Two Worlds - Belladonna - Daniel Lanois

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onatonequest

Member
I am wondering if it is possible to recreate the thick syrupy distant 'am radio' compressed slide guitar texture and sound Daniel Lanois gets on the song Two Worlds on his Belladonna album. The sound is a classic slide sound that you could probably find on many older country music classics. I have never played a dedicated 'table type' slide. Does anyone know what kind of pedals were/are used on a dedicated slide? Maybe there is a base preset in the Axe that might be a good reference point? Any advice that might save me pain before I start creating would be appreciated!
 
I don't know the song you're talking about, but mostly pedal steel is played through clean amps, often solid state even. Probably some compression on it, maybe a hint of delay and/or verb. Not much else. Sometimes phase shifter I've heard. Occasionally a drive pedal, but mostly clean with a little bit of ambience and compression. When watching steel players, it becomes clear that the huge majority of their sound is coming through the instrument and hands. Not a lot of external processing.

On the other hand, it's Lanois, so who knows what all he might have put on there. Lanois seems like an Axe candidate if ever there was one. He creates some of the most gorgeous blend of "real" beautiful instruments/amps with digital time-based processing of anyone who ever lived. Emmylou Harris' Wrecking Ball CD is one of my all time fav discs and it's his production that takes it to a place she's never gone before. He's made some of the biggest selling recordings of a bunch of bands he's produced because he really knows how to take the strengths of an artist and create a fantastic sound context for them. U2, Peter Gabriel, Neville Brothers, Dylan among others all had huge success with him in the studio.
 
You got me fired up and I did a bunch of Lanois research. His website has a killer video with some awesome tones right on the home page. Here's something I found from Gearslutz where he did a Q & A. This is his setup with pedal steel.

"My guitar is a Sho-Bud Lloyd Green standard 10 string. I'm currently using a Morley volume pedal because it doesn't have a pot that eventually crackles! It uses an optic cell and runs on a battery. The battery lasts for ages. In the studio I prefer to use a Fender Tweed Deluxe 1959. Live I use my Vox AC-30 1962. Playing soft with the right hand and cranking the amp up loud increases my chances of harmonic interplay. The intro to Jimi's Foxy Lady is my source of inspiration for what I'm talking about. Microphone choices - dynamic mic like a 57 or 409 or a ribbon like a Coles or 77 for a darker tone. Usually a 1066 preamp and no compression."

That crank the amp and dial the guitar back a little and/or play soft is something I've really been exploring on the Axe. You can get a lot of beautiful harmonics and color doing that. Then mix in some delay, maybe subtle pitch shifting, Lanois. As if.
 
love Daniel Lanois,but when I saw him play guitar live(with Tortoise as his band) it was brutally painful.Really reminded me how different live vs studio can be.Same thing with David Torn :( boooo
 
MikeyB59 said:
You got me fired up and I did a bunch of Lanois research. His website has a killer video with some awesome tones right on the home page. Here's something I found from Gearslutz where he did a Q & A. This is his setup with pedal steel.

"My guitar is a Sho-Bud Lloyd Green standard 10 string. I'm currently using a Morley volume pedal because it doesn't have a pot that eventually crackles! It uses an optic cell and runs on a battery. The battery lasts for ages. In the studio I prefer to use a Fender Tweed Deluxe 1959. Live I use my Vox AC-30 1962. Playing soft with the right hand and cranking the amp up loud increases my chances of harmonic interplay. The intro to Jimi's Foxy Lady is my source of inspiration for what I'm talking about. Microphone choices - dynamic mic like a 57 or 409 or a ribbon like a Coles or 77 for a darker tone. Usually a 1066 preamp and no compression."

That crank the amp and dial the guitar back a little and/or play soft is something I've really been exploring on the Axe. You can get a lot of beautiful harmonics and color doing that.. Then mix in some delay, maybe subtle pitch shifting, Lanois. As if.
Click to expand...

I love Lanois, too. I love his harmonics--Eric Johnson and Sonny Landreth also have great harmonics--I'm always trying to get those sounds. What's anybody think works best for this on the axe?
 
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