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Jerry Cantrell's guitar playing style helped to define the unique sound of Alice In Chains. Formed in Seattle in 1987, by the time their second album, Dirt, was released in 1992 (following on from debut, Facelift in 1990), Alice In Chains were riding high.
Featuring songs such as “Down In A Hole”, “Rooster”, “Angry Chair” and “Would?”, Dirt proved to be the band's biggest success: it was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 1993 Grammys, and went on to be certified four-times Platinum in the USA, Platinum in Canada, and Gold in the UK.
International interest in the Grunge movement was palpable following a barrage of releases in 1991, led by Seattle-based groups Temple of the Dog, Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Soundgarden.
Each of the Seattle groups had their own characteristics, and Alice In Chains' vocalist, Layne Staley had a voice which could hit highs that few others could, with a controlled vibrato and powerful baritone which conveyed a sense of raw anguish befitting the group's lyrics.
Chief songwriter Jerry Cantrell could harmonise with Staley in a way that added haunting beauty and contrasted with his sledgehammer riffs. It was a sound that stood them apart from the other Seattle bands.
For the recording of Dirt, which began in April 1992 on the same day the infamous LA riots broke out, Cantrell resorted to his favoured G&L Rampage guitar — known as “Blue Dress” after the sticker of a topless model next to the bridge — which he had purchased in 1984. The guitar featured a maple neck with ebony fretboard, a single Seymour Duncan JB humbucker (replacing the stock humbucker), and a Kahler tremolo system.
Although the Blue Dress Rampage was Cantrell's main guitar during the sessions, he is known to have used several others, including a black Gibson Les Paul.
Cantrell's complex guitar sound on Dirt, the result of layering many different tracks, was a signature method of producer, Dave Jerden, who separated the amps into three separate frequency ranges.
"For the guitar tones, I used my Bogners, a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier and a Rockman," stated Cantrell in a 1993 interview in Guitar World magazine.
To be more precise, the main amps known to have been used during the Dirt sessions were a prototype Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier; a Matchless; the Bogner-modified Marshall JCM800 used on previous album, Facelift; a modified Bogner Fish rackmount pre-amp; a Rockman headphone amp (designed by Boston's Tom Scholtz); plus amps from Orange and Laney.
"Instead of EQing the guitar, I put down guitar tracks of different EQ sounds. I put the low stuff with the Dual Rectifier, the big whomping sh*t, and the real biting stuff that is my sound in the middle, and then a real sh*tty, high Rockman on top of it. I did this on each side, so that even though there’s three tracks on each side, they’re not necessarily used every time. But whatever sound you want, instead of having to twist the knob, it’s already there."
The low and mid amps were both miked with Shure SM57 microphones, and the Rockman was recorded via a direct feed.
During the album tracking, the amps to be used for each of the three frequency ranges were split with a Lucas Deceiver Guitar Amp Splitter which was built by ZZ Top Engineer, Terry Manning.
Recording the three amps at the same time allowed Jerry to record one consistent take across the three frequency ranges. This was then double-tracked, for a total of 6 stacked guitar tracks. Not every track was used at every point in the mix, but it gave Jerden plenty of material to work with.
In an interview on Gearspace, Jerden himself explained, “I used the [Bogner] Ecstasy for the ‘mid’ amp and the Rockman for the top, however for the bottom (and here is where the big sound came from) I used a Bogner Fish Pre-Amp (Modified by Bogner) with a VHT Amp and a Marshall cab with Vox Bulldog speakers.”
Bogner Fish Pre-Amp. Credit: Reverb
This contradicts Cantrell's own recollection in the '93 interview, however the overall process they both describe is the layering of frequency ranges using different amps.
Jerry Cantrell has never been known as the sort of guitar player that hides behind a wall of effects. For the most part, his tone in the classic Alice in Chains era was raw and straight to the point.
During the recording of Dirt, Cantrell had a few pedals that helped shape some of the album's key moments.
One pedal that has always been a mainstay in the Cantrell rig is a Dunlop Crybaby of some description. These days you can find Jerry using his own signature Dunlop model which has been voiced slightly darker to suit his needs.
During the Dirt sessions, Jerry was reported to have used either a Jimi Hendrix Crybaby model, or a GCB-95 Crybaby (thought to have been modded by his guitar tech).
The Talkbox is one of Cantrell's most iconic uses of effects. The intro for the song "Man in the Box" blends his Dunlop Heil Talkbox alongside a wah pedal to create that iconic guitar tone.
Over the intro to the track "Rooster" you can hear a flanger effect. This was created with Jerry's flanger of choice, the Electro Harmonix Electric Mistress. This particular flanger pedal has a very distinctive sound.
Getting hold of a G&L Rampage is your best bet, and if you have the cash you will even be able to purchase a brand new G&L Rampage 24 when they are released.
Other than the G&L, a super-Strat with a bridge humbucker will work nicely, and you could even use a Les Paul-style guitar if you need to get some extra thickness into your sound (assuming, of course, you can't get your hands on the array of amps he used during tracking the album!).
This is where it gets tough. If you're aiming to record, then you have the luxury of layering up your sound, just like Jerden did. Even if you only have one amp, you can adjust the EQ and move the mic around for each "layer".
You could also use something like this preamp pedal to add a new voice to your existing amp:
FORMULA B Eighty Master
A bona-fide JCM800 preamp. Searing riffs and soaring leads are the order of the day! Use this for the "bite" in Cantrell's mid-range, alongside a Bogner or something else meaty that can give that "whomping sh*t" he refers to. "This is a really killer all-rounder MIAB full-flavour monster - and is heartily recommended to all tone-chasers. There’s definitely some magic going on inside this circuit." - Guitar Pedal X
But for an authentic sound, you ideally need to use multiple amps with naturally divergent voicings. If you're not lucky enough to have access to a room of amps (we can all dream), why not use some plugins? There are plenty of great amp plugins available these days. Some of my favourites are from ML Sound Lab, which offer a great balance between price and quality. No affiliation; I just like them!
If you're looking to cover some Dirt songs live, ideally you'll want to combine something with plenty of low end, such as a Dual Rectifier or Orange Rockerverb, with something with more punch and bite, such as a Marshall JCM800. There are also Cantrell's signature amps from Friedman, the JJ-100 and JJ Junior.
And here is a something you'll want to consider if you are using two amps in a live or recording setting:
SIGNAL CHEYNE Sirius Parallel Blender V3
This is a seriously useful piece of gear: an active Y splitter, A/B switcher, volume pedal and signal summer. In this situation, use the Y splitter capability to run your guitar through two amps at the same time. There's a phase switch to ensure they stay in phase, and you can use an expression pedal to control the blend setting. Incredible!
Now to the fun part! Grab yourself a Jimi Hendrix signature Crybaby Wah (or Jerry Cantrell's own signature Wah) and an Electro Harmonix Electric Mistress. You might have to forego the Talkbox, unless you have deep pockets and a forgiving partner.
You could try the Fredric Effects Zesty Comp and the Drunk Beaver Big Grunge, both cover important tonal ground in the quest for that monster Dirt sound!
FREDRIC EFFECTS Zesty Comp
A great compressor is an often overlooked, but vital part of the Dirt sound. The Zesty Comp thickens your tone, adding sustain, attack, presence and even some top-end sparkle.
DRUNK BEAVER Big Grunge
Jerry Cantrell loves to stack amps, so having another drive to blend into the mix is crucial. The "Big Grunge" is based on the short-lived BOSS PW-2, if you want to capture the sound of the grunge scene, this is the drive for you!
1. "Them Bones"
2. "Dam That River"
3. "Rain When I Die"
4. "Down in a Hole"
5. "Sickman"
6. "Rooster"
7. "Junkhead"
8. "Dirt"
9. "God Smack"
10. "Iron Gland" / "Untitled"
11. "Hate to Feel"
12. "Angry Chair"
13. "Would?"
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