What the heck is that guitar Crispy’s playing?


It’s a Yamaha SG-2, from 1966.  Yes, Yamaha was making electric guitars was back then; in fact it’s the first year they built such things for the mass market.  The pointy headstock is original, even though it looks like something off of a 1980’s Jackson Shreddmaster 2000.   Most people think 60’s Japanese guitars are poorly built and lame sounding, but Yamahas of the era are a big exception, and have the build quality and sound of upper-end Fenders of the same era, but without the monster price tag.  The SG-2 was Yamaha’s base model axe in ’66, having only two pickups (upper-end models had three, as well as a crazy “balancer” control that let you blend/separate the output of the pickups closest to the bridge), but it’s almost a dead-ringer features-wize to Fender’s top-of-the-line Jaguar, from its’ short 24” neck scale (ideal for my fat little hands) to it’s pickup and control layout, albeit with less shiny c
hrome. 

 

If you ever saw the legendary Link Wray on one of his later tours of the US, he was playing one of these boogers.  Loudly!

 

Interesting fact:  Yamaha’s electric guitars of this era were never actually imported to the US; most of the electrics found their way over here via GI’s who bought them on tours of duty overseas (one vet told me you could buy them at the army PX in Guam!).  My SG apparently came from a vet who served at Fort Bragg at one time, and brought it with him from some points far east. 

 

This SG, bought from Coleman Music six years ago, was also an 85-dollar basket case, missing all of its’ paint, pickup covers, pickup springs, one tuning peg, vibrato arm, and had a big crack in the headstock joint, which was held on by wood screws instead of proper bolts. It also had worn out frets and a cracked nut. But I’m a sucker for a mutt, especially if it’s cheap, and REALLY especially if it sounds good, and boy, did this thing sound good!  Numerous repairs were made by local luthiers Glenn Wyllie, Kirby Aycock, Darrel Young, and myself, and a snazzy new paint job of Mosrite Blue was lovingly applied by custom guitar man Ben Stikeleather, otherwise known as Stike.  It has become my main axe, a guitar I like playing so much I eventually bought another ’66, a sunburst model.  

 

 


Secret sounds of Filler Up!


While most of the gear played on our first album was the same equipment you see us play live, there were some exceptions here and there; and here’s the big exceptions:

 


 

Behold! The amp of choice!


Here Bryon and Crispy show off their Gibson RVT-18 Explorer amp from 1966, bought for a measly 40 bucks, and one of the key recording tools from their studio sessions.  It seems an odd choice, and it is!  People in the know will tell you that Fender amps have it all over Gibbys of the same era.  Real geeky people in the know will tell you that there’s two different versions of the RVT-18, one with Ampeg-esque 7591a tubes, (The good one), and one with EL84’s (the bad one).  Guess which one we got?  That’s right, the crapmaster.  To elaborate, the EL84 model is lacking a key amp ingredient known as a phase inverter.  I’m not entirely sure what a phase inverter does, but this thing is one of brightest, shrillest amps ever devised, even with the treble knob turned all the way down.  You have to wonder if it was built by deaf people.


But all is not hopeless; thanks to help from folks in the know at the Fender Discussion Pages, the replacement of a few resistors and capacitors in the amps’ circuitry tamed the ear-bleeding, and allowed the amps’ better qualities to shine through, namely its’ cavernous reverb and how terrific it sounds when turned all the way up.  Both sounds got liberal use; Bryon used the amp on “Go This Way”, “Tintarella Di Luna”, “Mallsville”, and in tandem with his Fender Deluxe Reverb on “Gasboys” to get the lopsided tremolo sound the lead guitar has.  Crispy used it for his straight-from-the-garage guitar solo on “Big Bad Bike”

 

BTW, remember I mentioned that there is a “good” version of this amp with 7591 tubes?  Crispy nearly bought one of these amps in St. Louis many years ago; it was initially on sale for 150 bucks, but on the day Crispy arrived with money in hand, it had unexpectedly risen in price to $650!  Why, do you ask?  Because the stores’ owner was planning to—and did—sell the amp at that price to none other than Joe Perry, of Aerosmith.  Yes, that amp was that good…

 


 

If it’s good enough for Duane Eddy, it’s good enough for Bryon!



Here Bryon models a lovely Dearmond T-400 hollowbody guitar, on loan from Crispy’s girlfriend Judy Woodall.  This axe, made in Korea, is a thinline hollowbody based on Guild’s original Duane Eddy model, and has a sound somewhere in between that of a an old Gretsch and a Gibson ES-125.  It’s distinctive flavors can be heard all over Filler Up!, in particular “Mallsville”, “Tintarella Di Luna”, and “Go This Way”, with Bryon playing all the leads.  If you’re a big fan of the Reverend Horton Heat, but don’t want to spend the couple of grand it takes to get one of his signature Gretsches, I recommend this model highly.

 


 













Into the 4th Dimension!


We used a few quirky effects on Filler Up, but none quite as quirky as the Fender Dimension IV, a wacky,wacky reverb/echo/vibrato thingamabob built for Fender in the 1960’s by a company called Tel-Ray (who later made the Morley Wah-Wah pedals).  This little plug-in-the-wall box, which only works with Fender Amps with Reverb, contains (I kid you not) a spinning drum about the size of a can of tuna filled with a mysterious oil, that, when played with a Fender amp’s reverb, creates a sound somewhere between playing underwater and/or in outer space. It’s not very useful for guitar, but when Crispy plugged one of his organs into the thing—hol-ee cow! It got front line use on the organ lead on “A Man Possessed”, turning his XK-2 into an eerie theremin from hell, or at least heck. 

 


 

Who played What?


For you diehard gear geeks out there, here’s an overview of the gear used on Filler Up:

 


 

Bryon


Bryon played his Fender Stratocaster through several different amps, including a Fender Dual Professional, a Carr Slant 6V, a Fender Deluxe Reverb, and a Gibson RVT-18.  Other guitars used were a Dearmond T-400 (see “If it’s good enough for Duane Eddy…”) and a Fender Telecaster with a Bigsby.  The 12-string electric sounds on “Bellzouki” and “Gogoductress” were a snazzy Danelectro Hodad 12.



           
             

 

 



Pete


Pete mostly played his Fender Strat through a late 70’s Lab Series L-5 amp, an underrated solid-state amp designed by synth pioneer Bob Moog, and used by such diverse luminaries as Kings’ X’s Ty Tabor and BB King.  His Roland GT3 multi-effects processor was usually in line, but occasionally not.  He also used Bryon’s Fender Deluxe for a few numbers.  Other stuff used; a Glenn Wyllie Wylo fuzz was used on “Gasboys”, and a Hamer Slammer (a Stratocaster-like guitar with two Gibson-like humbucking pickups) was used on “Morgan’s Alley” to achieve a faux Gibson 335 sound.

                   
             





Crispy


Crispy’s keyboard rig is a Hammond XK-2 keyboard, which he runs through a Motion Sound Pro-3 rotating speaker, and an Ampeg B-15 bass amp, so the fake organ can sound more like a real organ.  His upper keyboard is a simple M-Audio controller, getting it’s sounds from a bog-simple Alesis NanoPiano, which provided the strings on “Go This Way” and the, uh, Piano on “Bellzouki”.  The electric piano sounds were provided by a genuine 1968 Fender Rhodes (with a snazzy silver sparkle top!).  And Crispy’s original organ from his days in the Civil Tones, a Farfisa VIP 255, was brought in for the cheesy sounds on “Suburbanite”.

 

On “A Man Possessed”, the XK-2 was run through a Fender Dimension IV hooked in a Twin Reverb guitar amp. (see “Into the 4th Dimension!”)

 

Crispy’s guitars were his Yamaha SG-2 (see “What the heck…”) played either through his 1964 Fender Twin Reverb, or through a Gibson RVT-18 (see “The Amp of Choice”).  He also played his Ventures’ Fender Jazzmaster through Bryons’ Fender Deluxe on “Jellybeanin’” and “Tintarella Di Luna” to flesh out the rhythm section a bit.  The 12-string on “Mucho!” was Bryon’s Hodad 12, and the lead bass on “Suburbanite” was Crispy’s Framus BG-15, played through the Fender Twin.



       
                  


               
             



Scott


Scott “Professor Suave” Moore used his Alvarez five-string bass through Bryons’ Ampeg V4-B amp, with a Digitech bass processor helping shape his tone along the way.

 


 

Rob


Ex-drummer Rob Koegler used either his very snazzy candy purple Pearl drum set from the 1960’s, or Bryons’ house kit (aka The Evel Knievel Stunt Kit). 


                                

 

 





Hey!  What about Mark and Rusty?


Well, they’re not on Filler Up, but you’re right—how rude! 

 


 

Rusty:


Rusty plays a Fender Precision Bass, '62 reissue, with Labella 760FL flatwound
strings and a Fender Jazz Bass, '75 reissue, with Thomastik-Infeld flatwound strings.  His main amplifier rig ("The Fridge") is a 1974 Ampeg SVT and 810e cabinet, and for quiet gigs he brings a "R2-D2," a 1976 Ampeg B-15 S fliptop.   



                     



 








Murph:


Drums:



Early-70’s Gretsch kit (stop-sign badges) in red pearl (a wrap that is uncommon, if not rare) .  4-piece Charlie Watts configuration (22x14 BD, 16x16 FT, 13x9 RT, and 14” 4160 COB snare).  These are 6-ply maple/gumwood shells with rounded edges, which would date them pre-1973.  I’ve had this kit over 30 years.  Used primarily as a practice kit to minimize additional road-wear, but may be called into action for future recording projects.  The diecast rims and lugs sparkle like new. 









1941 Slingerland Radio Kings in green glass glitter (a wrap actually available in 1941).  This kit was assembled/refurbished by Mark Cooper of Cooper’s Vintage Drums.  While the drums may not have started life together at the factory, Mark brought them together and did a fantastic job.  The majority of the beavertail lugs are original nickel over brass, with damaged lugs replaced with re-pops.  The 4-piece kit is composed of 24x14 BD, 16x16 FT , 13x9 RT, and the 14” snare is the coveted solid, steam-bent maple shell with three-point strainer and bridges.  The rounded edges and reinforcement rings make for a very warm sound.  I absolutely love playing this kit and it is thunderous, especially when mic’d.  The clip-on BD spurs basically keep the drum from rolling from left to right, but do nothing to hold the drum in place.  Instead I use a gig rug and literally velcro the drum down using the front lower lugs.



2008 Phattie Drums “GT Stripe Bebop Kit”.  I fell in love with a set of drums Dennis Stauffer built at Phattie... they were silver glass glitter with inlaid blue glass glitter GT/Lemans stripes.  I was looking for a smaller kit to play in quieter venues and for commando raid gigs (where setup/teardown time was limited).  The kit was bigger than I wanted, but Dennis offered to take the snare and FT and build the remainder of the kit in bebop sizes with the same wrap.  This is my first “modern” drum kit, and it sounds incredible.  I can’t believe how well these drums cut through the mix, even in the bebop sizes of 18x16 BD (yeah, most bebop kicks are only 14” deep), 14x14 FT, 12x8 RT, and a great sounding 14” maple snare with offset tube lugs.   The retro 60’s look is a perfect match for Killer Filler.



Cymbals:


I  play predominantly Zildjian cymbals.   The Gretsch kit came with a crash/ride cymbal and hi-hats that were made by Zilco (a member of the Zildjian family who opened shop in Canada).  These are still mated with the Gretsch kit used for practice.  My “gigging” cymbal setup consists of Zildjian 19” thin crash, 17” medium crash, and 14” New Beat hi-hats. 


               


My current ride is a 20” Sabian El Sabor, which is amazing.  The unlathed bell is the biggest and loudest I’ve ever played.  The ride sound is solid without being too “pingy”, and the cymbal is tapered towards the edge which makes it truly crashable.  I’ve driven Fords and Chevys, so I guess it only natural that I play Zildjian and Sabians.  Many thanks to Dave Hartman of SCOTS for turning me onto this cymbal.


Miscellaneous Gear:


I broke a Ludwig Speed King pedal in the middle of a gig back in the early 80’s.  The next day I went to the music store and looked for the beefiest pedal I could find, which turned out to be a Yamaha “Professional Model”.  This is a strap drive, unlike the sold-drive Speed King (which is the part that snapped in half), but what really sets it apart from all other pedals, is the the single, large diameter upright post on the right side.  The height is fully adjustable, and with no left post, foot placement on the pedal board is limited only by your imagination.  I had no idea that design feature would become so important to my playing style.   And after 20+ years, that pedal is still going strong.  Not wanting to be a BD pedal ludite, I tried a ton of newer pedals when I wanted a second pedal for gigging out.  In the end, I scored another Yamaha for $30 on ebay.  There was an auction running at the same time for another identical Yamaha pedal, but the bidding was already over $100.  I was happy with my $30 pedal, especially when I learned that Peter Erskine was auctioning one of his for over $100.


On all three of my kits, the rack tom lives in a snare stand on the driver’s side of the bass drum.  I like the placement flexibility and I can keep the the tom at roughly the same height, regardless of what size BD I’m playing (not as easily done with a BD-mounted tom).  I tried using various hardware mounts on the nearby cymbal stand, but it always felt and looked awkward.  But the nice thing about the mounts, is that the tom resonated much more than sitting in the snare stand (where the resonant head would sound choked).  Well, I discovered that the high-dollar, fully adjustable (including the basket arms),  Pearl S2000 snare stand is worth every penny (and pound... the thing is heavy).   The rubber tips that cradle the drum in the stand are designed to isolate the drum completely.  The drum will ring as clear and true as if you were barely holding it by your fingertips. 


For the last couple of years I’ve been playing Pro-mark 5A (wood tip) sticks.  There is an American Oak and Japanese Oak version (both finished in the USA).  I don’t know if it’s the density of the wood, or the tightness of the grain (or just clever marketing), but I prefer the Japanese Oak in my hands. 


The Roc-N-Soc throne is the absolute most stable and most comfortable drum throne on the planet.  Highly recommended.


                         


The Milton Bell Company patented their “Driveway Bell” in 1959.  I grew up hearing that familiar “ding ding” sound at gas stations when I’d ride my bike to put air in the tires or get a soda.  It was always fun to stomp the black rubber hose to make the bell sound.  My guess is that the folks at Milton had no idea their bell would be used as part of a drum-set.  It’s the closest I’ll ever come to using electronic drums (although the solenoid/striker is electric, air pressure is used to trigger the bell during performances).







 

GEAR

Gear