Dann Huff's "Exception To The Rule" Guitar Solo

Here's one from Dann's instrumental solo album "Solos" and perhaps one of my top five Dann Huff guitar solos!
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S O C I A L S
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[@SkralanLamon]

I can never get enough of Dann Huff stuff.

[@RichardWatson]

Me neither, man!

[@ConstantinoOfficial]

Brilliant Do you ever use amp sim plugins for tracking guitar? What would be your go to for clean huff style tones?

[@RichardWatson]

Hey Michael! I don't tend to use amp sim plug-ins (tend to use either my Kemper or one of my amps going through an IR) but most of my back end processing is plug-ins these days (delays, pitch, verb, etc). I tend to find Huff's clean sounds a little less processed than what people usually think of as being "Landau" cleans (Tales From The Bulge era). So, for me, it's a VERY clean Fender or Boogie style clean (sometimes even DI'd) with a little pitch shift, a digital delay (maybe with a little modulation in the repeats) and a plate or digital style verb. Sometimes there will be a tri-chorus style pedal in there. The Boss Dimension C will also get you close since I'm pretty sure Dann used to use a rack-mounted Dimension D back in the day.

[@RichardWatson]

Despite Dann poking fun at himself saying "I used up all the chorus in the 80's... they had to make more!", I actually find that he was very tasteful with his use of effects. So my rule of thumb would be "less is more" in some ways.

[@jayboy6895]

It’s so good to see you back with one hell of a solo. Outstanding brother

[@RichardWatson]

Thank you, brother! It's a great one. Dann, very much, remains THE man!

[@Terry_Aki]

Cool! Curious what pedals used on this one? Thanks!

[@RichardWatson]

Thanks! This one was actually all Kemper!

[@chrislestermusic]

Welcome back! Can’t miss with Dann.

[@RichardWatson]

Thanks Chris!

[@somethingserious3683]

Hey Richard! Awesome playing, sounds almost like dann himself!. I would like to know, what pickups would you recommend to get for dann huff's lead sound?

[@RichardWatson]

Hey man! Well, Dann's Tyler classic has Duncan Classic Stacks single coils and super humbucker. Apparently the old Classic Stacks are great if you can find them. Although, honestly, I personally always feel that the amp tone plays the biggest part (as long as the pickups are at least in the ballpark!). For Dann tones, I tend to go for either Mesa Boogie Mark-type drives, sometimes an SLO type thing (like my Mezzabarba) or a Kasha Rockmod profile on my Kemper. The Sinvertek No5 Drive pedal is great for getting in that ballpark and I have a friend who raves about the MXR Super Badass Distortion. For rhythm sounds, I still dig the Animal OD by Rockett.

[@somethingserious3683]

@@RichardWatson thank you so much, this is very useful ! Not a lot of people want to share their specs but what they don't know is that all info comes around. Thank you so much!

[@joshuakeller6687]

Good to see you back, my friend! You never disappoint with your Dann Huff videos!

[@RichardWatson]

Thank you, man! More on the way!

[@bbking0064]

Nice playing and sound. You mention this is in the top five - maybe you could list your other favourite Dann solos.

[@RichardWatson]

That may be a future video right there... !

[@bbking0064]

@@RichardWatson Would love to see it.

[@jakeb7912]

Wow sounds so sexy and cool love the mix nice very 1980s but cool we love the 1980s best decade to be happy not anymore in 2022 its so toxic.

[@RichardWatson]

Yeah man! It's so fun learning this stuff, great guitar tones!

[@heliobluesrock]

Oh, my friend, that was outstanding, as everything you play! Thanks for sharing it!

[@RichardWatson]

Thank you, my friend. I really appreciate it!

[@godawg1023]

I’m pretty sure I would have thought this was Dann, if I hadn’t seen you. This Huff Tone is SPOT ON!!!

[@RichardWatson]

Ah thanks man! It was a fun tone to try and capture, although I've never heard anyone get as close as the splendid Mr Kristian Larsen !

[@godawg1023]

@@RichardWatson you’re right Mr Larson is amazing!!! You should do a collaboration track with him!

[@RichardWatson]

@@godawg1023 Man, I would love that! I'll see if he'd be up for it!

[@bobbykotick2642]

Good playing and good tone.

[@RichardWatson]

Thanks Bobby!

[@cshades8026]

Absolute perfection! Can you go over what you used amp wise to get these tones? I use a Quad Cortex but maybe I can get in the ballpark 😁

[@RichardWatson]

Thanks man! I think this was either my Mezzabarba amp or possibly a Kemper profile of a Mesa Boogie Preamp. A lot of Dann's work with Giant was either a Mesa Boogie Studio preamp or Soldano-modded Marshall head. A Mark Series Boogie QC model will get you in the ballpark!

[@cshades8026]

@@RichardWatson I would love to see a rig rundown video. I know you have a patreon page. However, do you offer custom lessons? If there was something I couldn’t figure out by ear could you do a video on it?

[@RichardWatson]

@@cshades8026 Rig rundown will definitely happen in the future! As for lessons, I do offer 1-2-1 lessons via Zoom, alternatively, the "Session Hero" tier on Patreon allows you to submit video requests (provided they are "on brand" with the 80's/90's session theme). This could be a straightforward video lesson/transcription just for Patreon or, if I feel it's something I can make an interesting video around, a KZbin video!

[@cshades8026]

@@RichardWatson Sounds good it’s honestly just a John Norum song called Spirit World. Not super well known but an awesome track nonetheless. Hey played it using a strat with all single coils. Anyways let me know if that would be something worth it for you. I’ll check out your patreon in the meantime 😎

[@SalvadorEguiarteDG]

Wow! Is that the same guitar?!

[@RichardWatson]

Hey Salvador! Yeah this is my old Black Classic (Landau Classic specs)! Technically not as "hot" as the Huff models but still works well for a Huff tone if paired with the right amp/model.

[@SalvadorEguiarteDG]

@@RichardWatson I loved how it sounded, man! It was awesome!

[@RichardWatson]

@@SalvadorEguiarteDG Thank you, Salvador!

[@LordFingers1]

well done sir....

[@RichardWatson]

Thank you, brother!

[@MaxRandall]

Think I've got it figured out - very similar to his work on Leslie Phillips' "Tug of War."

[@RichardWatson]

Nice!

[@piperdaniel]

Dude - really enjoy your guitar style! (In fact the tone and style you go for IS my favorite!) Just wondering if you've met some of your heros so far? Perhaps Dann Huff? Keep up the great channel!

[@RichardWatson]

Hey man! I've never met Dann but I was lucky enough to meet Landau in L.A. He and Scott Henderson were playing one night after the other at The Baked Potato so I went to both shows. Mike was incredibly humble and super nice (it goes without saying how amazing his playing was that might), Scott was also great! Hopefully one day I might get the chance to meet Dann and apologise for stealing all his licks!

[@joshfulmer3689]

Wow honestly You do a very good job representing Dann Huff.

[@RichardWatson]

Thanks Josh!

[@ExplosionDestroyer]

Fantastic playing and tone. This track and Winter are some of my favorites off the album.

[@RichardWatson]

Thanks man! It's a bit of an odd record (since I don't think Dann actually signed it off) but there are some golden moments on it!

[@marysini1391]

great

[@RichardWatson]

Thank you!

[@DeadMansPartyFilms]

Hells yeah!

[@RichardWatson]

Thanks man!

[@DeadMansPartyFilms]

@@RichardWatson thank you for letting us enjoy it!

[@gtrchum]

Hey Richard.....that brought back memories. Great job and it's always awesome to see the appreciation and love from the younger generation!!!

[@RichardWatson]

Hey Shawn! Ah thanks so much, man - you're an amazing player and I always dig the tones you get!

[@lorenmtucker]

Once again, fantastic stuff. I love this track!

[@RichardWatson]

Thanks Loren! Me too!

[@j_dog7884]

My lord this tone is to die for.

[@RichardWatson]

Thanks man!

[@kevenmurilo2115]

hello, what equipment do you use to give this light chorus effect?

[@RichardWatson]

Hey man! Micro pitch shift. I apply it via a stereo bus in my DAW but Eventide make a designated pedal for that effect now (it also features on the H9 and Pitchfactor). A few other companies do something similar (even BOSS have a detune mode on their harmonist pedal).

[@kevenmurilo2115]

@@RichardWatson I really liked the sound, but unfortunately here in Brazil these types of equipment are expensive

[@RichardWatson]

@@kevenmurilo2115 I understand. Eventide is very expensive. Maybe see if you can find a second-hand Boss PS-6 on eBay or Reverb. You might be able to find one cheap-ish and the Detune mode on them is supposed to be really good.

[@juanma5268]

Fantastic man!!!

[@RichardWatson]

Thank you!

[@Swizzenator]

FAB

[@RichardWatson]

Thank you!

[@TexasJackdaw]

Clean and accurate. Nice!

[@aquinojose94]

The playing and tone is so fire bro 👍🏼👍🏼

[@RichardWatson]

Thank you, Juan!

[@f0kxi]

Ive been wanting to see someone do this for a long time! thank you!

[@RichardWatson]

Thanks man!