The Sound of No One Knows: With Plugins, Budget Setup, or Studio Gear
How to achieve the iconic guitar sound from Josh Homme
The Sound of No One Knows: With Plugins, Budget Setup, or Studio Gear · Source: Anne-Marie Forker / Alamy
Gew other guitar sounds have shaped the 21st century as much as Josh Homme’s in “No One Knows.” Further developed from his iconic sound from Kyuss, legends have long surrounded the gear that the Queens of the Stone Age frontman used during its recording. Let’s take a look at how you can get closer to the sound: in-the-box with plugins, with a budget hardware setup, and with high-end studio gear!
All the Facts About the Song from QOTSA
The Reinvention of Josh Homme
Some of those who knew Kyuss before Queens of the Stone Age had a bit of a hard time getting used to Josh Homme’s new band in the early 2000s. Because what John Garcia, Josh Homme, Brant Bjork, and Nick Oliveri (later Scott Reeder) created in the late eighties and early nineties in the form of thunderous desert rock anthems can rightfully be called the most important stoner rock band in history.
But, as so often happens in music history, Josh Homme, whose brutal, bone-dry guitar sound already fascinated many at the time, found the band’s creative direction too one-dimensional. He had other ideas. And in 1996, almost immediately after Kyuss disbanded, he founded Queens of the Stone Age. In the early years, his experience was not unlike that of Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters.
Homme did gain a respectable fan base with QOTSA’s self-titled debut (1998) and Rated R (2000). But no one could have anticipated the monster they unleashed on the world with Songs for the Deaf in 2002. How funky and brutal, how sad and angry, how infinitely aggressive and dynamic everything sounded here—it struck a chord (in fact, quite a bit more than one). Above all, No One Knows.
No One Knows: Dave Grohl meets Desert Sessions meets Josh Homme
When word got out that one Dave Grohl did most of the drumming on Songs for the Dead, it set expectations neither the song nor the album could meet. The opposite happened.
Compared to his earlier straight-up drumming in Nirvana, Grohl showed his musical versatility and drumming genius on No One Knows. And Homme proved how funky desert rock could be. Based on a riff from the song Cold Sore Superstars from the Desert Sessions, No One Knows is an absolute masterclass in songwriting alone. The way the parts flow into each other, and how the dynamics are interwoven among these different parts, was unusual for a rock song, to say the least.
And soon after its release, rumors and myths began to swirl about Josh Homme’s guitar sound on the album. In addition to Josh’s unique style, the guitar community racked their brains for a long time trying to figure out how Josh achieved such a present, mid-rangey sound that still sounded so defined. The myth of the sound of No One Knows was born.
The Gear from No One Knows
Queens of the Stone Age recorded almost the entire album Songs for the Deaf together with producer Eric Valentine. The drum recordings with Dave Grohl are legendary, and it is widely known that cymbals and drums were recorded separately. And when it comes to guitar gear, Josh does a lot of things a little differently.
As for the guitars themselves, Homme seems to have frequently used an Ovation Ultra GP during the recording of No One Knows, a model that was only available in limited numbers on the market in the 1980s. In the music video for No One Knows, however, Homme can be seen playing a Maton MS520, a model from the manufacturer that even released a signature guitar by Josh a while ago.
As for the amps, two sources have revealed part of Josh’s secret in recent years. First, there was a YouTube video online for a short time in which producer Eric Valentine spoke in great detail about the recording process. However, this seemed to displease the band, as the video soon disappeared from Valentine’s channel (tip: with a little digging, you can still find copies on YouTube). Secondly, Josh himself talked about his secret weapon in the Apple TV documentary “Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson.”
Josh’s sound is primarily shaped by his preference for cheap transistor amplifiers and bass amps. The Peavey Decade, a rather noisy practice amp, played a central role, along with an old amp from Tube Works, a Tube Works RT-2100 Mosvalve, which Homme had owned since his youth.
The whole main riff was backed up in the chorus with overdubs from an Ampeg VT40 bass amp. According to Valentine, Josh didn’t use many pedals during the recordings. A Zvex Super Hard-On Boost seems to have played a significant role, allowing Josh to boost his signal significantly in order to better drive the amps.
The Sound of No One Knows with Plugins
As always, you’ll need a guitar, cables, DAW, and audio interface. We’ll take a look at which effect plugins can help you quickly achieve the sound you’re after. Let’s start with a free solution! We’re talking about NAM, Neural Amp Modeling.
Once you have installed the free plugin, you can find an amp profile here at Tone 3000 that claims to replicate the sound of a real Decade from the 1980s. You can also find plenty of profiles of Ampeg amps at Tone 3000. If you want something more convenient, take a closer look at IK Multimedia Amplitube 5* or Native Instruments Guitar Rig 7*.
The Sound of No One Knows: The Budget Solution
The Peavey Decade Pedal* is a complete solution for beginners looking to achieve the sound of No One Knows. It is part of a series of Peavey pedal amps that emulate the sounds of some of the manufacturer’s legendary amps. And when it comes to the Ampeg sound, the Ampeg Classic Analog Bass Preamp is a good place to start.
The Sound of No One Knows: Studio Gear
Where there’s a Decade pedal, a Decade Too amp* can’t be too far behind! Peavey launched this very amp together with Josh Homme at the beginning of the year, along with a matching cab*. This already gets you halfway there in terms of sound.
Add to that an Ampeg V4B Basshead*. And to play both simultaneously, you’ll need a suitable splitter* (and a cabinet full of vintage microphones for recording).
Conclusion
Now it’s your turn! What gear and guitars do you use to get closer to the sound of No One Knows?
Let us know in the comments!
*Disclaimer: This post about the sound of No One Knows contains affiliate links and/or widgets. When you buy a product via our affiliate partner, we receive a small commission that helps support what we do. Don’t worry, you pay the same price. Thanks for your support!
This might also interest you
