December 2009 Archives

As i was saying in my last post, i used the combination of my Ladner G1 Hellion and Bogner Uberschall for trackng "The Color Line". My goal for the CD release show was to achieve that exact same tone live; this required me to run both heads simultaneously. First thing i did was to look around and see what kind of products were available in the form of an A/B/Y type switching unit. Needless to say i wasn't impressed at all. I didn't like the configurations on most switchers and the general size of the units. Having size 15 feet makes for difficult "tap dancing" on stage for sure. 

I'm going to be running a different rig set-up for the FOF2 show on January 16th. This configuration has allowed me to achieve several different tones, many of which can be found on "The Color Line" tracks as it was my goal to get my live tone as close as possible to the studio tone.

The most important addition to my rig has been my Ladner G1 Hellion. This 100 watt, 2-channel, 6L6 head was amazing to record and i used it for every single song on The Color Line CD along with my trusty Bogner Uberschall. While the Uber can oftentimes have too much gain, the Hellion on the other hand is a lower gain amp and the mix of the two was a total win for me tone-wise. Our tuning is quite low and if you're not careful, it can quickly become "muddy". The G1 was responsible for enhancing the articulation of my riffing while still maintaining our signature bottom end girth. For leads and chunkier stuff, i used my Maxon OD in front to accentuate picking attack and gain. One of biggest lessons Matt and i learned in the studio was that you don't need excessive gain to get a nice thick guitar tone that has "balls".

The clean channel of the Hellion is so good that i don't think i do it justice, hence why there are so many amazing country guitarists that use this head exclusively. Clicking on my Maxon OD while using the G1's clean channel gives you an entirely different tasteful dirty tone as can be heard on our songs "Front Street" and "Sanctuary". If you're thinking of hitting up Andrew or DC at Ladner Engineering to snag a G1, take my advice and get the matching 1x12 cube cab; It's freaking amazing. I used this cab to record ALL of my guitar tracks for The Color Line because it sounds THAT GOOD. The EVM12L in that cabinet is a perfect match to the Hellion head. There is a rumor that the guys at Ladner might be coming out with a new 4x12 cabinet in the near future, if so? I'll have one, no doubt. DC and Andrew are wonderful folks to work with and the customer service is very personal and top notch.

Below is a pic of the current settings im running on my G1. You'll be able to hear this beast at our FESTIVAL OF FIRE 2 CD release event on Saturday, January 16th.

Bound By Nothing has been exclusively playing Spector basses and guitars since their inception in 2007. These instruments are some of the finest crafted guitars that money can buy and have served the band flawlessly through all of their shows. Now you can enter to win this brand new Spector Legend 4 Classic bass at the Festival of Fire!

Matt and i have just taken delivery on the very first BxN Eagle model ARC6 guitars straight from the Spector Custom Shop in Saugerties New York. Both of us have been playing Spector's ARC6 guitars exclusively since 2007,  but these new ones are very special. The body size has been changed, volume & tone control knob placement modified, pick-ups were my preference as well as a beautiful custom BxN Eagle inlay on the fretboard. You'll be able to see these amazing axes live for the very first time at our CD release event "Festival of Fire 2" on Saturday, January 16th 2010. No pics........yet.    : )