Alice In Chains, Temple Of The Dog - 1990 Moore Theater HD

[gbsmusic]

Lane would have gone on to be one of the greats. Great singer. I think the only way he could sing that way was because he was drugged out and in pain. He was doomed from the start. Only one left is Vedder. Cobain, Staley, and Vedder. There are others but they were the biggest. I am sure I am missing a couple.

Chris Cornell also another one that was so talented and had such an incredible voice!

 

[ZEEGLER]

Lane would have gone on to be one of the greats. Great singer. I think the only way he could sing that way was because he was drugged out and in pain. He was doomed from the start. Only one left is Vedder. Cobain, Staley, and Vedder. There are others but they were the biggest. I am sure I am missing a couple.

Layne was my favorite by far, but also don't forget Scott Weiland.

 

[riffsfordaze]

Lane would have gone on to be one of the greats. Great singer. I think the only way he could sing that way was because he was drugged out and in pain. He was doomed from the start. Only one left is Vedder. Cobain, Staley, and Vedder. There are others but they were the biggest. I am sure I am missing a couple.

Layne was one of the greats in my book. He had a tortured soul and was a conduit, like all the greats before and after him. I hear what you are saying but I believe the pain you can hear and feel in his voice preceded the hard drugs taking over. Just my opinion. Damn what a tragedy!

 

[LPMojoGL]

Hoon, as well. Loved that dude's songwriting and voice.

 

[Snave]

If that Facelift tone is what is needed, cheapest and best way is just that.
Much cheaper than any Bogner

Alice in Chains studio gear is such a can of worms. I know Ronnie C. told someone on the forum that the Facelift rhythm tone was a boosted Bassman, but then elsewhere he goes into great detail about how the main rhythm tone was his Snorkeler Marshall running through Randall 4x12s and miced with a 57, and the Bassman was only used for mellower parts. Then you've got Dave Jerden who says it was a mix of Randall RG100ES and Marshall Super Lead (possibly his Mike Morin mod, which he said was used for leads on both Facelift and Dirt).

 

[Racerxrated]

Alice in Chains studio gear is such a can of worms. I know Ronnie C. told someone on the forum that the Facelift rhythm tone was a boosted Bassman, but then elsewhere he goes into great detail about how the main rhythm tone was his Snorkeler Marshall running through Randall 4x12s and miced with a 57, and the Bassman was only used for mellower parts. Then you've got Dave Jerden who says it was a mix of Randall RG100ES and Marshall Super Lead (possibly his Mike Morin mod, which he said was used for leads on both Facelift and Dirt).

Right. I guess for me, after hearing the We Die Young demo where Jerry used the Randall, that tone is more about the rest of the chain since it sounded spot on to the record. In my experience that 66 Bassman I had got very close through my 72 cab with my Afwayu loaded Charvel.

 

[harddriver]

I think Eddy Lenz had a couple of Bogner Modded Marshall's similar to the Snorkler. What do your ears tell you?

 

[Ben Waylin]

I think Eddy Lenz had a couple of Bogner Modded Marshall's similar to the Snorkler. What do your ears tell you?

I been sayin' it for years.

 

[harddriver]

Right. I guess for me, after hearing the We Die Young demo where Jerry used the Randall, that tone is more about the rest of the chain since it sounded spot on to the record. In my experience that 66 Bassman I had got very close through my 72 cab with my Afwayu loaded Charvel.

Is this the Demo you speak of? If it is it does sound a bit more grindy/grainy distortion and more Randallish than what I hear on the recorded/mastered album.



From the album: There seems to be a bit more tubey compression in the attack, similar to what hear in the Lenz clips. I guess you could add compression in the final mixing to the Randall as well.......

 

[Racerxrated]

Is this the Demo you speak of? If it is it does sound a bit more grindy/grainy distortion and more Randallish than what I hear on the recorded/mastered album.



From the album: There seems to be a bit more tubey compression in the attack, similar to what hear in the Lenz clips. I guess you could add compression in the final mixing to the Randall as well.......

That one sounds a little different? But I’ll have to listen when I get home in my better speakers. Still, it does sound close.
Either way it’s interesting how he eqs his rig to get that dark ominous tone. Not as chewy as the record though.

 

[RevDrucifer]

Alice in Chains studio gear is such a can of worms. I know Ronnie C. told someone on the forum that the Facelift rhythm tone was a boosted Bassman, but then elsewhere he goes into great detail about how the main rhythm tone was his Snorkeler Marshall running through Randall 4x12s and miced with a 57, and the Bassman was only used for mellower parts. Then you've got Dave Jerden who says it was a mix of Randall RG100ES and Marshall Super Lead (possibly his Mike Morin mod, which he said was used for leads on both Facelift and Dirt).

That was actually here, back in the day. I've saved this on every device I've had since then, specifically for times like this. I should format this some day, but this is how he wrote it.

...i know this is a really old thread,i just came across it...my name is Ronnie Champagne i was the engineer with Dave Jerden Producing on Facelift...i am the owner of the Snorkler...that we used for most of the guitar and some six string bass tracks on the album Facelift...its a Marshall 50 watt jcm 800 combo 4010 that i had Bogner modify for me...4-12ax7a tubes and el34's for power...i got in Canada in '83 as a trade for a 50 watt half stack that i didnt want to carry to the states when i moved to L.A. in '84...i was using Andy Brauer rentals in n.Hollywood for most of the gear we used on Janes Addiction's Nothings Shocking and Andy turned me onto a Bogner Modified jcm 800 that Rheinhold had modded...apparently he did a few...for Eddie and Steve and Joe...well i had the same amp and took it over to Rheinhold and asked him to do exactly the same thing to mine...he refused... saying that he was trying to launch his own product...i told him i didnt care how much it costs and that my clients would send him a ton of business,to which he capitulated,grudgingly....good move i'd say!this is the nastiest amp ive ever played thru...you are correct that we used a 4x12 with greenbacks in a stairwell all knobs on ten for solos...but we also used it in various settings for a multitude of overdubs...using a shure sm57 into a neve 1073 into a la-2a compressor/limiter to the tape machine...i also used it on Janes Ritual,Social Distortion,Deconstruction with Dave Navarro and Eric Avery from Janes....and many other records worldwide...plus i toured Europe with it as my main amp...we also used Bogner Ecstacy(?) and Fishes with Navarro....none had the totally full on brazen tone though...it is THE platinum amp,priceless to me(Jerry offered me big cash for it,but i aint no dummy!)in fact the last time i hung out with Alice(new guys) in Boston he still was complaining and wanting....as a side note i also used a R.K.Butler TubeDriver pre amp into a vintage Fender Bassman for many of the 'mellower' tones and also my pink Kramer Baretta 1 with a Ultrasonic 3 pickup(single and humbucker modes) plus a lot of Telecaster drop D tuned...the Snorkler responds unbelievably to single coil pick ups...we also used a Coral elecric sitar (amazing!) thru it...plus the six string bass for chorus's on many tracks...ala the Who....the Snorkler logo is from an old fire extinguisher i found in Hollywood...plus its a reference to blow snorters...my assistant attempted a clone of it but for some reason the o.g. still kicks its ass...ive a/b 'd it to most of the Bogner amps and this puppy is a boutique slayer...i also had some minor alterations done to it by the Professor in Seattle,mostly grounding and switches etc and he built me a new enclosure,i got the vox fabric from Jackson Brown....oh ya i used a KK Audio 1x12 cabinet with an ev 250 12L speaker(totally killer!)for most of the tracking....if y'all have any questions feel free to e-mail me at (removed)...i love chatting gear!but i live to play it!!!!Ronnie C.

 

[Snave]

That was actually here, back in the day. I've saved this on every device I've had since then, specifically for times like this. I should format this some day, but this is how he wrote it.

...i know this is a really old thread,i just came across it...my name is Ronnie Champagne i was the engineer with Dave Jerden Producing on Facelift...i am the owner of the Snorkler...that we used for most of the guitar and some six string bass tracks on the album Facelift...its a Marshall 50 watt jcm 800 combo 4010 that i had Bogner modify for me...4-12ax7a tubes and el34's for power...i got in Canada in '83 as a trade for a 50 watt half stack that i didnt want to carry to the states when i moved to L.A. in '84...i was using Andy Brauer rentals in n.Hollywood for most of the gear we used on Janes Addiction's Nothings Shocking and Andy turned me onto a Bogner Modified jcm 800 that Rheinhold had modded...apparently he did a few...for Eddie and Steve and Joe...well i had the same amp and took it over to Rheinhold and asked him to do exactly the same thing to mine...he refused... saying that he was trying to launch his own product...i told him i didnt care how much it costs and that my clients would send him a ton of business,to which he capitulated,grudgingly....good move i'd say!this is the nastiest amp ive ever played thru...you are correct that we used a 4x12 with greenbacks in a stairwell all knobs on ten for solos...but we also used it in various settings for a multitude of overdubs...using a shure sm57 into a neve 1073 into a la-2a compressor/limiter to the tape machine...i also used it on Janes Ritual,Social Distortion,Deconstruction with Dave Navarro and Eric Avery from Janes....and many other records worldwide...plus i toured Europe with it as my main amp...we also used Bogner Ecstacy(?) and Fishes with Navarro....none had the totally full on brazen tone though...it is THE platinum amp,priceless to me(Jerry offered me big cash for it,but i aint no dummy!)in fact the last time i hung out with Alice(new guys) in Boston he still was complaining and wanting....as a side note i also used a R.K.Butler TubeDriver pre amp into a vintage Fender Bassman for many of the 'mellower' tones and also my pink Kramer Baretta 1 with a Ultrasonic 3 pickup(single and humbucker modes) plus a lot of Telecaster drop D tuned...the Snorkler responds unbelievably to single coil pick ups...we also used a Coral elecric sitar (amazing!) thru it...plus the six string bass for chorus's on many tracks...ala the Who....the Snorkler logo is from an old fire extinguisher i found in Hollywood...plus its a reference to blow snorters...my assistant attempted a clone of it but for some reason the o.g. still kicks its ass...ive a/b 'd it to most of the Bogner amps and this puppy is a boutique slayer...i also had some minor alterations done to it by the Professor in Seattle,mostly grounding and switches etc and he built me a new enclosure,i got the vox fabric from Jackson Brown....oh ya i used a KK Audio 1x12 cabinet with an ev 250 12L speaker(totally killer!)for most of the tracking....if y'all have any questions feel free to e-mail me at (removed)...i love chatting gear!but i live to play it!!!!Ronnie C.

I've seen that. I think someone spoke to him directly and he said the Bassman was the main rhythm tone. Then there's this from the 2015 book "Alice in Chains: in the Studio" by Jake Brown:

Continuing, Champagne recalled that “when he first came in to do his rhythm parts, I remember he had these Randall Amplifiers, stacks and stacks of them, and the first thing I said to him was ‘Get rid of those pieces of shit, I don’t want them in my studio,’ because they’re really really awful amps. So initially there was a really big to-do about that, before I presented him with a new amp I had just had modified by Bogner before he started his business. This particular amp was a modified Marshall 50, and its funny because originally I’d taken that amp over to him, and said ‘Reinhold, will you modify this amp EXACTLY like you did your prototype model?’ And he initially said ‘No,’ and I replied ‘I’ll give you as much money as you want because this is a Warner Bros. project, so money is no object.’ So he agreed on the condition that I keep it under wraps because he was at that time leaving to start his own company, which of course went on to become wildly successful. So we had one of the first Bogner-modified Marshall amps on the Facelift album, and he’d only done a handful of these for Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen, etc. So Jerry was sold on it immediately, to the point that he wouldn’t stop playing. On the rhythm tracks, we miced that amp with 57s, and the funny thing is I had that Bogner running from the control room out into the main live room through these stacked Randall Speaker Cabinets. So when I lined up one full-stack with the 50-Watt Bogner, the first time Jerry heard it, he flipped, and said ‘That is exactly the sound!’ And that became the sound on Facelift. Usually we would do two rhythm tracks like that on average for each song, then do the same thing as we did with the doubling on the bass, where we’d double certain rhythm guitar parts with the Telecaster, and maybe add another track just under the guitar solo, just to fill it up a little bit. Or maybe we would take parts away, depending on what it was. For any of Jerry’s acoustic rhythm parts on the album, Nancy Wilson had brought down her 12-string guitar from the ‘Dog and Butterfly’ LP, and I miced it up with a U-87, and on any of his other acoustic parts, I would have used a combo of a U-87 and a 451, pointed at where the neck joined the body, so we could get the warmth of where all the sustain was happening on the acoustic. Then the sound that’s coming off it is being picked up by an 87 a couple of feet away.”

Expanding the discussion into the over-dubbing of Jerry Cantrell’s lead guitar solos, engineer Ronnie S. Champagne “after we’d done the basic rhythm tracking at London Bridge, we took the project down to Capitol Studios in Hollywood, into Studio A to finish the guitar solos and vocals. Were the first recording project in there after their million-dollar renovation, and tracked there on a Neve 1081 console. We did all of his solos through my Bogner-modified Marshall 50 Watt, and that amp was called ‘The Snorkler.’ In fact, Jerry and Layne called the sound it got the ‘Killer Fucking Love Stink’, and that is still on the amp as they signed it back in 1990. The way I set up the amplifiers for his solos was pretty funny too because Capitol Studios had a stairwell in the middle of the building that ran from the bottom all the way to the top, so guess where I put the guitar cabinets? Right in the bottom of the stairwell, which drove the staff crazy, because I stuck a 57 right in front of the cabinet, then had another 87 in the stairwell, and we just cranked it. I didn’t want to use a lot of reverb because Dave Jerden’s big thing at that time was using digital reverb, so I was trying to get as much as of a natural vibe as possible. As a lead player, Jerry’s motto was ‘Keep it simple stupid,’ to where the simpler you keep it, the more what you’re playing stands out. That was his philosophy, and I think he consciously avoided being the Dave Navarro-kind of noodley guy, he avoided that. He didn’t want to be that guy, and didn’t try to get good at doing that, because it wasn’t part of his thing. That doesn’t mean he couldn’t or wasn’t a great player, it just means he didn’t pursue that end of it. It only took us a couple of days to do all of Jerry’s guitar solo overdubs, we just went there and knocked them out.”

 

[Ben Waylin]

That was actually here, back in the day. I've saved this on every device I've had since then, specifically for times like this. I should format this some day, but this is how he wrote it.

...i know this is a really old thread,i just came across it...my name is Ronnie Champagne i was the engineer with Dave Jerden Producing on Facelift...i am the owner of the Snorkler...that we used for most of the guitar and some six string bass tracks on the album Facelift...its a Marshall 50 watt jcm 800 combo 4010 that i had Bogner modify for me...4-12ax7a tubes and el34's for power...i got in Canada in '83 as a trade for a 50 watt half stack that i didnt want to carry to the states when i moved to L.A. in '84...i was using Andy Brauer rentals in n.Hollywood for most of the gear we used on Janes Addiction's Nothings Shocking and Andy turned me onto a Bogner Modified jcm 800 that Rheinhold had modded...apparently he did a few...for Eddie and Steve and Joe...well i had the same amp and took it over to Rheinhold and asked him to do exactly the same thing to mine...he refused... saying that he was trying to launch his own product...i told him i didnt care how much it costs and that my clients would send him a ton of business,to which he capitulated,grudgingly....good move i'd say!this is the nastiest amp ive ever played thru...you are correct that we used a 4x12 with greenbacks in a stairwell all knobs on ten for solos...but we also used it in various settings for a multitude of overdubs...using a shure sm57 into a neve 1073 into a la-2a compressor/limiter to the tape machine...i also used it on Janes Ritual,Social Distortion,Deconstruction with Dave Navarro and Eric Avery from Janes....and many other records worldwide...plus i toured Europe with it as my main amp...we also used Bogner Ecstacy(?) and Fishes with Navarro....none had the totally full on brazen tone though...it is THE platinum amp,priceless to me(Jerry offered me big cash for it,but i aint no dummy!)in fact the last time i hung out with Alice(new guys) in Boston he still was complaining and wanting....as a side note i also used a R.K.Butler TubeDriver pre amp into a vintage Fender Bassman for many of the 'mellower' tones and also my pink Kramer Baretta 1 with a Ultrasonic 3 pickup(single and humbucker modes) plus a lot of Telecaster drop D tuned...the Snorkler responds unbelievably to single coil pick ups...we also used a Coral elecric sitar (amazing!) thru it...plus the six string bass for chorus's on many tracks...ala the Who....the Snorkler logo is from an old fire extinguisher i found in Hollywood...plus its a reference to blow snorters...my assistant attempted a clone of it but for some reason the o.g. still kicks its ass...ive a/b 'd it to most of the Bogner amps and this puppy is a boutique slayer...i also had some minor alterations done to it by the Professor in Seattle,mostly grounding and switches etc and he built me a new enclosure,i got the vox fabric from Jackson Brown....oh ya i used a KK Audio 1x12 cabinet with an ev 250 12L speaker(totally killer!)for most of the tracking....if y'all have any questions feel free to e-mail me at (removed)...i love chatting gear!but i live to play it!!!!Ronnie C.

 

[RevDrucifer]

That was actually here, back in the day. I've saved this on every device I've had since then, specifically for times like this. I should format this some day, but this is how he wrote it.

That might be the only thing I’d pay a silly amount of money to have replicated.