A "Yes" guitar tone question, from "Fragile"

[Sabe]

Hi DUC guitarists, composers, engineers and the like,

I have been mystified by this for 30 years!

Since 1972 I have admired Steve Howe's guitar tone on the album "Fragile".

Particularly on the song "South Side of the Sky", after the keyboard break, Steve uses a very expressive, agressive tone. I love that sound! Does anybody know what he actually played to achieve that tone..? I do realize, of course, a lot of it is in the guitarist hand technique, but still..... My guess is he is using a 335 with a Vox amp..(cranked)? Maybe some light chorus (was a chorus pedal even invented then..? or did they just offset delay with modulation..?), though a 335 has a natural chorusing sound to it anyways.

Does anyone, by chance, know what he played on this song..? Or would care to venture a guess..?

Thanks for any forthcoming ideas or knowledge [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[silence_of_stone]

South side of the sky is one of my favorite songs. I honestly dont even know what kind of guitar he was playing on that album. I need to go home and have a listen because I never really thought much about how he played all that. I figured it was out of my league anyway [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Numachida]

I believe that the main guitar used on Fragile was his ES-175, probably through a Fender Dual-Showman. I haven't heard of his using a 335 style guitar with Yes until Close to the Edge, for which he used an ES-345.

[Roy Howell]

Numachida,
I think you're exactly right. I saw Yes just prior to the release of 'Close to the Edge'(5th row [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] ), and I'm sure he played an ES345 on 'Siberian Khatru' (first time I'de ever heard the song). It was also the first time I'de ever seen a guitarist with guitars mounted on stands, so he could just step up and play them, with his regular guitar strapped on.
The song that absolutely blew me away though, was 'And You and I', because when they did the incredible middle movement, it was like hearing music in slow-motion. It was and still is truly brilliant, and I think Steve Howe played a steel guitar during that part.
That concert changed the whole way I looked at music and theory itself forever. Just incredible.

[gerax]

Numachida

I think you're right, I saw Yes a couple of years ago (not so lucky as you Roy [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] ), and Steve Howe's setup was just that, he kept switching between ES-175 nad ES-345, with a strat in the middle for Owner of a lonely heart; plus he had the same 2 Fender Shoman (which I understand have been tweaked and modified) and various acoustics and pedal steel, plus some switching system/pedals that I couldn't see (they were hidden by his monitors).

L.G.

[Sabe]

Thanks everyone, for the thoughts on this thread. I apologize for taking sooooooo long to get back to it.

silence_of_stone - Have you had a chance to listen to the CD yet since your post..? Just curious [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Numachida - Is a Dual Showman loaded with 2 -12's, open back..? what is the power rating..? Also, is a 175 a "slimmer" version of a 335..?

Roy Howell - ..all I can say is WOW!! You saw them at what I consider to be thier "grandest" years. I know what you mean about thier melodic weavings and how it can impact your ear/theory. Of all my favs "Yes" is the only one I haven't seen perform live.........yes, I am envious/jealous WAY MUCH!!

gerax - thank you for post [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[graveleye]

Sabe, I am so sorry - I thought I had Fragile on disc and I was wrong. I have it on album, but the needle's broke on my turntable. Now I have an excuse to go to the store for a new disc though...
Happy New Year [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[English Jim]

A Dual Showman is either 100 or or 135 watts (depends on the year) piggback style amp. The cab is sealed with 2 x 15" speakers.

An ES175 is the thick (4") bodied single florentine (pointy) cutaway guitar Howe is most associated with, though it is really more of a jazz guitar.

[rascalmanny]

ES345 into Fender amp. What a combanation. Most rockers go for the Marshal (it does rock!). What I first learned from Howe though is to really lighten up on the distortion. Listen to how clean he plays most of the time. "Howe clean." It cuts through so much better. You don't normally think "clean" when thinking of rock music. Of course Yes isn't just rock music.

Now when I try out amps I listen to the clean sound and how much headroom is there. You want plenty of power to go with it too.

I've seen Yes two times, including the recent "best of" tour they did just a while back.
I never thought I'd see them play "Close to the Edge" but when they started in on it I just froze. Magical. Then they played "Ritual". If they had played "The Revealing Science of God" (they didn't) it would have been complete.

[RangerJay]

The Fender "Dual Showman" was issued as an answer to the original "Showman," with a lot more power.

The "Dual Showman" was issued to accompany a big cabinet with two 15-inch speakers. This makes for a different sound than the "Twin," which had two 12-inch speakers.

I played one for several years (ca. 1978?), but grew disgruntled because of a lack of "overdrive." The circuit is basically like a "Twin Reverb," but slightly voiced for 15-inch speakers. It will NOT distort, even at a volume setting of 10. The speakers will quake, but the amp is designed to provide "clean" tone at 100 or so watts. Steve Howe got and gets his tone from using a variety of Gibson semi-hollow-bodied guitars plugged into mostly Fender tube amps.

A "Dual Showman" is a LOUD frigging amplifier.

Did I mention that it is LOUD?

I mean LOUD! The "Dual Showman" sounds great when you set the Volume knob at 10 (there is no Master Volume knob on these amps). You gotta be careful, 'cause you can kill a small child with the volume that one of these amps can produce.

I ain't kidding, here.