Jack White and his pedal boards

November 29th, 2007

Here is an image of what is said to be Jack Whites (of the White Stripes) pedal board. I guess given their style you'd expect a fairly minimalist setup, so perhaps you might be surprised at the number of pedals on display here.

I'm not 100% sure of what all the pedals are. The first (far right) is clearly something from Analog Man, then into what looks like a EHX Big Muff (painted red), "Muff" is also written on the power supply. Then there's the EHX POG (Polyphonic Octave Generator), which I'm guessing is used to provide some substitute bass style tones, then into a killswitch.

Jack Whites Pedal Board

Here's another picture of Jack White's pedal board, I'm just not sure whether this is older or newer than the first one pictured. Some of the pedals here are a little harder to make out.

Jack Whites Pedal Board

Once again there is the red painted Big Muff, as well as the EHX POG and the killswitch. Other additions include the Boss TU-2 Tuner (which you can also use as a killswitch of sorts), as well as the Digitech Whammy. From what I can gather from the web, the Whammy is set to the Octave down setting, to create the bass like tone you hear in tracks like "7 Nation Army".

Apparently for solos he has been known to switch the whammy to 2 octaves up and use it in conjunction with his Big Muff. There's also the MXR Microamp in there as well. Not sure what that's used for, but if I had to guess, he may have it on 99% of the time to counter act the drop in signal you can get with the Whammy in your signal chain. But, I might be wrong.

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The complete list of Buckethead’s guitar gear

November 26th, 2007

If you have never heard of Buckethead before today, then you have been missing out. He's probably one of those guys that you'd know if you saw him. He has made a name for himself as a shredder found of wearing a KFC bucket on his head and white plastic mask on his face. He's a prolific recording artist, having released or contributed to over 80 albums, in genres ranging from thrash metal, funk, electronica, jazz and ambient. Guitar One voted him number 8 on a list of the "Top 10 Greatest Guitar Shredders of All Time".

If you can get your hands on his Secret Recipes DVD (which can be hard to find), I'd recommend it, as his live show proves that he's the real deal, and more than just a sideshow curiosity. If you haven't been exposed to Buckethead yet, here's your chance, with a clip of him playing one of his shred classics 'Nottingham Lace' live.

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For all the Buckethead fans and guitar geeks out there here's a list of the gear Buckethead has been known to use live and in the studio. I pulled it from the Harmony-Central forum

Guitars

  • Gibson Les Paul - 1959 heavily modified, with all white hardware and covered DiMarzio pickups
  • Gibson Les Paul - 1969 heavily modified, all white hardware, killswitch, and uncovered DiMarzio pickups
  • Gibson SG
  • Gibson SST
  • Gibson Chet Atkins
  • Jackson Y2KV - "coopwood" custom made, with larger body and headstock due to Buckethead saying normal guitars looked like toys in his hands.
  • Jackson Y2KV - "KFC" same as the "coopwood", only with the KFC red stripes, Di Marzio X2N PUs, kill switch and an Original Floyd Rose (that he never uses).
  • Jackson doubleneck - a custom doubleneck half guitar, half bass.
  • ESP MII custom - used throughout his concert in the Wetlands, broken as seen in one of the Binge Clips.
  • Steinberger GS "Kaiser's Gift".
  • Ibanez X Series Rocket Roller II - used throughout the Praxis era.
  • Ibanez(Purple) RG550 - As seen in the Buckethead DVD Secret Recipe.
  • Takamine Acoustic.

Amplifiers

  • Peavey Renown
  • Peavey 5150 head on a Marshall 1960 Slant 4x12 cab
  • Diezel Herbert
  • Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier
  • VHT Pittbull 50 watt heads
  • Matt Wells 17 1/2 watt head wired through a Harry Kolbe 4x12 cab

Effects

  • Digitech Whammy II (and IV)
  • Dunlop Cry Baby 535q
  • BOSS TU-2 Chromatic Tuner
  • BOSS NS-2 Noise Suppressor
  • BOSS RC-20 Loop Station
  • BOSS OS-2 Overdrive/Distortion
  • Roger Mayer Octavia
  • DOD Electronics FX-25B envelope filter
  • Alesis MidiVerb II
  • Roland SE-50 multi-effector
  • Zoom multi-effects
  • a custom bicompROSSor by AnalogMan
  • MXR EVH phase 90
  • Line 6 FM4 Filter Modeler
  • Electro-Harmonix Micro Synthesizer

A key part of his sound comes from the white mask and chicken bucket on his head. The bucket in particular is a key to his powers, allowing him to harness the power of slain chickens and channel those powers through to his guitar playing.

"Born in a coup, raised in a cage..."

The killswitch is used to momentarily cut off, or stop, the guitar signal so it is silent until the switch is triggered again. Switching it off and on again quickly gives the staccato effect. His custom Les Paul's also have 24 frets which is unusual for the Les Paul model.

Here's an interesting piece of Buckethead trivia. Ozzy Osbourne has gone on record (in Revolver) saying that he'd offered Buckethead the chance to play guitar in his band at Ozzfest. The offer fell through after Buckethead refused to go onstage without his costume. Here are some choice quotes from Ozzy (for more on this visit roadrunnerrecords.com):

"I tried out that Buckethead guy. I met with him and asked him to work with me but only if he got rid of the f**king bucket. So I came back a bit later and he's wearing this green f**king Martian's-hat thing! I said, 'Look, just be yourself'. He told me his name was Brian, so I said that's what I'd call him. He says, 'No one calls me Brian except my mother'. So I said, 'Pretend I'm your mum then!'. I haven't even got out of the room and I'm already playing f**king mind games with the guy. What happens if one day he's gone and there's a note saying, 'I've been beamed up'? Don't get me wrong, he's a great player. He plays like a motherf**ker!"

Legend has it that he once tried out for a spot in the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the early 90's. So that's all the Buckethead information I have for you at the moment.

2 Comments » | Posted in Gear, Guitar

Boss Hyper Fuzz FZ-2

November 23rd, 2007

Next to the Electro Harmonix NYC Big Muff, the Boss Hyper Fuzz FZ-2 would have to be my all time favorite fuzz pedal. Why? Because it's so damn versatile! Fortunately, I picked mine up quite a few years ago off ebay, in near new condition for $35US. These things now go for $80US plus and are becoming highly sought after. The FZ-2 was discontinued, so they can be hard to find.

The Hyper Fuzz FZ-2 has three modes. Fuzz mode 1 is a dirty garage sounding, Rolling Stones 'Satisfaction' style fuzz. In terms of fuzz, this mode is tamer than the big muff, and would be suitable for garage rock.

Boss Hyper Fuzz FZ-2Fuzz mode 2 is a very dry, metallic, industrial style tone. Think Downward Spiral era Nine Inch Nails, and that's probably getting close. There is a hint of ring modulation in mode 2, although not enough to distract you from the grind. This is were you would leave the pedal set if you are into industrial, heavy style music. For a good example of what mode 2 sounds like, have a listen to the Orgy cover of 'Blue Monday'.

The third and final mode is Gain Boost. This is probably the most surprising mode available on the pedal. Put in front of an old school JCM800 this thing takes the amp to the next level. I've heard of people running two FZ-2's in their rig, one for fuzz, the other solely for a clean boost.

Famous guitarists known to have used the Boss Hyper Fuzz FZ-2 include Stephen Carpenter (Deftones), Amir Derakh and Ryan Shuck (Orgy), Mike Sarkisyan (Spineshank), Robert Schneider (Apples In Stereo), and Robin File (Badly Drawn Boy).

I'd recommend this pedal on the basis of the Gain Boost alone, but throw in the two modes of Fuzz, and this pedal becomes a "must buy". Get one before the prices go any higher.

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Reason 4 tips and tricks including importing vocals

November 20th, 2007

It's been a little while since I have had a play around with Reason, so I thought I'd have a quick browse of YouTube to see if there were any interesting tutorials up since I last looked. With Reason 4.0 out on the streets now, there are a few new tricks to learn, as well as a few new tools to play around with.

This first clip is a useful demonstration on using custom granular audio manipulation in Reason 4.0. Sounds pretty cool to me.

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Beginners guide to constructing a beat

November 15th, 2007

Ok, here's another gem from good ol' YouTube. The focus of this one is to show beginners how to construct a beat using the MPC1000. I'd love to get my hands on one of those to mess with for a while, but I think I better keep saving!

Anyway, I know what your thinking, MPC1000, what does the MPC stand for? MIDI Production Center.

In case you don't know what the MPC1000 is, it's a 64-track sampler/sequencer. It comes with an old school 16 MB sample memory as standard, which can be expanded out to 128 MB. It's capable of sample rates of 22 or 44.1 kHz, in stereo or mono. The MPC line of products from Akai are behind some of the greatest hip hop tracks recorded.

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The Marshall JCM800

November 9th, 2007

The Marshall JCM800 2203 is by far one of my favorite amplifiers of all time. Out of the box it oozes balls out rock tone. It's a simple beast, one channel, no reverb, no bells and whistles, just 100watts of raw power.

From the factory it came with three ECC83 preamp tubes (or valves depending on what side of the ocean you're from), and four EL34 poweramp tubes.

It's safe to say that the JCM800 tone is anything but subtle. It doesn't really do 'clean' tones, although with creative use of the guitars volume knob, you might get somewhere within the 'clean' neighborhood.

Having just the one channel can be a limitation, but pairing the JCM800 with a good dirt box, like a Ibanez TS9 or the BOSS SD1 will help add some versatility as well as pushing the amp over the edge into it's metal tone place.

So, who has put the JCM800 to work through the years? Some notable names include Gary Moore, Kerry King (Slayer), Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) and Zakk Wylde. Although, Zakk is famous for swapping out the EL34 poweramp tubes for 6550's instead. He also slams the front end of the amp with a BOSS SD1.

Would I recommend the Marshall JCM800? Hell yes! It's suited for players of rock. It's meant to be played loud, so it's not for the bedroom, but its brutality is part of its charm.

You can pick the old models up reasonably cheap if you look hard enough. When I got mine it looked like it had been run over by a tank, but it functioned as if it were new. I'd suggest taking a look on ebay or second hand music stores and seeing what you can turn up. Yes, the JCM800 may be a one trick pony... but... you can be sure, it's a very very good trick!

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In loop sampler on the DJM-400 DJ mixer

November 5th, 2007

Here are a couple of cool demonstration videos I found on YouTube showing how to use the in loop sampler on the DJM-400 DJ Mixer.

It looks like a pretty cool unit, although it looks like it could do with a few more banks in which to store samples.

I've never really got into the DJ side of things before, but I have to admit, it looks kind of interesting.

Maybe it's just me, but from the outside looking in, it looks like 'instant gratification'.

The first video covers off how to add samples to the bank.

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Managing songs within Pro Tools

November 3rd, 2007

Here's an outrageously simple idea I just read that could make managing your songs in Pro Tools a lot easier (if you're using Pro Tools 6.7 or later).

Use the track colour coding to manage your song and use it to help visualize what parts are grouped together within your session. For example, make all Verse parts green, Chorus parts yellow etc.

If you're not sure how to get into the colour coding section of Pro Tools give this a try:

  • Choose Setups > Preferences and click on the "Display" tab.
  • Set the Default Region Color Coding to "Marker Locations."
  • All regions that start on or after a Memory location will be colored the same default color (regardless of track) until the following marker.
  • When placing a memory location, be sure to select "Marker" in the Time Properties section of the Memory Location window.

Sometimes the best solutions are the simplest!


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Libertad by Velvet Revolver [Album Review]

October 14th, 2007

Title: Libertad
Artist: Velvet Revolver
Rating: 4/5

You are either going to love, or hate, Velvet Revolver. You'll either write them off as a tired rock band pumping out the same old cliches or you'll revel in the rock and soak up the Scott Weiland vocal performance. In my mind Scott Weiland is one of the great front men. He has one of the most versatile and charismatic voices in rock.

As a rock supergroup, Velvet Revolver succeed where Audioslave failed. The Stone Temple Pilots and Guns 'n' Roses union works well together, and the group sound even more assured on their second album, Libertad, than they did on their debut. Read the rest of this entry »

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Greg Tribbett | Mudvayne | Guitar Rig

October 12th, 2007

Here's another entry in my 'post the Vulgar Displays column scans from Guitar World' series. This time around we have Mudvayne guitarist Greg Tribbett. To be perfectly honest, I'm not a huge fan of his guitar tone, but I'm sure there are people out there interested in how he gets it.

His stage rig is a fairly simple setup, with it comprised of VHT and Randall heads, a few stomp boxes and a couple of Ibanez artist guitars. The setup pictured below is from the "Lost and Found" tour (2005-ish) so it may well have changed since then. I know that he used to favour a couple of Gibson flying V's as well, although that seemed to be more so in the day's when he got around looking like a Darth Maul copy cat. Read the rest of this entry »

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