Behind The Recording of ACDC's Back In Black!
- Dinosaur David B
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- Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 5:21 pm
Re: Behind The Recording of ACDC's Back In Black!
Interesting. I never would've guessed that Angus used his wireless unit in the studio and that it's part of his tone.
- Dinosaur David B
- Posts: 18977
- Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 5:21 pm
Re: Behind The Recording of ACDC's Back In Black!
It's kind of like Iommi and May with the Treble Booster, or Ritchie with his Awia tape machine. These things all acted like preamps and added to their sounds in the days of single gain stage amps.
The dildo of consequence seldom arrives lubed.
- Tatosh Guitar
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- Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2015 5:43 pm
- Location: Mexico
Re: Behind The Recording of ACDC's Back In Black!
Yeah. I get a kick when people will argue ad nauseam that EVH didn't use an overdrive pedal and that the sound of VH1 is a stock Marshall. And somehow nobody mentions the gain stage added by the Echoplex's preamp on front...Dinosaur wrote:It's kind of like Iommi and May with the Treble Booster, or Ritchie with his Awia tape machine. These things all acted like preamps and added to their sounds in the days of single gain stage amps.
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Re: Behind The Recording of ACDC's Back In Black!
A friend of mine, very nerd, tell me the story about that wireless unit.
They where ONLY 3 made, and it where for rent until Angus liked so much that buyed one and inserted into the very guitar (Brad Gillis did the same some years after).
The thing is that the preamp into the whireless was kind of a booster and people was renting this as studio gear (some VH I studio pic show that unit on the guitar rig).
Some years ago, an italian american guy, freak of Angus tone buyed one unit and reverse engineered and created the SOLO DALLAS PREAMP, a true recreation of this thing and showed to Angus. He liked so much that the guy have gifted to him the first unit.
The're the Solo Dallas preamp, stomp box version, too.
That guy claims having recreated the ultimate plexy tone, and sells a Marshall Plexy knock off: https://solodallas.com/collections/amplifiers



- Tatosh Guitar
- Posts: 3534
- Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2015 5:43 pm
- Location: Mexico
Re: Behind The Recording of ACDC's Back In Black!
Oh yeah, the Solo Dallas seems like a dream come true to some of us who dig the old 70's tone.
Years ago I used to belong to a forum of Marshall enthusiasts that would create replicas of those classic amps. These guys were borderline OCD as far as this stuff. Solo Dallas was a member back then, and to say he was crazy about Angus' tone is selling it short.
He has created a whole business of his discovery of that wireless system. Apparently, everybody used it back then, not only Angus or EVH. I am pretty sure Gilmour used it at some point and I even read an interview with Rudy Sarzo where he raves about it, going as far as saying that that thing was behind the "best tone he ever had" and how happy he was that it was available again.
Apparently, the reason that unit stopped being produced back in the day is because it became illegal to use the frequencies it worked on, for domestic use. So everybody just stopped using it and that was that. Angus in particular became quite frustrated with this, because it was a vital part of his sound. Solo Dallas managed to recreate the circuit without the whole wireless section and focused on its preamp side. Word on the street is that Angus is ecstatic and became quite close with these guys, which must be like a fanboy's wet dream for Solo Dallas.
Years ago I used to belong to a forum of Marshall enthusiasts that would create replicas of those classic amps. These guys were borderline OCD as far as this stuff. Solo Dallas was a member back then, and to say he was crazy about Angus' tone is selling it short.
He has created a whole business of his discovery of that wireless system. Apparently, everybody used it back then, not only Angus or EVH. I am pretty sure Gilmour used it at some point and I even read an interview with Rudy Sarzo where he raves about it, going as far as saying that that thing was behind the "best tone he ever had" and how happy he was that it was available again.
Apparently, the reason that unit stopped being produced back in the day is because it became illegal to use the frequencies it worked on, for domestic use. So everybody just stopped using it and that was that. Angus in particular became quite frustrated with this, because it was a vital part of his sound. Solo Dallas managed to recreate the circuit without the whole wireless section and focused on its preamp side. Word on the street is that Angus is ecstatic and became quite close with these guys, which must be like a fanboy's wet dream for Solo Dallas.
- Dinosaur David B
- Posts: 18977
- Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 5:21 pm
Re: Behind The Recording of ACDC's Back In Black!
Pete Thorn just demoed this new thing which is kind of the same idea as all of these early boosts, but with a lot of tweak-ability.
Not something I need, but cool.
Not something I need, but cool.
The dildo of consequence seldom arrives lubed.