Clapton's Edge of Darkness tone

victorludorum

I'm not usually one to care about the minute details of someone's tone, but I re-watched this great series last week, and the guitar sound on the soundtrack is really great I think. I'm not bothered about the 24 Nights tone, as that has been documented and is clearly different from the original recording. He was using Marshalls at the time for his live rig, but I'm guessing that the studio recording was done through some sort of Fender. I think he was still playing Blackie at that time and only moved to Custom Shop Strats in '87 or so. There seems to be some very light chorus on there, which would be consistent with this period.

Does anyone know any of the finer details of what was used? What do you chaps think: Strat into Fender with light effects?

ICBM

It doesn't sound like a Fender to me. He was using Sessionette Rockette 30s around that time... really.

There's a ton of studio compression and reverb on it too, but I'm not sure about chorus.

Fretwired

Clapton used a Roland GR 505 Guitar Synth of Edge of darkness.

https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/a-1982-roland-g-505-1526044-details.aspx

ICBM

Fretwired said:

Clapton used a Roland GR 505 Guitar Synth of Edge of darkness.

Not quite... "Eric Clapton said that he used this guitar synth during the Edge of Darkness period ie. circa 1985."

It's possible he used the physical guitar on the recording, but as basically a Strat, not a guitar synth - a GR505 can't produce anything that sounds like a normal overdriven guitar.

Funkfingers

The Roland G505 Controller guitar, driving a GR300 floor unit, has the option to trigger just the Hexa-Fuzz distortion. This does not sound like conventional overdriven guitar. It usually benefits from a goodly plastering of delay and/or modulation.

JDE

I know that around this time he was using a Crybaby, Boss DD-2 and a Boss CE-2. It’s quite a “processed” sound, so can’t really make out the amp. Doesn’t sound especially Fender-y or Marshall-y to me. 

57Deluxe

I rewatched this a year or so ago out of nostalgic curiosity and jeez it was heavy bloody weather. The soundtrack was no better...

vasselmeyer

Wasn't he on Soldanos at that point?

JDE

vasselmeyer said:

Wasn't he on Soldanos at that point?

He used those further toward the end of the 80’s I think. Journeyman era. Edge of Darkness was around the JCM era but he was also using other stuff as mentioned above. I don’t think he played Blackie when he had the Soldano’s, I think he’d switched to the signature Strat by then? 

ICBM

vasselmeyer said:

Wasn't he on Soldanos at that point?

No, because Soldano didn't start his company until 1986, and the first SLOs were made in 1987.

rze99

I loved that series. Joanne Whalley before she met the Hollywood problem.

pmbomb

rze99 said:

I loved that series. Joanne Whalley before she met the Hollywood problem.

word. edge of seat stuff, the way it escalated. Clapton's work unforgettable on impressionable me, still have the 12" somewhere.

fretfinder

pmbomb said: still have the 12" somewhere.

Me too. 

impmann

Stick a 335 into a Sessionette Rocket 30 - mic with an SM57, then post production add Dimension and Reverb. Compress to taste. Done.

Joking aside, I remember an interview back in the day when he said it was the 335 and the Sessionette was studio weapon of choice back then for him.

ICBM

impmann said:

Stick a 335 into a Sessionette Rocket 30 - mic with an SM57, then post production add Dimension and Reverb. Compress to taste. Done.

Ah, Dimension rather than standard chorus. There is a touch of it I think - it’s more obvious near the start than later on.

The more I listen to it the more I’m sure it’s the Session, it doesn’t sound like a Fender or Marshall - or Musicman - amp. Initially I wondered if it was DI’d through a preamp.

Jalapeno

I recall seeing an interview with Pete Townsend, who was in the studio at the time EOD theme was recorded. EC recorded it in the control room with mayhem surrounding him "Coffee two sugars luv", "Where's the session guy?" etc going on while he cut it. Might be straight into the desk and post recording magic applied.

57Deluxe

...strangely, out of all my prized tube amps, my 335 still sounds best through my (non tube) 1986 Session Rockette 30 !

victorludorum

Maybe @impmann has got it here. I didn't think about the 335 as it didn't seem to have that more nasal humbucker sound, but the 335s always sound a bit fuller to me and this is probably right.

Jalapeno

Everyone says it was his Blackie strat

victorludorum

Jalapeno said:

Everyone says it was his Blackie strat

That was my thinking, but it sounds thicker than a Strat to me.