Rivers Cuomo's equipment: Difference between revisions
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So, almost immediately, the Charvel was replaced with a red Fender Stratocaster, which came from Jason Cropper. Karl claimed in the early 2000s that this was because Jason was assigned to acoustic guitar early on, however, in 2018, Rivers noted, "Our original guitar player Jason [Cropper] was a very hands-on guitar techy sorta guy. He played it and I liked it, so we traded. I had some kind scholarship from the community college where they give you work money to buy things, so I got a Telecaster, which I gave him in return for this Strat copy." | So, almost immediately, the Charvel was replaced with a red Fender Stratocaster, which came from Jason Cropper. Karl claimed in the early 2000s that this was because Jason was assigned to acoustic guitar early on, however, in 2018, Rivers noted, "Our original guitar player Jason [Cropper] was a very hands-on guitar techy sorta guy. He played it and I liked it, so we traded. I had some kind scholarship from the community college where they give you work money to buy things, so I got a Telecaster, which I gave him in return for this Strat copy." | ||
This Stratocaster | This Stratocaster was purchased new by Jason, and heavily modified, with a new neck, a roller nut, and new pickups, a Seymour Duncan JB humbucker in the bridge, a hot-rails strat pickup in the middle, and a DiMarzio Humbucker from Hell in the neck. The Humbucker from Hell had a coil tap wired to it, which when engaged, would make the pickup sound thinner, on an already weak output humbucker. This made the tone completely clean even through a high-gain, metal amp, without having to step on a distortion pedal or anything like that. | ||
Additionally, Jason had painted the guitar in a psychedelic paint scheme with thick acrylic paint, and replaced the volume knobs with 20-sided D&D dice | Additionally, Jason had painted the guitar in a psychedelic paint scheme with thick acrylic paint, and replaced the volume knobs with 20-sided D&D dice. The dice knobs eventually fell off, but one was saved by Karl. | ||
There were no effects pedals in use by the band at all at this time, save 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]]''. | There were no effects pedals in use by the band at all at this time, save 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]]''. | ||
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[[Image:Oldmesaboogie.jpg|left|thumb|200px|The ol Mesa Boogie, have you seen this amp? ...possibly the only existing photo of its backside.]] | [[Image:Oldmesaboogie.jpg|left|thumb|200px|The ol Mesa Boogie, have you seen this amp? ...possibly the only existing photo of its backside.]] | ||
While on Weezer's Northern California "tour" in August '92, Jason Cropper discovered a Mesa Mk. 1 Amp. They had the red strat at the time, and so he plugged it in, pulled out both the knobs, and told Rivers to play. He played, and Rivers was sold. It was an early issue Mesa Boogie, from approximately 1977 or 1978, and its face plate said "Mesa Engineering", which predates the addition of "Boogie" to Mesa-Boogie's name. It was a 60-watt head which apparently didn't 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. 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. | |||
Reportedly, Rivers's Mk. 1 head had pull out knobs for various effects, notably a "bright" switch. These were thought by Karl to be modded, but it is worth nothing that, early on, Mesa was a small boutique, and the Mk. 1 could be optioned out in several specific ways. It is possible that these sought after pull-out knobs, which are not present on Mesa's Mk. 1 reissues, were a build to order option. It is also possible that these were added late in the run of the Mesa Mk. 1, as it was sold from 1971 to late 1978, making it possible that these knobs and effects were added late in the Mk. 1's life, especially as Carlos Santana and guitarists from The Rolling Stones began to favor the early Mesas. In addition, when Jake Sinclair sourced a Mesa Mk. 1 for [[The White Album]], it also had these pull-out knobs. | Reportedly, Rivers's Mk. 1 head had pull out knobs for various effects, notably a "bright" switch. These were thought by Karl to be modded, but it is worth nothing that, early on, Mesa was a small boutique, and the Mk. 1 could be optioned out in several specific ways. It is possible that these sought after pull-out knobs, which are not present on Mesa's Mk. 1 reissues, were a build to order option. It is also possible that these were added late in the run of the Mesa Mk. 1, as it was sold from 1971 to late 1978, making it possible that these knobs and effects were added late in the Mk. 1's life, especially as Carlos Santana and guitarists from The Rolling Stones began to favor the early Mesas. In addition, when Jake Sinclair sourced a Mesa Mk. 1 for [[The White Album]], it also had these pull-out knobs. | ||
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===1993 - Signed=== | ===1993 - Signed=== | ||
The next significant change in Rivers's setup came when the band was signed to Geffen in the summer of 1993. Under the guidance of Jason, a new non-Fender Stratocaster copy was ordered as parts from the [http://www.warmoth.com/ Warmoth catalog] | The next significant change in Rivers's setup came when the band was signed to Geffen in the summer of 1993. Under the guidance of Jason, a new non-Fender Stratocaster copy was ordered as parts from the [http://www.warmoth.com/ Warmoth catalog], in an effort to reconstruct a guitar similar to Jason's red one (by this time Jason had returned to playing electric guitar in the band, and the red one was on its last legs). The parts and pickups were all custom selected, and the wiring was similar to the red guitar's. This guitar was delayed in its arrival, so the band went to New York to record The Blue Album without it, and wouldn't see it till they were back in LA in October rehearsing. The red guitar made the trip to Electric Lady studios. | ||
The one thing Rivers did manage to select before they left for New York was a new speaker cabinet, a very unusual 1968 Marshall. This cabinet was from a now-rare series that mounted the usual four 12" speakers into a special cabinet that was designed to fit eight 10" speakers. These are known as "mock 8x10's". They were originally sold in sets with Plexi 50W Tremolo amps, manufactured from 1967 until the early 70's. The later years distinguished by cheaper materials, particularly particle board backing panels. | The one thing Rivers did manage to select before they left for New York was a new speaker cabinet, a very unusual 1968 Marshall. This cabinet was from a now-rare series that mounted the usual four 12" speakers into a special cabinet that was designed to fit eight 10" speakers. These are known as "mock 8x10's". They were originally sold in sets with Plexi 50W Tremolo amps, manufactured from 1967 until the early 70's. The later years distinguished by cheaper materials, particularly particle board backing panels. | ||
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In New York, Ric Ocasek introduced Rivers to his guitar collection, from which three guitars got heavy use on the record: A red 60's Fender Jaguar, a Gibson Les Paul Junior Special, double cutaway, and another Les Paul Junior Special, in yellow (not pictured). | In New York, Ric Ocasek introduced Rivers to his guitar collection, from which three guitars got heavy use on the record: A red 60's Fender Jaguar, a Gibson Les Paul Junior Special, double cutaway, and another Les Paul Junior Special, in yellow (not pictured). | ||
While in the original version of the equipment history, Koch noted "The Gibson (above) is definitely one of the finest guitars ive ever seen, and its sound is unbelievable, responsible for a lot of the sweet crunch found on the blue album", however, years later, [[Patrick Wilson]] claimed otherwise, saying "A superstrat is the way to go". When someone replied, asking about the information from the equipment history, Wilson simply replied "No". This, while unclear, seems to stack out with photos of Cuomo playing the infamous red Stratocaster during the recording of the album. | While in the original version of the equipment history, Koch noted "The Gibson (above) is definitely one of the finest guitars ive ever seen, and its sound is unbelievable, responsible for a lot of the sweet crunch found on the blue album", however, years later, [[Patrick Wilson]] claimed otherwise, saying "A superstrat is the way to go". When someone replied, asking about the information from the equipment history, Wilson simply replied "No". This, while unclear, seems to stack out with photos of Cuomo playing the infamous red Stratocaster during the recording of the album. Jason Cropper did note that every day he was present for the sessions, Rivers was using the red Stratocaster. It is possible that Cuomo recorded his parts with the red stratocaster, but used Ric Ocasek's Les Paul specials when he famously re-recorded Jason Cropper's guitar parts, after Cropper's exit from the sessions. | ||
In any case, responsible for Cuomo's guitar tone during this period was the Mesa Mk. 1, still in top condition at this time. The Mesa was run through the tall Marshall, often at unusually low volume, to get some of the sounds on the album. Guitar recording was usually done with a mixture of dynamic, condeser, and ribbon microphones. It is not known if Cuomo used any effects pedals, save for one... | |||
In any case, responsible for Cuomo's guitar tone during this period was the Mesa Mk. 1, still in top condition at this time. The Mesa was run through the tall Marshall, often at unusually low volume, to get some of the sounds on the album. It is not known if Cuomo used any effects pedals, save for one... | |||
In 2014, recording engineer Chris Shaw claimed the following: | In 2014, recording engineer Chris Shaw claimed the following: | ||
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[[Image:Riverseleclady74gibson.jpg|left|thumb|180px|Rivers 1974 Gibson acoustic heard on the intro to "Jonas" and "In The Garage."]] | [[Image:Riverseleclady74gibson.jpg|left|thumb|180px|Rivers 1974 Gibson acoustic heard on the intro to "Jonas" and "In The Garage."]] | ||
Rivers also picked up an acoustic guitar at this point, and brought it to Electric Lady, where it is heard on the intro to "Jonas" and "In The Garage". This was a 1974 Gibson. | Rivers also picked up an acoustic guitar at this point, and brought it to Electric Lady, where it is heard on the intro to "Jonas" and "In The Garage". This was a 1974 Gibson. Either a J-45 or a 70's descendant of a J-45. This guitar was to meet a tragic end later, when Rivers had his leg brace. The brace wore a huge hole right through the bottom of the guitar, which Rivers duct taped together for a while. The thing still sounded pretty good in this state, but it didn't last. | ||
Keyboards on Buddy Holly: In 1993, a friend was storing his late 80's digital synth at 'the garage' where Weezer practiced and cut demos. This was a Korg M1 type synth, definitely not vintage or cool in any way, especially then. But it had a huge library of sounds, and in between the koto drums, etc, Rivers stumbled across a slippery little sound that he decided was just right for his new song "Buddy Holly". Later, in NYC recording the Blue Album, Rivers tried in vain to get that same sound from different equally digital synth that was brought in. For whatever reason no one could find the same model as the one back in L.A. The sound used was basically as close as Rivers could get it to what was on the demo. | Keyboards on Buddy Holly: In 1993, a friend was storing his late 80's digital synth at 'the garage' where Weezer practiced and cut demos. This was a Korg M1 type synth, definitely not vintage or cool in any way, especially then. But it had a huge library of sounds, and in between the koto drums, etc, Rivers stumbled across a slippery little sound that he decided was just right for his new song "Buddy Holly". Later, in NYC recording the Blue Album, Rivers tried in vain to get that same sound from different equally digital synth that was brought in. For whatever reason no one could find the same model as the one back in L.A. The sound used was basically as close as Rivers could get it to what was on the demo. | ||