Rivers Cuomo's equipment: Difference between revisions
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Early on there were no effects pedals in use by the band at all, except for a Jim Dunlop "Crybaby" Wah Wah. This later fell out of favor, only to be re-integrated into Rivers's set-up during the recording of ''[[Pinkerton]]''. For an amplifier, Rivers was using his other "hold-over" from his metal years, a Randall 120 watt non-tube head powering a Randall 4x12 cabinet that looked exactly like a Marshall when the "Randall" tag was removed. This setup was to remain for several months. The Randall is still in use today, by Patrick Finn of Organic Mechanic. The speaker cabinet (pictured on the left side of ''[[Weezer (The Blue Album)|The Blue Album]]'' garage picture) continues to be sold and resold, and has been spotted as recently as late 2000 in LA's "Recycler" Mag. | Early on there were no effects pedals in use by the band at all, except for a Jim Dunlop "Crybaby" Wah Wah. This later fell out of favor, only to be re-integrated into Rivers's set-up during the recording of ''[[Pinkerton]]''. For an amplifier, Rivers was using his other "hold-over" from his metal years, a Randall 120 watt non-tube head powering a Randall 4x12 cabinet that looked exactly like a Marshall when the "Randall" tag was removed. This setup was to remain for several months. The Randall is still in use today, by Patrick Finn of Organic Mechanic. The speaker cabinet (pictured on the left side of ''[[Weezer (The Blue Album)|The Blue Album]]'' garage picture) continues to be sold and resold, and has been spotted as recently as late 2000 in LA's "Recycler" Mag. | ||
While on | While on Weezer's northern California "tour" in August '92, Rivers bought a curious Mesa Boogie amplifier (pictured inside the 'blue' album cover on the left side) at the Berkely Guitar Center. I have never ever seen an amp exactly like this one since. It was a very early issue Mesa Boogie, from approximately 1977 or 1978, and its face plate said "Mesa Engineering", which predates the addition of "Boogie" to Mesa-Boogies name. It was a 60-watt head which apparently didnt even have a model number (I remember looking for one several times). It sounded incredible, and its real bonus was still sounding rich and thick even at low volume, making it ideal for recording demos late at night in the Garage. Sadly, while on tour in '96 (by this time as a back up amp), the Boogie suffered a near fatal blow from an unknown source during shipping. At some point during the tour, the amp was fired up to check it, and it sounded terrible. It was supposed to have been taken in for repairs, but apparently was lost somewhere, either at Weezer's storage facility in LA or later, when Rivers was living in Boston. No one seems to remember where they saw it last, and it is gone. Several fans have written in with info on this amp, but most identify it from the reissues. I have checked the reissues but none are exactly the same. However, several people wrote in with the explanation that this was the 60 watt version of the Mark 1 head. The reason that the amp had no name on it is that it was not named until mesa boogie issued their next amp, the mark 2. A reissue version of the Mark 1 is available right now from Mesa Boogie in a 100 watt head or combo form with a switch to reduce the power to 60 watts, and it is that edition that some people were confusing the "vintage" amp with. Patrick Wilson today owns a Mark 1 reissue in fact, and can confirm that the old one had some pull out knobs that produced amazing sounds that the current reissues do not produce. Its entirely possible that the pull out knobs were a custom job. ...one person wrote in this facinating bit of info, leading us to speculate as to exactly what went down back in the day at the Mesa factory... | ||
"...I have a little known, rare amp called a Mitchell Pro-100 that I am willing to bet is nearly identical to the one Rivers had. From what little I've heard about this company (not to be confused with the "Mitchell" that makes cheap acoustic guitars), the amps were hand built buy a guy who used to work for Mesa Boogie. I've never seen another one anywhere, and mine doesn't have a serial number. It says it is made in Riverside, California, and I found it used and beat up in the back of a music store for $500. I tell you all this because I have a very discerning ear (I am a budding engineer/producer as well as a musician/songwriter) and I played over 50 amps while in search of that "Weezer sound." I know I shouldn't be trying to copy someone's sound per se, but I couldn't help it...I needed to rock. Anyway, this thing just blew me away...better than all the Boogies and Marshalls I tried, and I tried A LOT of them. It is so thick and crunchy and full of bass and sparkle, even at low volumes...yet the pick attack is so clear you can hear the sound of the strings themselves and the wood cut through even the most earth-shattering distortion. In this way it is so completely unlike a stomp box which takes all the character and dynamics out of your playing. The back of the amp looks almost identical to the picture of Rivers' amp, except mine has 4 power tubes (6L6s) instead of 2. It also has 5 preamp tubes, I believe, which are 12AX7s and is switchable from 60 to 100 watts. The overall shape is about the same as the Mesa, too..." | "...I have a little known, rare amp called a Mitchell Pro-100 that I am willing to bet is nearly identical to the one Rivers had. From what little I've heard about this company (not to be confused with the "Mitchell" that makes cheap acoustic guitars), the amps were hand built buy a guy who used to work for Mesa Boogie. I've never seen another one anywhere, and mine doesn't have a serial number. It says it is made in Riverside, California, and I found it used and beat up in the back of a music store for $500. I tell you all this because I have a very discerning ear (I am a budding engineer/producer as well as a musician/songwriter) and I played over 50 amps while in search of that "Weezer sound." I know I shouldn't be trying to copy someone's sound per se, but I couldn't help it...I needed to rock. Anyway, this thing just blew me away...better than all the Boogies and Marshalls I tried, and I tried A LOT of them. It is so thick and crunchy and full of bass and sparkle, even at low volumes...yet the pick attack is so clear you can hear the sound of the strings themselves and the wood cut through even the most earth-shattering distortion. In this way it is so completely unlike a stomp box which takes all the character and dynamics out of your playing. The back of the amp looks almost identical to the picture of Rivers' amp, except mine has 4 power tubes (6L6s) instead of 2. It also has 5 preamp tubes, I believe, which are 12AX7s and is switchable from 60 to 100 watts. The overall shape is about the same as the Mesa, too..." | ||