What did james murphy use on LOW?

[Chris_P_Critter]

FUCK YES!

 

[toinouf]

Thank you James for the picture!

I love your custom Fender strat.

 

[toinouf]

so James, could you tell us more about this custom Fender strat? did you designed it? is it an alder body?

I have another question if you don't mind: what gear did you use to record the lead parts on the Trent Gardner's Explorers Club CD? I particularly love your playing and your tone on this one!

 

[James Murphy]

actually i can't really remember too much about either, toinouf.... i remember picking the neck from the selection of necks-in-progress at the custom shop, which was in Corona at the time... the bridge pick up was an EMG 85, while the two single-coils SRV Texas Specials.... or maybe just the middle one was. in that case the neck would have been one of the Yngwie pickups. sad to say i don't really remember what happened to it once i became ill. i had another with the same pickup config, but it was black, did not have the left-hand neck... and i think was maple fingerboard and the "mint" pickguard.

i couldn't even begin to tell you what i played through on the Explorer's Club album.... totally at a loss for memory on that count, but it's even odds that it was some Ibanez or other... possibly a 540SLTD i had for years.

 

[toinouf]

the two single-coils SRV Texas Specials.... or maybe just the middle one was. in that case the neck would have been one of the Yngwie pickups.

I've been told that SRV and Yngve pickups are pretty different: the first one being rather powerful whereas the YJM is lo-output. I do have my old Fender Japan Strat equiped with one YJM in the neck position, and IMHO I can approach the Yngve tone. Here you can listen to a small sample I've recorded, if you want to...

i had another with the same pickup config, but it was black, did not have the left-hand neck... and i think was maple fingerboard and the "mint" pickguard.

Oh yes, I think it's the one we can see in the Testament - Low video clip. nice guitar too, but I love the look of the reversed headstock on the other one!

i couldn't even begin to tell you what i played through on the Explorer's Club album.... totally at a loss for memory on that count, but it's even odds that it was some Ibanez or other... possibly a 540SLTD i had for years.

One thing that particularly amaze me about your playing is the ability you always have to get that distinctive, unique JM signature tone from such different pickups and guitars combinations.

Have though about that for a long time... Am I wrong saying that when you play fast your picking attack is quite strong, James?

 

[James Murphy]

One thing that particularly amaze me about your playing is the ability you always have to get that distinctive, unique JM signature tone from such different pickups and guitars combinations.

Have thought about that for a long time... Am I wrong saying that when you play fast your picking attack is quite strong, James?

no, you're not wrong... i play very hard.... all my player friends have commented on that, and they all usually seem to see it as a good thing. the most recent guy to really point that out while i was jamming at his house with him was Jeff Loomis... he said he wished he could pick that way. Jeff is a very humble guy, which some of you may not know, but he is.... and he also blows me away on guitar, so i can't imagine why he'd want to emulate that aspect of my playing.... it would slow him down a bit if he did, i'm sure.

 

[toinouf]

If I had to choose, I'd prefer to have something really unique about my playing, something making me instantly recognizable when you put the CD on, like EVH or Jeff Beck, rather than being a... Rusty Cooley. I believe to have an artistic identity is the most beautiful gift a musician can dream about. so I do agree with Loomis saying it's a good thing.

James, I've read you have switched to EMG SA pickup. could you tell us why do you prefer that one over the SRV or Yngve model?

another question if you don't mind:
Don't you find the tone of the neck pickup being less warm when you play on a 24~27 fret guitar (like the Caparisons) than on a 21~22 fret Strat? I ask you this because I've heard Steve Morse complaining about that on this vid (see at 4:18):

 

[TheSoulsRemain]

On se vois partout dis donc !

 

[toinouf]

Hello, oui en effet

bin tu sais quoi mon Rev G vient de tomber en panne chui dég! à peine 2h de jeu dessus depuis que je l'ai, ça craint quoi...

EDIT: ouf apparemment ce ne serait que le fusible... il a du souffrir du transport

 

[toinouf]

Hey I hope everyone has spent some good holidays here...