Tame Impala's gritty guitar sound

gustavobill

Latelly I've been listening to this Australian new band and their record has a very characteristic gritty guitar sound that appears to be breaking apart. Some Fu Manchu's song also have that same gritty mid-lows (?).

What causes that kinda sound? Tape saturation? the mic screaming in pure agony? Just a fuzz pedal through a fat amp (and I'm an idiot because even a monkey can get that sound)?

Tame Impala Song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWgz_drnAN0&feature=PlayList&p=E4871FC1C4C1691A&playnext=1&index=38

Fu Manchu Song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-rn7i75vhU&feature=related

thanks
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I wanna see you try that with a $25 preamp

your forth album must be DOUBLE LIVE (via the Foghat Rule)

WHooper

I'm pretty sure the album was recorded on a zoom or boss multitrack so I'd forget about tape saturation. I think Kev used his strat on the album too.

I could ask him in person but every time I see him I'm usually too drunk/high to discuss gear.

gustavobill

there's definettly some strat there. Or a Les Paul with a really heavy eq. I'm guessing some fuzz, but doesn't seen like it the main distortion.

I sended you a private message, if you could reply it would be great.
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I wanna see you try that with a $25 preamp

your forth album must be DOUBLE LIVE (via the Foghat Rule)

Nick Franklin

gustavobill

heheheheh
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I wanna see you try that with a $25 preamp

your forth album must be DOUBLE LIVE (via the Foghat Rule)

WHooper

You'd do it too if you lived in Perth.

gustavobill

Nobody else has a opinion/suggestion?
still trying to figure it out
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I wanna see you try that with a $25 preamp

your forth album must be DOUBLE LIVE (via the Foghat Rule)

Gregg Juke

You could try a Big Muff or some other fuzz-tone cheese boxes n-line with a cheap eq pedal, or maybe a cry-baby wah (use an an eq, not a wah; you know, leave it half-open, or experiment with footboard positions until you get the sound you're looking for).

Try solid state vs. tube amps, if you have the options (or your prefered amp simulator plug-in).

GJ

casey campbell

might be the smallish speaker trick where you reamp to an amplifier pushing a 4-6 inch raw frame speaker where it's breaking up...then you mic it with 2 microphones. one in the front, and one in the back of it...exact distances. don't correct the phase...let them be 180 degrees out of phase. what you have left is just this nutso grit that is really hard to achieve any other way.
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subatomic pieces

Sounds like it was distorted either at the mic preamp, or in the mix with some kind of excessive gain. You can get the same sound overdriving a mic preamp or overdriving another of your gain stages at mix time. I've done it with line input gain on the board, compressor's makeup gain on an insert, agressive additive EQ, Massey's TapeHead plug, UA 1176LN plug, CamelCrusher plug, etc.

rushofblood · pushin' record Joined: 29 May 2006 Posts: 228

these last two^

gustavobill

gustavobill

**Scodiddly**

bronsonmestizo

The sound I'm hearing on the Tame Impala is definitely a fuzz box. It's splatty like a superfuzz, you can even here slight octave overtones. Sounds like a neck pickup on a strat too, because if you listen on decent speakers, you can still hear some spanky top. +1 on small speaker... Champ on 10. Either way, very cool sounding recording. Thanks for sharing.

Fu Manchu is octave fuzz. Stoner Rock.
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