A question for Lou Reed fans

[wrxplayer]

I listened to Lou Reed's "New York" album yesterday for the first time in a couple of years. [Great CD, but that's not the point.] I know Reed generally plays a tele and the guitar sounds on this record sound like a telecaster. What I'm wondering is if anybody knows what amp(s) he used to make the recording. I LOVE the tones, and for the most part the sound is very natural and I suspect for the most part just guitar into amp.
Anybody?

PS-Interesting that he takes a swipe at Rudy given that the record was recorded in '89 or '90.

 

[Steve W.]

I'm a big Lou Reed fan and think he's a very underrated as a guitar player.
I've seen him a bunch of times in person and on video and he's played all kinds of different guitars from stock and custom Strats, to a Danny Gatton Tele, to guitars by MJ (http://www.mjguitar.com/mjguitar.html). And I've seen him play out of everything from Peavey Bandits (when Robert Quine was in his band) to Soldanos, although IIRC he has been sticking with the Soldanos for a while now. He also usually has a big Soldano Surfbox unit on top of his amp and a huge effects switching floorboard.

 

[wrxplayer]

I'm a big Lou Reed fan and think he's a very underrated as a guitar player.... I've seen him play out of everything from Peavey Bandits (when Robert Quine was in his band) to Soldanos, although IIRC he has been sticking with the Soldanos for a while now. He also usually has a big Soldano Surfbox unit on top of his amp and a huge effects switching floorboard.

Was there such thing as Soldano amps in 1990?

 

[Steve W.]

Soldano website says the SLO came out in 1987. Wikipedia says the company started in 1986.

The information superhighway is a beautiful thing.

 

[Steve W.]

Oops. Did a little more surfing and what I thought was an MJ may in fact be a Bolin, which has a similar headstock design.

This site has a bunch of Lou Reed gear info, but I don't know how accurate it is. Lou strikes me as a gear hound who is always trying different things, so it is probably hard to pin down exactly what he might have used on a specific occasion.

 

[outtahear]

Sounds like the amps Mike S. did for him-I played Lous' rig at Mikes old shop on Melrose (probably '90??) when he was next to "Spotlight Tattoo"
(Talk about one stop shopping....).

The intro to "Busload of Faith" on a good system is like being in the room:AOK

 

[Keld]

Shoot - I saw him on that tour, but I can't recall what amps he was using. Pretty sure he wasn't using a tele live. Sorry I'm not much help...

 

[mc5nrg]

I went to the show for that tour and he made a point of showing off his rig and stating that he had "stepped up to a rack" at least for the live show. I don't remember a tele but something strat shaped.