Recreating The David Bowie 'Heroes' Lead Sound With Pedals

GEAR USED:
Pedals: Digitech FreqOut
Electronic Audio Experiments Halberd
Meris Mercury 7
Spaceman Effects Sputnik III
Meris Enzo
Boss RV-2
Guitar: Parts Jazzmaster (Curtis Novak Wide Range Humbuckers)
Amp: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (w/ Two Notes Torpedo Captor load box & Wall of Sound)
Perfect Circuit Affiliate Link (any gear purchased through this link helps support the channel): bit.ly/3tIfDBj
Follow us on Instagram @noisegeneratorfx
For demo inquiries: [e-mail]

[@noisegenerator]

Tony Visconti's breakdown of 'Heroes': kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYKVpJaGp8hkjac

[@ShiroiTengu]

WOW. This is by far the closest I've ever heard anybody get to Fripp's sounds in the studio. Well done!

[@HarshTonesInc]

One of my favorite things ever recorded. Nailed it!

[@noisegenerator]

Same! Thanks so much man!

[@MrVersipellis]

Great job! One of my favourite guitar sounds - Fripp and Eno made some magical sounds together in that era

[@noisegenerator]

Thank you! Agreed!

[@TheLordcasio]

In the 90's I tried this with my eBow and my 90's era effects processor. after watching this, I can see how I missed the mark. Good work.

[@dougtull4594]

The Ebow can definitely get you pretty close, but there's still something missing.

[@TheLordcasio]

@@dougtull4594 I mean, the old recording mags with accounts of the recording process, state (according to Visconti) that Fripp and Eno ran Fripp’s guitar through Eno’s EMS suitcase synthesizer, to get that “ebo sound”. It was “Fripertronics” without the tape machine.

[@matthewdotson2186]

Perfect 10/10 on the guitar tones. This has always been my favorite Bowie song and it's exactly because of this part. That movie Perks of Being a Wallflower referred to this as the "tunnel song" and whenever I hear that guitar I picture the tunnel.

[@bret6484]

you did it holy shit... I'm crying this is gorgeous

[@fullpedalalchemist]

Love this series! Reminds me of the old effectology videos Bill Ruppert used to do for EHX - I learned so much of how to combine pedals creatively through that, this has a similar but unique charm. Keep ‘em coming!

[@noisegenerator]

Thank you so much! Definitely planning to do some more of these! :)

[@dontfeedthemilkshake]

Love this series, keep it up! Everyone always addresses a band or guitarists' general sound, glossing over the coolest parts of their stuff, like this.

[@noisegenerator]

Thank you so much! I'm with you, these kinds of production techniques and approaches are usually much more interesting to me than the broader sounds!

[@rederickfroders1978]

I bought a Freqout just to try to do this sound. This sound is absolutely legendary!

[@hjvarfjell]

Awesome. I was just sitting here wondering how to be able to kinda re create that guitar sound, and there you were. The team Fripp, Eno, and Bowie is nothing short of pure magic. Three geniuses at play. Four, with Tony Visconti. ❤

[@captainvor3274]

super cool, ive been obsessed with that sound since i was a kid and first heard this song, so happy to know how it was done

[@willfowler8540]

Wow! Incredible production quality and expert breakdown.

[@noisegenerator]

Thanks so much!

[@user-bz1lu1kk9q]

what a cool setup man! Ive been getting Fripp esque tones througha 74 twin (very loud) and a DS1 and Morley fuzz Wah

[@chrisrag1346]

Lovely recreation. I love this song, and Fripp created such a haunting sound on this track

[@jtbkilmartin9110]

Fantastic work

[@jamesgretsch4894]

My favorite Bowie song. Thanks for doing this. Love your Jazzmaster. I have a 2003 AV62 Jazzmaster I bought new back then. I just liked and subscribed.

[@BoVinberg]

Thanks for this attempt at recreating the lead sound. It came out pretty damn good! It's very helpful as my band is currently trying to rework a shoegaze cover of the song into out setlist.

[@sunlounger29]

Spot on... kind of regret selling my freqout now!

[@noisegenerator]

I've come close to selling mine a couple times - very glad I decided to hang onto it! Such a fun pedal

[@descriptiveadjective]

Amazing job with everything. Great tones, very to-the-point video.

[@noisegenerator]

Thank you!

[@paulcolbourne9112]

I always loved this song but I think your recreation made me love even more. Chills.

[@CalendulaF]

Gorgeous! Definitively there, captures that heroes-attidtude. To me that's the sound of a somewhat sad freedom, maybe disillusion. Powerfull & glorious. Thanks for the breakdown.

[@unjay1967]

Brilliant!

[@ginghamt.c.5973]

Instantly exciting! Great job

[@El...Presidente]

I love the Sputnik III such a great pedal.

[@noisegenerator]

Same here, it's one of my favorites!

[@graememurdoch3294]

What a cool video fripps guitar on this is absolutely amazing simple but complex

[@ckrmstf]

Best song ever written!😎😈🤘

[@Kyle-xk4ke]

Absolutely love this series...cannot state that enough. More please 😊

[@SteveStroud1977]

Sounds great. Lovely job. Fripp played a Les Paul with PAF humbuckers on the track. I wonder if you swapped guitars, it would get even closer?

[@joelknutson2540]

Amazing work! Really love this, so informative and great sounds. Super helpful.

[@noisegenerator]

Thanks so much!

[@mistercheetah9717]

Great video! For what it's worth I have, I scored this UBER rare Warmjet V fuzz by. Ghost Effects and it's basically a clone of a WEM Projekt V that Eno used on Here Come The Warm Jets and it SINGS just like that guitar lead... wouldn't be surprised if that was on Fripps guitar.

[@retinalcircus]

This is fantastic. I know that over the years Bowie's guitarists recreated this with an Ebow to get that sustain and tone. But the Ebow didn't exist then. But the Eventide Hamroniser is on Low because Tony famously contributed it. He used it on the kick drum for Breaking Glass most notably. so it seems logical to me Fripp had one too. To me it sounds like Fripp used an Eventide rack mount to get certain aspects of the original Heroes sound in that feedback. Because there's something in the more glitchy sound of one pass (the third one I think,) that sounds like the clockworks algorithm found in the early Eventide harmonisers. I know he uses two H3000s nowdays though but back then I think he had an involved approach to signal manipulation with what was available. Combined with Eno's synth that makes sense to me. You can actually get the glitchyness from the Ultraswell these days BTW which is of course just an expansion on the original Hamroniser algorithm and latterly the H10

[@MrDaigoRiki]

Great educational video 🎉 thank you!

[@richarddibb9381]

I use a Digitech Freqout pedal live to play this. Works a treat.

[@dougtull4594]

Very well done, mate.

[@larsfrosznielsen3536]

GREAT work, just what I was looking after

[@DemosInTheDark]

so cool, man!

[@noisegenerator]

Thanks dude!

[@deprime9521]

This is one of those sounds that can control your whole outlook on life

[@MrDaigoRiki]

Could you make a video of Beauty and Beast? The guitar is highly effected and probably a flanger and distortion and a few others.

[@regularnimnule9715]

Excellent work!

[@noisegenerator]

Thank you!

[@MichaelSheffield-ox8yd]

WOW just WOW

[@deadleg6]

We are infinite.

[@douglasarthur2673]

You omitted to mention ‘you must be sitting comfortably’ !

[@terencekaye9948]

Loved it! Thank you!

[@ultratone]

Great Job... obviously not easy tones to recreate.

[@noisegenerator]

Thank you!

[@josiahrogers1728]

I came hear to try and get a lesson on how to get fripps tone from starless but now I have a lesson on David Bowie!

[@napsahtava]

Phenomenal!

[@timmcmaster6435]

great work man

[@shaneelson]

Excellent

[@terrypmusic]

Good stuff, keep it up!

[@noisegenerator]

Thank you!

[@nickybhoof]

SO FUCKEN COOL, GREAT VIDEO!!! (sorry for yelling)

[@noisegenerator]

Haha thank you!

[@Asado69]

Well done!

[@anewcareerinanewtown]

Good work!

[@OldDarwish]

Great video ❤

[@kevincranna7334]

Bravo! 👏

[@lionofnaples]

I had no idea that was Robert Fripp

[@noisegenerator]

Yep, he plays lead on most, if not all, of the 'Heroes' record, and a bunch on 'Scary Monsters' too!

[@R1GAMBLER]

all my heroes are gone 😞

[@francogabr]

lindo video !

[@salsabil44]

Along with Dave Gilmour on Shine On You Crazy Diamond, and Steve Hackett´s guitar solo on Firth of Fifth, Robert Fripps guitar work on Heroes is one of my all time favourites. I don´t think any of the great guitarists that played it with Bowie ever got the sound just right as well as Fripp.

[@waltersmetak]

Brilliant!