Audley Freed! (part 2)

I went surfing and found some info on Audley that WoodyToners will enjoy. The excerpts were taken from two articles: here and here. The articles are a bit old, so some of the info might be dated. If you know where to find more or more-current Audley info or interviews, please let me know.

Influences and Style

“I was into Billy Gibbons and ZZ Top, especially Tres Hombres and Fandango, which both had a big effect on me as a player, especially the guitar sounds. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s live album, One More From The Road, was a really big influence on me because there were three guitar players and they all had their own sound and their own approach. I wasn’t really far enough along in my ear development to really know who was playing what all the time, but I could figure it out some of the time. I could pick out what a Les Paul or a Strat sounded like.

“I was also into Jimmy Page and I learned a lot of the Zeppelin stuff and his solos. I also listened to the Allman Brothers and Marshall Tucker Band, and that’s were where I got a lot of my major pentatonic riffs. I was also influenced by songs that were on the radio by bands like Bachman Turner Overdrive, the Doobie Brothers, the Outlaws and Johnny Winter.

“The history of all this [music] is important and you begin to understand where it comes from. You really understand where everything is coming from tonewise and from a historical perspective. I figured that if Hendrix had so much of an R&B influence then maybe I should start learning to play some decent R&B guitar. I just make stabs at playing some R&B, straight blues and country licks. Even though I’m a rock guitar
player, that stuff still gets into the mix. I think it’s really important to take all of those influences and put them together.

“Take in everything and mix it up. I’ve been through a lot of phases of playing. I grew up learning honky tonk rock while at the same time I was into Led Zeppelin and Hendrix. Back then, I didn’t realize that when Hendrix was playing “Wait Until Tomorrow,” that it was all Curtis Mayfield licks and R&B stuff. Years later, through a little digging, I learned where it came from and realized that maybe I should get a Curtis Mayfield record and listen to it. So I started searching out the roots of my favorite players.

“Now I understand that in Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allen Collins was the Clapton-ish guy, Gary Rossington was more the Paul Kossoff [guy]. Ed King and Steve Gaines were more the country-type guys. So once you know who your heroes were listening to, then you figure that you should go and check those guys out.

“If you like Stevie Ray Vaughan, don’t try to play exactly like him. If you like his guitar sound and his licks, take ‘em, but turn them into your own thing. It’s more fun to do it that way anyway, and then you end up sounding like you. I never really got fixated on any one player, wanting to play exactly like that guitarist. There are just so many good players out there and there’s so much you can learn from them.

“I think I have a definable sound and style of my own, and I guess that’s how you arrive at it — plus, a whole lot of hard work playing and working at it. Just go with what you feel in your musical soul and what you hear in your head. Gravitate towards what you like and try to have an open mind.”

Guitars

“I got [a] Les Paul because all the rockers back then were using them — everyone from Billy Gibbons to Jimmy Page to Mick Ralphs and Gary Rossington. I’d wanted a Firebird because Allen Collins and Johnny Winter had one, but I couldn’t get my hands on a reverse one. [His first] one had a great neck. I used the Les Paul and Firebird for a while and then the Van Halen phenomenon came along and I switched over to a whammy bar guitar for a couple of years and used a variety of amps, but never really got into the
effects.

“Then I got into Hendrix, Trower and Stevie Ray Vaughan and I had a Warmoth Strat built with a hardtail bridge and I used that through the Cry Of Love period along with a couple of other Fender Strats. But then once the Cry Of Love thing ground to a halt, I felt like I wanted to make a change and start fresh. That’s when I got back into Gibsons and using Les Pauls. I got a ’56 Historic Goldtop that I used quite a bit on that first Black Crowes tour and then I got a ’59 Historic that Tom Murphy had aged. The finish on it was really cool. To me, this one looked more like Joe Walsh’s guitar and some of the original bursts you would see back in the day. I’ve used it a whole lot since I got it. ”

Guitar Set-Up

“I usually use .010-.046 gauge strings on all the electrics. But if I’m tuning down, I might use a heavier set.

“I like a medium action and like my neck to be adjusted so it’s fairly straight, but with a little relief in them. For playing slide, I like it totally straight.”

Effects

“I usually use some kind of overdrive for solos, but not for rhythm. I have a Klon Centaur that I love and I was using a Tube Screamer, which I like for certain characteristics. The Klon is really transparent, which I really like, but the Tube Screamer colors your tone with a specific sort of midrange spike that’s cool, especially if you’re using the front pickup on a Les Paul. If you’re playing leads, it’s real articulate.

“I also had a Chandler echo, a Fulltone Deja Vibe, Fulltone Tonebender Fuzz, and an MXR Dyna Comp that I would use if I was using an country licks, along with an Ernie Ball Volume pedal and a little bit of echo.

“I’ve got a Prescription Electronics Clean Octave box that I kick on now and then and a Vox wah. That was about it.

“The real mainstay effects for any gig are a good overdrive, a wah pedal and some kind of modulation pedal like a Deja Vibe and a Rotosphere, which I didn’t use on [the Crowes] gig because there’s another guitar player and a Hammond organ player.”

Practice

“I do [practice]. I go through phases with my practice routines. Sometimes I won’t practice that much for like three years. Instead, I’ll work on writing songs and recording. I think that one of the best things in the world you can do is to learn songs off of records and learn about what you’re doing. Learn some theory, even if it’s just the basics. You don’t really need to go beyond that. In the end, it will really help you to understand what you’re doing. If you’re painting, it really helps you to understand what the names of the
colors are.

“I think that taking stuff off records is really good to inspire ideas and working with a
metronome is great for your timing, but it’s really boring and I’m not so sure it’s really going to make you any more musical or soulful. I think it would be better to put on a record that’s got a good pocket and really concentrate on that and just play along.

“Repetition, for me, is the key to getting something down. You can learn a song or a riff, but if you don’t come back to it then it’s really of no use. When I’m really working on stuff, I’ll take things apart and then play them every day. That way, it becomes part of
your vocabulary.

“Try to make the learning process fun. Play things that you enjoy hearing and focus on
strengthening your weak spots, like maybe your timing or your intonation. If it’s specific technique things that you’re working on, just figure out what works for you as a regime and then just do it every day.”

Recording

“Since I am making demos [at home], my approach to guitar recording is limited by the amount of space I have. I am using the POD for just about everything, although I also use an old Airline amp sometimes — put it in my bathroom and put a Shure SM57 on it and it sounds cool. The biggest thing for me when recording guitars, direct with the POD or otherwise, is to not overdo it distortion or effects-wise. I find the guitars will always sit in the mix better, especially if there are two or more, when you think moderately on these fronts.

“I like the Tweed Blues and Black Panel settings on the POD, and Small Tweed for extra gnarly, midrangey sounds. I like to use the Airline with a Reverend Drivetrain distortion pedal in front of it for playing solos — nice and smooth without being over-compressed and buzzy.

“Once again, I try to trust my ears ahead of time when trying to match a tone with a part I’m hearing in my head. For the most part, I’ve found the sound will be dictated by the part, although sometimes trying a different tone will make a part come alive. Cool Edit [software] makes it easy to do all this stuff.

“The best advice I have is use your ears — I’m certainly no engineer but can get in the ballpark by doing this.”

Advice

“If you really love [music], the same rules apply here as elsewhere: Define your goals, work hard, be prepared to sacrifice, and even though there are ups and downs, try do it all with a positive attitude.

“In order to be at the right place at the right time, you have to figure out which place works for you and keep going there until ‘the right time’ comes along. There are many degrees of success in this business, but I don’t think anything tops the feeling of being a part of creating something you’re proud of.”
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Note: Audley wrote the track Life on the Outside, recorded by Gov’t Mule on The Deep End.

Category: Amp emulators, Audley Freed, Effects, Gibson, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page/Zep, Lynyrd Skynyrd