Roger Fisher’s ‘Barracuda’ Gear (and Other Tidbits)
December 4, 2009 | By
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Rog with a bow! (RogerFisher.com photo)
Howard Leese’s Gear Too; Replace Ace?
To me, the Heart tune “Barracuda” is one of those perfect songs. Everything’s great: guitar, drums (watch it on YouTube) and the singing, which is just amazing. We’ve all heard the song hundreds of times, but there’s precious little about the gear Roger Fisher and fellow guitarist Howard Leese used on the tune.
Here’s what Roger had to say about it to WoodyTone, followed by some notes on Howard’s Barracuda gear – as well as some info on how the Wilson sisters got control of Heart, how KISS asked Roger to audition for the band and other interesting items.
WoodyTone: Gear-wise, Barracuda is one of the most studied Heart tunes, in part because of that unique flanger sound. Do you remember what gear you used for that tune?
Roger: A Strat – not sure about the year. I think it was a Music Man head [Leo Fender-designed, solid-state preamp, 6L6 power tubes], don’t remember the wattage. I think we had a little 2×12 cab, maybe custom-made, I would go through, then on stage [at times it was at the front of the stage, facing Roger] we’d throw a baffle in front so I could play it really loud – because the best way I know of getting good sustain while maintaining a fairly clean tone is you just have to go for volume…unless you have the luxury of having close proximity to your amp, pointing right at you at guitar height. The cab had Celestions, but I don’t remember what wattage.
The flanger was a kit that I originally bought from a company called Phoenix Systems from Massachusetts. It’s the same flanger sound used in “Mistral Wind,” and there isn’t really another flanger that sounds like it. This new flanger that came out called the Barracuda flanger, endorsed by Howard Leese, doesn’t sound like that Phoenix Systems flanger. [Obviously his opinion and his ears, but judging by forum activity several folks disagree.]
When I was playing the riff, it was just a fun guitar riff to play so it was just natural to try a few different things. And one of the things we tried was the flanger. It worked, and that was that.
Do you remember where the flanger was in the signal chain? [It was a rack unit.]
I think the Music Man head had an effects loop, and I think the flanger was in the effects loop. I think I had the flanger just about as slow as it could go.
How about those laser-like sounds near the end of the tune? They sound like they have a flanger on them. Was that a synthesizer?
The way that occurred is I was leaning over my amp with my guitar on to adjust something, or maybe a pick had fallen behind the amp or something, and when I got the guitar close to the amp head – the flanger was on – we heard that sound. The producer, Mike Flicker, said, ‘We have to record that sound – it’s really cool! What should we call it?’ I said, ‘Call it Alien Attack.’ So we named it that on the console.
Roger (right) and Howard, a heck of a team. (RogerFisher.com photo, click to see it WAY bigger)
Howard’s ‘Barracuda’ Gear
Howard was also an integral part of Heart, and lasted longer in the band than Roger. the following gear details are from
a Vintage Guitar magazine interview, and all quotes are Howard’s.
The guitar was a ’66 Fender Telecaster, used to record ‘Barracuda,’ ‘Magic Man,’ ‘Crazy On You’ and possibly other Heart tunes. Its prior owner was Mars Bonfire, who used it to write and record Steppenwolf’s ‘Born to be Wild.’ Now that’s a Tele with some mojo.
Howard: “I still have it. It’s a ’66 with a painted headstock…. This is the guitar on which the song that contained the first reference to ‘heavy metal’ was written: ‘heavy metal thunder’ [in 'Born to be Wild']. It was originally black but I sanded it down to bare wood; you can see that in old Heart photos. Then I retired and restored it. I’ve had it since high school.
“That Tele took me from Los Angeles to Vancouver, and all around the world. I put a humbucker in it, changed the tuners, and added a Yamaha roller bridge and Bigsby. Like we all did in the ’70s, I took it apart and made it the way I wanted it. The only original parts [now], aside from the body and furniture, are the bridge pickup and its stock wiring.”
He thinks his amp on ‘Barracuda’ was a ’56 4×10 Fender Bassman, presumably a combo. “I plugged into both channels and cranked it,” he said.
“I paid $140 for the guitar and $160 for the amp. My entire gear investment was 300 bucks (laughs)! That’s what I went on tour with, that rig and a folding chair for an amp stand.”
