Phil Hilborne on ty tabor
Try your hand at the inventive rhythm style, phrasing and musical concepts of the King’s X guitarist
10-15 minutes per example
Tutor Phil hilborne | Gear used: ex 1-5: PRS McCarty 594 (left channel & solo); ’95 Fender Strat with bare Knuckle Irish Tour pickups (right channel); small amount of reverb and delay added to solo in the mix. ex 6: PRS McCarty 594 (left) Fret-King Corona P-90-style pickup selection (right channel).all examples: Yamaha DG60-112 close mic’d with a Sennheiser e906; ebow Plus used in the solo (ex 5)
I have been following Ty Tabor, King’s X and all their associated side projects since I first heard the band’s debut album, Out Of The Silent Planet way back in 1988. The band wrote brilliant songs such as King, Goldilox and Shot Of Love, which all became instant favourites. The distinctive guitar sound, the arrangements, the lead and harmony vocals, the solos and – particularly for me – the hugely inventive rhythm guitar playing were all standout aspects of the band’s approach. While the band unfathomably never broke into the mainstream, they were a big influence on some very successful bands, including Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains and many others.
The first four King’s X albums – Out Of The Silent Planet, Gretchen Goes To Nebraska,
Faith Hope Love and King’s X – saw Ty using pretty much the same gear: 70s Lab Series L5 amp, ’83/’84 Fender Elite Strat, plus Alesis Midiverb II and Ibanez DD200 Digital Delay. Not ‘rock star’ super-expensive gear and not a valve in sight! It wasn’t until 1994’s Dogman album that Mesa’s Dual Rectifiers were used. Ty’s recent amp maker of choice seems to be Orange, and his guitars include a Guilford Ty Tabor signature, Les Paul 50s Tribute Goldtop, Les Paul Custom,Yamaha AES920 and various Strats and ‘S’-style guitars.
Ty is a great all-round player with influences from The Beatles to Alex Lifeson, Johnny Winter, Brian May, Mel Galley (Trapeze) and Allan Holdsworth. His signature voice is a captivating mix of what he plays, how he plays (touch, dynamics, feel and timing) and his equipment choices. This track illustrates a few useful ideas – check out King’s X’s back catalogue, plus Ty’s solo efforts for even more. Great music is waiting to be discovered!
This is the final column from me for now – if you’d like to find out what I’m up to, subscribe to my YouTube channel and visit my Facebook pages and website. Cheers! www.philhilborne.co.uk