Blacklight Sonatas [Magnatude] includes covers of “Theme from Sanford and Son” (reprised from 1996’s Cactus Cruz) and “Black Betty,” a Leadbelly tune soulfully sung by Firkins. They, like the remaining seven instrumentals, are chockablock with killer tones and spirited guitar and lap-steel playing that owe more to Page, Beck, Hendrix, Allman, and Winter—
seasoned with sprinkles of Travis and Gatton—than they do to the neoclassical-fusion styles pursued by Yngwie Malmsteen and Firkins’ ’90s-era label mates.

Firkins is currently completing a “mid- ’70s-sounding classic rock record” tentatively titled Since 1967, that he’s recording old-school-style on analog tape in Nashville, Tennessee. The album showcases Firkins’ vocals and lyrics along with his guitar pyrotechnics, and features bassist Andy Hess and drummer Matt Abts of Gov’t Mule, along with Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell. The guitarist also plans to begin performing live again after an extended absence from the rock and roll stage. A brief European tour in the spring will be followed by additional roadwork in support of Since 1967.

Why did you call the album Blacklight Sonatas?
It’s just a take on “Moonlight Sonata,” and the title track is my interpretation. I had an idea way back to do that tune in a sort of Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd way, and I think it turned out a little more like the latter—kind of a “Brain Damage” meets “No Quarter” version. Plus, I’m always down for ’70s blacklight posters [laughs].

You get some very present and “real” guitar and lap-steel tones. Was that what you were aiming for?
Yeah, that’s a good description. We recorded most of the basic tracks at Prairie Sun Studios in Cotati, California, and a few at a couple of other Bay Area studios, and then I tracked all the guitar overdubs in my home studio. I tried every amp in the world, and went through all my guitars, but in the end I mostly used a Fender ’57 Deluxe reissue, and sometimes a ’77 Marshall Super Lead 100. The Fender was one of the reasons that I did this record, because it sounded so great that after I got it, I played every day and began soloing again after not soloing for a long time. The bigger and heavier sounds are usually the Marshall. It uses 6550 tubes, and had a high-gain mod when I got it—a good one, I usually hate mods—but I turned the extra gain all the way down, so it really wasn’t being used. I combined both amps for some of the solos.

What speakers did you use with the Marshall?
I ran it through a ’80s Marshall 4x12 cab with Celestion G12T-75s. I’ve got a new Marshall cab now that’s loaded with G12-30Hs and it sounds a lot better, but it didn’t make it onto the album.

How did you record the amps?
I like to use three mics on each amp, usually a Royer R-121 ribbon, a Shure SM57 dynamic, and a Sennheiser MD 421 condenser. When I record both amps together I use a Radial pedal to split the signal and flip the phase. Sometimes I’ll mike one amp up close and the other a little farther away, which can cause phase issues, in which case I’ll use the Time Adjuster plug-in in Pro Tools to correct the problem. I really don’t like the sound of Time Adjuster, though, so after I’ve recorded I’ll disable it and just adjust the phase alignment visually by zooming in on the waveform and moving one track.

Did you plug straight into the amps to get your distorted tones?
Mostly. Things like the “Sanford” solo are just straight into the Fender. I used a Barber LTD overdrive on about three solos, and the Radial has a few frequency knobs on it that I use now and then for mid-boost and overdrive.

So there were no other pedals?
I used a Dunlop 535Q wah in a few spots, and an Electro-Harmonix Small Stone phaser on some weird chords in the background. I really like the Small Stone.

What about all those great delay sounds?
The delays were all added later. We ran the Pro Tools tracks out to an SSL console while mixing, and most of the delays were done using a Moogerfooger MF-104Z analog delay pedal patched into the SSL’s effects loop.

What instruments did you play?
All of the whammy bar stuff is a Fender Custom Shop ’57 Reissue Stratocaster, and there are also a few solos played on a Fender ’51 Nocaster Relic. I played a little slide on the Strat, but most of the slide was done with an early-’70s Gibson SG. It’s one of those SGs that had the weird little pickups, but somebody had replaced them with humbuckers from the mid-’60s. I bought it on eBay for $750, and the pickups alone are worth much more than that. The lap-steel parts were played on an Oahu Diana.

What sorts of slides do you use?
They are the big, thick brass ones that I’m pretty sure are made by Jim Dunlop.

How about strings?
I mostly use D’Addario .012s and .013s with wound thirds, though I’m trying to get away from that and I’ve just started using .011s again for some things. The wound third is hard to get away from once you start, though, because then the unwound third just feels like a little tiny string and you pluck it out of tune all the time.

Describe what’s going on with your right hand and how you grip the whammy bar.
I position my right hand in more or less the standard way, without much of an angle, as my wrist is sort of screwed up and I can’t bend it a lot. I play with my fingers and a thumbpick, and the thumbpick is always right there next to the strings. My whammy bar stuff is usually just the typical pinky grabbing the bar and dipping, but I like the bar to be able to fall away when it isn’t in use. I grab it when I need it.

Do you ever use a flatpick? 
I haven’t used a regular pick in about ten years, though I just started using one again and it’s kind of fun. For a while I combined a flatpick with the thumbpick, but now I use the thumbpick for single notes and for chords, mostly along with my middle finger. I like the really big, thick thumbpicks sold by National.

Do you use the thumbpick and fingers combination on the lap-steel as well?
Yes, along with the heavy brass bar. I was using the standard lap-steel bar for a while, and those are fun, because you can dig into single notes pretty easily, but I haven’t been playing enough lap-steel this year, so I usually just grab the big slides, and they sound great.

How are you picking the gnarly main lick and chords on “The Horse and the Fly”?
That would be my Tele through the Fender amp on the rhythm guitar part. The lead solo is the SG, really digging in my fingers.

What about the pedal-steel-like sounds on the opening licks of “One Big Punch (Crying Stacks)”?
I got those by fingerpicking and raising the pitches of some notes with a bar.

Since 1967 is being recorded to analog 24-track. Are you dissatisfied with digital?
Absolutely, and next I’m buying a 24-track analog machine for myself. Running all those nice microphones and mic pres into digital has me chasing my own tail in the studio because of the way it comes back sounding. I hope they change that, but for now the analog stuff really works well.

That’s as long as they don’t quit making analog tape.
Yeah, I know. That’s what I’m scared of.

www.michaelleefirkins.com