DAN-ELECTRO
Auerbach’s studio pedal essentials
“This is my pedalboard for the studio,” explains Dan, before we pick through a sample of his boutique and vintage stompbox collection. “I’ve also got a whole rack next to it that’s connected on a separate switcher that’s all linked up, so I’ve got about 20 wildly different sounds that I can call on instantly. It’s all meant for ease of use, and being able to cut fast.”
1. Lovetone Meatball
“That’s like an auto-wah [from renowned but defunct UK effects-maker Lovetone]. I didn’t use that on this record, though.”
2. Analog Man Beano Boost
“I love the Germanium Beano Boost [based on the old Dallas Rangemaster]. I loved the treble booster, I always have. That’s the kind of pedal you leave on all of the time and use the guitar volume control to adjust.”
3. Shin-ei Vibe-bro
“That’s the Univibe clone that they make down in Texas with a bunch of new-oldstock parts and it’s just a great, interesting sound. Apparently they bought up from the factory an old stock of circuit boards, switches, housings, pedals… it’s just crazy. So they sound like the originals and there’s nothing else like those. It’s a really amazing invention.”
4. 1970s Ibanez Fuzz
“That’s an Ibanez fuzz. It’s basically a Japanese octave fuzz. It’s a pedal that I’ve had for 15 years or more [the pedal itself dates back to the 70s]. I’ve used it on pretty much every Black Keys record I’ve ever made, even the first one.”
5. Fulltone Ultimate Octave “The Fulltone is cleaner sounding and less out-of-control. It gives me the cleaner, Octavia-style sound and then the Ibanez gives me that wild, Black Keys sound!”
6. Prescription Electronics Face Lift
“This is my other octave fuzz – I’ve got three octave fuzzes on the board and they’re all different styles. The octave fuzz side on the Face Lift is one of my favourite fuzz pedals, ever. Just the octave fuzz side, though. It’s fucking awesome. My cousin, Robert Quine,
who played for Lou Reed and Richard Hell and The Voidoids, first told me about Prescription Electronics pedals, back when I was 18. I probably have every pedal that company has ever made and they’re all great.”
Catalinbread Belle Epoch Deluxe [not shown]
“It’s just an analogue delay. I think they try to make the line-amp in it sound like the Maestro Echoplex EP-3 solid-state line-amp, which has a really cool sound. That pedal is just a great analogue delay. There’s a bunch of fun sounds in there.”
7. The Gigrig G2
“Everything goes through that, except for the wah. It’s essentially a patchbay for my pedals and it’s easy for me to understand and work around. It’s made working in the studio with guitar pedals a lot of fun. The best tools just get out of the way and let you do your thing.”
We read that around that time you’d also go to the public library to access video tapes of old blues players…
“Oh yeah, I would get all the Lomax videos [field recordings of blues musicians] and all the Yazoo Records. Yazoo had all the great stuff, like Furry Lewis, Lightnin’ Hopkins… and I could go and get all of that stuff for free. I don’t know how people listen to Robert Johnson records and figure out how to play it! That just seems crazy to me. But being able to see Fred Mcdowell play – to watch his fingers and be able to see what his right hand was doing and see his slide and be like, ‘Oh, it’s not a full-length slide, it’s just a little short thing’ – was really eyeopening, literally and figuratively! People are so spoiled now by Youtube that they don’t even think about it, but I used to have to go down to the library.”
Which blues guitarist would you recommend to readers?
“I think everybody has to go down their own little path. You have to listen to the music for yourself. I think that’s the point when you start to learn what you’re capable of, when you just stop listening to what everyone says and start to follow your own nose. It’s really important when you’re learning, because it’s those influences that are going to make you who you are. Stop thinking about labels and chord charts and just follow the things that make you feel good. That make you feel something. For me, I liked a very specific point when country-blues first went electric – that was my shit!”
Let’srock is clearly your love letter to electric guitar. What has the electric guitar given you?
“The electric guitar has given me everything I have! Honestly. It’s made me millions of dollars. It’s bought me my studio, my house, my cars. It’s put my kids through school. That’s what the electric guitar’s done for me, you know what I mean? I don’t take it lightly. I love all kinds of music, but there’s something about playing that electric guitar real loud that feels like home.”
“FOLLOW THINGS THAT MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD”