Lukather 1990 "Live in Paris" tone!

G

guitarnerdswe

Fractal Fanatic
I thought I'd share this one with you :)

It's my Soldano X99 based Lukather tone from around 1990. I tried to make it as authentic as possible, so I modelled all the effects he used, plus no poweramp sim (straight preamp sounds for Luke during this time, into a SS poweramp). In the preset, I also have the same pitch settings that he used in his SPX900, a very close version of his TC1210 chorus, and both the Circular and Panned Delays from the Lexicon PCM70s. I also have a general hall reverb in the preset. The pitch shift and reverb was ALWAYS ON during this time of Lukes sound.

FOR LEADS: He normally used just the Circular Delays (Multi Dly 1) for leads, and sometimes kicked in the Panned Delays (Multi Dly 2) for really big leads. He also used the chorus sometimes to really spread the sound out (like "Little Wing" from the Paris concert, and parts of "Without your love"). I have to point out that i didn't play rhythm on the lead channel, as it was too thick.

FOR CLEANS: If he played something funky and tight, if was normally just the pitch, compressor and reverb. For big chords and stuff, he addes the chorus, and sometimes one and both of the delays. I adjusted the compression to sound like his, so it uses the RMS detection.



I hope you enjoy it :)

EDIT: I will continue to update these presets when new firmware hits. My goal is for these presets to always sound the best with the current firmware.

Last update 23 jan 2012
 

Attachments

  • LUKATHER 1990 CLEAN.syx
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  • LUKATHER 1990 LEAD.syx
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WOW, thanks a bunch! Very generous! Heaven will be your fate :)
I was just gonna make a thread "I would KILL for a patch like this." LOL

If it sounds like anything :p maybe I will try my version of the video's Georgy Porgy solo with it!
Just need to work out a half-speed ending lick, do 32 punch-ins and work on my timing for two weeks :mrgreen

Am just working on finetuning and restringing my Luke, so that's good timing for starters ;)

I will seriously try to do the clip. I owe it to you.

The funny part is: when you hear back the video, the sound is not *that* good LOL
We are spoiled now...

I hope the "huge delay" is also built-in? Cause I've never been able to come close so far...
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/ultra...steve-lukather-delay-use-|-final-mystery.html
 
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Hi!

It would be nice with a clip, I'm too lazy to do one myself :D
I agree with you on the sound of Paris 1990. It's a bit too washy. I have a bunch of soundboard bootlegs from that tour, and you can hear that the sound is much clearer than the Paris concert, which got drenched in reverb at mixing.

The huge delay is probably both delay at the same time. I've set the levels to sound like Luke, Panned Delays louder than the Circular ones.

Regards
Niklas
 
vAmp said:
Toto - Georgy Porgy (Live in Paris 1990) - YouTube
If someone has ever seen an EXACT transcription of that last lick?
It's too messy to make out, I've tried before with Transcribe.
I could then record it at 1/4 speed and speed it up later :mrgreen
Or no, I'll just drown it in reverb :p

Here's some sort of BT for it: backing track georgy porgy 1990.wmv - YouTube
Click to expand...

I have a tab for the solo, not sure if it perfect correct. pm me your email and I send it to you, cant upload .gp5 files here it seems
 
Thanks. I play most of it like him, but I'd love to just know the last part (I couldn't play it and I have some half-baked alternative almost ready).
 
Thanks i always loved his sound in that era... Shame i sold my mm Luke years ago :( Without your love frome that concert is great to .
 
Niklas.. do you have any attempt on clean lukather tone from back in the 80´s? or some suggestion gear wise what Luke was using? I suspect its some kind of chorus/detune heavily compressed
 
Hi!

He uses the exact same chorus/detune and delays, exept he adds compression. He used a Boogie for cleans up until 1988, then it was the clean channel of the Soldano X88R until around 1991. I will post a patch later!
 
Niklas Nilsson said:
Hi!

He uses the exact same chorus/detune and delays, exept he adds compression. He used a Boogie for cleans up until 1988, then it was the clean channel of the Soldano X88R until around 1991. I will post a patch later!
Click to expand...

Thanks, good stuff. Cant test it until getting the AXE II but Im sure it will be kickass for some flashbacks from the 80´s solos ;)
 
Thanks to this preset I now know for sure that the monitors I'm testing from a friend are worthless for the Axe, that's how shitty it all sounds! :mrgreen Amp, pitch, ... all garbage! I hope it will be better through the Atomics. I cannot record a demo with this sound.

How are you using it, Niklas? (monitors, cabs?)

The monitors are old Roland monitors: Roland DS90A
Well, maybe they are ok, but it is me that can't get used to it?
Often the same preset through the Atomics will sound "10 times better" (and more "realerer" ;))

(Thanks for the additional goodies!)
 
I use IEM live (Sensaphonics 2MAX with a Sennheiser system). At home I just use a Logitech 3 way system. I find that it works fine for what I need. I'm so used to how they sound that dailing in tones is not too difficult.
 
"Not too bad" on the Atomics! 8) Have to get used to it a bit and need a chance to play with serious volume and I will have fun with it.
It has way too much gain to record with though :p I could try a muffler on the neck...:eek:ops
Have to try the clean still...
 
After Niklas posted the Lukather 1990 patch I didn’t feel like his settings were quite 100% there. So I went back to the drawing board to see if I could make it even more accurate ….

And if any of you guys frequent HRI ( like I do ), I think you’ve probably all heard of “Flukather” …. Seems like everyone was in agreement that his PCM-70 settings for the Circular Delay were dead on. So I dug them out again, and then started to work on it.

HUGE Thanks to Al Estrada who bailed me out because he just happened to have a couple of clips that he recently recorded using a PCM-70 ( Circular, Panned and both ) solo’ed out so you could easily hear how they bounced, decayed and diffused … !

Niklas had the delay times cold, I rearranged them thinking the order of the taps might matter ( but they don’t ). I only changed a couple of other things ( mainly Feedback and Level ). While I can’t play the same lick Al did, I think it’s VERY close based on the way it tails off at the end.

Here’s what I changed ( Circular Delay ):

Master/Mix Page:
Diffusion Time: 50.0 ( much longer than that and there’s a metallic ring that gets annoying )
Diffusion: 15.0

Delays:
Time 1: 292
Feedback 1: 30.0
Level 1: 85.0 ( I think this is the setting for -3 dB )
Pan 1: -100.0

Time 2: 584
Feedback 2: 12.5
Level 2: 100.0
Pan 2: 100.0

Time 3: 888
Feedback 3: 8.0
Level 3: 100.0
Pan 3: 0.0

Time 4: 1
Feedback 4: 0.0
Level 4: 0.0
Pan 4: 0.0

What struck me the most, was just how long it took for the sound to trail off ( a little over 3 full seconds ) !

And I didn’t mention the Mix or Level, because depending on whether you prefer to run Parallel or Series, it will make a huge difference. Besides, that’s to taste anyway !
 
Next, for the Panned Delay, I changed from Niklas’s Multi-Delay Block to the Dual Delay …. I think it might save a few CPU cycles ? And plus, you will be able to have spillover if you want it, whereas you can’t have spillover with the Multi-Delay ….

Here’s the settings I came up with:

Time/FB:
Time L: 768
Feedback L>L: 20.0
Feedback R>L: 0.0
Level L: 100.0
Pan L: -100.0

Time R: 376
Feedback R>R: 50.0
Feedback L>L: 0.0
Level R: 100.0
Pan R: 100.0

I didn’t hear much Diffusion ( if any at all ) in Al’s Panned Delay clip, so I turned them as close to “0” as possible.

And as with the Circular Delay …, this one might take even longer to fully trail off …. Al’s clip cut off after 3 seconds, and it sounded like there might have been a couple of repeats left !

Same as before, Mix & Level to taste !
 
R.D. said:
After Niklas posted the Lukather 1990 patch I didn’t feel like his settings were quite 100% there. So I went back to the drawing board to see if I could make it even more accurate ….

And if any of you guys frequent HRI ( like I do ), I think you’ve probably all heard of “Flukather” …. Seems like everyone was in agreement that his PCM-70 settings for the Circular Delay were dead on. So I dug them out again, and then started to work on it.

HUGE Thanks to Al Estrada who bailed me out because he just happened to have a couple of clips that he recently recorded using a PCM-70 ( Circular, Panned and both ) solo’ed out so you could easily hear how they bounced, decayed and diffused … !

Niklas had the delay times cold, I rearranged them thinking the order of the taps might matter ( but they don’t ). I only changed a couple of other things ( mainly Feedback and Level ). While I can’t play the same lick Al did, I think it’s VERY close based on the way it tails off at the end.

Here’s what I changed ( Circular Delay ):

Master/Mix Page:
Diffusion Time: 50.0 ( much longer than that and there’s a metallic ring that gets annoying )
Diffusion: 15.0

Delays:
Time 1: 292
Feedback 1: 30.0
Level 1: 85.0 ( I think this is the setting for -3 dB )
Pan 1: -100.0

Time 2: 584
Feedback 2: 12.5
Level 2: 100.0
Pan 2: 100.0

Time 3: 888
Feedback 3: 8.0
Level 3: 100.0
Pan 3: 0.0

Time 4: 1
Feedback 4: 0.0
Level 4: 0.0
Pan 4: 0.0

What struck me the most, was just how long it took for the sound to trail off ( a little over 3 full seconds ) !

And I didn’t mention the Mix or Level, because depending on whether you prefer to run Parallel or Series, it will make a huge difference. Besides, that’s to taste anyway !
Click to expand...

Well, as I said over at HRI, my presets are as correct as the Axe-FX II will allow, giving each unit has it's own sound. That said, yours does sound nice, but it's not as accurate. Some pointers:

70.7% is the -3db settings. I asked Cliff myself ;)

The diffusion setting in the PCM70 is actually the diffusion TIME, not the diffusion itself. The diffusion in the PCM70s is always on max, and you only control the time. You hear that reverb-ish effect between the repeat on your settings? They are not there on the PCM70. That's because the time is too long. The Axe-FX II has MUCH MUCH greater control of the time (much greater than the Ultra, so I adjusted it as well), so diffusion should be at full, and the time very low. The metallic sound you hear when the time is long, that's just how the Axe-FX IIs diffusion sounds. The original is grainer (Cliff noted this as well).

What you're doing with adding feedback to the other delay lines, is that you're crossmixing the feedback. It's a cool sound, but none of the PCM70 presets do this.

As for the panned delays, there is a distinct difference between using a multitap delay and a dual delay. The dual delays are 2 totally independant delays, that have nothing do with each other if you don't crossmix the feedback. A multitap is just a single delay, but it reuses the same repeat (or "tap"). So basically, with the circular delays, you have 3 delays taps, each 888ms long, but starting at different times :)
 
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