[kj] The secrets behind Geordie Walker's guitar tone on Eighties (Guitar World)

[Paul]

https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-secrets-behind-geordie-walkers-guitar-tone-on-eighties


*The secrets behind Geordie Walker's guitar tone on Eighties*
By Chris Gill

The Killing Joke guitarist found his sound in a Gibson ES-295 and an ear
for lush yet haunting tone

[image: Geordie.jpg]
(Image credit: Future / Kevin Nixon)

Killing Joke had recorded three studio albums before 1982 when Geordie
Walker found the Gibson ES-295 hollowbody electric that became his main
guitar.

Ever since then, the ES-295 has played a prominent role on every subsequent
recording he’s made, as it delivered exactly the sound he was looking for.

“When you find something that you express yourself through the best -
something that is completely your sound - why would you use anything else?”
he said in the May 2016 issue of Guitar World.

Geordie uses very heavy strings but tunes down a whole step to DGCFAD to
make the string tension more comfortable, with the added benefit of making
the tone heavier as well.
In addition to enhancing the guitar’s resonant twang, the ES-295’s Les Paul
wraparound trapeze bridge allows Walker to create subtle vibrato effects by
pushing down on the tailpiece to ease string tension, which he certainly
does to great effect when it comes to the chorus of Eighties.

Geordie plugged his ES-295 directly into an Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory
Man, which provided slapback echo (here at about 132ms with two repeats)
and subtle chorus modulation

Another key to Geordie’s highly distinctive, richly textured tone is his
stereo dual-amp setup with chorus/delay units. From Killing Joke’s early
days through the mid Nineties, he used a pair of Burman Pro 2000 heads,
each driving a custom-made Burman 8x10 speaker cabinet.

Manufactured in Walker’s hometown of Newcastle during the late Seventies
and early Eighties, Burman amps were developed by Gregg Burman and also
used by Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy, Allan Holdsworth and some bloke named
Eric Clapton.

The amps feature an unusual cascaded preamp design with three gain
controls, active midrange EQ and robust circuitry such as KT77 tubes and
custom transformers.

[image: 80s.jpg]
Killing Joke - Eighties <https://youtu.be/x1U1Ue_5kq8>

Geordie plugged his ES-295 directly into an Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory
Man, which provided slapback echo (here at about 132ms with two repeats)
and subtle chorus modulation while also splitting the signal to a pair of
PA:CE/Bell Electrolabs ADT units, which stack additional layers of chorus
modulation and delay effects to generate a lush, vibrant wall of sound.

Like the ES-295, the ADT units remain mainstays of Geordie’s rig to this
day and play an essential role in his highly distinctive signature sound.
Ambience comes courtesy of meticulous room miking instead of the amp’s
reverb or studio processing.

*Original Gear*
*GUITAR:* 1952 Gibson ES-295, all tone and volume controls: 10 (middle
pickup setting for main riff; bridge pickup for chorus and solo).

*AMPS:* Two late-'70s Burman Pro 2000 heads (High Frequency switch: On,
Gain 1: 4, Gain 2: 5, Gain 3: 7, Bass: 2.5, Middle: 4.5, Treble: 5,
Presence: 4, Reverb: 0); two custom Burman 8x10 speaker cabinets with
Celestion G10L-35 speakers.

*EFFECTS:* late-'70s Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man (Chorus setting,
Level: 2, Blend: 6, Feedback: 6, Delay: 2, Chorus-Vibrato: 4, Echo out and
Direct Out both used to split signal to inputs of each ADT unit), two
PA:CE/Bell Electrolabs ADT (identical settings on both units – Gain: 2,
Mix: 10, Mod: 5, Deviation: 5, Delay: 6, Mixed output).

*STRINGS/TUNING:* .012 - .062, brand unknown/DGCFAD (low to high).

*PICK:* unknown, possibly heavy teardrop-shaped.
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