General Gear and Tab Season IV: Can it play barre chords?

[Dominic.]

I agree, but I think small venues + special setlist go hand in hand. Look at the first part of the Psycho tour before they started up the festivals.

 

This one is probably the best I've seen:

 

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/muse/2015/manchester-academy-manchester-england-43cb1343.html

 

Although all of the setlists looked fantastic at the smaller venues!

 

That does look pretty top. So top that it leaves me gutted and I still got MotP, The Groove, Uno and the premiere of Dead Inside.

 

Still probably never gonna stop seeing Muse until they play Dead Star on the night I go though

[Macaroon]

That does look pretty top. So top that it leaves me gutted and I still got MotP, The Groove, Uno and the premiere of Dead Inside.

 

 

 

Still probably never gonna stop seeing Muse until they play Dead Star on the night I go though

 

 

Yup the fact I didn't hear it on the Psycho tour sent me deep into a hopeless pain. The memory of Bliss keeps it at bay however.

 

I think Dead Star (cult-like live show status aside) is one of my absolute favourite muse songs and I'm very sad that it's unlikely I'll ever see it.

[james90]

Yup the fact I didn't hear it on the Psycho tour sent me deep into a hopeless pain. The memory of Bliss keeps it at bay however.

 

I think Dead Star (cult-like live show status aside) is one of my absolute favourite muse songs and I'm very sad that it's unlikely I'll ever see it.

 

Seeing dead star at the second 2013 NYC show was pretty special, even if I couldn't actually see the roulette... I saw him come out with a black guitar, so I figured they were playing stockholm syndrome a second night in a row

 

I know what you mean though. Did I tell you how I want to hear muscle museum?

 

Although, I suppose it's more likely now than it's been in the past several years (which is still very unlikely)

[james90]

Just speculating, but are we sure that Matt is actually playing the heavy parts of the globalist, and not Morgan?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6u29sFH4IA

 

I'm not saying citizen erased WASN'T recorded on a six string (because it was, just tweet @dickmovedom and ask) but that harmonic bit at around 6:46 sounds like a sustainer. And we all know that you can't get heavy sounds out of strats....

 

I know it's possible that he's either got the strat tuned down or running through an effect to emulate that, but still.

[heyjackk]

Just speculating, but are we sure that Matt is actually playing the heavy parts of the globalist, and not Morgan?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6u29sFH4IA

 

I'm not saying citizen erased WASN'T recorded on a six string (because it was, just tweet @dickmovedom and ask) but that harmonic bit at around 6:46 sounds like a sustainer. And we all know that you can't get heavy sounds out of strats....

 

I know it's possible that he's either got the strat tuned down or running through an effect to emulate that, but still.

 

He's using the Drop Tune on the Whammy like he did with Unsustainable I think, sounds VERY similar to what I get when playing through the Axe Fx and Drop Tune for the heavy part. Also think he's got either Morgan playing along for the tremolo picked part or is using a backing track possibly because you can hear two guitars there very clearly, especially seeing as when he takes the strat off and plops it on the piano the sustainer squeal carries on.

[scottST]

Yup the fact I didn't hear it on the Psycho tour sent me deep into a hopeless pain. The memory of Bliss keeps it at bay however.

 

I think Dead Star (cult-like live show status aside) is one of my absolute favourite muse songs and I'm very sad that it's unlikely I'll ever see it.

 

Download festival 2015 ftw

[Macaroon]

Download festival 2015 ftw

 

Way too jealous, me

 

Also, James - Talk to me about this sub-machine you're getting rid of. I've had my eye on one of them for a while now, never been sure enough to invest though. What are your thoughts about it?

Edited November 27, 2015 by Macaroon

[james90]

Way too jealous, me

 

Also, James - Talk to me about this sub-machine you're getting rid of. I've had my eye on one of them for a while now, never been sure enough to invest though. What are your thoughts about it?

 

It's gone, but if you're still interested in one, they're pretty nice. Only two issues - it just didn't seem all that loud, and to get a good balance of sub and machine, you'd have to turn the lower octave all the way up and the fuzz volume around 1 o clock

 

Still sounded good, but just a bit tricky to set the controls

[sidious911]

Way too jealous, me

 

Keep your hopes up, there is always a chance to get some rarities! Hell, I'm in North America and I've seen Dead Star x2, Fury, Agitated, The Groove, Bliss, Apocalypse Please, and I've only see Resistance and onwards tours.

[james90]

Keep your hopes up, there is always a chance to get some rarities! Hell, I'm in North America and I've seen Dead Star x2, Fury, Agitated, The Groove, Bliss, Apocalypse Please, and I've only see Resistance and onwards tours.

 

Someday....

 

 

But for now I'll just brag that I saw the last performance of hoodoo.

 

 

 

 

also

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIBWXcgJ8Cw

 

I imagine that could've done a lot more damage to the guitar if the amp head wasn't essentially an empty box

[sidious911]

But for now I'll just brag that I saw the last performance of hoodoo.

 

I imagine that could've done a lot more damage to the guitar if the amp head wasn't essentially an empty box

 

Damn, I am jealous of Hoodoo, would love to see that song!

 

Yea, if the head was real, would have really crushed the guitar! Although, I'm sure if the cabs were real, they wouldn't topple as easy as they did there.

[james90]

Damn, I am jealous of Hoodoo, would love to see that song!

 

Yea, if the head was real, would have really crushed the guitar! Although, I'm sure if the cabs were real, they wouldn't topple as easy as they did there.

 

Yeah, though I can't say I recognized it at the time We also got city of delusion and soldiers poem from what I remember. Wasn't all that familiar with the stuff off BHAR yet.

 

I'm not sure if they are loaded or not. I would think he uses them like he did with the dickinson for feedback, but considering how many times he's put a guitar through them, I'm not sure if it makes sense. I know in one picture (from KROQ I think) they weren't connected at all

 

also, anyone want a black FRX? as soon as I got my shipment notification, the chrome ones are now in stock

 

http://www.thomann.de/gb/floyd_rose_frx_tremolo_system_chrome.htm

 

Guessing Mansons will be getting theirs soon as well

[Macaroon]

It's gone, but if you're still interested in one, they're pretty nice. Only two issues - it just didn't seem all that loud, and to get a good balance of sub and machine, you'd have to turn the lower octave all the way up and the fuzz volume around 1 o clock

 

Still sounded good, but just a bit tricky to set the controls

 

Ah that's interesting. Essentially, I've gone far too long feeding Vile Orange through my abomination of a Marshall amp and I've been trying for a long time to work out a game plan to really overhaul my gear and find a tone I'm happy with. I'm very indecisive about what to get, which certainly isn't helping.

 

Primarily I'm after the really biting, fuzzy as F riff tone Matt has. Obviously impossible to achieve dead on without a full rig and a sound tech on your pay roll but hey a man can try. Tried for a while to try and find a good example of that tone from a live vid, best I could find was probably the SS outro at the HAARP Wembley gig but I'm sure I've seen better examples of it.

 

I'm fairly certain at this point I want to get an AC30. Whether it lends to that tone or not I'm not sure but I've played one a couple of times in a store and just love the sound from it. I will certainly second guess myself again at some point but I bet I'll end up with one soon. My only other problem is the pedals that I want to run into it, the choice is just confusing to me.

[scottST]

Keep your hopes up, there is always a chance to get some rarities! Hell, I'm in North America and I've seen Dead Star x2, Fury, Agitated, The Groove, Bliss, Apocalypse Please, and I've only see Resistance and onwards tours.

 

Assassin & exo politics here.

 

Also got a 90% success rate of Bliss being played whenever i see them....

[nerd herd]

Primarily I'm after the really biting, fuzzy as F riff tone Matt has. Obviously impossible to achieve dead on without a full rig and a sound tech on your pay roll but hey a man can try. Tried for a while to try and find a good example of that tone from a live vid, best I could find was probably the SS outro at the HAARP Wembley gig but I'm sure I've seen better examples of it.

 

I'm fairly certain at this point I want to get an AC30. Whether it lends to that tone or not I'm not sure but I've played one a couple of times in a store and just love the sound from it. I will certainly second guess myself again at some point but I bet I'll end up with one soon. My only other problem is the pedals that I want to run into it, the choice is just confusing to me.

 

Pretty sure Matt said he uses an AC30 for the basic sound then adds other amps to it (cant remember where I read this though) so you'll probably get it to sound close enough.

 

I get pretty close to that sort of tone with a fuzz factory and a Vox Escort 50 if that's any help

[Macaroon]

Pretty sure Matt said he uses an AC30 for the basic sound then adds other amps to it (cant remember where I read this though) so you'll probably get it to sound close enough.

 

I get pretty close to that sort of tone with a fuzz factory and a Vox Escort 50 if that's any help

 

I saw a couple of those, are they the "Escort Lead" models? Not tried them out before, but the AC30C really caught my fancy when I got a chance to play one!

 

I must invest in a FF soon, I was looking at the updated model; the Fat Fuzz Factory, adds a sub-switch for really low-end oscillation. Looks interesting!

[nerd herd]

I saw a couple of those, are they the "Escort Lead" models? Not tried them out before, but the AC30C really caught my fancy when I got a chance to play one!

 

I must invest in a FF soon, I was looking at the updated model; the Fat Fuzz Factory, adds a sub-switch for really low-end oscillation. Looks interesting!

 

Yeah it's the lead model. Mine probably needs serviced by now though

 

You must! Apart from not working too well with whammies and sustainers they sound great.

[Macaroon]

Yeah it's the lead model. Mine probably needs serviced by now though

 

You must! Apart from not working too well with whammies and sustainers they sound great.

 

To be honest I'd buy any Vox just for the way it looks. Fucking sexy amps.

 

Yeah I definitely need to grab one soon - obviously being a certified f4nboi I have explored... other options besides the Zvex pedal. But having tried these and now that I'm investing into an amp in search for this sound, I feel like digging deep for some crazy fuzz is the only way to go.

 

I do love the sound of a good sub-octave fuzz as well, though. My Boss OC-3 has done me well so far for that kind of thing but there's not much to it. Aside from the fact it's more a distortion pedal than a fuzz, there's only one or two sounds you can get from it that you feel are worth revisiting, hence my interest in james' sub machine, which seems to offer quite a spectrum of sounds!

[james90]

Pretty sure Matt said he uses an AC30 for the basic sound then adds other amps to it (cant remember where I read this though) so you'll probably get it to sound close enough.

 

I know what you're referring to. Pretty sure the sound Macaroni is describing is the DI'd fuzz factory though. His old tech talks about it in that dunlop rig rundown video from the resistance era

 

 

 

I do love the sound of a good sub-octave fuzz as well, though. My Boss OC-3 has done me well so far for that kind of thing but there's not much to it. Aside from the fact it's more a distortion pedal than a fuzz, there's only one or two sounds you can get from it that you feel are worth revisiting, hence my interest in james' sub machine, which seems to offer quite a spectrum of sounds!

 

I've actually never used the distortion function on the OC-3, but it sounds pretty good other than that. I wouldn't say the sub machine can do that tone of Matt's that you describe though, but it's fairly versatile in that it has fuzz, and then the two octave options, as well as a series switch for the lower octave

[Jaicen]

I would have said it's DI FF too, same tone as the new born riff.

[james90]

Found it

 

I use all sorts of things in the studio, but I tend to towards vintage, Vox AC30 sounds. My favorite AC30s are the 1964 and 1970 models—the '64 in particular, because of the extreme spike of its Top Boost. I don't use the vintage Vox amps live—they're fragile and too high maintenance for touring. I use them exclusively in the studio, and swap them out for a newer AC30 on the road. So what I do is use the AC30 as the core sound, and then I'll mix in other amps to bring in a bit of character. For example, I find that Channel 4 on a Diezel amp is pretty un(???)able in terms of really high-saturation sounds. I don't like the scooped (???) sound. I prefer unusual and unpredictable midrange spikes that really jump out, and that Diezel channel has some extreme midrange.

 

Then, I have a 100-watt Marshall Super lead that was modified by Matt Wells in New York to permanently link the channels together. He also added a Volume knob for this feature so that I can adjust the amount of gain jumping. Generally, if I want a real heavy sound, I'll mix the Vox with the Diezel, and if I want something more punchy, I'll go with the Vox and blend in a bit of the Marshall. I also use (???) sounds a lot, and I'll sometimes blend a direct sound with a distortion pedal. I'm really into multiple amp and DI tones, but the base sound is usually always the Vox.

 

In addition, I have a few random amps that I use for special effects, such as a '70s era Ampeg SVT bass(?) amp. This was also modified by Matt Wells to deliver extreme midrange—there are three preset EQ switches on the back of the head that boost sound 600 Hz and on up to about 1kHz. The SVT has a really interesting distortion tone that's obviously in a lower register than the typical guitar amp, but when you blend that sound with the Vox's Top Boost, it sort of (???) off and goes into another place. In fact, it was Brian May's treble-boosted tone that first led me to this idea that very plain or conventional-sounding amps can be pushed into very esoteric directions with a certain midrange boost. It's kind of like if you get a wah pedal and leave it stuck halfway to get that extreme “Q” spike.

[Jaicen]

All well and good, but to get those tones, with those amps requires volumes that will cause permanent hearing loss and get you evicted from home. Of course I'm not saying you don't have a sound grated studio or whatever, but don't get an AC30 or 1959 for your bedroom!

[forevermusic]

Things don't seem to be going well - my band has a gig on Tuesday and a stand-in bassist booked who has been sent the parts to learn, but the frontman is now turning round wanting to pull out, saying we don't have time to rehearse.

 

So.. its all a bit messy. Any suggestions?

[trogette]

Things don't seem to be going well - my band has a gig on Tuesday and a stand-in bassist booked who has been sent the parts to learn, but the frontman is now turning round wanting to pull out, saying we don't have time to rehearse.

 

So.. its all a bit messy. Any suggestions?

 

Do you have a rehearsal booked? See how it goes? If it all goes to shit on the night, it's the beauty of live performance...

[forevermusic]

Do you have a rehearsal booked? See how it goes? If it all goes to shit on the night, it's the beauty of live performance...

 

We do not. He also says he can't come back from London before 7pm on Monday, which is the only night we can rehearse, although he also seemed to think the gig was on the Monday night.