Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
At The Back => Time Out => Topic started by: Underground_Player on August 09, 2005, 10:29:46 PM
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......I've looked everywhere else!!
This is a band that really divides opinions I think. My old guitar teacher hated it, most people I've shown it to have hated it, but then I know a few people who listen to virtually nowt else!
I usually verge toward mellower stuff - QOTSA to Cream to BB King to, er, Eric Bibb :oops: but these guys really rock my socks off. Check out 100 Degrees; or if you're feeling brave (and have a longer attention span) go for Gardenia for a cunning blend of noise and funk (be patient for the funk!). Or Freedom Run. Or El Rodeo, which is a classic if you can get past the intro. The list goes on!
I reckon we should all try to broaden each other's musical horizons on here, no matter what the genre; there must be loads of cool bands out there who we've never heard of. I've always thought part of the reason young kids listen to commercial pop is 'cos they haven't been presented with anything else.
Oh, and if you think Kyuss are s@~t......say it nicely :)
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Sky Valley is such a good album. The only other one I have is 'Circus Leaves Town...' which is almost as good.
I prefered what Josh Homme did with Kyuss than QOTSA.
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Sky Valley's my favourite no question. I always thought Circus would have been so much better if Josh Homme had stuck to that S.V. tone instead of going even muddier! I think Blues for the Red Sun is worth getting though, its kinda like S.V. but with less of a groove, which isn't a bad thing in some songs.
QOTSA's latest album does kinda suck. Songs for the Deaf and Rated R still do it for me though, and Josh Homme gets some of the most original guitar tones on their first album. Jeez, I could go on for days :D
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I have only really got into them in the past couple of months, not my fav. but def. good.
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I keep meaning to get Blues for the Red Sun but haven't got round to it yet. Have heard it a few time and prefer it to ...Circus....
The last QOTSA album got slated by some journalists but I thought it was quite good.
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Blues is a great album, as is Circus and "Sky Valley", the only weak one's they released were Wretch and the QOTSA split EP, even Wretch has it's moments. If you're unsure about them, get the compilation "Muchas Gracias", as it's got some hard to get hold of stuff, like Un Sandpiper.
Everyone know's about QOTSA, but John Garcia's still out there making music (OK, he's a singer not a guitarist). Hermano are worth checking out, as are Unida, and if you can get hold of any Slo Burn that's pretty good too.
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the only weak one's they released were Wretch and the QOTSA split EP,
Didn't they write/record Wretch when they were 16? I mean John Garcia sounds like he's been smoking for at least 15 of them :twisted: Its not a bad effort considering!
What's that split EP like then? I've been keeping an eye on ebay for it for ages. Even if its not too hot I'd quite like it from an interest point of view, to see how QOTSA developed in the same way that Wretch shows how Kyuss developed.
Thanks for suggesting those bands btw, I'll look into them :)
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The split EP was the last thing that Kyuss recorded, and the first outing for QOTSA. It says that for the Kyuss tracks. the guitars were by Homme, but listening to it, it seems as though there's no guitar on there, just bass, drums & vocals. The version I have is released by the now defunct Mans Ruin records, MR 063.
Track list:
Kyuss:
Into the Void
Fatso Forgotso
Fatso Forgotso Phase II
QOTSA:
If Only Everything
Born to Hula
Spiders & Vinegaroons
QOTSA were "Vic the Stick" on drums, Van Conner on bass (If Only Everything only), Homme on guitar, vocals & bass & Chris Goss on other stuff. Surprisingly, John Garcia did backing vocals on Born to Hula. A few QOTSA songs were trialed on various Desert Session albums, which are worth tracking down.
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Wow. Why didn't I notice this thread sooner?
Kyuss are a great band, one of my favorite if not my all time favorite band.
Been a fan for over 8 years, and it's inspired me on all levels, aswell as on all instruments.
Sky Valley has my favorite line up by far, with Reeder on bass and Brant on drums, it don't get any better than that.
Though I'm totally stoked about the later stuff too, especially Josh's intereaction with Reeder's bass got alot better by the time of the Circus-era.
That BSide demo stuff, Fatso Forgotso, Into The Void, Mudfly, that's some of the best grooving and production I've EVER heard.
Can't denie Chris Goss' influence either man.
I agree with most folks that Wretch is the weakest album. But c'mon, considering the fact that none of them exept for Nick passed the 18 mark (I know Brant and Josh were 17) it's one hell of an album.
Any idea for a bareknuckle pickup for that Fatso Forgotso sound :P?
Blues, by the way, is 100% Dimarzio super2 in the neck position. He played a rare ovation, but the wood and scale length are simmilar to a paul.
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Kyuss kick ass, no two ways about it. Or at least kicked it, I like QOTSA too, but as people have said the latest one's a little weak. Like Songs for the Deaf lite or Diet Songs for the Deaf.
Josh Homme's tone is really cool, I'm sure he uses Ampeg bass amps which give him that really cool snarly lo-fi grind.
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Kyuss kick ass, no two ways about it. Or at least kicked it, I like QOTSA too, but as people have said the latest one's a little weak. Like Songs for the Deaf lite or Diet Songs for the Deaf.
Josh Homme's tone is really cool, I'm sure he uses Ampeg bass amps which give him that really cool snarly lo-fi grind.
Back in the Kyuss days he usually mixed Tube Works and Marshall amps through 4x10 ampeg cabs, and occasionally a 2x15 too. He later switched to 4x10 ampeg combo's, hiwatt cabs and still some trusty Tube Works amplifiers. He's kept things rotating even more so, now with the Queens.
Basicly the Dimarzio Super2's and 4x10 cabs define his sound for the most part.
The other thing is his fingers and phrasing, it's just real gnarly and far out. I dig it.
I don't specificly deslike the new album. It may be a weak album by Queen's or Kyuss' standards, but hey, they set the standard pretty high for themselves.
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The split EP was the last thing that Kyuss recorded, and the first outing for QOTSA. It says that for the Kyuss tracks. the guitars were by Homme, but listening to it, it seems as though there's no guitar on there, just bass, drums & vocals. The version I have is released by the now defunct Mans Ruin records, MR 063.
Track list:
Kyuss:
Into the Void
Fatso Forgotso
Fatso Forgotso Phase II
QOTSA:
If Only Everything
Born to Hula
Spiders & Vinegaroons
QOTSA were "Vic the Stick" on drums, Van Conner on bass (If Only Everything only), Homme on guitar, vocals & bass & Chris Goss on other stuff. Surprisingly, John Garcia did backing vocals on Born to Hula. A few QOTSA songs were trialed on various Desert Session albums, which are worth tracking down.
The Kyuss tracks were mixed kind of odd. The guitar is panned hard right, so there's no guitar what so ever on the left channel. Check your stereo, might be a wrong cable or some setting that's preventing you from hearing the right channel properly. It might be set to mono too, cause that causes the same thing. I was puzzeled at first as well.
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He actually uses an Ampeg VT22 Valve Guitar head routed through a couple of Ampeg Bass cabs that facing each other.
The Ovation GP was only made for a few years in Korea, and was supplied as stock with DiMarzio SuperDistortions, Mr Homme has stated in numerous interviews that it was the first guitar he bought, and continued to use it up until recently when he became aware of the Australian built Maton's (thanks to a certain Ms Brodie Dalle perchance?).
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Kyuss ruled! Blues and Circus are great (gotta like "Spaceship Landing", but I'll add my voice to the "Sky Valley is my favorite" chorus. I could listen to "Gardenia" all day (and I think, on occasion, I have :)).
Never really got into QotSA. I was stuck on that "low, slow, and filled with thunder" Kyuss groove :)
What kinda BKPs are good for a Kyuss-type guitar sound?
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I wonder...
Nailbomb's are probably in the right output area...
Although Kyuss were a great band, I always preferred Monster Magnet (if I had to choose between the two).
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I wonder...
Nailbomb's are probably in the right output area...
Mmm, I would count that as a point in favour of NBs, then! :)
Although Kyuss were a great band, I always preferred Monster Magnet (if I had to choose between the two).
Tough choice! I could also listen to "Dopes to Infinity > Negasonic Teenage Warhead" all day, though I'm not sure if my favourite MM album isn't still Superjudge. And Dave Wyndorf's unashamed Hawkwind fanboyism as always appealed to me (even when he totally nicked the"Time We Left" riff for "Bummer" on the Powertrip album). :wink:
When I scrounge amongst my CDs trying to find guitar tones I like, I always end up playing "Dopes" and most of Superjudge. Though the last time I listened to "Dopes", I thought "Great riff! But the guitar should be more crushingly heavy!". :twisted:
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I have to say that "Dopes..." is one of my fave albums! I have all my Magnet stuff on my mp3 player, when I can't be bothered to dig a CD out, I stick it on random (piped through my HiFi), invariably Magnet comes on. It's quite surprising seeing how much they have moved on as a band, but the tracks actually go really well together. Cool. ;)
The 1st 2 Atomic Bitchwax albums are excellent as well. ;)
Apologies to Kyuss fans for nicking their thread...
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The 1st 2 Atomic Bitchwax albums are excellent as well.
I've only heard the first, I admit, but there is some smoking guitar playing and sound on there!
Apologies to Kyuss fans for nicking their thread...
Well, it's already been established that Kyuss are way cool. It's only fair to establish that Magnet are way cool :). Mmmm, I need to go away and listen to Dopes now and think about guitar sounds .....
(Yeah, I got all my Magnet present and accounted for in the iPod :) and I even slurped the audio from the (incredibly cheap) "The Right Stuff" video off the Monolithic bonus DVD 'cause it was longer than the album version and, therefore, clearly superior :))
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Good to see Kyuss back at the top of the thread pile! :D
Leafy-dono how did you find out he's using that SD2 in his guitar? JH seems real protective over his gear, rightly so perhaps - we should all do less copying and more inventing on the tone front IMO.
i.e. don't worry I won't be buying any DiMarzios! :)
On the amp front, I've heard he used those Ampegs only in QOTSA.
As for Kyuss - I've got a DVD of a gig from around the Circus era where JH's going through a Tube Works head or two into blank cabs (probably those bass ones) and stomps on something for his classic Kyuss saturated tone....
PDT_049
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Leafy-dono how did you find out he's using that SD2 in his guitar? [...] i.e. don't worry I won't be buying any DiMarzios! :)
Jerry Garcia used DiMarzios a lot too. Super 2 humbuckers and a SDS1 single coil in various guitars, insofar as I remember. And hey: I 'm a good ol' Grateful Dead fan, but I wouldn't get DiMarzios either :)
So, would Nailbombs be good for a Kyuss vibe? Would the Warpig start off too saturated? But heck, I suppose even with a Mule, one can always stomp on some thicker-than-fudge OD box to ramp up the saturation and move the tone from classic rock to tsunami-of-hot-molasses ....