Kevin Shields' Guitar Set-Up
Posted in Brainy Stuff, Cool Stuff, Geek Stuff, Music Stuff by Danny Woot
This picture has done the rounds once or twice before, but it’s always a good time to stand back and marvel at the geek-overload that is Kevin Shields’ guitar set-up. To the uninitiated, Kevin Shields is the guitarist in seminal shoegaze band My Bloody Valentine, and a man to whom all modern electric guitarists owe a considerable debt. It’s not often we get bogged down in nerdisms (honest…), but Shields is a technical and aural whiz – thick layers of distortion are treated to endless groaning tremolos, whammy pedals, pre-amps and samples to create his signature sound, and it’s a true guilty pleasure to see exactly how he manages it:
As you can see, it’s a mite more complex than just sticking a distortion pedal into your Squier practice amp. I was lucky enough to catch My Bloody Valentine on their reunion tour last year – it’s the only gig I’ve attended where earplugs were handed out on the door. Like the purist (or fool) that I am, I didn’t bother using them and couldn’t hear for three days. It’s great to suffer for your art, eh? And, following in the footsteps of EddyWoot (last seen trailing through the skies over Brick Lane), I’ll be heading to the ATP Festival in December to do it all over again. Some people never learn.
Anyone who wants to hear what such clutter would sound like, have a listen to this Spotify link.
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Ooooooooo, Oooooooooooooooooo, OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Nuff said..
I can’t wait until ATP! The summer tickets went on sale today – Pavement are curating! WHY DID I ABANDON MY PAYCHEQUE TO CHASE THIS INFERNAL JET PACK!!????
Me neither. My ears will hate me for it, but I’ve learnt to ignore my ears. (bought Pavement ATP tickets too… boy am I glad of my paycheque!)
With respect, I don’t think that much gear is needed to put on a decent show. All I’ve ever used is an amp and one multi-effects pedal (and even then I rarely use the pedal).
But I suppose people who use a lot of pedals like this build up their rig over time, like maybe starting off with a few pedals and adding more as they see ones they like. Just a guess, I dunno.
The thing with Kevin Shields’ sound is that it’s so much more than just distortion – it’s about echoes and reverb and space and how that complements the music itself. But you’re probably right, accumulation must’ve played a big part here. It’d be interesting to see what Shields would do with just the one distortion pedal and nothing else.
Yeah I suppose you’re right, but one multi-effects pedal could easily provide delay (echoes), as much reverb as you could possibly want, almost anything you want really.
But then again, the use of MIDI does add a whole new dimension…
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