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Thom’s Vocal Pedalboard for The Smile’s May-July 2022 Tour
Thom’s pedalboards at London’s Roundhouse on May 29, 2022. Photo by Matthew Baker.For The Smile’s most summer tour of Europe, Thom had one pedalboard for vocals and a second pedalboard for guitar and...
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why does tom skinner have two snares? thats all i have to ask
It’s pretty common for touring drummers to have multiple snares. Drummers usually switch between the drums, choosing the one whose tone best fits into the overall texture of each song. It’s uncommon...
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Hi! Thanks for the forever interesting blog! Haven’t seen info on this so...
You’re partially right. Thom has a Moog Matriarch analog synthesizer on the bottom shelf of his keyboard stand. It’s been part of his The Smile setup since the band’s first public performance on the...
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Are the guys doing the synth sounds when recording with a DI or are they...
When Radiohead play live, all synthesizers are DI. The output of the synths is processed by the FOH mixing desk, then played through the PA speakers. The same is true for Thom’s solo shows and the...
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Which organ did the band use on the Kid A recording of Motion Picture...
On the Kid A recording of Motion Picture Soundtrack, Thom played the band’s Putnam & Co. Harmonium (also known as a “pump organ). Oddly enough, the band used the exact same organ on Thinking About...
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Thom’s bass tone when he plays bass in The Smile sounds very different from...
Jonny bowing his Fender Precision bass during the intro to A Hairdryer at Luxembourg’s Neumünster Abbey on June 27, 2022 (essceeohteetee). Note the pick stored in the pickguard for when he finishes...
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hello , love your blog , I’d like to take your opinion on something , while i...
As we’ve discussed previously, the fastest way to get the sound of Jonny’s Telecaster Plus V1 is to buy any solid-body guitar with humbuckers.A photo of Jonny with his Fender Telecaster Plus V1 in...
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Jonny’s Moog Mother-32 on The Smile’s 2022 Tour
A screenshot of Jonny performing Thin Thing at Primavera Sound on June 10, 2022. His laptop’s rack setup can be seen just behind him.For The Smile’s shows at London’s Magazine in late-January, Jonny...
View ArticleI got a setlist from one of the smile concerts which has the notes for thom’s...
It’s difficult to say based on that. Can you please send a photo of the setlist to our email (thekingofgear@gmail.com)? Thanks!
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I love the sound of Thom’s 1964 Cherry Red Gibson SG No1, but it is crazy...
A close-up of one of Thom’s vintage 1960s Gibson SG guitars during Reckonerat Lollapalooza Berlin on September 11, 2016 (radiohead.com). Note that the Vibrola arm is removed.Replicating the sound of...
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Jonny’s Touring Ampeg SVT
A photo of Jonny playing with The Smile in Macerata on July 17, 2022 (picsandrock). Based on his left hand, he’s probably playing Thin Thing. His Ampeg SVT amplifier head can be seen behind him.In the...
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Jonny’s May 2022 Pedalboard at Amsterdam’s Paradiso
Jonny playing The Smoke at Amsterdam’s Paradiso (karindgr). Note the pedals resting on top of the Rhodes piano next to the Prophet 5 REV4 synthesizer: those are used with the Prophet.Jonny experimented...
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hello! im a big fan of the site, its really helped me and my bandmates so...
Have you tried adding some crowd noise ;)You’re clearly pretty deep in this stuff, so I’m going to be a bit blunt for your benefit. Please keep re-reading our post about mixing until you understand...
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What synths are used in Worrywort? Additionally, how would you make it sound...
For Worrywort, the band likely used their vintage Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, as discussed on Jonny’s Keyboards page. Though it’s worth noting that by the time Worrywort was released, the original...
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Can I get Radiohead sounds out of the OB6? Will it be that much different...
Thom and Jonny messing with Nigel’s vintage Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 REV3 during the recording of A Moon Shaped Pool.As we say in our (slightly out of date) article A Synthesizer To Play...
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have you ever thought of making a clone of the Telenordia TK-23? Or do you...
Thom’s live pedalboard at the BoA Pavillion in Boston in June, 2006. From right to left: Boss FS-5U, MXR Distortion+, Proco Turbo Rat, Boss DD5, Boss RV3, Boss LS2, MXR Dyna Comp. The FS-5U is a...
View ArticleThe piano on True Love Waits almost seems electronic to me, if you have any...
If you mean the piano at the very start, it’s an acoustic piano with some clipping and reduced high frequencies. The piano itself is played softly and close mic’d, bringing out the mechanical noise of...
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Hey there - I was reading the post about the latest board of Jonny and so and...
That’s a typo on our part, it’s easy to get careless with all of these songs with “the” in the names.These days, Jonny only uses his Boss DD-200 for The Opposite. He did use the RE-20 (with no reverb)...
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Does Jonny use the Normal or Vibrato channel on his Super Reverb? Love...
With The Smile, Jonny uses the “vibrato” channel on his ‘65 Reissue Fender Super Reverb. You probably know already, but the “vibrato” on Fender amps is actually a tremolo effect (volume modulation)....
View ArticleHi, i was watching on Youtube a live performance of Open The Floodgates in...
Here’s a link for those curious. Sounds like Thom turned down the “Overtone” knob on the Make Noise 0-Coast, giving a darker synth sound. Perhaps it was easier to turn the knob himself, rather than...
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