Orianthi’s new album, O, is chock-full of colossal distorted guitar sounds, but in a new interview, the Australian guitar hero has admitted she has come a long way tone-wise.
Speaking to Guitar.com, Ori cited her cover of a Jimi Hendrix classic at Japan’s Summer Sonic Festival in 2010 – which has now clocked up over 10-million YouTube views – as her lowest tonal point.
“There are a lot of views on my version of Voodoo Child on YouTube and I can’t really watch it – I just cringe,” she says.
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“I hated my tone – it was just fucking awful – but I had a great time with an EVH amp cranked up and all these effects. There are a lot of mean comments like, ‘Her sound sucks’ and I just think, ‘Yeah, I agree with you guys – it sounds pretty shitty, but it was a fun time!’”
Earlier this week, Orianthi detailed her tonal approach to Total Guitar, saying, “I don’t like using too many pedals. I like the connection between the guitar and the amplifier.”
In that same interview, the former Michael Jackson guitarist named another awkward tone scenario at the Roseland Ballroom in New York, when she had no time to soundcheck owing to the show’s packed line-up.
“They plugged me into this amplifier on the clean channel. They just turned up the treble,” she recalled. “People were in pain. I was in pain. I was playing According To You so I was tapping with a clean tone. Never let people tell you that things are okay without you checking it.”
Wise words, indeed. Orianthi’s new album, O, is out now via Frontiers Music.
