Ronnie Montrose's Effects Pedals
Used for "Bad Motor Scooter", "Make It Last" and "Rock Candy", according to the following sources.
The stage is free of pedals because, the artist maintains, they always "screw up," but in the studio he does use a Big Muff fuzztone and an Ampeg Scrambler (the former built into a heavy-duty box). Ronnie's chosen amp for the past three years has been an old single cabinet tweed Fender Bandmaster with three 10" speakers. He has used the Marshalls on a few tracks, but their volume makes them difficult to work with when other band members are recording in the same room.
Circus, July 31, 1982, "Ronnie Montrose's guide to guitar accesories"
Page Influenced Montrose
"I saw him use a wah-wah," he recalls. "But my first box was an Ampeg Scrambler. It was in the days when sustain, compression, and all the things we now take for granted were in the experimental stages. This box just added a lot of noise and messed up the harmonics. I later used it with a Big Muff distortion box. I put the Scrambler in front of the Big Muff and turned it wide open. I adjusted the Big Muff and got a second note a perfect octave higher. You can hear this on 'Make It Last' from the first Montrose album."
Before I forget about it, I want to inquire about a particular sound on the first Montrose-album. I’ve seen Hagar doing the “Bad Motor Scooter” intro in concert on a lap steel. Is that how you did it on the first album?
Well, one thing you ought to know is that the song almost didn’t make it onto the album! (chuckles) We thought it was a “loser” track; just a little ditty that Sammy had written, but it was missing something. Then one day I was sitting with my red, double-cutaway Les Paul Junior, and a Electro-Harmonix Big Muff fuzztone, and the one amp I wish I’d never got rid of, a three-ten tweed Fender Bandmaster. I’d gotten it for ninety dollars, and when I bought it, it was covered with woodtone Contact adhesive paper! The Contact paper peeled right off; it didn’t leave any residue and the tweed looked brand new. I used that amp so much I blew it up several times before I finally got rid of it.
I tuned the Junior down to Open D, and started dinking around with a slide; I was probably doing Johnny Winter riffs. I happened to hit something that sounded like a motorcycle, and everyone yelled “STOP!” all at the same time. (laughs) We all knew where that riff belonged, so we changed reels and did it as the intro to “Bad Motor Scooter”.
Vintage Guitar, February 14, 2002 (unabridged)
The first Montrose album, Montrose, set new standards for sonic quality, and the duo of producer Ted Templeman and engineer Don Landee of course went on work with Van Halen. You’d worked with Ted on Van Morrison recordings, but really, Montrose broke the ground and poured the foundation upon which modern heavy metal is built – what can you tell me about the sound and recording of that album? Did you have a distinct impression of how you wanted that project to sound?
We had told Ted that we liked the Zeppelin thing, which was why we did the song “Rock Candy” at Sunset Sound, to get that big room sound. But everything was just sort of loose and free. As I look back at it, an old band mate of mine, Mitchell Froom, who is a pretty successful producer, I mentioned to him, “That first Montrose album sounds so basic and simple and raw. Sometimes I actually listen to a couple of sings and I sort of cringe, because it’s just so junior as far as playing.” And Mitchell said, “But the point is, all four of you were playing up to 100% of your ability. And when you do that, it can’t be denied.” And that’s the truth, and it was a very enlightening thing to hear from someone. When you’re playing up to your ability, and you only know three chords, and you’re giving it your all – that’s it! So we just had a good time playing.
The guitar tones of that recording are stunning – rich in tone, but very much in-your-face…
I was the only one who would hang around for mixes, and Ted and I would experiment and mess around with sounds. Ted and Don, both were my buddies in the studio. We sat around and joked, but I was always hanging over the console watching. Don and I would come up with these ideas, like the whole beginning of “Space Station #5.” That was me experimenting with my voice through a Leslie and a fuzztone. In the background of the chorus of “Rock Candy” Ted’s playing a Hammond B3, but we didn’t just want a B3. So I took the back off the B3, took the preamp output and put it into my Big Muff fuzz tone, put it into the Leslie and just fuzzed it beyond belief. So sonically, we were always into trying. As far as their ears were concerned, Ted was really on top of it, and Don was as well. I called Don “The King of the Frequency Layers.” He’d say, “We need just a little more 4k there. What do we have around the studio that’s in the 4k range?” I was very impressed with that.
Guitar Player, "GP CLASSIC: Ronnie Montrose Interview" (at 3:43)
I did use a Big Muff fuzztone when I recorded "Bad Motor Scooter". That was once again through the same Bandmaster, but to get that super fuzztone, you know, I was just screwin' around one day, we actually, we weren't sure this song was gonna be on the record and, I was just sorta screwin' around with open D tuning slide and hit the—I don't have it, you know, it's not in tune now, but it's like [plays slide phrase] and, Ted Templeman and Donn Landee said "Stop! Stop! Stop!" They ran and got the tape, they put it on, 'cause it sounded, it just sounded so perfect for the song, but we weren't really intending it to be that way, it was just, it just happened, so... But it was a Big Muff fuzztone.
The Les Paul Forum, "What guitar did Montrose use?", comment #47 by Pope Bubba, July 5, 2013
A couple'a years ago, Greg Martin and I sat on their tour bus with Ronnie after one of their shows, and he told us all about the Fender 3x10 Bandmaster he used on that first Montrose album. he made the comment that he really wished he had never gotten rid of it. he also showed us the way Jimmy Page showed him to play the into to Zeps "Whole Lotta Love". he was a REALLY nice guy.
I remember that like yesterday, Jimmy. Ronnie was one of the nicest humans ever, a big influence on me in the 70's.
As Jimmy said, Ronnie used an old tweed 3x10 Fender Bandmaster, that had been recovered, for the first Montrose album. Since his 1959 'burst was stolen at a Edgar Winter Group gig earlier, I'm almost thinking the first Montrose album was done with a newer Les Paul or another 50's 'burst? I always envisioned Ronnie having stacks of Marshall's in the studio for "Montrose," it was all done on that tweed Bandmaster! He also told me he used a Electro-Harmonix Big Muff on "Bad Motor Scooter" and a Ampeg Scrambler on "Make It Last." Ronnie said the trick to making the Scrambler work, was rolling the treble all the way back on pickups and turning the volume all the way up. I own an old Scrambler, this works!!! Other than that, Ronnie said it was straight into the amp. You can hear a Eventide H910 Harmonizer added in on the mix by producer Ted Templeman or engineers Don Landee and Stephen Jarvis as well, set on 1.01 or 0.99. That gave it that doubling slap sound on solos. Ever notice the similarities in guitar tones on the Doobie Brothers "China Grove" and "Montrose"? Both produced by Ted Templeton....
I really miss Ronnie, we got to be really good friends. We had many conversations about music, guitars, amps, influences, even jammed about 3 times. He wanted to produce a Rufus Huff CD, sadly we never got to do it. He's a BIG reason I play a Les Paul today, I know Jimmy feels the same way. His talent and spirit was undeniable. Anytime I need a good kick in the rear, I put on that first Montrose album!
Greg
I asked what Ronnie used on the first Montrose album and he stated a Les Paul (probably a '58), Big Muff (not sure which issue, probably recently bought for the lp I would think) and a Fender Bandmaster which he purchased just before the recording.
The "Triangle" Big Muff was phased out for the "Ram's Head" in 1973, the year that Montrose was recorded, ambiguating the version used. Judging by the 1969 release of the Ampeg Scrambler and Led Zeppelin's 1969 debut, however, Montrose must have been exploring fuzzes rather quickly. This suggests a "Triangle" Big Muff. Big Muff Pi scholar Kit Rae seems to have come to the same conclusion.
Ronnie Montrose of Montrose - A Les Paul, Tweed Fender Bandmaster, and a V1 Big Muff was used on their first Montrose album in 1973.
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Mentioned in this now deleted February 6, 2012 Guitar Player interview. Two were auctioned via Julien's in 2013.
Guitar Player
I always take along a Foxrox Captain Coconut 2 pedal to help out the tone. It’s an absolutely amazing pedal—a 3-in-1 device with the most perfect octave driver and phaser/ flanger sounds. It also has a distortion, but I never use it—I just turn the distortion down to zero, and use that part of the pedal as a mute so I can tune my guitar.
Julien's, "Icons and Idols 2013: Rock N' Roll (#12613)", Lot 200 and Lot 204
Ronnie Montrose's Fox Rox Captain Coconut 2 Multi-Effects processor pedal, used by Montrose onstage. This was one of Montrose's favorite effects to use on tour.
10 by 6 3/4 by 2 inches
PROVENANCE From the Collection of Ronnie Montrose
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Used for "Make It Last". It is mentioned in the October 1976 issue of Guitar Player, the July 31, 1982 issue of Circus and a July 5, 2013 recollection by The Les Paul Forum member Pope Budda.
The stage is free of pedals because, the artist maintains, they always "screw up," but in the studio he does use a Big Muff fuzztone and an Ampeg Scrambler (the former built into a heavy-duty box). Ronnie's chosen amp for the past three years has been an old single cabinet tweed Fender Bandmaster with three 10" speakers. He has used the Marshalls on a few tracks, but their volume makes them difficult to work with when other band members are recording in the same room.
Circus, July 31, 1982
Page Influenced Montrose
"I saw him use a wah-wah," he recalls. "But my first box was an Ampeg Scrambler. It was in the days when sustain, compression, and all the things we now take for granted were in the experimental stages. This box just added a lot of noise and messed up the harmonics. I later used it with a Big Muff distortion box. I put the Scrambler in front of the Big Muff and turned it wide open. I adjusted the Big Muff and got a second note a perfect octave higher. You can hear this on 'Make It Last' from the first Montrose album."
The Les Paul Forum, "What guitar did Montrose use?", comment #47 by Pope Bubba, July 5, 2013
A couple'a years ago, Greg Martin and I sat on their tour bus with Ronnie after one of their shows, and he told us all about the Fender 3x10 Bandmaster he used on that first Montrose album. he made the comment that he really wished he had never gotten rid of it. he also showed us the way Jimmy Page showed him to play the into to Zeps "Whole Lotta Love". he was a REALLY nice guy.
I remember that like yesterday, Jimmy. Ronnie was one of the nicest humans ever, a big influence on me in the 70's.
As Jimmy said, Ronnie used an old tweed 3x10 Fender Bandmaster, that had been recovered, for the first Montrose album. Since his 1959 'burst was stolen at a Edgar Winter Group gig earlier, I'm almost thinking the first Montrose album was done with a newer Les Paul or another 50's 'burst? I always envisioned Ronnie having stacks of Marshall's in the studio for "Montrose," it was all done on that tweed Bandmaster! He also told me he used a Electro-Harmonix Big Muff on "Bad Motor Scooter" and a Ampeg Scrambler on "Make It Last." Ronnie said the trick to making the Scrambler work, was rolling the treble all the way back on pickups and turning the volume all the way up. I own an old Scrambler, this works!!! Other than that, Ronnie said it was straight into the amp. You can hear a Eventide H910 Harmonizer added in on the mix by producer Ted Templeman or engineers Don Landee and Stephen Jarvis as well, set on 1.01 or 0.99. That gave it that doubling slap sound on solos. Ever notice the similarities in guitar tones on the Doobie Brothers "China Grove" and "Montrose"? Both produced by Ted Templeton....
I really miss Ronnie, we got to be really good friends. We had many conversations about music, guitars, amps, influences, even jammed about 3 times. He wanted to produce a Rufus Huff CD, sadly we never got to do it. He's a BIG reason I play a Les Paul today, I know Jimmy feels the same way. His talent and spirit was undeniable. Anytime I need a good kick in the rear, I put on that first Montrose album!
Greg
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"And I’ve just discovered the Eventide TimeFactor pedal"
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Specified on the official Foxrox artist page.
The Late, Great Ronnie Montrose
Captain Coconut, CC2 Upgrade, Octron2
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Two were auctioned via Julien's in 2013. The listings can be found here and here with the same description.
Ronnie Montrose's Crybaby Wah Wah pedal, which he used in the studio. Montrose liked a clean look, so he removed all of the decals from the pedal.
10 by 4 by 3 inches
PROVENANCE From the Collection of Ronnie Montrose
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Auctioned via Julien's in 2013.
Ronnie Montrose's Mesa Boogie Preamp pedal, Model V Twin, with manual and power supply.
8 1/4 by 3 by 7 inches
PROVENANCE From the Collection of Ronnie Montrose
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Auctioned via Julien's in 2013.
A box of various electronics modified or built by Ronnie Montrose, including two Bogner RM pedals, switch box and five inputs, Direct boxes, footswitch, FX017 Wah volume controller, Matchbox Preamp EQ, Direct box speaker simulator MB-10, a microphone, and miscellaneous cables.
12 by 12 by 6 inches
PROVENANCE From the Collection of Ronnie Montrose
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Specified on the official Foxrox artist page.
The Late, Great Ronnie Montrose
Captain Coconut, CC2 Upgrade, Octron2
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Mentioned in this August 1997 interview with John “Wedge” Wardlaw at 30:00.
Wardlaw: Do you still use the Morley box at all? I just know you recommended it to me, this isn’t necessarily in the interview, I’m just curious.
Montrose: Oh! Oh yeah, I still have that, the JD10?
Wardlaw: Yeah.
Montrose: Yeah, that’s a nice box.
Wardlaw: That was a good recommendation. I really like it.
Montrose: That’s a good little preamp, yeah, that works fine.
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Discography
