How to get that Joe Satriani sound?

satch1000 · #1 06-02-2003, 11:00 PM

How does joe satriani get that signature tone of his.......I've heard that he runs his guitar straight through a Ds-1 pedal and doesn't use his amps distortion at all...just the pedal's distortion.......is this true?

OME · #2 06-03-2003, 12:09 AM

If you want that Satriani sound just play one of his CD's

Seriously tho - he runs the signal into a DS-1 in a live set-up(b4 the head)

Dan D Mahnn · #3 06-03-2003, 07:32 AM

Its true for the most part. I know on his more recent albums like Crystal planet he'd run the DS-1 into a slightly driven marshall Plexi or Peavey 5150. Live he goes strait into a loud and clear Marshall 60-100 head on the clean channel. Im pretty sure thats all he did for the last 2 albums. EOC is all DI.

An improtant thing to remember is his DS-1 is the old Japanese version. I owned one and can agree that the one I have now (MI Taiwan) doesnt sound nearly as good.

You may want to check out the Robert Keeley Seeing Eye mod thats already a huge topic on this forum. I did the mod to my DS-1 myself. IMO it sounds better then the Japanese ones but you can easilty get the satch sound with one.

Drew · #4 06-03-2003, 12:58 PM

Yeah, live Satch plays a JS series guitar (22 fret neck, thus allowing the neck pickup to be under the natural harmonics that would normally be found at the 24th- a subtle but important tonal difference you need to keep in mind) into a DS-1 into a Marshall 6100 head. There's his Crybaby wah in there too, which he uses quite frequently, as well as a Digitech Whammy and a couple delays, and he added some weirder stuff for the EoC tour, but that's most of it.

In the studio, it's usually a similar setup, but he's been playing with a lot of other gear recently. I saw a pic of him in a Guitar Player article from the Crystal Planet album sessions where he was adjusting a Wizard head, which the article later mentioned was used for the clean tone on Z.Z's Song, and I know he's been using Cornfords recently too. He also used a Dual rectifier on "Mind Storm..." But his live setup is pretty constant.

Course, a lot of his sound is in his touch, too... First time i saw him live, what floored me wasn't his technique, but his vibrato.

-Drew

Artist · #5 06-03-2003, 01:44 PM

http://guitargeek.com/rigview/293/ satchs set up

(ps check out EVHS old rig!!)

satch1000 · #6 06-03-2003, 05:08 PM

I orded the ultra Ds-1.....its coming....im pretty happy about that.....would i be able to use the ultra ds-1 with the clean channel on marshall jcm900 as a clean boost.....and then switch to distortion on the amp and still have the pedal sound good.

Dan D Mahnn · #7 06-03-2003, 07:23 PM

I do that same thing. Ill use either an SLO or an Ecstasy and use my TS9 for a nice slightly overdriven sound on my clean channel and to saturate my lead channel for solo's. Its just finding the balanced setting that works well for both channels.

The DS-1 is a distortion pedal. If you want a pedal like that Id suggest you get an overdrive pedal or a clean boost pedal (an actual clean boost gives you no drive. It just boosts the signal.) Like most dedicated distortion pedals it doesnt sound anywere near as good as an overdrive pedal for slight drive. Not even the same ballpark.

Distortion pedals like the DS-1 are only good for two things. In front of a clean amp/channel as your entire distortion sound. Or... In front of a slightly driven amp, pushing it into high gain territory.

bloodandtears · #8 06-04-2003, 11:06 AM

guitar geek is a cool cool site, I can hear my credit card crying somewhere in the distance now though...

Dan D Mahnn · #9 06-04-2003, 11:37 AM

Guitar Geek also misses lots of the best stuff like what artists used in thier prime or in the studio for a classic album. Many artists make compramises live or play lousy gear these days. (EVH for example)

I didnt see anything for his old rigg there like artist said? Not that I dont know what it is already.

Reaper · #10 06-04-2003, 03:33 PM

Gotta love Steve's "Jem 7v 7-string guitar", and his "Jem 6v"... I never knew they made those!

bloodandtears · #11 06-04-2003, 06:59 PM

oh right then so its rubbish.... but I like the graphics... could use them.... hmmmmm

Drew · #12 06-07-2003, 12:24 PM

The best way to cop some of Satch's "sound" I've found? Practice legato runs unplugged. Part of his sound comes from his incredible legato definition- all of the notes have this real clear "attack" to them; they flow, but they're never blurred.

-D

Dan D Mahnn · #13 06-07-2003, 12:37 PM

This is very true. Satch rarely picks fast runs in a song. He does do that but most of the big technique is purely legato. 3-note-per-string type runs and combinations of all legato technique all over the neck with open strings.

Although I dont really think that addresses the question in any way, its still good to know if your not as advanced. The way your fingers contact the strings is very important in tone.

Im reminded of Ted Nugent in the 80s saying he's the best guitar player and EVH is only popular becouse of his tone. So Eddy set it up for Ted to come play through his rig. Noone was impressed by how Ted sounded. He just sounded like Ted Nugent. Eddie picked up that rig and was eddie. Nugent conceded his claims after that.

Two hands31 · #14 06-07-2003, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper

Gotta love Steve's "Jem 7v 7-string guitar", and his "Jem 6v"... I never knew they made those!

You wanna see sadly incorrect? Take a look at this, then dig up a pic or video of Munky playing live, and look at his three pedal boards

http://guitargeek.com/rigview/519/

Dan D Mahnn · #15 06-08-2003, 03:17 PM

Yeah. If you really want to know what equipment people use you have to do some research. Guitar Geek completely misses the point. The only people thier good for is people who are vocal about what they use and have used the same gear for thier whole career.