Trying to nail Semisonic/Dan Wilson sounds

[Zillie]

Hello,
my tribute band is going to cover two Semisonic songs - I have problems with nailing these effects:

1. Fuzzy/synth lead tone that starts at 0:16 (maybe it's not even a guitar)

2. Sort of auto-wah sound that starts at 0:59 and goes throughout the song - I've tried regular wah pedal with delay but the original is cooler and kind of synthy

What effect or particular pedal would you guys recommend me to try?

I haven't found any info on Dan Wilson's gear and he even did not much effects live since he was the only guitarist and played mainly rhythm...

Thanks!

 

[Rod]

Why try to copy him and his sound? Do your own version of the tune...Listener peeps appreciate that originality, at least they do in our band

 

[Member 202408]

No one cares what a Semisonic song semisounds like.

 

[Zillie]

Why try to copy him and his sound? Do your own version of the tune...Listener peeps appreciate that originality, at least they do in our band

I got what you mean but this is more of a job and originality is not always welcome and not in this case - the fun for me is (at least) nailing the sounds if I like them and I like these.

I have other projects for fun where I have more space for doing things my way...

 

[tinkercity]

First off... thanks for reminding me to listen to this record. Brought back some great memories. Dan's book is fantastic too. I believe it's called "One Hit Wonder?"

First clip: that's absolutely a synth. Most likely with some fuzz or dirt added but it's not a guitar.
Second clip: that's a wah pedal. It trails off with a tremolo and delay or reverb added.

 

[msquared]

I've always loved Wilson's guitar tone. Semisonic was great stuff.

In the liner notes for that album he mentions ZVex fuzzes. Jacob Slichter's book mentions that he had a pair of fuzzes in his live rig if that helps.