Today’s featured track is “Magic Fireflies” from Brazilian guitarist and composer Harã Lemes’ latest release The New Land. The song is a mesmerizing and melodic combination of guitar, vocals, and percussion that deftly weaves in the unique firefly sounds Lemes created using TimeLine.

The New Land is a concept album that continues the tale Lemes began on his 2017 release Technological Singularity and takes place at a point in the future where artificial intelligence (AI) has surpassed that of human intelligence and as Lemes puts it, “the machines take over.” The title of the new record takes its name from the last track on Singularity.

“The album represents a day on the new land,” Lemes explained. “It starts with the ‘Sunrise’ song and ends with ‘Cosmic Lullaby’ song.” He continued, “‘Magic Fireflies’ is on the final part of [the] album and was composed to have a nighttime atmosphere. I just needed to look for a sound that would represent … the fireflies luminance.”

While The New Land is the next chapter in the Singularity story, the primary inspiration for the music came when Lemes learned he was going to be a father. News of the baby-to-be moved him to shift the musical narrative from the broader perspective of humankind searching for a new celestial home to that of one little astronaut discovering and exploring a new planet.

According to Lemes, the fireflies theme came from his desire to add otherworldly elements to the music. “Since I was a child, I always thought that fireflies are one of the most magical things we could have contact [with] in our real world,” he shared. ‘The fireflies are in the sky, waiting for you’ [lyric] is to my baby, but I decided to [then] create a unique track for fireflies.”

Listen to “Magic Fireflies” below and read on to learn about the TimeLine settings used for the song.

Harã Lemes “Magic Fireflies”:

Harã Lemes Pedalboard

TimeLine Presets for “Magic Fireflies”

“Delays are magic. It is able to carry the music to another level creating unique textures,” Lemes explained. “Besides delay, I really like filters. I use it a lot on several occasions because I think the filter can make the sound warm or cold, live or opaque, and this also helps to create beautiful textures.” He continued: “In this preset, I decided to join the two effects, and as the Timeline is a complete delay machine, it enabled me to do it. I chose to make the delays repeating in filters because, in my mind, fireflies would have these types of sounds, if they were sonorous. After that, I recorded this riff with TimeLine in stereo mode to be wider. What made this sound interesting [was] waiting for the time to listen to the delay as a question and answer game.”

MF RIFF preset (knob positions plus Effect Parameters)

MF RIFF preset (knob positions plus Effect Parameters)

“For the solos, I used a dTape effect, with a more subtle configuration, just to wet the electric guitar a bit.”

MF SOLO preset (knob positions plus Effect Parameters)

MF SOLO preset (knob positions plus Common Parameters)

Download the presets:

Using the Strymon Librarian or our new Nixie preset editor? Download Magic Fireflies Riff and Download Magic Fireflies Solo 1, and load them into your TimeLine.

What do you think?

Post a video or clip online playing this preset, and please share by tagging #strymonpreset. Are there other preset/favorite types that you’d like to see in upcoming blog posts? Let us know what you think. Thanks!

The post This Week’s Preset: Harã Lemes and the sound of “Magic Fireflies” appeared first on Strymon.

American Idol House Band: MD – Kris Pooley, Keys – Peter Dyer, Guitar – Greg Suran, Guitar – Tim Stewart, Bass – Joe Ayoub, Drums – Adam Marcello, BGV – Felicia Barton, BGV – Miss Hale, BGV – Ryan Stuart, BGV – Brandon Winbush, Playback – Laura Escudé

Recently we sat down with Greg Suran (guitar, American Idol house band, also lead guitarist with the B-52’s since 2012, and touring with Alanis Morisette this summer), and Peter Dyer (keys, American Idol house band and has toured or performed with Adam Lambert, St. Vincent, Mariah Carey, Aloe Blacc, and so many more) to talk about what is is like to work on American Idol.

But first let’s start off with a little Journey “Don’t Stop Believin” covered by American Idol contestant Gabby Barrett and the American Idol band.

Peter Dyer

How did you both get your gig on American Idol?

P: We were brought on by Idol’s musical director Kris Pooley. I’ve worked for and with Kris quite a bit over the last few years: Adam Lambert, Niall Horan, Miguel, Katy Perry, Tegan & Sara, D.N.C.E., Lea Michele, and scoring several Chevy commercials, and a BMW short film, The Escape. He’s a fantastic leader, musician, and person, so I’m glad he had me on for this one.

G: Kris Pooley, the MD for Idol, is a friend of mine. Kris was the MD for the TV show Glee, and for a live tour featuring the actors/singers. He got me on that gig and we did a few tours together. That tour was also cover songs so I guess we have a pretty rich history of only playing cover songs together, lol.

Greg Suran

Is it different playing live on tour versus playing on television? And if so, how is it different?

Yes and no.

P: The entire band has played TV before many times for various artists, but they’re usually one to two songs for an album’s promotional tour on one of the morning or late-night TV shows. Or, working with a single artist on a tour you play ten to twenty songs that are in a similar vein since it’s one artist, and then you play those all tour with maybe some mild changes. Idol is so varied, with the different contestants, genres, and set productions so each week was a new hurdle. Also, the arrangements are short (one and a half to two minutes max), so you don’t have time to settle into a song. You have to hit that thing right out the gate, in front of the 5–10+ million viewers. Each episode was such a unique and varied set of challenges, and you never have time to get comfy, since it’s over in a flash and on to the next setlist. I found that energy and demanding precision very refreshing.

G: I’ve been touring pretty heavily since ’95 at all different levels, from the big stuff to the excruciatingly small and squalid. Touring at any level is usually the same, in that you spend some time rehearsing a specific set and then play that same set of songs for months. The hard part becomes the travel, and the musical challenge can be keeping the music fresh, challenging yourself to be creative, and always bringing enthusiasm to songs you may have been playing for years. In other words, you get into a routine on tour. Idol is a completely different animal. For Idol we had a list of 50 songs to learn for the first week. (P: Our total song count for the season was 225!) We primarily read charts, as it would be pretty tough to memorize that many songs a week. I feel it’s really important to get all of the nuances in tone, phrasing, style, etc., of a song as opposed to just cold sight-reading it. We’re trying to play this music authentically, so it requires a lot of homework before we even begin rehearsing for an episode. Then, we wait for the charts to arrive and see what actual key we are playing the song in. On guitar this can really change the approach. For example, “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac is totally different in Gb minor instead of the original A minor. I would have to change my approach entirely in a case like that. The hours can be very long in rehearsal. Also, we play many styles of music each week (Rock, R&B, Pop, Country, Jazz, showtunes, Folk, Soul, Reggae, etc.). So you have to be versatile and quick at both the music and finding the right tone/sound. I enjoy the challenge and it’s very rewarding being constantly engaged and invested. It’s a great way to grow as a player and see what you’re made of, so to speak.

—

This seems like a nice place to enjoy another clip from American Idol. Here is Michael J. Woodard covering “I Would Die 4 U” with the American Idol band.

How did you and Greg use Strymon pedals in your performances?

P: I have a TimeLine and a BigSky on my Prophet 12 (later a Prophet X). The show is fast-paced, and we have to cover a lot of ground. There’s no time for futzing with knobs, so I’m very keen on preset management on my boards and pedals. I’d save a preset for each song on my boards, so I can see the name, and recall the tone with no doubt.

G: For my Idol pedalboard I use the TimeLine delay and Mobius modulation modeler. Because of the extremely diverse types of music we play I need to be able to access and reproduce sounds and effects authentically and quickly. For the TimeLine it’s a huge advantage to have all of the presets available to assign to any number of the 50 or so songs we play every week. In an episode I often need to go from a slapback delay for country chicken pickin’ and the next song I need a long delay with modulation for Eno-esque ambient volume swells. The TimeLine’s extremely high quality sound and its programmability make it invaluable on this gig. The Mobius is probably the one pedal I could not do this gig without, for the same reasons as the TimeLine. It’s common to need a rotary effect, ’80s chorus, ’70s phaser, ’50s tremolo, heavy flanger (e.g., Heart’s “Barracuda!”), and pitch vibrato all in one episode. I rely on the Mobius for all of those effects. Frankly, I think they sound as good or better than the large, analog original pedals. The programmability is key.

Greg Suran’s pedalboard

Peter Dyer’s rig

How does the pressure of this being a competition for the singers change the way you perform?

P: I tried to be very precise in my choices, because if I didn’t play something clearly and confidently, then the contestant could be affected, and that in turn could blow their performance. The contestants have only heard the band play the song a handful of times (and we’ve only played it a handful of times together as a band), so there’s no room for irregularity or doubt.

G: I think the unpredictability of the contestants and how they perform can be a challenge. You don’t know their instincts, or phrasing or tendencies so you always have to be on your toes. And you want to be at your best and make them feel inspired to sing their best.

What tip do you have for someone wanting to pursue a career playing on a show like American Idol? And what do you think is the best asset to have as a performer for a show like this?

P: With a show like this, the MD needs to know you are dependable, can nail sounds of the record, execute them precisely and consistently, and make good musical choices when audibles are called. There isn’t time for everyone to be told exactly what to play – the pace is too fast. There are countless departments moving to execute a live show, and the band is just one piece. Apart from being in the right place at the right time with the right musical skills – trust and dependability, consistency, precision, and being easy to work with. I’m but a cog in the wheel of this massive live show’s machine, and need to show up and do my part without issue. Working in pop-world over the last several years with lots of artists in lots of situations with various problems to solves (big gigs, small gigs, crappy gigs, festivals, recording sessions, writing sessions, production at home, etc.), has equipped me for this kind of work, and I loved doing the season.

G: Skill set-wise, one needs to be a good sight reader and play pretty much every style with a good level of competency if not mastery of all. I think that can take a lifetime of always trying to play in any kind of band or musical situation that you can. Don’t be closed-minded or afraid of new musical styles and experiences. Jump in and try to learn on the fly, even if deep down you may fear you don’t have your chops together on a certain kind of music. Sometimes you get your butt kicked and have to go back to the woodshed, but that’s the process that helps you grow. That, and make sure you have a capo!

—

Thanks to Greg and Peter for taking the time out to share all this great info. Here is one more clip from American Idol with contestant Caleb Lee Hutchinson covering “Folsom Prison Blues” with the American Idol band.

————————

Peter’s current projects:

Sound design for the DSI Prophet X

“All Sounds Subsequent 37” demo for Moog Music

Rafferty’ s “White Flower” (writer & producer)

Check out Greg’s solo music at:
https://gregsuran.bandcamp.com

Check out more of Peter’s projects at:
https://peterdyer.net

Keep up with Greg and Peter:
https://www.instagram.com/gsuranwrap/

https://www.instagram.com/peterkeys88/

The post Artist Feature: Peter Dyer and Greg Suran at American Idol appeared first on Strymon.

Guitarist Lewis Allen has played with some of the best in the business. A well-seasoned session player and producer, Allen’s resume is an impressive mix of legendary artists both new and old — folks like Tom Jones, Jesse J, Nikki Minaj, and Jennifer Hudson.

Allen is currently out on the road with Sam Smith in support of Smith’s last release The Thrill of It All. He also happens to be a Strymon fan, so we were thrilled when he was able to take a few minutes from his busy schedule to chat with us about his current pedalboard setup and favorite pedals.

We hear you’re a Sunset fan – can you tell us a little bit about how you’re using it on your board?

I absolutely love the Sunset. I never tried any of the Strymon drive pedals until one of my overdrive pedals broke on tour recently. I had a mini-shoot out at a local guitar store and the Sunset was head and shoulders above the rest. I use the Sunset drive as my main heavy drive tone in front of my two Marshall 2061x heads – so used on pretty much everything.

You’re also using TimeLine and BigSky, is that right?

ANNNNDDD Mobius. Ha! I actually got hold of the Mobius first. On Sam’s show, the Mobius, TimeLine, and especially the BigSky are everything. They are the gig.

What is your signal chain for the current tour?

So for tour at moment (it changes from time to time), I go from my guitar to an xotic effects RC Booster, then into a Klon clone (I can’t actually remember the brand), and then the Sunset drive. And they are all my drives. The amps are pushed to breaking point so they are hot before any drive hits them so my gain settings on the pedals aren’t crazy high. Then the signal splits into stereo and I have the Mobius into the TimeLine and then BigSky. Then it’s straight to the amps and to a couple of torpedo cab simulators. In the studio I have a Line6 Helix rack (which is incredible) and a TimeLine, Mobius, and BigSky again (I’m addicted).

What guitars and amps are you using on the current tour with Sam Smith?

So amps, as mentioned, are 20 watt Marshall 2061x heads in stereo. I also use Line6 Helix as a dry signal to the Front of House. Guitars are mainly my custom shop Gibson 1961 ES330. This guitar changed my life, what a guitar. Also, I use a relic Strat, Les Paul custom (with a maple board) and a cool Gibson Firebird in Pelham blue!

You’ve also played several live TV performances on shows like Good Morning America – can you tell us what that’s like? Do you do anything specific to prep for a gig like that?

Not really anything specific as everything for a tour/promo tour will have been ironed out in rehearsals. Plus everything is automated (as in guitar patch changes, etc.) on the tour. I will always play through the tracks/a couple songs with Sam before the show, but yea mostly we are ready to go!

Could you share a little bit about how you got your start as a session player?

I used to go to tons of jam sessions and I never said no to guitar work. Also, I think being prepared for your shot or chance is important. I think most people at some point will get a shot at doing something they love — just be prepared. From all the jam sessions and low key shows I did, I got noticed by some busy London MDs and got some bigger better gigs. Also, you have to be a good person and nice to be around.

What sort of preparation do you do before working with a new artist?

Listen to their catalogue (if not already familiar – with Sam I knew his material well already) and just general practice. You play guitar or whatever for like 10 hours a day in rehearsals for months so you do NOT want your fingers in pieces after day 1! I have been there and had to super glue the ends of my fingers up many times!

What advice do you have for folks wanting to work as a session player?

Go for it. It’s an incredible job and life experience. I feel lucky every day I get to do this job. you get to see the world and play music and meet awesome people. Apart from missing my other half (Mrs. Rachael Allen!) a ton, it’s an absolute dream. Plus, I can’t do this forever and somebody has to do it … so go get it!

Catch Lewis on tour with Sam Smith. For a complete list of tour dates click here.

The post Pedalboard Feature: Lewis Allen appeared first on Strymon.

 
The funky and sweet sound of the band Brothers Gow has garnered quite the large and loyal following since their early days of playing gigs in and around Flagstaff, Arizona. While the band’s lineup has shifted several times since the band’s inception in 2007, guitarist Kyle Merrill has remained at the heart of the band’s unique sound, creating luscious riff after riff and sharing vocal duties alongside bandmate and co-founder, bassist Ethan Wade.

In addition to touring and recording, Merrill and the band are also dedicated to sharing the joy of music with the children of Ocean Beach, California, the band’s home base, by raising funds and providing musical instruments to elementary schools of the area through the Brothers Gow Music Foundation (BGMF).

We were excited to get the chance to talk with Kyle about his current pedalboard setup as well as his work with the BGMF. If this is the first time you’re hearing of the groovy sounds and vision of Kyle Merrill and Brothers Gow, you are definitely in for a treat.

What is your current signal flow?

PRS Hollowbody II > Boss PW-10 V-Wah > Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner > Wampler Ego Compressor > electro-harmonix micro POG > Source Audio soundblox 2 multiwave distortion > Mad Professor Little Green Wonder > BBE Boosta Grande > Strymon Mobius > Strymon Timeline > Strymon blueSky > Rocktron Banshee talk box > Mesa Boogie Lonestar Classic Amplifier

How are you using Mobius in the current setup? What are your favorite settings?

Mobius has completely taken over all of my modulation effects. I’ve been able to add so much more to my board with all the room I’ve saved having an awesome sounding phaser, filter, chorus, rotary, vibe, and more all in one pedal. When I first got Mobius I went through all the presets to see how they sounded. I picked my favorite ones and put them all near each other for easy access. Then I made a few slight tweaks here and there to the sounds until they were just the way I wanted them. My go-to effect on Mobius is the filter. It gives me that great auto-wah, Jerry Garcia like tone. I like to combine it with a quick repeating digital delay on TimeLine and a dry octave and high octave at equal volume on my micro POG. If I do a little palm muting it almost sounds like a steel drum.

Here’s an example of that tone:

How about TimeLine?

TimeLine takes care of all my delay needs and more! All of the delays are so great and I love to switch between quarter note and dotted quarter note timing on the digital and tape delays. My absolute favorite setting is the swell. You can accomplish so much with just this pedal and nothing else. I have one set very high for time and repeats with a slow speed. This lets me create some insane swells. I like to use these on the intros of songs to really create some tension before we all drop in.

Here’s an example, check the intro of this song:

Tell us a little bit about the origins of Brothers Gow.

Brothers Gow started as a group of mostly childhood friends who ended up going to college together in Flagstaff, Arizona. We just wanted to be in a band and have some fun while we were in college. We soon realized that this was what we wanted to do with our lives and made a commitment to each other to dive headfirst into the band and make this our careers. Since then we’ve had our ups and downs. We toured relentlessly for the past four years playing in clubs and bars across the country. We’ve gone through a few member changes recently but I believe we’re stronger than ever for it.

How has the band’s sound evolved since it began?

The band’s sound has evolved so much since it began. It took us a little while to find our voice as a group but I think we’ve finally found it. We have two singers who split lead duty, myself and Ethan Wade. There’s a great contrast in our writing style and in the timbre of our voices. Ethan has a more raspy, deep and raw voice, and writes very introspective and thoughtful lyrics. I have a more sweet, higher register voice with an emphasis on happiness and feeling good in my lyrical content. This has always fascinated me with some of my favorite artists: Lennon and McCartney of The Beatles, and Waters and Gilmour of Pink Floyd. As far as the instruments go we are a four piece with drums, bass, keyboards, and guitar. Being the only guitar player has presented me with a great challenge and plenty of space musically. We originally had two guitarists, myself and Ethan, but with the exit of our original bass player, Ethan has now switched to the bass. I was very used to being able to not play guitar while singing and really focus on my vocals. I’ve had to essentially relearn my own songs on guitar to play the rhythm parts while singing. It’s been a lot of fun and I think the band’s sound as a whole is better because of it!

Can you talk us through your current guitar and amp setup?

Gladly! I play a Paul Reed Smith Hollowbody II 25th anniversary. I absolutely love this guitar! The Hollowbody II comes stock with a saddle piezo system to make it sound like an acoustic guitar. I can play with just the electric pickups, just the piezo’s, or blend both. There are so many tonal options on this guitar. It also plays so smoothly and easily. My amp is a Mesa Boogie Lonestar Classic. This thing is a tank! It’s got a single 12” speaker but the amp is big enough to be a twin. It’s also very heavy so the wheels that come on it are a must! It’s all worth it though for the glorious tone I get out of it. It has such a crisp and stunning sounding clean channel. The drive channel isn’t my favorite but it doesn’t matter because I just use pedals to achieve any drive or distortion sounds I want and the sound is fabulous.

Kyle Merrill jamming with Theory Thursday

You also teach guitar and are a passionate advocate for music education. We’d love to know more about The Brothers Gow Music Foundation.

The Brothers Gow Music Foundation was started due to a lack of funding in public schools for music programs. All of us in the band grew up with music programs in our schools that helped influence us into our career paths today. Even if you’re not going to pursue a career in music it is such an important thing for all children to learn. We teamed up with our good friend Tim Johnson and created the foundation to fulfill that need. Every time we have a local show, we raffle off a signed guitar by the band, and all of the money raised goes to putting instruments in classrooms. Our instrument of choice is actually the ukulele. It’s a little bit smaller and easier for children to play and they absolutely love it! We also have held fundraisers in our local community where local vendors and business owners donate goods and services that we silent auction. 100% of the money raised goes straight to putting instruments in classrooms. There’s no overhead with our foundation, every dollar goes right back to the community. We now have a ukelele for every child in our local elementary school, Ocean Beach Elementary, and we were able to supply Dana Middle School with 10 electric guitars for an after-school guitar program that had interest from students, but not all of them had the guitars. We hope to continue to grow and start branching out to schools across the country!

How has teaching impacted your own playing (if it has)?

Teaching guitar has absolutely impacted my playing. It’s very nice to get back to that early beginner’s way of thinking about how to play. You ask yourself, “how do I describe this to a beginner?” It helps you get back to your roots and look at things from a different angle. It’s definitely something I love doing. Sometimes a student will come in with a great song they want to learn and it will introduce me to a new band that I had never heard of. Sometimes they even ask me to learn something and I think, “this would be a great song for Gow to cover!”

What does the rest of 2018 for the band? For the music program?

2018 has been a very interesting year for the band so far. We found a new keyboard player, Alex Mello, who has evolved our sound in many ways. We also had our drummer, Nathan Walsh-Haines fracture two columns in his spine and had to cancel an entire tour. Nathan is currently recovering. We look forward to a fall tour in the works that will see us returning to Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Washington, Oregon, and California. The foundation is in the process of receiving a grant which will definitely help us branch out into more schools. We are very excited about the future over here at Team Gow!

Check out Brothers Gow on the road this fall. Full list of tour dates can be found here.

The post Pedalboard Feature: Kyle Merrill of Brothers Gow 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.

Feeling a bit emotional to say goodbye to this crazy place.. The North American tour was nothing short then extraordinary!!! Some unbelievable musical experiences & colouration, I felt I could swim in the sea of inspiration here, but the people!! THE PEOPLE! The amount of love, generosity and kindness I got here from new and old friends would be the biggest thing I'm taking away from this North America tour!! THANK YOU AND LOVE YOU!! Next destination Germany!!! . . . .@shivarea108 @elenabrower . @blissology @djdrez @yotamagam @ajnocitomusic @masoodalikhanmusic @donovanpee @pixiepixs @larazceramics @wanderlustfest @wanderlustausnz @wanderlustgermany @nicolewalshyoga @saschaflavor @djtashablank @itrainforit @steph.winsor @strymonengineering @ehx @bryantparknyc @yogajournalevents @jonnipollard @jonniehalstead @yogajournalevents #guitar #longhair #yoga #meditation #wanderlust #love #ebow #kripalu #shiva #ambient #usa #tour #pranavinyasa #grateful #newyork #

A post shared by ARLI (@arliliberman) on Aug 19, 2016 at 12:08pm PDT

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.

Thank you! Part of my Instagram is dedicated to seeking out visuals, creating sounds for them, and posting them with permission and credit to the visual artists. The project is part creation, part curation, and allows me to discover and connect with passionate, creative people. As a platform associated with visuals, Instagram is an unexpected space for sound. Crafting seamless audiovisual loops, where every visual detail is accentuated by sound, is so satisfying

 

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self-dual – animation @bash.yams music @yuuutaendo

A post shared by Yuta Endo (@yuuutaendo) on Jun 16, 2018 at 4:55am PDT

 

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flowerboy – visuals @ramandjafari sound @yuuutaendo

A post shared by Yuta Endo (@yuuutaendo) on Sep 5, 2018 at 5:55pm PDT

 

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pixel chasing – animation @dualvoidanima music @yuuutaendo

A post shared by Yuta Endo (@yuuutaendo) on Jun 9, 2018 at 4:58am PDT

 

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v.o.i.d – animation @derflow sound @yuuutaendo

A post shared by Yuta Endo (@yuuutaendo) on Jun 30, 2018 at 4:10am PDT

The post Artist Feature: Yuta Endo – Sound Artist appeared first on Strymon.

Ever the alchemist of guitar tone, 311 guitarist Tim Mahoney is often changing up his pedal combinations to create interesting new sounds and textures. To understand the depth of Mahoney’s passion for sonic experimentation, one need look no further than the boards he’s assembled post-311’s recent Never-Ending Summer Tour with The Offspring and Gym Class Heroes. With a hearty “main board” and supplemental “party board” at his command, Mahoney’s signal chain boasts an eclectic combination of delays, reverb, overdrives, and more.

We’re always curious to hear what Mahoney has been experimenting with and how Strymon pedals fit into his unique mix. We checked in with Tim recently to find out what he’s been tinkering with since coming off the road. Read on to learn more about his current configuration of pedalboard bliss as well as the electric guitars he just can’t do without.

You’re using blueSky and El Capistan on your board these days, is that right? What made you decide to incorporate them into the mix for this recent tour?

I’ve been using the El Cap and blueSky on my live boards for a few years now. I can’t remember if my first Strymon effect was an El Cap or Brigadier, but there was a time when I was using one of each on my pedalboard. The Brigadier only came off because of real estate needs on the board. I’ve also had a TimeLine on my board, but in the live environment show flow, I prefer the individual effects like El Cap and Brigadier, with their independent specific stomps, knobs, and toggles. The El Cap is on because it’s my favorite sounding vibey delay pedal, I use it with a Favorite Switch set for slapback.

The blueSky covers all of my “greater than subtle” reverb effect needs. It’s typically set between a big spring or modulated plate, with the favorite set to huge modulated room

Can you talk us through your signal chain?

MAIN BOARD
LA Sound Design buffered pedalboard input >
Boss FV-300L volume pedal (tc electronics Polytune 2 in tuner out) >
CAE wah >
LOOPSTRIP 1 >
1. Boss OC-2 Octave
2. Digitech Whammy Ricochet (on Party board)
3. Mu-FX Micro-Tron 3

MXR phaser (vintage) >
Xact Tone Solutions “The Pusher” (Pegasus boost) >
Way Huge Blue Hippo Chorus >
Maxon AD-9 analog delay in One Control loop box >

A / B Amp Select Box…
A out >
Input Amp A, Bogner Überschall (high gain) with Lexicon pcm42 delay in FX loop
B out >
Paul Cochran Timmy OD >
Xact Tone Solutions Precision OD >

One Control Loop Box for send/ return to:

PARTY BOARD
Digitech Synth Wah >
Catlinbread Echorec >
Strymon blueSky reverb >
EHX 2880 Looper (in One Control loop box) >
Empress Tremolo >
Strymon El Capistan delay >
Free The Tone Flight Time delay >
Input Amp B, Mesa Triple Crown (clean) with Lexicon pcm42 delay in FX loop

* Strymon Favorite Switch for El Capistan
* MIDI Mouse controls Flight Time presets
* 2x 1/4” stomps control bypass on pcm42s

You’re using TimeLine in your studio setup. Can you tell us more about that? What is your studio signal chain?

My studio rig has some cherished effects, like a Mu-Tron III envelope filter and original Univibe, but other than that the signal chain is similar to my live setup, with a few insert spots for swapping out effects. The TimeLine is the last effect before the amp input, it’s the main delay. I mostly use the dTape and dBucket engines.

What guitars do you tour with these days? Do you have a favorite? Has this changed much over the last few years?

Although I always bring my Clapton Strat on the bus, most of the guitars I tour with are PRS. I tend to play the same guitar for the whole show and my favorite is usually “Ol Blue,” a PRS Standard 24 all mahogany body model from 1999.

With such a vast catalog of 311 songs to choose from, how does the band decide what to put on the setlist? Does it change up at all?

We make the setlist each day after soundcheck, it changes every show. A handful of songs will repeat night-to-night, like singles and our drum solo song “Applied Science,” but we try to rotate in different deep cuts and rare nugg[ets] for each show.

Are there particular songs that you love to play live?

It’s hard for me to pick particular favorites, I enjoy playing just about every one of our songs.

Any words of wisdom for someone just starting to experiment with pedal effects?

Take time to get to know the effect. Listening to and experimenting with how it manipulates your sound will help you find effects that resonate with you, aid expression, and inspire.

Stay up to date on 311’s winter tour plans and more by following the 311 Facebook page.

Check out the band’s “Never-Ending Summer” playlist on Spotify. Playlist includes The Offspring’s cover of 311’s “Down” as well as 311’s cover of the Offspring’s “Self Esteem”:

The post Featured Pedalboard: Tim Mahoney of 311 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.

Greetings folks! Today we’re very pleased to announce the release of the Public Beta version of our Nixie 2 pedal management software! For those who aren’t familiar, the original version of Nixie is compatible with BigSky, TimeLine and Mobius, and it works great for deep editing and patch management for those three pedals. However, we’ve […]

The post Introducing Nixie 2 Public Beta! appeared first on Strymon.