Peter Buck (REM) guitar tone?

JonHosker · May 2016

Loving Monster, Accelerate and Automatic for the people albums from REM.

Always enjoyed these albums but started listening them again last week.

Anyone give me any advice to get the guitar sound/tone?

I use a Thorpy Gunshot and Muffroom as my main drives into a Lazy J20.

I wont change these, but wondered if a treeble booster was the way to do to add bite.

I play a Les Paul....so no telecaster single coils available here!

thanks

Jon

JD50 · May 2016

I believe he used a Mesa Tremoverb amp for Monster.... If that helps

Cirrus · May 2016

His core sound seems to be a ric, AC30 and occasionally an overdrive pedal like a Rat, but in the studio I get the impression he'll use different amps as and when - I suspect @JD50 is right about the Tremoverb use around Monster, "The One I Love" From Document is a Marshall, I think I occasionally hear more twangy fendery sounds... at any given time on a studio recording unless you're intimately familiar with the artist's thought processes and available gear it can be a pretty tough guessing game.

thermionic · May 2016

I think what Peter Buck plays and how he plays it is more important than what equipment he uses. I've seen them live twice and I don't recall much changing of guitars, although it does tend to split into humbucker (Les Paul) and single coil (Ric 330/360) sides.

Plastic dinosaurs on top of your AC30 helps.

UnclePsychosis · May 2016

Big strings (13s), Ric / Tele / Les Paul, a Vox or Mesa Trem-O-Verb, sometimes a RAT . That's about it gearwise---its all about the technique for me.

Probably easier to ape the live tones than the studio ones, which have all sorts of double tracking and multiple different guitars all over them.

ICBM · May 2016

'The One I Love' was not only a Marshall, but also a Les Paul!

He's used various amps over the years including Fender Twins, Marshalls, the Mesa Trem-o-verb (definitely used on Monster) and an old Silvertone I think, as well as the AC30, and various guitars including Les Pauls, Danelectros and Telecasters as well as the Ricks, but he always sounds a bit like he's playing the Rick through the AC30…. a classic example of a player who sounds like himself with anything.

One of the most important things is to use heavy strings (he uses 12s) with a wound G string. He plays electric more like it's an acoustic in some ways.

stickyfiddle · May 2016

It's all technique. Almost all arpeggios, plenty of treble, dig in but don't linger on each note.

For proof, just note that Everybody Hurts and One I Love were Ricky+AC30 and LP+Marshall respectively and sound virtually the same, tonally.

shaunm · May 2016

If you are going for the tone from Monster then you will need a tremolo pedal.

Your current set up will get you close to the monster tone I think. It's not all that distorted on things like Bang and Blame. I'd say you can get that tone with a Lester, Muffroom set low like David G and your Lazy J.

djspecialist · May 2016

shaunm said:

If you are going for the tone from Monster then you will need a tremolo pedal.

And get someone to mod it so it can never be switched off.

I love tremolo but that album is the definition of "too much of a good thing". (Despite that it's still great...)

DesVegas · May 2016

'Leave' is his best work i believe.

JonHosker · May 2016

Thanks for the pointers - work in progress !!

thermionic · May 2016

Here's a great clip of early REM. I suspect the Fender Twins were hired backline but I think it's a pretty accurate reproduction of how he sounds on the early records.

lasermonkey · May 2016

I've seen a number of old photos which show Buck using Twins, along with an Ibanez UE400 or 405 multi fx unit. I'm pretty sure I read an old interview in International Musician where he talks about using Twins too. I have a feeling he went to Mesa/Boogies after the Twins.

JDE · May 2016

Heavy strings, thin pick. Pick is often overlooked but makes the clack/chime that is commonly lost with a thick pick.
I can cop PB tone with either a Tele or P90. Always struggled with a humbucker or a Strat, but that's probably more down to amp.

Buck always had a more chimney articulate extension of the Neil Young Tone where an electric was a bit like an acoustic - try a heavier od/distortion rolled back a bit. One of my favourite players ever.

mixolyd · December 2016

thermionic said:

Here's a great clip of early REM. I suspect the Fender Twins were hired backline but I think it's a pretty accurate reproduction of how he sounds on the early records.

Dat bass! Mike Mills' sound is dominating Buck's Ricky here.

Buck doesn't like pedals, comes from the "turn the amp up to get the sound" school.

I learned guitar by going through the entire (at the time) R.E.M. catalogue and was never satisfied with the sound of my amp. My Les Paul could occasionally hit the mark but that hairy, sparkly, overdriven yet somehow clean sound only comes from a Vox with a Top Boost circuit I think.

As soon as I get some P90's into my semi hollow I'm gonna pick up a Vox amp and turn the clock back. Those old R.E.M. records had the most sublime balance between the instruments - great for playing along to.

@JonHosker Since you mention Automatic: you're gonna want a loud amp and preferably a hollow body to get those sublime feedback tones that Buck splashed across that album. So sweet.

gusman2x · December 2016

You have the bring the jangles

57Deluxe · December 2016

Rickie into a VOX is a very specifc tone and not easily replicated.

My Hardtail Strat into a Cornford Roadhouse with a PROEL DS-10 gets the jangle but maybe not the arpeggiated single note riffs.

He was also partial to electric mandolins etc....

Veganic · December 2016

I find a bit of "acoustic guitar" effect pedal can help for the earlier sounds. Never listened to much after Green.

Harborne_Blue · December 2016

Good starting point http://equipboard.com/pros/peter-buck

ICBM · December 2016

Veganic said:

I find a bit of "acoustic guitar" effect pedal can help for the earlier sounds. Never listened to much after Green.

That's an interesting idea. I've always thought he played electric guitar almost more like it's an acoustic (as I do). Acoustic guitar pedals are usually fairly poor for sounding like an acoustic guitar, but a little bit blended in might well help.

Veganic · December 2016

I didn't notice how old this thread was. I dunno how the effect works probably just eq and some compression? It does make the tone more brittle.

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Peter Buck (REM) guitar tone?

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