advice on how to get this sound?

[racefaceec90]

i really love this version of song to the siren by this mortal coil (robin guthrie is an awesome guitarist imho).
just wondering how i could best replicate the sound with my mustang 1 amp and lemon drop guitar thanks

[ICBM]

An absolute shedload of reverb .

It actually sounds like it's mixed with more wet signal than dry, or possibly wet *only* if the pre-delay is short enough. Not sure if the Mustang will allow you to do that.

The basic guitar tone is quite midrangy and jangly, so I'd use the bridge pickup, and probably put some compression on it, although it's not very obvious in the sound.

Hilarious 1980s hair will help too, I think. (Speaking from personal experience here .)

Beautiful song. One of my favourite records from the 80s.

[Dewar54]

Wow I love that
I'm blissed out thanks raceface

[Grunfeld.]

I've just given away nearly all my old vinyl and reckon there was every Cocteaus release in there. All because I was chasing the sound on a bootleg for a song which turned out to be "Hitherto"



The studio mix is of course cleaner but the bootleg was awesome because when I saw them live that guitar sound you can hear was just filling the universe. Happy days.

[springworks]

I saw Elizabeth Fraser perform this live earlier this year at the Royal Festival Hall as part of the meltdown Festival - absolutely amazing and spine-chillingly wonderful.

As to the guitar sound, I vaguely remember reading an interview with Robin Guthrie in a guitar mag years ago where he said that he didn't actually like reverb much but used delays to get his sound.

[racefaceec90]

just thought i'd put up this link (to his web site,should've looked there to begin with DOH! http://www.robinguthrie.com/interviews/total-guitar.php an interview for total guitar from back in 1996.

i will start to attempt to emulate his sound (and try and murder the tune also) apologies to robin in advance (but i love his guitar playing/sound :-)

[robinbowes]

I loved TMC's version back in the day, didn't even realise it was a cover. Then I discovered this:

[ICBM]

As to the guitar sound, I vaguely remember reading an interview with Robin Guthrie in a guitar mag years ago where he said that he didn't actually like reverb much but used delays to get his sound.

just thought i'd put up this link (to his web site,should've looked there to begin with DOH! http://www.robinguthrie.com/interviews/total-guitar.php an interview for total guitar from back in 1996.

It is interesting to read that, because on Song To The Siren, there is definitely reverb and not delay!

[Grunfeld.]

It is interesting to read that, because on Song To The Siren, there is definitely reverb and not delay!

And it certainly wouldn't be the first time a musician/ producer has been deliberately obscure or misleading in order not to reveal all.

I can't remember what it was that the producers of Cher's "Believe" pretended they were doing before they admitted it was autotune set to stun.

[ICBM]

And it certainly wouldn't be the first time a musician/ producer has been deliberately obscure or misleading in order not to reveal all.

I can't remember what it was that the producers of Cher's "Believe" pretended they were doing before they admitted it was autotune set to stun.

They said it was a Vocoder.


Just been messing about with some old pedals, and I can get quite close to it with a Boss RV-3 Digital Reverb/Delay, set with the mix to pure wet. The best I can get is Delay+Plate, with the delay feedback off and the delay time set to very short but not quite zero, so it *almost* isn't a pre-delay at all. That gives the same sort of slight auto-swell and ethereal shimmer that the guitar on the record seems to have. But as with all these things, it's possible that it was done quite differently! (This type of pedal wasn't available when the record was made, either.)