M A D E B Y M U S I C I A N S F O R M U S I C I A N S
#263 MARCH 2016 FREE!
GIVEAWAY!
Ernie Ball String pack! See Pg. 6
THE CULT
HACKTIVIST
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
PLUS: OSUNLADE, DMAS, STEVE SEDERGREEN, MATON AND THE EAGLES OF DEATH METAL, MANIAC MUSIC FACTORY ORMSBY GUITARS, SWITCHCRAFT, TONY IOMMI SG, SENNHEISER EVOLUTION D1, TAURUS ZEBU REVERB + DELAY, ROAD T E S T E D : BEATBUDDY, MANIAC MUSIC FACTORY OCTOFUZZ, CORDOBA GUITARS, AUDIO TECHNICA LP5 TURNTABLE + LOADS MORE
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AV Series
8 ALL-ANALOGUE AMPS. IN A SINGLE CABINET.
WATCH US ON YOUTUBE youtube.com/voxaustralia
EVENTS & PROMOTIONS yamahabackstage.com.au
au.yamaha.com
AV Series
8 ALL-ANALOGUE AMPS. IN A SINGLE CABINET.
Drawing upon nearly 60 years of tube amplifier design, the new AV (Analogue Valve) Series from Vox offers you a full palette of authentic amplifier sounds via eight all-analogue pre-amp circuits. They feature a true analogue circuit design based on the classic 12AX7 tube which lends classic, harmonically rich tones to these amps. The innovative valve stage section modifies the circuit to adjust brightness & bass response, and also allows you to adjust the bias and response of the power section on the fly. With additional features like a unique sealed cabinet design and three classic effects (chorus, delay & reverb), the AV Series is one of the most exciting and unique amp series available.
AV15
15 watts $449.99 RRP*
AV30
30 watts $649.99 RRP*
AV60
60 watts $849.99 RRP*
*The RRPs shown are correct at the time of printing and are subject to change at any time without notice.
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EVENTS & PROMOTIONS yamahabackstage.com.au
CONTENTS 6 8 10 22 22 24 25 26 28 30 36 37
38
40 56 58
GIVEAWAY INDUSTRIALIST NEWS AND TOURS PRODUCT NEWS BUILT TO SPILL KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, OSUNLADE HACKTIVIST DMA’S, THE CULT DIARY FROM NAMM ADVICE COLUMNS A LOOK AT SWITCHCRAFT’S STUDIO PRODUCTS THE AUSSIE MUSIC DISTRIBUTOR THAT’S GIVING BACK, AN INTRODUCTION TO ONE CONTROL THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MATON AND THE EAGLES OF DEATH METAL, AUSSIE JAZZ LEGEND STEVE SEDERGREEN ROAD TESTS SHOW AND TELL DIRECTORY
PUBLISHER Furst Media EDITOR Keats Mulligan mixdown@beat.com.au EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Michael Edney michael@furstmedia.com.au
FORE WORD
OSUNLADE PAGE 24
NAMM SPECIAL PAGE 28
DMA’S PAGE 26
The year is most certainly underway, and the product announcements are coming thick and fast. Our resident guitar guru Pete Hodgson was on deck at this year’s event, and in this issue we’re proud to bring you his diary from NAMM 2016, full of everything that he found to be especially awesome, including an independent Aussie guitar builder that took NAMM by storm. This month we’ve also caught up with the Aussie distributor who’s tackling the issue of mental health within the music industry head on with an amazing new campaign with Beyond Blye. On top of that we’re going to introduce you to an amazing new pedal line, delve into some pretty awesome studio components and take a look into the relationship between Aussie guitar builder’s Maton and their unique relationship with Eagles of Death Metal members Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme.
FOR BREAKING NEWS, NEW CONTENT AND MORE GIVEAWAYS VISIT
All these plus an amazing selection of product announcements and reviews. Read on!
WWW.MIXDOWNMAG.COM.AU
KEATS MULLIGAN, EDITOR
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Elijah Hawkins, Phoebe Robertson, Chris Scott and Kate Eardley MANAGING DIRECTOR Patrick Carr ART DIRECTOR Michael Cusack
PG.4 // MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016
COVER ART Michael Cusack COVER PHOTOGRAPHY Bridget Lanigan
Hodgson, Christie Elizer, Nick Brown, James Di Fabrizio, Elijah Hawkins, Phoebe Robertson, Chris Scott, David James Young and Aaron Streatfield.
GRAPHIC DESIGN Michael Cusack, Andrew Rozen
PRODUCTION MANAGER Michael Cusack
CONTRIBUTORS Augustus Welby, Rob Gee, Peter
ADVERTISING Patrick Carr
patrick@furstmedia.com.au MIXDOWN OFFICE Level 1, No. 3 Newton Street, Richmond VIC 3121. Phone: (03) 9428 3600
www.mixdownmag.com.au
FEEL PRESENTS
MARCH 2016 THU. 10th SYDNEY MANNING BAR FRI. 11th BRISBANE THE ZOO SAT. 12th MELBOURNE CORNER HOTEL SPECIAL GUEST: BEN SALTER
MARCH 2016
THU. 10TH: BRISBANE // THE TRIFFID FRI. 11TH: SYDNEY // THE FACTORY SUN. 13TH: MELBOURNE // CORNER HOTEL TUE. 22ND: ADELAIDE // THE GOV WED. 23RD: PERTH // THE ROSEMOUNT
MARCH/APRIL 2016 THU. 17TH & FRI. 18TH SYDNEY, CAMELOT LOUNGE THU. 24TH SYDNEY, BRASS MONKEY SAT. 2ND MELBOURNE, RECITAL CENTRE THU. 21ST BRISBANE, THE OLD MUSEUM TICKETS FOR ALL SHOWS ON SALE NOW FROM FEELPRESENTS.COM • FACEBOOK.COM/FEELPRESENTS
GIVEAWAYS ERNIE BALL ACOUSTIC STRINGS GIVEAWAY This issue we’re stoked to be giving away something that no self-respecting guitar player can live without. Good guitar strings! With thanks to CMC Music, we’re giving away a sample pack of Ernie Ball Acoustic Strings, the very same selection of strings that we’ve reviewed in this very issue of Mixdown! As Peter Hodgson said, “Ernie Ball is king when it comes to the string game, and they offer a comprehensive range of different acoustic strings for different situations.” We’re certain that with this selection of strings you’re sure to find the string that’s right for you.
Last Month’s Giveaway Winner ATH-M50X LIMITED EDITION MATTE GREY MONITOR HEADPHONES GIVEAWAY WINNER Another issue of Mixdown means another lucky winner of some great gear through our giveaway. The giveaway from the previous issue was the ATHM50X Limited Edition Matte Grey Monitor Headphones, courtesy of our mates at Technical Audio Group. We’re happy to announce that the winner of this competition is young producer
For your chance to take home this awesome prize, head to our giveaways page at www.mixdownmag.com.au/giveaway and follow the instruction.
Jared (AKA Mendrum Music) from Eight Mile Plains, Queensland.
For full terms and conditions visit www.mixdownmag.com.au/terms-and-conditions.
*This giveaway is for Australian residents only and one entry per person. For more awesome monthly Mixdown Giveaways, be sure to LIKE our Mixdown Magazine facebook page at www.facebook.com/mixdownmagazine and regularly check our Giveaways page on www.mixdownmag.com.au/giveaways for your chance to win.
At just 13 years of age Jared is already creating and releasing music, showcasing some extremely clean EDM tunes on his Youtube and Soundcloud pages. He said that his “ultimate lifetime ambition is becoming a musician” and that these headphones are his dream, making him a worthy winner. These state of the art headphones will no doubt help Jared get a step closer to his dream. This was another tough giveaway to decide on, with a host of great entries to choose from, and we’d like to thank everyone who entered.
I N C A R N A T E
THE NEW ALBUM MARCH 11 ALSO AVAILABLE LIMITED SPECIAL EDITION WITH EXTRA TRACKS
KILLSWITCHENGAGE.COM
ROADRUNNERRECORDS.COM
INDUSTRIALIST STUDIES: HOW AUSSIES HAVE EMBRACED STREAMING
Two new studies indicate the extent to which Australians are embracing streaming. Ernst & Young’s study Digital Australia, State of the Nation 2015-16 found we spend $181 a month on digital services – of which 10% is on music and movie streaming. Aussies spend an average $782 in hardware costs. ComScore figures found that Spotify is the largest music streaming service in Australia, with 2.985 million monthly visitors in December. Soundcloud followed with 2.059 million, then Pandora (976,000), Tunein (484,000) and iHeartRadio (468,000). Apple Music, Google Play and Guvera are not included as they either do not include tags on their content or didn’t reach “minimum reporting standards.”
CAIRNS VENUES TO LAUNCH LEGAL ACTION?
As Queensland’s lockout laws are set to commence on July 1, venue operators predict a loss of 600 jobs and at least 80 family-owned businesses. Academics warn of the rise of illegal warehouse raves with no security for patrons. The Cairns City Liquor Safety Accord is considering legal action for lost revenues from restricted trading hours.
WAM SONG APPLICATIONS UP 9%
This year’s WAM Song of the Year drew over 360 entries, a 9% rise from last year. Organisers of WAM revealed that the awards party, on Saturday April 9, will return to B Shed warehouse in Fremantle.
BUY-OUTS #1: AUSTRALIS ACQUIRES BACKLINE HIRE
Australis Music Group has acquired the business and assets of Backline Hire Stage Systems (formerly known as Billy Hyde Stage Systems) from Soundwave promoter AJ Maddah’s Madjo Enterprises. It allows Australis, which set up in 1973 in Sydney, to widen its services to retail customers from musical instruments and pro audio equipment distribution to now also the live sound and stage event space. Speaking of the workers at BH Stage Systems, Australis CEO Trevor Morrow said “(They’re) just amazing, incredibly committed and customer focused. I look forward to working with them”.
BUY-OUTS #2: ARACA BUYS MAMMOTH AGENCY
Sydney merchandising company the Mammoth Agency will change its name to Araca Australia after being bought by America’s Araca Group. The purchase included Mammoth Merchandise, Mammoth Stores, Street Ninja and Band Of Villains. Mammoth founder
Rowena Crittle will be its Managing Director. “We will move into new marketplaces with the theatrical business, and expand our reach to service our Australian roster worldwide”, she said.
JB NOW MUSIC TO CLOSE
JB Hi Fi is closing its subscriptionbased music streaming service JB NOW Music, after five years, on March 17. It said the music streaming market in Australia is saturated and NOW Music couldn’t gain enough traction with consumers. JB Hi-Fi CEO Richard Murray said JB continues to sell CDs and vinyls through 180 stores and online.
DINE ALONE SETS UP SYDNEY OFFICE
Canadian indie label Dine Alone Records has set up an office in Sydney (its fifth office) in partnership with Troy Barrott’s Hub Artist Services to cover Australia and NZ. Barrott said he and Dine Alone founder Joel Carriere “bonded over BBQ and beer, and a likeminded philosophy on independent music.“
CHUGG ENTERTAINMENT CEO STEPS DOWN
Chugg Entertainment’s CEO and co-director Matthew Lazarus-Hall will step down in late March. He’s setting up his own consultancy company, continuing to work on the CMC Rocks Queensland and Laneway festivals, as well as special events with Chugg Entertainment. Owner Michael Chugg was voted Best International Promoter at America’s Pollstar awards for the fourth time.
HILLTOPS INITIATIVE BACK FOR 11TH YEAR
The Hilltop Hoods Initiative is back for its 11th year, to further careers of emerging Australian hip hop and soul artists who are APRA AMCOS members, yet to release an album commercially. The winner gets $10,000 cash to cover costs of manufacturing, marketing and distributing an album or EP, legal advice from Media Arts Lawyers and a Love Police ATM merchandise start-up kit. Judges are Koolism’s Hau, SA graff artist and promoter Nish, artist manager and agent Ran Dee, artist and Blank Clothing owner Raph and Qld beat boxer Tom Thum. Deadline is March 22, with the winner announced May 11. For more information see apraamcos. com.au/hth.
THREE O/S FESTIVALS HEADING HERE?
Rumours are that three overseas festival brands plan to enter the Australian market. Names bandied about are Download, Sonisphere and Legion. Is this a good time to launch? When consumer tastes
PG.8 // MIXDOWN #263 // MARCH 2016
F OR CONTE NT SUB MI SSI ONS TO TH I S COL UMN PL E ASE E MAI L T O CELIZER@ NET S P A CE. NET. A U
have changed, and one-time surefires as Soundwave and Big Day Out went to the portable loo in the sky? One test comes March 19 with a New Zealand version of America’s Austin City Limits. Auckland City Limits is headlined by Kendrick Lamar and The National.
LIVE MUSIC OFFSETS WOULD GENERATE $40M
Targeted investment in the contemporary music industry could result in a $40.2 million benefit for the Australian economy, says research by Ernst & Young (EY). The study focused on three primary pillars of the music industry: venues, sound recording owners (labels) and artists. Of the scenarios analysed, the biggest increase in total output, employment and value-add came from the application of tax offsets for venues - a cash-based offset for venues not currently staging live music, and a percentage-ofexpenses offset for those already staging live music.
QUEENSLAND MUSIC AWARDS PREPS UP
The Queensland Music Awards is held on March 21 at Brisbane Powerhouse in New Farm. Performing are The Belligerents, Ayla, Astro Travellers, Amy Shark and Standby Empire with more to be announced. All nominees are listed on organiser QMusic’s site. Up for Album of the Year is Blank Realm’s Illegals In Heaven, Last Dinosaurs’ Wellness, Robert Forster’s Songs To Play, The Stress of Leisure’s Achievement and Troy Cassar-Daley’s Freedom Ride.
I LOVE LIVE MUSIC 60 COMP
I Love Live Music 60 is a new national competition by the Australian Music Industry Network (AMIN) and the Live Music Office which offers $12,000 worth of prizes (including $5000 cash for winner) for filmmakers and musicians. They have to collaborate on a 60-second film based on one of three themes – ‘Imagine life without live Australian music’; ‘What I love about live Australian music’; or ‘What live Australian music means to me’. The ten finalists will be screened at the St. Kilda Film Festival’s SoundKILDA (May 26) and the winner decided on the night. See amin.org.au for details.
NEW GRANTS PROGRAMS IN WEST AUSTRALIA…
WA’s Department of Culture and the Arts (DCA) launches a new grants program on March 1 offering a more timely and responsive approach to project funding. DCA staffers are holding info sessions on Wednesday March 2 and Thursday March 3. They are held between 6 pm to 7 pm at King Street Arts Centre, 365 Murray Street, Perth. RSVP to
adminteam@dca.wa.gov.au or 6552 7400.
…AND NORTHERN TERRITORY …
Funding for music and arts projects is now available through the Northern Territory Arts Grants Program, Project Round 1.They offer between $15,000 and $10,000. NT artists, not for profit arts organisations and community groups are encouraged to apply for projects that develop and showcase NT arts and support community access and participation in arts and cultural activities. Applications close Tuesday 5 pm March 29 for projects beginning after July 1.
…AND SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The first round of Arts SA’s Contemporary Music Grant program closes on April 15. It will support activity that commences after July 1. An information session will be held in the lead up to the closing date, details to be announced. There’ll only be three grants now. The March and May rounds are combined to be April. The August and December closing dates become available over the next few months.
COMMERCIAL RADIO DRAWS 10.3M
Commercial radio drew 10.3 million Australians each week in the five capital cities in 2015 – up from 10.1 million in 2014 and 9.7 million in 2013. The figures released by Commercial Radio Australia, shows audiences increased by 1.8% last year and are up by 6.2% over the past two years. CRA CEO Joan Warner stated, “(Commercial) radio is also continuing to stay relevant to younger audiences, with 30,000 more listeners in the 18-24 age group turning in, which points to a positive outlook for the future.” Commercial radio reached 79% of all people aged 10+ each week, 87% of those aged 10-17 and 78% of those aged 18-24. Home was again the main place of listening, accounting for 46% of all commercial radio listening, followed by in the car (33%), at work (18%) and elsewhere (2%). Digital radio is continuing to gain traction, with 3.17 million people listening to DAB+ broadcasts each week.
THINGS WE HEAR • Are Pearl Jam heading back here to mark their 25th anniversary? Will we see The Game in September after he cancelled shows last month over visa issues? • Is Amazon entering subscription music streaming? • Is YouTube talking to 360-degree camera manufacturers about adding support for live-streaming broadcasts to its platform? • Will the troubled Dick Smith electronics chain be bought out by Indian mega-company Tata? • The deadline for artist applications to play the Manly Jazz Festival is March 31. • Katie Noonan is the new Artistic Director of the Queensland Music Festival and promises an emphasis on indie acts. • Appearing on James Corden’s Late Late Show in the USA, Elton John cited Sarah Blasko and Grimes as talents to watch. • Australia’s Got Talent judge Kelly Osbourne says she’s “paying for (dad) Ozzy’s crimes” after a bat shat on her head. • Melbourne producer Anna Laverty, Dallas Frasca and Nai Palm of Hiatus Koyote join NT creatives Leah Flanagan, Ursula Yovich of The Sapphires and Stephanie Harrison of Alice Springs’ Bat Hazzard to mentor eight emerging NT female singer songwriters for the Desert Divas program which ends with an album of songs written during the program to be produced by Laverty. • According to a music habits survey of eight countries by Sonos, 46% of Aussies preferred to listen to music than have sex. But, oh dear, 29% preferred TV to sex and music. Couples who listen to music together have sex on average • There’ll be more live streaming at Tamworth Country Music next year. Director Barry Harley said its inaugural trial this year of some events proved successful. In fact, while heavy rain kept the opening concert to just 3000 (instead of the expected 8000), it was watched by 4,500 online. About 11,000 streamed the Golden Guitar music awards and 2500 the finals of the Star Maker quest. • The Recording Industry of America (RIAA) is now accepting ondemand audio and video streams to contribute to Gold or Platinum album certifications. It has been a boon for Vance Joy whose 2014 debut album Dream Your Life Away is now Gold in the US, with 500,000 sales (and Platinum in Australia and Canada). • The CMC Music Awards on March 10 introduced two industry awards – the ARIA Highest Selling International Album and ARIA Highest Selling Australian Album. • A study by Griffith University found that pre-loading is a major problem. 82% of 3039 people breath-tested on the Gold Coast and 71% of 2751 in Brisbane before they entered venues between 10.30 pm and 11 pm had drunk alcohol before they left home. Most were over drink driving limits and the study suggested they were most likely to be aggressive in the venues.
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Maniac Music Factory is very passionate about helping musicians create their own unique acoustic signature on stage, in the bedroom and in the studio. We are also very passionate about mental health awareness and support. We believe creating “awareness through expression� is one of the best ways to spread the word about mental illness and give support to people in need. We are proudly donating $1 for every pack of strings sold to beyondblue and we thank you for your support. To order, please email Tom at tom@maniacmusicfactory.com or call/text on 0434 254 116. (Custom gauges can be ordered MOQ applies)
www.maniacmusicfactory.com #awarenessthroughexpression
NEWS & TOURS Eagles of Death Metal Gypsy And The Cat
Five Finger Death Punch
Low
Eagles of Death Metal has just announced a second Melbourne show after selling out the first show at The Croxton. The band has just recommenced touring throughout Europe and Canada, performing a string of rescheduled dates after the horrific events that unfolded at their performance in Paris led to the band taking a short break from performing. This tour will bring them all the way down under, where they’re set to play a string of shows over the Easter weekend while they’re in Australia for Bluesfest.
Vegas-based rockers Five Finger Death Punch will be playing two exclusive all-ages shows in Melbourne and Sydney this April whilst down in Australia for Black Sabbath’s national tour. In 2015, Five Finger Death Punch crashed into the ARIA Charts at #3 with their sixth album, Got Your Six, giving them their highest Australian chart position ever. The band’s second single from Got Your Six, ‘Wash It All Away’, quickly climbed the Rock radio charts in the U.S. and has since received praise world-wide. The Black Sabbath 2016 tour will be Five Finger Death Punch’s first visit to Australian shores since 2014, when the band toured as part of the Soundwave Festival.
Celebrating the release of their acclaimed 2015 album Ones and Sixes, Low are set to tour across Australia this April. Ones and Sixes has been met with critical praise from all corners of the globe. Co-produced by the band and engineers BJ Burton, the album was placed at #35 on the official U.K Top 40 albums charts and peaked at #7 on the CMJ Top 200 chart. With only five shows booked to celebrate the release, fans of Low will have to get in quick and secure their tickets. It’s been six years since the seminal alt-rock trio have toured Australia, and it’s safe to say that fans will be quick to snap up all the tickets that do go on offer.
Indie dream pop duo, Gypsy & The Cat, formed by Melbourne DJs Xavier Bacash and Lionel Towers, have revealed a short series of Australian shows over the next month. In celebration of the upcoming tour and their highly anticipated album, the pair has released a brand new track, titled ‘Inside Your Mind’. From punchy falsettos, walls of dreamy synths and a beat that’ll have you dancing in no time, it’s clear the guys have maintained their recognisable sound. Mixed by Dave Fridman (Tame Impala, MGMT, Neon Indian, Flaming Lips), the tune is a sneak preview into what Gypsy & The Cat have planned for 2016 and beyond. Adding an acoustic guitar to their expected electronic sound, it seems that their sonic elements may begin to diversify like never before.
TOUR DATES
TOUR DATES
March 24 – The Croxton, Melbourne VIC March 25 – The Croxton, Melbourne VIC March 27 – The Metro, Sydney NSW March 29 – Metropolis, Fremantle WA
March 19 - The Foundry, Brisbane QLD March 24 - Oxford Arts Factory, Sydney NSW March 25 - Howler, Melbourne VIC March 26 - Rocket Bar, Adelaide SA
Off With Their Heads Oh Pep!
Announce national tour
Punk-rock superstars Off With Their Heads will be stepping foot on Australian soil this month. The Minneapolis natives have announced an extensive eleven-date run, in which they’ll be supporting Melbourne’s The Bennies on their Wisdom Machine tour, performing material from their well-received 2013 release Home. Home is said to retain all the boisterous spirit of the band’s earlier efforts, while simultaneously taking a monumental step forward. It’s a record that encompasses the band’s already masterful handle on authentic punk rock, with elements of melodic rock and mid-tempo pop. Off With Their Heads are known to provide punters with a hell of a show. And with The Bennies on the same bill, expect these shows to be wild!
Melbourne’s ultra talented folk-pop outfit Oh Pep! have announced a national tour for this coming April. Since the release of their 2015 debut EP Living, life’s been one hell of a rollercoaster for the members of Oh Pep! The success of the record allowed them to play in Seattle’s KEXP studio, Daytrotter Downs Festival 2015 and the NPR Tiny Desk Concert, who hailed them as the ‘Newest and Most Promising Voice of Americana’. Their newfound stardom seems never-ending, and the band’s recently announced that they’ll be representing Melbourne at Austin’s renowned South by Southwest festival this March. Before it all kicks off overseas, they’ll be touring nationally throughout March and April.
TOUR DATES TOUR DATES April 20 – Festival Hall, Melbourne VIC April 22 – Big Top @ Luna Park, Sydney NSW
April 4 – Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne VIC April 5 – Mojos Fremantle, Fremantle, WA April 7 – Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley, QLD April 8 - Oxford Art Factory, Sydney NSW April 9 - Eros & Thanatos, Hobart TAS
Rebirth
U.S. Girls
Melbourne’s own Rebirth isn’t afraid to wear their ethics on their sleeves. Making waves in the Australian hardcore scene, Rebirth are set for an even bigger 2016, kicking it all off with a huge east coast tour. This month, Rebirth are joining Foundation’s farewell Australia tour, following the announcement that the iconic hardcore band will be disbanding. With the tour announcement, Rebirth has also revealed that they have finished recording their debut LP Crucible, which will be released early 2016 via Life.Lair. Regret. Records.
U.S. Girls is Illinois-born, Toronto-based artist Meghan Remy, and beats and loops are her bread and butter. Throw in a soulful ‘60s inspired vocals and powerful lyrical turns, and it is no wonder why 2015, with the release of Half Free, was a breakout year for the enigmatic artist. Remy is now preparing for headline shows up the east coast of Australia, and a huge Golden Plains set. Though Remy cut her teeth exploring and celebrating the limitations of 4-track fidelity, her more recent offerings who off her wonderfully distinctive and characterful voice through innovative sonic spaces. The looming east coast tour is set to be a good one, and even includes a support slot with SleaterKinney.
TOUR DATES March 27 - Club 54, Launceston TAS March 28 - Brisbane Hotel, Hobart TAS March 31 - Adelaide Uni Bar, Adelaide SA April 1 - Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC April 2 - Amplifier, Perth WA April 3 - Prince of Wales, Bunbury WA April 6 - Transit Bar, Canberra ACT April 7 - Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle NSW April 8 - Oxford Art Factory, Sydney NSW April 9 - Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane QLD April 10 - Sol Bar, Maroochydore QLD
TOUR DATES March 11-13 - Port Fairy Folk Festival, Port Fairy VIC April 6 - The Jade Monkey, Adelaide SA April 8 - Northcote Social Club, Melbourne VIC April 10 - The Polish Club, Canberra ACT April 13 - Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane QLD April 14 - 5 Church St, Bellingen NSW April 15 - Oxford Art Factory, Sydney NSW
PG.10 // MIXDOWN #263 // march 2016
TOUR DATES March 17 - Hermanns Bar, Sydney March 18 - Reverence Hotel, Melbourne VIC March 20 - Blue Stone Church, Melbourne VIC March 21 - Rad Bar, Wollongong NSW March 22 - Drone, Newcastle NSW
TOUR DATES March 5 – The Domain, Sydney NSW March 6 – Sydney Opera House, Sydney NSW March 9 – Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane QLD March 11 – The Croxton, Melbourne VIC March 12 – Golden Plains Festival March 14 – The Tote, Melbourne VIC
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PRODUCT NEWS TC Electronic Expand Pedal Range With BonaFide Buffer Amber Technology | 1800 251 367 | www.ambertech.com.au
Sterling by Music Man Unveil StingRay SR50 Electric Guitar CMC Music Australia | (02) 9905 2511 | www.cmcmusic.com.au
At NAMM 2016, Ernie Ball Music Man announced the new ‘Modern Classic’ StingRay guitar. The original StingRay guitar was one of several designed by Leo Fender for Music Man that laid the foundation for Music Man’s long history of high-quality products. With 22 frets, 2 creamy Ernie Ball Music Man spec humbuckers, Vintage Tremolo, and an oversized 4 + 2 headstock with locking tuning machines, The StingRay SR50’s sound is big and bold when needed but smooth as glass if desired. The 3-way switch accesses versatile coil combinations while oversized 4 over 2 headstock with straight string pull provide superior tuning stability. Flawless craftsmanship throughout makes the Stingray SR50 a perfect culmination of old world aesthetics and styling with modern design and playability. Shipping this month, the StingRay SR50 will be available from Sterling by Music Man dealers March/April.
Tokai Guitars Team Up With ARIA Hall of Fame Inductee Bob Spencer Jade Australia | 1800 144 120 | www.musocity.com.au
Tokai Guitars are very pleased to announce their partnership with highly respected guitarist and ARIA Hall of Fame inductee Bob Spencer (and The Angels). Bob has been a passionate advocate for Tokai since purchasing his first, a Tokai SG, some years ago from his local store. Bob Spencer will soon begin to record his first solo album, which will feature a number of Tokai guitars. If you would like to know what Bob is up to, head to his Facebook page at @BobSpencerOfficial and chuck him a like to keep up with the latest news.
BonaFide Buffer is the sonic remedy that will free your tone of any treble-sucking constraints put upon it by long cable runs. Just slam this highquality, no-nonsense tool on your pedalboard and get ready to bask in your tone as it was meant to be - transparent, crisp, alive, and all you. TC Electronic love pedals just as much as you do, but sadly, the more you add, the more cables you have to use. In the end this makes you sound like you’ve plugged into a wet blanket, instead of your gorgeous-sounding amp. By turning your guitar’s high impedance output into low impedance, BonaFide Buffer opens up the tonal floodgates, so your tone can flow strong and freely through your entire signal chain.
Recreate The Classic Angus Young Tone With The Schaffer Replica Pedal Global Vintage | (02) 9569 7009 | www.globalvintage.com.au
The original Schaffer-Vega Diversity System (SVDS) was the first reliably working and beautifully sounding wireless system for musicians or, in general, stage performers. Little did Ken Schaffer know that when he was inventing the SVDS, he was also creating a circuit that would transform the sound of rock and roll. Across the world, in Rome, renowned AC/DC aficionado ‘SoloDallas’ Olivieri had been obsessed by Angus Young’s signature tone for more than 30 years. In pursuit of that sound for more than 30 years, Olivieri had bought and duplicated every piece of equipment Angus was known to use. But something was missing… A lesser known fact about the SVDS is that many users took their units into the studio with them and recorded with it. The Schaffer-Vega system introduced a new twist to a process called ‘companding.’ Legendary AC/DC guitarist Angus Young used the SVDS’ proprietary processing and companding to shape his sound and create his unmistakable signature. Olivieri - being the mad Young fan that he is - teamed up with Schaffer to recreate the long lost tone of the SVDS by compacting the circuitry into a stompbox form. The news gets even better, Global Vintage are now stocking the Schaffer Replica Pedal, giving Australian fans the chance to recreate the sound of the guitar hero!
A Look At Audient’s ASP800 8 Channel Microphone Preamplifier Innovative Music | (03) 9540 0658 | www.innovativemusic.com.au
The Audient ASP800 is an audio powerhouse designed to transform your sessions into world-class recordings, making it the perfect addition to your audio interface. Whether you’re recording drums or simply need more channels, ASP800 is the perfect tool for expanding your existing interface via ADAT. Its flexible and intuitive feature set will transform your current setup into the complete recording rig, perfectly at home recording both acoustic and electronic instruments. ASP800 provides 8 channels of Audient’s renowned console mic preamps, class-leading Burr-Brown converter technology, two JFET D.I’s and two Retro channels with revolutionary tone control. Just plug in your mics, guitars, keyboards and drum machines and you’re ready to go, so get creative and start thinking big.
PG.12 // MIXDOWN #263 // MARCH 2016
In A Snapshot: Catalinbread Pedals Gladesville Guitar Factory | (02) 9817 2173 | www.guitarfactory.net
Cast your eyes and ears upon the beautiful pedals from Catalinbread USA. These pedals sound incredible and have a small pedalboard footprint. Currently distributed through Gladesville Guitar Factory, you can find a Catalinbread pedal to suit any needs. Pedals currently in Australia include: Dirty Little Secret, RAH, Belle Epoch, Talisman, Karma Suture, Echorec, Galileo, Katerkonig, Montavillian, Sabbra Cadabra, SFT, Topanga and the Octopussy. These pedals features overdrives, fuzzes, vintage delays, tape echo and reverbs that channel the likes of Brian May, David Gilmore, Hendrix, Tony Iommi, Jimmy Page and more.
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PRODUCT NEWS
ORY-2016-03.indd 1
dbx Launches New High-Performance Di Boxes Jands | (02) 9582 0909 | www.jands.com.au
dbx by HARMAN has unveiled three powerful new additions to the dbx Di lineup of products. Ideal for even the most demanding live sound and studio applications, the new dbx Di4, Di1 and DJdi direct injection boxes are essential tools in producing a perfect performance. The Di4 four-channel direct box is an essential direct inject tool for audio applications. The Di4 easily solves the problem of converting unbalanced signals into balanced output suitable for use with mixers, PAs, recording consoles and more. Built for toughness and reliability, the dbx Di1 has all the features of a gig-ready workhorse Di unit. The Di1 is a compact, high-quality, active direct injection box that ensures all audio signals reach their intended destination – in both a balanced format and free from noise. The passive DJdi is designed to be used as a standard tool for many audio applications. Offering two channels, the DJdi easily solves the problem of converting unbalanced signals into balanced output suitable for use with mixers, PAs, recording consoles and more.
PG.14 // MIXDOWN #263 // MARCH 2016
A Look At Strymon Power Supplies Noise Toys Imports | www.noisetoysimports.com.au
Strymon are leading the charge for pedalboard power supplies. Their two flagship models, Zuma and Ojai, are the most technologically advanced effects pedal power supply of their kind. Zuma offers nine high-current, individually isolated, ultra-low-noise outputs—each with its own dedicated regulator and custom transformer. Designed to meet the needs of today’s players, each output provides a staggering 500mA of current. Zuma’s dual-stage topology, pre-regulated outputs, optically isolated feedback and advanced multistage filtering result in a power supply, that allows your pedals to achieve their highest possible dynamic range. Ojai delivers clean, rock-steady power to your effects pedals in a lightweight and expandable package, giving you flexibility and room to grow. You get five high-current, individually isolated, ultra-low-noise outputs—each with its own dedicated regulator and custom transformer. Each output provides a massive 500mA of current. Ojai’s dual-stage topology, pre-regulated outputs, optically isolated feedback and advanced multistage filtering result in a power supply that allows your pedals to achieve their highest possible dynamic range.
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23/02/201
PRODUCT NEWS
JBL Reveal New All-In-One Portable PA System Jands | (02) 9582 0909 | www.jands.com.au
Get legendary sound quality with the EON208P all-in-one portable PA system, complete with an 8-channel mixer and Bluetooth audio. With a convenient suitcase-style design, the EON208P makes it easy to get great sound for performances, meetings and events. The 8-channel detachable mixer provides professional connections for mics, instruments and line-level sources, while the 8” two-way stereo speakers deliver best-in-class audience coverage. Bluetooth connectivity also allows you to stream audio from your mobile device, and with 300 watts, you’ll have more than enough volume to be heard. Plus, the compact and lightweight form factor means you can carry the entire system with one hand The 8-channel detachable mixer gives you the power and flexibility to sculpt your sound and be heard with stunning clarity at any venue. Simply connect your mics, instruments and other sound sources and start performing. The intuitive mixer helps you dial-in great live sound quickly and easily. The EON208P will be released in Australia later this year. Stay tuned for more details.
5F_002_MIX_225x148.qxp_5F_002_MIX_225x148 15/02/2016 8:41 pm Page 1
Yamaha Announces New Version 2.0 Firmware Update for TF Series Digital Mixers Yamaha Music Australia | (03) 9693 5111 | www.au.yamaha.com
Yamaha has announced that they will be providing TF Series console users with a major firmware update. The new update includes new effect types, and operation improvements for seamless compatibility with Tio1608-D I/O racks, enabling a faster and easier setup for use in a broader range of applications. Since their release last year, the TF Series of digital mixing consoles has garnered a great reputation among users for their intuitive TouchFlow Operation interface and smart, compact design. The new update was developed in response to users seeking to expand their TF Series systems for larger spaces and a wider variety of applications using Yamaha Tio1608-D I/O racks. Along with V2.0 firmware updates, the TF Editor dedicated software that gives users flexible offline setup capability has also been upgraded, and TF StageMix for iPad has been improved for more seamless wireless control of TF consoles. The updated versions of TF Editor can be downloaded from the Yamaha Pro Audio website, while TF StageMix can be found in Apple’s App Store - both are free of charge.
WED APRIL 20 MELBOURNE FESTIVAL HALL FRI APRIL 22 SYDNEY LUNA PARK - BIG TOP www.mixdownmag.com.au
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MIXDOWN #263 // MARCH 2016 // PG.15
PRODUCT NEWS Vox Introduce Custom Heads and Cabinets To AC Range Yamaha Music Australia | (03) 9693 5111 | www.voxamps.com
The Vox AC15 is the amp that started it all, quickly followed by the AC30. Boasting both normal and top boost channels, the AC Custom Heads are all-tube, EL84driven workhorses that deliver authentic British tone. They also offer foot-switchable spring reverb and classic Vox tremolo to enhance the already impressive sound. Included in the AC Custom heads is Vox’s new Reactive Attenuator. This newly designed attenuator uses Vox’s Reactor Technology that optimises the interaction of the speaker and amp at any volume. This allows the speaker and amp to behave in the same way at stage or bedroom levels, delivering a sense of power and tone that cannot be obtained from conventional attenuators. Adored by the biggest names in music for nearly 60 years, the Vox AC Custom heads carry on the tradition that began in 1958 and offers guitarists the unmistakable sound of Vox, with all the refinements of a modern amplifier. Designed to complement the new AC15CH & AC30CH heads, the V212C delivers the classic Vox sound through two trusty Celestion G12M Greenback speakers. The V212C is also a great addition to the AC30 Custom combo when you need more volume and stage presence. The new AC heads and cabinet are available in Australia now.
Apogee Users Dominate Grammy Nominations Sound Distribution | (02) 8007 3327 | www.sounddistribution.com.au
The 58th Grammy’s are done and dusted, with many big acts bringing in quite the haul of awards. Apogee would like to congratulate the many Grammy nominees this year, many of whom they are proud to have as part of the Apogee family. A special mention to a few of the Apogee users who had been nominated for the 58th Annual Grammy Awards: Rafa Sardina (Mixer: D’Angelo And The Vanguard ‘Really Love’ – Record of the Year) – Apogee Symphony I/O User, Jeff Bhasker (Producer: Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars ‘Uptown Funk’ – Record of the Year) - Apogee Duet User, Alabama Shakes (Artist: Alabama Shakes Sound & Color – Album of the Year) - Apogee Symphony I/O User and Corey Taylor (Musician: Slipknot The Gray Chapter – Best Rock Album) – Apogee GiO User. The list keeps going, and for good reason too. There is no denying that Apogee are at the forefront of audio engineering products, therefore it is inevitable that the best in the industry are apart of the Apogee family.
Deering Goodtime Solana 6 Banjo Now Available In Australia Zenith Music | (08) 9383 1422 | www.zenithmusic.com
The new Goodtime Solana 6 is a new kind of 6-string banjo designed to bring out the creativity in the player and features all of the American craftsmanship and quality that owners of Goodtime banjos have come to expect. The Solana 6 stands out from the pack thanks to its nylon strings, which offers the player a sweet, mellow tone akin to a classical guitar, but with the bright undertones of a banjo. The versatility of the Solana 6 is rounded off with a piezo pickup that sits directly under the patented East Indian rosewood bridge plate, formerly seen only on Deering’s Phoenix 6-string banjo. The bridge plate is placed underneath the hand crafted Deering bridge and is designed to even out the effects of the string vibration, resulting in an increased sustain, decrease in ‘boominess’, and less feedback allowing the player more freedom in a live performing situation when partnered with the piezo pickup.
PG.16 // MIXDOWN #263 // MARCH 2016
Tonebone Unveil A Stack Of New Products At NAMM Amber Technology | 1800 251 367 | www.ambertech.com.au
The Radial Engineering booth was buzzing at NAMM, with many onlookers catching a glimpse of the new Tonebone products. At NAMM, Tonebone has revealed details about their new and updated ranges, to be released throughout 2016. This year we can expect seven new pedals, including the Swithcbone V2, Shotgun signal splitter, Mix-Blender, Classic V9 Distoverdrive, the Regency, the Bumper, and the Headlight. First up, the Switchbone V2 is a high performance switcher that is designed to deliver the natural tone and feel of the instrument without introducing noise or distortion. The Tonebone Shotgun lets you shoot your guitar signal to as many as four amps at the same time. And it lets you do it either in mono or in stereo – quietly, as it eliminates hum and buzz caused by ground loops. Radial is known for making problem-solvers. The Mix-Blender solves two longstanding problems with one compact device - the functions are in the name. The new Classic V9 is in fact a Distoverdrive. In other words, it sits somewhere between a traditional overdrive and a modern distortion pedal whereby it can clean up when playing legato and you can really dig into the notes when you want extra sustain and harmonic generation. The Regency is in fact two pedals in one. The first is the pre-drive – a high output, low distortion overdrive that is used to add extra saturation to the amp without muddyingup the tone. Next up, the Bumper is a compact instrument selector that lets you switch between four instruments using a simple footswitch. Lastly, we have the Headlight. In the studio, quickly switching between one amp to another without having to bring a rack and large multi-selector footswitch makes things all that much easier. The Headlight is made for these folks.
The Guitar Straps That Are Made From Repurposed Automotive Upholstery Maniac Music Factory | 0434 254 116 | www.maniacmusicfactory.com
Good quality guitar straps are hard to come by, if you aren’t looking to fork out a fortune. Enter Couch Guitar Straps. These guys are all about high quality, long lasting straps without the hefty cost. The best part though? They are made from repurposed automotive upholstery, giving these straps a unique vintage look and feel. Couch starts production by Couch finding giant rolls of often vintage, found, or new-oldstock vinyl or recycled seatbelt material at automotive and upholstery warehouses, and then choose the best colours. Their vinyl straps are made of three layers of automotive upholstery vinyl for extra padding and strength, and the back tab is then stainlesssteel-riveted together. The reason for using automotive and industrial vinyl is that it is often stronger and more resilient than “fashion” vinyl, and it looks really great too. Another range that Couch stock are their Seat Belt guitar straps, made from… well you guessed it! Seat belt material makes some of the best guitar straps, because it is strong, looks great, and adjusts more easily than any other material. Ethical standards are also taken into consideration with the production of Couch Guitar Straps. They are made in the United States in downtown Los Angeles, California in sweatshop free environments, and also sell 100% cruelty free, vegan straps for our environmentally conscious friends. Our pick of the lot are the Vintage Auto Vinyl Straps, built from automotive upholstery from the 70s and 80s. Vehicles used include Volkswagens, Cadillacs, El Caminos + loads more.
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-M50xMG ATH LIMITED EDITION ATH-M50x Professional Monitor Headphones Online reviewers, top audio professionals, and cult followers have long agreed that the ATH-M50x offers an unmatched combination of audio and build quality for exceptional studio or on-the-go performance. Designed to meet the needs of even the most critical audio professionals, the M50x provides a listening experience like no other. Now avaialble in Limited Edition Matte Grey.
For more information on the ATH-M50x and other Audio-Technica products go to audio-technica.com.au
PRODUCT NEWS A Look At Bristol’s All-Rounder Guitar Zenith Music | (08) 9383 1422 | www.zenithmusic.com
If you need one acoustic-electric guitar that can do it all, and you don’t wish to spend a lot of money, the new Bristol BM-16CE 000 Cutaway Acoustic is the guitar for you! Designed in the comfortable and easy-to-handle 000 size, this new Bristol has a big, full and rich acoustic tone, and the Fishman Sonitone on-board electronics let you amplify that tone to any level of volume you desire. The slim, fully adjustable mahogany neck plays like a dream and the cutaway shoulder lets you play with ease all the way to the highest frets. Traditional forward-X bracing of the spruce top ensures the best tone quality and neck, back and sides are of choice mahogany, all finished in a natural colour high-gloss. Just try this superb, affordable, all-purpose guitar and you’ll be a believer.
New Icon iKeyboard S Models Offer Power and Performance For Schools Innovative Music | (03) 9540 0658 | www.innovativemusic.com.au
Designed for easy setup, unbeatable compatibility, and impressive reliability, the new Icon iKeyboard S range combines smooth keyboard action, audio interface and DAW control surface features into a top quality format. With its sturdy metal chassis the iKeyboard S range are the ideal choice for situations where failure isn’t an option. Perfect for school computer music labs and the education market - the iKeyboard S is available with 25 (iKeyboard 3S), 37 (iKeyboard 4S) 49 (iKeyboard 5S) and 61 (iKeyboard 6S) key models. Available now through your local music technology specialist.
The New Zoom G5Guitar Effects & Amp Simulator Pedal Dynamic Music | (02) 9939 1299 | www.dynamicmusic.com.au
The Zoom G5 is a complete guitar pedalboard in one amazing device. Not only does it provide a whopping 123 effects and 22 amp and cabinet models, it allows you to chain up to 9 of them together for extraordinary multi-effect complexity. Four separate backlit displays—each with its own dedicated foot switch and control knobs—make it easy to edit effects and bring them in and out as needed. Advanced features include the revolutionary three-dimensional Z-Pedal and a 12AX7 tube booster, plus a balanced linelevel output, onboard chromatic tuner, and an integrated rhythm machine and Looper. Wherever your guitar takes you, you can count on your G5 to deliver great sound and unparalleled flexibility. The G5 is loaded with 145 incredible-sounding DSP effects. These include 123 compressors, noise gates, filters, equalizers, and wah effects, as well as boosters, overdrives, fuzzes, phasers, and flangers, as well as chorus, pitch shift, tremolo, vibrato — even ring modulation.
In A Snapshot: The Lehle Mono Volume Pedal EGM Distribution | (03) 9817 7222 | www.egm.net.au
The Lehle Mono Volume is a volume pedal equipped with a precise magnetic sensor enabling it to operate almost wear-free. This sensor uses the Hall effect to measure the strength of magnetic fields. The Hall sensor, which is made in Germany, is accurately calibrated to the built-in magnet and the control range of the pedal. The pedal moves only the magnet, with the distance measured by the Hall sensor, which controls a VCA. The principle of the voltage-controlled amplifier is based on the fact that the control voltage coming from the Hall sensor can vary the gain. This technique allows the pedal to operate more precisely than conventional mechanical potentiometers or optical sensors used by the standard volume pedals. In addition the potentiometer-typical noise and the complicated adjustment are eliminated. Over the entire control range, the Lehle Mono Volume transmits the full sound spectrum of the connected instrument. The input and output impedance always stay the same, ensuring that there will be no damping of higher frequencies as with potentiometers. Internally, the input voltage coming from the power supply socket of the pedal is rectified, then filtered, stabilized and doubled to 18V, thus achieving a total dynamic range of 110 dB.
PG.18 // MIXDOWN #263 // MARCH 2016
In A Snapshot: Rock’n’Roller Multi Carts Dynamic Music | (02) 9939 1299 | www.dynamicmusic.com.au
Ok so what is the biggest downer about a gig or rehearsal? The load in right? Well not any longer, Rock’n’Roller Multi carts are rapidly changing all that. These sensational products come in a variety of sizes from mini versions, like the R2 Micro though to super robust models like the big R14 Mega cart. They make transport effortless for everything from a small guitar rig, through to keyboards, amps and PA. There’s something for every musician, even drummers. You can even fit an entire drum kit on one of these and get in and out of the gig in 1 load. No joke… one load! Their functionality stands to get even easier now with the addition of the accessory shelves. Solid ply carpeted decks and media shelves start at a very reasonable price and allow you to not only carry more but also create a stable and functional work platform that can be used for amps, audio, recording or lighting equipment - heck really anything you can think of.
A Look At Voodoo Lab’s Pedal Power MONDO EGM Distribution | (03) 9817 7222 | www.egm.net.au
Pedal Power MONDO is a high-current capable power supply that can power the largest and most diverse pedalboards. When it comes to digital power-hungry effects like those from Strymon, Eventide, Line 6 and TC Electronic, plus compatibility with all standard 9-volt battery stompboxes, MONDO is the perfect solution. Suitable for large and gigantic pedalboards, MONDO features 12 completely isolated, filtered, and regulated output sections, keeping your pedals dead quiet and free from high-frequency noise that occurs with digital ‘switching’ power supplies. MONDO also features an internal thermometer that controls a silent fan keeping the unit cool even under the most adverse heat conditions of outdoor festival stages. Even with poor AC line conditions, it delivers clean, consistent power. Handmade in the USA using the finest components, Pedal Power MONDO was designed to meet and exceed the needs of our most demanding professional users.
www.mixdownmag.com.au
PRODUCT NEWS
Introducing: The Zoom ARQ
Craviotto Drum Co. Unveil New Products at NAMM
Dynamic Music | (02) 9939 1299 | www.dynamicmusic.com.au
Hot Apple Distribution | www.hotapple.com.au
To put the Zoom ARQ Aero RhythmTrak into a category is almost impossible. It’s a sequencer, looper, wireless Bluetooth controller, drum machine, MIDI controller and synthesizer among other things. Ultimately, it’s a spectacular electronic musical machine. Allowing musicians to escape the studio booth, move from behind the desk and get a little room to move, Zoom’s ARQ gives its user the freedom of control. Made up of two powerful components – the Base Station and the Ring Controller, the ARQ is electronic communication at its finest. The Base Station features 468 drum/instrument sounds, 70 synth sounds and many more digital effects. It’s phrase recording and looping enabled, contains its own headphone jack and volume control. A handy USB port allows you to connect it up with your computer whereas a SD card slot lets you save your patterns or loops and import other audio. While the instrument is great for studio use, the Ring Controller is an excellent live instrument too. Whether you leave it connected to the Base Station or move it around, the performance is sure to come alive with the LED lit machine.
2016 is set to be a big year for USA drum manufacturer Craviotto. On a mission to build the finest handcrafted, solid shell, one-ply snare drums and drum sets, Craviotto has expanded their range. They revealed to NAMM audiences their all-new lug and Titanium Solitaire snare drum. Like a quality diamond ring, the new Marquise Lug reflects light and looks radiant. It gives Craviotto’s kits an updated look and compliments their Johnny C. snare drum lug perfectly. This lug will be the standard on all Craviotto kits moving forward. For those who love the diamond tube lug Craviotto have used for the past 12 years, it will still be available. The 6x4 Titanium Solitaire snare drum features aircraft grade titanium. Not all titanium’s are created equal and this material is made right in the USA - not imported. Craviotto built it out of chrome plated brass tube lug and perforated the shell with their classy walnut inlay pattern. This drum sounds insane, so get in quick. Only a handful remain.
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Wed 2 The Jack Cairns Thu 3 Dalrymple Hotel , Townsville Fri 4 Max Watt s Brisbane Sat 5 Miami Tavern Gold Coast Sun 6 Solbar Maroochydore Wed 9 The Basement Canberra Thu 10 Fitzroy Hotel Windsor Fri 11 Metro Sydney Sat 12 AMPLIFIER PERTH Sun 13 PRINCE OF WALES BUNBURY Wed 16 UNI BAR ADELAIDE Thu 17 Village Green Mulgrave Fri 18 Pelly Bar Frankston Sat 19 Corner Hotel Melbourne Sun 20 BARWON CLUB GEELONG Wed 23 THE LOFT WARRNAMBOOL THU 24 BRISBANE HOTEL HOBART FRI 25 CLUB 54 LAUNCESTON SAT 26 CAMBRIDGE NEWCASTLE SUN 27 ENTRANCE LEAGUES THE ENTRANCE WED MIXDOW N #30 2 6 3UNI / / BAR M A R CWOLLONGONG H 2016 // PG.19 facebook.com/strungout instagram@strungout twitter@strungout strungout.com
PRODUCT NEWS
Marshall Introduce The Mini Jubilee Range Electric Factory | (03) 9474 1000 | www.elfa.com.au
Marshall Add New Entry-Level Amplifiers To Catalogue Electric Factory | (03) 9474 1000 | www.elfa.com.au
The JCM25/50 Silver Jubilee Series was produced in 1987 to celebrate 25 years of Marshall Amplification, and 50 years of Jim Marshall being in the music business. The 2555 model was reissued earlier this year was the 2555X. Inspired by this acclaimed series, the 2525C 1 x 12” combo and the 2525H ‘small box’ head combine Silver Jubilee preamp features and styling in a lower power, mini design. The 20-watt 2525 Mini Jubilee is expertly crafted. It is designed, engineered and constructed to the highest possible standards at the Marshall factory in Bletchley, England. The 2525 models also share the original Jubilee Series features, as well as high/low output switching (20-watt to 5-watt) and independent 4/8/16 Ohm speaker outputs.
Neumann Add KH 805 Active Studio Subwoofer To Lineup Sennheiser Australia | (02) 9910 6700 | www.sennheiser.com.au
Based on the excellent acoustic performance of the KH 810, the KH 805 is the optimal choice to be used in stereo applications, for example in combination with the KH 120 or KH 310. The KH 805 has a unique 2.1/0.1 bass manager, which enables it to be used in a variety of different settings. There are four routing modes to ensure maximum flexibility. Fourth order crossovers and adaptable controls allow for seamless system integration, and the bass management function can be remotely controlled. The KH 805 subwoofer is designed to complement Neumann’s extensive range of monitors, and can be used in music, broadcast, and post production studios for tracking, mixing, and mastering.
Marshall Amplification has introduced a new entry-level offering: the Marshall CODE range. The Marshall CODE range combines the Marshall legacy with state of the art digital technology, culminating in their most versatile and impressive entry-level product ever. The range offers a choice of digital amp models, power amps, cabinet simulations, FX and more. The CODE series also allows every tonal possibility; various choices of glistening cleans, vintage crunches and modern high gain options can be mixed with a classic Marshall 100w or British Class A power stage for example, then a choice of various 1x12, 2x12 or 4x12 simulations. Adding your choice of 18 FX takes these sounds even further. The entire CODE range will be available in Australia later this year, with the CODE25 the first to arrive this month.
Introducing the New Ormsby Guitars GTR Multiscale Production Models Ormsby Guitars | 0410 540 327 | www.ormsbyguitars.com
Ormsby Guitars originated as a true custom shop guitar builder in 2004, overseen and created by Master Luthier Perry Ormsby. Coming from the far away city of Perth, Australia, Perry has over a decade of experience in building high end, handmade electric guitars, and the new GTR range incorporates all that knowledge. Features like custom hardware made in the USA by Hipshot Products, pickups wound to the same specifications as Ormsby’s custom models, stainless steel frets and top shelf quality control undertaken by Ormsby Guitars Australia; means the GTR range sets a new standard in affordable production guitars. Guitarists and artists across all genres were invited to decide on just about every aspect of these guitars. Through a unique online community, participants chose finishes and specifications they wanted most at prices that just about anyone could afford. The GTR Range is truly a guitar designed by guitarists, for guitarists.
Lehle Acouswitch Junior: The Handy Tool For Electric/ Acoustic Musicians EGM Distribution | (03) 9817 7222 | www.egm.net.au
Dixon’s New Precision Coil Pedal Steals The Show At NAMM Dynamic Music | (02) 9939 1299 | www.dynamicmusic.com.au
The Precision Coils’ groundbreaking new design was the drumming talk of the 2016 NAMM show. The booth was packed with activity, with both artists and punters alike trying to get a feel of this innovative new pedal. Precision Coil features a specially selected coil spring enclosed in a chamber with a direct connection to the axle/cam assembly. Fewer moving parts results in an extremely efficient transfer of energy from the pedalboard to the beater.
PG.20 // MIXDOWN #263 // MARCH 2016
The Acouswitch Junior from Lehle is a compact multi-functional tool for musicians who perform on stage with electric and acoustic instruments, and wish to use the same effects for both with one pedal board. With two separately controllable high impedance inputs it becomes the control centre within the electric and acoustic setup. The control over what signal is sent to the PA or the amp remains with the musician, without re-plugging cables. It does not matter whether you’re using it for acoustic music only or for a combination of both electric and acoustic instruments; the Acouswitch Junior is designed for both alternatives. The Junior features an active DI out (XLR) and a line-out jack as selectable outputs. To allow universal usage, the A/B switch can be configured individually, depending on the setup. For example, the line XLR outputs can be mutually muted, depending on the input being used. Toggling between the inputs is just as possible as mixing them together. For a purely acoustic setup the outputs can be always activated, too.
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Ormsby GUITARS
Australia's premium electric guitar manufacturer, specialising in innovative Multiscale designs.
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C O V E R
S T O R Y
Built To Spill Guitarist and vocalist Doug Martsch founded Built to Spill on the principle that he’d be the leader and find the appropriate group of players for each album. As such, the band’s lineup has never been fixed, but they settled into a fivepiece, three-guitar formation on 2006’s You In Reverse and 2009’s There Is No Enemy, with Martsch joined by Brett Netson and Jim Roth. However, for last year’s Untethered Moon – Built to Spill’s tenth LP – the band stripped back to a three-piece featuring Martsch, drummer Steve Gere and bassist Jason Albertini. Before their return to Australia this month, Mixdown speaks to Martsch about the current status of the band and the recording of Untethered Moon. You made Untethered Moon as a three-piece. Is that what we’ll see on the forthcoming tour? We’re actually doing a little bit of switching it up. We just got back from a two-week tour down the west coast [of the USA] as a three-piece, but we’ll be coming over to Australia as a fivepiece. We’re going to do a bunch of stuff around the States as a three-piece for a while and then at some point be able to go back and forth. I think the five-piece is great and those two guys are amazing, so it’ll definitely happen. But we’re trying a three-piece out for a little bit as well. The three-piece lineup means it’s just yourself on guitar, backed up by a bassist and drummer. Was it something you wanted to try in order to encourage yourself to think and play differently? It’s complex. It mostly arose out of financial stuff, but there’s other reasons too. Making a record as a three-piece was a creative decision. Well, it was more a logistical thing. It just went a lot faster. You get a lot more work done as a three-piece and I kind of knew what I wanted to do; I was pretty focused on what I wanted it to be like. And then that stirred up some feelings about playing as a three-piece and the kinds of music we could make. I imagine it’s both fun and challenging to be playing without the security provided by another couple of guitarists. It forces you to work harder and do things that you probably haven’t done in songs you’ve been playing for many years. Absolutely. Oh yeah I have to work hard. I practiced a tonne to get ready for this tour. It was a challenge, but it was also fun and rewarding. You don’t really know, when you’re playing, what it sounds like out in the audience. But with three guitar players you have no idea what it sounds like out there – you have no idea when you’re playing a guitar solo if it can even be heard by half the people. So the three-piece is so much more focused where you feel like what you’re doing matters and is being heard. With the five-piece sometimes I would get lazy and let the other guys hold down the fort. I think the whole band was a little lazy. You guys will get pretty good shows because I feel like me and the rhythm section have gotten a lot tighter playing as a three-piece. In some ways the guitar playing on Untethered Moon is very playful. In each song there’s a root track – a riff or a chord progression – but then washes of guitar or rushes of volume come in through the left or right hand speaker, and lead parts echo or pre-empt vocal melodies. Adding these guitars parts sounds like a lot of fun, but it’s pretty precisely managed. Is there a lot of fine-tuning?
PG.22 // MIXDOWN #263 // MARCH 2016
This time it was just more about, “This is what we are. I’m not going to try to do something a million times to try to get it perfect or try to layer tonnes of stuff because I can.” We wanted it to be more visceral, more of an urgent sounding punkish record. I wanted it to sound like some kind of punk record from the ’70s.
The main thing with this record is we wanted to keep it stripped down as much as possible. We’ve actually had the intention of doing that for the last few records. Definitely the last two records we wanted to make pretty much live, and then over the course of things just end up overdubbing a lot of stuff. Sometimes because the stuff needs it, sometimes because of insecurity – thinking “Is that even good enough?” or even trying to bury my voice under guitars. So this time I wasn’t going to let any insecurities lead me to make those sorts of decisions. Sam Coomes [producer] was also helpful because he embraced the whole idea of keeping it simple, so he could keep us on task. This time it was just more about, “This is what we are. I’m not going to try to do something a million times to try to get it perfect or try to layer tonnes of stuff because I can.” We wanted it to be more visceral, more of an urgent sounding punkish record. I wanted it to sound like some kind of punk record from the ’70s. It’s not completely raw. There is a fair amount of additional guitar work – new lines or sounds that pop up through each song – but the vocals are just as important to the songs. In the past did you prioritise the guitar playing and think of the vocals as a sidenote? For me the past was all a struggle. I think up until the last record before this one, There Is No Enemy, it felt to me like that was the first record where I actually felt any confidence in the studio at all. Everything up until then was really a lot of work. Maybe the first couple records I felt pretty good, but once we signed to Warner Brothers I felt like there was a level of expectation that I don’t feel like we were ever able to reach. I’d have guitar ideas and singing ideas that were beyond what I would be able to pull off. So there was a lot of work and a lot of self-doubt. Somewhere along the line with tonnes of touring I gained a lot of confidence in my guitar playing and my singing. Through other people too, through fans and friends encouraging me I was able to look at myself a little better. I had a good time making this record. I say that with a grain of salt. I had some kind of confidence, but when it came down to it I didn’t have the absolute confidence. Untethered Moon co-producer Sam Coomes has been involved with Built to Spill for many years, playing keyboards on just about every album. He’s also the co-vocalist and keyboardist in Quasi. How did he come to co-produce Untethered Moon? I think what it was is that [Quasi’s] Mole City came out and I just loved it and listened to it all the time. I didn’t necessarily love the way it sounded, although some stuff on it sounded great, it was just the spirit of the whole thing. So it was that and just the fact that I’ve always wanted to work with Sam or be around him any chance I ever got. And the other guys felt the same way too. BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
TOUR DATES March 10 - Manning Bar, Sydney NSW March 11 - The Zoo, Brisbane QLD March 12 - Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC March 13 - Golden Plains Festival, Meredith VIC Untethered Moon is out now via Warner Music.
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I N T E R V I E W S
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE Metalcore magnate Killswitch Engage’s seventh studio album, Incarnate, sees the band in the best shape they have been in years, according to guitarist Joel Stroetzel. It’s no secret Killswitch Engage has had its fair share of ups and downs. Since inception, frequent shifts in the band’s lineup has been commonplace, with original vocalist Jesse Leach’s abrupt exit shortly after the release of the breakthrough album Alive Or Just Breathing. Since then, the band has seen the replacement of drummer Tom Gomes with Justin Foley, the arrival and departure of singer Howard Jones, and the subsequent return of Leach. With four fifths of the band’s original lineup back on board, it seems things have finally settled down for the Massachusetts fivepiece. “I feel like the past few years have been the most consistent and happy that everyone’s been,” says Stroetzel. “It’s been a rollercoaster ride. It was obviously a big scare when Howard [Jones] left the band, because we were like, ‘what are we going to do? How is that going to work?’” Much to the band’s relief, Leach returned with a new gusto. “He had all the reasons not to want to do it back in the day, which is totally fair, but we were just really lucky it all came together. I feel like
OSUNLADE Osunlade (AKA Chrisitan Warren) hails from St Louis, Missouri, but he’s now based on the Greek Island of Santorini. Regardless of his home base, for the last few decades Osunlade’s lived a nomadic existence, travelling the world to DJ and record music, as well as work with artists on his Yoruba Records label. He’s back in Australia this month, which includes a visit to WOMADelaide. You spent New Years in Australia, playing in Melbourne and Sydney. Prior to that visit you’d been DJing in Singapore over Christmas. How was it there at that time of year? Singapore was actually cool, because sometimes you get the normal bullshit Christmas/New Year’s holiday crowds. It was such a different crowd from when I normally play in these clubs. There wasn’t as many heads, but it was still good for me because it was a holiday and I hate playing holidays, and I got a chance to kind of do whatever the hell I wanted to do. The live music and club culture in Singapore seems to be rapidly growing. It’s becoming a far more common and lucrative location for Western touring musicians. Have you noticed a surge in interest over there? I think over all of Asia it’s growing. It’s like the last frontier for any kind of music, so I think everyone’s diving in. I imagine the relatively recent arrival of club culture to countries such as Singapore would make for noticeably different crowd
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internally, it’s the happiest everybody has been for quite some time.” Lineup changes aside, Killswitch Engage have maintained a considerable amount of consistency when it comes to the guitarist’s weapons of choice. Both Stroetzel and fellow guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz are big fans of the Maxon OD808 overdrive pedal, a pedal that – like the Tubescreamer - has become synonymous with the metalcore genre. “Our live rig has stayed pretty consistent over the years. We were using the Laney Ironheart for the dirty stuff for a long time, but we’ve just started using the Laney TI100 Tony Iommi Signature head. But as far as clean tones go, we’re still using a Laney Lionheart and pretty much the same pedals - the Maxon OD808, the CP-9 Pro Plus Compressor and the AD10 Analogue Delay.” “The Ironhearts are kind of metallic and scooped – very focused. It’s an awesome sounding amp. We were just looking for something a little bit throatier and with that thick tube grind that we weren’t quite getting out of the Ironheart. The Laney folks were kind enough to let us check out the Iommi Signature, and we fell in love right away.” Killswitch Engage began work on Incarnate, sharing song ideas and demos via email from their various home dwellings. Stroetzel says that his preferred method of song writing involves burning the midnight oil along side a drum machine. “For me personally, I do my writing at night. I have an old two-track drum machine and I lay down a drum track and some scratch guitars, trying to piece together songs. I think it’s kind of the same thing for most of the other guys. And once we get stuff that we think is worthy of sharing with each other, we email it and from that point we decide whether we need to get together and jam.” “It’s funny, I think as each record goes by, we all live further and further away from each other. Jesse’s in New York, Mike [D’Antonio, bassist] and I are in Massachusetts, Adam is in California and
Justin [Foley, drummer] is in Florida.” When the band was satisfied by its collective efforts, they convened and began developing what would soon be Incarnate. “We did that a little more with this record than we have in the past. A lot of the other records were a combination of us being able to play live in a room together and writing from our homes. We just didn’t have that luxury on this album, with all of us living so far away.” Despite the lack of proximity, Stroetzel is confident the writing process had little affect on the album’s outcome, “Adam and Justin worked out MIDI drum tracks for the demos we had, and we each started learning the songs that way. As the songs came together, we would hand them off to Jesse so he could start writing and putting his ideas together, so it really wasn’t that different from jamming live in a room, instead it was just a bunch of guys sitting in front of a computer in a room [laughs].” With the demise of Soundwave Festival and consequentially Killswitch Engage’s 2016 trip to Australia, the conversation diverts to the likelihood of a return to the sunburnt country. “That was quite a bummer when we found out we weren’t able to come over, we always look forward to Soundwave and just going to Australia in general. It’s such a great place and such a great scene, other than the long flight over there [laughs]. Hopefully something will come around as far as a good festival. I guess we are going to have to come back and do some kind of club tour in the very near future.” As the conversation concludes, one question is still yet unanswered - when will pinch harmonics become dated? Stroetzel affirms the question’s banality with a swift response; “[Laughs] I’m going to say never for that one. They are always cool in my book.”
behaviour compared to what you’re used to. You’ve spent 20 years touring all over the Americas and Europe. Is the average audience noticeably different in the less experienced Asian countries? I started my touring a long time ago outside of the States, and mostly in Europe and Asia. I think that at least for the parties that I DJ, it’s a little more integral. I think the dance moves and the culture of it, it’s really similar no matter where you go. But for example, the first time I went to Japan, that was pretty weird because they don’t dance to each other, they dance towards the DJ. There’s no interaction with each other, there’s no emotion. I was really bugged out, but after years of playing I totally get it and I actually love playing there now.
I do now – which was probably about 2005 – I decided I needed to make a mobile studio because I was spending too much time on the road and not enough creating. But now what I’m creating or what I’m feeling musically, it has to be done mostly all organic. So it’s not anything I can do on a laptop or any kind of program. It has to be the physical instrument. But yes I have done that and it’s quite an interesting thing because you incorporate your surroundings – whether it’s a hotel in Stockholm or a bed and breakfast in some other country, it does give you the energy to help the music evolve.
You often see that sort of thing at festivals, no matter where in the world you are – the crowd’s drawn towards the stage even when a DJ’s playing, because that’s where the “star” is. I try to stay on ground with everyone, so when it’s a little bit above the music I try to say, “OK let’s just come back together a bit.” It’s interesting. It’s one of the beautiful things about having the luxury and the option to play this music and travel and see the different cultures, because you also incorporate things that you experience. So it’s wonderful and it’s an actual testament to the music as well. We integrate it into all of our lives as performers and DJs and so it’s a good thing. I enjoy it all, every moment of it; I get involved. Your state of mind no doubt has a bearing on your creative decisions, which means your travel experiences must have an affect on the type of music you’re playing and creating. You stay very busy touring the world, DJing, running Yoruba Records and working on new music and soundtracks. In 2014 you released the LP of originals, Peacock. Have you gotten used to working on new song ideas in hotel rooms across the world using a laptop or similar? I used to. When I first started DJing as much as
BY AARON STREATFEILD Incarnate is out March 11 via Roadrunner Records.
Now that you’re no longer creating new music while on the road, do you have a way of keeping track of ideas – do you carry a notepad or record rhythmic and melodic ideas into your phone? I use the voice memo on the phone quite often, mostly for ideas or sound bites. I do a lot of sound bites, especially travel things: atmospheric noise, restaurants, traffic, ceremonies, that kind of stuff. When you’re working on an original song, do you start by making a demo then reassessing what you’ve before changing it up later on? Or do you like to pursue an idea from beginning to end? I’m not one of those guys – my attention span’s too short for that. I’m the guy that writes it down, puts it down, records it and it’s done. I don’t rethink it – it’s exactly what it is at that moment because that’s the moment that I felt that thing. I never go back and change the sound. If I’m working on something I finish it until it’s done, whether that be a day or a month or a year or two or three. BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
Osunlade will be performing as part of WOMADelaide, March 11-14. For more information visit www.womadelaide.com.au.
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I N T E R V I E W S
HACKTIVIST Hip hop verses spat over mind bending Meshuggahesque riffs; it’s a metal purists’ worst nightmare. But whatever your reservations, you can’t deny the tenacity of Hacktivist. With little over a handful of songs and music videos, the UK rap metal djents have managed to gain worldwide recognition in a mere five years. Guitarist, songwriter and producer Tim ‘Timfy James’ Beazley discusses the technicalities of developing a monster guitar tone, and learning the art of simplicity whilst recording the band’s debut album, Outside The Box. Our interview finds Beazley in the middle of a production rehearsal in preparation for next week’s European tour. “It’s stressful because it’s a lot of work and we’ve got a lot of high tech gadgets that we take on the road. There is a lot of preparation that goes into our live show, and it’s been a while since we’ve played the new songs. But, we’re getting there,” says Beazley. With the Hacktivist sound incorporating elements of djent, hip hop and grime – there is a lot to account for in a live setting. “We have a backing track that we play to, that means that our drummer is continuously playing to a click track and keeping everything in time. I’ve got midi controlling my guitar amps. It changes all of my patches
as the set goes along, so I don’t have to worry about pressing buttons or pedals. It’s quite high tech sort of stuff, but it’s there to make our life easier on stage. Because I’m the only guitarist and I sing, it’s very difficult for me to get up to the mic and sing and make sure I’m on the right patch for lead parts. It’s made my life so much easier.” “We use Ableton live, so everything is triggered from a laptop, we just press play and the whole set flows - even between the tracks we have some ambient stuff going on. We try and make it as much an audible pleasure as possible. I find it very awkward when bands play and it’s silent while they are tuning in between songs.” The technical know-how doesn’t end there either. On the topic of the band’s forthcoming debut album, Outside The Box, Beazley confides in a love of integrating modern amp simulators and tube amplifiers. “It’s taken me a while to get back into valve amps, but I am quite proud to use digital to bring the most out of valve amps; they just work so well together.” While admitting his Axe-FX is his go to piece of gear, Beazley says it is his use of his two Blackstar Blackfire 200 Gus G Signature tube heads – in conjunction with the Axe-FX that makes up his meaty guitar tone. “I don’t actually use the Axe-FX on the album for tone, it’s used as a tool to get more out of the [Blackstar] amps. The Axe-FX has an amazing feature where I can run my tube head through it, instead of the other way around. The way I use the effects loop means that I can put my head as a digital block wherever I want in the Axe-FX signal chain. So if I wanted to put a gate effect in front of the amp and behind it, that’s possible. In doing this, I have been able to hone in on the frequencies that I want to pull and push.” “The Blackstar Blackfire’s are quite rare, only a few hundred were ever released. It’s actually got a tube screamer built into it and that’s where you just get
that massive tone wall. I just love it and there is nothing else that can beat it for me really.” Lucky for the band, Beazley’s creative input doesn’t only cover a good chunk of the songwriting, but includes the production side too. Outside of the band, Beazley works as a producer and engineer from his studio in the UK. With the band’s tech reliance and approach to songwriting a key to their success, it pays to have an engineer and studioowner on board. “I write most of the music. So I’ll write a shell of a song with all the riffs and rough drums, and then upload that so the rest of the guys can have a listen to it. Ben [Marvin, vocals] and J [Hurley, vocals] will write their bars, Richard [Hawking, drums] will take the drums away and make them a bit more snazzy.” “But, as we write, we record. So there is never really a time when a song exists that hasn’t been recorded. That means we kind of have a working model, and so we just re-record everything and develop the sound.” With the debut’s release imminent, Beazley reflects on what he got out of the recording process for Outside The Box, “The main thing I learnt was simplicity. I use to rely on putting a lot of processors on my mixes and relied on the fact that just because I’ve used loads of stuff that must mean it’s good. But I’ve learnt to strip back, you know – less is more. Some people record like eight guitar tracks and I just find it’s unnecessary. If you get one fat tone, pan it left and right and that’s all you need. As soon as you start adding more to it you start getting phase problems and it muds it out, and it’s just a pain in the arse.” BY AARON STREATFEILD
Outside The Box is out March 4 via UNFD.
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I N T E R V I E W S
DMA’S In typical Aussie fashion, DMA’s, A.K.A Tommy O’Dell, Johnny Took and Matt Mason are renowned for their casually cool demeanour, on and off stage. Nevertheless, with their emotive lyrics and hearty garage pop sound, the local Sydney boys have caused quite a stir. Two years after the release of their EP and countless shows later, DMA’s have released their debut album, Hills End. “It’s made a big difference for us after touring for nearly two years on the back of like five songs” says Took. “It’s nice being able to make a set list and know that people are going to recognise a certain amount of songs”. As expected, the laid-back lads make no attempt to entice their listeners and instead, adopt a take-it-or-leave-it kind of attitude. “The songs are all very honest and very real,” he reveals. “If you like it and connect to it, then that’s mad. We hope you do. If you don’t, go listen to something else”. Those that remain will soon be met with a couple of DMA’s earlier works. From the depths of ‘Delete’ and the power of ‘Play It Out’, the record pays homage to their initial release. “We thought it was important for two of our earlier tunes to be on the album,” Took explains. “Even though we’ve done fine in Sydney, we also felt like more people needed to hear these songs and that they could be given
THE CULT Since forming in the early-’80s, The Cult has revolved around vocalist Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy. 2007’s Born Into This and 2013’s Choice of Weapon were the first two consecutive records in the band’s history to feature the same four-piece lineup (bassist Chris Wyse and drummer John Tempesta joining the two mainstays). However, prior to this year’s Hidden City, Grant Fitzpatrick took over as the band’s bass player. Irrespective of personnel, Hidden City and Choice of Weapon share more sonic and stylistic similarities than the latter did with Born Into This. While Born Into This had a somewhat muted sonic character, Choice of Weapon was a hard-hitting affair, and there are plenty of heavy grooves on Hidden City. Mixdown speaks to Duffy about the recording process behind the new LP. Was the aim to capture a live sound on Hidden City? You don’t really just capture a live band. Even with the best intentions in the world, making a record the way it is, you literally do make a record. It’s a process. And so it’s always a challenge to try and figure out the essence of it live. Several songs on Hidden City are busting to be played live. It’s not entirely composed belters, but there are a lot of high-impact
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another chance. We didn’t want them to go under the radar and become a nothing song”. In addition, Hills End also features ‘So We Know’, previously released as a 7”. “We re-recorded it and added drums,” says Took. “We recorded it while we were in London, which was a great experience”. Recording the remainder of the record between a garage studio space and Took’s bedroom, the boys seem relatively unaffected by their recent success. “We did the bones of the record in Coogee, drums, bass and rhythm guitars,” he discloses. “Pretty much all the creative stuff, most of the electrics and the vocals were all recorded in the apartment. If you heard the original takes that we tried to do in the studio, it just didn’t really feel like us and we didn’t feel comfortable. The sound of that room is a big part of the DMA’s sound.” Swiftly heading back to the UK and the US, DMA’s discussed the various challenges associated with schedules, writing and recording when out on the road. “We don’t argue but there’s a lot of early starts and we are exhausted a lot of the time”, reveals Mason. “The truth is, after you’ve been in a car for six hours and then set up for a gig, you just kind of feel like eating or having a beer, you don’t really feel like writing”, adds Took. However, through the use of a homemade demorecording device, the lads are set to record on the road like never before. “We’ve set up pretty much a recording studio in a briefcase, so Mason and I are going to try to get into the habit of demoing properly,” says Took. “I want all the stuff we record on the new demos to be at a high enough quality so that we could potentially use them on the second record,” he explains. “That’s how you get the cool and creative stuff, when you’re not thinking of making records, you’re thinking of sounds.”
grooves and guitar riffs on the record. Was it written with live performance in mind? They all come from different kinds of places. You always definitely go for whatever works and sounds best as a record rather than “Hey well if we do it that way it’s going to be really easy to play live.” Bob Rock always has a big laugh about that at the end. I’m like, “Bob, how am I supposed to play all those different parts?” And he goes, “Well that’s your problem.” Live it’s just like, “What would Jimmy Page do?” “Put in a drum solo probably… a long one.” You reconnected with Bob Rock for Hidden City. You’ve worked with him a number of times over the years – he produced Sonic Temple (1989), The Cult (1994), Beyond Good and Evil (2001) and co-produced Choice of Weapon (with Chris Goss). You’ve worked with a number of other high profile producers over the years too, including Chris Kimsey (on Dreamtime, 1983), Rick Rubin (on Electric, 1987) and Youth (on Born Into This). Do you have a preference for what Bob Rock brings to the process, or do you seek him out based on the type of album you want to make? It’s actually the latter. Initially, with Sonic Temple, Bob was a fairly unknown producer. I think it’s fair to say that he wasn’t really as proven as he became. So that was a bit of a gamble on our part. We’re always reaching. I don’t think we assume because we did one album, then two, three years later that’s always going to be the case. On the self-titled Cult album we did a song with Rick Rubin again called ‘The Witch’ for a movie [Songs From the Cool World]. We didn’t really have a band – it was just me and Ian – and it was after the Ceremony tour. We thought we’d see what working with Rick was like and it just didn’t work out. The dynamic wasn’t right. It obviously worked on the Electric album, but [this time] it didn’t work. So a lot of it depends on where we’re at as songwriters and as a band.
Pushing the experimental boundaries, Hills End sees the DMA’s arrangements diversifying like never before. The use of unconventional instruments is evident on many of their tracks. The record features a Dobra, Mandolin and the allusive addition of a Guzheng. “It’s like a Chinese piano,” Mason explains. “I bought it from an antique shop years ago, we tuned it up and I played it in one of the songs (‘In The Moment’). I recorded about twenty takes and then cut them up to make a little melody.” While the guys won’t bring all of these elements to the stage, Mason ensures that “you can emulate the sounds with a guitar”. As open-minded as ever, the boys themselves don’t know what’s to come for the DMA’s sound. “I think we are still working it out,” Took admits. “It’s going to depend on what we are into, but I think we are pretty excited to push it as far as possible and experiment as much as possible”. Agreeing with his band mate, Mason states, “We will probably just wait and see what other songs we write in the next ten months or so.” With a potential move on the horizon, Took reveals that while, “Sydney will always be home… we’ve thought about somewhere like L.A, where we can get a decent size house and build the studio that we want to build. I think we are going to keep (producing) ourselves, but with no mattresses in the room.” BY PHOEBE ROBERTSON
Hills End is available now via I Oh You.
The exact role of a record producer can’t really be defined. Different producers bring different skills to the process. Since producing Sonic Temple, Bob Rock has worked with Metallica, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue and stacks more. What is it that he offers to The Cult? Bob’s very good at helping you – like if the songs aren’t fully realised, he’s very good at bringing out the song. He’s a very organised type of individual. Rick Rubin can’t bring that because he’s not really a musician. I don’t think he’d be offended if I said that, because he’s not. Rick’s a producer. He has a very, very good overview, but he doesn’t really get caught up in the minutia of what it might take if you’re a band who’s not quite got the songs together. So Bob ended up coming at us at different times and for different reasons. It’s not something you jump into lightly – the relationship between band and producer has a major impact on the outcome of the record. Are there any other failed partnerships you’ve experienced? On Beyond Good and Evil we were trying to work with Michael Beinhorn – who’s an excellent producer, he’s made some fantastic records – and the chemistry wasn’t there. We gave it a shot. He’d made an amazing album with Soundgarden, he’d made a great album with Courtney Love in Celebrity Skin. Great producer, it just didn’t work for The Cult. So Bob’s come and helped us out a few times. But on Hidden City me and Ian decided we wanted Bob involved from the ground-up – a lot like Sonic Temple. I think the results are evident in the songs. It’s diverse, but there’s cohesion to it, and all the songs have had the ability to be as good as they can be. BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
Hidden City is out now via Cooking Vinyl Australia.
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NAMM 2016
If you’ve never been to NAMM before, imagine this: pretty much every rock star you’ve ever heard of, every gear company you’ve ever heard of, and once you’ve been to a few NAMMs, every industry buddy you ever got wasted with - crammed 100,000 people deep into a huge convention centre right next to Disneyland. Between the gear, the people-spotting and the performances, it’s a huge assault on the senses and it’s not until it’s over that you get to stop, take a breath and realise how many awesome things you got to do. My time at NAMM this year was divided between general reportage and helping out with social media at Seymour Duncan’s booth. Here’s a day-byday breakdown of the insanity.
THURSDAY
As a lifelong Ibanez nerd the first thing I checked out was the new Steve Vai Universe series in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of his Passion & Warfare album. Each of the three models is swirl-painted in a different colour scheme. They ain’t cheap… other cool Ibanez stuff included the revived Talman line with Strat and Tele-style pickup configurations and some new mini pedals (an analog delay, chorus and Super Metal distortion). At SD we launched the Catalina Dynamic Chorus (which responds to how hard or soft you play) and the Palladium Gain Stage preamp/dirt-box. After checking those out I zipped over to Ormsby to get my paws on the HypeGTR (reviewed in this issue). I checked in
with Perry Ormsby every day to see what the response was like and it seems to me that you’ll be hearing and seeing a lot of Ormsby Guitars this year.
Then I zipped up to ESP and Schecter to see their latest, including ESP’s enviable collection of Exhibition Limited guitars and Schecter’s new Wylde Audio line with
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Zakk Wylde. Zakk previewed these guitars a year ago but they’re now ready to go and they play and look great. Schecter also showcased new signature models for Keith Merrow, Wes Hauch, Nikki Stringfield and Jeff Loomis. And among ESP’s creations were a pair of Exhibition Limited Eclipses with Gretsch-like appointments that had to be seen to be believed. Hopefully this design will filter down into ESP’s regular line someday.
WITH PETER HODGSON Also on Friday I bumped into Devin Townsend (I’ve interviewed him for Mixdown many times), who thrust his new Framus signature guitar prototype into my hands and demanded I play. It sounds great, with triple-mode Fishman Fluence pickups (vintage/modern/single-coil) and cool light-up inlays.
No visit to NAMM is complete without a visit to Taylor, who launched the redesigned 300 and 500 Series models with new tonewoods, unique new models, and within the 500 Series, toneenhancing bracing.
FRIDAY
It was on Friday that the word started to circulate: “Did you notice there are no Parker guitars at US Music Corp?” This is the parent company of Washburn (with lots of great Parallax models on show including new Ola Englund and Michael Sweet models) and Randall Amplifiers (Mike Fortin is no longer with Randall but his designs like the Satan live on), and they’re now not making or promoting Parkers. No official word yet on whether the line is being dropped completely or if the Parker brand will be sold.
Over at Gibson I checked out the new Les Paul Standard HP with super-speedy neck and G-FORCE tuners, the Epiphone Tony Iommi Limited Edition SG and the exceptional Les Paul Monitor speakers. Gibson’s display was very hands-on, with TASCAM headphone amps set up so everyone could play guitar.
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S P E C I A L
F E A T U R E
A show favourite, the Music Man St Vincent
he was at the SD booth on time for those two appointments. And I gotta tell ya, it’s pretty surreal walking around a packed NAMM floor with someone whose playing you’ve studied since you were 14 years old! Yngwie was super-cool and funny, and though he has that unmistakable aura of rockstar about him he just seems like a guy who, above anything, just loves the guitar. Reverend unveiled a new Billy Corgan signature model with his own new Railhammer pickups. I checked out Marshall’s new CODE series of digital modelling amps which are utterly killer. Back at Seymour Duncan we had Loudness legend Akira Takasaki shredding at our booth, which was mind blowing. I interviewed him afterwards about his pickups and his Killer guitar company. Awesome guy. DV Mark featured the DV Micro 50, an ultra-small 50-watt amp with two channels, XLR out, headphone out, Aux in and onboard reverb; the DV Gen 15, a 15-watt Class A all-tube head designed with classic tone in mind (and super-light); and the Frank Gambale Signature FG 121 combo with matching 2X12 cabinet. And the Markbass Evo 1 has a built-in tuner, headphone output, active and passive inputs and the ability to mix two channels together.
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Tonight I went to John 5’s concert at the Grove of Anaheim. Keith Nelson and Josh Todd of Buckcherry joined in for the encore but the real highlight was simply John’s incredible guitar technique and his ability to seamlessly blend in authentic country licks.
SATURDAY
Today we had Yngwie Malmsteen do an hour-long signing at the Seymour Duncan booth at 4pm, then we needed him back again at 6 for a photo shoot. I was assigned the task of making sure
Charvel turned a lot of heads with their neon Pro Mod series of So Cal and San Dimas models in 80s-approved hues with twin humbuckers and Floyd Rose tremolos. And EVH launched a baby micro version of the 5150 amp. But Gretsch’s new Streamliner series provoked one of the biggest reactions from attendees. These affordable guitars feature low-output pickups and many are rockin’ the Bigsby vibrato. Particularly nice: the G2622T Center Block, which has a bit of a Hofner Verythin vibe but Gretschified. Tonight the Seymour Duncan/Schecter NAMM Party featured Arch Enemy and headliners Zakk Sabbath, Zakk Wylde’s Black
Sabbath cover band with Blasko from Ozzy’s band and drummer Joey C (ex-Queens of the Stone Age). Zakk says he’s toying with the idea of a Zakk Sabbath tour but for now they just play one-offs. Awesome stuff.
SUNDAY
With the crowds thinning a little I rocked on over to Ernie Ball Music Man to investigate the new St. Vincent signature model as well as the new model for Maroon 5 guitarist James Valentine, and the Sterling By Music Man John Petrucci Majesty, which I’m sure will sell in insane numbers. It was also nice to get my paws on some Mayones and John Campbell guitars, and see Aussie John Campbell endorser and Segression guitarist Michael Katselos (actually I can’t remember which day I saw Michael - it gets to be a bit of a blur). My all-time favourite NAMM memory occurred right before leaving on Sunday: as I was walking down the hall on one of the upper levels I noticed a small crowd gathered around a keyboard display. As I got a little closer I saw what all the fuss was about: Stevie Wonder was sitting there at the keyboard, just gently sprinkling a few serene-sounding chords upon the air. After all the chaos of the previous few days it was the perfect way to end the experience.
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A D V I C E
C O L U M N S
Unleash Your Inner Rock God FAREWELL SHREDDERS Well folks, this is my last Unleash Your Inner Rock God. I’ve had a blast writing this column since the first one in 2007, but it’s time for me to move on. You’ll still see me in Mixdown every now and then - for the odd interview or review, but I’m beginning a new phase in my career, which needs me to make some space in my schedule. So here we are. I thought for the final instalment of the column, it might be fun to talk about some of the ways guitar has enhanced my life. I’m sure you have these stories too and we’d love to hear them on Mixdown’s social media pages. Consider this one a springboard for sharing your own experiences; that’s the spirit this is meant to be taken in, so I hope it doesn’t read like one big humblebrag.
Guitar Brings Us Together
My earliest experiences with the guitar were mainly thanks to my Auntie Barbi. After a neighbour gave me a couple of dodgy old guitars, Barbi wrote out some chord charts for me, taught me how to tune the guitar, and would restring it and make sure I had plenty of picks to lose. To this day she’s a great musician who can get a tune out of any instrument and she taught me that music, like most things in life, is always best when it’s shared.
Guitar Teaches You A Lot About Yourself When I was about 15, I was trying to figure out the solo section from Joe Satriani’s ‘Crushing Day.’ I was getting frustrated and making a lot of angry noises, when my Dad
walked in. He asked me what was wrong. I said I couldn’t get this Satriani solo down. Dad stopped and thought. “How many fingers does this Satriani guy have?” he asked. “Eight fingers, two thumbs.” “And how many do you have?” “Eight fingers, two thumbs.” “Right, well you’re both starting with the same raw materials. So if he can do it, you can do it.” Putting it in such clear terms was a big eye-opener for me and it wasn’t long before I’d figured out that damn solo, note for note. Years later I got the opportunity to jam with Satch on stage, and I thought a lot about those words of advice. Often our biggest obstacle is our attitude.
Guitar Can Take You Anywhere
I grew up in Wodonga, and I couldn’t possibly imagine writing for music magazines or playing guitar for a living. It just seemed so unattainable. I never thought it could happen. But I wanted it to. I daydreamed of one day writing for Guitar World magazine. I daydreamed of one day going to the NAMM Show. I used to have recurring dreams about jamming on stage with Steve Vai. Now I’ve written for Guitar World, I’ve been to seven NAMM
shows and I’ve jammed onstage with Steve Vai (Yeah, I did that too. Crazy). And I’m a shy, generally quiet guy who has in the past struggled with social phobia and depression. I’m not a pushy dude who barged his way into these experiences but ever since that fateful Satriani discussion with my dad, I’ve always believed in the power of ‘well, why not? Y’know, ‘why not me? Why not try that?’ It plays into the thing about attitude. I don’t for a minute think I’m anywhere near as good as Steve Vai. But when I had the opportunity to jam with him, my attitude was “this isn’t a big deal. I’ve played with Steve Vai hundreds of times, it’s just that usually he’s been on CD. This is the most natural thing in the world.” Then I let myself freak out about it in the car afterwards because it’s in no way natural to stand on stage with Steve Vai and play guitar.
Music Is The Best
studio? Or connecting with an audience? Another of my really profound experiences, was when I was playing at an open blues jam when I went to uni in Canberra. After playing a set of upbeat Chicago-via-Texas blues, a man and woman came up to me and said there was an energy in my playing that made everyone want to dance. That really meant a lot to me, because ultimately I fell in love with music, not as a guitar player, but as someone who always felt moved by music. I love the technical side of guitar and I love pushing my abilities, enjoying that sense of accomplishment. But ultimately the most important thing is not impressing the guitarists around you, but taking what you’ve learned and using it to make music that can make someone’s day better, whether they’re musically literate or not. That’s something you can do whether you’ve just learned your first chords or if you’ve been playing for decades.
Is there anything better than connecting musically with a group of friends –onstage, in the lounge room, in the garage, or in the
Thanks for reading and happy shredding.
controls to boost each, they’d get a more wide-ranging tone for slap styles. The low notes thumped harder and the high notes jumped out more. Soon, basses with midrange controls arrived – often in the form of concentric pots giving you power over the midrange frequency as well as the amount of boost or cut. This is especially handy for players in genres like jazz who might really need to stand out for a solo, because a lot of crucial ‘listen to me!’ frequencies live in the mids. Active basses are also great for metal players who need the high-end grind and low-end thump to get overdriven, fuzzed-out or just plain distorted tones to work. Active basses are great for when you’re using a long cable, because the signal is given an extra ‘kick’ that overrides the dreaded tone suck that occurs as capacitance builds up with each extra foot of cable length. And they’re usually noticeably quieter than passive basses, especially if you’re using fuzz, distortion or overdrive.
Active/Passive
BY PETER HODGSON
Active vs Passive Basses BASS GUITAR When electric basses were first invented, there was no such thing as ‘active and passive’ bass electronics; there was just ‘what was there.’ So bass players never had to weigh up which one to go with. If you wanted to manipulate your sound on a single-pickup Precision Bass, you had a tone control onboard your instrument (its job was to reduce the treble frequencies), and you had whatever tone-shaping your amp offered. Now of course, it’s a very different story, and active circuits have been commonplace since the ‘70s. If you’re new to this stuff, we can think of ‘active’ as having some kind of powered circuit, that provides further sonic sculpting to the tone before it leaves the instrument on its journey to the amplifier. A passive circuit doesn’t require extra electricity in order to do its job beyond what’s already coming in through the cable. The bass world tends to differ from the guitar world in that you’ll find a lot more basses that have passive pickups, but active tone shaping, whereas if someone has an active guitar it’s generally the pickup itself that is active. There are active bass pickups too, and you’ll find plenty of great models by the likes of EMG and Seymour Duncan. But in most cases you can add an active preamp to a bass that has passive pickups. So what’s what, and what’s for you? Let’s have a look…
Passive
Okay, so those very first basses had one pickup, a volume control and a simple
low-pass filter tone control. Eventually twin pickup basses came along and the early pioneers of these instruments did something pretty clever. They realised that basses would benefit from either individual volume pots or a ’blend’ control to vary the ratio between the two pickups (unlike guitar players who benefitted more from more straightforward toggle switches.) The tone of a passive bass is usually earthy, organic, full and punchy, which is great for organic styles like blues, jazz, funk, rock and alternative.
Active
Ah, but active basses are great for styles like jazz and funk too, just in a different way. An active bass will generally offer more sound-sculpting, in the form of separate tone controls, for particular frequencies. One of the early successful active basses, the Music Man StingRay, used individual boost/cut controls for the treble and bass frequencies and players soon realised that if they used these
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Some basses give you the option of selecting both types of circuit. One really cool example is Fender’s new signature model Jaguar bass for Mastodon’s Troy Sanders. Ernie Ball Music Man also offers several basses with active/passive switches, including certain StingRays and the Reflex Bass. These are ideal for bass players who dabble in a wide range of styles, particularly studio musicians and those playing in professional cover bands. It’s also fun to use this kind of circuit almost as an effect or channel-switching. For instance, you can set up your main sound in passive mode for the majority of the song. If there’s a solo bass moment, a breakdown or a big ass bass drop you can dial the required tone in beforehand with your active circuit so it’s good to go at the flick of a switch the second you need it. BY PETER HODGSON
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A D V I C E
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A Guide To Recording Banjos STUDIO I’ll avoid all the anecdotes and stereotypes, those are a thing of the past when it comes to banjos in today’s music scene. Nowadays, it has suddenly become very trendy to get behind the five strings and add a little twang to your live performances. Lesser known musicians too, banjo players like Grammy award winning actor Steve Martin, who hasn’t made banjo playing cool in any way, have given it a whole new life and a whole new league of appreciators. I have dealt with a lot of people in recent months trying to solve the problem of amplifying their banjos and still retaining the integrity of the instrument’s sound.
The Pickup System
This has always been a bit of an issue with banjos, using a pickup like you would with a piezo on an acoustic or magnetic pickup on an electric guitar. Both have their charms for their intended purposes, but both certainly have their failing when applied to a banjo. The main problem is that the banjo was developed as a purely acoustic instrument, designed to project the sound from the resonator and throw it out towards the audience. Because of this, the true sound of a banjo is not found within the instrument, but out in front of it. Using a piezo style pickup on or around the bridge does allow you to amplify the notes this instrument achieves, but it ends up sounding more like a guitar with light strings and an alternate tuning. You don’t really get to capture the sound of the tone ring, the pot or the resonator. In the end, you just wish you hadn’t bothered. Looking into a magnetic pickup, there are
better options indeed. There are a number that mount to the tension rods under the skin to capture the sound coming from both the strings and the skin itself. Deering even make a replacement banjo head, called the Kavanjo, with a built-in pickup. There are a few problems here though. Because the magnets are so far from the strings, you invariably get a rather low output resulting in the need to drive the input gain up at the recording stage. This in turn amplifies any noise and can make it almost unusable. The other drawback is that any contact with the skin itself can tend to boom through the pickup, allowing controlled use to create some interesting percussive sounds, but making general playing a little difficult as you try to avoid contact with the skin. In short, it’s a nice idea, but it just fails to hit the mark.
The Microphone
Really, this is the only way to capture the
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sound of your banjo if you actually want it to sound like a banjo. The best thing about it is that it’s a very loud instrument and so, you can get away with recording in an environment at home that might not be suited to all instruments. Given that the banjo projects so strongly, you can run a much lower gain setting on your microphone preamp, meaning you are less likely to pick up environmental noise in the recording. This will then, by default, mean that your banjo is probably going to sound better than any other acoustic instrument or voice in your recordings. That’s nice to know really. It means you can then get away with a bit of experimentation with you microphone positions to achieve the best sound. I like to use a couple of microphones for any acoustic instrument, to get a nice blend of the tones. Usually, I would recommend a large diaphragm condenser microphone off-axis to the banjo head to start with. Set it up about two feet away from the playing position,
angled so it faces slightly across the skin and towards the neck. This will reduce unwanted dynamic spikes and give you a little more of the string sound in the recording. Then, a solid dynamic microphone, like an MD421 (because you all need to have one of those beauties) set up in front of the skin about a foot away. Get it in there as close as you can without getting in the way when you are playing. You want it to capture the full force of the sound coming off of the instrument and deliver a really raw sound that will complement the condenser microphone you are using. It will take a little experimenting to find the perfect position for both microphones, but you will understand what I mean when you listen through your headphones and move the microphones back and forward to find their sweet spots. The fact is, you can’t go past a microphone or two when recording banjo and the same goes for on stage also. BY ROB GEE
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A D V I C E
C O L U M N S
Is the Mixtape Dead? DJ It’s a word that instantly summons up great memories – Mixtape. Many of you reading this will no doubt have spent countless hours in your youth riding the “High-Speed Dubbing” buttons on your cassette decks to compile tapes with all your favourite tracks. Well, some of you might. Or perhaps it is only me. Either way, they were good times and great memories. There were times when hours could be spent working and reworking a recording to cassette only to have it all go wrong at the forty minute mark. And that is what made the mixtape so special; it became a work or art and a moment of tragedy all at once. So, have we lost that thing of beauty with modern DJ techniques? Or does the true essence of the humble mixtape live on?
A Frail Creation
Of course, the mixtape was always subjected to scrutiny when played back. This made it a very raw medium for a DJ to present their performance. Whereas similar inconsistencies in a mix would usually go unnoticed in a club, they stood out boldly in recorded form and so made many a DJ strive to perfect a mix that much more. You were not likely to hand out a hundred copies of a mix if it was riddled with little errors, so even more time had to be spent perfecting each and every mix. The problem now being that the quality of the CD recording began to show up the issues you might have with your tired old vinyl and extra care was needed to ensure a good recording was achieved. The late 90s served as an interesting time for this as computer recording at home was just beginning and everything sounded amazing compared to what many of us were used to
with cassettes. But it wasn’t long before audio quality in these recordings was to be scrutinized as much as the performance being captured.
The Beginning Of The End
This was where it all started to go pearshaped for the humble mixtape. The digital era was upon us and we all seemed to be more concerned with audio quality and not charismatic track choice and mixing techniques. A mixtape ceased to be a oneoff moment, captured and shared among friends, it was now a widespread commodity and it sort of lost a lot of the charm in the process. Now, I listen to DJ mixes that are digitally recorded and think they all seem to sound a little too manufactured, although, when I think back to the hours and hours spent perfecting mixtapes in the past, that’s what they always were really. It
seems though, that now that not only the tape, but the CD too has been removed from the equation. The ‘mixtape’ is no longer a sought after trophy, but it is just another digital file in a huge collection of music that has lost its personality. Forgive me for sounding a little negative, or coming across like I don’t appreciate the efforts of today’s DJs. That’s not the case, I simply believe the fact is that as we have allowed technology to command this style of music, it has stripped away some of the romance in the recorded form. This does not leave the modern DJ unneeded though. Far from it. I think it reinforces the need for the modern DJ to exist and to play live to a crowd, making the most of a particular moment, and in doing so being able to capture some of the energy and wonder that the mixtapes of old might have. The modern mixtape does not exist on a USB stick or as a file download. If you
really want to find it, you need to go out and listen to your favourite DJs perform a set live, for that is the result of all those hours working to get certain tracks to work with each other. Ensuring a mix comes together seamlessly and with an intelligent development of emotion from the start right through to the end. So, if my opinion is allowed, I am going to say that the mixtape might very well be dead; at least in the form we once knew it. Let’s be honest, a great deal of today’s music fans never even got to use a cassette recorder at home and only understand the idea of sharing music digitally. So, because of that, I can see how the spirit of the mixtape live on, but it is in the live performance that it truly exists and continues to bring joy and excitement to its listeners. BY ROB GEE
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A D V I C E
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When Guitars & Keyboards Combine KEYS There are many musicians I know who want to record at home with synthesizer sounds, but find that their keyboard skills are not entirely up to scratch. And fair enough too, because these people spend most of their time practicing guitar, thus ignoring other instruments in the process. There is nothing wrong with this. It’s rather admirable to be able to focus all your energy towards one instrument and fully master it. But, it leaves you in a bit of a bind when you want to record keys and you are too cool to have keyboard players as mates. There is a solution, one that has been around for quite some time. It involves that nasty word – MIDI.
Modern Technology
The concept of fitting divided MIDI pickups to guitars is by no means a breakthrough revelation. It has been going on since the 80’s and has in all this time had limited success. Notes would drop out, or latency issues would make it unfeasible. Then, there were usually far too many peripherals involved. You couldn’t just plug in a lead and be done with it. There where extra cables and different boxes and signal splitters and all sorts of stuffing around. By the time a decent sound was found and achieved, you could have learnt to play the keyboard and already recorded the entire album. So, the breakthrough MIDI technology hasn’t always been an ideal solution for guitarists, but nowadays, it is.
The Keyboard Guys
Many of you will have heard of the GK divided pickup from Roland. It has been
developed over many years and continues to lead the way in MIDI tracking for this instrument. The latest incarnation is the GK-3 and is now available as a bundle with the Boss GP-10 guitar processor for the quickest and simplest Roland guitar setup to date. Installing the pickup does not require permanent modification to your guitar and is a breeze when compared to traditional guitar pickup installations. You don’t even need to restring most guitars in the process, but simply need to spend a little time ensuring height and positioning are correct. Once installed, you have the ability to switch between your traditional magnetic pickups or the GK, or blend the output from both. This allows you to access a number of guitar and amp effects on the GP-10, but also allows you to convert you guitar playing to MIDI and open up a world of possibilities without learning a new instrument.
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The Guitar People
The other main player in the MIDI guitar market these days comes from a different background. Whereas Roland came from a keyboard based history, Fishman have always been a company building pickups for guitar players. Now, they have extended the reach of their customer base by creating a new pickup that offers a very simple introduction to the world of MIDI guitar. The Triple Play system includes a divided pickup to be mounted onto just about any guitar, but it goes one step further by doubling as a wireless transmitter too. The receiver is a USB dongle that sends the signal directly into a computer software platform for incredible flexibility with your guitar. It is very easy to install and set up and the ever developing software package makes it so easy, even guitar players can tinker with loads of synthesizer sounds in live and recording environment. Being wireless, it doesn’t really restrict the player in any way and can be left on the instrument, going unnoticed when not in use.
The only real drawback with this system though is that it does involve the use of a computer in order to generate sounds. The Roland GK setup has grown to not only integrate with computers, but to offer a standalone hardware alternative too. This might make some people a little weary of the Fishman when wanting to use one of these systems in a live environment. I know myself, trusting a laptop on stage is never ideal. If stability is a must, then a Roland and Boss combination is the answer. You are restrained slightly with the reliance on cables to run both your MIDI and audio signals combined, but you can be certain that you are not going to suffer from software meltdowns and computer crashes at the worst possible time. For recording, the Fishman option is definitely a simpler and more creative tool. But, for rugged build, hardware implementation and stability, you just can’t go past that classic Roland sound. BY ROB GEE
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A D V I C E
C O L U M N S
Single Bass Drum Workouts PERCUSSION I was teaching a student recently, and we were looking at a piece that involved the use of a double stroke on the bass drum. The student was having some trouble. The development of a fast right foot for a drummer is as much common practice as eating breakfast. Every player goes through a time in their practice years trying to be able to get a faster stroke and open up the possibilities that lie beyond. I too, am one of those drummers – I’ve been there.
The Correct Technique
There are countless videos out there on YouTube and on instructional DVDs that will attempt to show you methods and strategies to be able to accomplish your goal. Heel up, heel down, slide, swivel, tight spring tension, loose spring tension, heavy beaters, light beaters, long board etc! The reality is this – there is no one technique and every player is very different. Not one teacher actually showed me how to play my bass drum faster. I just had to hear the sound in my head and eventually, my body did what it needed to do to recreate that sound. I played a lot of softer gigs at one stage so I learned to play a fast double stroke with my heel down. On louder gigs, I developed a heel up technique so it was louder when necessary. It was a process but I did have a bunch of little exercises I practiced along the way that did certainly help, so I thought I’d share them with you.
Improvise Away
The idea here is that you use each of the exercises as a guide and improvise as you see
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fit, once you’re comfortable. Each one will have its own way of extending to be moved around the drums and experimented with. Yes, you can experiment with the bass drum part itself, but I’ve found by concentrating on the hands, you tend to put the bass drum part into ‘autopilot’ or your subconscious. It becomes habit and is played for a very long time whilst you’ve been having fun improvising. These exercises all promote playing the bass drum on different parts of the beat, bar and subdivision – triplets/16th notes etc. Depending on where you play a double stroke in the bar will require a slightly different technique. The same double stroke can also feel very different when played on the beat verses off the beat.
The Exercises
Figures A - D are based on the idea of playing a straight rock beat in the hands, with the snare drum as a half time backbeat on beat 3. Fig A uses a double stroke on the bass drum as triplets, which would feel very different to Fig B as 16th notes. To take it a step further I’ve used the last part of 16th
note triplets in Fig C and 32nd notes in Fig D. Start those last two slowly. Next up is a very standard sticking that works amazingly as a fill. I’ve placed the bass drum double on each part of the beat through Figures E – H. A natural extension for these exercises is to move the hands around the drums. Splitting the two strokes across different drums gives more of an unpredictable sound than just two strokes per drum. Mix it up as you see fit, but make sure it’s all even as you get faster. Figure I is a variation on the much loved Samba. You can vary the hands as much as you want – different accents, just single strokes or another combination. It is important to maintain a steady ostinato with the feet but the hands can go to town. Fig J is a little rip off something I saw Dennis Chambers do where he played the triplet foot pattern continuously and took a solo over it. Start with single strokes or say a double paradiddle in the hands to line up
over the feet and go from there. There’s heaps of stuff you can do with this one! Figure K utilises the same double stroke on the bass drum but played as a grouping of three 16th notes to create a polyrhythm against a straight rock feel with snare on beats 2 and 4. As you can see, by the time the polyrhythm comes back around to start at the beginning of the groove/pattern, you end up with a 6/4 bar. All this too easy? Just speed them up – as fast as you can do comfortably and musically. Once you’ve done this, it’s always best to practice the ideas in context of where you might actually use it in a musical setting. It may be just in part or the whole exercise but if you don’t practice something as you might use it – well, you probably won’t use it. Enjoy these and hopefully they help! BY ADRIAN VIOLI
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B R A N D
S P O T L I G H T
SWITCHCRAFT STUDIO RANGE Switchcraft has long been an industry leader in both quality and innovation when it comes to audio connectors. It’s a name synonymous with delivering on professional audio solutions; guitarists laud their jacks, plugs and switches; sound engineers and studios revere their direct boxes, cable assemblies and patchbays. The company’s distinguished history dates back to 1946, and has undergone a number of evolutions – most recently being acquired by HEICO Corporation in 2011 as part of their Electronic Technologies Group. Unchanging, however, is Switchcraft’s commitment to forwardthinking design and exceptional performance. For quality meets quantity there’s no better example than their studio equipment range. Recording sound relies upon the functionality of the equipment at hand. Flexibility, consistency and performance are all non-negotiable. This is the approach that Switchcraft takes to signal routing, each one a binding principle that dictates everything from the manufacturing to the usability of their StudioPatch Series Audio Patchbays. The use of a patchbay provides a studio with a greater level of organisation and control. As a central audio connection area, it enables the volume of all the studio gear to intersect in a single location using a uniform set of cables and connectors – more than handy for any recording studio! Where the StudioPatch Series differentiates itself from standardised patchbays is with its use of EZ Norm technology, which allows signal flow to be altered at the front of the console using a plain old screwdriver. Long gone are the days when soldering points at the rear of patchbays were the only means of configuring your signal flow. Another pivotal feature is the easily accessible grounding switches that customise the ground setting of each channel – either vertically strapped or isolated – with the mere flip of a switch. It’s a straightforward solution to the problematic, ground-loop induced hum that can infiltrate, and terrorise your system. At the forefront of the line is the StudioPatch 9625, which boasts 48 channels (96 TT/bantam jacks) and comes with a DB25 I/O panel for easy front-ofrack access. For professional and home studios alike, it covers all bases. In a studio environment gear tends to break. It’s a simple, albeit, unpleasant reality. The complicated and often chaotic nature of recording doesn’t always lend itself too kindly to sustainability and longevity. The likelihood that it’s going to burn a disparaging hole in your pocket, significant. Durability, then, is a primary objective of pro-audio connector manufacturers, with Switchcraft. No exception. Their line of cable assemblies fit this brief with flying colours: all of their breakout cables feature all metal XLR ¼” ends and premium doubleshielded multi-pair cabling. Essentially, they resemble something closer to a bulletproof tank than a linking cable assembly. Readied for extensive, multichannel use, the Standard DB25 Breakout
Cables interconnect with a plethora of audio systems including patchbays, splitter systems, stage boxes and I/O panels. It’s clever engineering that prides itself upon leaving no stone unturned. Sometimes the issue can be the instrument itself: basses, keyboards, acoustic guitars and other instruments all typically produce an unbalanced signal. Combating that weak signal – the muddiness, buzz or even radio frequency interference – can’t be achieved by merely lifting the instrument at the mixer, that is, without boosting all those unwanted frequencies. Enter the DI and bass player’s saving grace. The more than handy box is a long-time product of Switchcraft’s, and in recent times has undergone a facelift in ingenuity with the 314DI AudioStix. The newest member to the product line, the 314DI is a pocketsize version of Switchcraft’s standard DI Box series. It fulfils the essential function of a DI, converting the unbalanced output of instruments with line-out level to balanced, mic level signals that can then be connected to audio consoles and mic pre-amps. Yet, it does so with the added benefit of a 1/4” Feed Thru allowing connection with multiple devices, such as an amp and a tuner, or two amps, while the DE Series Locking Male XLR ensures balanced, mono, mic level output – all within a compact, seriously small package. It’s a welcomed addition to the AudioStix line, which already offers audio solutions for connecting the audio output of a laptop or MP3 player to a PA system with the 318 AudioStix, and the option for permanent installation into a wide range of custom racks and wall plates. On the other end of the scale Switchcraft’s 900 Series Instrument Direct Box revolutionises the DI with new capabilities, notably its Phantom Lift component. An unprecedented option for live sound engineers, the ground circuit can now be swiftly disconnected from the box when controlled remotely using +48V phantom power from the console. In practical terms, if things start to go awry with an off frequency during a live set, the phantom power sends it to ground, immediately nullifying any protruding buzz. For a real-time problem of this gravity, this is a solution that speaks of ingenuity and innovation in volumes. Often what we’re looking for when
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fulfilling our studio or live sound requirements is gear that performs effectively and, in doing so, makes the job easier. Take the Switchcraft SC600 Dual Adaptor Box, for instance. The multi-purpose, remarkably adaptable unit replaces a host of commonly used adaptors in one clean swoop (14 to be exact). Each of its two panels contains a 1/8” stereo jack, a 1/4” stereo jack, two 1/4” mono jacks, and two RCA jacks. While the ability to use any of its included connections as both inputs or outputs allows the SC600 to function as a passive splitter, sending audio from one device up to three devices with different connections. In a nutshell, it’s one size fits all. In such an expansive and accelerating technological climate studio equipment
and professional audio practices are constantly being reinvigorated, redesigned and reimagined. At the forefront of audio connection design is Switchcraft. Their comprehensive, long-lasting, and unequivocally versatile studio equipment range is a product of an organisation that is engaging with the audio production industry; one that understands its in and outs, and is uncompromising in its pursuit to break new technical ground. BY CHRIS SCOTT For more information about Switchcraft, contact Clarke and Severn at www.clarke. com.au
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MANIAC MUSIC FACTORY MANIACMUSICFACTORY.COM The foundation for a good sound is often found in the simplest places. Without a doubt, a good set of strings is essential to bringing the life out of your instrument. With Maniac Music Factory’s latest endeavour, your strings will not only sound good — but they will be doing good too. With each sale, one dollar will be donated to Beyond Blue in an initiative that not only raises money, but also raises awareness to a very worthy cause. “Mental health is a bit of an issue in the arts industry,” says Maniac Music Factory director Thomas Welladsen. He’s not wrong either. A report released in 2015 by Victoria University found that those working in the arts sector are likely to experience symptoms of anxiety at a rate ten-times higher than the general population, as well as symptoms of depression at a rate five-times higher. Moreover, they have higher rates of suicide than the general population. It’s a sobering truth, but one that needs to be aired and appropriately digested. “I feel like creatives on the daily are suffering from stuff like that,” Tom says. “I thought, ‘what’s the best way to get the word out with a product that’s used nearly on a weekly basis’. To me, that was guitar strings.” Maniac Music will be developing their own brand of custom, hand-wound strings to ensure that the product’s integrity matches that of its message. “We’re doing pure nickels as an electric string to begin with, then we’ll be looking at a long life acoustic string. I think they’re great.” Like many in the music industry - and soci-
ety at large for that matter - Welladsen has endured through issues of mental health. Following the example that he so proudly sets, he openly discusses it. “In all honesty, I’ve been a sufferer of anxiety and depression for a number of years. Being a creative, I definitely know how hard it is to get music out there - to actually view your art - I know how hard it is. This is going to be such a great venture to spread the word about mental health and awareness. I’ve had a couple people around me attempt suicide, and they were musicians as well. The more awareness there is out there, the more help there is for people, and the more help they can get.” In Welladsen’s opinion, it’s paramount that we have organisations such as Beyond Blue and their many partners - Maniac Music Factory included - continuing to raise awareness around these issues. In some instances, people may not even know they’re suffering through symptoms of mental illness, preferring instead to vehemently ignore it. “If anything can stop someone from taking their own life, or going down
that path - it’s vital.” Aside from their admirable ethos, Maniac Music Factory are also working towards developing strings at the highest quality possible that stands out from what is currently on the market. “Most of the electric range, they’re wound tighter” says Welladsen. “The whole point of them being tighter doesn’t allow caustic alkali from people’s fingers getting into the strings quicker. So it actually makes them a longer lasting string without being coated. I can hear the tone from a non-coated string to a coated, and a lot of people don’t like that.” “I’m using them for my project at the moment,” he says. “I’ve had them on my Telecaster for about nine weeks now. Obviously they’re a bit worn and battered, but they still sound great.” Ultimately, the reason behind Maniac Music Factory’s charitable strings and Beyond Blue partnership was simple. Welladsen just wanted to make a difference, in any way that he could. It’s something the bigger brands could learn from, and extremely refreshing coming from a locally owned start-up. “The way I see it, how else can we make a
difference without us just being a wholesaling company? What can we actually do to benefit the arts industry as a whole? That’s out motive and passion about what we’re doing. We don’t just want to move products; we want to help people and we want to help bands. That’s what we want to do.” Life as a musician can be hard, and hardships can spiral out of control if left unattended. At the end of the day, Welladsen wants musicians to know that they aren’t alone, and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. “With the strings, I want [players] to take away a new mentality on how to address mental health,” he says. “I want them to be sure that it’s OK not to be OK, but also to express themselves. Awareness through expression.”
Fuzz based around the classic Big Muff for throaty edgy fuzz through to more razor like saturated tones. For boosts you can delve into the 30dB clean boost circuitry of the Granith Grey Booster, or the Purple Humper which is a mid-range boost along the lines of a Strat mid boost. Great for thickening single coils or pushing humbuckers, the response will vary from guitar to guitar and can add that hint of break to an amp already on the verge. Venturing into reverb land, the Prussian Blue Reverb keeps it simple with just tone, level and decay controls, but covers a lot of ground from slightly airy through to the big and boomy. In similar fashion the Sea Turquoise Delay is straight ahead, but performs well with delay, feedback and
level controls. Not to forget the low end community, One Control have devised the Hooker’s Green BassMachine as a go to for grit, warmth and general tone shaping from 50s round goodness through to thick Lemmy type sounds. This line is a great offering from One Control, a relatively new pedal manufacturer that prides itself on building products that musicians need, and that are chiefly inspired by customer feedback.
BY JAMES DI FABRIZIO Maniac Music Factory will be donating $1 for every pack of strings sold to Beyond Blue. To a secure a pack, email tom@ maniacmusicfactory.com or call 0432 254 116.
ONE CONTROL BJF SERIES PEDALS WWW.HOTAPPLE.COM.AU From the Land of the Rising Sun, ‘One Control’ is the result of some serious pedal related industry experience and more specifically pedalboard products – switchers, loopers and the like. Taking that one step further they’ve teamed with the renowned pedal designer Bjorn Juhl to release a series of mini styled pedals. Sounds like a good match. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Bjorn Juhl’s previous work, he’s the man responsible for the Mad Professor designs, Barefoot FX and his own brand, BJFE. The new One Control BJF series brings his vision to your pedalboard, without commanding too much valuable real estate. Let’s take a look at what this awesome line has to offer. Minimal As the brains behind Mad Professor, BJFE and Barefoot FX, Bjorn Juhl certainly has the reputation and know how to put together a line of pedals, jumping onto the ‘mini’ craze that seems to have swept the pedal world by storm. One Control and Bjorn haven’t just dipped their toes in with this line either, they’ve dived in head first with 9 models including Reverb, Fuzz, Delay, Overdrive, Distortion, Bass Drive, Booster and Mid Boost. They’re housed in coloured aluminium cases they are around the same size as most mini pedals on the market, with the idea obviously being that
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you can cram more options and pedals into a small space – great for tight pedalboards or those wanting just to carry a few pedals around in their gig bag. Tones A standard go to for pedal manufacturers is Distortion/OD, by many it’s thought of as the proverbial yardstick of pedal design. The Anodized Brown Distortion is dynamic and responsive with a wide range of gain and some slight compression that helps smooth things out. Coming in a green casing, the Persian Green Screamer gets great TS tones with the ability to switch between modern and vintage modes. Sitting somewhere between the Green and Brown dirt boxes is the Strawberry Red Overdrive, which hits the middle for gainy rhythm sounds and big chords along with sustained solos and licks. It’ll clean up with less aggression or pick attack and the controls are super easy to get your head around. For One Control’s first fuzz pedal, Bjorn has come up with the Baltic Blue
BY NICK BROWN One Control is distributed throughout Australia by Hot Apple Distribution. For more information about the range visit www.hotapple.com.au
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STEVE SEDERGREEN TEACHER PROFILE As always, 2016 is set to be a busy year for Melbourne jazz pianist and teacher Steve Sedergreen. After a string of gigs through February, he’s preparing for his 50th birthday in April, which will involve a big celebration featuring a range of his esteemed collaborators from over the years. His father, the renowned pianist Bob Sedergreen, introduced Steve to jazz piano at a young age. He’s been performing publicly since forming Mistaken Identity in the mid-‘80s, and teaching and mentoring young jazz musicians for nearly as long. In 2011 he released the book Start Playing Jazz Piano Now!, which catalogues much of his accumulated teaching knowledge. Jazz has surrounded you your whole life. What led to the transition from playing to teaching? I started playing very young, because my father’s very famous. Then when I was 19 I got my first job at the VCA – I did those classes for about 30 years. I thought there was a big hole with starting out. There are a lot of books that give you information but not really books that get you started or help from a musicians point of view. That’s what I’m trying to do. It was a very difficult task, but I certainly presented a book that’s really different. You recently did a presentation of Start Playing Jazz Piano Now! at Bernies Music Land, and you’re returning to perform there in May. How constructive do you think the presentations are for aspiring jazz musicians? Is it simply about encouraging people to read the book and
give jazz a try, or do you think they can learn something that’ll actually influence their playing? My first thing is to inspire and also spread the love of music, that’s the most important thing. Everyone has a natural ability when they perform, but they don’t trust that until a lot later or maybe not at all. So I flip everything around with the book. The thing with jazz is it’s the way you practise. You’re not practising for a fixed outcome. You don’t know what the outcome’s going to be, so it’s about embodying all of the possibilities. And that’s what the book does, that’s what I do as a teacher – I try to inspire, make people aware that’s the process. The worst thing a participant can do is limit themselves in that process. It’s a very deep and slower process. You refer to deep listening as an “integral part of your teaching and performance
philosophy.” You also play with the Deep Listening Trio. Could you explain the concept of deep listening, and how it informs your teaching and playing? Deep listening is a really indigenous way of knowing, which is just a different way of knowing. It’s not a big deal; it’s just a deeper way of working. From the performing perspective it’s about being sensory to what’s around you and using those elements in the room or perhaps onstage and trying to present that part of your performance, rather than present an act or an arranged outcome. It’s quite fun, but to get really good at deep listening comes from practice. Perhaps it’s a clumsy analogy, but it seems like it’s similar to the art of conversation – which stems not from being a good talker, but from being a good listener. Of course. Sometimes with music we prepare everything before we get there. I understand that if you do enough maybe you get there, but I don’t think it works that way – [not] with me anyhow or for most people. Performance, if you get it right and get people in tune. It’s very emotional. It’s
very deep. Jazz is often thought of as crucially reliant on feel and intuition and having “a gift” or natural aptitude. This suggests it can’t be taught, but you clearly believe it can be. In what way was that made apparent to you when you were learning jazz? When it comes to learning, sometimes we’ve got to make it all like office work, you know – It’s all got to be organised. I don’t mind practising that way, but when it comes to performance I don’t want to present something as a teacher. I want to keep it fresh and exciting, like conversation. Sometimes you do stuff-up – that’s part of the process. Sometimes you do get lost – that’s part of the process. But the main thing is it’s got to be fresh, it’s got to be inviting and it’s got to be honest. You’ve got to be who you are; you’ve got to be comfortable in your own skin. BY AUGUSTUS WELBY Steve Sedergreen will be performing live at Bernies Music Land on May 12. For more details, visit www.musicland.com.au.
EAGLES OF DEATH METAL & MATON GUITARS WWW.MATON.COM.AU The relationship between Maton Guitars and Eagles of Death Metal goes deeper than the band’s two constituents – Jesse Hughes and Joshua Homme – being long time Maton players. Mixdown spoke with Maton operations manager Anthony Knowles about their unique bond. “We’ve dealt with Jesse since 2005 when we were sleeping on his floor in the desert at the advice of Joshua Homme, who said ‘You’ve gotta meet this guy,’” he says. “We went and saw him in the desert – he was playing this tiny little club – and it was pretty clear he was starlight, and we’ve been working closely with him ever since. It’s more than an endorsee relationship that we have with Jesse.” “It was 2006 when our general manager and I landed in Los Angeles and Jesse picked us up in a beaten up old hire car and we drove around LA. We got to know him as a desert rat and a genuine soul long before there was a musical relationship there worth exploiting. Homme is of course the frontman of Queens of the Stone Age and drummer of Eagles of Death Metal. He’s been closely associated with Maton since QOTSA’s 2002 release Songs For the Deaf – notably wielding a Maton Mastersound in the video for ‘No One Knows’. “A guy that worked here years ago called Adam Cole had given him a Mastersound. He was a Kyuss fan and sent him a Mastersound, and Josh liked it and recorded ‘No One Knows’. We were just backstage at the Big Day Out and said
g’day and from there we kept in touch and eventually we made him his BB1200.” “I think people know Joshua as a large redheaded angry Viking with pretty strong principles, and that’s one of the reasons we like working with him. He’s not playing anything because it’s free. He doesn’t need guitars off us. These principled kind of genuine characters that use our products because it’s best for them are the sort of relationships we find ourselves gravitating toward.” Hughes also falls into this category. “When Jesse’s in Melbourne he comes to see us and when we’re in the States we go and see him. Through Jesse we’ve been connected to The Hives and even Green Day – less formal relationships. And it’s all just because we have a partnership with Jesse, more so than a ‘Here, you play
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our guitars on the telly.’ We think that’s unusual in modern rock’n’roll performers. A lot of people think people play guitars because they’re given them. With Jesse it’s something different.” It’s well known that three armed madmen interrupted Eagles of Death Metal’s November 13 gig at Paris’ Bataclan theatre, resulting in the deaths of 89 people and injuring for many others. Just weeks after the attacks, Hughes and Homme recorded an interview for Vice, during which they invited musicians of the world to cover their song ‘I Love You All the Time’ with all proceeds going towards Bataclan survivors. Knowles is eager for the Australian music community to get involved and show its support. “I’ll be very careful when paraphrasing Jesse’s message. But the crux of it is that when they were performing at the Bataclan they were experiencing a rush, they were on a high, they were entertaining their fans, and in the worst possible way that was taken away from
them. They don’t want to get into the politics of terrorism, but they want to remind people that they attacked live music because it’s what people who love music love to do best. He just wants to restore people’s faith in what’s good about music, and the fact that it’s a community that gets behind each other. “We think of [Jesse] as a family member. He’s got really close relationships with a lot of the guys on the floor and in the office. He doesn’t want to be remembered as the guy that was performing at the Bataclan. As they say, he’s been kissed on the dick by rock’n’roll angels and he just wants to remind people that music’s for everyone.” BY AUGUSTUS WELBY Any musicians interested in taking up the challenge can contact Maton Guitars via info@maton.com.au with I Love You All The Time in the subject line.
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ROAD TESTS Dream Vintage Bliss Cymbals Dynamic Music | (02) 9939 1299 | www.dynamicmusic.com.au | RRP: $259 - $419
Dream have been making a stir over recent years, coming out with rather serious cymbals at a very competitive price. One of the most popular choices was the Bliss line and due to the success and response from drummers, Dream thought they’d focus some energy into a distinct sound that came from the interest sparked from the first and early prototypes. They’re now part of regular production and they’re called Vintage Bliss. I was fortunate to get to try a couple of the choices from the new Vintage Bliss line. The whole range features cymbals sized from 17 – 22” and they’re all classified as Crash/Rides. Regardless of the size you get, this is the description. I got to check out 18” and 20” Crash/ Rides. They look good with a very clean but detailed appearance. Dream call the process microlathing – still essentially the same as normal lathing is but done with very, very fine scoring on both the top and underside. They hammer the cymbals before and after lathing and the edge is thin and fine. These are not heavy cymbals – quite delicate in some ways. The bell is quite low and integrated and there’s only minimal curve in the body. They look really nice with loads of character and
their appearance entices you to predict their sound qualities. You look at them and get a vibe of what they’d be like. I dig that. When I first tried the 20” I was stunned at how washy and shimmery the sound was that was coming back at me. Not in any way offensive, and with no unwanted notes or overtones – just a beautiful, low-pitched dark wash with nice stick definition underneath. Good for Jazz? Yep. The 18” sounded slightly more controlled with a little less wash and a higher pitch. It almost felt a little heavier if only by a touch. Both cymbals crash beautifully. The larger of the two just spills its sound onto everything. It’s warm and broad and achieved with the littlest of efforts. As a large crash it’s a real winner. The 18” needs just a smidge more effort to extract the crash. It’s not
unresponsive by any means but you just need to encourage it a little more and then the sound is slightly more aggressive and a little more piercing. I was digging them for sure. The only consideration that could be a little downer for some drummers is the size of the bells. They’re very low and not very pronounced. This is very deliberate so that the sound of the bell in integrated with the rest of the cymbal and not a stand out thing. Use the tip of the stick for a really light, Latin/ Jazz vibe or the shank of the stick for a washy ping. It’s never overbearing or harsh though. It must be said, however, that if you are after a piercing bell, these aren’t for you.
I tried these cymbals in a band setting and I really loved the way they integrated with the sound and the blend overall. They’re great under vocals because they seem to stay out of the way and lower in pitch. They’re not crazy loud either so you can handle them a bit more and they don’t get too in your face or the musicians around you. They are washy though, so when you do get a little heavier with them, the crash sound does take over. You can ride them but when you do want a crash, it’s there and you don’t have to really work that hard to get it. So as the name suggests, they really do cut the best of both worlds of a nice crash and a light, washy ride. The name
Mapex P800TW Armory Double Pedal Electric Factory | (03) 9474 1000 | www.elfa.com.au | RRP: Contact For Pricing
Mapex bass drum pedals had always been a little hit and miss for me – until recent years. The revelation came when I tried the (then new) Falcon pedal. It was a total game changer for me and combined with some great snare/kit innovations, Mapex was firmly back on the map and in the pointy end of the drum world. Now, Mapex has released their mid-range pedal for the masses, and just because it sits beneath the flagship Falcon doesn’t mean it’s low rent. Enter the new Armory Chain Drive Double Bass Pedal. The new Armory is a chunky, serious looking thing. From the moment you open the complimentary zip lock carry case and begin to unpack this new pedal, you get an immediate sense of quality. It’s weighty and very solid. The pedal comes covered with a black powder coating and green highlights. Some of the main features are double chain drive, retractable floor spikes, solid steel base plate on both pedals, ball bearing torque-free spring system, self-adjusting hoop clamp with a side-mounted adjuster, extended footboard and possibly my favourite thing – the same reversible (plastic or felt) beater as seen on the Falcon that allows you to actually interchange 10g or 20g weights. You literally remove the small weight from the centre of the beater and exchange with
another to customise the feel of the pedal, without having to look at moving the height of the beater. It’s a great idea and still allows for a smaller surface area/ head on the beater itself. It’s great to see this option on this pedal and not just the flagship. Nice one Mapex! Putting the pedal together is standard affair. Use the drum key to attach the linkage and tighten everything up. It’s refreshing to see both beaters remain at the same starting position when resting. It’s a reassuring start. There’s absolutely zero play in the linkage from the slave pedal to the main one. This totally promotes a more direct and responsive feel. From first play, it feels great and comfortable. Out of the box, the tension on the springs is reasonably firm but not super tight. That said, the feel is
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slightly heavier but the response is awesome and the footboard just seems to stick to your foot. It’s fast too. You won’t be wishing for a quicker pedal and we haven’t even tried to adjust anything! I actually slacked off the spring tension just a smidge and it was even quicker. The action is very smooth and the rubber soles mean the left pedal in particular stayed put 100% of the time. Now, in a slight coincidence, the pedal I took off the drumkit I was playing to try this new Armory was actually an older Mapex. The difference was chalk and cheese and although the feel and smoothness stood out first a foremost, the one
thing that really caught me was actually how much more power I could produce with the Armory. Really, it can combine a smooth, free flowing action with serious power that gives great projection. This can be a very difficult thing to achieve in a pedal. The left pedal has a ever so slightly lighter feel to the right upon first play but they’re ever so close to being the same and I think with a little bit of adjustment you’d get it just right. Of course if you like to adjust things, you can get customising as you see fit. Beater height, footboard starting position and as mentioned earlier, that
Vintage Bliss would make you think light and washy verses heavy, dry etc. Good for studio use? For sure. In some certain louder live settings, they may get lost a little under screaming guitars. The new Vintage Bliss have a lot to offer drummers of all levels really. There’s a sophistication and musicality that is very, very hard to beat at this price point. They may not have the final polish like some of the ultra flagship brands but the difference isn’t that wide. These cymbals will be an instant success for drummers looking for value for money and for the professionals looking for something different, they’ll offer something for them too. My pick of these two? I’d probably take the 20” home for studio stuff. I dig large cymbals, and the crash this one gave was great. The 18” would cut a little more on stage so still worth looking at. Check out the Vintage Bliss. They’re cool. BY ADRIAN VIOLI
HITS • Great Value • Versatile • Work well in a live setting
MISSES • Bell not very pronounced, won’t suit everyone.
awesome interchangeable beater weight system. I was actually pretty comfortable with the 10g weights but if you like a slightly more top-heavy feel, you can put in the 20g’s and reduce the spring tension further. You’d get even more throw. To be frank though, straight out of the box, the Armory feels great and would be very comfortable for the majority of drummers. But if so inclined, the options are there. There’s always the standard brands to go to when you buy your next pedal. I can now seriously advise that the new Mapex lines should be of very serious consideration. Maybe it was just me and maybe this Armory just suited my playing but it won me over. The black look won’t be to everyone’s tastes but the features, build quality and a fantastic price for a twin pedal will be. It’s certainly great to have a super solid midrange pedal option for players who don’t require the flagship but still need a workhorse that can cut the mustard. It’s a winner guys. On ya Mapex. BY ADRIAN VIOLI
HITS • Comfortable • Good tension level
MISSES • None
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ROAD TESTS
Ernie Ball Acoustic Strings CMC Music Australia | (02) 9905 2511 | www.cmcmusic.com.au
Ernie Ball is king when it comes to the string game, and they offer a comprehensive range of different acoustic strings for different situations. For this review, we’ve tested four different sets against each other to find what each is suitable for.
Earthwood Medium Light 80/20 Bronze Alloy
Aluminum Bronze Strings
RRP: $18.95
Some strings are great at expressing clarity. Others excel at expressing fullness. The Aluminium Bronze construction is somehow able to do both of these at the same time, and they do it nice and loud. The clarity seems nice and consistent across the full range of the fretboard. The low end is full and powerful without being too boomy. These strings feel relatively smooth (especially for non-coated strings) with the bare minimum of finger noise, which is impressive for strings with such clarity. The windings seem very tight and consistent, the ball end is quite smooth and the strings themselves come out of the package extremely clean. Whatever Ernie Ball is doing to keep corrosion at bay is workin’! Ernie Ball says the addition of aluminium enhances resistance to acids, sweat and string contaminants, so that’s surely a big part of it, and bodes well for their long-term usability. Overall they’re a great multi-purpose string for those who really want their guitar to be heard. If you prefer to blend into the background then these might not be for you, but if you want all of the nuances of your playing to be appreciated, you should check them out.
These strings are made of tinplated steel core wire with a wrap made of 80% copper and 20% zinc, hence the name. There’s no corrosion-inhibiting phosphor or any coating, so the idea is that these strings will give you supreme punch and clarity, but may not last as long as certain other sets in the product range. These strings sound pretty bright, so they’re in the ‘maybe you need that, maybe you don’t’ category. Perhaps your guitar sounds quite dark and you need to do something to bring back the sparkle. Or perhaps you really need plenty of pick attack. In that case, these will work well for you. They have great punch - which is awesome for heavily-strummed techniques - and beautiful sustain too. Ideally they would suit a player who wants a really clear sound for recording, or a touring player who isn’t fussed about putting on new strings quite regularly. The brighter tone might not be for everyone but you’ll know from this review if it’s for you.
HITS • Great treble clarity
MISSES • Not very long-lasting
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RRP: $26.95
HITS • Long-lasting • Loud, full tone
MISSES • Might be too bold for some players
Everlast Coated Phosphor Bronze Strings
Earthwood Medium Light Phosphor Bronze
RRP: $51.95
RRP: $20.95
With these strings Ernie Ball sought to create a coated product that improved string longevity, but didn’t sound like a coated product. To do that they investigated nanotechnology, eventually finding a cost-effective solution that molecularly enhances the surface of the strings to repel tone robbing contaminants - gunk and grime that can stifle and corrode the string - yet is so thin that not even a sound lab can detect a tonal difference. In addition to the nanotechnology treatment to repel unwanted moisture and oils, the plain strings have a patented titanium winding around the ball end to reduce slippage and breakage, and to maintain tuning integrity. These have actually been my string of choice for a few years now: I use them on an Ibanez Charleston acoustic and a cheapie Monterey dreadnaught, and I’ve found them to stay fresh and lively for a ridiculously long time. Importantly, each guitar maintains its distinctive voice. The Ibanez is a particularly mellow-sounding guitar with smooth high end and a thick midrange, while the Monterey is a dreadnaught with all of the highend sparkle and low-end thud you’d expect of that body shape. Neither guitar suffers from the ‘muffled highs and sterile mids’ syndrome I’ve often found with some coated strings. Instead they simply sound pretty much the same after six months as they do when I put them on.
If you like the general sound of the Earthwood 80/20 set but you need something longer-lasting, this set might be for you. They’re made with the highest quality phosphor bronze wrap wire to inhibit corrosion, and they have clear highs - not as clear as the 80/20s but still quite respectable - with a tight low-end response that’s still full-sounding. Usually it’s one or the other. In fact, the lows are so prominent and supportive that Ernie Ball lists these on the ‘warm’ side of its tone chart, but when you hear them you’ll certainly notice the high-end sparkle too. You’ll also notice a warm midrange which stops short of sounding too fat or honky: it provides just enough harmonic sophistication to handle solo finger style situations, but not so much that it’ll get cloudy in a band mix. By the way, these are the strings used by The Counting Crows, The Edge, and Maroon 5.
HITS • Very, very long-lasting • Sweet highs and clear mids
MISSES • None
HITS • Long-lasting • Full low-end
MISSES • Bass might be too warm for some
MIXDOWN #263 // MARCH 2016 // PG.41
ROAD TESTS Cordoba Fusion Series 12-Natural Zenith Music | (08) 9383 1422 | www.zenithmusic.com | RRP: $1199
The Cordoba 12-Natural is the hallmark guitar of its Fusion Series, aimed at bridging the gap between nylon and steel string guitars. Its crossover design captures the make and tone of a classical guitar, with an appealing feel and a responsive output for guitarists of the steel string persuasion. This particular model is a full-bodied and generally smooth introduction into the world of nylon strings from one of its leading manufacturers.
GET COMFORTABLE
makes it worthwhile. With the use of the B and high E string, in particular, the full-bodied sound radiates warmth where it could easily lack body. Here the spruce top really pays dividends, accentuating higher frequencies for a brighter sound where the alternatively manufactured Canadian cedar top emphasises the low end. There’s definitely reward for effort here.
The European spruce top and mahogany back, sides and neck, make for a compact build that is lightweight and easy to handle. The trimmed dimension of the neck, which has a nut width 48mm and 12 frets to the body, along with a 16” radiused rosewood fingerboard, ensure that the guitar sits nicely in the hand. The slight curvature of the fingerboard – the middle flat and each end tapering off – does a good job at organically recreating the feel of a steel string. When bending higher strings there’s little need to fight the neck, while engaging with the 12th fret and beyond is generally smooth transition. The cut-away obviously encourages greater use of the higher frets, however, it is the consistent resonance and sustain that truly
ICING ON THE CAKE
The 12-Natural offers a host of additional features that complement its Spanish method of construction. The Fishman pickups, for one, are a major selling point. The volume control and three-band EQ deliver on the extra tonal control necessary with a crossover and cater to live performance. The phase switch establishes a clean signal
SPECS when playing plugged in, while the inclusion of an in-built tuner is always a valuable feature. Beyond the electronics, this guitar is easy on the eyes, the spruce top and mahogany back and sides provide a glossy exterior, matched in subtlety by the hand-inlaid wood ring rosette.
MAKING THE CROSSING
model of Cordoba’s Fusion series, the higher action is evident, but so too is the richness in tone that can only be found in a classically built acoustic guitar. With the added Fishman electronics, there is more than enough here to make the transition worthwhile. BY CHRIS SCOTT
Nylon string guitars are made great through perfecting simplicity, and for that reason alone is the perfect way to get back to basics. It’s an opportunity to craft your playing style and proficiency. As the base
• Top: Solid European spruce • Back & Sides: Mahogany • Neck: Mahogany • Fingerboard: Rosewood radiused/Fusion Crossover Style • Width at Nut: 48mm • Electronics: Fishman Presys, three-band EQ, built in digital tuner
HITS • Price • The cut-away and compact build makes it comfortable to play • Fishman Electronics add versatility
MISSES • Higher action takes some getting used to.
TC Electronic Ditto X4 Looper Amber Technology | 1800 251 367 | www.ambertech.com.au | RRP: $229
A whole genre of music has evolved around looping devices. Players like Matt Stevens, Steve Lawson - heck Robert Fripp pioneered looping decades ago. And the gear you’re using really dictates just how free or constrained you will be within your musical explorations. TC Electronic’s Ditto series of loopers are among the best you’ll ever find, and they’ve now bumped it up to almost ridiculously adaptable proportions with the Ditto X4 Looper.
LOOP, THERE IT IS
The X4 builds on the same easy use and high audio quality of the original pedals and it kicks things up a couple of notches with two loop tracks, two loop modes, seven effects, a loop decay feature, MIDI sync/CC, loop import/export and stereo ins and outs. The MIDI control on a unit this flexible is great news for those who like to use more intricate guitar rigs, but if you don’t want to use it you don’t have to. The controls include Loop 1 and Loop 2 volume levels with a serial/sync switch (serial lets you select one or the other, while sync lets you run both at once); mini-toggle which lets you store a loop to use it live or export to your favourite DAW via USB (and you can also import MP3 and WAV files to the pedal); loop decay which determines how quickly your previous layers
fade away; and the FX section. The effects include reverse, half, once, tape stop (a really cool effect you can use for all sorts of dramatic musical transitions), fade, double and hold (which is especially great for building dramatic tension before crashing in with the next section. There are foot switches for Loop 1 and Loop 2 plus a stop switch (hold it down to erase your previous loops), an FX switch, and each loop has up to five minutes of looping time, so you can really expand your creative potential. Around the back you’ll find the stereo inputs and outputs, USB jack, MIDI jacks and a mode DIP switch with four adjustments: Switch 1 changes the default record/play/overdub order to record/overdub/play. Switch 2 changes the default overdub mode from being instant to starting at the end of your loop cycle. Switch 3 lets you switch
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between your loops instantly or at the end of a loop cycle in serial mode, and Switch 4 changes the looper from true bypass to buffered bypass.
CAN YOU REPEAT THAT?
Here’s an example of what you can do: set up a percussive loop that runs for four bars in Loop 1, then create a 16-bar chord progression on Loop 2, swimming in effects and textures while you solo over the top. Or you can capture a verse play-through on Loop 1 and a chorus on Loop 2, then kick them in when you need a rhythm track to solo over. And whether you’re aiming to give the impression of a straightforward band or you want
to create some alien textures, it’s easy to take your ideas and turn them into sound. The effects are very handy and you can of course send the output into further pedals for deeper signal processing - although it’d be really great if there were a pair of FX loops built into the pedal so you could independently effect each loop while playing over the top. Wouldn’t that be something? Sure, you could just record an effected track into the looper to begin with but onboard loops would open it up even further.
ROUND AND ROUND
This is a very creative, inspiring pedal which goes as far out as
you want to take it, but can also behave in very practical, conventional ways. Teachers are going to love it but anyone can benefit from its particular charms. BY PETER HODGSON
HITS • 10 minutes of combined loop time • Great sound quality • Intuitive use
MISSES • No FX loop • Ambient effects would be nice
www.mixdownmag.com.au
GET SET-UP
Danny Leo (King of the North) Photo Credit: © Zo Damage
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ROAD TESTS Cordoba Luthier Series GK Pro Maple Zenith Music | (08) 9383 1422 | www.zenithmusic.com | RRP: $3099
Cordoba has little standing in their way when it comes to nylon string acoustic guitars. The Spanish manufacturer, founded in 1997, prides itself on local craftsmanship with an extensive range that offers modernised varieties of the classic flamenco guitar. With traditional construction and live performance in mind, the Luthier Series GK Pro Maple is a guitar that reinvigorates the age-old body of the flamenco guitar with exceptional design and responsive playability. A welcomed addition to the original GK Pro, and follow up to the GK Pro Negra, it rounds out the series by offering a brighter tone and a little more bite.
LET YOUR FINGERS DO THE TALKING
A considerably low action – the product of a slightly thinner neck and flatter neck angle designed to have little or no relief – lends itself to speed and precision. The body depth and nut width have also been reduced, deviating marginally from traditional Spanish construction, in order to maximise comfort. It plays smoothly, and moving up and down the neck is a breeze; with a soft cutaway it’s an acoustic guitar that encourages the use of the entire fretboard. As is characteristic of classic guitars, particularly those flamencoinspired, the string spacing at the saddle clocks in at 59mm. This is optimal for fingerpicking,
without discouraging the use of a pick.
SPANISH FLAIR
A distinct feature of the entire Luthier series is the Spanish heel construction. It involves the top of the guitar initially being attached to the neck, then the sides are added, and lastly, the body is sealed with the installation of the back. The GK Pro Maple’s body is comprised of a solid European spruce top, solid flamed maple back and sides, and Spanish fan bracing. The build is designed to provide dynamic frequency response that, while full-bodied, emphasises the mids and highs to provide a brighter tone. It’s
hard to go past the bite that’s on offer here. If you can’t flamenco, utilising hammer-ons and pulloffs are a nice alternative to harnessing the cutting tone. And with the Fishman Prefix ProBlend pickup on-board for plugged in performance, there’s ample opportunity to shape your sound. The three-band EQ is particularly useful when looking to push the bass for greater depth and balance to compensate for the brighter response. Rounding out the Spanish theme is the headstock, finished with a flamed maple veneer and a high gloss finish, which give the guitar a striking richness, clean cut and classy.
SPECS • Top: solid European spruce • Back & Sides: solid flamed Maple • Neck: mahogany / cutawayelectric style • Fingerboard: ebony fingerboard • Width at Nut: 50mm • Electronics: Fishman Prefix Problend on board Electronics with three-band EQ and internal microphone with blender, built in digital tuner
HITS • Low action means great playability • Bright tone • Fishman pickups for shaping tone
THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
MISSES
The non-conventional wood configuration and flamenco underpinnings of this guitar make it an exciting prospect for anyone looking to diversify and shape their sound with nylon strings. Close to the top of the line, it’s a pricy venture for newcomers, but once you experience the superior playability, punchy range and versatility, the decision becomes a lot easier.
• Wide string spacing and low action may be off-putting for steel string advocates
BY CHRIS SCOTT
Epiphone Tony Iommi SG Custom Gibson AMI | (03) 8696 4600 | www.gibsonami.com | RRP: $1399
Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi is an indisputable musical icon. He pioneered an entire approach that defines heavy metal guitar - the riffs, the scales, the solos, the overall tonality - and he’s still cranking out new classics well into his 60s. Iommi has been honoured with Gibson and Epiphone signature model SGs before, but his new Epiphone model is the most ‘Iommi-looking’ Epiphone version yet, and very much in the spirit of his sought-after US-made Gibson model.
THE ETERNAL IDOL
The body and neck of this guitar are both made of mahogany, with a glued-in, deep-set neck joint with a smooth-transition heel. The fingerboard is ebony, and you’ll notice traditional SG features like the Tune-O-Matic bridge and Stopbar tailpiece, the classic two-volume/twotone control knob layout, bound fingerboard, three-way pickup selector switch and ‘batwing’ SG pickguard. The headstock is the standard Epiphone shape with a ‘pineapple’ crest inlay and premium die-cast 14:1 ratio tuners with metal tulip buttons. There are several distinctly Iommi touches, including the full crucifix inlays (instead of on only half the neck like his previous Epiphone), and 24 frets compared to the 22 of a standard
SG. There’s also a Tony Iommi signature in silver on the back of the headstock as well as an Epiphone Limited Edition logo. This guitar features the metal master’s signature Gibson USA humbuckers, high-output units which combine Alnico II and ceramic magnets, and are much more powerful than the 13.7k DC resistance reading might lead you to believe.
THE GATES OF HELL
This is a very aggressive guitar, as it should be. There’s a distinctive ‘chirp’ in the high end of the treble strings, which you will recognise from Iommi’s lead sound (grab a note on that 24th fret, bend it up while tremolo-picking and you’ll hear what I mean), and when you bend a note and shake it with
PG.44 // MIXDOWN #263 // MARCH 2016
Considering that Iommi is actually using some of these onstage, you’ve got to figure that if it’s good enough for the man himself, it’s good enough for the rest of us too. fast vibrato you’ll notice an unmistakably Iommi-like aura too. Power chords sound fat and heavy with great treble clarity, which is perfect for maintaining definition during those ominous downtuned riffs. The neck pickup setting feels hotter and louder due to its position further along the string (the pickup itself is the same design as the bridge, rather than having two separate models), and it’s great for highspeed solos too, with plenty of
sustain and compression and a lot of harmonic activity in the upper-midrange. It’s also great for those super-dark Iommi riffs like ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ or ‘Paranoid’.
WHAT MORE CAN YOU DO?
If you’re a Iommi fan and you can’t get your hands on a long discontinued Gibson Custom Iommi SG, this is as close as you’re going to get.
BY PETER HODGSON
HITS • Classic Iommi styling • Great metal tones • Awesome playability
MISSES • The pickups may be a bit hot
some BY for ROB GEE
www.mixdownmag.com.au
ROAD TESTS
Samson S-Max Passive DI Range Electric Factory | (03) 9474 1000 | www.elfa.com.au MD1PRO: RRP $139.00 | MD2PRO: RRP $229.00 | MDCD2PRO: RRP $239.00
There has always been a bit of a hole in the direct input box market. Even with plenty of models available from a range of manufacturers, it seems that they all tend to offer much of the same. There isn’t really a range out there that ticks all the boxes unless you are prepared to spend big and get yourself some boutique engineering. Samson have gone and changed all that with their new range of DI boxes in the S-Max series, which sees five new products that are going to change the way we think about the common DI. Let’s take a look at some of the DI boxes in the range.
MD1 PRO – MONO PASSIVE DIRECT BOX
The compact purple box in the range, I thought I’d start with this one as it is the littlest and cutest of the three that I got to try out. Just because it is small, doesn’t mean that it is without merit. This passive mono DI offers a lot more than many other simple boxes might deliver. On the input side of things, you get a 6.5mm input and thru jack. On top of that, there is a pad switch allowing you to pull the input back by 15dB or 30dB for really hot signals. Around the other side, a ground lift switch helps with any unwanted interference and a single XLR output gets you to where you need to be.
www.mixdownmag.com.au
MD2 PRO – STEREO PASSIVE DIRECT BOX
The MD2 PRO is the bigger, black version of the little purple box. Built into a larger housing to fit all the connections, it also weighs quite a bit more as well. Both inputs have thru ports supplied for sending the original signal on to another destination, like running a guitar through to an amp. For this model, you get a slightly more restrained pad switch with reductions of 10dB and 20dB on offer, both with separate switches in the event that you want to use this as a dual mono device, rather than as a true stereo DI. And speaking of that, around the back you will find a switch to assign the device to either stereo or mono operation, along with separate ground lifts for both XLR outputs.
MCD2 PRO – STEREO PASSIVE PC DIRECT BOX
The red box in the range is one that many of you will have been wanting for quite some time, and a device that should be in every live engineer’s tool kit. The MCD2 PRO is designed for use with computers when a USB interface isn’t in use. Let’s face it, there are far too many times when someone wants to plug a laptop into a PA system without any idea of how this will affect the entire signal flow, with interference from power or a poor signal from an unbalanced headphone output. This is the box that takes care of all those problems, and even goes so far as to assume the correct cables are probably not going to be offered with the computer either. So, inputs are available on two 6.5mm unbalanced jacks, two RCA connectors or a single stereo 3.5mm jack input for those who use such a cable from a headphone output. A simple 12dB pad is included for impedance matching with certain devices, so you should be able to connect any laptop or tablet now without any worry. Like its partner, this unit also allows for stereo or mono operation, but only offers a single ground lift in lieu of the fact that there will most likely be only one device plugged in with one of these boxes.
Overall, this new range of direct boxes from Samson is a real win for live sound engineers and AV operators. They are all built into a solid metal chassis that has a stiff lip running around all the sides with connections and switches. Anything that is important is recessed and kept safe for the abuse they are likely to receive. The fairly low profile designs will allow them to sit on the ground on a stage and not get in the way. At the same time, they stack easily with a foampadded underside, so you can place them on delicate surfaces, or stack them up without fear of scratching anything.
HITS • Extremely rugged build • All connections and switches are recessed for protection • Great range of possibilities • You can now use you old DI as a door stop
MISSES • They are heavy for small units
BY ROB GEE
MIXDOWN #263 // MARCH 2016 // PG.45
ROAD TESTS Taurus Amplification White Lines Zebu Reverb-Delay Pedal
COOL IDEAS
Beyond the sound, there are a number of nifty inclusions in this pedal like a DC power requirement that works from either 9 or 12 volts and isn’t fussy about polarity on the power cable. It auto-adjusts so you can use just about any DC power adaptor on these pedals. A clever bypass engagement comes into play when power drops below 6 volts and being a true bypass design, you don’t lose any signal in this event, and the effect simply closes off. All around, this is a great pedal that is going to get a lot of guitarists excited about their sound again.
Maniac Music Factory | 0434 254 116 | www.maniacmusicfactory.com | RRP: $299.00
I will admit, until this week I had not come across any pedals from Taurus amplification, let alone the White Lines series of very cool effects. So, it was a treat to be able to have a look into the Zebu MK2 Reverb-Delay pedal that promised a range of clever features and a tone that was a worthy addition to any guitar rig. After all, it is hard to find a good reverb pedal these days, and one that comes with a delay included is a real find. So, it looks like this could be a gem of a pedal when used in appropriate levels and not over saturated as can often end up happening.
TWO IN ONE
It took me a little while to get my head around the controls on this pedal, but a little labelling confusion aside, it all makes sense and offers a great deal of control over the effects. The reverb and delay controls adjust the time or length of each of the effects. A separate effects control sets the overall volume for the effects and a balance control lets you blend between the two. Starting with the reverb, on a short decay setting, you can get the volume up a fair way and still have a very natural feel that really doesn’t get noticed at all, until you turn it off. Then you realise what you are missing. It thickened the signal up very nicely in this manner, and can really wash it
out when you extend the length to a greater time. Moving over to the delay section, there is a lot of fun to be had. An extra control allows you to adjust the repeat amount, with the delay control taking care of the delay time. You can get a fairly snappy delay that almost gets into the slap back realm to start with and take it right up to a very long, swelling effect that mimics a second guitarist. If you feel like getting into a bit of reggae, the two effects combined create a great guitar effect and surf rock or rockabilly guys will love the short delay with thick reverb added. It is not just a blues tool; this will work well in a range of styles and genres.
BY ROB GEE
HITS • Big range of sounds in just two effects • Multiple power supply options • True bypass with power dropout protection
MISSES • Slightly askew control design
Tokai Surftone AST-S38-OTM Jade Australia | 1800 144 120 | www.musocity.com.au | RRP: $799.00
Tokai’s 70s-era reproductions of classic American guitars are legendary in their own right - in fact they made the original guitar companies sweat quite a bit - so you know that when you buy a vintage-inspired Tokai today, it has quite a pedigree. These ST-Style guitars are part of Tokai’s new limited edition Surftone series, which are exclusive to Australia. They’re based on classic models but each with custom modifications to modernise the playability. They’re available in limited numbers.
SURFING SAFARI
The review model is Ocean Turquoise Metallic with a white pickguard (although a Sonic Blue version is also available). It has a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard and 21 frets, and the fretboard radius is a little flatter and more forgiving than if Tokai had gone with a vintage-radius fretboard. The headstock face is glossy but the back of the neck is satin, allowing your hand to glide effortlessly along the neck rather than getting caught up in a sticky gloss finish like a traditional 50s model. The frets are bigger than vintage too, giving this guitar a slick, playable feel but without veering into ‘shred-stick’ territory. The pickups are a trio of true single coils with a reverse
wound/reverse polarity middle pickup for hum-cancelling sounds in positions two and four. The controls are the traditional volume/tone/tone configuration and there’s a five-way pickup selector switch. The bridge is a vintage-style six-screw vibrato with bent steel saddles. And that’s pretty much it; classic styling with modern playability, beautiful finishes and no-waycould-it-be-that-good-for-theprice workmanship! Let’s plug it in and see how it sounds.
I’LL WAIT FOR THE OCEAN
The big standout here, immediately, is the neck pickup. It has a bit more of a smokey, bluesy vibe than the others, more akin to 60s tones than the 50s voicing suggested by the other two pickups. The bridge
PG.46 // MIXDOWN #263 // MARCH 2016
pickup leans quite far towards the ‘twang’ end of the spectrum and it really sings through a clean amp setting, where it has an almost pedal steel-like quality. The middle pickup has a slightly honky midrange quality by itself, which is nice for fullsounding melodies, but it calms down nicely when you combine it with either the bridge or neck pickup for ‘quacky’ in-between tones. The neck pickup sounds great when you pile on the overdrive but it quickly becomes apparent that these pickups are at their best when they’re pumping out clean or overdriven tones, rather than all-out distorto-mayhem ones.
SURFIN’ AUS.
If you’re in the market for this type of guitar, this is a great
option - and a cool Oz exclusive. The colours are beautiful, the workmanship rocks, the playability is effortless and the tones are wonderful, especially if you’re into clean and overdriven sounds that are predominantly 50s-based but with a little bit of fatter 60s tone thrown in. If you want heavier tones you could change the pickups easy enough, but it’s a heck of a guitar as-is and a lot of people are going to find their voice in it. BY PETER HODGSON
HITS • Beautiful colours • Great neck pickup tones • Nice tuning stability
MISSES • Tones might be too twangy for some
www.mixdownmag.com.au
ROAD TESTS Godin Progression Plus Dynamic Music | (02) 9939 1299 | www.dynamicmusic.com.au | RRP: $2199
Godin’s are the classic “I didn’t know I wanted it until I played it” guitars. This model is equal parts traditional and forward-looking, and is sure to appeal to those who want something a bit Stratty but aren’t necessarily concerned with it being an actual Strat or direct copy.
THAT’S A PLUS
The body is made of Canadian Laurentian basswood and the neck is hard rock maple with an ergocut rosewood fretboard (maple is optional) and a 12” fretboard radius. The scale length is 25.5” and the neck is relatively thin, certainly more modern in feel than an old Strat or something, but a little more rounded than most thin necks. There’s also a Godin Tru-Loc tremolo bridge, which lets you dial in the resting point of the tremolo arm with an allen key. Electronics consist of a Seymour Duncan JB Jr. single coil-sized humbucker (a smaller version of the venerable SH-4 JB humbucker used over the years by artists with surnames such as Beck, Mustaine and Cantrell). There are also two Godin GS-2 single coil pickups with oversized pole pieces, master
volume and tone controls, a fiveway pickup selector switch, and Godin’s H.D.R. High-Definition Revoicer switch, which revoices each pickup and effectively gives you the benefits of active pickups at the push of a button.
PROGRESS REPORT
The bridge pickup isn’t quite as fat as a regular-sized JB, but it’s intriguing to compare it to one and see exactly how they differ. Basically the tone is very much within the same neighbourhood but the JB Jr. is a little more focused, since it senses a smaller area of the string than the full-sized pickup. It’s still recognisably JB though, which means it’s great for percussive palm-muting and screaming solos alike. Think ‘hot PAF with an attitude problem’ and you’re halfway there. The other two pickups feel a little
darker and more midrange-heavy than typical single coils, with a bit of a ‘fat 60s Strat’ vibe. They definitely keep up with the humbucker, and have plenty of character of their own. The H.D.R. imparts more midrange and output to each pickup setting while removing a little treble edge, giving you fatter, creamier, rounder, hotter tones to go alongside the regular settings.
COVERING THE BASES
This would be the perfect guitar for a cover-band guitarist who needs to cover single coil and humbucker tones in a single gig, and who needs to go from clean to ultra-high gain without sacrificing clean character or dirty definition. And the tuning stability is quite nice too. Give it a try. BY PETER HODGSON
HITS • Versatile tones, especially with the H.D.R. switch • Nice trem • Comfortable neck carve
MISSES • None
Maniac Music Factory Henretta Purple Haze Octave Fuzz Maniac Music Factory | 0434 254 116 | www.maniacmusicfactory.com | RRP: $279
Henretta Engineering made quite a splash onto the guitar effects scene a few years back when they released a range of small box pedals (as in Post It Note size small) with just a switch on top and some internal trimmers. Designed to essentially sound good straight up and not occupy too much pedalboard real estate, they were an interesting concept that really got a lot of people thinking. Now teaming up with the people from Maniac Music Factory, they’ve combined two of their previous designs into one for an octave fuzz named after a classic Hendrix tune.
ALL IN MY BRAIN
An equal mix of the Bluebird Fuzz and Purple Octopus Octave, the Purple Haze comes in a more standard Hammond type housing. With True Bypass switching, the pedal has controls for Octave Blend, Fuzz Tone, Fuzz Volume, a switch changing the effect order from Octave into Fuzz to Fuzz into Octave and then individual foot switches for both Fuzz and Octave. There’s then one further control as an internal trimmer pot that adjusts the Octave volume.
BLEND
Octave Fuzz can be a tricky beast. Its dependant on many factors and reacts differently
according to your picking, attack, volume, amp, guitar, pickup and other effects in the chain. Winding the fuzz down gives you that dying battery type of clang, and the tone control goes from round and honky to brighter and more piercing. The Octave Blend does just that allowing for some blippy splurts or more of a soaring screech. It’s worth experimenting with the entire range of your instrument too, as the Purple Haze can hammer out chuggy low end but then really sting when you get up to the 12th fret and beyond.
MANIAC
Henretta Engineering are
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pumping out some cool effects. Their initial small box range really started to get people thinking “do I need all those tweaking options?” And whilst they won’t please everyone they offer good sounding effects that you can slip into a small space on your pedalboard or chuck in your gig bag. This pairing with Maniac Music Factory then sees them combining some established pedals into a more in depth version resulting in some tasty fuzz octave sounds.
It’s a solid stomp box that can take you from subtle effect type tones through to twisted noise making. Classic rock, 70s psychedelic, ambient, punk and even alternative atmospheric vibes are possible. But like the classic noise maker Hendrix himself, remember there are no real rules with this stuff – just use it however you think sounds good! BY NICK BROWN
HITS • Some classic Octave Fuzz tones • Lots of tweaking
MISSES • None
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ROAD TESTS
Singular Sound BeatBuddy Innovative Music | (03) 9540 0658 | www.innovativemusic.com.au | RRP: $599
BeatBuddy comes from the I Can’t Believe Nobody’s Done This Before files: it’s the first guitar pedal drum machine, giving you hands-free control of your beat while you’re rocking out. It was initially funded via an IndieGoGo campaign which reached $30,000 within the first 30 minutes and went on to be super mega successful. It’s now distributed in Australia by Innovative Music, and I couldn’t think of a better group of folks to bring this particular pedal to Aussie players.
STEP ON YOUR DRUMMER
BeatBuddy is a MIDI-based drum machine built into a pedal, and the unit comes with an SD card which is loaded with ten drum sets and over 200 song styles, in a variety of time signatures. Its full stereo with 24-bit sound, full-colour LCD screen, 220 included songs, multiple unique fills per song, and there’s also an optional additional switch for hands-free song selection, tap tempo, accent hits, beat drops and more. Between the pedal itself and the additional footswitch you can start a beat, add a fill or three, go from verse to chorus, add a cymbal crash or tom hit whenever you want it and much more. So it’s much more than simply playing along with pre-recorded backing tracks: you actually interact
with it to trigger performance changes, which makes it great for improvisors.
BRING THE BEAT BACK
The stock beats are not quantised, so they have the natural feel of the drummers who originally played them, with the benefit of very well-recorded drumkit samples to send them through. The interface is intuitive and in no time you’ll find yourself improvising and interacting with the pedal like it’s always been a part of you. The only downside really is that you can’t create new beats within the pedal itself, but you can make them in other software and import them into BeatBuddy. And sonically, the kits sound great.
Have you heard of ‘A Little Thunder’, the pickup invented by Andy Alt, which generates a bass-like signal from the bottom two strings of a guitar and sends it to a separate amp? I’ve messed around with the BeatBuddy and my Little Thunder-equipped Les Paul, resulting in an instant power trio. I’m sure if I got my paws on a looper pedal I could take things even further and be a one-man band with drums, bass, rhythm and lead guitar and vocals all in one. Hmm, now there’s an idea…
THE BEAT GOES ON
And that’s really what makes BeatBuddy so much fun: it’s not just a passive sound source for you to play along to: it’s an interactive one for you to play along with. Whether you’re a
solo performer, a guitar teacher or you just want to have a more satisfying musical experience around the house, it’s a great tool for inspiring new musical explorations. BY PETER HODGSON
HITS • Great sounds • Very interactive
MISSES • Can’t program drums within the pedal
Matchless SC-Mini Gladesville Guitar Factory | (02) 9817 2173 | www.guitarfactory.net | RRP: $1899
Matchless unveiled the SC Mini amp at NAMM in 2015 in prototype form, and after a little bit of tweaking, the design is now locked down and these amps are now making their way out into the big wide world. There are plenty of low-watt valve combos out there so let’s look at what sets this one apart.
NO MATCH
The SC-Mini is a Class A 6-watt combo amplifier powered by a single EL84 output tube which is cathode self-biased. There’s a 5AR4 rectifier tube, an EF86/6267 in the preamp and a 12AX7 phase inverter. The controls are simply volume, tone, cut (a 5-position tone switch) and master. Around the back you’ll find a pair of speaker jacks plus an effects loop and a line out. The speaker is a 10” Celestion Greenback in a poplar cabinet. Matchless says the circuits are made with a PC board but with many of the same components found in their larger amps, and that essentially it’s a Class A recording amp based off of Channel 2 of the DC30, SC30, and HC30 series.
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THE TONE
I tested the SC-Mini with my Fender American Vintage Reissue ’62 Stratocaster with stock pickups, a ‘bitsa’ Strat with Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pros, a Taylor Solidbody with mini humbuckers and my Les Paul Traditional with Duncan JB and Jazz. Now, some Matchless amps I’ve played have excelled in their punch and growl. What’s really great about the SC-Mini is that it instead excels at clarity and depth. If you use single coils or low-output humbuckers there’s an almost acoustic-like response. You can especially hear it in the high-end definition: it feels like there’s a lot of air around the notes. Flip to a humbucker and you’ll get a blues-friendly sweetness in the bridge pickup and a very jazzy, deep neck
tone. But really the true beauty of this amp is the magical stuff that happens when you plug in a Strat or a Tele and really explore the dynamic range. The effects loop is a great addition because Matchless have kept things pretty sparse with the absence of onboard reverb. Now you have the option of adding whatever ambient effect you like. And the line out can be used as a slave out to drive another amplifier or as a direct out to feed a line level signal to a recording board or PA. It’s not cabinet-emulated or anything like that, so don’t expect to plug right into a mixing desk and sound like a mic’d amp. This is a really beautiful, clear-sounding amp that can be coaxed into more of a grunty bluster, but is happiest when
you’re playing more delicate, soulful, jangly, ringy things through it rather than blasting out power chords to piss off the neighbours. And it’s relatively affordable for a Matchless too. BY PETER HODGSON
HITS • Effects loop means you don’t miss the lack of reverb • Beautiful clear tones
MISSES • No reverb. Use the loop, dude.
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ROAD TESTS Gibson J-45 Progressive Acoustic Guitar Gibson AMI | (03) 8696 4600 | www.gibsonami.com | RRP: $5399
range of standard and alternate tunings at the press of the button. At the other end of the fretboard you’ll find a Tune-OMatic styled bridge with titanium saddles that allows for string height adjustments and quicker intonation adjustments.
in this particular J-45. For those not aware, the ‘Lyric’ is an internal microphone that is mounted to the underside of the bridge plate. There’s a jack endpin and then a volume control, which you’ll find just inside the soundhole and that’s it. L.R Baggs are very quick to point out that this isn’t a pickup, it’s a microphone which then equates to the sound of a mic’d guitar. I’ve heard several in action and they do sound good to my ears.
TECHNOLO G
ACOUSTIC
Quite possibly Gibson’s most famous acoustic guitar, the J-45 has been played by luminaries such as Bob Dylan, Buddy Holly and Woody Guthrie. A competitor to the early Martin dreadnaughts, the J-45 became a favourite amongst country, folk and rock players alike. With Gibson pushing some of their technological boundaries over the last few years, they’ve invigorated their 2016 J-45 (also adding the ‘Progressive’ moniker to the name) - let’s see what’s under the hood.
PROGRESSIVE
A dreadnaught styled guitar, the J-45 is easily recognisable thanks to those classic sloped shoulders. A combination of Sitka spruce for the top and mahogany for the back and neck, this J-45 is finished in Gibson’s new ‘Autumn Burst’ finish. Rich and red-ish brown around the edges, the Autumn Burst lightens to a nice amber tone near the bridge with a
tortoise guard adding some vintage vibes. Those classic parallelogram inlays are still a mainstay, and at first glance the whole package looks quite the standard J-45. Delve a little deeper however and you’ll find where the Progressive-ness comes from. Vintage looking tuning keys are actually a part of Gibson’s G Force Tuning System, which are mechanical tuners that give you quick access to a
Add in the newer slightly wider yet skinny neck profile and L.R Baggs Lyric system and you’ve got quite a bit of innovation
Marketed as a ‘handmade guitar for the contemporary progressive acoustic player’, the J-45 does have a few bells and whistles.
Digital Audio Labs Stompblox Innovative Music | (03) 9540 0658 | www.innovativemusic.com.au | RRP: $129
With a contemporary fascination with guitar pedals, comes the need for somewhere to house those pedals. As the technology of pedal design progresses and new frontiers of tone are reached with every passing minute, the same level of innovation is being put into pedalboards. Now companies are exploring ways to make the vessel work for the player, experimenting with all sorts of materials, designs and configurations. Now you can find the pedalboard that’s right for you, or in the case of Stompblox, design the board that’s right for you. Let me explain.
LIKE LEGO, BUT GUITAR LEGO
The premise behind Stompblox is a simple one. Instead of building a range of pedalboards in various sizes and made out of various materials, Stompblox has opted to create a simple, small modular design that can be easily be attached to another - like pieces of a puzzle. The player can take
however many Stompblox boards they need, and piece them together into a shape that best suits them, their pedals, or the space they have in the rehearsal room. You can take each piece of the puzzle and rearrange it to make all sorts of pedalboard shapes to suit your own needs.
GET CONNECTED
The Stompblox pedalboards are made entirely out of metal and easily attach or detach from one another with simple thumb screws. They feel as though they can take my full weight (of which there is plenty) very well, while remaining anchored. They’re gridded so that cables can easily run beneath them and stay out of the way of wayward feet. They’re also raised, so that you could squeeze your power supply underneath so it doesn’t
Mooer Mooergan Organ Simulator Pedal Jade Australia | 1800 144 120 | www.musocity.com.au | RRP: $169.95
The first time I came across an organ simulator pedal, I was seriously taken aback by just how cool and how clever of a concept it was. Over the last couple of years, there have been a number of variations pop up from a couple of manufacturers. While they’ve been great, they’ve all been a little on the expensive side. Now those guys at Mooer have gone full steam ahead to create a pedal of such ilk that isn’t about to empty your back account. Introducing Mooer’s latest release, the Mooergan organ simulator pedal.
KEYBOARD IN A GUITAR
A far cry from setting up a full MIDI rig with a divided pickup, the Mooergan makes it really simple to get three different organ sounds right out of your guitar. It fits in the signal chain just like any normal pedal would, and totally takes over the sound to create something that is quite
unlike the original guitar tone. You are able to blend in the dry guitar sound if you want, with separate volumes for both organ and dry guitar sounds allowing you to find the perfect balance for an ensemble sound. But, with the dry mix turned down, it sounds mighty impressive as just the organ sound is allowed
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to shine. A modulation control allows you to adjust a set parameter on each of the three modes, giving more shimmer and tremolo variations to the organ tone.
IN OPERATION
Being far smaller than the other organ simulators on the market, you don’t get as many options, but what the Mooergan does offer is pretty impressive. The three modes are shining, hard and vintage, each with a distinct tone of their own. The hard setting was by far my favourite, with a very thick tone that works great for blues and soul music.
take up any valuable real estate.
WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER
There seems to be such an emphasis on personalisation these days; having the guitar that’s right for you, the overdrive that’s right for you or the amp that’s right for you. I can completely understand that too. Why should the pedalboard be any different? The world is awash with amazing gear, and it’s growing richer in it every day.
When it comes down to the nitty gritty though it is still a fine acoustic in the sloped shoulder Gibson tradition - woody and warm with a nice thick tone that isn’t ‘plinky’ or super bright. I’m sure with age (as many of those vintage J-45’s are now) they’ll develop and open into an even sweeter tone. Those wanting a vintage J-45 might not be completely fulfilled but if you’re looking for this style and sound with some extra features, you’re getting a modern take on a classic guitar. BY NICK BROWN
HITS • Classic looks with a twist • LR Baggs Lyric is a nice inclusion as standard
MISSES • 2016 innovations may not suit everyone
With all those amazing pedals, comes increasingly diverse pedal set ups, and those set ups require a pedalboard that’s fit to handle it. The amazing thing about Stompblox is that it will always be that pedalboard that’s right for you, regardless of your every changing needs. The bags that you get to carry your Stompblox can even be attached to one another to make a bag that’s exactly the shape of the pedalboard you’ve created. BY MAD DOG MULLIGAN
HITS • The ingenuity behind the idea. • Sturdy • Easy to attach and detach
MISSES • None
What you do find is that you need to adjust the way in which you play guitar to get this pedal to sound right. It’s easy to blow it off straight away thinking it doesn’t sound right, but you need to consider your phrasing as you play. Ordinary guitar licks sound like a guitar pretending to be an organ, no matter how good the pedal is. If you adjust the phrasing, thinking of it as if played from a keyboard, this pedal totally comes to life! BY ROB GEE
HITS • Big organ sound in a little box • Sounds better than expected, when you get the hang of it
MISSES • Limited control and options
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ROAD TESTS
The Loar Brownstone Acoustic Guitar Dynamic Music | (02) 9939 1299 | www.dynamicmusic.com.au | RRP: Contact For Pricing
The Loar pays homage to the instruments from the 20s and 30s with vintage designs and aesthetics. Archtop and hollowbody electrics, mandolins and a range of acoustics come under The Loar’s banner, with this instance being a variation on their popular LH200 acoustic guitar. Introducing the aptly named ‘Brownstone’.
BLUE AND BROWN
Looking like a delta styled blues axe or vintage strummer, the Brownstone features a smaller top bout and overall smaller body design. With a Sitka spruce top with mahogany neck, back and sides the Brownstone has been finished in a brown satin finish that gives the guitar a rootsy look and feel. Set off nicely against the creamy white binding on both the body and neck, the retro-ish looking headstock design ties in well accompanied by a set of TonePro tuners with white
buttons. Although a smaller body instrument, the neck actually feels slightly bigger than average with a wider C type feel. Just enough to give some extra girth without completely slowing you down.
TONES
Whilst it does have a swampy down home look to it, don’t get stuck on the Brownstone as just a blues machine. It’s clear and mid rangey, and it can handle big open chords and strumming as well as licks all over the fretboard. The slightly wider
neck might also lend itself to some slide action if you’re such a player. The Brownstone projects quite well and gives quite a lot of volume for its reduced size. Good for blues, country, rock, folk and plenty more. Also a nice option if you want a focussed type sound for recordings and the like.
I FOUGHT THE LOAR, AND THE LOAR WON As a small bodied acoustic the Brownstone definitely looks the part – rootsy and raw with a tip of the hat to the golden days
of the 20s and 30s. Comfortable as a Sunday strumming guitar or some more involved picking, making it easy to belt out a range of styles and should also appeal to range of age groups and abilities. Furthermore, it holds up admirably in the tone department. Mid-priced instruments that pack some oomph into not a lot of dollars, good stuff indeed. BY NICK BROWN
Dynamic Music | (02) 9939 1299 | www.dynamicmusic.com.au | RRP $279
Seagull have long been making acoustic instruments from their base in LaPatrie Quebec, Canada. With a heap of models in their line all sporting that identifiable headstock they’ve recently added something a little different to their stocks - a hollow body 4 stringed instrument called the ‘Merlin’. Ready for something new? Good question! Inspired by the Dulcimer, the Merlin is a small 4 stringed hollow body instrument. Looks-wise it sits somewhere between a dulcimer, mandolin, ukulele and travel guitar. Available in spruce and mahogany (this particular version in spruce) features a spruce top, maple body and neck, tusq bridge and vintage styled open tuners. With a through body design the 4-string
setup is actually two single strings and then a pair of strings as the highest (recommended to be tuned in unison, an octave above the lowest string).
DIATONIC
With 7 frets (and the open string note), each string gives you an octave major scale. That is – whatever note the string is tuned to then has the notes of that major scale available to it for one octave (which is the
entire length of the neck). For the lesser musically trained you should then be able to play up and down each string sounding relatively pleasant without too much trouble (and across the strings providing they’re in tune as a starting point). Following the recommended tuning of D – A – D means you can pretty much cover the entire fretboard without sounding out (that one G# might be a little funky sounding to some) meaning it’s
very user friendly. You can easily come up with simple melodies and chords and the smallish scale and light strings make it all very comfy on the hands. Great for kids too. Warm yet zingy, the Merlin has an interesting tone that works for single lines and melodies but can also do interesting chords and note groupings. It could be a great instrument for the studio
It goes without saying that you should expect something a little different to the norm in a Hercules stand. So, when I took this from the box and removed it from the padded, zippered travel pouch, there was a moment or two of scratching my head
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before I figured out how it came to use. Once you figure it out, it makes sense total sense; setting up, along with packing up is a piece of cake. The feet snap into position for a stable base, with rubber ends to stop the stand from sliding about on the surface it is used on. Unfortunately,
when adding light strums and atmosphere or doubling motifs. Live it could do the folky thing or add some acoustic colour to the mix. Either way it’s cool to see a guitar builder such as Seagull branching out with something new. The Merlin’s size and portability make it easy to get around and the tuning and ease of use then make it a goer for anyone keen to take the plunge – musical or otherwise! BY NICK BROWN
• User friendly, even for novices • Pleasant, interesting tone
MISSES • Not your everyday instrument
arms, so it is completely secure when in use. When upright, you can easily adjust the angle that the upper arms sit at, so your laptop can sit flat or be angled down with the keyboard almost on a vertical plane at the most extreme of positions. The fact that you don’t have to screw anything together, there are no plastic threads that will fail and it all folds up into a flat storage case that will fit in your laptop bag makes this just too good not to look into.
Electric Factory | (03) 9474 1000 | www.elfa.com.au | RRP: Contact For Pricing
THE UNCONVENTIONAL
MISSES
HITS
WIZARD
Hercules DG400BB Laptop Stand Hercules is a name that is well known and trusted when it comes to musical stands. The familiar yellow detail on their stands makes them stand out visually on any stage or in any studio, and their reputation for delivering rugged built solutions for musicians is well deserved. There is a Hercules version of pretty much every instrument and music stand you might think of, but they usually come with a clever design aspect that has previously been ignored, and so offers the users a greater ease and comfort in use. So, as I write this, my laptop is resting atop of their new DG400BB laptop stand, and I am standing behind my desk with the computer now sitting about a foot above the desk’s surface.
• Vintage look • Price
• Chunkier neck
Seagull Merlin
WHAT IS IT?
HITS
BY ROB GEE there were no such pads on the bracing arms, and it felt like the laptop was in danger of getting knocked off of the stand as it could move about on its perch with some sideways pressure.
SET THE HEIGHT
The folding mechanism within this stand’s design allows for it to sit in a number of different
height positions, dictated by adjusting the vertical support beam during the setup process. You can’t adjust it while the laptop is on the stand; it is firmly locked into place at this stage, so it isn’t likely to collapse even with heavy computers. In fact, the upright supports lock into place with the weight of the laptop on the
HITS • Quick set up time • Multiple height options • Various angle adjustments • Locks into place so it won’t collapse in use
MISSES • Slippery top surface
MIXDOWN #263 // MARCH 2016 // PG.51
ROAD TESTS TC Electronic Spectracomp Amber Technology | 1800 251 367 | www.ambertech.com.au | RRP: $229
Compression is one of those effects that you don’t miss until you have to live without it. Or, to flip the equation a little bit, one of those effects that you don’t realise you need until you try it. On paper, the role of a compressor is clear: it lowers the volume of loud sounds and raises the volume of quiet ones. This keeps everything in a nice musical range, helping you to fill out a mix and making sure your quiet notes aren’t too quiet.
GIMME A SQUEEZE
Compressors can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be, but TC Electronic has pulled off quite a revolutionary feat with the Spectracomp. It’s a full-featured multiband bass compressor - meaning you can dial in different compression levels and ratios for different portions of your signal - and yet
it’s all controlled with a single knob that governs a whole bunch of behind-the-scenes settings. On the surface there’s just that single knob, a true bypass footswitch, in and out jacks and a 9v DC power jack. There’s also a USB jack, which hints at the Spectracomp’s true potential. All of its deeper controls live on the free editor, where you can
take control of parameters such as compression blend, crossover frequencies, threshold and knee.
COMPRESSION SESSION
So how are you going to use this little beastie in a musical context? One great trick is to
dial in a very squished low end so you’ve always got a very full, subby bass thang happening. Then have a bit more space in the midrange while leaving your high end to roam free. This lets you force notes to jump out in the mix when you need them to while keeping the overall feel of the track intact. Or you can go the other way: really clamp down on the high end while keeping the lows a little more open. Or compress the heck out of the upper mids to emphasise pick attack in a metal band. This is also a great pedal for moving around in the signal chain, and you’ll get different things out of it if it’s feeding an overdrive compared to if it’s following one.
EXSQUEEZE ME
Ok so it’s a minor pain in the butt to know that if you want to
change a crucial setting in the middle of a gig you have to whip out your iPhone and beam 90s modem noises into your rig, but putting that concern aside, this is an extremely powerful pedal that can easily adapt to any situation. BY PETER HODGSON
HITS • Sounds great • Very compact • Crazy flexible
MISSES • You need an app to do deep editing
Gibson Hummingbird Pro VS Gibson AMI | (03) 8696 4600 | www.gibsonami.com | RRP: $4499
Another classic from Gibson is the Hummingbird acoustic. First released in the early 1960s this square shouldered dreadnought was a favourite for rock, blues, folk and country with the Hummingbird remaining a staple of the Gibson acoustic line up still to this day. Moving through several variations and signature models through the years, 2016 sees it slightly reinvigorated once more.
BIRD IS THE WORD
Sticking with a Sitka spruce top, mahogany back and mahogany neck, the 2016 Hummingbird Pro has a few added features – a slightly wider neck profile (1.725” nut), softened fingerboard edges and a LR Baggs Element VTC pickup system as standard. Furthermore Gibson are giving the Hummingbird (along with a lot of their line) a PLEK machine setup for improved intonation,
feel, tuning and accuracy. Looking every bit the part, this 2016 Pro has a great burst finish harking back to its vintage roots.
THICK
Gibson have experimented with some neck widths, sizes and profiles in recent times, and whilst this isn’t the chunkiest I’ve seen from them, it does seem to have a little extra beef to it. I quite like the feel, especially when bashing out
open chords or playing rhythmic parts, as its gives you a little something extra to hold onto. I can also see that as a sticking point for some players too. Neck aside, it looks and feels like a well-made instrument and its fundamental tone is warm with some snappiness to it. Chords ring out nicely, whilst the low end seems to remain tight without getting boomy. From classic rock to folk and country, picking the Hummingbird sits in the mix well.
KEYS TO THE HUMMER
Often associating the Gibson name with Les Pauls and SGs, it should be noted that the Gibson acoustic range features some serious classics too. As a straight out strummer, it’s a great singer songwriter guitar. It can then handle some extra chops if you want to get more intricate in the finger picking realm. Live you’re covered with the LR Baggs Element but the Hummingbird also works well in the studio.
Audio-Technica AT-LP5 Direct Drive Turntable There have been plenty of turntables released for DJ use in the last twenty years from a range of manufacturers, and Audio-Technica is certainly one such company. However, their heritage in turntables goes way back before the bedroom DJ needed a pair of decks. They have been manufacturing turntables since the 60s, and understand hifi enthusiasts’ needs for a direct drive turntable. So, don’t go thinking this is a trick deck that will rock the house and scratch the night away. No, this is a more sophisticated unit, designed for one purpose, the enjoyment of listening to music in its purest recorded form. The AT-LP5 is not trying to appear fancy and flashy, because it is not. And that is part of the charm of this turntable. It is a very simple design, with the control that is needed and the engineering to back it up, but without the need to overdo anything. Let’s face it, this is
going to sit on a side table or shelf and allow you to sit back and enjoy your favourite LP at the end of a long day, to let your worries just melt away. Sounds a little poetic, but in truth, it is the simplicity that makes it so perfect for this. A speed selection switch between 33 and 45 RPM is all that adorns the
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BY NICK BROWN
HITS • Classic look • LR Baggs Element system • Versatile guitar across a range of styles
MISSES • Price may exclude some • Neck size might not suit everyone
in place. Best of all, it uses a classic removable headshell with replaceable cartridge and stylus, so you will not be caught out trying to find replacements in the future. Designed for playing, not performing, the AT-LP5 ticks all the boxes, and offers a reliable product that delivers the goods around and around again.
Technical Audio Group | (02) 9519 0900 | www.tag.com.au | RRP: $799
SLEEK AND SIMPLE
Remember – this is a premium instrument with a load of Gibson know how in its DNA so you’re getting a guitar built to perform. That might cost a little more than your mid-priced guitar but it could ultimately be worth it.
BY ROB GEE
top panel. The aluminium platter is a very simple, plain design, not intended for scratching, but rather with a mind to offer a stable, even rotation without causing the tone arm to ride up and down too much.
SMOOTH ACTION
This sums up all the operations
of this turntable. The rubber mounted feet serve to reduce any resonance from external vibrations and those caused by the motor. The tone arm has a smooth action, with a simple anti-skating adjustment to increase pressure where needed and a slow drop on the lowering arm to set the needle
HITS • Sleek, stylish design • Removable, adjustable headshell • Simple, yet stable aluminium platter
MISSES • Although not entirely necessary, there is no pitch control
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ROAD TESTS Maton 70th Anniversary 808 Maton Guitars | (03) 9896 9500 | www.maton.com.au | $3499
More from the range of Maton 70th Anniversary guitars, and this time another favourite shape from their line that’s been given a little special treatment to help celebrate the big seven zero. Whilst the dreadnaught has long been a staple for acoustic builders all over the world, there is also a huge demand for smaller bodied instruments that can still handle gigging, recording and everything in between. Maton’s 808 shape is one of their answers and has always been a hit amongst the guitar playing population, so it’s good to see it too getting the 70th razzle dazzle.
LITTLE FELLA
Like its bigger bodied partner in crime, the 808 features a spruce gloss top with Victorian blackwood neck, back and sides in an understated satin finish. This combination is a first for Maton and they’re pretty happy with the combination. Natural Maton guitar tones that let the woods and design shine coupled with the ‘sophisticated’ top end normally found on gloss guitars like their Messiah. Visually it works well, and sound wise it’s a great balance of woodiness and some extra sheen. I also love the shape and feel of the 808 guitars with their smaller body size, tight rounded edges, and almost squared off bottom. It really lets you get in close on
the instrument and you can feel and work with the response of the instrument. Topped off with an orangey tinged tortoise shell guard and gold Grover machine heads, it’s a tasty take on the ever popular 808.
70 GOOD REASONS
I’m always amazed at the volume and projection the 808 has. The reduced body size adds some mid and low punch that really stays tight, and the whole guitar sounds balanced and clear. Finger pickers will appreciate the added nuances you can muster and the guitar responds nicely to a light touch. Pull out the plectrum and spark things up a touch and you get some zingy, woody goodness that suits open
chords, lines up the neck and sharp flatpicking. The 808’s neck lets you whip around easily, and that body shape just feels good standing or sitting making it the kind of guitar that’ll let you belt out three sets without needing to see a chiropractor. I’ve got a mate that’s recently gone from dreadnaughts (a long time user) to an 808 and he’s wrapt with the sound and feel and live the AP5 Pro sounds great. For picking, strumming, fingerstyle or anything else you can pull
out I’d give the 808 a go. Then factor in the 70th anniversary features for something a little extra special from this particular version and you’ve got a quality Aussie-made guitar.
in microphone for use with smartphones. The ANC40BTs can store up to 8 different devices in its memory for use in different circumstances and adjust volumes automatically for call setting when used with a phone. But, these aren’t just about making phone calls, the
earbuds themselves deliver a really punchy sound with plenty of low frequency delivery and a complete drop in environmental noise that is noticeable the second you power them up. Listening to music on the go just got a whole lot better.
BY NICK BROWN
HITS • Distinct limited edition guitar • Great 808 body feel and sound • Comfortable for smaller hands
MISSES • None
Audio-Technica ATH-ANC40BT Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones Technical Audio Group | (02) 9519 0900 | www.tag.com.au | RRP: $249
I’ve got to hand it to Audio-Technica; they managed to have me completely stumped with this new product, twice. The first instance was in trying the figure out how to get these headphones out of the packaging, the second was in trying to figure out how they were supposed to be worn. That’s the fun part about coming across a completely new concept in a product we all thought could not be redesigned, but Audio-Technica have done just that. The ATHANC40BT wireless noise-cancelling headphones might look a little unconventional to start with, but trust me; they make complete sense when you actually try them.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE HEADPHONES
Let’s start with the physical design of these headphones. They are unconventional indeed, but I could see this becoming a very popular norm without much worry. The transmitters and controls are housed in a band that goes around your neck, and is barely noticeable to the wearer after a minute or two. Two ear buds come up on cables from this band, just like a traditional pair of earphones, but without all the long cabling getting in the way. Each ear bud swings on about 8 inches of cable, so there is no excess
hanging about when they are placed in your ear. It’s very neat, totally practical and extremely unobtrusive once you get your head around how to wear them correctly.
IN OPERATION
These units don’t require heavy batteries to operate in a wireless capacity, they charge from a mini USB connector housed on one terminal of the neck band, which is cleverly concealed - I had to actually go looking for it to begin with. Volume, power and pairing controls are all located on one side of the band along with the built
PG.54 // MIXDOWN #263 // MARCH 2016
BY ROB GEE
HITS • Unique design that makes complete sense • Great noise cancellation • Wireless connection improves listening freedom • Big sound from a small driver
MISSES • The packaging had me completely stumped
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ROAD TESTS
Ormsby HypeGTR Run 1 Ormsby Guitars | 0410 540 327 | www.ormsbyguitars.com | 6-String RRP: $1599 | 7-String RRP: $1666
Australian luthier Perry Ormsby has been dropping jaws with his stunning custom work for years now, but previously if you wanted one of his guitars you basically had to get in line and wait for your beautiful one-off creation to come to you. Now Ormsby has created a line of instruments designed in consultation with Facebook groups, and built at the World Musical Instruments factory in South Korea. The first samples were on display at the NAMM Show this year, and I made sure to drop by and play them quite a bit during the show.
THE BUILD
The body is made of alder with a laminated rock maple set neck. The neck is a D shape, which is 20.3mm at the first fret transitioning to 22mm at the 17th, and the scale length depends on which string you’re playing: this model is 25.5” on the thinnest string and 27.8” at the thickest. This gives you the ideal string tension for each string, and also helps with the intonation. But more on that in a second. The fretboard is made of ebony with Jumbo stainless steel frets, the bridge is a custom Hipshot string-thru design and the machineheads are Hipshot locking models. The pickups are Ormsby-designed: a Nunchucker with Alnico 8 magnet in the bridge position
and a De La Creme Alnico 2 neck humbucker. There’s a coil split on the tone control.
FAN FAVOURITE
First off, if you’ve never played a multiscale instrument before, this will feel a little strange for a grand total of about 30 seconds, before you suddenly realise that your hand already wants to naturally angle itself to the positions you need to play at either end of the fretboard. You’ll instantly notice that the intonation is better, even when you’re throwing in really complex or tightly voiced chords that involve wide fret-spans. And the extra snap and punch of the low string certainly benefits from the increased length. As for the tone, this is a
pretty aggressive-sounding guitar – the bridge pickup has some noticeable sizzle and air in the high end, full bass and assertive midrange. It’s the kind of voicing that can sometimes sound a little weird by itself, until you hear it in a band or recording mix. It also means that when you split this pickup it still sounds very gutsy. The neck pickup has great detail and sustain, with a sort of ‘flutey’ overtone that maintains its definition and harmonic sophistication under heavy gain. It also cleans up nicely and sounds great in single coil mode.
ALL IN ALL
If you’re a little unsure of the multiscale thing and you’d
like to give it a try, Ormsby’s Facebook community seems very friendly and inclusive. You’ll probably find someone nearby who has ordered these and would be happy to have a jam with you so you can try it out. But the crux of it is this, a multiscale guitar makes a lot of sense from an engineering standpoint, the design and construction of the HypeGTR is very high quality and the playability and sound are outstanding. BY PETER HODGSON
HITS • Very comfortable • Great crunch and heavydistortion tones • Well-made
MISSES • Pickups might be a bit aggressive for some
Sennheiser Evolution Wireless D1 Guitar System Sennheiser Australia | (02) 9910 6700 | www.sennheiser.com.au | RRP: Contact For Pricing
More than a year on from when we first saw the Evolution D1 series released from Sennheiser, they continue to deliver exceptional quality in digital wireless transmission, at a price range that just amazes given the products that Sennheiser produce. This month I got to give the instrument set a workout, and having used Sennheiser’s Freeport, XSW, EWG1, EWG2 and EWG3 systems in the past, I can honestly say that Evolution D1 has set the new standard for simplicity in wireless guitar setup.
CLASSIC SOUND, MODERN BRILLIANCE
When you consider what goes into the making of your guitar rig, the most important factor is tone. So much time and money is spent getting the right guitar, pickups, pedals, amp and speakers to achieve a very specific tone. Some spend years chasing it, so it is only right that many would be concerned about sacrificing such tone for the freedom to move around the stage. Traditional wireless systems have had a tendency to suck some of the life out of guitar signals, but the digital transmission in the D1 should allow any guitarist to cast aside any such worries.
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It is what is going on behind the belt pack that is what the Evolution D1 is all about. This sees a great leap forward in digital audio transmission from Sennheiser and really sets them up as a market leader in this area. The audio conversion at both ends is really uncompromising. You guitar sound will be delivered to your amp just as it would with an over-priced, over-engineered cable that comes with a whole range of promises.
PLUG AND PLAY
I know that when you are up on stage, the last thing you want to do is worry about technology. The D1 is all about that and
makes it as easy as possible to be set up and ready to go. Once plugged in, it takes a matter of moments to have the transmitter and receiver aligned, and you are ready to perform. It has a nifty automatic gain control that works continuously to ensure enough level is getting through no matter what application. You can get in and edit parameters with an iOS or Android app, but for most users, it will be a plug and play situation where
the D1 does all the work for you. It is smart, sophisticated and simple to use, but best of all, Sennheiser have finally done away with the polystyrene packaging and now deliver the D1 in a sturdy carry case to get it to and from every gig safely. You won’t see guitarists turning up to a sound check with a cardboard box held together with gaffer tape any more. BY ROB GEE
HITS • Easy operation that requires no thought • Rugged build in both transmitter and receiver • Preserves your guitar’s tone • Operates in a license-free band so you can use it anywhere
MISSES • None!
MIXDOWN #263 // MARCH 2016 // PG.55
SHOW & TELL
WE CHAT TO MUSOS ABOUT THEIR MOST TREASURED GEAR
NELLIE JACKSON OF LOOSE TOOTH BEN MURPHY OF PASSERINE What piece of equipment do you have to show us today? My Rickenbacker 330 Hollow Body Electric. How did you come across this particular item? I found this guitar in a music shop in Hampton when I was 17 years old. Being a left hander, it was that little bit trickier for me to find guitars that I liked; that I could actually play. This was only the second guitar I had ever thought about purchasing so I went home to beg my parents to loan me the cash for it. They said no. Secretly bought it for my 18th birthday, and the rest is history! My parents are the coolest. What is that you like so much about it? This guitar spans really well between songs. I can use it for the slow melodic numbers, over to the fuzzy, garage tracks. It sounds really nice when used with a chorus pedal, which I’ve recently been playing around with a lot more. How do you use it, and how has it shaped the way you write music? I use this guitar for all of Loose Tooth’s live shows. As I mentioned previously, I’ve had the guitar since I was 18, but I didn’t really use it for the band I had when I was that age; which was a pop-punk all gal number (lots of muted power chords going on) . When LT came alive, this guitar seemed to sit in well with the sound of the band.
It’s great to take the laptop and Push and a pair of headphones away for the weekend and have lots of flexible hands on control to tinker with. It’s not a small unit but it does a lot. As for tough spots… every piece of tech has some quirks, and its maybe made one or two tough spots of its own. But there’s still nothing like it and nothing I’d rather trade it for.
Any other interesting points/stories about it? I’ve never broken a string on this guitarever! Tell us a little bit about what you have coming up? We have a debut EP Saturn Returns coming out through Milk! Records on April 1st. We’re then doing a big launch at The Gasometer on April 22nd, followed by a couple of Sydney show’s to be announced shortly. We’ve just released our second single ‘Bites Will Bleed’ from the EP which has a blood bath, vampire themed clip coming to your screens February 23rd- you also get to see the band do some quality acting, which was highly uncomfortable and hilarious to film! Looking towards playing lots of shows this year and generally having a good time!
What piece of equipment do you have to show us today? The Ableton Push (mk1, haven’t got the mk2 into the live show yet). How did you come across this particular item? I’m pretty much a professional Ableton nerd, teaching production and running a user group in Melbourne. I borrowed a friends when they first came out and was sold. What is it that you like so much about it? It’s quite flexible, in that you can control drum rack / one shot type instruments, or pitched melodic parts and access macros for whatever instrument is in focus. It’s sort of replaced a keyboard for me live, and it has lots of other useful studio features like sequencing controls. After I started using it to write a lot, it just became my default instrument. When has it come in handy most? Do you recall any time this has got you out of a tough spot?
How do you use it, and how has it shaped the way that you write music? It’s absolutely changed the way I write music. The easiest thing to point to would be the sequencing mode for drums. Nothing that hasn’t existed before in other forms, but for whatever reason the layout got me thinking about drums differently and trying different rhythms. It made me a fan of interesting broken beats. I’m also a huge proponent of working quickly and I’ve got my workflow with the Push down. Tell us a little about what you’ve got coming up. We just released our new EP The Morning After / The Night Before, including our last single ‘Lost In Each Other’ which we just released a video for (a pseudo tour docco of us goofing off around Australia). We’re taking these new galactic soul break jams to a couple shows including the Moomba festival, visiting Sydney in March and we’re very excited about being a part of the ROAR festival in dubbo in April. And of course we’re always working on new music, so more on that soon.
KIM SALMON When has it come in handy most? Do you recall any time this has got you out of a tough spot? My guitar stopped working one night and I ‘improvised’ by using this technique to create a one note ‘pulse’ riff over which I sang. This got a great response and I immediately saw the potential for experimentation.
What piece of equipment do you have to show us today? It’s a standard guitar lead – not sure what brand it is. How did you come across this particular item? You can usually find them attached to a guitar, indeed mine was… but I sometimes like mine ‘unplugged’. What is it that you like so much about it? It makes a great fuzzed out electronic buzz when you have one jack connected to a switched on amplifier and you touch the unplugged jack with your finger or thumb.
How do you use it, and how has it shaped the way that you write music? I use the lead to play ‘lead’ solos, I use it to back myself on a couple of my songs – it produces a note pretty close to G (close enough for punk rock and experimental stuff) and sometimes I use it in conjunction with other found sounds that I have prepared from my repertoire whereby I play free form - also manipulating the pitch by recording the sound on tape and then playing back with vary speed to change pitch. Tell us a little about what you’ve got coming up. I’m about to go on a national tour to promote my new and first actual ‘solo’ album, My Script. I use the unplugged guitar lead on 2 songs - ‘Fucking Shit Up’ and ‘Tell Me About Your Master’ as well as on a recurring improv piece called ‘Its Not Forgetting’, also from the album.
PG.56 // MIXDOWN #263 // MARCH 2016
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PG.58 // MIXDOWN #263 / MARCH 2016
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