Duane Allman at the Fillmore with his "Hot 'lanta" darkburst Les Paul
Forum member, Drama, had a great idea for a patch. He wants Duane Allman’s
legendary “Live at the Fillmore East” tone. Who doesn’t?
I couldn’t resist taking a crack at this, since I’ve heard so much about
Duane, his gear, and tones over the years.
This is the tone (he comes in at about 3:00):
The Allman Brothers Band with Duane - Dreams - Fillmore East - 09/23/1970 - YouTube
After listening to this, I know you youngsters are saying, “that’s the thinnest
Les Paul sound I’ve ever heard, why does anyone want that??”. Because
you can’t hide behind it! It’s a plain, clear, sweet, volume compressed tone that
shows exactly who you are and what you can do. Duane made history with that tone.
THE AMPS -
He used two 50W Plexi heads (the model 1986 Bass/Lead). It is rumored his
amps were modified to be smoother. His cabs were Marshall 4x12’s with cutouts
in the back, making them more open sounding, with less mids and focus. They were
loaded with JBL D-120 alnico speakers. One of the best speakers ever made, they were often
used by pros in Fender amps, and contributed to Duane’s less-Marshall-y sound. Those JBL’s
don’t break up when you push them, they just get smooth and compressed. The
JBL K120-loaded Marshall 4x12 is the closest IR we have in the Axe II to the D series.
THE GUITAR-
The guitar you see in the vid is his “darkburst” tobacco sunburst ’58 Les Paul. He was known
for using vintage Les Pauls (a ’57 Goldtop, and a couple ’59 cherrybursts). The darkburst
(known as the “Hot’lanta” guitar) was acquired from Pop musician, Christopher Cross
(the same guy SRV got his “Number One” Strat from). The sound you hear in the vid is
the signature tone of real PAF pickups. Thin, reedy, and sweet. Nothing like modern humbuckers.
THE EFFECTS -
He only ever used one effect, but what he did with it became urban legend among guitarists of the day. He would use Fuzz Face's, but only load them with nearly dead carbon 9V batteries, claiming it gave the sweetest tone. So he used them more as a "flavored EQ" than a drive to hit the Marshall's input stage with, like Hendrix did. When I was coming up as a young player, EVERYBODY talked about this. THE 'secret' tone formula! I cranked the bias on the patch's Fuzzface drives way down to simulate this.
THE MAN –
If you are serious about playing electric guitar then investigating Duane Allman
is not optional. One of the best electric guitarists who ever lived. He was a famous
session player at the Muscle Schoals studio before the Allman Brothers. The recordings
done with ABB cemented his place in history. The three albums he did with them
are all classics (“The Allman Brothers Band”, “Idlewild South”, “Live at the Fillmore East”).
He was great at everything. Rhythm, lead, slide, even acoustic (check out “Little Martha”).
His nickname to friends in the business was, “Skydog”, reportedly because he was high
all the time (the whole Allman Brothers Band had psyilicibin mushrooms tattooed on their knees
as a symbol of their chemical brotherhood). In his life, Duane was as respected a player as
Clapton or Hendrix.
This sounds pretty good, played with a Les Paul-type guitar with low output PAF-style pickups.
Now I just need to get a “Duane’s Talent IR” together!