Jazz guitarist Matthew Stevens just released his debut album Woodwork, after working on numerous albums with Walter Smith III, Justin Kauflin, and Harvey Mason. Recently, Matthew has been touring with Esperanza Spalding and will be doing several solo shows around … Continue reading
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If you have a Timeline, BigSky, or Mobius, you will notice that there are MIDI IN and MIDI OUT ports on the back of your pedal. These can be used to control the pedals from an external MIDI controller that … Continue reading
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Looking for someone that enjoys talking gear? Dave Depper is your person. He said so himself here :) Now with Death Cab For Cutie, Dave has stayed busy playing and recording with a slew of great artists. He also has … Continue reading
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Photo by @sparklejensen Between touring with two bands, recording, and running his studio (Twin Hill Studio), Walter Hill keeps himself surrounded by music. Find out about all the musical endeavors that are keeping Walter busy, plus the ins and outs … Continue reading
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One of my favorite effects to use is a delay with a lot of repeats and a slowly sweeping filter on those repeats. I think it creates a really dreamlike atmosphere, not only when used on guitar, but also on vocals (sparingly) or … Continue reading
The post This Week’s Preset: TimeLine – “Lucid Dream” appeared first on strymon.
Here is something a little weird and spooky I made for Halloween: a TimeLine preset I call “Hell Float Trip.” It uses the Ice delay machine to create an eerie wash of smeared repeats that fall in pitch with each regeneration. … Continue reading
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You can never laugh enough – at least that’s how we feel over at Strymon headquarters. So it was great when Linda Taylor reached out to us about her use of Strymon pedals on one of our favorite, truly funny shows. Linda, who shares some more insight below, has spent a lot of time expressing humor in her music as a part of Whose Line is it Anyway?. When not in a cyclone of laughs, Linda works with many artists like Tracy Chapman, Maia Sharp, Sheila E., Carlos Rios, Edwin McCain, Thelma Houston, just to name a few. Keep reading to find out about Linda’s pedalboard and more.
What kind of pedalboard is this, and what is your signal path?
The picture is of what I would consider my “main” pedalboard. It changes all the time, but there are a few pedals that don’t get switched out.
The signal path starts at the Brad Sarno Steel Guitar Black Box, which is a tube buffer with variable impedance. The Peterson strobe tuner is connected via the Black Box (which has a tuner out). I hear a difference when the tuner is in the signal chain, so I keep it out (this is true on all my boards regardless of buffer – I always use a “tuner out” on the buffer).
From the Black Box, the signal goes into the Loop-Master 3-way bypass switcher. Out A goes to the Cry Baby Wah, B goes to the MXR Phase 90, and I leave C open for any pedal I want to drop into the chain, in this case the Origin Cali76. It’s convenient, especially at sessions, to have this C port so I can drop anything in. Otherwise I’m patching in pedals after the delays.
I’m rarely called for anything that doesn’t require a pristine clean sound. As a result, I get my OD and gain sounds from pedals. From the Loop-Master, the signal goes into the Sarno Earth Drive, to the Bogner Wessex, to the Rockbox Boiling Point. The Earth Drive and the Wessex get changed out and switched frequently, sometimes I’ll drop an Analog Man King Of Tone in there, it depends on the gig. The Boiling Point rarely gets changed out, and when I do, I usually regret it.
From the Boiling Point the signal goes into the Vertex Boost. I’m primarily using the Boost for its expression port, which connects to the Ernie Ball Volume Pedal. I always keep the Volume Pedal out of the chain, so the Vertex is great for that. It’s a terrific boost as well, but I tend to only use it with single coils.
From there the signal goes into the Demeter Tremulator, my favorite trem, and from there into the Strymon TimeLine and out to the El Capistan.
The El Cap functions as my general, “rhythm” delay and “solo” delay, while the TimeLine functions as more effected, long delays; more ambient sounds. Truthfully, I can probably do all delay duties with just the TimeLine, but the El Cap has a special “something.” I love this pedal.
I also have the Strymon BigSky, which I’m using mostly in the studio, so it’s not pictured on this board. The Midi clock on both the TimeLine and BigSky are essential, so I just keep a MIDI cable handy in the studio. Live, I’m just a tapping away!
You have what I would consider a very unique job working with Whose Line is it Anyway?, an improv show. I’d love to hear more about how you prepare for and handle the improv nature of the music on the show?
I’ve been on Whose Line for about 17 years, maybe 18. Laura Hall and I count it by the age of her youngest daughter, so I’d have to check:>) It’s a very bizarre gig on a number of levels. There really isn’t much preparation we can do because we don’t know what is going to happen, although after so many years of not knowing what is going to happen, we are pretty familiar with what they like. So Laura and I get together before each round of shooting and go through iTunes and jam on a bunch of styles. I spend a lot of time programming drums that will work for a variety of genres (on Whose Line, we are pretty broad with our descriptions). We like to think about “orchestration” ahead of time: Should I be on bass, or banging faux timpani, or playing guitar, or what if they call “Broadway Musical” … that kind of thing. We are really trying to bring as much production and polish to the live music as possible. The key thing for us is reference – we must quickly convey the essence of whatever style we’re playing to Wayne and Jeff and Brad or whomever is singing. If it’s “jazz,” I’m gonna dink dink dink on a ride cymbal, if it’s “Prince,” I’m gonna start with the little 6/9 funk chord, that kind of thing. Immediate Reference!
You also play with many musicians and recently were recording with a new artist. Can you share how the TimeLine Ice setting played a part in these recordings?
Boy, the TimeLine saved me on a recent session. The artist wanted guitar, but wanted it to be not quite guitar sounding, more ambient, drone-y, ephemeral, you know, not guitar. So I was just leaning on the Timeline all day long…think I went through every single factory preset. I kept coming back to the “Ice” preset, the way that sound sort of evolves and spins and sprinkles, boy I was a hero with that one. The artist REALLY liked it, so I think it made it to several tracks on the album….hey, if it ain’t broke…. I was tapping in and manually setting tempo all day, but from now on, I’ll just have them send me MIDI clock and run a cable, which is now what I do in my own studio. So much faster and accurate!
What is your go-to guitar and why?
Whatever the song needs, I don’t play favorites. Of course if there are several guitar parts I will always incorporate a single-coil track, a humbucker, then maybe my ’72 Thinline, or something unexpected like the $25 Decca my mother bought me when I was eight years old. I don’t want the mix engineer to have to work that hard, especially when I’m the mix engineer. So the guitar parts and the sounds should all stand on their own nicely. Live, it’s the same thing, whatever the gig needs. More and more I have a Strat and a 335 with me.
You have also played in many TV show house bands. Can you share a tip for someone that is looking to try to get their foot in the TV show door?
Oh, I guess the thing to remember is a TV show is very much like a casual – the music isn’t the point. It’s a cool punctuation, an accent, but it is not the point. Remembering that little mantra has saved me an ulcer or two…maybe I should stitch it on a pillow. Reading helps, but it’s all about being quick. It’s not what can you do, it’s what can you do NOW. Flexibility, open mindedness, preparation, be ready for anything. Maybe it’s like being a pinch-hitter. You sit there waiting, waiting, waiting, then when the camera swings your way you have to hit a home run. How’s that for mixing metaphors?
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One of my favorite parts of monitoring social media for Strymon is seeing everyone’s pedalboards and hearing so many wonderful musicians worldwide. Twitter is where I first came across Kitzy. Kitzy had posted his beautiful board, and it was one of those boards that is hard not to be in awe of. Luckily, Kitzy was happy to share all the details about his board, including a YouTube video he made (below) with everything you’d want to know!
My signal chain starts with a custom Interfacer from Goodwood Audio (goodwoodaudio.com). My guitar plugs into a buffered input which then goes directly into a Bondi Effects 2026 Compressor that is always on. From there, it goes to the first input of the Strymon Mobius (in pre/post mode). The first output of the Mobius goes into the RJM Mastermind PBC.
From there, the pedals are each in their own dedicated loop.
Loop 1 – Electro-Harmonix POG2
Loop 2 – Bondi Effects Sick As Blackout (used for low gain)
Loop 3 – Bondi Effects Sick As MKII (used for medium gain)
Loop 4 – Keeley-modded ProCo RAT (used for high gain)
Loop 5 – Earthquaker Devices Park Fuzz
Loop 6 – Earthquaker Devices Cloven Hoof Fuzz
There’s an insert point after loop 6, where my signal goes to my Ernie Ball VP Jr, and then into the second input of the Mobius. This gives me the option to put the Mobius pre or post gain on a per preset basis. From the Mobius’ second out, the signal goes to a small normalized loop box on the side of my board that can act as an insert point for any effects I want to add in addition to what’s already on the board, or it can be used to run the rest of the board in an amp’s effects loop. After that, it goes back into the PBC.
Loop 7 – Empress Tremolo 2
Loop 8 – TC Electronics Spark Boost
Loop 9 – Strymon TimeLine
Loop 10 – Earthquaker Devices Afterneath
From here, the signal splits from the PBC’s two outputs. The first output goes into the Electro-Harmonix Freeze, and then to the “dry” output of the custom Interfacer. The second output goes into another custom junction box from Goodwood Audio. This junction box takes the dry signal and sends it to both the second TimeLine and the BigSky in parallel, and it also feeds the output of the TimeLine into the BigSky, so I can still get reverb on the delay repeats. The TimeLine and BigSky are in kill dry mode, so the only thing coming out of these are the repeats and reverb, no dry signal. The left and right outputs of both the TimeLine and BigSky are then routed back into the junction box, where the signal is summed into a single stereo signal which then gets routed to the left and right wet outputs of the custom Interfacer.
The interfacer is set up to feed the signal to three amps in a wet/dry/wet configuration, but it has a couple switches that let me change that configuration to two amps, either in wet/dry, or in stereo with wet and dry going to both amps, or I can sum everything down to a single signal if I’m only using one amp.
The entire board is powered by a Strymon Zuma and three Strymon Ojais.
I’m using MIDI from the PBC to control presets on both TimeLines, the BigSky, the Mobius, the POG2 and the Empress Tremolo 2.
Can you tell us how you use your two TimeLines?
The answer I usually give is time travel – I have a TimeLine and an alternate TimeLine.
The real answer is that they’re in two different points in the signal chain and serve two different purposes. The first TimeLine is for when the delay is an integral part of what I’m playing – think U2’s Edge doing dotted 8th stuff. The second TimeLine is more for when the delay should be more of an ambient background to help fill the space. I often use both at the same time.
You have an extensive collection of pedals. What do you enjoy most about using pedals?
When I started playing guitar in bands I was very heavily involved in the punk scene, and if you had asked me about pedals then I would have laughed at you and told you that the only thing I needed was a guitar plugged into an amp with the gain cranked.
As I got older, my music tastes expanded quite a bit and I got into more indie and experimental stuff. I started with a TS9 and a DL4, and my friend gave me an old Big Muff that he wasn’t using. Then I discovered Reverb.com and fell down the rabbit hole of pedalboards on YouTube, and just became enamored with the options available. I’ve been digging on Reverb for cool pedals ever since.
The thing I like most about using pedals is the seemingly endless sonic possibilities. I love coming up with as many different sounds as I can.
Please tell us about your band Death & Texas?
Death & Texas is a collaboration between myself and my good friend Caleb. Caleb was the bass player in Long Since Forgotten, and after they split up Caleb and I were in a short-lived band together in Syracuse, NY. That band split when I moved to Chicago and Caleb moved to St. Louis. About two years ago, Caleb and I both moved in together in Oakland, CA and started writing. That became Death & Texas.
We’re still working on finishing our first record, but we’ve both since moved back to our hometowns to be closer to family, so we’re taking a bit of a break until we can dedicate some time to finish it.
You can hear a couple of our finished songs here:
iTunes
Spotify
What project are you currently working on?
My current project is called Freelance Astronaut, which is an instrumental post rock project where I play guitar and do looping with Ableton Live. I haven’t released anything yet, but you can follow me on Facebook or Twitter to be notified when I release something later this year.
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Ambient music has long been a go-to source for yoga practitioners and instructors to enhance the benefits of yoga practice. As more and more musicians discover the benefits of yoga – some even becoming instructors themselves – live performance of meditative music is finding its way into many yoga classrooms and outdoor retreats. In this special edition of Artist Feature, we highlight a few of the folks sharing their music online specifically for individual and group yoga practice. May you find yourself inspired to take a few relaxing deep breaths and maybe even try an asana or two.
ARLI provides the perfect dreamy and soothing soundscape for this live group yoga event in New York. The drone and sweet, gentle melody of this piece are the perfect soundtrack for the full-body relaxation of the asana or pose called Shavasana, Savasana, or Corpse Pose.
Yoga is front and center in “Yoga Lesson #1” from Perry Frank. Instructor Maura Cappai moves through a series yoga poses as Perry plays “Another Place Another Time” live in the background. The shimmery swells and harmonies of the song provide the perfect complement to the flow and calm of Maura’s practice. A part of Perry’s ambient session series, the music heard in this video is “exclusively live and belongs to that moment in time.” Mobius, Timeline, and blueSky were used in the creation of the track as well as the magic and power of groovy socks.
Guitarists, in particular, are prone to neck, shoulder, and hand issues especially when one has been playing for years. This extended yoga jam from Quist was made to be used for yoga practice or meditation. “Yoga has become a HUGE help to me in recent years,” he explains in the video’s description. “It can naturally fix aches and pains from working with music and playing the guitar… it’s basically THE best solution I’ve found.” A shorter, 20-minute track is also available in the video description.
To learn more about the style and types of yoga (as well as its many benefits for back, shoulder, neck, and hand issues) check out the Yoga 101 page from the Yoga Journal.
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This edition of This Week’s Preset is brought to you by Eli Maiman from Walk the Moon, who shares three different TimeLine presets that can be heard on Walk the Moon’s “Shut Up and Dance” and “Different Colors.” A big thanks to Eli for sending in these presets — we know you’ll dig them!
“Shut Up and Dance”
For the intro, we actually used two guitar parts. The first is a guitar hitting an amp just at the verge of break-up, which is where I usually like to live. I very rarely use a totally clean tone. This guitar is playing the arpeggio of the main riff. The other guitar is just playing 16th notes on muted strings. This ‘helicopter’ sound, as we refer to it, is thickened with a dotted eighth note delay set with a relatively even mix of dry to wet signal. We found that the combination of these two sounds resulted in a really exciting, U2-inspired vibe.
Live, I’m the only one playing guitar, so I approximate this effect by using a digital delay set to dotted eighth repeats, which Kevin supports by playing muted 16th notes high on one of his bass strings.
Listen here:
Preset details:
The image below shows the knob settings and parameters that Eli uses for “Shut Up and Dance.” Dial them up on your TimeLine and try this preset out!
“Different Colors”
I have two settings that I use for “Different Colors,” which is the first track on the new album. COLOR1 is a slapback setting that I use in conjunction with a BigSky plate reverb to create the main guitar sound for the song. This is on the leads, the verse, and the chorus.
For the intro and pre-chorus (the “this is why, this is why…” part), I actually use a tape delay that’s actually set faster than the song’s tempo, a setting I creatively call COLOR2. As wonderful and delicious as tempo-locked delays are, I’ve found that occasionally out of time repeats can sound really hip and fresh. Here, I use them to create a weird, kind of off-balance effect.
Listen here:
Preset details:
The images below shows the knob settings and parameters that Eli uses for “Different Colors.” These are both awesome presets and we encourage you try them out on your TimeLine!
Download the presets:
Using the Strymon Librarian?
Download Eli Maiman’s “Dance” and load it into your TimeLine.
Download Eli Maiman’s “Color 1” and load it into your TimeLine.
Download Eli Maiman’s “Color 2” and load it into your TimeLine.
What do you think?
Like the presets? Make a few tweaks of your own? Post your feedback in the comment section, and please share suggestions of presets you’d like to see from us in the future. Thanks again to Eli Maiman from Walk the Moon for sharing his sounds with us. I’ll leave you with this sweet photo
of Eli’s pedalboard.
The post This Week’s Preset – Eli Maiman’s “Shut Up and Dance” and “Different Colors” appeared first on Strymon.
Jazz guitarist Matthew Stevens just released his debut album Woodwork, after working on numerous albums with Walter Smith III, Justin Kauflin, and Harvey Mason. Recently, Matthew has been touring with Esperanza Spalding and will be doing several solo shows around the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Learn more about Matthew and his gear below!
What kind of pedalboard is this, and what is your signal path?
This is a Pedaltrain board that has been added on to and customized by Matt Brewster who owns 30th st. Guitars here in New York. My signal path is Guitar > Boss TU2 > Fulltone OCD > Strymon Deco > Boss DD7 > Earthquaker Disaster Transport Jr. > Tech 21 Boost R.V.B > Strymon blueSky > 2 Vox AC 30s W/ Green Back Speakers. I’m very happy with it and have been especially blown away by the tape saturation on the Deco—it’s the most natural sounding and responsive overdrive I’ve ever used.
Can you tell us about your debut album Woodwork?
It feels good to share an album that I feel captures the musical world that I am trying to create with such a fantastic group of musicians (Gerald Clayton, Eric Doob, Vicente Archer, and Paulo Stagnaro). I wrote all the material except for a cover we do of a Bowie song called “Sunday” and produced the record as well, so I was in control of each element of the process. I wanted to feature the guitar as the main voice, like the lead singer of the band, and the result is what I feel is the truest recorded representation of my musical voice to date.
You have been involved with numerous albums for many different artists, how different was it to work on your own album?
It was very different. Just the amount of responsibility alone was far greater. When you are working on someone else’s album, your primary responsibility is bringing to life that person’s musical vision, followed by being prepared to play at your best and to use your voice to enhance the overall sound of the music. When recording your own album, not only are you responsible to be playing at your best, but you have to be deeply in touch with what the overall aesthetic is that you are trying to create and to be able to lead everyone else in the right direction towards realizing that sound. And that’s not even getting into the logistics which even with the help and support of a label is still a lot to manage. All that being said, making this record has been the most fulfilling thing that I’ve done in my career thus far.
You currently are on tour with Esperanza Spalding. Can you tell us a bit about that experience?
It’s been a lot of fun! So far we’ve done about 6 shows with this new project and we are heading out for about a total of 6 weeks on the bus this summer in the U.S. Esperanza wrote some amazing music and with the core power trio of guitar, bass, and drums, it really reminds me of a cool mix between Joni Mitchell, Creme, the Police and Esperanza’s own very personal sounding music. It was also a blast to get the chance to work a bit with Tony Visconti, who co-produced the record.
What is hot right now in the Jazz scene? Is there any particular Jazz clubs that need to be put on the must go to list?
Well, my personal favorites are the Village Vanguard, The Jazz Standard and the 55 bar in NYC, The Blue Whale in LA, The Bohemian Caverns in DC, Snug Harbour in New Orleans, Wally’s Jazz Cafe in Boston, The Rex in Toronto, and the Green Mill in Chicago. If you ever have the chance to go to any of those clubs, I wouldn’t miss them!
Do you have a bit of advice for an up and coming Jazz guitarist?
My bit of advice would simply be to practice diligently every day for as long as you can possibly concentrate, and also to listen to a lot of music (jazz and otherwise) and to make a study of it’s history, and vocabulary.
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If you have a Timeline, BigSky, or Mobius, you will notice that there are MIDI IN and MIDI OUT ports on the back of your pedal. These can be used to control the pedals from an external MIDI controller that is programmed to send MIDI messages that can change presets and control parameters on the pedal from the controller.
What is MIDI (briefly)?
If you are not familiar with MIDI, it is a communication language that is used for MIDI equipped hardware to talk to each other. This allows one device to send a MIDI message to another device as a digital signal to pass along real time musical information. There are several different types of MIDI messages that can be sent on up to 16 MIDI Channels. These messages are sent via the MIDI IN and MIDI OUT ports on compatible devices. It is important to also remember that MIDI does NOT transmit audio; only digital MIDI messages. Today we will focus on MIDI Program Change to recall and change presets on the pedal.
MIDI Connections
MIDI messages are usually sent across MIDI cables that connect to the MIDI IN and MIDI OUT ports of MIDI compatible devices. Most devices, like our pedals, utilize a 5-pin MIDI cable, but there are some 7-pin MIDI connections and some devices can communicate with MIDI over USB and other connections.
It is normal practice to connect a cable from the MIDI OUT port of a device like a MIDI controller to the MIDI IN port of the receiving device like one of our pedals.
There are also some devices and MIDI interfaces that will tell you where to connect the cables with text on the ends that may say TO MIDI IN or TO MIDI OUT. Just be sure to check the MIDI device or its documentation for the correct connection setup.
If you would like to control two or more Strymon pedals with a MIDI connection, you can start by connecting the MIDI OUT from the MIDI Controller to the MIDI IN port of the first Strymon pedal. Then, connect the MIDI OUT from that first Strymon pedal to the MIDI IN of the next Strymon pedal and do the same for any additional MIDI equipped pedals you would like to control.
Now, in order for the MIDI messages from the controller to be passed on to each device in the MIDI chain, you must enable MIDI Through on each pedal before the last device in the MIDI chain. On the Strymon pedals, this is found in the GLOBLS menu in the MIDI TH parameter. Set MIDI TH to ON and this will enable MIDI Through on the pedal.
MIDI and TimeLine, BigSky, and Mobius
With TimeLine, BigSky, and Mobius, MIDI can be used to control the presets and parameters of the pedal externally from a MIDI Controller or from another MIDI equipped Strymon pedal. You would just need to make sure that the MIDI controller and the Strymon pedals are set to communicate on the same MIDI Channel. MIDI Channel 1 is set as the default MIDI Channel on the Strymon pedals. To change the MIDI Channel, go into the pedal’s GLOBLS menu by pressing and holding the VALUE encoder button down for a few seconds. Then, turn the VALUE encoder to the MIDI CH parameter and press VALUE once again. Here you can select the MIDI Channel you would like to use to control the pedal through. Once selected, you can exit this menu by pressing the VALUE encoder, then, the TYPE encoder buttons.
MIDI Program Change
MIDI Program Change by itself can provide access for up to 128 different presets by sending MIDI Program Change numbers 0-127. This will correspond to the first 128 presets on TimeLine, BigSky, and Mobius. The presets on these pedals all correspond to MIDI Program Change messages. For example, on TimeLine and Mobius pedals:
On BigSky, each Bank has 3 presets (A, B, and C) instead of 2 (A and B) like TimeLine and Mobius. Here is how the presets on BigSky correspond to MIDI Program Change messages:
As an example, you can program a switch or button on a MIDI controller to send MIDI Program Change #0 to a Strymon pedal and it will recall the first preset (00A) on the pedal. Keep this in mind when programming the rest of the controls on your MIDI controller so that you can recall the presets that you like using MIDI messages. We will cover additional MIDI messages in a future blog post on using MIDI with our pedals.
Have any questions? Post them below! Need some help setting up MIDI with your Strymon rig? Send us an email at support@strymon.net and we’ll help you out.
The post Using MIDI to Control Your Strymon Pedals – Part 1 appeared first on Strymon.
One of my favorite effects to use is a delay with a lot of repeats and a slowly sweeping filter on those repeats. I think it creates a really dreamlike atmosphere, not only when used on guitar, but also on vocals (sparingly) or keyboards (like electric piano, for example). Whenever I’m trying out a delay, whether it be in software or hardware, I invariably try to create a version of this effect. Using TimeLine, it was easy for me to dial in the sound I was going for, using the Filter delay machine.
Listen here:
Preset details:
The image below shows the knob settings and parameters that I used in the audio clip. Note that the slow delay modulation I’ve included is what provides the nice stereo spread in the sound (using the Speed and Depth knobs for delay modulation, not to be confused with the SPEED and DEPTH parameters controlling the filter sweep). Also, I’ve placed the filter after the delay line by setting the LOCATION parameter to POST. This results in a much stronger effect.
I really have the Repeats knob turned up high, just on the verge of too much feedback (just how I like it!). When using this effect live, you might want to assign your expression pedal to control the repeats, not only for expressiveness but also in case you find yourself in a situation where you turn off the effect and the repeats persist just a bit too long afterward. I think this effect sounds nice with a generous helping of reverb on the guitar, though I did not use any reverb in the sound example.
Download the preset:
Using the Strymon Librarian? Download the “Lucid Dream” preset and load it into your TimeLine.
What do you think?
Made your own tweaks to this preset? Post them below or tag them #StrymonPreset online. Are there other preset types that you’d like to see in upcoming blog posts? Let us know what you think. Thanks!
The post This Week’s Preset: TimeLine – “Lucid Dream” appeared first on Strymon.
Looking for someone that enjoys talking gear? Dave Depper is your person. He said so himself here 
Now with Death Cab For Cutie, Dave has stayed busy playing and recording with a slew of great artists. He also has kept his talent going with solo projects including one where he did a cover album of Paul McCartney’s Ram, titled The Ram Project.
What kind of pedalboard is this, and what is your signal path?
I’m using a Pedaltrain 2 board, and powering everything with a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power Mondo.
My main guitars are both made by Fano. One is the PX6, which is loosely based on a non-reverse Gibson Firebird, and it has Lollar Firebird pickups installed. The other is the GF6, which in turn is inspired by the Fender Starcaster, and it has Fralin P90s in it.
I’m also using a Rickenbacker 330 12-string on several numbers, as well as an old Martin D-28 of Ray LaMontagne’s which he very kindly gave me at the end of our run together last year.
My signal path, in order:
TC Electronic Polytune Mini – not much to say about this one other than it’s small and convenient!
Earthquaker Devices Fuzz Master General – incredible little nuclear bomb of a pedal, it’s EQD’s spin on the Ace Tone Fuzz Master, and dang, does it sound good. I’m currently using it to play the guitar solo on the Death Cab single “Black Sun” – it needs a very specific octave-fuzzy kind of sound, and this pedal nails it.
ARC Effects Klone V2 – ARC is a really wonderful builder in upstate NY. His handiwork is beautiful and he’s a total pleasure to work with. The Klone, as the name implies, is a faithful recreation of a Klon Centaur. Obviously, this is a cottage industry these days, and there’s many Klon clones to choose from, but of all the ones I’ve tried, this one just NAILS it. Also, there’s an optional bass boost switch which ably makes up for some of the low frequency drop that this type of pedal is known for at higher gain settings.
I use the Klone for mild overdrive and as a dirty boost – volume around 10 o’clock, tone at noon, and gain ranging from 9 to 1 o’clock, depending on the song. I have it on about 80% of the time.
Xotic BB Preamp – Possibly my favorite pedal of all time. In Death Cab, I’m using it for my medium to heavy gainl/lead tones. However, I’ve used this pedal for years in all sorts of roles, from a clean boost to a dirty boost to a simple EQ to a rock distortion machine.
My original BB Preamp got wet during soundcheck at Red Rocks at our show earlier this year, I foolishly didn’t have a backup, and the thing shorted out during the second song. I had a disaster of an evening as a result, so dependent am I on this miracle baby. I learned my lesson and have three now!
Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret – Another incredible device, this is the best Marshall-in-a-box pedal I’ve come across. It has a both a Super Lead and a Super Bass mode, selectable via an internal slider switch. I use this one for really high-gain stuff like “The New Year” and “We Laugh Indoors.”
Mr. Black Boost Tiger – my favorite transparent boost, made in Portland to boot. Sadly discontinued.
Strymon TimeLine – More on this during the next question!
Strymon BigSky – see above!
Disaster Area DMC-3XL – genius MIDI foot controller. I have many different presets on both Strymon pedals, so this pedal essential creates a master preset on a song by song basis out of a combination of the two, and I can scroll through it rapidly and intuitively. It also includes a shortcut to the looping function on the TimeLine pedal, which comes in VERY handy.
Please tell us a bit about how you use BigSky during your Death Cab For Cutie set. Also, can you tell us about how the FOH uses BigSky?
The BigSky and the TimeLine are both fundamental components of my live sound.
With the BigSky, about half the time I am using the Spring reverb machine, especially on the rockier songs. I like running my amp very clean and effect-free, getting most of my tonal variation from my pedalboard. I adore the Spring machine’s warm, natural sound.
My favorite application, however, is the Bloom machine. It’s quite simply my favorite reverb sound I’ve ever encountered, and I use it pretty liberally throughout the set, especially during the slower, more atmospheric songs like “Transatlanticsm” and “You’ve Haunted Me All My Life.” And I ESPECIALLY love holding down the switch to engage the Infinite Sustain when using the Bloom machine. Freezing the sound in place like that ends up sounding almost like a synth pad, and it’s kind of like having a piano sustain pedal for my guitar. I use this trick fairly often throughout the set.
I’m just as reliant on the TimeLine, and have a different present built for nearly every song. I use the Digital machine for U2-like syncopated delays in songs like “You Are a Tourist” and “Your Heart Is An Empty Room.” I use the Analog machine for subtle slapback in songs like “Cath…” and “Why You’d Want To Live Here.” And the Tape machine comes in handy for all-out mayhem on “I Will Possess Your Heart” and “Bixby Canyon Bridge.” I definitely find myself abusing the self-oscillation function several times throughout the set.
With Death Cab For Cutie you have played on Jimmy Kimmel and Conan. What is it like getting ready to perform on late night? Is performing on late night shows all the same, or is there some differences?
I’m not going to lie – it’s a very nerve-wracking experience! When playing a full-length show, even if it’s a high-pressure one, you still have a couple of hours to settle in and get comfortable over the course of the performance. And even if you make a few mistakes here and there, overall a good show is a good show.
With TV, you have three minutes to flawlessly play a song, cold, and know that it’s being watched by several million people, frozen in amber forever on YouTube, etc.
And yes, all of the shows are fairly different experiences. With Letterman, for example, he wasn’t hanging around the studio beforehand – the first time you’d see him would be two minutes before you performed the song, when you’re brought down from the green room and told to take your places on the stage and there he was at his famous desk. Fallon and Conan, by contrast, make a point to say hi and make you feel comfortable earlier in the day. Not a knock on Letterman at all – he’d been doing it for 30-odd years and I don’t blame him for streamlining his day!
Each show has its own specific vibe and backstage culture that is more or less a reflection of the host’s personality. And they’re all a blast.
What was your first break in becoming a working musician?
Well, I don’t know if I’ve necessarily had any “breaks” that I can particularly identify. Every project I’ve been involved in has seemed like a pretty organic progression from the last.
But in terms of being a paid professional, I suppose I can pinpoint the beginning of that – seven or eight years ago, I was a member of a great band called Norfolk and Western. The drummer, Rachel Blumberg, also happened to drum for M. Ward. Ward produced an album by Jolie Holland called “The Living and the Dead” and used Rachel as the drummer. When it came time for Jolie to put together a touring band, Rachel was a part of it from the get go and she recommended me as the bass player. So that was my first experience as a touring “hired gun, ” so to speak – playing bass for Jolie Holland.
What are some must go to venues in Portland to see a band? Which one would be a must perform at venue?
My favorite venue in the world happens to be in Portland – the Doug Fir. It was designed from the ground up with great sound and performer/audience experience in mind. Both performing and seeing shows there is a treat. I’ve played there dozens of times.
Other great spots include Mississippi Studios, Holocene, Revolution Hall, and the Crystal Ballroom.
The post Pedalboard Feature: Dave Depper appeared first on Strymon.
Between touring with two bands, recording, and running his studio (Twin Hill Studio), Walter Hill keeps himself surrounded by music. Find out about all the musical endeavors that are keeping Walter busy, plus the ins and outs of the pedal board he tours and records with below!
What kind of pedalboard is this, and what is your signal path?
I use Brady Cases for my pedal board and amp cases. Love his cases!
My signal path is always changing… Right now it is:
– Guitar/Lap Steel
– Cusack Mono to Mono Y Box
– Cusack PBT9 (which has an A/B switch to switch between my guitar and lap steel, it also has a buffer on the input and output, 9 effect loops, preset mode and a mute to my Sonic Research Strobo tuner!) This thing is really cool!
Loop 1 – Xotic SP Compressor
Loop 2 – Cusack Scruzz
Loop 3 – Cusack Scream
Loop 4 – EH Nano Pog
Loop 5 – Hilton Volume
Loop 6 – (Open at the moment)
Loop 7 – Strymon TimeLine
Loop 8 – Eventide H9
Loop 9 – Strymon BigSky
Amp
Can you tell us about your studio, Twin Hill Studio?
I started Twin Hill Studio about 4 years ago. The studio is run by myself and Jonathan Berlin of Berlin Mastering, also the lead singer of my band SUNBEARS! Twin Hill offers tracking, mixing and mastering. We also have a record lathe and now offer disc mastering and short run lathe cut vinyl. Twin Hill is also set up to facilitate a client’s entire production from the initial recording stage to the final packaging of their vinyl.
www.twinhillstudio.com
www.twinhillrecords.com
Could you tell us about your current musical projects, including Johnnyswim?
I play Guitar and Keys in a band called SUNBEARS!. SUNBEARS! started as a two piece, Jonathan Berlin and Jared Bowser. At that time, I played in another band called Shangrala and started playing shows with SUNBEARS! in 2007 I believe. I became a fan the first time I heard them. About two years ago Jonathan told me he was thinking of adding some more guys to the band and wanted me to join. I’m a huge fan of his music and honored to start playing with them.
www.sunbearsmusic.com
I started playing guitar with Johnnyswim about two years ago. Johnnyswim is a husband and wife duo, Abner and Amanda. I have known Abner since I was about 4-5 years old. We grew up together and learned how to play music together. We played in bands together all through our teenage years. A couple of years ago they started bringing a band along with them and asked me to start playing guitar. Watching these two perform every night is amazing, and I am so excited to share the stage with them.
www.johnnyswim.com
It’s pretty rare to get to travel and play music with some of your favorite people in the world!
Is there a venue that you haven’t played at that you can’t wait to get to?
The Ryman – Nashville, TN
It just got booked for December 21st!
The post Pedalboard Feature: Walter Hill appeared first on Strymon.
Here is something a little weird and spooky I made for Halloween: a TimeLine preset I call “Hell Float Trip.” It uses the Ice delay machine to create an eerie wash of smeared repeats that fall in pitch with each regeneration. At first I’d considered calling it “Drag Me to Hell,” but I thought the preset sounded more relaxed than that, like floating down a lazy river of sulfurous smoke and torment in Hades. In the audio example below I play a few notes on the lower frets of the guitar at the beginning, pause, and then play a few high notes so you can hear how the effect sounds when processing different frequency ranges.
Listen here:
Preset details:
The image below shows the knob settings and parameters that I used in the audio clip.
The Ice delay machine slices up the input signal and plays back the slices after pitch-shifting them at selectable intervals. In this preset, the slices are being pitched down by 25 cents. I have the BLEND parameter set all the way to ICE, so only the Ice delay lines are heard, and not the regular (dry) delay lines (which can also be blended into the sound when using the Ice delay machine if desired). With the Blend parameter set all the way to ICE, the SPEED and DEPTH knobs have no effect, since they only modulate the regular (dry) delay lines, which are not heard in this preset. The Ice delay lines are not modulated by the MOD controls.
Other notes: I have the SMEAR parameter set at maximum to soften the attack of the repeats. I’ll also mention that if you want to hear some really chaotic strangeness, try changing the SLICE setting to LONG, and experiment with increasing the delay time. At longer delay times I tried setting the INTERVAL for -50 cents, and I thought it sounded cool. By the way, if you also happen to have a BigSky reverb pedal, this Hell Float Trip preset could be complimented nicely by the Falling Angel BigSky preset posted here a few weeks ago, which uses the Shimmer reverb machine to create a ghostly ever-falling-pitch effect.
Download the preset:
Using the Strymon Librarian? Download the “Hell Float Trip” preset and load it into your TimeLine.
What do you think?
Made your own tweaks to this preset? Post them below or tag them #StrymonPreset online. Are there other preset types that you’d like to see in upcoming blog posts? Let us know what you think. Thanks!
The post This Week’s Preset: TimeLine – “Hell Float Trip” appeared first on Strymon.
You can never laugh enough – at least that’s how we feel over at Strymon headquarters. So it was great when Linda Taylor reached out to us about her use of Strymon pedals on one of our favorite, truly funny shows. Linda, who shares some more insight below, has spent a lot of time expressing humor in her music as a part of Whose Line is it Anyway?. When not in a cyclone of laughs, Linda works with many artists like Tracy Chapman, Maia Sharp, Sheila E., Carlos Rios, Edwin McCain, Thelma Houston, just to name a few. Keep reading to find out about Linda’s pedalboard and more.
What kind of pedalboard is this, and what is your signal path?
The picture is of what I would consider my “main” pedalboard. It changes all the time, but there are a few pedals that don’t get switched out.
The signal path starts at the Brad Sarno Steel Guitar Black Box, which is a tube buffer with variable impedance. The Peterson strobe tuner is connected via the Black Box (which has a tuner out). I hear a difference when the tuner is in the signal chain, so I keep it out (this is true on all my boards regardless of buffer – I always use a “tuner out” on the buffer).
From the Black Box, the signal goes into the Loop-Master 3-way bypass switcher. Out A goes to the Cry Baby Wah, B goes to the MXR Phase 90, and I leave C open for any pedal I want to drop into the chain, in this case the Origin Cali76. It’s convenient, especially at sessions, to have this C port so I can drop anything in. Otherwise I’m patching in pedals after the delays.
I’m rarely called for anything that doesn’t require a pristine clean sound. As a result, I get my OD and gain sounds from pedals. From the Loop-Master, the signal goes into the Sarno Earth Drive, to the Bogner Wessex, to the Rockbox Boiling Point. The Earth Drive and the Wessex get changed out and switched frequently, sometimes I’ll drop an Analog Man King Of Tone in there, it depends on the gig. The Boiling Point rarely gets changed out, and when I do, I usually regret it.
From the Boiling Point the signal goes into the Vertex Boost. I’m primarily using the Boost for its expression port, which connects to the Ernie Ball Volume Pedal. I always keep the Volume Pedal out of the chain, so the Vertex is great for that. It’s a terrific boost as well, but I tend to only use it with single coils.
From there the signal goes into the Demeter Tremulator, my favorite trem, and from there into the Strymon TimeLine and out to the El Capistan.
The El Cap functions as my general, “rhythm” delay and “solo” delay, while the TimeLine functions as more effected, long delays; more ambient sounds. Truthfully, I can probably do all delay duties with just the TimeLine, but the El Cap has a special “something.” I love this pedal.
I also have the Strymon BigSky, which I’m using mostly in the studio, so it’s not pictured on this board. The Midi clock on both the TimeLine and BigSky are essential, so I just keep a MIDI cable handy in the studio. Live, I’m just a tapping away!
You have what I would consider a very unique job working with Whose Line is it Anyway?, an improv show. I’d love to hear more about how you prepare for and handle the improv nature of the music on the show?
I’ve been on Whose Line for about 17 years, maybe 18. Laura Hall and I count it by the age of her youngest daughter, so I’d have to check:>) It’s a very bizarre gig on a number of levels. There really isn’t much preparation we can do because we don’t know what is going to happen, although after so many years of not knowing what is going to happen, we are pretty familiar with what they like. So Laura and I get together before each round of shooting and go through iTunes and jam on a bunch of styles. I spend a lot of time programming drums that will work for a variety of genres (on Whose Line, we are pretty broad with our descriptions). We like to think about “orchestration” ahead of time: Should I be on bass, or banging faux timpani, or playing guitar, or what if they call “Broadway Musical” … that kind of thing. We are really trying to bring as much production and polish to the live music as possible. The key thing for us is reference – we must quickly convey the essence of whatever style we’re playing to Wayne and Jeff and Brad or whomever is singing. If it’s “jazz,” I’m gonna dink dink dink on a ride cymbal, if it’s “Prince,” I’m gonna start with the little 6/9 funk chord, that kind of thing. Immediate Reference!
You also play with many musicians and recently were recording with a new artist. Can you share how the TimeLine Ice setting played a part in these recordings?
Boy, the TimeLine saved me on a recent session. The artist wanted guitar, but wanted it to be not quite guitar sounding, more ambient, drone-y, ephemeral, you know, not guitar. So I was just leaning on the Timeline all day long…think I went through every single factory preset. I kept coming back to the “Ice” preset, the way that sound sort of evolves and spins and sprinkles, boy I was a hero with that one. The artist REALLY liked it, so I think it made it to several tracks on the album….hey, if it ain’t broke…. I was tapping in and manually setting tempo all day, but from now on, I’ll just have them send me MIDI clock and run a cable, which is now what I do in my own studio. So much faster and accurate!
What is your go-to guitar and why?
Whatever the song needs, I don’t play favorites. Of course if there are several guitar parts I will always incorporate a single-coil track, a humbucker, then maybe my ’72 Thinline, or something unexpected like the $25 Decca my mother bought me when I was eight years old. I don’t want the mix engineer to have to work that hard, especially when I’m the mix engineer. So the guitar parts and the sounds should all stand on their own nicely. Live, it’s the same thing, whatever the gig needs. More and more I have a Strat and a 335 with me.
You have also played in many TV show house bands. Can you share a tip for someone that is looking to try to get their foot in the TV show door?
Oh, I guess the thing to remember is a TV show is very much like a casual – the music isn’t the point. It’s a cool punctuation, an accent, but it is not the point. Remembering that little mantra has saved me an ulcer or two…maybe I should stitch it on a pillow. Reading helps, but it’s all about being quick. It’s not what can you do, it’s what can you do NOW. Flexibility, open mindedness, preparation, be ready for anything. Maybe it’s like being a pinch-hitter. You sit there waiting, waiting, waiting, then when the camera swings your way you have to hit a home run. How’s that for mixing metaphors?
The post Pedalboard Feature: Linda Taylor appeared first on Strymon.
One of my favorite parts of monitoring social media for Strymon is seeing everyone’s pedalboards and hearing so many wonderful musicians worldwide. Twitter is where I first came across Kitzy. Kitzy had posted his beautiful board, and it was one of those boards that is hard not to be in awe of. Luckily, Kitzy was happy to share all the details about his board, including a YouTube video he made (below) with everything you’d want to know!
My signal chain starts with a custom Interfacer from Goodwood Audio (goodwoodaudio.com). My guitar plugs into a buffered input which then goes directly into a Bondi Effects 2026 Compressor that is always on. From there, it goes to the first input of the Strymon Mobius (in pre/post mode). The first output of the Mobius goes into the RJM Mastermind PBC.
From there, the pedals are each in their own dedicated loop.
Loop 1 – Electro-Harmonix POG2
Loop 2 – Bondi Effects Sick As Blackout (used for low gain)
Loop 3 – Bondi Effects Sick As MKII (used for medium gain)
Loop 4 – Keeley-modded ProCo RAT (used for high gain)
Loop 5 – Earthquaker Devices Park Fuzz
Loop 6 – Earthquaker Devices Cloven Hoof Fuzz
There’s an insert point after loop 6, where my signal goes to my Ernie Ball VP Jr, and then into the second input of the Mobius. This gives me the option to put the Mobius pre or post gain on a per preset basis. From the Mobius’ second out, the signal goes to a small normalized loop box on the side of my board that can act as an insert point for any effects I want to add in addition to what’s already on the board, or it can be used to run the rest of the board in an amp’s effects loop. After that, it goes back into the PBC.
Loop 7 – Empress Tremolo 2
Loop 8 – TC Electronics Spark Boost
Loop 9 – Strymon TimeLine
Loop 10 – Earthquaker Devices Afterneath
From here, the signal splits from the PBC’s two outputs. The first output goes into the Electro-Harmonix Freeze, and then to the “dry” output of the custom Interfacer. The second output goes into another custom junction box from Goodwood Audio. This junction box takes the dry signal and sends it to both the second TimeLine and the BigSky in parallel, and it also feeds the output of the TimeLine into the BigSky, so I can still get reverb on the delay repeats. The TimeLine and BigSky are in kill dry mode, so the only thing coming out of these are the repeats and reverb, no dry signal. The left and right outputs of both the TimeLine and BigSky are then routed back into the junction box, where the signal is summed into a single stereo signal which then gets routed to the left and right wet outputs of the custom Interfacer.
The interfacer is set up to feed the signal to three amps in a wet/dry/wet configuration, but it has a couple switches that let me change that configuration to two amps, either in wet/dry, or in stereo with wet and dry going to both amps, or I can sum everything down to a single signal if I’m only using one amp.
The entire board is powered by a Strymon Zuma and three Strymon Ojais.
I’m using MIDI from the PBC to control presets on both TimeLines, the BigSky, the Mobius, the POG2 and the Empress Tremolo 2.
Can you tell us how you use your two TimeLines?
The answer I usually give is time travel – I have a TimeLine and an alternate TimeLine.
The real answer is that they’re in two different points in the signal chain and serve two different purposes. The first TimeLine is for when the delay is an integral part of what I’m playing – think U2’s Edge doing dotted 8th stuff. The second TimeLine is more for when the delay should be more of an ambient background to help fill the space. I often use both at the same time.
You have an extensive collection of pedals. What do you enjoy most about using pedals?
When I started playing guitar in bands I was very heavily involved in the punk scene, and if you had asked me about pedals then I would have laughed at you and told you that the only thing I needed was a guitar plugged into an amp with the gain cranked.
As I got older, my music tastes expanded quite a bit and I got into more indie and experimental stuff. I started with a TS9 and a DL4, and my friend gave me an old Big Muff that he wasn’t using. Then I discovered Reverb.com and fell down the rabbit hole of pedalboards on YouTube, and just became enamored with the options available. I’ve been digging on Reverb for cool pedals ever since.
The thing I like most about using pedals is the seemingly endless sonic possibilities. I love coming up with as many different sounds as I can.
Please tell us about your band Death & Texas?
Death & Texas is a collaboration between myself and my good friend Caleb. Caleb was the bass player in Long Since Forgotten, and after they split up Caleb and I were in a short-lived band together in Syracuse, NY. That band split when I moved to Chicago and Caleb moved to St. Louis. About two years ago, Caleb and I both moved in together in Oakland, CA and started writing. That became Death & Texas.
We’re still working on finishing our first record, but we’ve both since moved back to our hometowns to be closer to family, so we’re taking a bit of a break until we can dedicate some time to finish it.
You can hear a couple of our finished songs here:
iTunes
Spotify
What project are you currently working on?
My current project is called Freelance Astronaut, which is an instrumental post rock project where I play guitar and do looping with Ableton Live. I haven’t released anything yet, but you can follow me on Facebook or Twitter to be notified when I release something later this year.
The post Pedalboard Feature: Kitzy appeared first on Strymon.
Ambient music has long been a go-to source for yoga practitioners and instructors to enhance the benefits of yoga practice. As more and more musicians discover the benefits of yoga – some even becoming instructors themselves – live performance of meditative music is finding its way into many yoga classrooms and outdoor retreats. In this special edition of Artist Feature, we highlight a few of the folks sharing their music online specifically for individual and group yoga practice. May you find yourself inspired to take a few relaxing deep breaths and maybe even try an asana or two.
ARLI provides the perfect dreamy and soothing soundscape for this live group yoga event in New York. The drone and sweet, gentle melody of this piece are the perfect soundtrack for the full-body relaxation of the asana or pose called Shavasana, Savasana, or Corpse Pose.
Yoga is front and center in “Yoga Lesson #1” from Perry Frank. Instructor Maura Cappai moves through a series yoga poses as Perry plays “Another Place Another Time” live in the background. The shimmery swells and harmonies of the song provide the perfect complement to the flow and calm of Maura’s practice. A part of Perry’s ambient session series, the music heard in this video is “exclusively live and belongs to that moment in time.” Mobius, Timeline, and blueSky were used in the creation of the track as well as the magic and power of groovy socks.
Guitarists, in particular, are prone to neck, shoulder, and hand issues especially when one has been playing for years. This extended yoga jam from Quist was made to be used for yoga practice or meditation. “Yoga has become a HUGE help to me in recent years,” he explains in the video’s description. “It can naturally fix aches and pains from working with music and playing the guitar… it’s basically THE best solution I’ve found.” A shorter, 20-minute track is also available in the video description.
To learn more about the style and types of yoga (as well as its many benefits for back, shoulder, neck, and hand issues) check out the Yoga 101 page from the Yoga Journal.
The post Artist Feature: Yoga appeared first on Strymon.
While Justin Meldal-Johnson may be best known for his tenure as bassist for Beck, he has also worked as producer and multi-instrumentalist for an impressive and seemingly endless list of iconic bands and artists over the course of last two decades. He has played with Nine Inch Nails, Tori Amos, Macy Gray, Air, Frank Black, Pink, Emmylou Harris, Goldfrapp, Garbage, The Dixie Chicks, and School of the Seven Bells (see the full list here). He’s produced records for M83, Wolf Alice, Jimmy Eat World, The Raveonettes, and is currently working on the new Metric record slated for release later this year. He has served as musical director for artists like Kesha and Sarah Bareilles, and in 2017 Fender announced the release the JMJ Mustang Bass, modeled after Justin’s 1966 Daphne Blue 4-string Mustang bass (pictured above).
We recently got a chance to chat with Justin about his extensive career and how he uses his TimeLine and Ojai in the studio.
What was your first producing gig and how did it come about?
I think the first gig where I actually got paid any kind of money and that was a legit project was the LA band Division Day, their album Visitation, which I think is still quite a cool album. I wish that band was still around, they were genius. Anyway, it came about because my manager was their label. Kind of like nepotism, but a gig is a gig.
Has producing changed how you play the bass at all? How so?
Oh for SURE, in a big way. I used to be so flashy, and now I can moderate myself more because I always think bigger picture now, even if I’m just occupying the bass chair – I can’t help myself. I’m definitely a little more minimal now.
You’ve also worked as a music director for several artists — can you tell us more about that? How has that influenced your work as a producer? As a musician?
Yeah, I’ve done that for Charlotte Gainsbourg, Beck, M83, Ke$ha, Sara Bareilles, and a few others. I really like that work, because my heart is firmly in the live performance area, and it’s super fun to help put shows together, particularly when it comes to sonics, parts, and arrangements. I don’t really know how to say that it’s influenced my playing or production, or vice versa. I mean, I’m sure it has, but it would be hard for me to describe it subjectively. All my roles, writer, programmer, producer, player, MD, they all get mixed up in one big stew and work with each other.
As a producer, what sorts of things do you do to prepare before going into the studio with a new artist?
Just trying to make sure that the band is reasonably prepared without over-preparing. I want to burn as little paid studio time as possible, but I want them to also have time to feel at ease and have fun in there. In other words: a pretty healthy amount of old-school pre-production rehearsal.
Can you tell us about your longtime collaboration with Beck? How did you two meet?
We met through his dad, David Campbell, the string arranger. I met David while working as a janitor at Cherokee Studios in Hollywood straight out of high school. He offered me a job to be his helper/gopher/assistant person, which was great. Soon after that, I met his son. I think we were both 18. Many years later, after he had a hit with Loser, he asked me to join up in his band, somewhere around 1996, and I’ve been doing that on and off ever since.
Can you tell us more about how you’re using TimeLine? You’re also using Ojai with your rig, is that right?
I use TimeLine in the studio, and it’s great. Quickly locking in a BPM then switching over to a different texture is nice. I dig the sound of it.
Ojai is great for a super compact rig that I can take to sessions when I don’t need tons of pedals, but it’s powerful and sounds great. In my studio, it’s like the perfect little power station for setting up pedals on top of a Wurlitzer, or for making an effects chain of pedals for processing something out of the computer.
You’ve played with and produced such a wide variety of great artists over the course of your career. Does any particular collaboration or live performance stand out for you?
I guess my work performing or recording with Beck, Nine Inch Nails, and Air has been my favorite work as a player. M83 is my dream production collab, for sure, and it’s a long-term association that I really enjoy.
Any recording tips or suggestions for bassists about to go into the studio for the first time?
Watch what everybody else is doing and learn. Don’t make the mistake I used to, which is bringing too much gear. Get a sound. Play in tune.
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