The Black Keys

?ing my education

Who here listens to these guys? Damn, they are bad ass. Anyone know how he gets that nasty crunch, what he uses, etc. Just curious.

I have had my head in the sand and just started listening to them and love their sound. Nice and thick from only two guys.

lucylespian

I've nevere heard these guys, but they are playing in my area soon, so, since they get so much good press here I was thinking about going to see the. Who are they a bit like ???

ezyrydr

it's it's good stuff.

at times they sound a lot like the white stripes but they are definitely a blues band. just kick ass dirty blues with that ranchy white stripes kinda sound to it.

not sure what gear they're using, that'd be interesting to find out. sounds more like gibson/marshall/orange sound than fender sound.

lucylespian

Did some research, I think I'm gonna like theese guys, they sound like the kind of music I would make, if I had any talent to write stuff. I'm definietly gonna see them soon, they are playing a bunch of venues around here soon, mostly smaller places. I will probably catch them in Byron Bay I think.
Check this link, they are using an old Ampeg amp.
http://www.guitarplayer.com/story.asp?storyCode=4377

Don't know anything about this amp, but I'm guessing it is running EL:34's

catefrances

oh you'll love the black keys lucy. are familiar with australian band the fumes? or perhaps even the blackwater fever? if so then that's who the black keys are like. live they rip, so catching them at byron is a must.
they play dirtier than the white stripes. and the drummer is far more integral to the band than meg is to the white stripes. which i know is a weird statement to make considering both are two pieces.

lucylespian

catefrances wrote:

oh you'll love the black keys lucy. are familiar with australian band the fumes? or perhaps even the blackwater fever? if so then that's who the black keys are like. live they rip, so catching them at byron is a must.
they play dirtier than the white stripes. and the drummer is far more integral to the band than meg is to the white stripes. which i know is a weird statement to make considering both are two pieces.

NAh, haven't heard either of those bands, but I am hopeless at finding new stuff cos I NEVER listen to any radio and I don't go to shopping centres and hang around record stores either. I might try and check em out though. Anyone else want to ee them at Byron with me ??

YOur comment about drums makes sense to me. Some guys just keep time, and other drummers play their drums like an instrument. Bonham always stands out there for me !! Sounds like this guy is a player. I like really noisy, dirty guitar music, that's what I make at home !! I would be a recording engineers worst nightmare. LOL!!!!!

catefrances

lucylespian wrote:

NAh, haven't heard either of those bands, but I am hopeless at finding new stuff cos I NEVER listen to any radio and I don't go to shopping centres and hang around record stores either. I might try and check em out though. Anyone else want to ee them at Byron with me ??

YOur comment about drums makes sense to me. Some guys just keep time, and other drummers play their drums like an instrument. Bonham always stands out there for me !! Sounds like this guy is a player. I like really noisy, dirty guitar music, that's what I make at home !! I would be a recording engineers worst nightmare. LOL!!!!!

then the black keys are your band lucy.

samquigley

And anyone who likes The Black Keys will love The Drones.

http://media.smh.com.au/?rid=15909&category=Music

Turn it up loud.

pnjguy

i would almost guarantee that he uses some sort of big muff for his distortion.

lucylespian

pnjguy wrote:

i would almost guarantee that he uses some sort of big muff for his distortion.

Check that link I posted, mainly a Maestro, whatever that is !!

KELLYS LEASH

I saw them last month and they were absolutely great they have some really solid songs. The support was lame but what the hell I never went to see the support.

All Those Yesterdays

The Black Keys are amazing. Dan plays thru a ton of stuff and switches thru out the tour. Fuzz pedals galore. The night I saw them last he was playing thru a twin, and a 4x15 Marshall Extension Cabinet.

?ing my education

Thanks for the responses. I just can't get enough of them right now. I am almost hypnotized by his sound. I am a big Jack White fan too but this guy's sound has just got me, ya know?

I would love to see them...I know they are playing at Bonnaroo, which has several bands I wanna see. The Black Keys, the White Stripes, Wolfmother, Kings of Leon...damn, i should go.

brainofPJ

ezyrydr wrote:

it's it's good stuff.

at times they sound a lot like the white stripes but they are definitely a blues band. just kick ass dirty blues with that ranchy white stripes kinda sound to it.

not sure what gear they're using, that'd be interesting to find out. sounds more like gibson/marshall/orange sound than fender sound.

much better than the white stripes imo

ledhed43

i love them. huge fan. they make the music i wish i had made.

the guitarist, dan auerbach i believe, is a total gearhead. he has all kinds of dis/od pedals he uses in the "studio." they actually record in a dingy basement for the most part. he also has a bunch of guitars that he says would never survive the road. one of which is an old supro with an amp in the case. i read an old but really good interview where he discusses his gear some. right now he is playing an ibanez sg with 3 humbuckers and a bigsby. when i saw them live i wouldve swore it was a gibson, the headstock was shaped just like a gibson's, but i saw a pic on the net and it says ibanez on it. he also has an old tele and a epi 335 i believe. many have tried to find his sound but all have failed because his sound on the albums comes from so many different guitar, pedal, amp, and even mic combo's. they are also very experimental with mic placement, the drummer twirled the mic in front of dan's amp for one solo. i will try to find that interview and post a link here.

also check out their live dvd, good stuff, filmed in australia i believe.


found the link

http://archive.guitarplayer.com/archive/1103/1103_Features1.htm

lucylespian

I coulda sworn I posted that link already !!

ledhed43

lucylespian wrote:

I coulda sworn I posted that link already !!

maybe, i dont know. right after i saw them in dec. i was trying to find out what dan is playing in shows and googled "dan auerbach guitar" that was the first thing to come up. it didnt answer my question but was interesting.

has anybody seen an ibanez like his. i have tried musicians friend, ebay, whatever and i can't find an ibanez sg with 3 pickups.

lucylespian

ledhed43 wrote:

maybe, i dont know. right after i saw them in dec. i was trying to find out what dan is playing in shows and googled "dan auerbach guitar" that was the first thing to come up. it didnt answer my question but was interesting.

has anybody seen an ibanez like his. i have tried musicians friend, ebay, whatever and i can't find an ibanez sg with 3 pickups.

Yeah, I posted that link at the top of the thread.

The Ibanez is probbaly a pre-lawsuit one. Ibanez did a bunch of Gibson copies early on, but eventually got sued as Gibson's sales fell. Changing the headstock appearnace is a key element of avoiding copyright infringement when it comes to guitar design, so that was mostly what they changed. An early one would look identical to a Gibson. It is probably an old SG Custom copy, whihc explains the three humbuckers. You would not find a new one , but it is probbaly only a matter of time before one pops up on ebay. There are other vintage classified listings as well, my wife was looking at one a few days ago, also maybe craigslist, but I don't know much about it.

ledhed43

lucylespian wrote:

Yeah, I posted that link at the top of the thread.

i am not surprised. despite ridiculously high math scores i always failed reading comprehension. i would blame culturally biased standardized tests, but this is something i am interested in, so its all my fault. i guess it just went in one eye and out the other.

bharQ

love this band.... part of the big 3 for me at Bonnaroo..... Ween, Kings of Leon and Black Keys !!! Police and Tool are very very nice bonuses

VrJxS

brainofPJ wrote:

much better than the white stripes imo

blasphemy!!!!

lucylespian

VrJxS wrote:

blasphemy!!!!

Hey, got my black keys stuff a couple days ago from the totally awesome cf. have been listening in the car, and it's pretty groovy. at this point though, i'm not gonna agree they are better than white stripes. it's interesting the two really different results from two guys both inspired by robert johnson and son house.
jack's playing has an intensity and close to the edge danger that i haven't heard in the black keys yet.
it's good though, and i'm enjoying it a lot.
love "the blackwater fever" that came with it, now thats funky !!!!!

leethal

lucylespian wrote:

Hey, got my black keys stuff a couple days ago from the totally awesome cf. have been listening in the car, and it's pretty groovy. at this point though, i'm not gonna agree they are better than white stripes. it's interesting the two really different results from two guys both inspired by robert johnson and son house.
jack's playing has an intensity and close to the edge danger that i haven't heard in the black keys yet.
it's good though, and i'm enjoying it a lot.
love "the blackwater fever" that came with it, now thats funky !!!!!

It is amazing how the blues pioneers can be interpreted. Your right, they do have a very different sound.
Dan probably plays most like the late Junior Kimbrough; very seperate too son house and the like. Much more hypnotic. I love Dan's songs where he keeps the droning sound with his thumb; the subtle changes in rythm are incredible! Jack White is eccentic and versatile but Dan puts me in a trance. See everywhere i go or meet me in the city.

The Black Keys are my favourite band, I wonder what Stone and Mike thought of them when they opened for them. I'd love to hear Stone have a crack at some slow dirty blues.