Dunlop Unveils the Dookie Drive

[Joe.]

I think it sounds as good as it realistically can do. It lacks a bit of bass and overall 'umph' but to ear gets close. Wont be making it onto my board tho.

[iWroteHoldenCaulfield84]

3 minutes ago, Joe. said:

I think it sounds as good as it realistically can do. It lacks a bit of bass and overall 'umph' but to ear gets close. Wont be making it onto my board tho.

Yeah it's not completely the exact sound..... There's no mixing/mastering going on in my recording. Just a touch of EQ, and I could probably get that dialed down a lot better on an analog mixer, but I don't have one and don't have the patience to do it digitally haha. Dialing in the sound in person has been cake, but getting the right sound when recording is a whole different animal.

[deleteduser7593]

Part 2. I wanna say thanks to Billie Joe 'cause he finally spoke and confirmed my thoughts. He used Rob's plexi for Dookie. I've only have one last doubt. He says:

''So, my own head AFTER Rob's one''

He means using his own (lead mod) plus the Rob's one (copy, I guess) like we see live? The word AFTER, english is not my language, is used here as a ''With'' meaning? 'Cause that could make me even happier. He suggests he wanted that big sound live, too. So I see why he mixed both heads. To recretate Dookie's stereo effect, even if in 1994 session he used 2 plexxi with both crunch mods and not lead one. But that's about details. I'm reappy happy. Enjoy the video .-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q2UXE8j4Ug&feature=youtu.be

[Squashie]

1 hour ago, disappearingfs said:

Part 2. I wanna say thanks to Billie Joe 'cause he finally spoke and confirmed my thoughts. He used Rob's plexi for Dookie. I've only have one last doubt. He says:

''So, my own head AFTER Rob's one''

He means using his own (lead mod) plus the Rob's one (copy, I guess) like we see live? The word AFTER, english is not my language, is used here as a ''With'' meaning? 'Cause that could make me even happier. He suggests he wanted that big sound live, too. So I see why he mixed both heads. To recretate Dookie's stereo effect, even if in 1994 session he used 2 plexxi with both crunch mods and not lead one. But that's about details. I'm reappy happy. Enjoy the video .-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q2UXE8j4Ug&feature=youtu.be

Just watched this and by “after” he means copied. So it’s just like the Plexi Rob brought into the studio. 

Also, here the embedded Part 2 video linked above

 

[deleteduser7593]

7 minutes ago, DadBod said:

Just watched this and by “after” he means copied. So it’s just like the Plexi Rob brought into the studio. 

Also, here the embedded Part 2 video linked above

 

Thank you! So he started using 2 plexi (mixed in 1 signa?l) from Insomniac and on just to get a more driven sound, other than a live stereo effect? That would also explain why head 2 had a different mod, a slighty more metal-ish one, compared to crunchy Dookie mod. 

 

[foxborohottub]

Cavallo, had versions of both heads already for the Dookie recordings. They were done  by Bob Bradshaw at CAE originally then the later ones were modded by Martin Goulb at CAE.  Both were used on Dookie. Although the SE is featured much more on Insomniac and that is where the classic live sound Billie still uses today started. Billie ordered a set of clones from Bradshaw while they were recording and they were the amps he used on the Dookie tour and the Woodstock performance. These are the two heads that were spray painted Meat and Pete and later painted pink and silver by the Network. These two heads were used on Insomniac and Nimrod along with an Orange OR100 a Bassman and a Jcm 800. Since the Nimrod recording these amps have only been used live. There are different amps used in the studio since. Warning is primarily a Black faced Bassman and a hiwatt. AI and 21CBD are primarily a Park70 that is modded with a Dookie style mod and an amp we call the Idiot which is also similar but different than an Se Lead (Meat) it has slightly less gain and less bottom end and is generally a “tighter” sounding amp. AI also features a lot of tweed Victoria amps primarily a 2x10 and a Twin. The Bassman and the HiWatt are also extensively used.  Foxboro Hottubs is a Divided by 13 FTR 37 Billie, and a Low power tweed Twin Jason. Trilogy was a mix of all the  cleaner amps and a JTM 45. No master volume amps were used. Rev Rad was back to the park 70 and the Divided by 13 primarily. 

Overall thoughts for trying to get Billies tone with the pedal or any amp is to use WAY less gain than you think. Play a guitar with a hot pickup and dig in!

[Spike]

I was playing around with the Dookie drive at work. It's a fantastic pedal but I found it needs the right gear to get close to the Dookie sound. I played it through a Marshall amp with a HSS Strat and it sounded great, but it sounded like pants when through a Vox with a Les Paul Junior. But with the correct setup it's the closest sounding thing to Dookie I've ever heard. I was able to get one on staff discount for half price but I still chose not to go for it, simply because I don't have the right gear to get the sound I'd want out of it. 

[deleteduser7593]

On 8/31/2019 at 3:55 AM, foxborohottub said:

Cavallo, had versions of both heads already for the Dookie recordings. They were done  by Bob Bradshaw at CAE originally then the later ones were modded by Martin Goulb at CAE.  Both were used on Dookie. Although the SE is featured much more on Insomniac and that is where the classic live sound Billie still uses today started. Billie ordered a set of clones from Bradshaw while they were recording and they were the amps he used on the Dookie tour and the Woodstock performance. These are the two heads that were spray painted Meat and Pete and later painted pink and silver by the Network. These two heads were used on Insomniac and Nimrod along with an Orange OR100 a Bassman and a Jcm 800. Since the Nimrod recording these amps have only been used live. There are different amps used in the studio since. Warning is primarily a Black faced Bassman and a hiwatt. AI and 21CBD are primarily a Park70 that is modded with a Dookie style mod and an amp we call the Idiot which is also similar but different than an Se Lead (Meat) it has slightly less gain and less bottom end and is generally a “tighter” sounding amp. AI also features a lot of tweed Victoria amps primarily a 2x10 and a Twin. The Bassman and the HiWatt are also extensively used.  Foxboro Hottubs is a Divided by 13 FTR 37 Billie, and a Low power tweed Twin Jason. Trilogy was a mix of all the  cleaner amps and a JTM 45. No master volume amps were used. Rev Rad was back to the park 70 and the Divided by 13 primarily. 

Overall thoughts for trying to get Billies tone with the pedal or any amp is to use WAY less gain than you think. Play a guitar with a hot pickup and dig in!

Sorry, but Billie Joe used only 1 Marshall during Dookie concerts. It was that 1959 modded plexi (even if he used JCM800 and JCM900s, too. Opening for Bad Religion, for example). And it's the one he used in studio, too. Then he asked Rob for a copy of it and took it on tour. A second modded plexi came in for Insomniac recordings. I don't know if it was Rob's too. But it only appeared then. You can clearly see it live. To my ears, Dookie was recorded with PETE and different settings and overdubs. As Billie Joe stated himself, you can hear it on ''She'', where more guitars blast into choruses and instrumental bridges. As well as for ''FOD'' etc... Insomniac tones are less crunchy and way bigger. But I suppose that, live, he just took those 2 heads with him to replicate the stereo effects you get in those punk rock records: guitar overdubs, of course. I had my doubts, 'cause you read lots of articles and who knows wich one is honest or not. But after Billie Joe spoke himself, well, I believe him. For the Dookie pedal, my guess is that they didn't want to make a pedale to emulate Dookie tones but Billie Joe 2 amps in general, putting it out for Dookie anniversay, yes, but only on a marketing point of view. Billie Joe, again, said the ''all on the left, you get the Dookie sound'', so all on the right you get MEAT sound only. My advice, for who's been lucky enough to buy the pedal, is to have all at 12 'o clock, except for the blend knob, all on the left. And, most important, to play with the internal knobs to adjust the gain depending on the song. For a song like ''Pulling Teeth'', stock settings might work. For ''Welcome to Paradise'', instead, you might push the internal gain knob a little bit 🙂

PS: But a doubt still remains. In 1995 studio sessions, ok, he blended and mixed the amps. But live, even nowadays, does anyone know how the signal goes? He has both heads in one signal? Or does he switch the amp depening on the song? Even if this would go against the stereo effect theory... I'm still curious.

[Squashie]

Hans and Chris talk about the live signal path in the rug video on from 2013. 

 

[deleteduser7593]

14 minutes ago, DadBod said:

Hans and Chris talk about the live signal path in the rug video on from 2013. 

 

I've watched this video different times. I got the ''blended together'' thing right now. Thanks a lot 🙂

[foxborohottub]

On 9/1/2019 at 8:07 PM, disappearingfs said:

Sorry, but Billie Joe used only 1 Marshall during Dookie concerts. It was that 1959 modded plexi (even if he used JCM800 and JCM900s, too. Opening for Bad Religion, for example). And it's the one he used in studio, too. Then he asked Rob for a copy of it and took it on tour. A second modded plexi came in for Insomniac recordings. I don't know if it was Rob's too. But it only appeared then. You can clearly see it live. To my ears, Dookie was recorded with PETE and different settings and overdubs. As Billie Joe stated himself, you can hear it on ''She'', where more guitars blast into choruses and instrumental bridges. As well as for ''FOD'' etc... Insomniac tones are less crunchy and way bigger. But I suppose that, live, he just took those 2 heads with him to replicate the stereo effects you get in those punk rock records: guitar overdubs, of course. I had my doubts, 'cause you read lots of articles and who knows wich one is honest or not. But after Billie Joe spoke himself, well, I believe him. For the Dookie pedal, my guess is that they didn't want to make a pedale to emulate Dookie tones but Billie Joe 2 amps in general, putting it out for Dookie anniversay, yes, but only on a marketing point of view. Billie Joe, again, said the ''all on the left, you get the Dookie sound'', so all on the right you get MEAT sound only. My advice, for who's been lucky enough to buy the pedal, is to have all at 12 'o clock, except for the blend knob, all on the left. And, most important, to play with the internal knobs to adjust the gain depending on the song. For a song like ''Pulling Teeth'', stock settings might work. For ''Welcome to Paradise'', instead, you might push the internal gain knob a little bit 🙂

PS: But a doubt still remains. In 1995 studio sessions, ok, he blended and mixed the amps. But live, even nowadays, does anyone know how the signal goes? He has both heads in one signal? Or does he switch the amp depening on the song? Even if this would go against the stereo effect theory... I'm still curious.

You are incorrect, the timeline i posted is fact. 

Ugh, just trying to help. i am trying to debunk some of the incorrect info out there . Before he got his own modded amps he used a JCM 900 live.  

As for the pedal, the Dookie preset (all the way left on the blend)  it ships with is 100% a match to the settings on Billies amp for the Meat side (all the way right on blend) the gain knob straight up and down  is where we set the se lead . I designed the pedal with mxr so i know... but set it where you like it, there are no rules!

live, 95% of the show the guitar goes straight from the wireless to the two heads into two cabinets on the back of the stage and are blended into the stereo sound through the pa. Only when he switches to clean or “mid” we use the cae 3+ to drive the power sections of the same two amps and cabs. Think intros to American Idiot Minority etc...

Any other questions?

bill

[Liam]

On 9/2/2019 at 1:07 PM, disappearingfs said:

Sorry, but Billie Joe used only 1 Marshall during Dookie concerts. It was that 1959 modded plexi (even if he used JCM800 and JCM900s, too. Opening for Bad Religion, for example). And it's the one he used in studio, too. Then he asked Rob for a copy of it and took it on tour. A second modded plexi came in for Insomniac recordings. I don't know if it was Rob's too. But it only appeared then. You can clearly see it live. To my ears, Dookie was recorded with PETE and different settings and overdubs. As Billie Joe stated himself, you can hear it on ''She'', where more guitars blast into choruses and instrumental bridges. As well as for ''FOD'' etc... Insomniac tones are less crunchy and way bigger. But I suppose that, live, he just took those 2 heads with him to replicate the stereo effects you get in those punk rock records: guitar overdubs, of course. I had my doubts, 'cause you read lots of articles and who knows wich one is honest or not. But after Billie Joe spoke himself, well, I believe him. For the Dookie pedal, my guess is that they didn't want to make a pedale to emulate Dookie tones but Billie Joe 2 amps in general, putting it out for Dookie anniversay, yes, but only on a marketing point of view. Billie Joe, again, said the ''all on the left, you get the Dookie sound'', so all on the right you get MEAT sound only. My advice, for who's been lucky enough to buy the pedal, is to have all at 12 'o clock, except for the blend knob, all on the left. And, most important, to play with the internal knobs to adjust the gain depending on the song. For a song like ''Pulling Teeth'', stock settings might work. For ''Welcome to Paradise'', instead, you might push the internal gain knob a little bit 🙂

PS: But a doubt still remains. In 1995 studio sessions, ok, he blended and mixed the amps. But live, even nowadays, does anyone know how the signal goes? He has both heads in one signal? Or does he switch the amp depening on the song? Even if this would go against the stereo effect theory... I'm still curious.

Did....you literally just tell Bill Schneider, Green Day's tour manager and friend since the 90's, that he's wrong?

[deleteduser7593]

38 minutes ago, foxborohottub said:

You are incorrect, the timeline i posted is fact. 

Ugh, just trying to help. i am trying to debunk some of the incorrect info out there . Before he got his own modded amps he used a JCM 900 live.  

As for the pedal, the Dookie preset (all the way left on the blend)  it ships with is 100% a match to the settings on Billies amp for the Meat side (all the way right on blend) the gain knob straight up and down  is where we set the se lead . I designed the pedal with mxr so i know... but set it where you like it, there are no rules!

live, 95% of the show the guitar goes straight from the wireless to the two heads into two cabinets on the back of the stage and are blended into the stereo sound through the pa. Only when he switches to clean or “mid” we use the cae 3+ to drive the power sections of the same two amps and cabs. Think intros to American Idiot Minority etc...

Any other questions?

bill

I didn't know you were Billie Joe's guitar tech. Supposing you are, thanks for these info and for claryfing the 2 modded heads use. I knew he used a JCM900 live, it was during Kerplunk! tour. For the modded plexi, I was talking about the one used for Dookie recording. 'Cause MXR made publicity saying that the pedal replicates crunch a SE LEAD Mod, wich is true. But it also says that it's what Billie Joe's done recording the album Wich may not be true. 'Cause, for Dookie, again, I know he only used one plexi, Rob Cavallo modded one. Then he asked for a copy for 1994 shows and ONLY in 1995, decided to add another one (SE LEAD) for a bigger sound, inspired by Insomniac sessions. Then it ended up being his main live sound, wich, with your advices, it's I guess replicable using the pedal with stock settings and knob right in the middle. So, to me, it's more like a generic Green Day sounding pedal, rather than a pedal replicating Dookie sound. I wasn't trying to act like a pro, @Liam, but just saying that MXR promote the pedal as a 2 amp signal mixed in 1, like Billie Joe's done for Dookie. And it's not true, 'cause Billie Joe himself, said: ''Rob showed us the amp (1959 slp with a crunch mod) and it sounded great''. Then, of course, recording with a major label, you do your tweaks here and there, like, again, ''She'' chorus, when it gets LOUDER. It's not a different amp, it's the same one but with lots of overdubs. Thanks Bill, I really appreciated 🙂

 

 

[deleteduser7593]

@foxborohottub PS: Sorry, in advance, if I sounded rude or something. It's great to have the chance to read your notes, I just wanted to share some doubts without any kind of pro-ambitions. Internet is a big place, but I struggled a lot tru the years trying to find info on Billie Joe's amplifiers and guitars. I had more time, back then, for sure, eheh. Everything I said is based on what I'vee seen and read until today so, something, read stuff expecially, may be incorrect. But we can cleary see Billie Joe used one amp at Woodstock and every 1994 concert and 2 amp during Insomniac opening show 😛

-----

SORT OF TIMELINE, CORRECT WHERE YOU THINK YOU NEED TO:

1st tour: Gallen Kruger amp, like Billie Joe said, and differnet cheap pedals depening on the venue's circumstances.

Kerplunk! tour and studio: Marshall JCM900..

Dooke: Rob Cavallo's modded 1959 super lead plexi for recordings. Then a clone as a gift for Billie Joe to use it live, with PETE sprayed on it.

Insomniac: Billie Joe goes for a bigger sound, and so tries different new amps and adds another modded plexi to the signal, with a SE LEAD Mod, a more driven one. So he takes the 2 amp live blended in 1 big signal for all of the tour.

Since then, that became his main sound, like he said, again, in Dunlop video. Of course, with all of the stuff written from 1997 to 2019, there are live tweaks (clean switch, Boss BD pedal for solo, mid switch for American Idiot intro etc..) depeding on the song or the guitar, but that's it, I guess.

-----

When you have the chance to learn something, I think you have to go for it. And that's how I try to do. So sorry, again, if i sounded like the ''I know everything'' type. Thanks a lot 🙂

 

[Maddie86]

On 8/30/2019 at 9:55 PM, foxborohottub said:

Cavallo, had versions of both heads already for the Dookie recordings. They were done  by Bob Bradshaw at CAE originally then the later ones were modded by Martin Goulb at CAE.  Both were used on Dookie. Although the SE is featured much more on Insomniac and that is where the classic live sound Billie still uses today started. Billie ordered a set of clones from Bradshaw while they were recording and they were the amps he used on the Dookie tour and the Woodstock performance. These are the two heads that were spray painted Meat and Pete and later painted pink and silver by the Network. These two heads were used on Insomniac and Nimrod along with an Orange OR100 a Bassman and a Jcm 800. Since the Nimrod recording these amps have only been used live. There are different amps used in the studio since. Warning is primarily a Black faced Bassman and a hiwatt. AI and 21CBD are primarily a Park70 that is modded with a Dookie style mod and an amp we call the Idiot which is also similar but different than an Se Lead (Meat) it has slightly less gain and less bottom end and is generally a “tighter” sounding amp. AI also features a lot of tweed Victoria amps primarily a 2x10 and a Twin. The Bassman and the HiWatt are also extensively used.  Foxboro Hottubs is a Divided by 13 FTR 37 Billie, and a Low power tweed Twin Jason. Trilogy was a mix of all the  cleaner amps and a JTM 45. No master volume amps were used. Rev Rad was back to the park 70 and the Divided by 13 primarily. 

Overall thoughts for trying to get Billies tone with the pedal or any amp is to use WAY less gain than you think. Play a guitar with a hot pickup and dig in!

Soooo what's Billie playing on the new album? And do you know what was used on cigarettes and valentines? 🙂

[Squashie]

New video of Billie messing with the Dookie pedal:

 

[pacejunkie punk]

2 minutes ago, DadBod said:

New video of Billie messing with the Dookie pedal:

 

Is that Castaway?! ❤️ What I wouldn’t give to hear him play that live.

[MillenniumFan]

Weird choice of song imo, as that kind of sound doesn't really suit it...

[jengd]

3 hours ago, pacejunkie punk said:

Is that Castaway?! ❤️ What I wouldn’t give to hear him play that live.

I know it’s not the same but I watched this recently and there’s a great version of Castaway at some point, sorry I know it’s long, I think it was about the middle!

 

[desertrose]

 

 

[desertrose]

 

[JReevz]

@foxborohottub you have no idea how thankful I am that you explained the amp situation with this band. I’ve been trying to figure out the live rig configuration since I was 12 because I love that tone. I’m finally reaching a point in life where I can afford nicer things and my goal is to replicate the live rig set up before I die. 

[Todd]

I bit the bullet and ordered one of these. I live in an apartment and don’t play a lot of electric guitar these days, but seeing as I missed out on the first run, I didn’t want to miss my second chance. 

[Spike]

I'm so glad there's a new version. I missed out first time around, and the artwork isn't as cool on the new one but that's just window dressing. Already ordered one of the V2, with massive staff discount. Cannae wait! 

[localinsomniac]

There's a FOAM version now too

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DookieDriveV3--mxr-dd25-green-day-dookie-drive-v3-overdrive-pedal