{"id":1963,"date":"2013-02-24T11:52:31","date_gmt":"2013-02-24T19:52:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rolandus.com\/blog\/?p=1963"},"modified":"2013-11-12T12:24:50","modified_gmt":"2013-11-12T20:24:50","slug":"billy-duffy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rolandus.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/24\/billy-duffy\/","title":{"rendered":"Billy Duffy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cult of Tone<\/h2>\n

\"Billy<\/a><\/p>\n

Led by guitarist Billy Duffy <\/a>and vocalist Ian Astbury, British post-punk band The Cult <\/a>is still going strong after nearly 30 years. Formed in 1983 and strongly influenced by classic rockers from the \u201960s and \u201970s, the group unleashed a hard-edged sound with shades of psychedelia that presented a strong contrast to the drum machine-driven synth pop that led the UK music scene at the time. Powered by Duffy\u2019s melodic riffage and Astbury\u2019s bluesy wail, the essential \u201980s albums\u00a0<\/i>Love,\u00a0<\/i>Electric, and\u00a0<\/i>Sonic Temple\u00a0saw the group evolve in an increasingly heavier direction, a tradition carried on today with their latest release,<\/i>\u00a0Choice of Weapon.<\/p>\n

From the very beginning of The Cult, BOSS <\/a>and Roland<\/a> gear has been at the heart of Billy\u2019s guitar tone. BOSS stomps have been his pedalboard mainstays for three decades, while the Roland\u00a0JC-120<\/a>\u00a0amp and its built-in chorus effect has a permanent home in his backline. \u201cShe Sells Sanctuary,\u201d recorded in 1985 and one of the band\u2019s most enduring songs, features this setup prominently, with multiple BOSS pedals and JC chorus shaping the tune\u2019s memorable guitar intro.<\/i><\/p>\n

BUG<\/a>\u00a0recently sat down with Billy to discuss The Cult\u2019s music, his thoughts on tone, and his long history with BOSS and Roland. He also gave us a demonstration of how he developed the classic sounds in \u201cShe Sells Sanctuary\u201d and \u201cFire Woman,\u201d another iconic song that showcases Billy\u2019s unique style.<\/i><\/p>\n

\"Billy<\/p>\n

When did you start using BOSS pedals?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first time I got my hands on a BOSS pedal was really early in \u201983. A guy called Jamie Stewart joined The Cult [on bass] when we put the band together in England. He used to be a guitar player, so he came with guitar effects. He handed them over and said, \u201cI won\u2019t be needing these anymore.\u201d One of them was a BOSS\u00a0Super Overdrive<\/a>, which I\u2019ve pretty much used until today. That was the first time I\u2019d seen a BOSS pedal. Very quickly thereafter I started getting into BOSS delays\u2014the old DM-2, the analog one, and I think it was a DD-2. And then I used a [BOSS] flanger. I never used chorus, because I always used [the built-in chorus in] my Roland JC-120.<\/p>\n

A funny story about that: the first gig I ever did with The Cult was in a club in Oslo called Rats. We kind of debuted the band out of the UK. We did our first Led Zeppelin copy, which was \u201cplay outside the UK first, get your chops up, and come back.\u201d So we did a gig in Oslo, and they gave me a thing called a JC-160, which I believe was a 4×10 [version]. I\u2019ve never seen one since. That was the first amp I ever used [live with The Cult].<\/p>\n

What is it that makes BOSS pedals appealing to pro players like you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Continue reading on BOSS User’s Group \u00a0iPad magazine (Free iTunes download)<\/a><\/p>\n

Continue reading online<\/a><\/p>\n

[jetpack_subscription_form]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Cult of Tone Led by guitarist Billy Duffy and vocalist Ian Astbury, British post-punk band The Cult is still going strong after nearly 30 years. Formed in 1983 and strongly influenced by classic rockers from the \u201960s and \u201970s, the group unleashed a hard-edged sound with shades of psychedelia that presented a strong contrast […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[17],"tags":[102,455,456,67,190,208],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nBilly Duffy - Roland U.S. Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rolandus.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/24\/billy-duffy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Billy Duffy - Roland U.S. Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Cult of Tone Led by guitarist Billy Duffy and vocalist Ian Astbury, British post-punk band The Cult is still going strong after nearly 30 years. 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