Wilco Inspired Guitar Rigs

[CabinFever47]

Hi all, I'm new here and glad I found this place.

 

I am wondering if there are any guitar playing fans out there that have designed their rigs based on Wilco's equipment. I understand that some equipment evolves, but that's the fun part anyways.

 

My personal rig is Wilcoesque with a major in Tweedyism. Here's what I play (not an exact copy)

 

Guitars: Gibson Les Paul Special/Fender Road Worn '50s Tele

Amp: Vox AC15C1

Pedals: TC Polytune, EHX Germanium OD, Death By Audio Interstellar Overdriver, Freakshow FX Rabbit, EHX Little Big Muff, EHX The Worm, and an EHX Holy Grail

 

I know that each of the guys use some form of the EHX Holy Grail reverb, Tweedy sometimes using 2 of them through a Vox AC30 and now a smaller Texiera boutique amp. I think he's using a Polytune now. Sansone uses mostly Tele's and has a Germanium OD on his board as well as a Holy Grail. Various pics from the loft and through the years have shown a DBA Interstellar OD before. Tweedy's board (as of the Dallas show) I saw had 2 Freakshow Brown Rabbits handpainted and a Holy Grail. Cline's board(s) is/are simply insane.

 

My intention hasn't been to replicate anyone's rigs, but figured I should try out some of what those guys use. If it's good enough for Wilco it's great for me.

[PopTodd]

My guitar rig is based upon economy.

1988 customized Squier Strat (w/ Chandler "Hot Rails" in the bridge position & coil-splitter switch)

1996 Peavey Delta Blues 115

TurboRAT distortion

 

If you can afford to build up your rig, do it!

But it's really how you use what you got.

[choo-choo-charlie]

My guitar rig is based upon economy.

1988 customized Squier Strat (w/ Chandler "Hot Rails" in the bridge position & coil-splitter switch)

1996 Peavey Delta Blues 115

TurboRAT distortion

 

If you can afford to build up your rig, do it!

But it's really how you use what you got.

 

Well said. Most instruments, in the hands of the right player, can sound amazing. I remember when I used to subscribe to Guitar Player magazine back as a teenager when I first started playing. After reading about all of these different players' gear, I was always quite obsessed with getting those guitars, amps and pedals. I do, remember, however, one particular issue that was entitled "Be a Guitar God!" and they did profiles on the equipment rigs of SRV, Santana, Hendrix, Buddy Guy, BB King, etc.

 

In the next month's issue, Dave Navarro (who I don't really care for) had a letter published that said "I never became a better player by reading about what kind of amp Carlos Santana uses. I practiced."

 

I've always tried to keep that in mind.

[jff]

I have a Tele and a Fender Deluxe Reverb. Wilco has used both of those, but that's not why I play them.

[choo-choo-charlie]

I have a Tele and a Fender Deluxe Reverb. Wilco has used both of those, but that's not why I play them.

 

Lovely sound.

[PopTodd]

Lovely sound.

Nothing sounds quite like a Fender through a Fender.

[ViaVillanova]

Of course it is how you play that matters. That being said - why do you think there is a Solid State Technology section what's more fun than to talk about equipment.

 

I have also been playing a Tele through a Deluxe, but have been having some fun trying to figure out different tones. Am trying a Line 6 Flextone modelling amp, it has helped me learn about different options but don't think it is a keeper. That amp has got me thinking about trying a VOC AC15.

 

I have just started building my first pedalboard and have a Ibanez TS-9 coming for Hannukah/Christmas. Any thoughts on what next?

 

On the WIlco-inspired note, I am thinking hard about trying an SG for good old noisy rock n roll. Any thoughts?

[Ghost of Electricity]

as much as i obsess about wilco and obsess about guitar gear, there is actually very little my gear has in common with theirs. i play an AC15, so there's the vox connection. guitar 1 is a nashville tele (pat uses teles and jeff will occasionally too, but i don't consider it a "wilco" guitar) and guitar two is a gretsch historic 3161 (no connection) i have most of the basic effect bases covered(fuzz>od>od>vibe>phase>delay>trem>tuner) and wilco uses all of these effects but i don't think i have any of the same actual pedals (phase 90 maybe?)

 

that said, i've been eyeballing a hot cake and a prunes n custard for a long time...one of these days...

[Moss]

My main set up is a 52 tele reissue (which I think Pat uses) through a Bruno Undergound 30 which is kind of a cross between a Fender Blackface and a Vox AC-30 so I think it's Wilco-esque. Main pedal I use is a Fulltone Fulldrive. But the tone search will never end.

[CabinFever47]

Perhaps I came off the wrong way. I would consider my rig to be somewhat Wilco inspired, but it is not intended to be an exact replication by any means. I've been through a ton of gear and was left wanting, so I decided to buy some of the stuff (pedals) that I'd seen of theirs. I had my Tele and Vox well before I knew about Sansone's guitars or Tweedy's gear, so I'd be playing those either way. I did not intend to imply that I'm the ultimate musician or that I sound like WIlco with my post.

 

Ultimately, as has been pointed out, the gear only does so much without the right hands. I think I do alright, but I'm not competitive like that. I do it for enjoyment and to write my own material. My music isn't based on Wilco's nor does my rig sound just like theirs.

 

I guess the title of this section seemed like a fun place to talk about gear. Of course practice is how to become proficient, but I thought this being a Wilco forum, people would enjoy the discussion of their tools of the trade. It seems I thought wrong. Oh well, no worries.

 

Happy Holidays, folks!

[choo-choo-charlie]

Sorry friend. Caught me on a bad day. Your rig sounds cool, good for you. Someday I hope to be able to afford more than two acoustics.

[Ghost of Electricity]

I'm always happy to chat gear! for example: how's the reverb on your ac15c1? I have the ac15cc1 and it's great except for the useless verb. some have an issue with the single channel input, but i set it pretty clean and get the dirt from pedals anyway, so for me it's not an issue. i seem to remember other (newer?)_ ac15 models having dual inputs does yours?

[CabinFever47]

From what I hear, the C1 model is an upgrade as far as the reverb goes, though I haven't played a CC1 to confirm. I find it to be usable on mine, but I prefer using my Holy Grail reverb.

 

Yes, mine has dual inputs. One for the normal channel and one for the top boost channel, which has more EQ control. The only way to switch between them is through an AB or ABY switch. The top boost channel has a lot more gain and midrange on tap, so i use it most.

 

Speaking of the CC1, do those have onboard tremolo?

[Ghost of Electricity]

yes they do. i also have a boss trem pedal, which is my go to. occasionally i'll set one to faster and one to slower to avoid or reduce the necessity of tweaking mid-gig, and even more occasionally use them at the same time set to different spweeds for a johnny marr how soon is now effect. usually i don't mess with the amp trem, though it's quite usable. trem on the c1?

[ginandcigarettes]

If we expand to keyboards, my vaguely Wilco-related gear increases somewhat:

 

Epihone Casino with Bigsby (king of all feedback)

CIJ Tele Custom with Bigsby (modded with Seymour Duncan Antiquities)

Fender Deluxe Reverb (modded with Weber Blue Dog speaker to be slightly more Vox-y and to get speaker distortion at 2)

Korg CX-3 (this is the new version; I believe that Pat and Leroy use the older version but I'll seen Mikael and Jay with the newer one. Once.)

 

I think Pat loads Mellotron samples into a Korg workstation (Triton?) but I use IK Multimedia's SampleTron, which I'll then control using various other keyboards for Mellotron, Chamberlin and Optigan parts (sometimes all three on a single song).

 

My Danelectro Mod 6 is solely because AC Newman from the New Pornographers used to play one.

 

Wow, I've wasted a lot of money on gear. Luckily, social security will totally be there for me, right? Right?

[MonkeyhHanger]

Got me a custom Montuoro 00 similar to Jeff's on Please Be Patient and i just treated to myself to this for Crimbo which the Mrs won't let me at till the morn:

Gibson J185 Custom 60 th Annivarsary Maple quilt

which he has a 52 vintage of course!

[ginandcigarettes]

In the next month's issue, Dave Navarro (who I don't really care for) had a letter published that said "I never became a better player by reading about what kind of amp Carlos Santana uses. I practiced."

 

I mostly completely agree with this while simultaneously kinda not agreeing. There's just so much fun in geeking out about guitar gear that I can't judge anyone for wondering how Johnny Marr got that tremolo sound on How Soon Is Now.

 

I too subscribed to those magazines and I remember an article by Eddie Van Halen where he said that one of his first tours he opened for Ted Nugent and the Nuge became enamored with Eddie's sound (according to Eddie). At one soundcheck, Ted played Eddie's guitar and amp and all that and still sounded pretty much exactly like Ted. I get his point that guitar tone comes from the fingers and brain, but Eddie couldn't have created his sound unless he was a guitar geek and spent forever putting random guitar pieces together from the Charvel shop on Sunset Blvd until he could realize the sound he had in his head. You'll still sound like you, no matter what you play, but if you have a sound in mind, go for it.

[ginandcigarettes]

Got me a custom Montuoro 00 similar to Jeff's on Please Be Patient and i just treated to myself to this for Crimbo which the Mrs won't let me at till the morn:

Gibson J185 Custom 60 th Annivarsary Maple quilt

which he has a 56 vintage of course!

 

Congratulations! She's a beauty.

[Moss]

I can't judge anyone for wondering how Johnny Marr got that tremolo sound on How Soon Is Now.

 

Since you mentioned it, I read about that a long time ago and thought it was pretty cool, and of course I just found it on Wiki:

 

The vibrato sound is fucking incredible, and it took a long time. I put down the rhythm track on an Epiphone Casino through a Fender Twin Reverb without vibrato. Then we played the track back through four old Twins, one on each side. We had to keep all the amps vibrating in time to the track and each other, so we had to keep stopping and starting the track, recording it in 10-second bursts... I wish I could remember exactly how we did the slide part -- not writing it down is one of the banes of my life! We did it in three passes through a harmonizer, set to some weird interval, like a sixth. There was a different harmonization for each pass. For the line in harmonics, I retuned the guitar so that I could play it all at the 12th fret with natural harmonics. It's doubled several times.

[ginandcigarettes]

Awesome! Thanks for that!

[Reflectedinthemoon]

Obviously there are some strong influences on my rig other than Wilco, but they are pretty much the main guiding light. I have a lot of things that can get me into both Jeff's and Nels' sonic territory:

 

 

Electric Guitars:

Fender Jazzmaster (Elvis Costello signature model w/ Mastery Bridge)

Gibson ES-335 Satin Finish Reissue

Gibson Les Paul Classic

Fender MIM Telecaster

Jerry Jones Neptune 12-string

Schecter Ultra-III

 

Acoustic Guitars:

Gibson Advanced Jumbo Reissue (w/ LR Baggs M1 pickup)

Gibson Songwriter Deluxe Cutaway

 

Effects:

Boss GE-7 Graphic Equalizer

Eventide Pitchfactor (with Ernie Ball Jr. as expression pedal)

EHX Octave Multiplexer

Barber Trifecta Fuzz

Z-Vex Vexter Series Fuzz Factory

Prescription Electronics Overdriver (w/LED mod)

Creation Audio Labs Holy Fire Overdrive/Distortion

Crowther Audio Prunes & Custard

Visual Sound Route 66 Overdrive & Compression/Sustainer

Nick Greer Sonic Boom Boost

EHX Nano Clone

Earthquaker Devices Rainbow Machine

Freakshow FX Digilog Delay

Ernie Ball Jr. Volume Pedal

Fender Tuner

EHX Holy Grail Reverb

Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler

+

Korg Kaoss Pad 2

 

Amps:

Vox AC15 CC1

Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue

[choo-choo-charlie]

Obviously there are some strong influences on my rig other than Wilco, but they are pretty much the main guiding light. I have a lot of things that can get me into both Jeff's and Nels' sonic territory:

 

 

Electric Guitars:

Fender Jazzmaster (Elvis Costello signature model w/ Mastery Bridge)

Gibson ES-335 Satin Finish Reissue

Gibson Les Paul Classic

Fender MIM Telecaster

Jerry Jones Neptune 12-string

Schecter Ultra-III

 

Acoustic Guitars:

Gibson Advanced Jumbo Reissue (w/ LR Baggs M1 pickup)

Gibson Songwriter Deluxe Cutaway

 

Effects:

Boss GE-7 Graphic Equalizer

Eventide Pitchfactor (with Ernie Ball Jr. as expression pedal)

EHX Octave Multiplexer

Barber Trifecta Fuzz

Z-Vex Vexter Series Fuzz Factory

Prescription Electronics Overdriver (w/LED mod)

Creation Audio Labs Holy Fire Overdrive/Distortion

Crowther Audio Prunes & Custard

Visual Sound Route 66 Overdrive & Compression/Sustainer

Nick Greer Sonic Boom Boost

EHX Nano Clone

Earthquaker Devices Rainbow Machine

Freakshow FX Digilog Delay

Ernie Ball Jr. Volume Pedal

Fender Tuner

EHX Holy Grail Reverb

Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler

+

Korg Kaoss Pad 2

 

Amps:

Vox AC15 CC1

Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue

 

Damn, son.

[ginandcigarettes]

Damn, son.

 

Yeah, seriously, Reflectedinthemoon. You have a problem.

[choo-choo-charlie]

I mostly completely agree with this while simultaneously kinda not agreeing. There's just so much fun in geeking out about guitar gear that I can't judge anyone for wondering how Johnny Marr got that tremolo sound on How Soon Is Now.

 

I too subscribed to those magazines and I remember an article by Eddie Van Halen where he said that one of his first tours he opened for Ted Nugent and the Nuge became enamored with Eddie's sound (according to Eddie). At one soundcheck, Ted played Eddie's guitar and amp and all that and still sounded pretty much exactly like Ted. I get his point that guitar tone comes from the fingers and brain, but Eddie couldn't have created his sound unless he was a guitar geek and spent forever putting random guitar pieces together from the Carvel shop on Sunset Blvd until he could realize the sound he had in his head. You'll still sound like you, no matter what you play, but if you have a sound in mind, go for it.

 

I think Dave's comment was more about young players who spend more time obsessing over gear than actually becoming proficient at their instruments. I see no problem with accomplished players gushing over equipment while in pursuit of the perfect tone. We all have sounds in our head that we want to create. Hell -- I'm a guitarist, and I think one of the most fantastic sounds in the world is Paul McCartney's bass...I'd love to get something so rich and buttery through a guitar...hence my avatar.

[ginandcigarettes]

I think Dave's comment was more about young players who spend more time obsessing over gear than actually becoming proficient at their instruments. I see no problem with accomplished players gushing over equipment while in pursuit of the perfect tone. We all have sounds in our head that we want to create. Hell -- I'm a guitarist, and I think one of the most fantastic sounds in the world is Paul McCartney's bass...I'd love to get something so rich and buttery through a guitar...hence my avatar.

 

No, I get what he's saying, and I mostly agree -- kids need to put the hours in; I just want to be careful about constructing a false dichotomy between practicing and geeking out. I might have gotten to be a better guitar player while I was worrying about what guitar Jay Bennett played; it's hard to tell because it happened at the same time I was practicing.