Hey guys! Hope you enjoy this raw, Siamese Dream *INSPIRED* fuzz tone clip! (INSPIRED doesn't mean I claim it to be THE SAME.. just my own take on something I like, with my own modifications). 

I actually took a sound that sounded a bit more like the isolated guitar tracks on Siamese Dream and shaped them a bit to fit a drop C and perhaps 7 string tuning.

I just happened to record Hummer at the time noodling around. I wasn't necessarily trying to duplicate the tone of the specific song. There's even an obvious mistake in there and sloppiness with the open strings, but I didn't feel like re-recording it.

2 tracks panned L/R (not insane overdubbing like SD), no bass, and yeah.. the drums suck (placeholder instead of a boring metronome)... So yeah, don't expect it to sound like the full album, much less properly mixed/mastered. 

Also, keep in mind this was recorded 100% digitally over USB, and even so, I'm struggling in getting the recorded tone as clear as the live tone through the unit for some reason...

------------------
Signal chain:

1971 Gibson SG Deluxe ----- Axe-Fx II (Muff, FAS Modern for extra punch, PEQ's before and after the cab, and German Cab blended with a user IR) ----- Axe-Fx II as a USB audio interface ----- Cubase  ------  Izotope Ozone (barely used... compression/slight EQ probably blended at about 25% with the original signal to help raise the volume slightly).

Axe Fx II Big Muff Tone Test - Smashing Pumpkins Hummer

Hello, here is a little cover solo I did of Smashing Pumpkins's Cherub Rock originally played by Billy Corgan, just recorded on my phone. I thought it was pretty cool though, so I uploaded it here. :) 

It's in D Standard and I have no guitars strung up with light enough gauge strings to do bends in E standard, so I didn't even practice it to the original track to get it exact. The solo is played from my memory of the solo, so expect some differences. ;) 

I also have a couple vibratos and bends that could have been better, but I'm not a lead player, and with my heavy gauge strings, I actually had blisters doing those huge bends and just trying to get this close! 

This was also tracked with only one guitar - no overdubs or splicing at all.. Whatever was in the chain is in the chain 100% of the time.. No switching either!
It's missing a tad of things like octave down in some parts and perhaps some flanging (apparently they used tape flanging on the album which is impossible with pedals so there!). I actually play a lower note an octave down from the original solo to try to compensate for not having octave down!

As such, I think it's pretty close, especially when you compare it to Billy's solo of Cherub Rock live, which sounds totally different, and take into consideration that this I one, single guitar track with no trickery. 

My chain is quite different from the album too, but I don't have all the ingredients. Whatever the case, if you find a closer demo/cover of the solo, let me know before you shoot mine down! Haha

Some Pumpkins fans are super rabid, so nitpicking seems to go way further than with any other band's fans I've ever come across! I bet it even drives Billy insane!

Anyways, I hope you like it.

Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock Solo isolated - cover - in D Standard - single guitar track - live

Blood,Tumbleweeds, and Chevy El Caminos... A true Mexican standoff! Been watching too many Mexican gangster movies as of late I guess...

Just noodled 2 tracks of Sphaghetti Wester-type stuff for fun, one take each on the Axe Fx II. It wasn't planned at all. Just hit record, noodled, overdubbed the second guitar track, no metronome or anything. A veritable Christmas-treeing.

Mind you that I've never played anything remotely similar to this in my life. It's just spontaneous inspiration only a unit as diverse as an Axe-Fx can bring.

Spaghetti Werstern Axe Fx II Tone Test - Blood,Tumbleweeds, and Chevy El Caminos

One of the first test clips I recorded with the Axe Fx II, playing around.

I'm pretty sure I used the 5150 model in v6 or v7. Added delay and widening for the lead... probably a touch of reverb too. 
There is no bass guitar. A bass would have filled in things nicely! 
The drums are Ola Englund's.

Just looped the whole thing 3 times.

Early 5150 Axe Fx II Tone Test

FAS Modern in V6 or V7... ***It could have been a 5150, but I'm leaning FAS.

EQ + bit of limiting applied to make things louder. 

No bass guitar. Just 2 channels of rhythm guitar plus drums.

I used the same Ola Englund drum as in my "Early 5150 Axe Fx II Test" clip

Looped twice just to make it a bit longer

Early FAS Modern Axe Fx II Tone Test

MAKE SURE YOU ARE LISTENING IN THE APP OR ON A REAL DESKTOP (not view as desktop) - sounds much better on a computer or through the SoundCloud app for some reason. Stupid SoundCloud. Using a mobile browser nukes the sound quality!  Through mobile browsers there's no low-end and it sounds like through a 1800's phone lol. 

This is a phone recording of when I finished the clone job. Obviously since this was recorded through my phone mic, recorded properly, it will sound much better as it sounds much better in person.

Also, this was recorded at low volume rather than having the master turned up, but it still sounds drop dead accurate in person. 

The guitar is also a clone of the the Bat Strat (without the paint job right now). 

All parts, gear, tubes, pedals, and the guitar are vintage or NOS. Much care was taken to remove every deviation from a time warp to when the album was recorded... Except for the volume and recording chain. 

Thanks to Mike Rubano (Billy  Corgan's original amp technician) for helping me out this together!

Siamese Dream Identical Rig Clone demo Smashing Pumpkins Billy Corgan 1984 JCM800 KT88 V4 BIG MUFF

Not my typical sound, but reminds me of something M83 would do. I'm still going to add some bass guitar and other parts... Just kind of a skeleton Atm

OBLIVION TEST MIX 1  ( M83 like )

Recorded this short demo a while ago with some good gear and some "pro-sumer" stuff. I'm pretty happy with it for demo purposes. However, the Bass is what I'm the least happy with. It's too boomy... Not sure if it is because of the bass or the VST. Previously, I had better results using a Sans Amp, so I just thing that maybe it has to do something with digitalia  or just because I need better monitors to tell what I'm doing!

At any rate, right out of the box, I struggle to get the AxeFx II to sound as "3D" and responsive as real gear, despite all of its advantages. It might just be the way I'm recording though. I've heard great stuff come out of the Axe-Fx II so maybe I just need to work a little harder or get some better tips or something. I've tried many times to AB between real gear and the Axe-Fx; however, even though I'm using a less than pro recording chain for the analog stuff, I'm still having this challenge. It could be how I'm mixing though.. Maybe I have to mix digital a little bit differently... I don't know. So far, the analog just sounds wider.


Guitar Signal Chain
---------------------------
Schecter Blackjack Tempest with Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB bridge pickup -> 
Maxon VOP-9 Vintage Overdrive Pro -> 
Peavey 5150 Block Letter head run at half power (pulled outer 2 tubes and moved ohm switch up a notch)->
Vintage Boss GE-7 Equalizer in FX loop->
Old Marshall 1960A 4x12 Cab with GT12T-75's->

Guitar Recording Signal Chain
------------------------------------------
Shure SM-57 microphone->
ART Tube MP preamp (right!?!?)->
M-Audio Fast Track Pro (old model)->
PC running Cubase
Can't remember what plugins I used, but I think I used a little bit of EQ on the channel and  EQ/Compression on the master bus.

MIC'ing Technique
-------------------------
"Butch Vig" Headphone white / static noise technique. Not sure about the distance or angle... I just got a healthy amount of white noise coming out of the Marshall Cab and listened to where the mic picked up the fullest static tone.

Room:
Tile floors. Under 200sqft with 7ft ceilings. No treatment.

Bass
-------
Thunderbird->
Fast Track Pro->
Some VST.. can't remember... but I think it was one of the better ones, so I'm surprised it sounded so loose compared to other things I've done with the Sans Amp.

Cloud Break 4 - Lost Against the Sky (Christian Noir) 5150 Block Letter (REAL AMP not Axe-Fx II)

Just another short demo/recording test to try some acoustic stuff from a couple years ago just messing around. The main Riff was actually written for electric and was originally strummed way differently. I borrowed it from myself for this and made up some words on the fly just to see what happened.

I had an actual cold on that cold day which probably inspired the lyrics and made my nose sound a little extra stuffed and whiny :D

Some people told me it sounds like some British stuff and the vocals sound like a cross between Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, Thom Yorke of Radiohead, and Chris Corner of Sneaker Pimps / IAMX. This is only one style of voice I can sing. If you heard some of my other vocals, you wouldn't think it was the same person unless you have a good ear! I can do Marylin Manson, Korn, AC/DC, some KSE (the operatic parts ala Howard Jones lol), even some crazy deep voice country reminiscent of Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam (if he did country) with a Johnny Cash Vibe, Some Euro-Goth synth pop, Maybe a little bit of Linkin Park, SOME LIGHT Pearl Jam /  Alice In Chains / Silverchair, and maybe Kurt Cobain on very specific parts on a good day. En-fin, a wide spectrum of voices that sound nothing alike. My range isn't huge though, and might depend on which voice I'm going for. I can even do a little bit of Saffron from Republica! Ha ha ha!

The mixing is ok for a quick demo, but the low-end needs cleaning up and the vocals sound a bit thin IMHO. 

DAW
------
Steinberg Cubase

Guitar
--------
Takamine EG531SCDR Dragon Acoustic Guitar->
M-Audio Fast Track Pro (old one) ->
PC Running Cubase
*just a little reverb for the main part. A little delay on the second guitar part.

Bass
-------
Thunderbird ->
TECH 21 Sansamp Programmable Bass Driver DI  ->
M-Audio Fast Track Pro 

Drums
----------
Steinberg Cubase Groove Agent ONE

Vocals
---------
Audio-Technica AT2020 Cardioid Condenser Microphone ->
ART TUBE MP (I think.. but maybe I just used the fast track) ->
M-Audio Fast Track Pro ->

So Cold (Demo) - Lost Against the Sky (Christian Noir)

Hi.  I make noises and stuff. :)
This page is a mess.
Just some random scratch pad stuff ATM...experimenting / tone-testing the Axe-Fx II and a couple other things here.
Some of the sounds are pretty old and I throw them up randomly for giggles.

Ibanez 1527 CB 7-string w/ Custom BKP Aftermaths
Schecter Blackjack Tempest (best Schecter ever)
'94 Les Paul Custom Cherry Burst Flame
'71 SG Deluxe
First Act Volkswagen Guitar
Takamine Acoustic with Pearl Dragon Inlay on body
Thunderbird Bass
Fender P-Bass

Processors / Amp Sims:
Axe Fx II
Axe Fx Ultra

Amps:
5150 Block Letter
'67 Fender Bassman modded to '64 specs and a little extra

Cabs:
Orange 4x12 straight
Marshal 4x12 slant
THD 2x12 with Celestion Greenbacks
Line 6 Vetta I with Armin upgrades and upgraded to Vetta II digital outs

Pedals:
Maxxon VOP-9 Vintage Overdrive Pro
70's Ibanez Double Sound Fuzz Wah
Ibanez FZ 5 60' Fuzz
Self-built Muff Clone with mods
Op Amp Big Muff v4 / v5
Boss OC-2 Octaver
Boss OC-2 Octave
Vintage Boss GE-7 Equalizer
MXR M-108 10-Band Equalizer
ISP Decimator G String Noise Gate
Korg Pitchblack Chromatic Pedal Tuner

Guitars I want to own again:
70's Ibanez Korina Flying V
90's Paul Reed Smith, black with bird inlays

DAW:
Cubase
Reaper
Trying Sonar

Christian Noir

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