Steev and Simon onstage at Clwb Ifor Bach

As is becoming a running theme with many of the artists covered on EDGG, Fender is the brand of choice for the Glaswegian axe-men. Steev uses a white Fender Stratocaster, while Simon complements his guitar partner with a red Fender Telecaster. Amp-wise, the pair were utilising Orange TH30 Thunder heads, with matching PPC212 2×12 cabs: these proved to be sturdy, reliable tone machines onstage and for the audience.

Simon's EHX heavy 'board

Finally, the boards, as is so often the case, are where the magic happens. Keen Errors fans will note the excellent pun here [the band’s latest album is entitled Have Some Faith in Magic]. Simon was sporting an impressive lineup of Electro-Harmonix pedals, including a Memory Boy, POG 2, XO Worm, NYC Big Muff, Little Big Muff and Cathedral, as well as a Boss TU-3, DS-1 and DD-3 and an MXR EQ. These were all powered by a T-Rex Fuel Tank Chameleon (bar the Worm, whose awkward 24V power requirement necessitates a wall-wart, but sounded excellent as a leslie-esque rotary emulator).

Steev's pink-labelled pedals

Steev, on the other hand, opted for a simpler setup. EHX still reigned supreme with a Small Stone, Little Big Muff and Cathedral on his board, but a Boss TU-3 and DD-3 also made an appearance, as did a Dunlop Cry Baby and, unusually, a cheapo Chord CH-50 chorus. A T-Rex Fuel Tank Junior powered all this, while an ABY box allowed Steev to switch to a Boss RC-30 (not shown) which controlled synth loops and overdubs.

So there you have it: Errors’ guitar rig for 2012. With all the keyboards those guys have to deal with, it’s not surprising they keep it so simple but, my word, is it effective. Less equipment means there are fewer opportunities for errors too (sorry).

All this reminded me how incredible Deftones are, with axe-man Stephen Carpenter providing the crushing riffs behind their most powerful songs. On 2010′s Diamond Eyes these riffs come courtesy of Stephen’s ESP signature eight-string guitars, but previous tunings have ranged from E standard (Adrenaline) to drop F# on a seven-string (Saturday Night Wrist). All of Stephen’s eight-stringed guitars are equipped with EMG 808 pickups, while the seven-strings he uses for older songs have EMG 81-7s.

Although the guitar lineup is straightforward, amps are a little more complex. Steph runs a Marshall JMP-1 preamp and Rocktron Intellifex into two Marshall EL34 power amps and then two Marshall 1960 4×12 cabinets. Running parallel to this is the Native Instruments Guitar Rig 3, on what looks to be a somewhat outdated MacBook. A Furman Power Conditioner keeps everything hum-free.

Professional: Steph's pedalboard (photo: Chris Kies)

Finally, there are the pedals. Steph’s pedalboard is among the neatest ever seen on a dirty stage, all thanks to the obsessive-compulsive wizardry of Bob Bradshaw at Custom Audio Electronics. CAE’s recent collaborations with MXR make me think he’s pushing the latter’s pedals a little too hard here but there are some wacky ZVex options on the floor too, though when they actually get used I have no idea.

So, that’s about it. Thanks to Premier Guitar for the rig rundown video, and EDGG’s thoughts remain with Chi and his family. Until next time!

James Whitehead is one such session guitarist, having worked with artists like Australia’s Eden James and rock and roller Eron Falbo, as well as producers Liam Watson (The White Stripes) and Mark Opitz (AC/DC, INXS, Kiss). He currently plays with pop upstart Saul Ashby and singer-songwriter Rob Bravery, who shot to fame with his YouTube cover of Lana Del Ray’s Video Games, which also features James’s tastefully restrained playing.

James onstage (Annelie Rosencrantz)

He might be classified as a session player, but James prefers a broader definition. “I tend to see myself as more of a live guitarist,” he says. “I don’t tend to get asked into studios to work with artists I don’t know. I’ve always wanted to be part of the band rather than a more distant check-in check-out session guy.”

That live playing is firmly rooted in the blues and rock n’ roll tradition (James Calvin Wilsey, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck), but also incorporates some classic guitarists from outside those realms (George Harrison, Mike McCready, Andy Summers, Lindsey Buckingham).

It was on discovering some of these heroes at the age of 17 that James started to have doubts about the car design course he was set to undertake, dropping out after six months and applying to study at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford. Here, he eventually completed the Diploma, Higher Diploma and Degree courses in guitar over four years, leaving him far more qualified to talk guitars than EDGG!

Guitars

Considering his influences, it should come as no surprise to see James opt for a 1973 Fender Strat. Although much prized, it’s a guitar that has certainly seen a fair few, ahem, alterations over the years, as James explains, “It was originally Olympic White but got resprayed red sometime in the 70s, it’s had a neck pickup replaced in the 80s (I think it’s a DiMarzio) and someone even routed it for three humbuckers at one point! It’s beat to shit but it plays so well and has a distinctive sound to it that everyone I work with loves.”

James also plays a ’79 Antigua Strat, ’52 Reissue Tele, Epiphone Sheraton and a Gibson J185 acoustic. Not that we’re jealous.

Road-worn: James's Strat certainly has character

Amps

Fender are once again James’s manufacturer of choice when it comes to amps, in this case a ’65 reissue blonde Fender Twin. Again, James’s influences have a part to play in his choice of backline. “I always wanted that Strat into a Twin sound you hear on the first couple Chris Isaak records, as played by James Wilsey,” James says. “It responds really well to pedals without losing that crisp cut, and the headroom is endless.” A 15w Cornell Romany also sees studio use, while a (borrowed) 90s Fender Deluxe transistor amp carries the fort for smaller gigs.

Tweed envy: James's Fender Twin

Effects

James’s pedalboard is a work of great beauty and he’s understandably thrilled with it. “The new board allows me to get pretty much any sound I can think of,” he enthuses. “It took me around four years of experimenting to get to this setup but it’s sounding sweet.”

Clean and efficient: James's pedalboard is a finely-tuned tone machine

The foundations come from an Ibanez TS808 Tubescreamer (James’s first pedal) and a Way Huge Pork Loin, which simulates an amp on the verge of breaking up, a necessity due to the Fender Twin’s supreme headroom. Completing the dirt section is the D*A*M Drag’n’Fly, which covers both germanium and silicon tones, from Fuzz Face to Jimmy Page, while an Xotic Effects EP Booster kicks things up to 11 for solos.

The next part of James’s board is largely influenced by his current employment and the playing style that requires. “I love the atmospheric playing I do with Rob [Bravery]; it’s really what’s responsible for the elaborate pedalboard I’ve put together,” he explains. That’s where the Empress Tremolo and TC Electronic Nova Delay come in, adding ambience without taking away from the tone. With the delay in his amp’s effects loop, James’s signal is entirely true bypassed and runs through George L’s cabling, ensuring no degradation at any point in his chain. Hell, he even replaced his Boss TU-2 with a Korg Pitchblack to remove another buffer from his board: the man clearly knows what he’s listening for.

Different acts, different gear

One of the challenges facing James is the constant shifts in gear requirement, although buying all that new gear is probably less of a punishment and more of a pleasure, especially looking at all the pedal boxes behind his guitars in the photo below.

James's electrics, including his '79 Antigua Strat, '52 Reissue Tele and Epiphone Sheraton

Rock and roller Eron Falbo requires James to have a particular kind of guitar rig to nail the Rolling Stones-esque 60s tones Eron desires. “I’ve got some great Cornell gear: a First Fuzz, and a 15w Romany that I use with Eron to get that nasty Keith Richards tone,” James explains. “I also write with Eron from the beginning of the process, whereas with Rob [Bravery] and Saul [Ashby] I’m usually just writing guitar parts to a more or less finished song.”

Contrastingly, James compares current boss Saul Ashby’s pop stylings to those of Elvis Costello and Cat Stevens. As a result, his guitar rig is somewhat minimal, but James still faces the obstacle of getting the playing just right. “The sound I use here is either just the clean sound of the Fender Twin, or the Tubescreamer and a bit of tremolo for the overdriven stuff,” he says. “It’s the challenge of keeping the parts super simple and tight, yet memorable that’s fun from a playing perspective.”

James’s studio rigs (L-R): ToeRag Studios, Smokehouse Studios, Konk Studios

You can hear James’s playing with Rob Bravery on Facebook and catch him live supporting James Vincent McMorrow on his UK tour in February. James will also be performing with Saul Ashby in March; see Saul’s website for more details. You can follow James’s adventures in guitar playing on Twitter.

Guitars

While there wasn’t anything earth-shatteringly innovative in the form of the instrument at NAMM, Peavey did introduce the first guitars to feature Anteres auto-tune technology, as previously discussed on EDGG. Unfortunately, the AT-200, as it is to be known, isn’t the most attractive geetar on the block, with a bizarre excess of body weight, but hopefully its playability, tech supremacy and reasonable price point will win it some supporters.

Fender were also on-hand to deliver some much-needed aesthetic charm, largely thanks to the Johnny Marr signature Jaguar. Watch the video above to find out why Marr loves the guitar, despite its (apparently numerous) eccentricities, and how he’s modded it to better suit his playing style. Also, he plays some Smiths tunes, which is reason enough to watch in itself.

Amps

Small was the theme this year, with both Marshall and Fender releasing miniature amps, albeit in very different styles. Marshall unleashed the JTM1, a one-watt combo or head, released to commemorate the firm’s 50th anniversary. Plans were also unveiled to release one-watt versions of all of Marshall’s most famous amps throughout the year, from the JMP, through to JCM, DSL and JVM series.

Fender, however, took a somewhat more leftfield approach with their new Pawn Shop amplifier line. Following in the footsteps of the brand’s previous Lunchbox series of amps, Fender have released what they call “the most unusual Fender tube amp ever” in the Greta, a two-watt combo with a 4″ speaker. Also shown was the Excelsior, a 13-watt combo with 15″ speaker and inputs for guitar, microphone and accordion. You know, just in case you feel the urge.

Pedals

Time move quickly in the pedal world and both Korg and TC Electronic were battling it out with their latest polyphonic tuner offerings, the Pitchblack Poly and PolyTune Mini respectively. Also looking to cause a stir was Vox’s new DelayLab: a bells-and-whistles delay/looper which the company is no doubt hoping will take on Line 6′s DL4 as the roadworthy delay of choice amongst pro guitarists.

Disappointment came in the form of Electro-Harmonix’s no-show of new products, despite rumours of a game-changer for both the company and the stompbox world in general. Still, Digitech were on hand to promote their latest foray into iPhone/iPad compatible devices, the iStomp. This allows users to purchase new effects using an app, rather than buying physical products. It’s like the MP3 revolution all over again, although it will surely be some time before we see the extinction of the humble stompbox. Hell, I still buy CDs.

So, those are the EDGG picks for NAMM highlights. However, this was an incredibly brief roundup of events and so, so much has been missed out. For a more thorough guide to the NAMM goings-ons, take a look at Music Radar or Premier Guitar, who have both done sterling work in this area, as evidenced by the videos above. Maybe next year EDGG will be the ones providing the videos. Or not. I don’t want to get my hopes up.

“I want to punch you in the face but also make it feel like a trip as well,” Alex says of the band’s recent ventures into psychedelia. “It’s still metal obviously, but we want to add more to it than just punching you in the face riff after riff.”

In between all that punching, Church of Wolves have taken influence from High on Fire and Sleep, Frank Zappa, Cream and BB King, plus everything in between. However, it’s not just music that gets those sonic fists pumping, as Alex explains, “We are very big into conspiracy theories. The evil that comes from politics and religion being misused to ruin lives drives us as well.” This isn’t just brutality: this is brutality with a conscience.

The Durham/Chapel Hill/Raleigh scene in which Church of Wolves play is an important part of what drives them; Alex cites Black Skies, Hog, Systems, Bitter Resolve and Horseback as examples of bands who inspire him to step up his live game, while the guitar legends Alex admires most are Tony Iommi, Matt Pike and Mike Scheidt (Yob), all gods of heavy music who also uncover the beauty of the genre at the same time.

Alex’s metal instinct has been with him from the age of four, when he first saw Kerry King playing a Flying V, and that vision is something that has shaped his life ever since. “Metal can be extremely angry and savage, very primal. It gets down to the ugly of humanity very easily,” Alex elaborates. “Heavy music can also be beautiful. Take Yob as an example: some of the most crushing songs written in our generation, but absurdly beautiful as well. Being heavy is an art. You can’t just tune down and have a really distorted amp and expect to be heavy.”

Guitars

Thankfully, the riffery which dominates Church of Wolves more than solidifies the band’s status as 10-tonne heavyweights. But this is partly down to Alex’s guitar of choice, a 1998 Gibson SG standard tuned down to C standard. Although the bridge pickup was replaced with a Gibson Iommi signature and a 1meg pot, Alex says it was love at first sight. “I found it at my local GC used,” he gushes. “I played it and had to have it; I have yet to find a guitar with a more comfortable neck. The Iommi pickup brought it to life tonally where it was lacking for leads, but even before that it still sounded fantastic.”

Alex sees red with his Gibson SG (photo: Karen A. Mann)

Amps

To get his desired tone, Alex runs two amps simultaneously, a Laney GH50L through an Avatar cab with Celestion Vintage 30s and G12H30s and a 50-watt Fender Bassman through a Jet City cab. The Laney stays on the distortion channel while the Bassman predominantly has a Black Arts Toneworks Pharaoh fuzz pedal running through it, although it does get used for clean tones when required.

Double the heads, double the heavy: Alex's amps

On his tonal burden, Alex has this to say, “I learned the hard way that the tone in my head isn’t achievable with just one amp. It makes for a huge pain in the ass having to cart around all this stuff, but the end result makes it well worth the back pain.” Listening to Alex’s almighty tonal onslaughts, it’s pretty clear why he makes such an effort: this rig sounds colossal.

Pedals

Alex takes advantage of his dual-amp setup with a pair of effects chains. The signal travels from a Boss TU-2 to a Lehle dual A/B pedal for splitting the signal. The Laney’s effects loop contains a TC Electronic Nova Mod and an MXR Carbon Copy while the aforementioned Black Arts Toneworks Pharaoh, combined with a Hardwire DL7 and Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Nano, hit the front end of the Bassman.

Alex's board covers a lot of ground with minimal fuss

“I’m digging this set up right now a lot,” Alex says. “The Carbon Copy through the Laney while the Bassman has the reverb sounds awesome. I use that setup on the solo in Peace is a Pipe Dream. It gives it a huge wash of ambiance.” That said, Alex’s board isn’t likely to stay the same for too long; he has a Dunwich Amps FAC OFF fuzz on the way to potentially usurp the Pharaoh’s Bassman throne.

Heavy horror stories

When asked whether he has any horror stories from his live experience, one particular incident springs to Alex’s mind. “Our first show was the first time playing live for me,” he recalls. “I had been a bedroom warrior for 13 plus years. Third song in I missed a beat and it started an avalanche to Shitstown. I had nightmares after that show. (laughs) It was a damn good ice breaker though. I put too much stress on myself. But then we opened for Cough, who I’m a big fan of, and I now go into playing shows with a level head; I know that all I need to do is have fun and hopefully make my fingers do what they should do.”

You can hear Church of Wolves’ recordings so far above and download them from their Bandcamp, ReverbNation and Facebook pages. The band are currently working on material for a full-length album, while Peace Is A Pipe Dream will be featured on an upcoming compilation from Divine Mother Recordings. For more information like Church of Wolves on Facebook.

Actually covering Dan’s gear is an incredibly difficult task since the man posses a rather large amount of the stuff and, as a result, there are countless communities online which analyse every detail of his tone. He plays a whole load of guitars, although they are more obscure and beaten-up than those of your average player, with brands including Harmony, Reverend and Gretsch. There is some common ground amongst them however, as most are fitted with either Gretsch-style humbuckers or P90s and Bigsby vibrato systems. One of Dan’s distinctive playing characteristics is that he often uses his fingers for picking so if you believe the old adage “tone is in the fingers”, it’s doubly relevant here.

While Dan strictly employs small amps in the studio, his live setup for the Brothers tour comprised a Fender Quad Reverb and a Marshall JTM45 with vintage Marshall 8×10 cab. However, the video above makes it look like the Marshall has been replaced with an additional Fender combo, although this may just be for television studio purposes.

Dan adjusts his pedal settings. Note the Marshall 8x10 cab, Harmony guitar and bear (photo: unknown)

Pedals once again prove a slippery subject, with Dan’s list of fuzzes in particular causing consternation amongst fans. He’s a big fan of the old Ibanez 59 Standard Fuzz for the studio but, live, tends to employ old green Electro-Harmonix Russian Big Muffs and Earthquaker Devices Hoof fuzzes into a slightly overdriven amp. The rest of his pedals tend to come and go but there are usually some other EQD stompboxes there, including the Hummingbird and Disaster Transport, although the Boss TR-2 seems to be Dan’s mainstay tremolo.

Hopefully some more recent gear shots will emerge as The Black Keys take to the road in support of El Camino but all I’ve got for now is the usual assortment of candid photos and internet rumours, so we’ll just have to make do. Until next time!

Richard Parker: epic

That the melodies are so prominent throughout Richard Parker’s work is testament to the compositional ability of its alliteratively-named guitarists Ben Budd and Mike Miller. Each displays an awareness of the other’s ability and it is through this relationship that they fuse pop sensibilities with post-rock structures, forming the Richard Parker sound.

Naturally, the band are big fans of instrumental forefathers like Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor but it is their individual influences which help them to avoid treading old ground. “Being an instrumental band we feel it’s easy to fall into stereotype territory,” Ben says. “It’s important to differentiate ourselves so we let a lot of the other bands we love affect the sound of our band.”

Certainly, the pair couldn’t be more different as guitarists. “I find that having a good technical ability allows more diversity when it comes to writing,” Mike explains. “Although it has become quite unpopular to listen to technical artists, I still draw a lot of influence from guitarists such as Buckethead, Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert and numerous 80s glam rock guitarists. There’s a lot of merit in hard work and a detailed knowledge of the instrument rather than just picking up a guitar and strumming variations of the same four chords.”

Mike and Ben in the studio

Contrastingly, Ben is more into the anti-guitar heroes of the 90s, with Graham Coxon, J. Mascis, Stephen Malkmus, Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore amongst his idols. But these differing influences are what makes the band great, as Ben explains, “Mike and I are really different guitarists in terms of how we play and the bands we’ve been in before but we’ve found a way of writing that really works for this band and for us as guitarists. It’s made us a lot more open to each other’s different playing styles and that’s helped develop and hone our sound.”

Guitars

Richard Parker are big Fender fans. Ben uses a Mexican standard Telecaster, the first guitar he ever bought and also the most reliable. “I know a lot of people would probably look down at it but it’s perfect for how I play right now,” he adds.

Ben onstage with his Fender Tele

Mike, on the other hand, employs a gorgeous white American Jazzmaster. “I have a number of guitars but I like this one for its durability and the versatility of sound I can achieve in a live setting,” he says. “I prefer the warmer tone that it produces but there are so many options on this guitar I still don’t think I’ve used it to its full potential yet!”

Mike in his pre-Jazzmaster days

Amps

When it comes to his backline, Mike’s got something of a confession. “Honestly, I’m a little ashamed of my amp,” he admits. “I have a Marshall 100DFX head and cab. Although I would love to get a valve amp, I bought the Marshall simply for durability, plus I won’t be concerned if it gets bashed about on tour.” Don’t feel too sorry for him just yet though: Mike’s been making full use of 70s valve amps in the studio.

Ben's amp/pedal rig: simple, yet effective

For Ben, there’s only one colour of amp: Orange. “I’m using an Orange Thunder 30 with an Orange 2×12 open back cab,” he says. “It’s got a really nice clean channel that breaks up early and gives a deep, warm tone… I use a lot of reverb and delay too so the open back cab really helps spread the sound.” Ben’s been micing this cab at the back in the studio, the effects of which will be heard when Richard Parker unveil their latest recording exploits later this year.

Pedals

Once again, Ben and Mike are seemingly at odds when it comes to effects, but this only ensures that one doesn’t step on the other’s toes. Mike lays down the foundations while Ben is the main man when it comes to effects, a role which he’s delegated himself. “A lot of what I do in Richard Parker is to add texture to the songs,” he explains. “I’m always interested in using different pedals to get different sounds; my board will definitely see some new additions soon!”

The visual effects of Ben's sonic actions

Currently that board adopts a “maximum sound, minimum gear” philosophy: it features a Korg Pitchblack tuner, ProCo Rat 2, Boss DD-7 (predominantly set to analog or reverse modes) and Boss RV-5 set to modulate at all times. For rhythm tones, Ben makes use of the Orange’s dirty channel and clean break-up, switching to a Rat/DD-7/RV-5 combo for leads. The simplicity of this setup is key; it enables Ben to switch things up without too much pedal-dancing. Do look out for some Roland Space Echo on the band’s forthcoming LP though; Ben says the tones are going to be big.

Songwriting

When it comes to actually penning the tunes, Mike is a purist. “Writing is best without all the effects put in first,” he says. “I have seen so many bands in this genre literally play nothing and rely on their pedalboard to do all the work.”

To combat this pitfall, Ben and Mike compose the main melodies together before bringing it to the rest of the band to add their respective parts and jointly decide on a structure. It’s refreshing to hear from a band so verbally passionate about their songcraft, so it seems only fair to let Mike have the final word.

“I’m a strong believer in melody,” he says. “If you have a good hook and a good guitar line, which is the bulk of the melody for an instrumental band, it will be more genuine and engage the audience in something that is believable and well-crafted.”

You can hear Richard Parker’s Mechanisms EP above and download it for free from Bandcamp. The band are currently recording their debut LP with Matt Johnson at Suburban Home, the results of which can be heard later this year on a 7-inch release and the album itself, both released on Communal Blood. For more information follow Richard Parker on Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter.

Now, I’m not going to pretend to be the world’s biggest expert on Eddie; there are a hell of a lot of sites on the ‘net dedicated to dissecting every last aspect of his tone. Instead, I’ll aim to give a brief overview (which has been made a hell of a lot easier since EVH started getting signature EVERYTHING).

Guitar-wise, Eddie’s new EVH own-brand Stealth and Wolfgang seem to be the axes of the hour, as they dominated the band’s 60-minute set in New York. Amplifiers came in the form of Eddie’s legendary 5150 series, but now in luxurious white. Chris Cannella, Eddie’s “right-hand man when it comes to EVH gear”, discusses these new amps and guitars in the video below, taken at NAMM 2011.

Finally comes the pedals. Fortunately for us, Revolver magazine were at Thursday’s gig and managed to get a shot of Eddie’s current board. I can’t be sure of the order but there’s an MXR EVH signature Cry Baby, MXR EVH Phase 90, MXR EVH Flanger, Boss OC-3 octaver and the new MXR Analog Chorus, as well as numerous hum eliminators and amp channel switchers (with no doubt more in the racks backstage). Can we expect new signature octave and chorus pedals from EVH? I don’t think anyone would be in the least surprised.

Eddie's polished pedal setup (photo: Revolver)

Aaand that’s it. I hope this article draws together enough new sources to make it worthwhile in amongst all the other EVH fandom out there. Any suggestions for next week? Until then, this is EDGG reporting from the interwebs.

You can certainly hear elements of the band’s influences in Quaternin’s simultaneously minimalist, yet complex recordings. These range from Tony Williams’ work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock to Aphex Twin and Isis. Looking at this list, Will’s assertion that he and bandmate Ethan Lustig (drums, keyboards) take influence from everything they listen to is undeniably true.

Quaternin: great thinkers

In terms of guitarists, Will’s heroes offer perhaps the biggest departure from EDGG’s usual field of reference (hyperlinks ahoy!). Kevin Hufnagel of instrumental progressive metallers Dysrhythmia is Will’s biggest inspiration: “His guitar tone was so unique,” Will says. “He was different from all the other ‘metal’ guitarists I was hearing at the time.”

Other key players include Mick Barr (Krallice, Orthrelm, Crom-Tech) and The Durutti Column’s Vini Reilly. Of the latter, Will says, “He was one of the first guitarists I heard that wasn’t a jazz guitarist but had such stunning jazz-style technique. His playing is so crisp and clean even if he’s doing really fast runs or chord work.”

Quaternin – Rockeater

Guitars

As with his music, Will has an unorthodox approach when it comes to guitars. “I’m weird when it comes to guitars,” he confesses. “I have a couple but don’t particularly love any of them. They’re tools.” Will thus uses Ibanez SQ and Artcore guitars, primarily because they’re great workhorses. He does show some affinity for his SQ however, as he’s fitted a Seymour Duncan Super Distortion in the bridge for a more biting, over-the-top sound.

An artistic arrangement of equipment, featuring Will's Ibanez Artcore

Amps

This is where things get interesting. “I’m far more particular about amps than I am about guitars,” Will says. “Being in a two-person band it’s really difficult to sound as full as another band can with a guitarist, drums and a bassist.” To get around that problem, Will employs an innovative stereo setup.

Will's formidable arsenal of amps

The main amp is a 1967 Sunn Solarus (with original speakers!) but for the band’s recent recording session, Will used a Fender Bantam Bass that was modified with four 10-inch speakers instead. The other amp in Will’s stereo rig is a solid state Acoustic 150 head into a Mesa Boogie 2×12. His reasonings behind such contrasting amp rigs will be explained below…

Pedals

Will's pedals: aesthetics aren't everything

With two amps to play with, Will also splits his pedalboard in two, half going to one head and half to the other. It all starts with a Bespeco volume pedal and Boss TU-2 before the split hits. Then the top chain goes into the Sunn and features a Singing Tree Super-Secret Booster (clean boost), Pro-Co Rat 2 and Ibanez DE7. The bottom chain goes into the Acoustic, with an Electro-Harmonix Ring Thing used for pitch-shifting the guitar signal down an octave and a Blackout Effectors Musket to fuzz things up.

Finally, both chains meet up with the Electro-Harmonix Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai, before the chain is split once again between the two amps. This allows Will to get a thick distorted Rat sound from the Sunn and a grinding, overdrive bass tone from the Acoustic. It’s a method that is growing in popularity amongst the two-man band community and, should Quaternin work out the logistics of playing their frenetic material live, it’s something Canadian audiences will no doubt feel in full force.

You can listen to Quaternin’s work so far above and on SoundCloud and follow the band on Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter. Quaternin are currently working on their debut album Forms Presents.

Stuart Braithwaite is one of the band’s guitarists, occasional bassist and unofficial spokesman. He’s certainly a pleasant chap to talk to, as I discovered when I interviewed him earlier this year. Gear-wise, he’s a big Fender fan, employing a Tele with a Seymour Duncan mini-humbucker in the middle position into a Fender Twin and Marshall JCM900/Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier/Orange amp setup. A couple of Gibson Les Pauls also see use but the Tele is Stuart’s true love. In terms of pedals, there’s a lot going on on the floor, so that’s probably better explained in this interview with Music Radar. For a quick summary, the most important elements are probably the Danelectro Fab Tone, Boss DD-20 and Boss Slicer (for newer material).

Stuart onstage, with John in the distance and Dominic in between (photo: Sam King)

If you want the man with the most guitars in Mogwai, it’s John Cummings. He’s got a whole host of humbucker-equipped Fender Teles, a 1960s Fender Jaguar, Music Man Stingray (in ABCDEF tuning, naturally) and two Fender XII 12-strings. It’s a gorgeous-looking bunch, as you can see in the interview below, again with Music Radar. He runs all this into a 1970s Marshall Superbass Mk. II and a Joe Satriani signature JCM900 with matching 1960 cab, although, being the Satch fan that I am, I question the legitimacy of this signature claim. Way Huge, Death By Audio and Boss distortions, the Electro-Harmonix Holy Stain and the MXR KFK 10-band EQ are amongst his most used pedals.

Other Mogwai band members Barry Burns and Dominic Aitchison also play guitars on tour but, for the most part, it’s Stuart and John taking on axe-men duties. That’s all for Mogwai’s gear and, if anyone has any suggestions for next week’s post, do get in touch!