boston tone

[b-squared]

No one ever said it was one guitar...

BB

[zslane]

I have always loved the Boston sound, and I find Tom a rather fascinating figure. He is the primary reason I have always loved Goldtops (my 1996 Goldtop was my first real guitar). I have two of the original Rockman devices, which I got off eBay ten years ago, and I agree that it reproduces that Scholz sound effortlessly, but boy it sure hisses like a m****r-f****r the moment you switch it on. All those analog components, man...

For those who don't want to try and score a Rockman, I found I could get that sound with a Boss XT-2 Xtortion + Boss CE-3 Chorus + Marshall tube amp (with reverb). There's a set of dial positions on that Xtortion pedal that just screams "Boston in a box", but you'll still need a chorus pedal to thicken the sound up a bit.

Fun stuff!

[rickym]

Originally Posted by b-squared

No one ever said it was one guitar...

BB

Going by Scholtz's statements, the one on the left is his original LP. He states "The '68 Les Paul Goldtop that I've used for just about every Boston track. At the time, that guitar was a reissue of a Fifties Les Paul...It had P90s non-humbuckers on it originally, and I replaced the P-90s with DiMarzio Super Humbuckers."

RockmanCentral article: "Tom bought his famous Les Paul Goldtop "off a kid for about $300". "The guitar had a little wear around the 5th fret- period. I picked it up for the first time and couldn't play it to save my life. It was like a completely different instrument. Now I can't play anything else." The guitar retains its original cream single-coil rhythm pickup, though Tom put in a DiMarzio Super Distortion humbucker in the saddle.

So which one is his first LP?

[mannydingo]

The Rockman equipment does sound like Boston but only the later Boston. I remember when the first Rockman headphone amp came out. It was so much like the second Boston album (Don't Look Back). I loved its sound. However, I don't agree with anyone that says it sounds like Boston on their first album. None of those things sound like it because of what was actually used on the first album and none of it was Rockman equipment. On the second album there were prototypes of Rockman equipment but it wasn't actully Rockman equipment yet either.

[zslane]

The Rockman X100 headphone amp was Tom's attempt at capturing his signature sound in one small package, and in that I think he pretty much succeeded. He would be the first to admit, however, that there's just no way to perfectly duplicate the sound of that first album with any one device. So much of the sound of that album was achieved at the engineer's station during editing and mixing, with layering and overdubs and post effects and endless twiddling of sliders and knobs. Having said that, I still feel the Rockman is the closest any single commercial device has come to capturing the essential "Boston sound".

[mannydingo]

Originally Posted by zslane

The Rockman X100 headphone amp was Tom's attempt at capturing his signature sound in one small package, and in that I think he pretty much succeeded. He would be the first to admit, however, that there's just no way to perfectly duplicate the sound of that first album with any one device.

Yeah, the X100 and the unit before it sound identical to the opening chords to Feelin' Satisfied. However, for I've tried to use it for the very first electric guitar notes you here on Peace Of Mind on the first album and it just doesn't cut it for me. I've decided that I'm just going to use my Digitech GSP1101 and Digitech RP1000. It's the closest you can get without having a Rockman and without having other individual pedals. I got tired of the search and I surely was not going to buy 8 Rockman modules and modified Marshall amps, etc.

I go straight to P.A. and at home play through a keyboard combo amp. My Digitech goes straight in there. You, unfortunately, must have a harmonizer pedal because they came with defective harmonizers. They don't work right. I can't stand guitar amps. I have shared that ideology with Tom since way back.

[phastestgunn]

I've got the first issue Rockman headphone amp which sold at the time for $250.00!!! But it sounds fantastic!!! Much better than all the new versions. It has 2 clean modes and 2 distortion modes. Distortion 1 is a great tone for blues. Distortion 2 rocks the Boston sound. It has defeatable chorus and echo as well as reverb, 3 boost levels and a gain knob on the back. The coolest thing is you can record from it or hook another rockman to it and mix the 2 guitars levels. Two guys can plug headphones into at once and can play along with external audio and hear it plus both guitars in the headphones and it sounds like you're cranking it out in the studio! It is a volume killer when run in the front of an amp though. The best way to run it is from the headphone jack, join the 2 channels together to mono and go through the effects loop. I have to really crank my 100 watt Marshall to get it loud. I am pretty deaf from playing cranked amps in small clubs though The first time I put on the headphones with my Les Paul I thought I had turned into Tom Scholtz!!! That could have been what I was smokin' too... It's the only piece of gear I have kept since the 60's.

[phastestgunn]

Been playin since the 60's...Got the Rockman in the 70's. Peace man!

[RichCI]

Originally Posted by Roman Rist

go get a rockman

Close. Go get ALL the Rockman modules.

I worked in a music store back in the early 90's and we had a Rockman display with stereo monitors set up. If you turned on all the modules, it didn't matter what kind of guitar you plugged into it - it came out sounding like Boston.

[Monster]

The Boston sound is essentially a dimed Marshall (thus the Power Soak in order to do it without hurting oneself) fed by a Les Paul through a blue 7 band EQ - I think MXR - with a characteristic pattern. Google it - theres a site that has pics of how to set up the EQ. It boosts the hi-mids, cuts the bass gradually, and boosts the highest frequencies. I think the EQ is a very important part of the recipe. I've tried it and - BLAMMO - instant Boston tone.

[zslane]

Originally Posted by Monster

The Boston sound is essentially a dimed Marshall (thus the Power Soak in order to do it without hurting oneself) fed by a Les Paul through a blue 7 band EQ - I think MXR - with a characteristic pattern.

Well, I think the "essentials" involve a bit more than that. You won't really capture that thick, warm sound without all those textured layers of chorus and echo (delay). A dimed (and attenuated) vintage Marshall with a Les Paul plugged in will produce the underlying tone, but producing a sound that anyone would recognize as that "Boston sound" really requires a chain of additional effects.

[Monster]

Originally Posted by zslane

Well, I think the "essentials" involve a bit more than that. You won't really capture that thick, warm sound without all those textured layers of chorus and echo (delay). A dimed (and attenuated) vintage Marshall with a Les Paul plugged in will produce the underlying tone, but producing a sound that anyone would recognize as that "Boston sound" really requires a chain of additional effects.

As usual YMMV. I just said that I tried it with the EQ, and got a very recognizable Boston tone. If "anyone" includes me, then your your statement is false, as I just said that to me the sound is very close. I posted as info for those interested in getting that tone - and those folks are free to try it and then report back. If you don't agree that that is one of the major key elements in that tone, I'll refund your money.

[phastestgunn]

The EQ plays a definite part, but the "spacey " sound that was uniquely Boston at the time comes from the delay, chorus, and echo effects.