, and for everyone, they were great to work with, really down to earth guys, At the xmas gigs, We got in a DJ to keep up a good show, who was on after GG, and this was clive Jackson from Dr and the Medics, who was alway great fun. I did the sound on the last 6 of the OGWT and Dr & the medics performed on that, I think it filmed at the Beer Keller in bristol. I met Mike leander once at the Wag club in soho, I cant remember what Band i was doing, but he was involved with them somehow, and gave me a few clues on what the sound should be like, It didnt quite turn out the way he wanted, and said, thats why i dont do live sound!!! As a last comment, The gigs were very exciting, Lots of movement and certainly GG knew the glam thing had finished and this was all a bit tounge in cheek, But every show was sold out to capacity and everyone went home smiling, If you or anyone has done live sound, the feeling is like driving a ferrari, When its showtime, The comms light flashes letting you know they are coming out, the fingers go onto the master faders, and you say to yourself, fifty thousand Watts, Give it to me. Come on Come on, Come on Come on come on come on I SAY..... Happy times
This is the whole philosophy of Glen Bracca. A lot of post punk guitarist played with him. Most notably Sonic Youth
Love that genre but never heard of Bracca, thx for the reference.
Nice way to remind people of the tools of the past
Great cover - a kind of Human League/Fad Gadget/Cabaret Voltaire hybrid.
Thanks Sam! I was worried it was a bit too unhinged at the end, but sometimes it’s good to do something that isn’t too polished.
Wow! A technique I have never heard of. Never offered by anyone else on the net. You blew my mind! I used to love the Sweet and the Glitter band when I was a kid. BUT your remake of the Human League and the virtuosity of your performance was inspirational for under pinning the tutorial. I think Matt Bellamy has just had to sit down and admit to second place on this one! You are immediately promoted to guitar hero status!!!!
This is incredibly kind and you have made my evening! I was worried that I was being too flashily, but then I thought “It’s glam!” 😂
Not sure The Sweet used that tuning. I've played Sweet material as have many others and never thought 'This just doesn't sound right' I think it should be called The Glitter sound because that's the epitome of the glam sound but that name unfortunately suggests something darker, sinister and unsettling.
So, there’s a ton of doom/sludge bands that do something similar to this, but only on the lowest two strings, and usually just a paired octave. I have one of my basses permanently tuned this way. AADG. So a low A, then standard A D G. I use a 5 string set, ditch the 100 string, and just use 130, 80, 65, 45.
This makes for an absolutely massive sound when playing power chords, barring the low octave string on my root. Running an OD, into a fuzz, then EQ, and finally into a gain heavy amp. The wall of sound is absolutely crushing.
To hear sounds similar, check out Torche, Floor, and almost anything aaron turner does.
Just ignore the other people on the internet 🛜
I clicked on this out of curiosity and was pleasantly surprised at how damn interesting a topic it turned out to be. Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this.
Oh you are very welcome indeed! Really appreciate you watching, and the comment :-)
Another great video. Perfect level of detail and love the history. Keep ‘em coming.
Thank you so much! Your comment is very much appreciated :)
As a guitarist with an interest in synths this was fantastic, thanks!
@@BrizzleRocker Oh fantastic! That’s actually what I am too, well it’s what I was until a couple of years ago. I’ve really been a guitarist for most of my life until I discovered synths relatively recently. But I didn’t want to do “yet another guitar channel” on CZcams where some guy shows you how to play scales or shred 😂 But this was a really important video for me as it’s the first step into me branching beyond synths to include guitars. With an emphasis on sound, rather than technique, obviously ;)
...always been a big fan of over the transit guitar effects and this is a great case in point. Thanks for landing this one... I gotta' say your patiet account of this sleuthing adventure, made the reveal all the more memorable. So the "drone" was actually created by on and off octave unisons... oh, and your "Being Boiled" application was spot on.
Two things: try it with a delay pedal added in series a long, almost tape like delay on it... and if your in Dave Gilmour's tribe, make sure he sees this !
Thanks man !
NOW that is really something special!!!
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
You just taught me something i never knew; (After 40+ years of guitar playing)
Thank you for this info on glam rock friggin amazing!!
Makes me smile to see this video as went down this rabbit hole about 10 years ago. I grew up with the glam bands and GG and especially the Glitter Band were my favourite band as a kid. I saw GG 3-4 times in the 70s including his Rainbow show from which the live album was recorded.I also saw the Glitter Band loads of times in the same era. I can confirm that Gerry Did use the Star guitar a lot live. He had a Fender Strat that got used on the soul covers in the GG set and the more pop tracks the Glitter Band released towards the end of their career.
He also had a Gibson SG that you can see in some of the gig shots of the era.
John Hudson who engineered all those famous GG records at Mayfair Studios said that the guitar was Gary's and was already in that tuning and Mike Leander picked it up after Gary had left one evening and the rest is history. Mike L played the drums for hours and got John Hudson to loop the bits he liked the best, including the famous Rock 'n Roll Part 2 drum pattern. It's because it's looped it's so insanely catchy, in a weird way a very early precursor of dance music. Also listen carefully to how the bass guitar is deliberately EQ'd to be almost inaudible so that it becomes another part of the drum part and it adds a crucial rhythm element and low frequency aspect to the drum sound that would not have had a lot of low end in those days.
it's especially effective in the verse where the bass plays the root note and dips briefly to the semi tone below and back.
John Hudson said that Mike used a lot of delay on the guitar sound to make it bigger and you may know Mike L's trick was to compress the crap out of the sax and trombone and blend it into the slide guitar so they are really hard to tell apart, thats the final piece of the jigsaw.
It may be aeons ago but I can still remember how massive the two drum kits and Gerry's slide guitar sounded at those early GG shows, been a live sound engineer for decades and worked with a whole bunch of amazing acts but nothing quite came close to the magic and excitement that sound had over a huge old school PA system.
A+++++ as always, you bring the goods. All I need to do now is see it’s you and I’ve got a new music lesson to enjoy
That’s very kind indeed!!!!!!
LOVE your overview and playing - I even heard Fade to Grey in there..................lol
Please keep going.
Thank you! Really appreciate the support :)
I have never cared much for Garry Glitter and his music, except for this sound and this tune. Looking back from now, it's iconic and because of that it should have and keep its place in music history, despite the despicable person it is associated with. As you pointed out he didn't create the sound but I suppose he was involved in creating the tune.
Plenty of Queens of the stone age has tones like that. For easier gig use, they use classic EHX POG, which not only has +1 and +2 octave, but blendable detune for these octaves. So, you could easily incorparate these tones in live setup just playing with slide in standard tuning.
Yes. I have the EHX POG which sounds great. It’s not quite the same because you don’t get as much control about which strings (ie octaves) you are playing. But if I was in a covers band and had only one guitar I would definitely use a POG to get this effect :)
Just as an additional point - it was Mike Leander who "invented" that sound, before Gerry (RIP) was recruited. The first Gary Glitter album was recorded by Glitter and Leander, along with session musicians (incl a very young Trevor Horn on bass guitar) and I remember reading that Leander, who couldn't play guitar, tuned all the strings to the same note, in order to play guitar on some tracks. And that's how it came to be. Gerry, John and the other future members of the Glitter Band were recruited for Top of the Pops and live appearances - and weren't even referred to as the Glitter Band until a while later. And they didn't play on the GG albums at that time (apart from his live one) - although they did on their own albums. No doubt though that Gerry came up with the nuances over time. Apparently the Star Guitar used for those tracks live was pretty horrible to play and for most of the set a regular guitar (and tuning) would get used.
Great to see some appreciation for that sound - really was the sound of my youth and such a shame it's not used more. Nice BB version too.
And just to say I agree with what you say about the moral dilemma - I grew up listening to GG and went to see him in concert in the 80s and 90s but haven't been able to listen to his records since it was all revealed. No contrition, no apologies either. Loathsome individual. The Glitter Band still used to play live a lot as a separate entity long after he was banged up but their bookings suffered hugely, as did radio play of their many hits. When they and GG only ever saw each other on stage - traveling separately, not even rehearsing together a lot of the time. Anyway, once again, great job in highlighting this sound.
@@philmarsh5593 Yes you’re absolutely right about Leander. I don’t know about Trevor and I think of myself (clearly wrongly) as knowing his whole story. The star guitar was horrible and I’ve seen him playing normal guitars a lot, but surely not in standard? He’s always playing the slide parts and from his fingering it looks like the glitter tuning… do you have a source? Really appreciate you watching and making the comment. One day I’ll have a researcher to keep my hallucinations in check 🙄
Fascinating, loved the playing too
Thank you! :) 🙏🙏🙏
Every time the GG name comes up and everyone runs for the hills, I always say, you’re allowed to hate the artist, but love the art.
Rock’n’Roll Pts 1 & 2 are genuinely awesome and moving. And I use the word awesome in the literal sense, not the North American non-equivalent.
And just as I type this, your end piece comes along.
When I was a young teenager, my mind was blown when I heard being boiled for the first time. Great vid
Thats one hell of a cover ❤❤❤
Thank you! Very much appreciate your comment!!! 🙏🙏🙏
I guessed 0 effects and the use of a slide but only because I have used a similar all-E tuning and have also played slide quite a bit. I have never thought about using them together nor did I realize this song used this technique. Mind blown!
Oh that’s interesting! If you use EEEEEE do you tune the A down a fourth, the D up a tone, the G down a minor third, and the B up a fourth?
So you get E2-E2-E3-E3-E4-E4?
Holy Sh!t... Mind Blown... The Human League track you covered is ABSOLUTELY F'ing AMAZING !!!!!! Thank you !!! Your explanation about musicians who were terrible people and their music was also excellent.
This is the first video I have seen of your channel and I don't need to watch even one more to know I want to subscribe. Really looking forward to whatever else is in your other videos !i!i!i!i!
Thank you so much! That’s a really amazing comment! I really appreciate you watching and taking the time to write this. Makes a huge difference, and is very supportive 🙏🙏🙏
Holy crap that cover was amazing. Thank you!
The Being Boiled cover (rather than the Rock and Roll cover)? Thank you SO MUCH! Really appreciate it. I was worried when I put out the video that people thought of me as a synth guy and would turn off when they saw me pick up a guitar. Are you a guitarist? Keyboard player? Producer? Music fan?
@@DistortThePreamp Yes, the Being Boiled cover. Your playing gave me so many ideas for covers of synth heavy songs. This approach is far superior to “guitar synth” gadgets.
I’ve played guitar since 1994, keys and saxophone before that and drums since around 97.
Awesome! Sorry for the delay in replying. I’m going to be doing a lot of guitar over the next year, and my aim is to make it all like this - interesting sounds and strange ways of playing real music, rather than shredding. I’m not knocking shredding and good technique is important, but it’s not often what makes a great track 😂
@@DistortThePreamp I’m looking forward to it. I have always liked guitar parts that surprise me. Adrian Belew, Tom Verlaine, Marc Moreland, John McGeoch, etc
Another great video, keep them coming!
Thank you! I am trying to increase the frequency of my output ;)
Great video and very much appreciate the postscript. Valuable perspective
Thanks Trey! Appreciate you watching, and taking the time to comment :)
Spot on again. Sound more authentic than a straight guitar, catches a non punk underground vibe.
Yeah exactly. It all came out so punk. And while I was making it I started wondering whether Marco Pirroni had used the tuning with the Ants. There was always something very ‘yeowly’ about his sound which I assumed was feedback. And he plays in standard tuning live. But live it doesn’t sound the same…
Brings back happy memories of 1972 and now I know how the incredible sound was created , brilliant video thank you 👍
Fascinating! Great video
Thank you! 🙏🙏🙏
The excellent breakdown of the sound, the amazing performance, the thoughtful words about problematic artists - you’re doing truly great work man! My favorite tuning by the way is DADGBB where i detune the highest string just slightly for a chorus effect. I think Ricky Wilson from the B-52s used to use it sometimes. Again GREAT work man!
The being boiled part started and i was thinking ‘wot are you doing’ - then it blew up into fantastic.
Oh amazing! So pleased you liked it!!!
I’m out. This bleeding heart thinks the Smiths are to far right. He’s prob dying to see England and it’s culture …… you know what….? Forget it. This shit is depressing. I’m gonna go start a bar fight with people who laugh at danger.
Amazing video! Im just glued to the screen from zero to the end
That’s the most amazing comment ever! This is my first guitar video - do you mind me asking if you’ve ever seen any of my videos before? I think CZcams is pushing this out to a new audience which is fine, but fascinating…
@@DistortThePreampYes I have seen your videos before. What I love is how well prepared the story is and your amazing knowledge about facts I never knew.
Thank you! 🙏🙏🙏
Your take on Being Boiled is fucking epic! Now I wanna hear it with the original lyrics over top. Thanks for the info on how to get that distinct sound, and your version of Being Boiled. 👍
Oh amazing! So glad you liked it! 🙏🙏🙏
Doctor Whoooo Hey Doctor Who! Endlessly surprised those guys never got sued. Guitars are not my thing but I enjoyed the video. I really like your channel. Long may it continue. Hopefully one day you'll touch on those Ozric Tentacles Cascading Arps!
Haha! You know, I think they must have got sued because the writing credit for Doctorin’ the Tardis include Mike Leander and GG 😂
Back in 1981 I maintained/repaired the computers for a top West End law firm. Mostly "rock" star clients, including Gary Glitter. The lawsuits made very interesting reading.
Oh gosh 😳
Shouldn't have gone to PC World!😂
😂😂😂
I was surprised in many ways. Your serious approach on the subject , the analysis, your playing, also the intellectual philosophical / analysis of the question u posed ? I didn’t think there were musicians like me who think deeply like this with a great appreciation for sound design. I think maybe we are misunderstood for being too serious. Like as if it can’t go hand in hand with making good music ! Very brave and authentic video. You gave a lot away. I will be experimenting with those techniques now in my band. Thanks.
Thank you so much for this. Really appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment. The tuning is fantastic fun to play, especially with slide - let me know how you get on!
Wow, absolutely brilliant 🤩 Subscribed 👊
Oh amazing! Thank you so much! 🙏🙏🙏
I worked as a roadie in the 80's and learned this tuning trick from showaddy waddy and Mud guitar tech.. so I got out my shittiest guitar ( Audition Tele) and my Champion fuzz and ......War of the worlds "heatwave" popped out.
Hours of fun...
Great vid mate
Well done
Oh amazing! It must have been wild touring with Showaddywaddy and Mud. One imagines the behaviour was more wild than the image.
Keep up the good work. Enjoying it from the Netherlands!
Thank you!!!
This is my 1st x watchin' ur videos & this is just *AMAZING* ‼
Thank you so much! Such an awesome comment! This was my first guitar video (the others have been about synths) but really all my videos are about music and sound and the instrument doesn’t matter too much. That’s what I’m going for anyway. Are you a guitarist? Keyboardist? Music fan?
Absolutely spellbinding. I'd buy that if that was a released track! Who's have thought the glam rock round was this?? Bonus respect for using my home town as a backdrop :)
Well done for noticing that (about it being Blackpool Pleasure Beach). I think a lot of the detail in the videos probably gets lost on most people, so it's really nice when people notice :) And thanks for the VERY KIND comments!
On your moral dilemma, when in doubt, art must always be appreciated separately from the creator. If an individual decides they can’t do that, then that’s fine. But art, especially great art, shouldn’t be cancelled across the board because of something related to the creator. If we were to morally judge the creators of everything that is historically and culturally important or relevant in order to decide what we keep or discard, we’d find pretty quickly that there are reasons to cancel almost anything. I’ve been a fan of GG since the very start of glam. My first concert was GG at the peak of his career. I still have all my records and I still listen to them. I think what he did morally is reprehensible, but that doesn’t take away from the music. He was a huge star and cultural icon and the music was brilliant and influential. That should all still stand.
Being Boiled. Love it.
@@jfroines 🙏🙏🙏
Mind properly blown, thank you for the professional presentation of this simple and elegant technique.
Oh that’s such a kind thing to say! Really appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment? Are you a guitarist? Other kind of musician? Producer? Music fan?
@@DistortThePreamp music fan, guitarist, and producer in that order. Your Human League cover was an excellent use of space in a composition to keep it interesting--the limitation of only being able to play 1 note at a time pushes creativity in other directions. Keep up the great work!
Being boiled is my long time favourite song for learning to write primitive but effective synth songs! That’s a neat cover although it took some liberties and it took a while to recognize. I just kept waiting to hear ”Listen to the voice of Buddha saying stop your sericulture”. Maybe I should do a modular theremin cover one day!
I thought the drone was done with an octaver, overdrive and reverb so I guess I was off by one!
It took soooooo many liberties 😂 There was a lot of poetic license… ;)
did the same thing with a de-fretted nylon string and it is a remarkable oud substitute. Never realized this was part of T Rex's toolbox, super fun.
being boiled was absolutely great !!! nice video ill try recreating the sound !!
Excellent!!!
Very much enjoyed this video mate. The Human League guitar cover was a highlight. Would love another video on how you created the gated sequencer effect in Live. That sounded unreal!
Thank you! That’s really kind! Check out my video on Gated Pads - that’s the gate I’m using which is the Drawmer DS201, and I was feeding it with a trigger from a synth which was sequenced by a hardware sequencer. Maybe I SHOULD make a video about using it with guitar?!? BTW I’ve started collecting questions which I’m gonna try to answer in a video… forms.gle/x2bnJeVJYouZnGZ97
@@DistortThePreampyeah one with guitar would be cool. Maybe not just that but how to use various vst/daw type synth fx with guitar? I don’t actually think many people have done something similar on YT. So would be super helpful
Ah - so DAW effects with guitar are tricky because you can’t generally do them in real time (because of latency) and I find it’s really important to be able to monitor what you’re doing when you track guitar because you respond. It’s not impossible, but it basically means you have to track a raw part blind, and then add the gates. Hence why I go to such elaborate measures to set it up so I can track live. ;)
When you strummed the guitar while talking about which octaves of A all the strings were in, all i could hear was Spirit In The Sky
My wife castigated me for loistening to Glitter stuff. It's a load of bollocks, I'll listen to good music whatever it is. No need to be sidetracked.
I didn’t know how awesome of a video this was going to be. You’re amazing, what a cool channel
Thank you! That’s incredibly kind! 🙏🙏🙏
Excellent! Can’t wait to try this.
I was going to say some sort of fuzz pedal but you didn't mention that, so.....
Update: well I'll be darned....
Finally: you never cease to entertain, inform and amaze.
Thank you! I am getting drive from the amp, but there are zero pedals. What a sound!
@@DistortThePreamp absolutely
My understanding was the Mike Leander was the man who 'invented' the sound and that Gerry was brought in once the song had already been recorded as a backing band for GG. That said I always had a soft spot for the Glitter Band once they started doing their own stuff.
I grew up on blues, and know this technique well. The same time the glam bands were using slides, so were the blues bands like the Allman Brothers.
Oh, absolutely! I tend to associate blues slide with open tunings, but it makes perfect sense that they would use unison…
@@DistortThePreamp It’s not unheard of in blues, but it is more of a rock method.
This might be because the people in rock aren’t quite as, er, skilled ;)
The Sequential Circuits Six Trak, Max, and Multi Trak are analog synthesizers that can play a monophonic unison of six stacked oscillators.
Still have my Six Trak :)
Oh! With different octaves? I’m going to look those up. Meanwhile I realised that I could have used one of my poly’s and set it to a special chord. This would have made the glide/portage to much better. But same conclusion though - it sounds amazing on synth, but it’s much less expressive than a guitar. I’m not quite saying the guitar is better, it they are very different sounds :) Really appreciate this comment!
When I say I still have it, what I mean is that it's sitting in the loft gathering dust which it has for a number of years :( So, from memory (and being more of a guitarist rather than a synth player these days) sure, each voice could play a different octave but how you would trigger all six in real time I don't know?? I think this will spur me to get it down and start playing with it again :)
Oh definitely get it out! I’ve just looked it up on eBay and it looks wonderfully quirky…
I really think out of true respect that should be known as "The Gerry Sheppard sound". Maybe other people used the sound before Gerry, but for me it's only Gerry I can connect with that sound. It's like no other.
He's no longer with us, let's not have him turning in his grave about it, please ?!!
Let's leave it with Mr. Sheppard.....😢🙏🕊️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🕊️💐🖖✌️
So since I made this video I’ve discovered that it was actually Mike Leander who drove this. I mentioned Leander in the video, but probably not as much as I should have done. But it’s such a cool sound, and it absolutely deserves to be used again in modern productions…
When I first heard music from Adam + the Ants (Kings of the WF) back in 1981? I said to myself, who is his Guitarist ? Marco Pirroni nailed that Glam guitar sound right into my eardrums ! He may not have used that drone much, but that thick tone he used (via Mick Ronson?) remains a favorite. Great episode, thank you very much.
Yeah, I’ve been thinking about Marco a lot since I made this. There’s a video on CZcams of Adam Ant doing Ant Music with the Glitter Band and I think it sounds better and closer than the Ants version. So even though Marco played in standard live I’m now wondering if he used a drone tuning on the records…
Not enough people talk about Marco. I always thought his guitar work was really interesting.
Very well done video, I deeply appreciated the sentiment of using aspects of music that should not be lost and instead using these aspects in a new context to be enjoyed.
Thanks for that eye-opener! I’d always thought that sound had come from the saxes playing in unison with the guitars.
Ah - well there ARE saxes playing alongside on the record. Certainly Rock & Roll Part 1 (though not Part 2). But I think the crazy guitar really makes the whole sound quite unusual, and that’s extremely important in pop music!
Awesome.
Great topic! Rocknroll Part 2... I was 10 years old...Top of the Pops....it blew my mind! Two drummers and yes, that guitar sound . I saw the Glitter band in the 70s. I remember Gerry playing that star guitar... wish i could remember if he used a slide but I do recall an interview ( I think it was Mike Leander) who said the guitar parts were recorded using only 2 strings (??) So perhaps 2 at a time if as you say all strings were tuned in that way. I was a huge fan of what ai now call, ' the Mike Leander Sound' Mr GG has tarnished my musical awakening but I still own the first 2 albums. The tribal beats, hand claps, droning guitars and droning saxophones still make for a hypnotic ,earthen-audio experience.! I may be lambasted for this but I refuse to not listen to what Leander,Shepherd and the rest of the Glitter band created. It is still infectious with the likes of Goldfrap and Tame Impaler emulating the Gband vibe in morec recent times .
Yes, absolutely. And Adam & The Ants too really. Two drummers, and Pirroni’s guitar which sounded very Glittery a lot of the time!
I always associate the Goldfrapp shuffle with "Spirit in the Sky" personally. Helps to get around the... difficulties 😅
this is fantastic, awesome stuff as always.
@@CrankyOldNerd thank you! 🙏🙏🙏
Very impressive. Thank you.
That’s very kind! Appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment :)
Been using it since 2019 =) John Rossall explained it to me !
... very interesting.
Thank you!
What a great video. Rock 'n' Roll pt 2 was a milestone in my musical education when I heard it in 1972 aged 12. Since then I have always wondered how they got THAT sound, despite seeing The Glitter Band twice (once with and once without GG). Finally, an answer. Thank you.
Oh that’s awesome! What were they like without GG?
@@DistortThePreamp They were on with other bands at Butlins Minehead for a Harley Davidson rally weekender around 2004.. I remember they still had two drummers and a tenor sax tracking the guitar. Unfortunately they didn't go down very well with the bikers. The singer had a cigarette in one hand and the other in his pocket. Obviously very keen to get through the set and off stage.
Very different to GG's Christmas show in Hammersmith around 1978 with the big stage and lights.
It’s funny they didn’t go down well with the bikers because, apart from the flashy clothes, the sound is quite unhinged and rocky. But I imagine the bikers didn’t appreciate the silver lame jackets 😂
Yes the real start of me taking an interest in music. I actually thought there was saxophone in the mix somewhere.
@@DistortThePreampprobably because of their association with Glitter. Their reputation suffered too.
Excellent cover there highlighting versatility of 6 strings & an amp... cool
Thank you! I’ve got a lot of pedals, but it’s hard to beat six strings and an amp!
You just changed my life
In a good way? I’m only asking because there’s anout 1.4% of commenters who assure me that I am making their lives much worse 😂😂😂
@DistortThePreamp no this is fantastic for me, as I only play a mono synth, or a guitar with 2 strings, 🤣
Seriously.
And the tones, some bits reminded me of Daniel ash.
Oh then you should definitely rig up a mono guitar! Let me know if you have any problems as you might need to do something clever with the truss rod… ;)
2:40 As I recall it, the Glitter Band only actually backed the notorious Mr.Gadd live. Mike Leander played most of the instruments on the studio recordings. So maybe Gerry didn't "invent" the sound, as such, just did his best to replicate it in live performance.
Yes, you’re actually right about this. It was actually Mike Leander playing which I couldn’t believe but which turns out to be true. Leander didn’t really invent the sound either, but he was an excellent arranger and really put the whole thing together. Obviously I mentioned him in the video but I was rather shocked to find it really was Leander playing! Hopefully that error doesn’t completely invalidate the video!
Interesting! I think I also hear this kind of sound on some of the late 70s and early 80s Wire albums
As with Gary's glam drone (but not notoriously), I always think of Polymoog (Vox Humana) as Gary Numan and whenever I hear early Depeche Mode (Speak & Spell), I 'see' the KR-55 when I hear that lovely snare sound. Likewise, any Burundi Beat and I 'see' Adam Ant with Amanda Donohoe.
Now there's a next vid, Gazza and how he killed the Polymoog sales by being synonymous with Vox Humana 😁
Hahaha! I made a demo of a video about Vox Humana, but was worried it had been done to death. What I really want is to get an interview with Gary…
@@DistortThePreamp He's very accommodating, I understand. Perhaps approach through Ade?
That’s a very good idea!
@@DistortThePreamp do it!
Thank you for the inspiration. I agree, we can be inspired by an old sound and without paying homage to Gary, do something completely different. I’m off to tune my guitar to A
This is very exciting! Be prepared to LOOSEN your truss rod a quarter turn (anti-clockwise) because the tuning is quite slack and so the neck will flatten out and the strings will probably choke out at the higher frets. Or if you don’t wanna do that, tune it to B instead of A which in my experience doesn’t need a truss adjustment :) Let me know how you get on, and if you have any problems…
brilliant breakdown and vid - keep up the wonderful work
That’s incredibly kind and encouraging! Thank you! 🙏
Oh yer doubling youreself on the 2 e strings or the tunning thank you brother weather iam wrong or just plain crazy youre forcing me to think and thats great
It sounds amazing, right! Such an awesome sound! Every home needs a cheap guitar permanently rigged in this tuning 😂
I have very recently done this as an experiment... then this pops up into my CZcams feed. I've not posted anything on line about it. The Algorithm strikes again!
Hahaha! Awesome 😂😂😂
Of course if it doesn't work for your band you could always apply for a position at the local air raid siren manufacturer.
This is the greatest day of my life.
Words fail me. Such an awesome comment to receive. Unless of course you’re referring to something unrelated to the video, in which case congratulations!
Well, I have 2 bits of good news, and a bit of bad. The good news is I finally found out who the hell plays that song they have played at thousands of times outs during American football games since I was a kid, and I also know how to make a sick new tone. The bad news is, it's all by Gary....
Ah yes 😂 The way through is to think of it as being by Mike Leander who was the producer, arranger, and writer (apart from the lyrics).
@@guerrillaradio9953I'm still waiting for yet another American politician to come bounding on stage at a rally to "D'you wanna be in my gang my gang my gang'.😅
@@DistortThePreampsadly any association with the wig wearing nonce is a career killer for anyone. The band, all great musicians and decent guys suffered badly even though they were completely innocent and unaware of his behaviour.
What an excellent episode!!!!! I've needed to play Glitter band songs many times over the past 40 years and I was always miffed that the sound was never right. Now I know.. Fabulous. Many Thanks
A genuinely interesting guitar video! Nice one.
Haha! Thank you very much indeed! 🙏🙏
Great video, great playing at the end.
I (incorrectly!) guessed that there was a gate or attack ramp.
Thank you! Not bad guesses ;) When I was rehearsing the part I was in fact playing through a gate to keep the noise from the amp under control, but I turned it off just so I could honestly say there were no effects. But I would tend to recommend a noise gate at the end of the drive chain for live otherwise parts like this start to sound pretty muddy…
one thing to note is that gary glitter sold his rights to the music and gets no royalties. mike leander based rock and roll part 1 and 2 on an earlier song he wrote in the 60s. i would love to hear the first incarnation of that song. the glitter band did a small venue tour a few years ago with captain sensible on vocals. HUZZAH!
I have heard that the Roobarb and Custard Theme is actually a electric bass guitar. If so would you consider covering that one day.
I don’t know if that’s true, but obviously that sounds like an amazing idea! I’ve just listened (for the first time since I watched as a kid) and it sounds like a bass through something like a Mu-Tron and a fuzz. I don’t know if you’re serious, but this is happening.
@@DistortThePreamp
Thanks bud, its going to be a sick video 👍
Magnificent!
I definitely have to try this.
Amazing! Though I’m regretting editing out the bit where I talked about string tension. Long story short, you may need to make a minor truss rod adjustment because the strings are quite a lot slacked. You LOOSEN the truss rod about a quarter turn. Maybe a bit more, but not more than half a turn. And write down what you do so you can put it back! It’s all easy, but might be scary if you’ve never done a truss rod adjustment before. Don’t worry. Take a deep breath…
@@DistortThePreamp Exactly. I figured, what gauge is he using, and how floppy can that 6th string get, and so on. Good points! Surely I won't be doing that on my Jem Jr. with the Floyd Rose ;) Thanks again and have a great evening.
Haha! No, but you could try B1-B2-B2-B3-B3-B3 which in my experience doesn’t need a truss rod adjustment!
@@DistortThePreamp That could be an idea. I did some minor truss rod adjustments in the past, I'm not afraid. I'm just sooooooooooooo lazy :))) Have a nice weekend.
🙏
Im a synth head this makes me want to use a guitar now
Awesome! Do it! Get a super cheap guitar for about £40 and abuse it!
Showed up in my feed, and fantastic! Thanks, this was so much fun to learn
Fantastic! So glad you appreciated it! Are you a guitarist? Or just a music fan?
@@DistortThePreamp guitarist, learned to play in the late 70's. Still trying for a royalty check. Heh heh
Hahaha! Have you tried the technique? Did it work for you?
@@DistortThePreamp I have not, but i will. I tried the Nashville tuning a while back for a few of our band's songs, and that was cool. Pretty sure this weekend though I will try the tuning. Just have to find my slides, or a beer bottle, or whatever. Here's cut from a dozen years ago. that's me at the end (3:40), nothing great, but I like it
I like Nashville tuning! I used to have a guitar permanently strung in Nashville - but then I stopped playing in standard and he Nashville idea doesn’t seem to work so well in alt tunings. But I’m basically a huge tunings nerd. I keep a guitar in standard for scales practice to keep my fingers in shape but never ever record with it. Actually that’s not quite true - if I’m doing a Nile Rogers (or JJ Belle) part I’ll play in standard, but for rock, acoustic, dream pop, it’s all hilarious tunings.
great video . keep em coming
@@jagace64 Thank you! I’m gonna try to release them faster!