Backline-circa 2000
"Guitar Sounds on the Stargazer EP"
This post is in response to inquiries we've had over the years regarding the gear used during Stella Luna's live shows and the recording of Stargazer.
Live: Susan Hanson's guitars are mid-60's Fender Mustangs which she plugs into an original 1969 Orange 80 watt head and matching 4x12 cabinet loaded with old Goodmans. Her vintage effects chain includes long extinct Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal, Multivox Big Jam SE-9 Biphase 9, and Elektra Analog Chorus 504CH pedals in addition to Boss Digital Reverb RV-3 and Ibanez Analog Delay AD-99. Devon Smith's main guitars live are Fender Jazzmaster and Jagmaster models. His signal is split using a passive A/B footswitch. Channel A includes Electro Harmonix Big Muff and Small Stone effects, Rocktek ADR-02 and Ibanez AD-99 Analog Delays before meeting a 1996 ('72 reissue) Orange 120 watt Overdrive head and matching 4x12 cabinet loaded with Celestion 75w GTs. Channel B includes Marshall Shredmaster, Boss HR-2 Harmonist, and Boss DD-5 Digital Delay before hitting a 1975 Marshall JMP 50w MKII head and early 90's Celestion Vintage 30 loaded Marshall 1960AV 4x12 cabinet.
Studio: During the making of the Stargazer EP, Susan's main guitar was her '66 Dakota Red Fender Mustang which she paired with various vintage amplifiers at the beautifully analog and magical Retrophonic Studios located in the nation's oldest city of St. Augustine. A '65 blackface Fender Vibrolux combo which was externally connected to a '62 Fender Dual Showman cabinet and a '69 silverface Fender Vibrolux 210 combo were used for cleaner sounds. A '77 Marshall JMP 50 watt 212 combo was used for overdriven parts.
Devon used a vintage 1956 Les Paul Goldtop with original P-90 pickups for all straight guitar parts clean and dirty and his '62 reissue Candy Apple Jazzmaster for all tremolo guitar parts clean and dirty. Cleaner sounds were captured using the '65 Vibrolux connected to the '62 white Dual Showman and also an original 50's Fender Tweed Twin. The '77 Marshall JMP 50w 212 and Orange 120w Overdrive were used for all overdriven guitar. A 1950's Hammond/Leslie 122 amplifier/rotating speaker system designed for organs was converted and used with the old '56 Les Paul for the warbling sounds heard on the tracks "antares" and "a bridge to nowhere". Use of a SansAmp Powerbend for "additional" distortion was very minimal. Guitar signals also encountered various API and Neve modules, Universal Audio, Manley, Tube Tech tube gear, and combinations of vintage Lexicon, Alesis, and Eventide effects units. Not to mention the HUGE permanently mounted plate reverb unit the studio employs to great effect and everything routed through a Rupert Neve designed 24-track Amek console onto a mint vintage Otari MX-80 two inch tape machine. (thanks to J.P. for compiling information)
