Howard Stern recently posted a rare video of The Black Keys performing “Lonely Boy” at his 2014 birthday show, and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl is seen clapping in the crowd and loving the performance. Grohl has rarely commented on The Black Keys in public, so this shows he is indeed a fan, and doesn’t have a beef with the band! Howard Stern recently discussed a sad Smashing Pumpkins loss.
Climbingfire posted the secret to getting The Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach’s guitar tone on Reddit, “Getting that Dan Auerbach dirty blues rock sound. Right now I am playing: Electric Guitars: 1) Epiphone Les Paul with Seymour Duncan Blackout Pickups. 2) American Fender Strat 3) Chet Atkins Gretsch (not including acoustics as it doesn’t fit my question).
Amp: Marshall JVM 210. Effect chain: Boss TU-2 (Tuner) > Dunlop Crybaby (Wah) > EHX Micro QTron > Ibanez Tube Screamer (Overdrive) > Big Muff Pi (Fuzz) > Boss DD-7 (Delay).
I play a wide range of music, but at the moment I’m really going for a Dan Auerbach dirty blues rock sound. I know he uses a ton of Fuzz pedals and really pushes his amps. one fuzz he’s well know for is the Russian Big Muff which is too expensive so I’m passing on that. I think with the tube screamer boosting the mids and the tone knob down a bit on the NYC big muff through a pushed tube amp it does the trick. I feel it could use a little bit of work though.
Guitars. I’m in the market for a new guitar because I’m ALWAYS in the market for a new guitar… would you recommend a solid body or a semi hollow for Black Keys style music? I always thought of Dan as a semi hollow guy, but when I check out their live videos – especially the old ones (which is the black keys I love) he’s almost always playing on solid bodies.
Amp. This is a whole lot of amp for someone who isn’t touring the world professionally. I’ve had it for about 10 years, not sure if I want to go for a more ‘vintage’ sounding amp. Would you recommend a different amp, and if so what would be your recommendations?
Effects. I’m not unhappy with my chain. I think I want to add a reverb pedal, maybe a phaser or a tremelo. What would you add, get rid of, or change in this train for a Black Keys sound?”
Mattszerlag responded, “Solid body is the way to go. I think you already have the facilities to get that sound, but if you’re in the market for another, I’d go with an SG. For amps, I’d look for a 15w fender 1×12 tube amp as a pedal platform. I’m not much of a peddler, so I can’t speak much about them.” Dave Grohl was ‘heckled’ by a big name at a Foo Fighters show.
