Help me sound like D. Boon

August 17, 2006 9:02 PM

So-Cal punk rock filter: D Boon of The Minutemen, played a Fender Telecaster.

He had a great ringing sound that is difficult to replicate. Are there any Minutemen fans here who can tell me what kind of rig he used besides the Tele? Amp? Effects? I'm sure it must be simple as they "jammed econo". What am I missing here beside having a shitty amp? Maybe I just need to invest in a tele. I've tried using an SG, Les Paul custom and fender mustang. They don't seem to cut it.

posted by snsranch to media & arts (8 comments total)

have you watched "we jam econo?" maybe there are some hints in there. i havent had the time to watch it all the way through yet, so i dont know if watt talks about their gear.
posted by joeblough at 9:21 PM on August 17, 2006

to me his tone sounds like a tele on the with only the humbucker closest to the fret board on. high and mid range settings up on the amp, no reverb, little bass, and no brightness.
posted by dobie at 10:02 PM on August 17, 2006

This page shows him using a Fender amp. Wikipedia suggests turning the bass and mid all the way down.

I'll bet that's all you'd need; Teles are pretty goddamn twangy. (Although that first link also shows him playing a Strat and an SG.)
posted by equalpants at 10:02 PM on August 17, 2006

...and upon further searching, I think that amp is a Bandmaster.
posted by equalpants at 10:14 PM on August 17, 2006

Based on the music I own of theirs (My Favorite Bells) and some of the video I've seen, I'm inclined to agree with you. It doesn't appear he has anything between his guitar and the amp except for a 1/4" cord. I have two Telecasters. The single coil coupled with a nice warmed up tube amp (Fender, etc..) will give you that jangly yet dry tone.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 12:20 AM on August 18, 2006

I just watched We Jam Econo last week, and they don't mention any specifics as to D. Boon's guitar set up (except maybe they mention that yes, he played a telecaster.). They did talk about how he focused on playing on the high end of the spectrum to contrast with Watt's bass, so equalpants referred to sounds about right to me.
posted by jessicak at 5:58 AM on August 18, 2006

They did talk about how he focused on playing on the high end of the spectrum to contrast with Watt's bass.

Exactly -- D. turned up the treble, while Watt turned up the bass. You can hear the difference between The Punch Line in 1981 (where D.'s guitar sound has a bit more body to it) and What Makes A Man Start Fires? in 1982 (which is ear-ringingly trebly).

If you want specifics re: gear, etc., you could always ask Mike Watt himself -- he's on tour at the moment, but I'm sure he'd be happy to answer when he's back on the 'net. He's a swell cat like that.
posted by macdara at 11:32 AM on August 18, 2006

Thanks guys, great answers all around.
posted by snsranch at 2:06 PM on August 18, 2006