Tone Report Weekly Issue 121 | Page 24

PHOTO BY HEINRICH KLAFFS VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS E F F E C T : S. HAWK LTD. HAWK II TONAL EXPANDER Rory Gallagher is one of the most influential players that many people have never heard. His tone is legendary and serves as a linchpin of the tones of many similarly influential guitarists such as The Edge, Johnny Marr and Joe Bonamassa. And much like Mr. Gallagher himself, his signature, unheralded tone is due in part to a similarly unheralded box. Straight out of left field, the Hawk II Tonal Expander is a weird-looking device, and one that Rory Gallagher used as his secret tonal sauce for years. The box consists of three rocker switches and three sliders with no explanation 24 TONE TALK // for either one other than assorted lines and shapes. They provide an inductorbased EQ circuit, rather than a gyrator “virtual inductor” type EQ pedal, one that has been implemented in almost no stompboxes before and after it. The frequencies boosted and cut by the Tonal Expander are markedly different from the frequencies usually comprising an EQ: 170, 550 and 2500Hz. Liberal use of the Hawk II allowed Rory to achieve his very distinct tone, one that required an original Hawk II or clones now built by Flynn Amps and Maritime Analog to replicate. He Played What? 6 Signature Sounds Using Lesser-Known Pedals