Getting a Robbo L&D tone with single coils/stacked ‘bucker

Caffeine_Vampire

I’m not a Les Paul guy but I want ‘that’ tone bleeding out of my favourite Strat without spoiling the single coil aesthetic. You all know the tone, that rich singing ‘Still in Love with You’ voice, deep and resonant. I’m familiar with Robbo’s rig from that time but who can suggest a modern alternative to get me in the ballpark?

Caffeine_Vampire

Should have added, I’m playing through Twins with minimal/no outboard effects. 

Kebabkid

With regards to your single-coil aesthetic, look at the Free-Way Switches.
https://www.freewayswitch.com/

They look like a 5 blade Strat pickup selector but they have a dual mode that allows for various and useful pickup combinations, including something thicker-sounding and akin to humbuckers and they're about £50. No routing etc and if you don't like it, it's easily reversible

The 5B5-01 model delivers 10-position Free-Way switching in a Blade format which is directly interchangeable with conventional 5-way selectors. The lower bank of 5 positions delivers all the familiar pickup combinations just as normal - but the upper bank contains the missing parallel combinations (neck + bridge) and (neck + middle + bridge) together with three 'in series' combinations to provide higher output tones which you may not expect to hear from single coil pickups and which greatly expands the tonal range of any three pickup guitar. Visually undetectable when fitted, the 5B5-01 delivers incredible tonal flexibility in a completely intuitive, familiar package.

OR, a stacked humbucker single coil? If you were to go for a full humbucker, any PAF-type, low-output would work but I understand the Bare Knuckle Emerald is based on Robbo's sound.

What a fabulous player Robbo was and great sounds on L&D. Curious question, where do you get your overdrive from?

As you're chasing his sound, with regard to delay (your other WEM Copicat post), I don't know what version they were but I know he used 2 Copicats (2 different delay settings) and also used them as preamps. I'd just find at least a dual delay that has a slapback and a longer delay with degradation. It'll be much smaller and easier to manage than a Copicat and you have things like the TC Alter Ego X4 or the Providence Chrono Delay out there that can do that. I'm sure there are others.

While I have you here, I've always been after his wah sound. Have you cracked that and if so, what are you using? Coloursound Wah?

I hope you achieve what you want

Caffeine_Vampire

@Kebabkid Thanks for a very well informed reply. The Free-Way is an excellent suggestion and one I might take on anyway, regardless of the Lizzy gig. Regarding overdrive, I have a couple of old (non WEM) tape echo units and also use them as pre-amps. Even through Fender gear they take a huge leap towards Robbo’s tone without any need for an o/d pedal. I’ve always been curious to know if he used the solid state WEM or the valve version. Wah wise... I have a 70’s Colorsound and it’s definitely the Robbo wah tone. 

Kebabkid

Caffeine_Vampire said:

@Kebabkid Thanks for a very well informed reply. The Free-Way is an excellent suggestion and one I might take on anyway, regardless of the Lizzy gig. Regarding overdrive, I have a couple of old (non WEM) tape echo units and also use them as pre-amps. Even through Fender gear they take a huge leap towards Robbo’s tone without any need for an o/d pedal. I’ve always been curious to know if he used the solid state WEM or the valve version. Wah wise... I have a 70’s Colorsound and it’s definitely the Robbo wah tone. 

No probs and thanks for confirming the wah. Nothing else I've tried achieves that sound.

Caffeine_Vampire

Kebabkid said:

Caffeine_Vampire said:

@Kebabkid Thanks for a very well informed reply. The Free-Way is an excellent suggestion and one I might take on anyway, regardless of the Lizzy gig. Regarding overdrive, I have a couple of old (non WEM) tape echo units and also use them as pre-amps. Even through Fender gear they take a huge leap towards Robbo’s tone without any need for an o/d pedal. I’ve always been curious to know if he used the solid state WEM or the valve version. Wah wise... I have a 70’s Colorsound and it’s definitely the Robbo wah tone. 

No probs and thanks for confirming the wah. Nothing else I've tried achieves that sound.

The Stu Castledine Wow pedal from Macaris delivers Robbo in spades. 

Kebabkid

Caffeine_Vampire said:

Kebabkid said:

Caffeine_Vampire said:

@Kebabkid Thanks for a very well informed reply. The Free-Way is an excellent suggestion and one I might take on anyway, regardless of the Lizzy gig. Regarding overdrive, I have a couple of old (non WEM) tape echo units and also use them as pre-amps. Even through Fender gear they take a huge leap towards Robbo’s tone without any need for an o/d pedal. I’ve always been curious to know if he used the solid state WEM or the valve version. Wah wise... I have a 70’s Colorsound and it’s definitely the Robbo wah tone. 

No probs and thanks for confirming the wah. Nothing else I've tried achieves that sound.

The Stu Castledine Wow pedal from Macaris delivers Robbo in spades. 

The BMF also looks/sounds interesting.

Caffeine_Vampire

Indeed it does

ICBM

If you're looking for a new pickup you want a *non* stacked humbucker. A stacked humbucker is one designed to give the sound of a single coil - although in practice, usually ends up sounding at least very slightly thinner, rather than fatter. What you want is a Strat-sized mini-humbucker, which are designed to give fatter humbucker sounds without modifying the guitar.

The type of pickup to look for is something like a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails, Li'l JB, or something like that. Unfortunately they still don't look like a Strat pickup, if that matters.

That said, I once saw someone get a very convincing Santana 'Smooth' sound using a USA Standard Strat with the stock bridge pickup, a wah pedal, a Tube Screamer and a Boogie amp. I'm almost certain he turned the tone control on the guitar right down too, so if your guitar doesn't have the bridge pickup connected to the middle pickup tone control that may be worth doing.

EricTheWeary

He lists his Lizzy era gear on his Facebook page. Doesn't say what type of Copycats. There are also three MXR pedals - Phase 90, Phase 45 and Blue Box. The full version is on Pinterest, see if this link works

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/489696159456752167/?$ios_deeplink_path=pinterest://pin/489696159456752167&$android_deeplink_path=pinterest://pin/489696159456752167&amp_client_id=kn9hdVGlEmL6bpYh0zzKoBNWluMp7keLhvsbI9sNsL9izWs33y4bdWiIAwIx_5CY&utm_source=168&utm_medium=2160&current_page_url=https://www.pinterest.com/amp/pin/489696159456752167/&install_id=ebdb2729002cd854bcd7a82e2fc22277&$fallback_url=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/489696159456752167/#details&_branch_match_id=619119273003944877#details

EricTheWeary

^ as that's what Brian reposted himself I guess it's correct. 

Caffeine_Vampire

Looks like he used the MkIII or IV then. Solid state. Interesting. 

ICBM

Caffeine_Vampire said:

Looks like he used the MkIII or IV then. Solid state. Interesting. 

The solid-state Copicats are better machines than the valve ones despite the usual 'valve is best' snobbery - not least because they're much quieter. I doubt you could use a valve one at those sort of stage levels without it sounding like being in a hurricane.

Caffeine_Vampire

ICBM said:

Caffeine_Vampire said:

Looks like he used the MkIII or IV then. Solid state. Interesting. 

The solid-state Copicats are better machines than the valve ones despite the usual 'valve is best' snobbery - not least because they're much quieter. I doubt you could use a valve one at those sort of stage levels without it sounding like being in a hurricane.

Very true. Although, Robbo always seems to get ‘Robbo’ tone whatever he plays

Just ordered the Free-Way switch for my Strat. 

EricTheWeary

[ apologies for the enormous link earlier, I'm doing this on my phone so just posting a picture seemed more complicated]

 Caffeine_Vampire said:

Looks like he used the MkIII or IV then. Solid state. Interesting. 

On Wikipedia it says he later used a digital rack unit although when and which it doesn't say. 

Caffeine_Vampire

EricTheWeary said:

[ apologies for the enormous link earlier, I'm doing this on my phone so just posting a picture seemed more complicated]

 Caffeine_Vampire said:

Looks like he used the MkIII or IV then. Solid state. Interesting. 

On Wikipedia it says he later used a digital rack unit although when and which it doesn't say. 

It’s all good. I think he went digital post Wild Horses. 

Kebabkid

Caffeine_Vampire said:

On Wikipedia it says he later used a digital rack unit although when and which it doesn't say. 

It’s all good. I think he went digital post Wild Horses. 

I think he needed to as I believe he was using up to 4 Copicats in *Wild Horses!!! BTW, if you manage to track down their *2 LPs, there were some good songs and great playing on them.

Caffeine_Vampire

@Kebabkid Yeah, there are some very cool pics of his Wild Horses era rig in some dark corner of t’interweb. 

The two Wild Horses albums still spin regularly in my man cave