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lead guitar from “carry on wayward son” by kansas | ToneDB

carry on wayward son

kansas

lead guitar

95% ai confidence

Tone Profile

A powerful, singing lead tone with prominent wah, driven by a cranked British amp, offering rich sustain and harmonic complexity ideal for melodic rock solos.

Signal Chain

Instrument: Gibson Les Paul

Amp: Marshall 100W Super Lead (JMP or Plexi era)

Microphone: Shure SM57

Processing: Dunlop Cry Baby Wah, EMT 140 Plate Reverb (studio, added in mix), Subtle Tape or early Digital Delay (studio, added in mix)

Other: Marshall amp heavily driven for natural tube saturation. Shure SM57 placed close to the speaker cone (e.g., Celestion G12M or G12H in a 4x12 cabinet), possibly slightly off-axis. The core solo tone is direct and powerful, with ambiance primarily added during mixing.

Recording Notes

  • Recorded in 1976 at Studio in the Country, Bogalusa, Louisiana, for the album 'Leftoverture'.
  • Producer/engineer Jeff Glixman confirmed the solo was primarily a Les Paul through a Marshall with a Cry Baby wah.
  • The guitar solo is iconic and heavily features the wah pedal, creating a vocal, expressive quality.
  • The tone is characterized by significant sustain, a hallmark of the Les Paul/cranked Marshall combination.
  • Studio ambiance, including EMT plate reverb, was added during the mixing stage by Jeff Glixman.
  • Kerry Livgren's dynamic playing style, including his vibrato and melodic phrasing, is crucial to the sound.

Recreation Tips

  • Use a humbucker-equipped guitar, ideally a Les Paul or similar, for its characteristic warmth, sustain, and midrange focus.
  • Employ a Marshall-style amplifier (Plexi or JMP voiced). Crank the master volume (if available) or channel volume to achieve power tube saturation. An attenuator may be useful for managing volume levels.
  • A Cry Baby (GCB95) or similar vintage-voiced wah pedal is essential. Practice expressive, vocal-like sweeps synchronized with your lead lines.
  • Let the amplifier provide the primary overdrive. If more gain or shaping is needed, a subtle boost or a very mild overdrive pedal can be used to push the amp's input, but avoid overly saturated pedal distortion.
  • Add a high-quality plate reverb emulation and a subtle short delay (or slapback echo) in your DAW or via pedals to replicate the studio polish.
  • Focus on picking dynamics, precise articulation, and a wide, expressive vibrato to capture the feel of Livgren's performance.
  • Consider using the neck pickup for some of the smoother, more 'violin-like' passages, possibly rolling the tone knob back slightly.

Sources