Recently in Amps & Cabs Category

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.

We've recently finished up our new CD entitled "The Color Line". This will include 8 tracks that Matt and I believe will show just how diversified BxN really is. With exception to "Hold On" which was produced by Dave Ivory, all songs were recorded and produced in-house. This was a very valuable learning experience for us.  I stumbled upon a formula for recording my guitar tracks that really captured the tone i've always wanted on wax. I used 3 different amplifiers for the recording of The Color Line: 1) Bogner Uberschall 2) Ladner G1 and 3) Rivera K-Tre. The Bogner was used mostly for rythm-based tracks and for some leads and overdubs. My Ladner G1 was the shining star of these recording sessions as it brought such tonality not only to my rhythm tracks, but amazing lead tones as well. I exclusively used my Ladner 1x12 cube cabinet for recording all of my guitar tracks, the results were awesome. The EV speaker in that little cab sounds amazing, and it's easy to isolate. DC and Andrew Ladner are great guys to work with and make an outstanding amp. I've posted a link to their website below so you can check them out. As always i managed to throw in several acoustic tracks using my Dad's 65 Gibson and my Ibanez acoustic electric running direct. A great song featuring the Gibson will be included on the "Legacy" tracks which will be avaialble via dropcard download. http://ladnerengineering.com/

What's up guys. It's been a while since i had a chance to BS about my current rig set-up. So this morning i took a few pics and figured i'd talk about what i'm up to. Back in the summer i ordered a custom rack case from the guys at  KENT CASE in upstate NY. It's got a shock mounted section for my Uberschall, and plenty of space for my rackmounted stuff too. It's built like a tank and makes setting up and breaking down at shows SOOOOO much easier. My other acquisition was the Shiva you see on top of the Uberkab. My idea behind getting the Shiva was more for recording and better cleans. It's an earlier 6L6 version that i'm still getting to know, but like all Bogner stuff, it's got amazing tone. In the future i can see that head being infused into my live rig and setting up my switcher to toggle back and forth between the Shiva and Uberschall. Both heads in my rig work great with the GForce effects unit too. As for guitars, both Matt and i are anxiously awaiting the delivery of our custom Spector ARC6s; they should be sweet; i'll keep you posted. 

I recently acquired a great deal on a Bogner Uberschall (i belive it's rev.1) head and 4x12 Ubercab from guitarist Tony of Stage 3. I've always wanted one, but as most know, the price tag on Bogner stuff new is quite high. It's got an unmistakeable, organic-EL34 sound that i'm partial to. I'm not planning on gigging with it anytime soon as i've got alot of time to spend playing/eq'ing it to get acquainted. So should you catch me playing out, it will most likely be my Triple Recto. I'll post new blogs as i figure this monster out. JD