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This article series is about the tools of popular guitarists. What are their favorite guitars and how is it related to them? This time with Paul Dean (Loverboy).
When did you start guitar playing and do you remember your first guitar?
I actually started on ukulele, which was a Christmas present in 1959. Then 2 months later on my 14th birthday, after much begging and pleading, my parents gave me an acoustic guitar. Not too sure how long until I graduated to electric, but I’m guessing probably by the following September I had the real deal, a Harmony guitar and a Silvertone amp. We ordered them both from the Eaton’s catalogue, which was our only way to shop, as we lived in the country, about 3 hours from Calgary Alberta Canada.
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What are/were your influences and which guitar players are your favorites?
My first influence was Luther Perkins, Johnny Cash’s guy. I loved his simplicity, and his tone. He would do what I call a “giddy-up” feel, like galloping, which I’m sure was what inspired the guitar theme in Working For The Weekend, and the second verse in The Kid Is Hot Tonight. Some other influences are Hank Marvin, Duane Eddy, Duane Allman, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, and more currently Andy Timmons, Derek Trucks and Richard Kruspe.
How many guitars do you own and what are your favorite models?
I own about a dozen that are playable, and another dozen in pieces or missing parts. My current favourite, or at least the one I’m not afraid to travel with, is the guitar I’ve been playing live for 2 years, an Odyssey prototype. The ones that never leave my house, unless I’m playing in my hometown, are a Robin Raider with an ESP banana maple neck, and a Les Paul Axxess, the model Gibson and Alex Lifeson designed, with a Floyd Rose.
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What do you think makes the perfect guitar and amp?
I believe the main factor in determining a guitar sound is that of the guitar acoustically. Even more important is the resonance of the neck. There are so many variables – pickups, pots, strings, bridge height, Floyd springs and blocks, finish, wood choices, even the weight of the tuning heads – there are endless possibilities really. And that’s just the guitar! I’ve done a number of comparisons on a ProTools session, using the same Guitar Rig settings, and 5 or 6 of my guitars, and they all sound very different, even with the same model pickup and similar pot values. You can compensate with the “amp” settings, and get close, but will they have the magic? Doubtful. The craziest part is, the average listener probably can’t tell the difference, but I suspect like most guitar players, we definitely can. And there’s been quite a few comments for and against any changes I might make, like switching guitars mid set, from the guys in my band. So thankfully they notice it.
How do you feel about the question of modeler or tube amp?
I have a modded 50 watt Marshall 900 that I profiled on my Quad Cortex, and I can’t hear any difference. The Quad is all I use live now, it’s 100% consistent every show. I also use a TC Electronics G system for my FX, and a Sennheiser wireless., which plays a very important part in the gain chain. That’s been my rig for 2 1/2 years. That said, I also have a Line 6 HX Stomp, which I could always use live if I had to. And then there’s all the virtual guitar plugins that I currently record with – Line 6 Helix, Amplitube, Blackstar, and Guitar Rig – the list goes on and on.
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Which guitars and amps were used on the upcoming live album from 1982? Which guitars and amps are you using nowadays, for album recordings and live performances?
I played 2 guitars that night – my original Odyssey prototype I built in 1981/82, with soapbar pickups, and a 1964 Strat that I modded and made a new neck for, in 1974. I still have it, it’s the one I recorded the first Streetheart and first 2 Loverboy albums with. And I’m pretty sure I was still playing through a 50 watt Hiwatt. It’s hard to tell, but there are glimpses of my rig in the video.
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When you can only choose one guitar, which one will you take?
If there’s a forest fire warning where I live, which is distinct possibility, and I had to evacuate, and could take only one guitar? The Strat I rebuilt in ’74, it has all the history. It’s definitely irreplaceable, and another one that never leaves the house. Hopefully.
