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lead guitar from “heroes” by david bowie | ToneDB

heroes

david bowie

lead guitar

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Tone Profile

A soaring, sustained lead guitar tone with immense character, defined by natural feedback and a unique three-microphone ambient recording technique.

Signal Chain

Instrument: Gibson Les Paul Custom (likely a 1957 model with PAF humbuckers, possibly modified)

Amp: Hiwatt DR103 Custom 100 head with a Hiwatt SE4123 4x12 speaker cabinet

Microphone: Neumann U87 (or U67/U47)

Processing: Urei 1176 (compression on distant mic), Studio Noise Gate (on distant mic, e.g. Kepex), EMT 140 Plate Reverb (added during mixdown)

Other: Legendary three-microphone setup by Tony Visconti in Hansa Studio 2 (Berlin): Mic 1 (Neumann U87/U67) close to the amp. Mic 2 (Neumann U87/U67) approx. 15 feet away. Mic 3 (Neumann U87/U47) approx. 50 feet away. The distant mic (3) was heavily compressed and gated, opening only on louder notes to capture the vast room ambience and create a blooming sustain. Robert Fripp utilized amp volume, feedback, and precise playing dynamics.

Recording Notes

  • Recorded in July/August 1977 at Hansa Tonstudio 2 (the 'Big Hall by the Wall') in Berlin.
  • Guitarist: Robert Fripp. Producer: Tony Visconti.
  • Fripp reportedly improvised his melodic lines and recorded the entire guitar part in a few takes during a single evening session.
  • The core of the sound is Fripp's Les Paul into a cranked Hiwatt amplifier, generating natural sustain and controlled feedback.
  • Visconti's innovative three-microphone technique captured not just the direct amp sound but also the unique acoustics of the large Hansa hall.
  • The furthest microphone had a noise gate that only opened when Fripp played loudly, allowing the compressed room sound to swell and decay behind the notes, creating the signature 'blooming' effect.
  • No EBow or guitar synthesizer was used by Fripp for this part; the sustain is organic.
  • The Eventide H910 Harmonizer was used extensively on the album, notably on Bowie's vocals and drums, but not directly as a primary effect on Fripp's guitar for this specific sound.

Recreation Tips

  • Use a Gibson Les Paul or similar humbucker-equipped guitar, primarily on the bridge pickup.
  • Employ a high-headroom, loud, clean British-voiced amplifier (Hiwatt, Reeves, Sound City). Turn it up to encourage sustain and feedback.
  • Experiment with your guitar's volume knob and proximity/angle to the amplifier to find 'sweet spots' for controlled feedback, similar to Fripp's technique.
  • To emulate the three-mic setup in a studio: Place one mic close to the amp, a second 10-15 feet away, and a third as far as possible in a large, good-sounding room. Heavily compress and gate the furthest mic so it only opens on louder notes. Blend to taste.
  • In a DAW: Record a direct amp sound. Send this to an auxiliary track with a long hall reverb plugin. Place a noise gate plugin after the reverb, and side-chain the gate's input to the dry guitar track. Adjust the gate's threshold so the reverb 'blooms' only on sustained, louder notes.
  • If achieving natural sustain is difficult, an EBow or a sustainer pickup (e.g., Sustainiac, Fernandes Sustainer) can help replicate the effect.
  • Add a touch of high-quality plate reverb emulation during the mixing stage for overall cohesion and space.

Sources