Dinosaur Jr – I Bet On Sky

"Amp-wise, Mascis turned to classic British and American combos to provide the thunderous tones that are such a powerful feature of I Bet On Sky. 'I used a '59 Vox AC15 and a (Fender) Tweed Deluxe and a Tweed Bandmaster,' he explains." - Music Radar.

"'The last two albums I was thinking more about playing the stuff live and this one, I didn't worry about it. If I wanted to put some keyboard in that would never get played live or something, I just did.' Mascis adds that the palette of guitar tones used on I Bet On Sky was quite a bit broader than in the band's early work.

'I used a '58 Tele a lot for leads and different things for rhythm like a Les Paul Junior - a bunch of guitars. Basically, P-90s for rhythm, and I used this Tonebender copy that Jim [Roth] from the band Built To Spill made. I used that on a lot of lead tracks usually combined with some other fuzz.'

We mention that the woody, sweet fuzz tone on the new album's standout track Almost Fare was particularly chewy. Did that tone arrive courtesy of the Tonebender clone, too?

'Yeah, that's probably that one and maybe a [Univox] Super-Fuzz together. I was using the Tonebender on most tracks, then adding different fuzzes with it - sometimes three, usually just two.'"

Used on Several Shades of Why, with a custom unit being used on I Bet on Sky and live in 2012, as stated in this August 24, 2011 interview with Kit Rae.

KR: What are you using on the new record, Several Shades of Why? Which is one of my favorite albums, by the way. Seems like I’m listening to that every day now. Really good sounds, great songs (KR - I had to really restrain the fanboy in me from asking J to please do more of this acoustic work. I love this album).

JM: Oh, thanks. I was using a Tonebender copy that Jim Roth from Built to Spill built on that record. On the acoustics, mostly that seemed to sound cool. I don’t know which version he copied. A Mark II or something (KR - I asked Jim and he said it was based on a Mark I Tonebender. The actual pedal is pictured below. Jim is the guitarist for Built to Spill, made many of his bands pedals himself, and has toured with J in the past. Jim frequents some of the DIY pedal forums as Jerms, and is praised for his accurate pedal builds).

http://www.kitrae.net/music/Images_Secret_Music_Page/Jerms%20Tonebender%20sm.jpg] / [http://www.kitrae.net/music/Images_Secret_Music_Page/Jerms%20Tonebender%20Guts%20sm.jpg]

Tonebender MK I clone made for J by Jim Roth, a.k.a. Jerms. Featured on J's Several Shades of Why album. Jim has also made a custom Tonebender MK1/Treble Booster combo for J that was featured on Dinosaur jr's I Bet on Sky album and tour in 2012 (Photos © Jim Roth)

KR: Yeah, it sounds kind of Tonebenderish. I knew I was hearing fuzz, but it's interesting that it's all done with an acoustic. There are only a few songs that I hear the electric guitar, like What Happened, Can I, and a couple of the others, but those fuzz sounds just perfectly suit the songs.

JM: Yeah, it was still an acoustic, it was just that we added the fuzz. Yeah, for electric, whatever I have gotten lately I’ll try. Different combinations. For some reason the Big Muff never seems…I never think of it for recording these days I guess (KR - A Ram's Head Big Muff was seen among J's floor pedals for the recording of Farm, but the last time I know for sure J used a Big Muff in the studio was for the J Mascis + the Fog album *More Light, in 2000. J used his Ram's Head Big Muff with a late 50s Telecaster into a tweed 310 Bandmaster.)*

KR: Too over the top to go with the acoustics?

JM: No, actually it never seems extreme enough for any kind of fuzz that I’m thinking about in the studio, but live it’s still my sound.