Song Rig

Goin' Out of My Head

Wes Montgomery · Goin' Out of My Head · 1965

Tone Overview

What Makes This Sound Unique

Montgomery's most commercially successful recording — his Verve label "pop jazz" period. The tone here has a slightly softer, more polished quality than the Riverside recordings, with subtle orchestration and a slight hint of reverb from the recording environment. Still entirely thumb-picked.

Signal Chain

1Gibson L-5 CES
2Studio amplifier (clean, with room ambience from the Rudy Van Gelder studio)

Amp Settings

Gain / Volume1

Bass5

Mid6

Treble5

Reverb3

The Verve/A&M productions used more studio processing than the live Riverside recordings — subtle reverb from the recording room rather than digital effects. Montgomery hated the orchestrated pop arrangements Creed Taylor insisted on, but the guitar tone remains his characteristic warm thumb-picked sound throughout.

Technique

How to Play It

Melodic octave playing over orchestral arrangements — the Verve recordings stripped away the bebop harmonic complexity in favour of accessible melodic octave playing. Montgomery's octave technique is most clearly audible here because the accompaniment is simpler and the tempo more moderate.

Budget Alternative

Achievable With

Any hollow or semi-hollow guitar with a neck humbucker → clean amp with room reverb → thumb-picking only. The Goin' Out of My Head album is the most accessible starting point for learning octave technique because the tempos are manageable and the melodies well-known.

Your Gear