Did you know that Rhino released all of the tapes from the Fun House sessions? Like everything? It captures a moment in time when bands wanted to stay true to their art and capture complete performances. They had to ask themselves questions like, did someone mess something up? Do we feel like we could do better? And always, let’s do one more as a safety. In this case, we’re given access to the complete process. For instance, all 28 takes of Loose. The mistakes, the banter, the brilliance. It’s a cool snapshot. Released in 1999 and spread across 7 compact discs, 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions may have originally been positioned as a collectors item but it’s really a pillar of our rock n’ roll heritage and should be heard by everyone that picks up a guitar, microphone, or pair of sticks.1
Social Distortion
Iggy famously hated the sound of his voice. Starting with this recording, Iggy actually ran his vocal mic through Marshall amplifiers, acting as a P.A. for their live performance as well as adding some dirt, essentially creating his signature sound.2 Note that while Iggy did not sing through an amplifier on the first record, they did treat his vocal with one during remixing. This was likely the start of the idea, and why not capture it live?
Ron Asheton, the guitarist and brother of drummer Scott Asheton, has gone on record stating that he used Marhsall amplifiers for his sound as well. And while we do see live footage of Ron with a few Marshall stacks, our ears tell us something different. When we sat down to run some tone tests, we found that the amplifier used on this record sounds more like a Vox. Why? Our guess is that a small Vox combo that could only output 30W was much more acceptable in the studio. Remember, this was a time when engineers were unable to tame the extreme volume of a 100W Marshall, let alone more than one.
All the King’s Men
Don Galluci served as the producer on Fun House. In Ron’s words, “Galluci was Elektra’s choice,” but the band was ultimately happy.3 Don had a career in television which cemented his status as a famous icon with the group, and at the young age of fourteen played organ on “Louie Louie,” a song that certainly shares some D.N.A. with The Stooges. Galluci would be the one who influenced the group to record live, charging forward in an all-for-one onslaught of crazed-rock togetherness. The idea was to capture the power of the band live, a phrase that continues to echo through the music industry today with bands far and wide.
And capture the band live they did. With take after take, each song getting refined into the diamond we now know, you can hear the bleed from the instruments in the room. You can hear the room caving in on itself. Add a layer of plate reverb smearing the guitar like butter on bread and you’ll get a taste of this sonic toast in your ears.
The Presets
We ended up blending our ‘67 cabinet with 20W Celestion speakers. It’s possible that Ron used his Marshall cabinets as extensions, or maybe there was additional EQ from the console that we’re hearing. Either way, this trashy sound is yours to keep. Have fun! House!
Loose
The core sound, with more Vox than Marshall from the cabinets. This tone has a ringing, jangly quality, like something’s actually loose in the amplifer. Where this tone is more lacerating to the ears, turn to TV Eye for something more stabby.
TV Eye
The core sound, tuned to the song T.V. Eye. Some of the other tracks on this album were less bright and more washed out in reverb. For big chords pull back the Boost for more clarity. Like most records during this era, there really wasn’t a lot of distortion on the guitar signal. Single notes might sound thinner than you’d expect from today’s high gain amps. If you need it, the extra boost is at your fingertips.
TV Eye B
Similar to the core tone but with more bass if you’re still feeling like this tone is too thin with the boost up. This has a little more of that 4×12” meat on the bones.
TV Fuzz
Rolling back the gain and engaging the fuzz was Ron’s lead tone. It has a less brittle, smooth sustaining quality. There’s still a heap of garbage coming through the speakers, but it stands in contrast to the rhythm guitar sound. Used on tracks like Down On the Street, and Loose, pan right with the rhythm guitar on the left for a fun mix.
Fun House Wah
And of course the Wah. What’s left to say. Pair with a controller like the FCB1010 for hands free operation with the new device profile now available in the MIDI configuration selector.
1 https://www.rhino.com/product/complete-funhouse-sessions
2, 3 Edmonds, B. (1999). [Liner notes]. In 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions [CD]. Rhino.
