Robben Ford Discussion

[srvrules]

Hello,

I absolutly love all Robben Ford's tone. But I particularly love the sound his gets on :
- It dont make sense - BLUE MOON
- Oasis - Tiger Walk
- Stan Key - Jing Chi

I realize it comes from the player. But I want to buy the right guitar to achieve this kind of sound. I play a Blackface Fender amp.

I am considering the Les Paul Goldtop 57' VOS.
Do you think this is the right choice ?
If not, do you have suggestion ?

THANK YOU

[PierreL]

I think that in the tunes you mention he is using his early 60's Telecaster.
Then you gonna need a pedal with your Fender amp to get that kind of tone, you won't cut it with the amp alone for overdriven tones :
Hermida Audio Zendrive
Jetter Gain Stage Red
Menatone Howie 2
Ethos overdrive

I have only owned the Zendriven the other I have just read about on message boards, but those names come back most often when looking for the Dumble sound in a pedal.

As far as the Les Paul...well Robben has been using some Les Pauls as well, both with P90s or humbuckers, but that's a thicker tone than the one he gets on the tunes you mention.

[srvrules]

Thank YOU,

But, Wow I am so surprised.
Are you sure he uses a Telecaster on these tunes ?
I may sound stupid but I was convinced it was a gibson jazz sound !
But I have never play a telecaster...

So what new telecaster would get me close to this amazing sound ?

As far as the Les Paul, do you think the 57' Goldtop VOS would be a good choice ?

THANKS !!!

[frank0936]

Robben's Tele is a stock model from either 1960 or shortly after that. It has a rosewood fingerboard. That thick sound is more a result of his technique than the equipment.

Another pedal that comes pretty close to the overdriven sound of Robben's amp is the Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive. But you are absolutely right about the sound coming from the player and not the gear. Robben has played various instruments over the course of his career and he always sounds like .... Robben!

As an addition, I was at a seminar with Duke Robillard and he took a Fender Esquire and a Deluxe Reverb amp and made it sound like a big Gibson.
Frank

[PierreL]

Well, Robben said in an interview that the bridge pickup of his Tele was pretty hot.
And I think that the Dumble plays a big part in this sound, as it is a thick amp, which certianly works quite well with the Tele.
I have a Fuchs ODS, which is an amp inspired by the Dumble ODS, and I am amazed how thick my cheapo Tele copy sounds through the drive channel.

[Red Suede]

Get the Gibson if that's what you want and put a four conductor bridge pickup in it with a push-pull pot so you can go from full humbucker to single coil. You'll come close.

[Marty]

I have a Fender Custom Shop 60s tele relic with Duncan Antiquities in it and it gets VERY close to RF's tone on those songs he uses a Tele on.
I think mine is an Ash Body (could be alder) with rosewood fretboard.
It came stock with steel saddles (see my question for Daved) which is what RF is using. It brightens the tone considerably IMHO.

My current favorite RF Tele tone (for reference) is on the Mike Bloomfield Tribute Album by the Ford Brothers. The song is Mary-Ann, I also like Movin' On Up The Line and Loving Cup. I think those are also RF on Tele. Check it out.

As to amps: My main amp is a Two Rock Custom (no reverb). Depending on who you talk to this amp is an attempt to capture the famous mighty Dumble ODS RF plays. I'm happy with it but it is safe to say it isn't RFs Dumble . I do have a Lexicon MPX-1 in the loop for reverb/delay. I use a Two Rock 2x12 cab with vintage Celestion G12-65s. The cost to replicate this amp setup is expensive.

I also have (and like) a Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue. The stock speaker is crap for the RF tones. I replaced it with an EV-12L and it fixed the problem (fuzzy noise riding the high frequencies with overdrive).
The EV-12L adds crispness in the lowend and adds quite a bit of volume as it is a more efficient speaker. It does make the amp heavier and requires some know-how to install. It doesn't just bolt-in the existing mounts. There are many opinions on the best replacement speaker for the DRRI. Almost everyone agrees it needs a replacement though.

With the DRRI I use a Zendrive II from Hermida Audio. He has a long waiting list but the pedal is worth it. I haven't tried the others mentioned in this thread and have no negatives to say about them. They all get pretty good reviews over on the GearPage.

You'll also need a little delay/reverb. I use a cheap Boss DD-2 I think for delay. I also use an external reverb, again an inexpensive Boss, because I don't like delay run into reverb. My pedals (with the DRRI only) are ZDII --> Boss Reverb --> Boss Delay --> DRRI reverb channel with the amps reverb on zero.

Good luck with your quest. Despite what a lot of folks say it isn't all in the fingers/hands. This of course is a topic of hot! debate. I think the guitar is 40% the amp 40% and the hands 20%. This is just tone not style/technique.

As to RFs bridge pickup. I have read that it broke and was rewound by Lindy Fralin to stock 60s spec. It could still have stronger magnets but the windings would be stock. You can make a tele sound (on the bridge pickup) a lot like a humbucker with the gain knob on the amp too.

Lastly there are a couple of amps out that really make me want to pull out my wallet. The first is the Glaswerks and the second is the Bludotone.
To my ear they nail the RF sound. Mosey on over to the vendor sites for clippage or to the Gear Page for comprehensive and I do MEAN comprehensive discussions on the RF Tone and how to get it.

I am not affiliated other than as a customer with any of the Brands named in this post. I have received no discount from any of the vendor's mentioned in this post.

[Mikka]

Hi !

I saw robben playing live some of the Tiger Walk LP songs with a maple neck vintage sratocaster and I think that Oasis could be recorded with that strat.

I can achive a closed sound with my maple neck strat and my DIY deluxe reverb clone.

Here is a sample


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