So Fashion are a "synth band"? Tony Bacon talks to guitarist Alan Darby and bassist Marlon Recci for the story behind the strings. Meanwhile, Mike Atherton stands our men against the cork tiles.

Alan Darby's current activity with Fashion masks years of groundwork with other British bands over the last 10 years or more: in proto-funksters Cado Belle from his native Scotland, with Steve Harley's Cockney Rebel, on all of the Bill Forsyth films (most recently "Local Hero"), with ex-Beck collaborator Max Middleton, and, doubtless, many others.

In fact, despite some observers noting Fashion as "an electronic band", they have always had an electric guitarist, they have always had an electric bassist, and they have always had a real drummer. Presumably, it's the presence of gadget-freak Mulligan and his "if it's new I'll try it out" leaning that has provoked the electronic label.

Alan takes it all in his stride. "From the guitar point of view, we're trying to combine solos in a modern type of music, with a lot of sequencers and so on."

Many of the sequences that weave their way around and about Fashion's music are actually based on guitar structures anyway, with the rhythmic patterns transferred to keyboard and programmed into the song.

Marlon Recci, long-standing bassist with Fashion, also donates many of his initial ideas to the sequencer department to allow him more freedom to float elsewhere. "If I'm writing," he says, "what I usually do is work out a 'rhythm' bass-line and immediately give it to Mulligan to program, then just mess around over the top until I find something to fit in with it. Sometimes it's quite frustrating," he laughs, "I think: shit, why did I give him that bass-line?"

Darby's guitaring has settled in the capable hands of a Schecter Strat just lately, an instrument he's had for about 10 months and which may soon be getting Roland synth electronics put in so he can control the new 700 guitar synth from it. It's a black, bird's-eye-maple necked axe, with two vintage Strat pickups in the bass and middle positions, and a Seymour Duncan Van Halen-type humbucker with coil-tap in the treble position. With this, Alan can get single coil or fat sounds when he needs them. He's also got a Kahler trem fitted, which he's generally happy with.

"The only criticism I have of the Kahler," he replies after prompting, "is that when you increase the tension of the springs with the grub-screws, the tremolo arm moves up, away from the body. It's quite slack, which is good in a sense, but I'd like it to keep tension as it moves away. That's bad design – I suppose they'll get around it."

His other guitars include an old Les Paul Custom (1966), a Strat, an Ovation acoustic, and an un-named gut-string classical – apparently a cheapy, but used to some effect on Fashion's forthcoming album, "Twilight Of Idols", especially on a track called "You And The Night" where the group have investigated the potential of acoustic guitar combined with electronic sequences.

"I think it's quite a fascinating area," says Alan, "one that most people don't really look into. You're getting all the modern sounds and technology, plus the feeling and expression from the guitar."

Marlon reckons the track in question sounds like Fleetwood Mac's golden oldie "Albatross". Alan agrees: "Yes, it's like 'Albatross' 1984. Well, hopefully 1986!"

While Alan chuckles to himself, Marlon tells me about his basses. There's a precision fretless that he's getting into more and more, an older Jazz (1969), and an Aria Pro II. He explains that, while wanting to retain a continuity from the upfront bass sound of the previous LP, "Fabrique", he was keen to get away from slapping and more into the purer melodic possibilities of the fretless.

"The fretless is a more emotional instrument," explains Marlon, "and when I want to play at home I'll always pick up the fretless. I got that Precision in a second-hand shop in Birmingham, swapped a Music Man for it." It has no fret markers at all, apart from the half dozen position dots on the top edge of the fingerboard, so pitching problems were rife when he started out. Any tips for the newly fretless?

"What I do when I'm playing fretted bass is to study the gaps of the frets, and then when I'm playing fretless just imagine the frets being there. You get over the pitching errors just by doing it – and it's harder to spot those errors when there's a harmoniser on it!"

There's also the marginal problem of keeping the vibrato going on a fretless without your pitch slipping out – and here Marlon suggests having a good look at violin players. "They have an amazing vibrato, really slow. To get that without losing the pitch...

And it's not just violinists who inspire the fretless approach. Even more unlikely, on first mention, is Marlon's habit of cocking an ear to slide guitar players. "Yeah, you might think that's a bit odd," he concludes. "But the licks that they use sound absolutely amazing on fretless bass, all the sixths and sevenths, they sound so good. Those Pino licks are quite country-orientated, you know."

Any particular country sliders to listen for? Only the best, it seems, as Alan provides the answer. "Lowell George, Ry Cooder, those sort of players." Alan's own guitar sound is tending toward a cleanliness in its overall sound, as evidenced by his changing favouritism amongst amplifiers.

A new Fender Showman with graphic and overdrive facility seems to link in with his cleaner requirements at present, though he's not quite sure what he'll be using for any upcoming Fashion gigs. He owns a Mesa Boogie, the aforementioned Fender, and a Marshall 50 and 100. "You could say I've got all the basic sounds covered," he grins.

"But I want this cleaner sound live now, I'm getting more into the tone of the actual guitar without fucking it up too much, it gives you more individuality, a more distinct sound. Otherwise you tend to sound like lots of guitarists. Anyone playing through a Marshall stack with a humbucker, unless they're Eddie Van Halen, tends to start to sound less individual. When it's clean, however, you get the sound of the fingers, the vibrato technique and the plectrum – it all comes through."

Another handy tip for playing live emerges from Alan's minimal effects setup – "it gets to where you're worrying more about what you're stepping on than what you're playing" – and a particular tuning trick.

He explains: "There's a line going from the guitar to a tuner, then the tuner to a volume pedal, and then to the amp. A tuner doesn't work unless the volume on your guitar is right up, giving it a big enough signal to work on. So with this you can cut the signal to the amp with the volume pedal, whack up the guitar volume, have the tuner always set to E, and then play your E-string open and all your Es: fifth fret on the second string, tenth fret on the third string, and so on. It's so quick, and nobody hears you tuning up."

Marlon's recently upgraded his amp department, moving on from his previous Peavey amp which he appears not to have been too happy with. Now he's had two 8x10in custom cabs made with JBLs inside, a progression from his previous 12s. Tens certainly seem the fashionable step for bass players. Why?

"Live, the problem is getting the top on the sound," reckons Marlon. "The 10s seem much easier for that for some reason, I don't know what it is. And they still hold on to the bottom." Driving his luxurious new brace of JBL 10s is a Trace Elliot graphic pre-amp and a Heil 500 watt power amp. The Trace Elliot he's only really used in rehearsal, and finds himself fiddling around with the graphic quite a lot. But he's pleased with the "throb" of the rig, as he describes it.

"You need that volume on stage," he says, "you've got to have that throb for live bass otherwise you don't get the feel for stage work." There then follows a light-hearted dig at Darby's much-quoted affection for blasting-out on stage. "Yes," moans Marlon, "with his five 600 watt Marshall stacks it does tend to drown out everyone else..."

Actually Fashion do play quite loudly on stage as a band, as the pulse for Dik's drumming is coming to him from the bass sequences played through on-stage monitors. The band then take their cues from Dik, so they can still Play With The Drummer, in time-honoured manner. "The only thing I worry about," admits Marlon, "is what I'd do if there wasn't a bass sequencer there, whether I'd be able to hold it down."

Alan, meanwhile, has been sorting out a deal with Washburn guitars, who want to build him a guitar. It'll probably be a 335 type, or perhaps a Strat-type with Roland electronics. He's still a bit vague about it as the deal's in an early stage when we talk. "The instruments are pretty good quality," he confides.

"He's got to say that," giggles Marlon. When we've calmed down, Alan gets a little more serious. "As far as I'm concerned you either get a guitar that's like a Strat guitar, or a Les Paul guitar, or a Tele guitar, or a 335 guitar. It doesn't matter what make's on it, as long as it plays well. It's just down to the pickups really.

I think there's a whole load of religious talk about makes and years – if you get a guitar made up to the exact dimensions of, say, an old Strat, or a 1959 335, if it's well put together it should play well."

The forthcoming album from Fashion was recorded mostly in Meredith Studio in France after some early recording and rough mixes in Odyssey and Marcus in London. The group worked out a good scheme at Meredith where a novice engineer would come in from about 9 in the morning to perhaps mid-day, and each of the band would choose a morning to go in and work over rough or half-formulated ideas. Then when the "real" engineer came in towards the afternoon, they could get on with properly sorted out stuff, saving everyone time and – natch-money. As Alan points out.

"Studios are so expensive. When you're doing an album for five weeks continuously, say, it's very easy to let one day go by, you're not feeling up to it, and it's costing you £600. It's your money in the long run – a lot of young bands don't actually see it that way. But it is."