Robert Smith's Guitar Secrets

In this video I'll take a look at the guitar playing of The Cure's Robert Smith. I am using my The Cure Preset for the Line6 Helix, which can be downloaded for free under line6.com/customtone/tone/502...

[@5TR4N63R]

I LOVE The Cure so so much. It's always been more about the sound of their guitars that does it for me. It's those hollow, dark and melancholic tones that define their sound and style. It's omnipresent, even in the more upbeat songs - there is always that amazing Cure sound. It's truly brilliant.

[@BigShippy0]

I've heard people go as far as to say he's bad at playing the guitar. In reality he just doesn't follow the conventional rules of guitar playing and I feel like this makes him even more special. God bless him, the sweetest man that ever lived

[@jacksonmiked]

People criticised Robert Smith for his limited fret hand work, but on the early albums his right hand speed and accuracy was one of the best in the business, up there with Lindsay Buckingham.

[@OzzyCorgiFox]

Really ?

[@Buckseed]

Dude wasn't a John McGeogh. ❤

[@maxmar5479]

Robert Smith, in my opinion, is a guitar hero...i started to play for him😂.

[@guitarandstuff3513]

I'm currently the guitarist in a cure tribute band and trying to get my right hand up to his speed is a workout.

[@Squidward_Tikiland]

@@guitarandstuff3513that’s awesome! I’m working on a couple of cure covers and I definitely cheat the downstrokes. You can get up and down to sound like downstrokes in a forest, you just end up accenting two upstrokes. It’s counterintuitive but it grooves

[@cybertaiga9534]

As a huge Cure fan, I loved your video. Great demo. I think Robert Smith is very much underrated as a guitarist. His style is unique- punkish but at the same time esoteric as well. Sometimes they are very Indian, sometimes Japanese and evokes sounds from music heard in Eastern cultures. Well, overall The Cure's music sounds like that- even in the bass playing, it is a very unusual style. Also sometimes, Robert would play guitar like a bassist (especially in more atmospheric songs).

[@rupertradar7424]

Thanks for this. I love The Cure. I sat with Robert’s parents at a gig once and went to the after show. They were all so very nice, sweet and humble. Forever grateful. ❤

[@badv1b3s51]

That’s so awesome, I envy you heavily.

[@Cl4rendon]

Just discovered you channel - Thank you for explaining Rob`s techniques in a way a layman can also understand. I love Robert`s approach in keeping things quite simple yet transferring alot of emotion in his melodies.

[@KaiPonte]

Great video! Just saw them a week ago. Always been fascinated by Simon's bass playing but was super impressed with Robert's guitar work in concert. Love the Linux and web development books in the background.

[@stephansong]

Simon is an extension of his guitar playing.

[@jasondelotel]

Robert Smith is one of the greatest singer songwriters that had ever lived. He is totally under-rated. So great. Emotional. And inspiring. Huge Cure fan. He wrote better sings than most people. Only one I can say who wrote better songs is Bob Dylan

[@KepperKleen]

He's the greatest person that's ever lived!

[@joemanning90]

Bob Dylan definitely didn't

[@nowiamsane6561]

Rob is a corporate. I don't get the under rated thing. He has sold over 100 mil records.

[@jasondelotel]

What I'm saying is? Yes he may have sold a billion CDs? But when people talk about the best songwriters? They don't mention Robert Smith. That's what I meant by him being under rated as a recognized/brilliant songwriter.

[@corporaterobotslave400]

Robert Smith appears to be a self-taught guitarist like myself because I have been using these techniques from back in the late 70s / early 80s even before I listened to The Cure and became a huge fan (I was late comer to The Cure b/c I was focused on more pure punk rock bands). I understand scales, but don't often use them as a trained guitarist would. The sliding up the string, or drop sliding on a string has a particular sound effect that can be most satisfying. I also like to mess about with altering the timing of the riff notes so they don't fall on straight lines, either hanging on them a moment too long, or coming in early, or what have you. Also using an open string or strings to constantly ring out while playing other strings is a hallmark of psychedelic rock and shoegaze styles; REM's Peter Buck did this a lot and I picked that up from seeing them a couple times on their first two tours. Smith does all this stuff, too. It gives the riffs a certain groove that just swings. I had no idea Smith used Boss pedals - if you look @ my pedal board it's probably close to 40% Boss all mounted on my old school 80s skateboard.

[@TheFairway8]

I saw Robert Smith play but not with The Cure it was when he played with Siouxsie and the Banshees in the early 80s

[@johneeeemarry34]

Sound wise, The Ovation Breadwinner and the Boss flanger weren’t quite up to the job compared to the Yamaha SG, Yamaha delay and TWO Mxr flangers.That said, his guitar playing is as good and innovative as John Mcgeoch’s…

[@risteardohaodha23]

Thank you for this video. Robert Smith, and many of the other post-punk/new wave guitarists were super inventive with their approach to guitar playing and their use of effect pedals. It enabled young players to find easy approachable ways to playing the guitar without the need of virtuoso technique and theory knowledge.

[@AndI0td763]

Always thought Robert was a very underrated player. Usually he’s just seen as the songwriter or frontman but not enough focus is on his playing, people forget how good he is on guitar. Very melodic and influential, not typical what you’d find in more standard rock guitar players, he had a unique approach.

[@JuggernautJOfficial]

Great video! I’m a 40 year fan of the band and just saw them recently here in the States. Absolute perfection.

[@El...Presidente]

Love the tips and tricks on Robert Smith’s playing. Thank you so much for sharing! Really good content.

[@jzazj]

Glad to have found your channel! Thanks for diving into a band that I discovered in my life, even before I discovered my love of guitar. Really enjoyable vid!

[@WillieDuitt1]

I was never a Cure fan when they were doing their thing but I appreciate the music of Robert Smith now. Thank you for the video, it was enjoyable and I learned from it.

[@jdkerrmusic]

Very good video, thank you for creating - I've always enjoyed the sound of Robert Smith and you taught me how to use his tones - Thank You!

[@vio8491]

As a huge The Cure fan who's trying to replicate their sound, this video is amazing. Thank you?

[@jakoblangenohl]

Thanks a lot.

[@sk8rtim709]

Thanks...I've always been a Cure fan since 85..the guitar is something i picked up over the pandemic. Thanks for the tips they helped a lot.

[@HewittH]

Extremely enjoyable video! I share your love of The Cure, and have also been a fan since the 80s. Thank you for sharing your expertise!

[@jakoblangenohl]

Thanks!

[@satelliteRadar]

Great stuff. I also started on the guitar at this point and grew up playing just like heaven in early bands.

[@juliocezarandrade2768]

Thanx for posting this video,it made more clear about little secrets of the unique robert smith guitar tone...Mr. Smith is really a great artist who create his own style in all aspects of his art...he inspired the gothics with the his dark wearing and also create a new sound with own identity

[@blindianajones]

Thank you for making this. So helpful. I never thought about the open string approach vs the scales. Way easier to those other harmonics with the open strings.

[@smithy280663]

wow! what a great tutorial.............I've been a The Cure fan since the 80s!

[@gasparepellecchia]

Pedal chain: Mxr 117 Flanger + Boss Dm 2w (waza craft) Delay + Boss RV-6 Reverb; Amp: Roland Jazz Chorus 120; Rack: ASHLY CLX-52 2 Channel Compressor / Limiter Processor

[@NeulichimKanal]

Like this vid. The Cure were the reason why I started to play guitar in the early 90ies.

[@echoguitarist]

He had such a huge impact on how I play guitar.

[@josequiero1118]

Thanks Jakob. You have clarified for me stuff that I tried to figured out for years. If you decide to expand on the Cure sound, could yo someday talk about how the bass guitar,complements Robert Smiths playing, especially in the first incarnations of the band? Thanks again.

[@scoutstevenson4775]

So informative...LOVED it!

[@bushidotenshi]

Nice video. Let me please notice just to add to your great performance that on Pictures Of You RS plays on a Fender VI, so it's more on what you mentioned as to use the same string. Also the topic of open strings also applies to chords a lot in Cure's songs, like the bridges of Play For Today with power chords and the rest of the strings sounding open. The 4th chord in Three Imaginary Boys is also different, it goes from 7 fret on E string, and then 6 on A, 5th on D, and the others open, you can see that on live versions. By the way, love to see your Dune book, best ever! Greetins from another long time fan of both Cure and Dune

[@thomshrike]

My favorite example of point #2 is the intro to “All I Want”: played on the G string with open D string.

[@josefelixortizgarcia2622]

The Kiss and one hundred years its the BEST moments in guitar all the times

[@lesjuly]

Thanks for doing this video.

[@modee5698]

thanks a lot, R.S. moved the Earth with his musik and poetry.

[@djuengst2000]

I liked it. I grew up in the 80s and I never got that into the Cure. I saw them play live in about 2015. I was totally blown away. I guess I didn’t realize Smith even played guitar😊

[@toddoliver168]

love it! also, Java, linux, perl... I'm also a guitar player and software developer that loves the Cure, Dune and Star Trek too. It's not uncommon but still fun. Great video!

[@BobRemEde]

Hello, i use the Schecter Ultracure (buy dec. 2022), its a very good guitar. The sound is very versatile and of good quality with its Seymur Duncan pickups (humbeckers changeable to singles ). The only flaw is its potentiometers and low quality wiring. The neck takes a bit of time but then you realize that it is very well calibrated for Smith's game with a small radius. I love the matte black finish and the Bigsby!

[@jcsweeney9728]

THIS IS SO GOOD !

[@OfficialTuxedoMask]

great video!

[@AngryTaurus007]

All I can do is thank you for taking the trouble to make these videos and providing us with all this information. This, along with Mcgeoch's video, are very helpful (at least to me). I would also like that you make a video about Will Sergeant, guitarist of Echo and the Bunnymen and one of the best of his generation (although I'm sure you already know him). psdt: sorry for my bad english. I'm still learning.

[@jakoblangenohl]

Making a video about Sergeant is a brilliant idea. I added him to the list! Thanks for the compliments!

[@Mr.Steve-O]

@@jakoblangenohl absolutely, please do one on Will Sergeant, massive genius !!

[@annloken]

Love this🎉

[@roumiaou]

Many thanks !

[@infoscholar5221]

Interesting guitar you have there. I have a bunch of Fenders and off brands copies of same, as well as a couple Danelectros and Epiphones, and a Grote 335 type I absolutely swear buy. like the sound your getting out of that thing, though. You (and me) deserve more subs. Great content, brother, kurtzgesagt.

[@johnbrady3236]

I am currently learning A Forest ...very helpful

[@Gnomesmusher]

Thanks for this video. I've been learning guitar for 3 years now and I've been listening to the Cure since the 80s. I'm old too :). I just saw the Cure at the Hollywood Bowl last week. Freaking amazing show.

[@RyanField-vl5vi]

Was amazing! One of the best times ive seen them- ever. Still killing it!

[@Gnomesmusher]

@@RyanField-vl5vi It really was one of the best times I've seen them! It was magical!

[@Jeffbutcher1969]

Maybe it’s just because I was young and so were they but my favorite shows were I think around 87-88. The Kiss Me Tour. Saw them 3 times throughout California. Amazing shows. Back when Robert would end A Forest with a 5 minute ending. That and 100 Years and 3 Imaginary Boys were tweaked, and twisted into long masterpieces. Porl/Pearl is the greatest

[@KepperKleen]

Excellent !

[@jakoblangenohl]

Thanks.

[@Twirlyhead]

Very good. I'm currently a fan of the TC Electronic Thunderstorm flanger; nice.

[@brendanoneill1466]

Robert's use of non traditional scales and his phrasing and not selection (see the solo in M) are amazing. Is he a guitar god, no. But he is very inventive and his playing is incredibly distinctive.. This is a great video and demonstration. Thanks so much for sharing.

[@jakoblangenohl]

Thanks so much for watching.

[@WesleyWattley-xy4fg]

Is he a guitar god..yes😅 listen

[@piotrtrypus]

really great video, thank you🙂

[@kermunklin7704]

Wow, great video!

[@guitarbo1]

Even though I disagree with a lot of the playing, thank you for keeping the discussion and love for the Cure going

[@daibhidhglas]

The cheap guitar was a Woolworth's Top Twenty, a rebranded Teisco from Japan. By sheer coincidence i had exactly the same one as my first electric too! they are not great players but there is definitely something special about the pickups, they have a particular tone that can't be found elsewhere. Nice vid, some good explanations of how he did stuff!

[@jakoblangenohl]

Thanks a lot. Now I get an idea why he kept the pickups.

[@fightforfreedom5193]

Huge cure fan. Started playing guitar to learn Prayers for Rain. Robert exemplifies pure genius.

[@mjjames2442]

Nice thanks!

[@kurikokaleidoscope]

Fabulous ❤❤

[@llongdong]

Good, ole friend. Good.

[@seanbelltv]

Super fascinating thanks. I am a big fan but never paid attention to how he plays which is kinda how I play, and interestingly I began as a bassist and have been told I approach guitar like a bassist

[@static1812]

really nice video, thankyou

[@HerveBoisde]

His sound on the In Orange live album is legendary. Not sure if he used a different flanger sound for that but it’s amazing

[@Case_]

Part of it is that Telecaster I think. Also he wasn't afraid of using more modulation pedals at the same time. And yeah, the In Orange sound is *the* Cure sound to strive for (well, one of them, anyway ;) )

[@HerveBoisde]

@@Case_ The tele is part of it for sure but I also heard somewhere that he used some rack type effects for that concert but I might be wrong about that

[@larseckardt_nl]

That was super informative. What a cop sound he has. I'm testing with the wrong flanger. I now have to find this boss one. Yes.

[@peterlampe5423]

Thx a lot - very cool informations!! 😎

[@lexaunculpt]

Great video thanks!

[@michaelvecchiarelli7786]

Thanks that's a great lesson I like robert Smith playing. He was the guitar player in susie and the bandshies

[@exitthelemming145]

I saw the Cure a load of times during the 80's and when I was close enough to the stage on one occasion noticed Robert was using a Morley flanger (big silver box, much larger than the Boss pedals. I think they were made in the US and can change hands now for around $400 2nd hand) One of my favourite guitarists of all time as he inspired me to learn to play because I could hear every note i.e. it wasn't buried beneath a sludge of distortion like most rock players. Ditto John McGeoch and Will Sergeant who also emerged from Post Punk

[@jakoblangenohl]

A lot of post punk players used the morley back in the day. Most probably Robert owns several flangers and chooses whatever suits the occasion. The pedalboard I was referring to in the video was the one mentioned here. mixdownmag.com.au/features/rig-rundown-robert-smith-of-the-cure/

[@bepitan]

he been often used a mesa vtwin pedal live ...huge chrome box thing along with the regular boss flanger

[@Nigredo1974]

Thank you for knowing Post-Punk. And great video. 👍

[@jasondelotel]

And that says a lot. Robert was and is excellent

[@keithconner6495]

Thank you.

[@jozefmucha4730]

Late 80's to late 90's it was the best sounding The Cure in my opinion.

[@jacekfz99]

I came for The Cure, I stayed for the Linux book on the shelf 🙂

[@jakoblangenohl]

I have one on perl as well. I will show that next time.

[@freekmusbach8722]

Nice guitar!

[@brncrw]

Good stuff. However, Jazzmasters don't have P90s. They have Jazzmaster pickups. Completely different sound than P90s, though they do look similar when installed.

[@freezetheatlantic]

There’s more to it than that, too. Robert Smith loved the pickups in his Teisco (the first guitar he ever had) that he installed one of them slap bang between the two JM Pickups and favoured playing with that pickup selected. Google any picture of his Jazzmaster and you’ll see the Teisco pickup right there in the middle

[@jonathanwapner6262]

I was just thinking about the Jazzmaster vs P90 misunderstanding, also the Firebird vs Mini humbucker misunderstanding.

[@capitaldharma]

I was looking for this comment about the pickups. Overall I enjoyed the video though.

[@burnthisghost]

😂 kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHu6fGqgp9eosK8

[@hadeseye2297]

4:30 Well, here you're wrong. That was Porl Thompson's part back in the days. And up to these days someone else plays this part. Robert plays on acoustic in this song.

[@duane8829]

Super!

[@simonkaye7268]

Early days in the studio he used the electric mistress more than the boss. The boss flanger was more used live. There are pics with the mistress and the producer said he tried lots of different old flangers

[@augustusbetucius2931]

The BF-2? It's a great flanger. I had one back in 1984 or 1985. But I can't say I liked it more than my MXR (the 80s blue/grey one) or my original Electric Mistress. All three are very cool for different reasons. I'd love to have all three back. I loved how he took that pickup from that first guitar (Woolworth's guitar) and put it in his Jazz Master. Ha!

[@TheNightdiver]

Great video! Ill add thar during 1980/85 aprox he used a flanger called electric mistress by electroharmonics. Thats the sound you hear on A forest for example

[@AngelMartinez-qs3cf]

Really Really nice cool lesson! The Cure is one of my favorite bands of the 1980s. Love it. Do you have that preset for the Line6 Pod GO? Thank you for posting this.

[@jakoblangenohl]

I'm sorry, but the Preset is for Helix Floor. Since I do not own any other Line6 Devices (besides an old M5 :-) I cannot provide Files which work with a POD Go.

[@trianglerecords]

Thank you for all. Very cool you read books about Linux because I use Ardour on Debian most time I record.👍🙏

[@miahconnell23]

The Drowning Man { I’m pretty certain } is my favourite Cure song

[@efolson]

I'd like to hear more about how Robert uses the Bass VI

[@zoeherriot]

I want to know how he achieved the tone on Never Enough (particular the Big Mix). There's something about his playing on that that is so fluid.

[@HeyBulldog-Beatles-Tribute]

On Never enough, there is a big mix with many takes played by Porl. Porl was a great guitarist! really inspired sometimes! I love that song too (one of the best for me) . VIVE THE CURE (and The Beatles, of course, see our channel) :)

[@zoeherriot]

@@HeyBulldog-Beatles-Tribute it’s actually hard to tell who recorded the guitars on the big mix because Robert suggested in a guitar magazine years ago that it may have been him.

[@thunder_heads]

​@@HeyBulldog-Beatles-Tribute pearl

[@HeyBulldog-Beatles-Tribute]

@@thunder_heads He was Porl at this time. And still Porl for me.

[@stephansong]

Porl is better than lol.

[@davecannon1523]

Now that I hear his technique in isolation, I'm getting a lot of Persian music vibes. The untuned drone string, sliding up and down the neck, non-Western approach to scales

[@gabrielcabral9480]

Robert Smith is my master on guitar 🌹

[@bassthing68]

Nice video Jakob, unpretentious and fun.

[@jakoblangenohl]

Thanks a lot.

[@malcolmmcatee3752]

Hey there thanks for making this video. Could you elaborate on the preset settings? I have a Katana and would like to make a preset. Thanks!

[@glenchilada]

I love Boss pedals! They're as close to invincible as you can get and just flat out do the job.

[@user-zw1xf6jy9z]

And the solo in "bloodflowers" live....😮

[@SSRT_JubyDuby8742]

Very nice mate 👏 I think at the end of the 'three Imaginary Boys' chord sequence it is not B7 but rather is G on the D string, D# on the A string sliding to E complemented by the discord of the open E 6th string throughout, though I haven't played it in 30yrs and do not have a guitar to hand, it stuck in my mind apparently 🤔, I suppose because it was so peculiar. It might ofcourse be remembered wrong and a load of old bollocks, you shall have to try it 😊 Like deployed 👍

[@HeyBulldog-Beatles-Tribute]

Yes I tried it, and I think you are right! Thanks a lot! I played it for 30 years and always wonder what could be this 4th chord ;) Cheers! :)

[@fukuoka-musician]

Would love to see more demonstrations of the points you make right after you make them, so that they are easier to understand.

[@jakoblangenohl]

Good point. I'll try to make that clearer in the next video.

[@wesmitchem825]

I heard he had a boss ce 2 chorus pedal taped to the top of his amp so he would always have that effect on

[@PostPunkWakey71]

Good job I might start doing some Cure lessons on my channel

[@jakoblangenohl]

Thanks a lot. I'll definitely take a look if you do so.

[@filipvanhuy531]

It' correct that Robert uses a flanger in a lot of songs and most of his pedals are Boss. Never the less he creates very unique sounds who are sometimes very hard to reproduce. In fact, I'm struggling with the sound needed for the song "The Loudest Sound" of the "Bloodflowers" album. The guitar played as riff in the background is hard to reproduce. It has a chorus like very unique vibe. Do you know how to get this sound? I would be very thankful ! Thx

[@filipvanhuy531]

Nobody ?🤔😔

[@jcoriha]

Extra points for the Godin!

[@GarnetDart]

Thank you for your video To top his playing skills off he has a great sense of finesse when it comes to his playing volumes. Oh and Play for today, chords are an Asus2, A7, Em/A, A7, Asus2.....not A, Asus4, A. Sorry I couldn't help myself

[@maxmar5479]

❤❤❤

[@joanofarc708]

Nice sounding guitar there pal

[@jakoblangenohl]

Godin icon convertible. Great axe.

[@Case_]

Robert plays Three Imaginary Boys a bit differently though. As far as I can tell, he plays the normal Emi, then normal G, then B as a A barre on the second fret, and then he holds a simple G shape again, except on the 7th fret, and strums the open strings as well. No idea what that chord would actually be ;) (obviously B of some kind). And the part with the "Three...imaginary...boys..." where the chords "walk" down also involves some open strings and weird-ish chord shapes (especially the last one, which is like an Emi, except held on the 1st fret - yeah, I don't know my music theory at all, sorry ;) ) Also speaking of open strings "droning", one of the best examples I'd say is the main riff of Push (though the open strings are partially muted most of the time). In fact his entire part in that song is rather interesting when it comes to using open strings and chord shapes for melody.

[@markmarsh27]

Nice Godin! I absolutely love mine!

[@Medic911LA]

Thanks for making the video. I was really excited when I saw it on my KZbin feed. However, I have to somewhat agree with P M, the playing is all wrong. A lot of RS’s playing is on the bass VI (pictures of you). Nice intro with A Forest and yess story is true about the Jazzmaster. He originally wanted a jaguar but the store didn’t have them in stock so he got the jazzmaster. Chorus and flanger are huge parts of RS’s tone. Band doesn’t play supro amps, RS has one short and a few Roland 80GX’s but now he just plays through the Rolands.

[@jakoblangenohl]

I have not been to a concert for quite a while, but I read about the supros several times. mixdownmag.com.au/features/rig-rundown-robert-smith-of-the-cure/ www.gearnews.com/how-to-sound-like-robert-smith-of-the-cure/

[@miahconnell23]

I would love to have beers with him & talk about equipment, and the earliest records…

[@cerinicholls6143]

Forest .. the octave is played 9th fret D string ..

[@ChrisLambrou00]

Agree, Boss flanger is the best. UAFX has flirted recently but the I'm still going with my old analog, made in Japan BF2