# Guitarist Who Played The Haunting Guitar On Chris Isaak's Wicked Games ? ? ?



## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

I’m trying to find out who played guitar on Chris Isaak’s Wicked Games. I saw Chris at the Exibition in Toronto many years ago when he opened for Bonnie Raitt. We were talking to his guitarist while he was setting up and I seem to recall he was from Wa Wa, Ontario. I’ve searched the web and I can’t seem to find a concensus as to who the guitarist might be.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Undoubtedly James Wilsey. He's a sometime contributor over on the Fender Forum and has discussed the session a few times over the years. He also has a wicked sense of humour. I stand to be corrected, but I don't believe he's played concerts with Isaak for many many years, ie., since not long after the song was recorded.
http://www.myspace.com/jameswilsey
https://soundcloud.com/james-wilsey


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

That has to be one of the best guitar tone in the world. It just is so haunting, melodical and beautiful at the same time. Thanks for asking Guitar 101


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

His solo CD "El Dorado" is awesome too - I got it from iTunes. Chock full of great guitar tones and tunes.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I was going to say Hershel Yatovitz, but he joined up with Isaaks after that. Same tone, just not the same guy.


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

I can't add to the 'whodunnit' but I can fully agree with the opinion that it is a fantastic guitar tone and so tastefully played!


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

The Chris Isaak tv show was really good. Too bad it didn't last long.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

NB_Terry said:


> The Chris Isaak tv show was really good. Too bad it didn't last long.


At least the music video for Wicked Games will be played and replayed for a very long time. Yikes....


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

marcos said:


> That has to be one of the best guitar tone in the world. It just is so haunting, melodical and beautiful at the same time. Thanks for asking Guitar 101


+1. Not sure what was used in the studio, but plug straight into a Fender Vibro King, pretty darn close.


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## GTmaker (Apr 24, 2006)

mhammer said:


> I was going to say Hershel Yatovitz, but he joined up with Isaaks after that. Same tone, just not the same guy.


I saw Chris Isaak with his regular band that he tours with which includes Hershel at the Fallsview in Niagara Falls.

Hershel had no problem nailing that tone with a couple of Fender Twins and his steady Strat.

Great venue, good concert....had a blast.

G.

[h=2][/h]


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

Reading up on Wilsey,he says he used a 62 Re-issue Strat, Twin reverb amp and no mods to the Strat. Pretty cool.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Awesome tone and playing for sure. My other standard for strat tone and playing is Robbie Blunt on Big Log.


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## OldGuitarPlayer (Feb 25, 2013)

Yes that surely is a beautiful strat tone he had on that tune.


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## Kenmac (Jan 24, 2007)

It's funny that this track is mentioned now. A couple of months ago a poster over on another forum posted a link to a Mix magazine article that goes into detail about how it was recorded. This particular line in the article surprised me when I read it:"Wicked Game sounds so organic, so present, and so natural that even studio cynics may be surprised to learn it was largely a studio creation, an early example of what can be achieved with samples, loops, and a relentless, perfectionist vision." Bear in mind this was recorded in the late 80's when looping and sampling wasn't as commonplace as it is now. You can read the article here: http://mixonline.com/recording/interviews/audio_chris_isaaks_wicked/


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

Kenmac said:


> It's funny that this track is mentioned now. A couple of months ago a poster over on another forum posted a link to a Mix magazine article that goes into detail about how it was recorded. This particular line in the article surprised me when I read it:"Wicked Game sounds so organic, so present, and so natural that even studio cynics may be surprised to learn it was largely a studio creation, an early example of what can be achieved with samples, loops, and a relentless, perfectionist vision." Bear in mind this was recorded in the late 80's when looping and sampling wasn't as commonplace as it is now. You can read the article here: http://mixonline.com/recording/interviews/audio_chris_isaaks_wicked/


Thanks for directing me back to this link. I had seen it but I didn't read far enough into the article to see the info on Wicked Games. Shame on me.
What started me on my quest for more info was my desire to create a comparable sound on Guitar Rig 5. If anyone has anything close, let me know.
It's nice to know from your posts that I'm not the only one that loves the sound of this haunting guitar tone. If I come up with anything, I'll let you know in case there are any other Guitar Rig 5 users out there.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

I've read that before but James Wilsey himself has discounted that story as untrue. He's a regular poster on a couple of other forums - TDPRI in particular. I remember him posting and saying that the article referenced below was filled with un-truths.



Kenmac said:


> It's funny that this track is mentioned now. A couple of months ago a poster over on another forum posted a link to a Mix magazine article that goes into detail about how it was recorded. This particular line in the article surprised me when I read it:"Wicked Game sounds so organic, so present, and so natural that even studio cynics may be surprised to learn it was largely a studio creation, an early example of what can be achieved with samples, loops, and a relentless, perfectionist vision." Bear in mind this was recorded in the late 80's when looping and sampling wasn't as commonplace as it is now. You can read the article here: http://mixonline.com/recording/interviews/audio_chris_isaaks_wicked/


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

Interesting Bagpipe. I tend to agree that the guitar tone used on Wicked Games could be achieved with the right Strat and Fender amp. All we need is a few people with that equipment to give it a try and post some clips. The challenge is on.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Roryfan said:


> +1. Not sure what was used in the studio, but plug straight into a Fender Vibro King, pretty darn close.


I agree...its a good tone, but not all that hard to achieve, esp in a studio environment. Im more impressed with his tasteful and subtle phrasing...not too many notes, not too few, just fits the song perfectly. Carlos Santana, take note.


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## ronmac (Sep 22, 2006)

Guitar101 said:


> Interesting Bagpipe. I tend to agree that the guitar tone used on Wicked Games could be achieved with the right Strat and Fender amp. All we need is a few people with that equipment to give it a try and post some clips. The challenge is on.


I don't own a Strat, but I do have a 70's Harmony knock-off that gets real close using the bridge pu into a VibroKing with an Echolpex on the back end. I have also tried a 65 Deluxe, Vibrolux and Twin and can imagine any of them being the magic bullet, depending on the guitar used and the right delay/chorus combination.


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

ronmac said:


> Guitar101 said:
> 
> 
> > Interesting Bagpipe. I tend to agree that the guitar tone used on Wicked Games could be achieved with the right Strat and Fender amp. All we need is a few people with that equipment to give it a try and post some clips. The challenge is on.
> ...


I have a friend who owns every effect known to man & he spent a long time trying to dial in that tone using pedals, but the VK nailed it. VKs are a little different from most BF Fenders, they have a warmth & compression, possibly b/c there's no negative feedback loop?


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

I'm posting the link to the backing track for Wicked Games. Eventually, I would like to embed the player directly into my post but for now, here's the link to Soundcloud.

Wicked Games-backing-track


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## loudtubeamps (Feb 2, 2012)

I think it would be pretty east to replicate the guitar tones discussed here in the stuidio with a Strat into something like an Eventide Harmonizer or an Orville direct into the board. I've used "direct in" processed guitars many times for recording, they can sound pretty sweet.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

I'm still looking for that great sound used on Wicked Games for Guitar Rig 5 but in my quest to find it, I have come up with a really nice one of my own. If there are any GR5 users out there that would like it, PM me and I'll send a pic of the components I used.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

Wicked Games Intro

I worked out this intro to Wicked Games using a preset I created in Guitar Rig 5. I gave up trying to duplicate Wilsey's sound.


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## Guest (Jul 25, 2013)

NB_Terry said:


> The Chris Isaak tv show was really good. Too bad it didn't last long.


It always bugged me Showcase didn't release it on DVD. I've been harassing my contacts at Netflix to pick it up.


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## Guest (Jul 25, 2013)

Guitar101 said:


> I'm still looking for that great sound used on Wicked Games for Guitar Rig 5 but in my quest to find it, I have come up with a really nice one of my own. If there are any GR5 users out there that would like it, PM me and I'll send a pic of the components I used.


Sorry, can't help with GR. But Axe-Fx II...you bet! See: http://www.guitarscanada.com/showthread.php?57263-Wicked-Game-AxeFx-II-FW-10-10


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