ZZ Top "La Grange" Isolated Guitars

Today we gave a great study in how to use electric guitars in a song. It's Billy F Gibbon's isolated guitar parts in ZZ Top's break-through hit "La Grange" from their Tres Hombres album in 1973. Here are some things to listen for:

1. The intro clean guitar has a nice short delayed reverb on it.

2. The verse distorted guitar is doubled and spread out left and right. It also has a different reverb.

3. The solo (which is one of my all-time favorites and was played on a 55 Strat through a Marshall Super Lead 100) is a completely different sound, which keeps the song interesting as new elements and sounds are introduced.

4. When the clean intro guitar is introduced again after the solo at 2:15, it's dry except for what sounds like some recorded room ambiance.

5. Listen to the amp noise in between the phrases during the outro solo at 2:33. Not that anyone ever heard it in the track though.

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