Bob's Workshop #2 "Me2"

After recording my first Bigsby project, "Another Day at the Office," I was ready for something more diverse. We know that Bigsby plays a major part in music from a certain style and era but how does it translate to different settings? How well would it hold up against the sound of say, U2, Jeff Beck or Eric Johnson?

I wanted to create a composition that showed Bigsby in a more mainstream-rock format. My idea was to blend the influences of U2, Beck and Johnson into an instrumental featuring different guitars for texture. I chose 3 Gretsch guitars, a Hot Rod, a Duo Jet and a Spectra Sonic Baritone and layered them over 13 separate tracks. Every track contains a taste of the Bigsby vibrato, even the Spectra Sonic.

I used the Hot Rod for the intro, melody and solos. The Duo Jet, I saved for power chords and rhythm and the Spectra Sonic baritone was great for the reoccurring deep lead line. I got a great tone coming from the Hot Rod and TV Jones pickups. The Bigsby provided amazing options for unusual solo lines so I tore in and had a lot of fun. What I ended up with was a wall of sound and a lot of new respect for taking the Bigsby out of the box.

Guitarist's, as a rule, are always in search of "the" magic tone and yet they use the same old tricks and established methods to find it. Every now and then you need to break out and reinvent your sound. Taking chances is the only way to move closer to new ground. As I revealed in a previous article, I had never used a Bigsby until recently and I now realize I was missing a golden opportunity for creativity. You need at least one guitar with a Bigsby on it. Go on . . . break out of the box.

Bob Sabellico

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