I've always admired Dean DeLeo's sound. I find that STP does very well using what's available in the studio. Does anyone know what kind of rig he uses?
KGM, I'm a big fan of his sound as well. That link's about the only thing I've ever found, and has some good details. I've seen him using some other smaller amps miked on stage and have been curious about those as well. No details I've found yet. THe main ingrediant is mixing VOX and Marshal together though. Sounds huge....
I'm a bit curious about his studio sound in particular. It has a certain buzz saw timbre, but he pulls it off well musically. He has a real ear for tone. Let me know if you come across anything else...I'll keep you in mind.
I'm a huge Dean/STP fan as well... I think he also really knows how to use EQ (in some cases aggressively) to shape each studio song, whether it be rhythm part or a lead aside from his gear. Like the rhythm line in Vaseline has that nasal/fuzz thing going on that works perfectly with the chimey atmospheric stuff happening on top..
I never have really tried to get that tone myself- I think a large part of it is simply the mix of a VOX being pushed into breakup (which is a fantastic tone unto itself) and that basic Marshall tone he gets from the Demeter. On some tunes, I think you can tell there's something else added, like old Valcos, Supro, no telling.
I have noticed at least one very small amp miked on stage sitting atop his other amps- I saw this on the new DVD that comes with the "Thank You" disc, on the show where they're playing a ballroom after the day time live set (not sure of venue names or dates, ect). I think that little amp is what you hear mixed in on the later stuff they did before things fell apart. I remember reading an interview in Guitar World or something where he mentioned using a small amp with an 8" speaker mixed with the VOX/Demeter rig to add a different timbre to his sound.
His sound did get a lot more interesting to me as they progressed. No telling what all was used in the studio though, with their budget at that time. I would love to know more details on this stuff, but I rarely meet anyone who seems to like his tone as much as I do. There's probably someone on the net that knows more... there always is.
Do you suppose he's going through the Vox and Demeter simultaneously, or is he amp-switching the way one might channel-switch (i.e., using the Vox for clean sounds and the Demeter for heavy tunes)?
KGM, he's using both at the same time. That's what I like about his tone so much, that Marshall girth with the VOX sparkle and slight chime mixed in. From what I've seen from him, it's always the two together at the same time. Not sure if he uses the Demeter's clean channel when he's going for a cleaner sound (it kind of sounds like it) and just backing down on the guitar volume to take the edge off of the VOX. It's his distroted tones that I like. I don't visit the boards often, so sorry for the long wait for a reply.
Thanks ambient... no telling what we hear on any given track, although I do know some folks with the ears to disect things to that degree. I did like his switch to the P90 sound later on. That is another aspect to his sound that really caught my ears. Hope they reform some day.
No kidding, what a great player. I really enjoyed the chords he used. Most of the time when someone does a solo on a recording, its more distorted than the rhythm guitars, thats something I learned from him, that your solo can be cleaner, or cleaner with a distinctive tone and it stands out more. I do miss that band alot. I saw them 5 or 6 times, and I thought they just had a great chemistry together. Plus his brother rocks like hell on bass too!
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