Casiopea Jazz / Fusion tone

Kamil Kisiel

Kamil Kisiel

Power User
I've been trying to get a tone similar to Issei Noro's in this video:



... it's a pretty unique sound, but I'm not sure what kind of effects / amps etc to use to replicate it. I'm pretty sure there's a flanger and maybe some chorus, and I've been using the Jazz-120 model with the bridge humbucker on my Les Paul but I still don't feel like I'm really close enough. Does anyone have any suggestions for things to experiment with?
 
I got you. Casiopea rules! Been working on an Issei Noro patch for a while. It's not anywhere close to being accurate IMO, but it's close-ish.

His amp, the Yamaha DG-1000, is not modeled (though it's got a very unique tone, and I wish it were modeled, as Allan Holdsworth also used this amp). So I went with a Hipower (Brilliant) and the Tube Pre. The Hiwatt is just because I think it's a good clean amp, and it takes effects well, and the Tube Pre is pretty flat so it adds a bit more of that old school SS rack preamp sound.

Threw a flanger --> Tape drive --> 80ms delay, before the amp to go for that sort of late 70s/early 80s vibe where the flange and delay would push the amp a little. Put a bit of quad chorus after the cabs, just to help get the sort of modulated sound Noro usually uses.

There's a -1 octave pitch block at the beginning, with the "mix" mapped to expression pedal 1, since he has octave mixed in on melody lines a lot. I'm using the OC-2 (Octave Div) version of that block in this patch, as I assume it's similar to what he would have used, being a japanese guitarist in the late 70s/early 80s. It seems to auto-duck on the higher frequencies, which works out fairly well if you just want to leave it on all the time (though it doesn't track chords, so turn it off for that).

Here's the patch, let me know how it works for you, and if you make any changes you like, please share them with me.
 

Attachments

  • Noro Lead.syx
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Awesome! Thanks for the info and the patch. I'm going to give this a try this weekend and see how it works out.

I think in this video and the other early ones he wasn't using a DG-1000 which afaik didn't exist yet. It's also a kind of "modelling" amplifier, except I think they used solid state circuits to model the response of tubes, so I'm not surprised it's not modelled in the Axe-FX. I'm pretty sure he was playing a G-100 2x12 (or two) in this video and other early 80s ones I've seen.
 
I hope you enjoy it!

Yeah, that's true about the amps. The clean sounds he used on the G-100 and the DG-1000 are pretty similar though (probably that same circuit was modeled in the DG). I believe he's been using the DG1000 since it came out, and still uses it to this day. Here's the most recent photo I can find of his set-up:

p1000626.jpg
http://yamahaartblog.lekumo.biz/photos/uncategorized/2010/02/08/p1000626.jpg

Real DG-1000s are rad as hell. They even had motorized knobs to store your patches.

I know Cliff doesn't usually do these types of amps, but this one is pretty iconic (especially considering how many guys use the Axe FX for Holdsworth worship). Just a wish that I know will never be fulfilled.
http://yamahaartblog.lekumo.biz/photos/uncategorized/2010/02/08/p1000626.jpg
I forgot to mention it in my post, but I've found that if you boost the level of the tape drive in the patch, it sounds more like his live tone. The settings currently are more of his album sound (it's a bit cleaner). I think with the tape level boosted, it sounds a bit better actually.
 
Yeah I know he's using it now, I'm more after that really old school sound I guess :) I'm a big Holdsworth fan as well so I agree it would be cool to have this tone available, but I'm sure it's possible to achieve something similar using the existing models... it's just going to take a more tweaking. I'm still working on understanding the advanced amp parameters.
 
MrGuitarabuse said:
Ahhh... good ole stuff. Love casiopea. Current keyboard player Ms Kiyomi Otaka is a good friend of my gf. See if I can meet up with them next time in Tokyo and give you a "rig rundown" present and old used gear.
Click to expand...

That's rad as hell and it would be amazing to get word from the man himself. Otaka is a fantastic keyboardist as well, I was always impressed with her both in and out of Casiopea. Be sure to tell them they have fans in Canada!

I'm a big Holdsworth fan as well so I agree it would be cool to have this tone available, but I'm sure it's possible to achieve something similar using the existing models...
Click to expand...

Check out Daryll Gabel's work on Holdsworth tones. He does a really great job capturing them (his playing is out of this world too).
 
Oh cool, somehow hadn't seen that Holdsworth thread of Daryll's, I will check those out for sure.

I'm also from Canada :)
 
Amazing. What a great opportunity. I’d love to just be able to see them play.
My news is that I got a hold of an SG2000! They’re pretty rare in Canada but I found someone selling a 1979 locally a couple months ago. It’s in great shape but unfortunately one of the previous owners replace the bridge pickup with something that sounds terrible, so I bought a set of Bareknuckle Abraxis to replace both. One of the pots was broken too so I decided to scrap the electronics and replace them with push pull pots all around and set it up for the “Jimmy Page” wiring. Should be a killer guitar when finished and great for that fusion jazzy sound :)
 
Despite only having 6 "models", my DG-1000 was the modeler that I enjoyed the most next to the Fractals. Those motorized knobs were the bomb.
 
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