MICK TAYLOR I Scream Therefore I Am
FORMER GUITARIST EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND CO-HOST OF ‘THAT PEDAL SHOW’ MICK TAYLOR RECALLS HOW THE TUBE SCREAMER BECAME AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF HIS SIGNATURE SOUND
“Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing to begin with. It probably started with the ‘Silverface’ Twins I stumbled upon aged about 16. I’d seen pictures of SRV with Fender amps that looked similar and – given that I was 16 and ‘knew everything’ – I thought it was all down to these behemoth 70s clean monsters, as opposed to a beautiful 60s Vibroverb! Nevertheless, I plugged the Strat into the Vibrato channel, flicked the Bright switch on, turned it up and… Ouch! One trip to the music store later, a used Boss OD-1 and a new SD-1 improved things no end. Until somebody finally pointed out the little green box at Stevie’s feet.
“Since then I’ve become accustomed to 50 per cent of guitar players telling me they hate Tube Screamers, while the other 50 per cent would never be without one. If you live in my world of vintage-style Strats and predominantly black-panel-derived amps, something TS-flavoured is basically essential. That characteristic 500 to 800Hz hump fattens things where a Strat loves it, but the bass roll-off and lack of drive in the lowest frequencies keeps it all clear and defined – which is what you need when your amp starts to flub out in the low-end.
“At the opposite end, a marked treble roll off meant the old Twin’s Bright switch was rendered less unpleasant while the pedal’s compression – that simply doesn’t work for a lot of humbucker-and-crunchy-amp people – is exactly what the clean, strident Fender amp needed to make it feel a bit more forgiving. All I had to do now was tune to E and that weak-sounding Strat was transformed into a sledgehammer. Placed as a boost after a decent Fuzz Face, the TS made it borderline god-like.
“Years later, I’ve often wondered if what I was actually chasing was simply the sound and feel of a Strat plugged into a semidimed Plexi. Either way, the Tube Screamer was, is and hopefully always will be a rite of passage: an essential piece of the tonal tool kit as you learn what lights you up and what leaves you cold. Thank you, Mr Tamura, and thank you, Tube Screamer. You have truly helped to make me who I am.” www.thatpedalshow.com