Artist: Chris Isaak
Album: Heart Shaped World
Release Year: 1989
Guitarist: James Calvin Wilsey
Wicked Game by Chris Isaak is one of those instantly recognizable songs because of its haunting, atmospheric guitar tone, at least for us guitarists. On the record, the guitar was played by James Calvin Wilsey, an Indiana-born guitarist who played with Isaak on four albums: Silvertone, Chris Isaak, Heart Shaped World, and San Francisco Days.
Suppose you need the information straight – to achieve the “Wicked Game” tone, you basically need a Stratocaster (or any single-coil-equipped guitar with a tremolo bridge), a good, warm-sounding tube amp (Fender Twin Reverb is optimal), some kind of delay effect, and, preferably, a volume pedal.
But, if you’re wondering exactly what kind of gear and effects James used to create the tone on Wicked Game and how to recreate that dreamy, tremolo-heavy sound, here’s the full breakdown.
According to James Calvin Wilsey himself [1], he used a white 1962 reissue Strat that he received directly from Fender shortly before the studio sessions. James had a vintage 1966 of his own but did some testing and found that the new Strats sounded better, blaming it mostly on the old worn frets on his vintage guitar.
Yeah, I had a ’66 I got for 200 bucks that I used, and then I got some help from Fender to get a pair of white 62RI’s to take on the road and leave my ‘good guitar’ at home. When we started working on that album, I did an A/B test between the old guitar and the new ones on tape. The new ones sounded way better, probably because the frets weren’t worn off.
James Calvin Wilsey
The guitar was probably made in 1988 or 1989, when the song was recorded. It was likely an American-made ’62 reissue Strat, built at the Corona factory, as opposed to Japanese-made ones that were quite popular in the late 80s/early 90s.
As far as the setup, James said that he liked to “float” the tremolo on his guitars, usually used two (sometimes three) springs on the tremolo bar, and that he set the angle of the tremolo so he could get a full step sharp on the G string with a full upward pull. He also said that he used light strings, likely .0009s. [1]
According to James, he used a Fender Twin Reverb on the song – specifically a “Silverface” model, meaning the control plate was silver instead of black like on earlier versions.
In case you’re curious about the background, the Silverface Twin Reverb was introduced in 1968 during Fender’s CBS era. It featured a silver control panel with blue lettering and a brushed aluminum trim. Early Silverface models (1968–1972) had some circuit changes, including a different bias system and a hum balance adjustment. These tweaks made the amp louder and stiffer, with more headroom and a slightly brighter, less warm tone. Later Silverface models (from around 1977 onward) gradually shifted back toward Blackface specs, though many players still notice subtle tonal differences between the two.
Although James said that he recorded the initial track “dry,” meaning with just a subtle delay and reverb, he did use some of the reverb effect from the Fender Twin Reverb amp. However, some of the reverb was added later on in the mix.
As usual, I recorded the part a bit drier, and we’d add a little delay and reverb later to fit the mix.
James Calvin Wilsey
The volume pedal was used during the verses to create those “volume swells” – gradually increasing the sound after James strummed the chords. In case you’re not familiar with them, a volume pedal is basically just a foot-controlled volume knob. By rocking the pedal back and forth, you can control how much signal is sent to the amp – either muting it completely or letting the full signal through.
It’s not known which exact model he used, but since this was recorded in 1989, it was likely something like the Ernie Ball Volume Pedal (a studio favorite at the time), or perhaps something like the Boss FV-300.
The way in which James used the SDE 3000 on “Wicked Game” is by adding a very subtle delay layer to thicken the sound without muddying it. At this stage, the delay would’ve had a very short time setting (likely around 100 ms) and a low mix just to add a bit of spatial depth. As already noted, he himself said that he “recorded the part a bit drier” and that they added “a little delay and reverb later to fit the mix.”
I used my normal live stuff I used at the time, a silver face twin, and a Roland 8-bit digital delay (SDE 3000). And a little volume pedal. A little reverb in the amp.
James Calvin Wilsey
The Eventide H3000 was added during the mixing, after the parts were already recorded. According to James, it was used to add a bit more of a delay and a stereo spread to the mix – both of which were very subtle.
As usual, I’d do a few takes, and we’d comp it together into the finished track to get the best results. The delay on the mix was an Eventide H3000 (?) with some stereo spread, but it’s fairly subtle.
James Calvin Wilsey
There is also a quote from a Mix magazine article from the album’s studio engineer Mark Needham, who said that the delay was created with a TC Electronic 2290, which added a slight pre-delay – like a little pause before the actual effect starts.
Only then was it sent through an Eventide H3000 using a rich stereo chorus effect, which made the sound slowly spread wider, like it was blooming out into space. Basically, the timing of the delay (a quarter-note triplet) made the echo feel a bit behind the beat, giving it a lazy, floating feel.
Another striking effect on Wilsey’s guitar is a long, quarter-note triplet delay that swells up at the end of certain notes. To create it, his mono guitar track was sent to a TC Electronic 2290 for pre-delay, then fed to an Eventide H3000 stereo Rich Chorus program. The effect is that the mono guitar hit swells up into the delay, then spreads out into the stereo chorus to create a kind of pad.
Mark Needham
However, James himself stated that “97% of the Mix article is wrong,”[1] so who knows what was actually the case? Needham’s explanation does make a lot of sense, though.
Ok, now that we know how the actual studio recording of “Wicked Game” was made, this may actually sound overwhelming to some. Of course, most of us won’t have this sort of equipment ready to use, but don’t worry, you can achieve sound basically identical to this without so much gear.
As James said himself, “Pretty much any clean Fender amp and a stock Strat and a delay can make that sound; it’s not a big deal.”
A single-coil guitar with a tremolo bar is a must-have! James used a ’62 reissue Strat – a vintage-style model with low-output pickups – so aim for something along those lines, but really, any single-coil guitar will get you close.
Use the neck pickup for a warmer, rounder tone.
Add a good amount of reverb, ideally spring reverb from the amp. If your amp doesn’t have it, any digital reverb will do – either built-in or from a pedal.
Next, dial in a short delay. Keep the time around 200 ms or less, with a subtle mix – just enough to thicken the tone and give it a touch of echo. A Boss DD-3 is a classic choice, but if you’re on a budget, something like a Donner Yellow Fall will work just fine.
If you’re not comfortable using a tremolo arm, you can try adding a tremolo effect via pedal – but James used the tremolo arm itself, which gives more control and expression.
And finally – let the notes breathe. Let them ring into the reverb and delay. Play gently. That softness and atmosphere is a huge part of the sound.
James first met Chris Isaak back when Chris was playing in a rockabilly trio called Silvertone. Chris was singing and playing guitar, and James already knew the band’s original drummer and manager. He was initially brought in to help mix some of the band’s early tracks, which is when he met Chris and ended up showing him a few guitar riffs. A few months later, the band reformed, and James became the lead guitarist.
They released a self-titled album in 1985, which sold about 12,000 copies. That was followed by the Chris Isaak album in 1987 and Heart Shaped World in 1989, which featured the song Wicked Game.
James described the writing process as collaborative. Chris would play him a group of songs he’d written, and James would come up with riffs, fills, and textures. Wicked Game was particularly challenging because it’s a three-chord song, so James focused on creating distinct guitar parts for each section—intro, verses, and chorus – to keep it interesting and dynamic.
The trick on this was that the whole song is a three-chord pattern that repeats throughout the song. The challenge of the arrangement was to make different distinct parts- the intro, verse, turnarounds, lead breaks etc., that give the feeling of a song development that flows with distinct sections and dynamics
James Calvin Wilsey
When asked if the band knew they had a hit when they finished the song, James said that wasn’t the case at all. Wicked Game wasn’t even meant to be a single, and it didn’t become a hit until two years later.
Its popularity skyrocketed after the instrumental version of the song was featured in David Lynch’s film Wild at Heart, where it appeared on the soundtrack and caught the attention of a wider audience.
Not at all, it was never intended to be a single; we thought it was just a decent album track. It became a ‘hit’ 2 years after the album was released, serendipity.
Right before most people had heard it, the song was featured in David Lynch’s ‘Wild at Heart’ and appears on the soundtrack as an instrumental track. It was also on the commercial for the movie which got played quite a bit. A radio station programmer in Atlanta found it on the soundtrack record, found the vocal version. He played it and it got some calls, and it spread from there.
James Calvin Wilsey
Rest in peace, James Calvin Wilsey (July 21, 1957 – December 24, 2018).
His playing on Wicked Game remains one of the most haunting and beautiful guitar performances ever recorded.
