Wigsrigs and gigs

[clockwise from left] The Bootleg Beatles in action; the Fab Four’s Ron McNeil in full-on John Lennon mode; the JHS Colour Box (“It simulates the preamp of a Neve Console,” the Analogues’ Jac Bico says. “That’s how the Beatles got that [‘Revolution’] guitar sound”); one of the Analogues’ custom rack units

PLAYING the part of John Lennon or George Harrison requires talent and extreme attention to detail. You’re taking the iconic musicians through 10 years of evolution over a two-hour performance — from “Twist and Shout” to “Strawberry Fields Forever” to “Let It Be.” So, woodshedding, guitars and amps aside, it makes sense that you’d need more than a little help from the right effects units.

THE FAB FOUR

“When we get to Rubber Soul and Revolver in our set, that’s when things get more nuanced and complex,” says Ron McNeil, who plays John Lennon, and is the founding member of the Fab Four, which started in 1997. “That’s where the Vox Valvetronix ToneLab with the tube inline comes in.”

“It’s compact, can hold a lot of information and it nails the pristine Vox tone,” adds Doug Couture, who plays George. “You’re bringing in distortion, chorus, different amp mods. I use the Tech 21 MIDI Mouse switcher, and all the sounds from the ToneLab are numbered and sequenced to the set list.” Couture also uses the TC Electronic Polytune 3 Noir tuner, a Behringer Micromix MX400 line mixer and an Xotic Super Clean Buffer pedal (“It boosts the signal because we’re using longer cable runs”).

When asked about the most elusive guitar sound in the Beatles’ catalog, McNeil and Couture both name “Revolution.” “It’s nasty, like something’s wrong,” says McNeil with a laugh. “It’s a very unique sound that you can’t find on the ToneLab.” Couture adds, “We programmed a custom ‘Revolution’ tone in the ToneLab, and when you combine the Epiphone Casino with a Gibson SG — brighter and darker — it’s pretty close.”

With two separate touring bands, the Fab Four, McNeil says, “need to run like a well-oiled machine.” So the ToneLab carries the weight. “If we had to ship out our Vox and Fender amps to every gig, we’d need a semi,” Couture says. “That’s why we utilize the newer technology. The only thing that takes up space is the guitars, which we need for the tone. Nothing sounds like an SG, a Tele or a Ric, or even a Gibson J-160E. It can be ch