Tone on Powerage AC/DC

[panhead]

Ever notice how the tone is totally different than any other album, hard to not notice. Maybe they got carried with those high dollar vintage compressors? Down Payment Blues/ What`s Next to the Moon etc.

 

[hopkinWFG]

Seems like the same tone on jailbreaker.... those hard hitting hi mid marshally crunch... hear a wizard VC then.?

 

[panhead]

Seems like the same tone on jailbreaker.... those hard hitting hi mid marshally crunch... hear a wizard VC then.?

No such amp existed then.

 

[panhead]

No where near the same tone as Jailbreak or any other recording

 

[Mailman1971]

I love powerage. One of my favorite albums.
Loved the tone on Highway to Hell though.

 

[lespaul6]

Ive read that angus used a 2203 for that whole record

 

[panhead]

Ive read that angus used a 2203 for that whole record

I believe you are correct after hunting the web but the sound is just different/ listen to the beginning chords of down payment blues. I think you will hear what Im talking about.

 

[Mailman1971]

Or the intro to riff raff.
Sounded really thin. Still tons of great tunes on it.

 

[psychodave]

I love powerage. One of my favorite albums.
Loved the tone on Highway to Hell though.

The song Highway to hell was recorded with the tape machine running faster than normal which would change the pitch and tone. Then when they slow it down to get to the key of E, you get that cool tone.

 

[Mailman1971]

You the man Dave.
Pm sent.

 

[Norton666]

There is no such thing as bad AC/DC tone , in my opinion.

 

[gtrwun]

The tone at the beginning of Sin City is just rippin. Always stood out to me. Love that sound. Super raw. Sounds like a cranked Marshall with a 57 in the center of the cone.

 

[Jack Luminous]

I love powerage. One of my favorite albums.
Loved the tone on Highway to Hell though.

The song Highway to hell was recorded with the tape machine running faster than normal which would change the pitch and tone. Then when they slow it down to get to the key of E, you get that cool tone.

Sorry but something's missing here. If you run the tape machine faster while recording and play the song in E and then slow down the tape machine on playback, the pitch would be lower than E. Either they were tuned higher or they played in a different key then it got down to E when it was slowed down. Seems unlikely though.

 

[Hamer95USA]

I love powerage. One of my favorite albums.
Loved the tone on Highway to Hell though.

The song Highway to hell was recorded with the tape machine running faster than normal which would change the pitch and tone. Then when they slow it down to get to the key of E, you get that cool tone.

Sorry but something's missing here. If you run the tape machine faster while recording and play the song in E and then slow down the tape machine on playback, the pitch would be lower than E. Either they were tuned higher or they played in a different key then it got down to E when it was slowed down. Seems unlikely though.

There's a lot of truth to your statement. I play in a local AC/DC tribute band (Bon Scott era only) in San Jose, CA. Some of you may know who the band is. The pitch of the songs on their early recordings vary, due to the way that tape machines that were used, the speed it was recorded at, and the speed that the discs were mastered with the original master tapes. Every time that I have to sit down to practice the songs for our upcoming shows, I have to use Amazing Slow Downer app on my iPad or iPhone to get the pitch of the recordings to the Eb tuning that we use in our band. Some of the songs that AC/DC did record were actually in Eb, some were not. The way that the Young brothers & Cliff Williams tuned their instruments seemed to be in between E or Eb on the records.

AC/DC tone especially between Malcolm's rhythm guitar tone compared to Angus is great! The way that Malcolm plays rhythm, the Gretsch guitars that he uses, and his less overdriven guitar tone compared to Angus guitar tone is a great contrast to each other

Guitar George

 

[Mailman1971]

Hell yes! It was THEM! Not so much the gear. We play tons of AC/DC Tunes in my garage band.
I dial my EVH and my Diezel Herbert to a ‘rock’ setting. And it sounds fantastically good to play old AC/DC tunes. Especially when my drummer is hitting Phil Rudd beats. I gotten over ‘over analyzing’ album tone. It can never be captured by me. Since they
Played studio magic. I play in my garage.

 

[psychodave]

I love powerage. One of my favorite albums.
Loved the tone on Highway to Hell though.

The song Highway to hell was recorded with the tape machine running faster than normal which would change the pitch and tone. Then when they slow it down to get to the key of E, you get that cool tone.

Sorry but something's missing here. If you run the tape machine faster while recording and play the song in E and then slow down the tape machine on playback, the pitch would be lower than E. Either they were tuned higher or they played in a different key then it got down to E when it was slowed down. Seems unlikely though.

Recording to a faster turning tape make the pitch sharp. Then you have to slow it down to get it in pitch. I owned a 4 track tape recorder and it had the ability to adjust recording tape speed. It’s a cool trick.

 

[Jack Luminous]

I love powerage. One of my favorite albums.
Loved the tone on Highway to Hell though.

The song Highway to hell was recorded with the tape machine running faster than normal which would change the pitch and tone. Then when they slow it down to get to the key of E, you get that cool tone.

Sorry but something's missing here. If you run the tape machine faster while recording and play the song in E and then slow down the tape machine on playback, the pitch would be lower than E. Either they were tuned higher or they played in a different key then it got down to E when it was slowed down. Seems unlikely though.

Recording to a faster turning tape make the pitch sharp. Then you have to slow it down to get it in pitch. I owned a 4 track tape recorder and it had the ability to adjust recording tape speed. It’s a cool trick.

Nope. Recording to whatever speed doesn't change the pitch. It just records what enters the recorder with the tape turning at said speed. Changing the speed afterwards, changes the pitch. I know how that works, I recorded many bands in my project studio using my 8 track C278 Revox mixing into my stereo C270 Revox. Both can record at 7.5ips or 15 ips. They both also have a varispeed, +/- 30%.

 

[psychodave]

I love powerage. One of my favorite albums.
Loved the tone on Highway to Hell though.

The song Highway to hell was recorded with the tape machine running faster than normal which would change the pitch and tone. Then when they slow it down to get to the key of E, you get that cool tone.

Sorry but something's missing here. If you run the tape machine faster while recording and play the song in E and then slow down the tape machine on playback, the pitch would be lower than E. Either they were tuned higher or they played in a different key then it got down to E when it was slowed down. Seems unlikely though.

Recording to a faster turning tape make the pitch sharp. Then you have to slow it down to get it in pitch. I owned a 4 track tape recorder and it had the ability to adjust recording tape speed. It’s a cool trick.

Nope. Recording to whatever speed doesn't change the pitch. It just records what enters the recorder with the tape turning at said speed. Changing the speed afterwards, changes the pitch. I know how that works, I recorded many bands in my project studio using my 8 track C278 Revox mixing into my stereo C270 Revox. Both can record at 7.5ips or 15 ips. They both also have a varispeed, +/- 30%.

I could misunderstand the principles of it, but I can hear that signature sound of a slowed down tape specifically with the song highway to hell. If what you’re saying is true, then they recorded it at a slightly higher pitch and increased tempo, then slowed it done with the tape. Either way this isn’t anything new. It’s been done since the 60’s... probably earlier.

 

[skoora]

The album that stands out to me with a completely unique tone is Let There Be Rock. Those amps sound like they are about to melt down. Powerage is a great tone. It does sound like cranked MV JMP's but wouldn't swear by it. Highway to hell is a little too polished for me but the songs carry the day on that one.
Played in an AC/DC tribute and can definitely attest to using the varispeed on the CD/tape player I had to make each song match my guitar for learning songs. Very often off by less than a halfstep.

 

[IHateRap]

Up to My Neck in You is about as raw rock 'n roll as you can get. Had it on vinyl when I was a kid. I wore out that record on my first "stereo"....an all in one record player from Dahlkempers department store.