POLICE
Là, tout de suite maintenant. Bref, ce qu'Andy Summers va trimballer pour la tournée intimiste qui se prépare.
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From the latest issue of Guitar Player:
Guitars: Fender Custom Shop Andy Summers Signature Tele, A Custom Shop Replica of his Red Strat, Fender VG Stratocaster
Amps - Wet/Dry configuration: Custom Audio OD100 (dry), Carvin DCM150 (for wet sounds), all hooked up to four Mesa Boogie 2x12 Recto series cabs
FX: Bradshaw V-Comp Tube compressor, Boss RC-20XL loop station and TU-2 tuner, Eventide Eclipse, Fulltone Ultimate Octave, G2D Cream Tone, Klon Centaur, Lexicon PCM70, Love Eternity Overdrive, Maxon SD9, MoogerFooger MF-104Z Analog Delay, Red Witch Empress Chorus and Moon Phaser, TC Electronic 1210 Spatial Expander and D-2 delay, Z. Vex. Fuzz Factory, Zoom distortion, Bradshaw Switchers and footcontroller with expander
Other crap: Voodoo Labs Pedal Power, Furman Power conditioner, Peterson Tuner, Sennheiser wireless
Strings: D'Addario EXL 115, Dunlop picks
EDIT 2 : et encore, si vous aimez ça
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What kind of rig where you running during the band’s early days?
I had simple tools—a Telecaster, a Fender Twin, and maybe an MXR Phase 90. All sound and tone came from my hands and judicious twiddling of knobs on the Twin.
But by 1979’s Reggatta de Blanc more colors were in the mix.
Basically, I added effects as I could afford them. The next thing I got was a chorus, and that—along with the Echoplex—became very characteristic of the Police sound. I probably got up to four pedals taped to the floor before it became apparent we were going somewhere, and, in fact, I could afford a custom Pete Cornish pedalboard with a MuTron, a couple of fuzz boxes, an envelope filter, chorus units, and phasers—all of which I’d combine with the Echoplex.
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What is your typical picking technique?
I use a lot of classical technique, so I’m always concerned about my right hand. “Bring On the Night,” for example, is like a classical arpeggio that I play using pima fingering [p = thumb, i = index finger, m = middle finger, a = ring finger]. Over the years, I’ve developed a technique of palming my pick, so I can switch back and forth between playing with my fingers, and playing with a pick. The pick is an extension of the hand, and I like a stiff pick because it pushes the phrasing back into your hands. I find it very difficult to use a flexible pick to play a solo. You have two things moving at once—the strings are vibrating, and the floppy pick is moving, and I don’t think you really want that. However, when I play a song that requires rhythmic strumming, such as “The Bed’s Too Big Without You,” I like to use a thin Herco pick, because I immediately feel the flexibility in my hand, and I start playing looser. I like a pretty fast action, but I also like to get my fingers under the strings, so I don’t want the strings rattling on the fretboard.
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Given that it has been 20-some years since the last Police tour, how will technological advances affect your reinterpretation of the songs?
I’ve got a Bradshaw switching system that’s more powerful than the old Pete Cornish pedalboard I used back then. I can blend pedals together, and keep re-coloring the songs as I go—which is something I wouldn’t have done in the old days, when I might have just hit a chorus, and then gone from the chorus to a fuzz box. Now, it’s a much more sophisticated blend—much hipper and smoother. It also sounds better. I can run the amp clean, and use the various fuzz boxes for the overdrive stuff.
Also, one of the key things we’re doing this time is taking the wet/dry approach. I’m using four 2x12 Mesa/Boogie cabinets—which I love—and running the dry signal to the two center cabs, and routing the effects in stereo to the two outer cabs. The stereo sound is huge, and it’s really beautiful.
Could you detail how you “re-color” the songs?
Once I’ve programmed the sounds for each section of a song, I’m locked into those sounds, but, at the same time, I can override anything in the heat of the moment. If I feel there’s not enough fuzz, I can add in another distortion box. If I feel the distortion is too much for a part, I can pull it out, or add a phaser, a chorus, or a delay. I can just kick them straight in.
Do you tend to find sounds for the songs fairly easily, or do you sweat over every minute tonal color?
The process is between agonizing and organic. I absolutely want the guitar to sound tonally interesting throughout the set. We’ll rehearse, and then I’ll get together with Dennis [Smith, Summers’ tech], and think about different combinations of pedals and different nuances of sound. We’ll worry over things such as whether using the Love Eternity pedal with the Centaur is too much, or whether I should use the Centaur by itself, and just wind it up a little bit. I’m very aware that I have this vast palette of color at my control. I’ve got the whole orchestra over on my side! So I’ll keep fiddling around with sounds until I feel I’ve gotten the most juice out of the combinations of pedals. It’s a pleasant obsession.
So are you saying you never stop futzing with the sounds?
The basic sounds will stay in place, but I don’t think the programs will ever be absolutely set, because you must take into account the considerations of the acoustic environment you’re performing in. For example, everything might sound great in our rehearsal space in Italy, but I might need to rethink a few things once we’re on a giant stage.
Do you have a favorite effects combo?
The Eventide Eclipse is the most incredible piece of outboard gear I’ve got. I can get some really interesting sounds with that unit. It does a great reverse echo that I use for “Tea in the Sahara” when I play all these Lenny Breau harmonics. I also blend in an infinite reverb on the Lexicon PCM 70 to get this amazing sonic palette going that just builds on itself beautifully.
Pour les maniaques :
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Amps: Custom Audio OD100 (Settings: Channel One, Bright switch active, Gain 1 = 1, Bass = 7, Middle = 3.5, Treble = 4.5, Level 1 = 6)
Pour ceux qui aurait du mal à lire sur la photo plus haut :
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Summers crafts his tones with the help of a custom, V-shaped Bob Bradshaw switching system. Most of the stompboxes and signal processors are loaded in an off-stage rack, but the guitarist opted to keep a few “oft tweaked” devices—such as the Moogerfooger Analog Delay and Boss Loop Station—easily accessible on the floorboard. Summers’ assistant/tech, Dennis Smith, has an identical Bradshaw unit he can use to switch patches off stage whenever the guitarist isn’t near the pedalboard. Although Summers constantly refines his settings, here are some of the Bradshaw-controlled signal chains he was employing during the initial rehearsals for the Police tour.
“Can’t Stand Losing You”
Intro: Lexicon PCM 70
Dirty Bit: Love Eternity Overdrive + PCM 70
Solo: Red Witch Empress Chorus + Eventide Eclipse + PCM 70 + T.C. Electronic TC1210 Spatial Expander/Stereo Chorus/Flanger
Jam: Bob Bradshaw V-Comp Tube Compressor + Moogerfooger MF-104Z Analog Delay + Klon Centaur
Instrumental Section: Red Witch Moon Phaser + Eternity Overdrive + PCM 70 + Centaur
Vocal Jam: V-Comp Tube Compressor + MF-104Z Analog Delay + Centaur
End: Eternity Overdrive + PCM 70
Outro: V-Comp Tube Compressor + Eternity Overdrive + MF-104Z Analog Delay
“Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
Start: Empress Chorus + Eclipse + PCM 70 + Centaur
Middle: Eclipse (In the old days, this part was performed with a Roland guitar synth)
End: Empress Chorus + Eclipse + Centaur
“Spirits in the Material World”
Start/Bridge: Empress Chorus + PCM 70 + Spatial Expander/Stereo Chorus/Flanger
Instrumental Section: Empress Chorus + Eclipse + PCM 70 + Centaur
“Synchronicity II”
Start: Eternity Overdrive + Empress Chorus + PCM 70
Solo: Eternity Overdrive + Empress Chorus + PCM 70 + Centaur + Z. Vex Fuzz Factory
lemgement lemg
