Steve Hackett: Cured by Effects Pedals

Genesis alumnus Steve Hackett continues to be a prolific guitarist and songwriter. After recording eight classic albums with Genesis, Hackett pursued a solo career that saw the further release of twenty-two albums between 1977 and 2008. Not wishing to be cornered by the progressive-rock label, Hackett jumped head first into the pop genre with the 1981 release of Cured. While the previous year's Defector album received greater critical acclaim and charted higher in the UK and US, Cured remains one of Hackett's most important solo albums because it evidences his deconstruction as a purely progressive-rock guitarist. If you're interested in producing the ambient tones on "Cradles of Swans" and "Overnight Sleeper", you'll find the following PedalNut details helpful:

• Macari Octave Divider - obscure 1970s pedal manufactured in England. If you encounter difficulties finding this pedal on Ebay.com or in your local pawnshop, pick up the Mutron Octave Divider pedal or the Boss OC-2 Octave Divider instead;
• Jim Dunlop Cry Baby wah-wah pedal;
• Custom Pete Cornish Compression pedal - substitute your favorite compression pedal here unless you have the cash to order a custom pedal from Mr. Cornish. If you want my two cents, the CompNova Compression pedal by T-Rex Engineering in Denmark looks cool and sounds even better;
• MXR Phase 90 - dial in the fastest sweep setting possible;
  
• Vox Tone Bender (or a Marshall Super Fuzz if you can find one);
• Shaftsbury Duo-Fuzz pedal - apparently makes your guitar sound like a harpsichord, and was combined with the Tone Bender pedal by Hackett on Genesis' song "The Carpet Crawlers" from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway double album;
• Schaller Volume Pedal; and
  
• Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble.

Once you have compiled and velcro-taped these pedals to your board, you should also pick up an E-Bow sustainer and a couple of metal slides (at least one full finger slide and a ring slide). Hackett produces endless sustain on the Cured album by using a combination of the E-Bow and slide notes on his Gibson Les Paul.

Hope this helps!