Making the Sound of Warm Tortillas
-- I always leave some room in the studio for messing about. While that might sound counterproductive and somewhat wasteful, "messing about" has produced some real audio gold over the years and I've learned to trust it as a process. That being said, you gotta know
which rabbit holes to chase and which ones to abandon. If a rabbit hole isn't producing rabbits
quickly and with a relative sense of flow and ease, it's time to cut and run. Don't go chasing
waterfalls when it looks like they're running dry.
On this collection of songs, one of the streams we followed that turned out well was the studio's 12-string Danelectro guitar. I've never been particularly fond of Danelectros and always kind of viewed them with a suspicious lens for some reason, but I fell hard for this guitar and once we discovered her true nature, we put it all over the album.
Electric 12-strings are glorious and classy and can elevate a song with a sense of mystery and depth that you can't get from a 6-string. This Danelectro, while still a beast to tune, classed up these songs and responded surprisingly well to bending its strings. 12-strings aren't really designed for bends or any rough stuff, but this guitar was like a bronco that wanted to get out and run, jump and bust through some hillsides.
Bending the strings on this Danelectro created a warm, creamy vibe that shaped the character of the album. You can hear it on "Beyond the Darkness" "Crazy" and "Act Like You Care". I've never been too loyal to any particular guitar or amp or tone and being open to this guitar and all its quirks helped create a rich cream gravy that I was happy to pour all over these tunes. Who knew the Danelectro had such power! I have been converted and now I'm a loyal fan of the mysterious sounds of their 12-strings.
Hey Sweet Thang!