THE MUSICIAN ’S RESO URCE
APRIL/MAY 2020 FREE
What MIDI 2.0 Means for Musicians Create Smart Templates in Your DAW The Pros, Cons & Future of A.I. in Music How to Teach Lessons on YouTube
Margaret Glaspy Embraces the Unknown to Recalibrate Her Songwriting Process on New LP
INTERVIEWS
LISA BELLA DONNA DANIEL DONATO
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
VOLUME 30, ISSUE 2
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
22
COVER STORY
12 LISA BELLA DONNA by Benjamin Ricci
18 MARGARET GLASPY
DANIEL DONATO by Taylor Northern
by Vincent Scarpa
DEPARTMENTS 4. LETTER FROM THE EDITOR 6. Spring Cleaning for Musicians 8. The Pros, Cons & Future of A.I. 10. How to Teach Online Lessons 26. What You Need to Know About MIDI 2.0 28. MEET YOUR MAKER: HexHider 30. How to Create DAW Templates 32. GEAR REVIEWS: DPA, Godin, Taylor, KRK and more… 48. FLASHBACK: 1970s Maestro Bass Brassmaster Fuzz Cover
Josh Goleman
PERFORMER MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2020 3
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
LETTER T
hese are indeed strange and turbulent times. In the last issue, we recounted all the shiny new things we saw at Winter NAMM and could barely contain our excitement at the prospect of getting our grubby little mitts on all the new gear to review in the weeks and months ahead. Then the world came to a stop. Now those shiny things at NAMM seem like a distant memory. And I think how lucky we all were, the tens of thousands of us walking those convention center floors, that the virus that’s taken away our normal lives didn’t hit our shores any earlier. How different the industry would look if it had.
from the editor
Of course, that’s not to say the industry hasn’t already undergone a seismic shift in the past few weeks. As most of you are well aware, since your tours and recording sessions have been cancelled, we’re all trying to make sense of our new normal, including Performer. Our governor here in the State of Massachusetts has ordered us to stay at home, which means navigating the dayto-day operations of the magazine from my home office and finding myself in the new position of homeschool teacher to my two young kids. The festivals are all cancelled for the foreseeable future. Many new product launches have been delayed, and a number of manufacturing facilities shut
down for the time being. Summer NAMM was just cancelled. Then we got the news that the virus had taken John Prine. And then there’s the constant updates on the unemployment numbers, and the stock market, the death toll… And you could sit there and wallow in it. Because it is bad. And it’s OK to feel bad about the situation. And it’s OK to be angry and even annoyed at the trivial things we’re missing out on. Of course, I recommend you watch John Oliver’s take on just how angry and annoyed we should allow ourselves to be. If nothing else, it might give you a muchneeded laugh. I know it sucks. Many of our careers have been upended. Sports are cancelled. Movie theaters are closed. We’re all doing our best to practice safe social distancing when all many of us want is to be close again. A routine trip to the grocery store now feels like something out of The Stand. And yet, even though things are looking grim, I’m reminded of what Mr. Rogers used to say to me when I was a small child, when I had a hard time making sense of turbulence in the world. “Look for the helpers,” he’d say. Even in the most tragic of circumstances, you’ll find the helpers. And the helpers are here. We see them every day. The medical professionals who work tirelessly to ensure public safety and enter a war zone every day to combat this pandemic. The first responders and others who are on the frontlines, doing everything within their powers (even with limited and sometimes non-existent resources) to save lives. And in our own little way, the music community has its own helpers. Those who are out there, doing what they can to assist their fellow artists financially – especially those who are losing their sources of income with all that’s going on. I’m proud to call Kristen Ford a friend of the magazine. I remember meeting her for the first
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Volume 30, Issue 2 PO BOX 348 Somerville, MA 02143 CONTACT Phone: 617-627-9200 Fax: 617-627-9930
Kristen is helping to organize a relief effort for Nashville-based musicians impacted by virus-related cancellations. I’ll let her describe the Compilation Box Project in her own words: “The concept is simple. 10 CDs and a printed one sheet with exclusive details from the artists. Shipped via media mail where the customer can enjoy the music within their own home! Each artist gets a cut for the sale, each artist who refers the sale gets a commission and there is some extra for an emergency fund all artists involved will have access to. For example, payouts of $100 to help with rent.” For more info on how you can get involved, please visit tinyurl.com/compilationbox This is just one example of artists stepping up. Another comes to us from Will Dailey, who has so far raised thousands of dollars to support the bar staffs at local Boston venues who now find themselves without jobs or sources of income due to recent closures. Will’s “Isolation Tour” recently wrapped, but other streaming benefits keep popping up. As of this writing, there are rays of hope on the horizon. Social distancing seems to be having a positive effect in many areas, and that gives us the strength to carry on, knowing that we will get through this together. And while “normal” might not look normal for a while, or indeed ever again, we are truly amazed at all the helpers, big and small, making a difference in the lives of those affected. On a personal note, some of you close to the mag know that I lost my grandfather in the midst of all of this. Like many grieving around the world, I was not allowed to attend his funeral. Rather, I was given access to a live video stream of his burial. Never in a million years did I think I’d be watching my grandfather’s graveside service on my phone, in my kitchen, as my grandmother and the rabbi wore protective masks around his grave, saying their final goodbyes to a man who should have been
PUBLISHER William House Phone: 617-627-9919 bill@performermag.com EDITOR Benjamin Ricci ben@performermag.com DESIGN & ART DIRECTION Cristian Iancu EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Bob Dobalina editorial@performermag.com surrounded by family in his last days. He deserved better than that. We all do. And hopefully, someday soon, we’ll all be together again. Making music. Seeing shows. Putting on festivals. Going to the ballgame. Heck, just walking around the mall. Asyoumayhaveguessed,thisissuewasalreadyprepared andmostlyfinalizedbeforethingsgotreallybad,whichis why you’ll see very few references to the current state of theworld(beyondthisletter).Intheweeksahead,itisour goal to collect as many helpful resources and stories like Kristen’s and Will’s to share with you in our next issue. If you know of anyone making a difference that we should be highlighting, please let us know. And if you are aware of additional resources that can help musicians or those in the industry affected, please share those as well so we can publicize them to folkd who might be in need of assistance. In the meantime, I urge you all to make good choices and stay safe.
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
time in our Boston office about ten years ago, as she stopped by to pick up a stack of magazines to circulate around the city. She was fiercely independent, smart, caring and generous. And now, all these years later, I still see those attributes shining through.
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Andrew Boullianne, Benjamin Ricci, Brett Porter, Chris Devine, Jason Peterson, Matthew Moran, Michael St. James, Tanya Konovalova, Taylor Northern, Vincent Scarpa CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Solomon Khoury, Josh Goleman, Andrew Boullianne ADVERTISING SALES William House Phone: 617-627-9919 bill@performermag.com © 2020 by Performer Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any method whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher. The magazine accepts no responsibility for unsolicited recordings, manuscripts, artwork or photographs and will not return such materials unless requested and accompanied by a SASE. Annual Subscription Rate is $30 in the U.S.; $45 outside the U.S.
And if you’re ever in doubt, or feeling down, look for the helpers. They’re out there.
Benjamin Ricci
ABOUT US / Performer Magazine, a nationally distributed musician’s trade publication, focuses on independent musicians, those unsigned and on small labels, and their success in a DIY environment. We’re dedicated to promoting lesser-known talent and being the first to introduce you to artists you should know about. MUSIC SUBMISSIONS / We listen to everything that comes into the office. We prefer physical CDs, cassettes and vinyl over downloads. If you do not have a physical copy, send download links to editorial@performermag.com. No attachments, please. Send CDs to: Performer Magazine, Attn: Reviews, PO BOX 348, Somerville, MA 02143 CORRECTIONS / Did we make a heinous blunder, factual error or just spell your name wrong? Contact editorial@ performermag.com and let us know, cuz we’re big enough to say, “Baby, I was wrong.” EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS / In the words of our esteemed forefathers at CREEM: “NOBODY WHO WRITES FOR THIS RAG’S GOT ANYTHING YOU AIN’T GOT, at least in the way of credentials. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be sending us your stuff: reviews, features, photos, recording tips, DIY advice or whatever else you have in mind that might be interesting to our readers: independent and DIY musicians. Who else do ya know who’ll publish you? We really will...ask any of our dozens of satisfied customers. Just bop it along to us to editorial@performermag.com and see what comes back your way. If you have eyes to be in print, this just might be the place. Whaddya got to lose? Whaddya got?”
PERFORMER MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2020 5
MUSIC BUSINESS
SPRING CLEAN MUSICIANS: 2
W
ell, here we are with some time on our hands. Don’t worry, I’m not going to talk about the “V” word that starts with a “C.” Nope, we’re just going to focus on some positives today. It’s Spring, and that means it’s time for some Spring cleaning! Aw yeah, throw open the windows, clean the nooks and crannies you’ve missed all Winter, go through old boxes, donate some clothes, fix all those annoying little things in your place that you duct taped over. With that in mind, here’s what you, as a music maker, can do in this time of renewal to set yourself up for success. Who knows what’s going to happen in the next few months, but whatever it is, it’s going to happen fast, and you won’t have time to catch up for a while. So, let’s get organized. It’s Spring Cleaning for Musicians! Here’s a list to get you started on getting more organized and being prepared for what comes next in this crazy old world. Storage: I use Dropbox, Google Drive, and Box mostly for file storage, the pro accounts have more than enough room. But even if you start a free account, Google gives you 15GB and Dropbox has a few gigs too. No need to store all of my music in the cloud as that will be the heaviest, but now is a good time to figure out whether your local computer or laptop has enough space, whether you might want to add another hard drive (I prefer Western Digitals for Mac), or whether you want to pay for some premium cloud storage. If it helps you decide, I recently closed a $25k deal on the phone in an airport simply because we were able to deliver all the mixes and lyrics within five minutes by using our catalog storage. If you think you might need to sling more than just a link to a song on Apple Music while on the road, I highly suggest it.
Gear: This is a great time to get your instruments in order. Do this on all of your gear, even that third backup guitar. Change those strings, oil the fretboards, clean the pots with some DeOxit and don’t forget to oil your tuners. Time to switch out those drum heads and make sure all of your hardware is tight. Clean your switches and knobs on your keys and controllers. 6 APRIL/MAY 2020 PERFORMER MAGAZINE
Do the same with any of your amps or interfaces. Test all of your 1/4-inch cords, and your XLRs and throw away that one that never works but is still in your gig bag! It’s a good time to hunt down all of those picks and extras like slides and capos too, make sure they are all in one place. Hard Drives: Get your recordings in order. Create a folder for all of your Masters. Make sure to have a separate Bounces folder, Work in Progress folder, a Singles Folder, and an Album Folder. Hunt down all of your projects from DAWs or your iTunes library and make sure you have clean saves and bounces. Also, if you want to play in the licensing world, you’re going to need multiple mixes and formats; this is a good habit to get into now, and lucky for you, you have the time! You need a) a full master mix (the single or album cut) b) a separated vocal mix c) a separated instrumental-only mix. Each of these should be outputted to a separate file: WAV, MP3 128, MP3 320, and AIFF. Now, in the AIFF and MP3s you need to go in and edit the file and track info to add Metadata (genre, sub-genres, feel, keywords, tempo, writers, publishing, lyrics, licensing contact). Lyrics: As more streamers integrate lyrics into the platforms and distributors like Distro allow it as part of delivery, you want to get your lyrics into a shareable form. This is especially where you want to use folders. You need a clean document for each song/lyric with nothing but the title and the lyrics on it. There are guidelines you can look up for most platforms, but for the most part here’s what you need to know from Apple’s submission policies: “Keep punctuation minimal, although it is most important to follow traditional English grammar rules. However, there should be no periods or commas at the end of any lyric line. Exclamation points, question marks, and quotation marks should be the only end-line punctuation, and should be included as needed. Punctuation, such as commas, may be used mid-line as needed. Note: No matter how the artist is presenting, do not repeat punctuation to convey emphasis. (For example, “!!!” or “??”) Background vocals should be formatted in parentheses. Parentheses should be used to set off non-main lyrics.
Legal Folder: This might be the hardest one, but also the most important one. This is where you need to store scans of all your split sheets, producer agreements, musician releases, licensing agreements, LLC documents, label licenses, sample requests, copyright registrations, contracts and optins with HFA or Music Reports, SoundScan xls, UPC code registrations, distribution agreements, and master/sync agreements will be placed. If you tour a lot, this is also where your rider, stage plot, and boilerplate live performance agreements should be. You
might also want to place receipts for major musical instrument purchases in here for tax purposes. Song Catalog: Different from your Song Files, this should be a Sheet or XLS document setup as follows: Song Title, Date Recorded, Artist Name, Running Time, Writers, Writer’s Share, Publishers, Publishers Share, CAE, PRO Registration, Label, Date of Release, ISRC, Part of Album or Single, and UPC. This will help you immensely with SoundExchange and databases like AllMusic.
Song Files: This is a folder where you will take all of those things you did earlier and compile them into one folder. The sub folders should be Singles, Albums (including EPs) and then sub folders for each song. In each of those folders, you will want a 3000x3000 jpg or png of the artwork used for the single or album uploaded. For each song you should have a Music Info Sheet - one document that outlines the tempo, key, running time, co-writers, publishers, Metadata, tags, moods, genres, ISRC code from your PRO, UPC code as a single or part of an album, split sheet received, what formats the song is available in. In
MUSIC BUSINESS
ANING FOR 2020 EDITION
that same folder, create a sub folder for each song, you then will put all of the output mixes in there and your lyric sheet. Boom. You are all set for whatever comes next. Now, go write that killer song, the world needs it! ABOUT THE AUTHOR -Michael St. James is the founder and creative director of St. James Media, specializing in music licensing, publishing, production and artist development. PERFORMER MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2020 7
MUSIC BUSINESS
The Pros, Cons, an Artificial Intellige
S
ince American Idol star and YouTube sensation Taryn Southern started composing music with AI in 2017, musicians all over the world have begun wondering about the implications of AI and modern technology where music production is concerned. Technology has long been an important part of the music industry, with artists utilising loop pedals and digital production software. But, if modern AI technology can now produce complete songs, is there a risk that human songwriters will become obsolete? Let’s a closer look at the role of artificial intelligence in music. What AI Means for Music It’s reported that Taryn Southern, an active VR/AR evangelist and keen sci-fi advocate, first looked to AI to help create music because she lacked knowledge about music theory. Instead of struggling to write the chords she could hear in her mind, she looked to technology for assistance. The ability to use computer programming to communicate music is not a new one. The idea of the MIDI format (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) was the brainchild of electronic musicians back in 1981. The initial idea was of a ‘Universal Synthesizer Interface’; a program designed to translate musical data between instruments. Over the years MIDI files have developed into the widely used files that musicians and DJs still use today, to manipulate and translate music as required. It’s this same computerisation of music that has enabled the use of ‘AI’ – or neural network technology – in the creation of music. How Artificial Intelligence Generates Music Music generating technology like Amper Music (as was used by Taryn), IBM Watson Beat, and Google Magenta’s NSynth Super, has the ability to read and interpret audio samples or MIDI files to create something new. For example, a user could tell the software what kind of music they want. They’d input information about a wealth of existing music, and the computer would analyse the data and ‘strategically randomize’ it to produce new pieces of music. The user could then instruct the software to change specific things, thereby teaching it more about the preferred outcome.
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This AI technology works using a sort of reinforced learning technique. Once an answer or suggestion has been affirmed, it will remember this and learn from it to produce further pieces of music. The Role of AI in Music: The Pros and Cons Using artificial intelligence in the creation of music is perceived by some as a helpful tool and by others as almost ‘the beginning of the end’. Pros of AI In Taryn’s case, AI software enabled her to communicate melodies and chords that she didn’t know how to put together herself. Taryn
asked the computer program to generate music based on her requests in regards to style, and then tweaked it as necessary. It produced a tune, which she then altered to fit with her own lyrics and vocal melodies, editing it as many times as necessary. The end product was therefore a collaborative effort, rather than a piece entirely produced by technology. Taryn’s story has a distinctly positive feel that highlights the advantages of using AI in music production. For some, this kind of software can be an extremely helpful tool. It can serve as a source of inspiration, and as an ideal jumping off point should a musician be hit with writer’s block.
MUSIC BUSINESS
and Future of gence in Music The Legalities More food for thought is the implications of the law; i.e. who owns the music that the software produces? At the time of writing there are no set rules surrounding this, and in the case of Taryn Southern, it’s reported that the ownership of each piece of music has been determined individually. There’s also the issue of copyright. Some users of AI music production software will feed the computer existing songs within their instructions, to serve as parameters for the software to use to create a new piece of music. While it won’t produce an exact copy, it could be argued that a significant proportion of the generated song is already owned by another artist or production company. What does AI mean for the future of music? Regardless of which side of the argument you fall on, it seems likely that the use of AI in music production will only become more frequent. Our modern world is preoccupied with technological advancements. With Tesla’s self-driving car on the horizon, and the development of AI machines that can beat professionals in games like chess, it seems inevitable that AI and machine learning will increasingly seep into just about all aspects of modern life.
Cons of AI Conversely to seeing AI as a tool, some musicians consider AI to be hugely detrimental to the music scene. At the moment, because such technology is still so young, the music it’s producing is not necessarily conducive to what we want to hear. In short, it’s not of great quality. This means it can still take hours to develop a ‘good’ song, by which time many would argue that the user may as well have invested the time in creating something themselves. Those who have produced their own music, or even fans of authentic, artistic music, will also argue that a computer could never emulate the work (and human touch) of a true musician.
Music has been an integral part of the story of humankind for millennia; in fact, the first known piece of music is believed to be around 3,400 years old. Songs have long been used as a means of communicating messages and folk stories, encompassing everything from societal ethics to world history. Because many people see music as such an innately human expression, it is often considered as too precious to impart onto technology. The thought of a computer generating a ‘random’ piece of music that hasn’t been painstakingly created by an artist is almost seen as sacrilegious.
Instead of shying away from the idea of this Black Mirror-esque future, the best approach to take is one of optimism and curiosity. While there are always bound to be diehard old school musicians who refuse to use tech, as there are readers who still refuse the Kindle, music producers should consider AI as something to be embraced. AI music software is still very much in its infancy, but with more investors interested in the development and outcomes of such technology, and considering the rapid growth rate of other tech advances in recent years, it’s only a matter of time until AI-produced music is seen as the new norm. ABOUT THE AUTHOR The article was produced by Laura Apps on behalf of The DJ Shop, one of the UK’s longestrunning DJ equipment retailers. Learn more at https://www.thedjshop.co.uk PERFORMER MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2020 9
MUSIC BUSINESS
So, You YouTub I
an Stich loves to teach. It’s a love that shows in each of his StichMethod YouTube videos as clearly as the patches of grey on his beard (the standout feature on any StichMethod merch). It’s a love that drives huge numbers of followers to his channel, his Skype private lessons, and his annual in-person guitar workshop. It’s also a love that shines through in conversation, as Stich’s passion for the guitar (and musicians) permeates his life story, from playing in bands his whole life to realizing he had a knack for teaching. Much like the jam bands he focuses his channel on (along with a healthy dose of blues and guitar heroes), Stich’s playing and teaching journey has been one of going with the flow and taking opportunities as they come - all with the love of music at its heart. It’s a method he recommends to others looking to get started teaching online. While Stich has been teaching guitar for twenty-five-plus years, the vast majority of those were offline. Three breakthroughs eventually led him to StichMethod: a single note at a Phish concert that opened up the guitar to him in a whole new way, an unexpected payday on a cat-themed game show (which allowed him to initially make the leap to teaching full time), and a good friend harassing him to get online (Sean Daniel, who has a massive YouTube following of his own). The result is a channel that focuses on helping people feel good about themselves through guitar. And it’s this point that Ian is most passionate about in our conversation - the idea that the people are coming to his channel looking for help, and he (or you) can be happy to deliver. That mindset, along with the following dos and don’ts, will lead a killer YouTube channel - and a lot of joy along the way. Do - Believe in What You’re Teaching Before Ian’s transformative Phish inspiration, he taught guitar in a traditional way. “Before that [moment], it was: here’s some blues scales, here’s this, here’s a song...but [after] it was: we’re going to the beginning of how this works.” That change also
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Ian Stich of StichMethod Guitar breaks down how to break through teaching music online
MUSIC BUSINESS
ou Wanna Be a ube Teaching Star? Jason Peterson included the Neverlost pentatonic, an approach to unlocking the guitar that is his most popular contribution online. The main reason for its success is how much viewers can tell Ian believes in its effectiveness. It doesn’t have to be sold because it’s clear that it works. Don’t - Wait Until You Have Fancy Equipment to Get Started When it came to video and mic equipment early on, Stich relates, “...I was like, eh - what am I going to use to film it? My MacBook. With that camera. And the microphone.” Ian laughs at the memory, but it’s clear that - especially when first getting started - it’s important not to get bogged down with thinking you need expensive lights, cameras, and mics. “I’d film a video, and people would be like, your production sucks...but I was like, I don’t care...don’t judge the message by whether it’s 4k and pretty.” There are plenty of incredible looking videos that don’t offer much value. You can always get better gear later, but don’t wait for it to get started - and even if or when you do have that equipment, focus on your content and ideas. That’s what people really want. Do - Allow Multiple Ways for People to Support Your Channel It’s clear from talking to Stich for any amount of time that money is not a driving factor for his teaching. However, he also realized early on that people want to show support and appreciation for what they’ve learned and often vote with their dollars. And while he offers merch through his site, he quickly found that people were really just buying it to support him. “There’s this myth of merchandise...I feel like no one really wants merchandise. They want to support your channel - they want to support you.” Now Ian offers items of value across the price point spectrum: lesson charts on the low end - all the way up to his weekend guitar workshop. With these options, anyone who wants to support his channel can, even if he would do it all for free (which he totally would). Don’t - Compare Yourself to Other YouTube Teachers
With so many music lessons available online, it can be easy to get caught up in competition, inadequacy, or a feeling like you’ll never break through. Stich has an easy solution if you can stick to it. Don’t pay attention. As he says, “...to this day, I still don’t watch YouTube. I don’t - I don’t watch it for guitar lessons.” Instead of getting caught up with what others are doing, he forged his own path and didn’t look back - or look at anything else that’s out there. “You need to be content rich, and idea rich. Just make your message as strong...as possible.” The rest will sort itself out. Do - Try to Predict What Questions People Will Ask - and Have the Answers Like the Boy Scout motto to Be Prepared, a good teacher needs to be ready for whatever comes their way. “To be a good teacher, you have to preemptively know the questions you’re going to get asked - you have to almost predict it.” This can be a hard task. As Stich elaborates, “You’re teaching someone who doesn’t know the language yet...you have to sit in the student’s chair and listen to what they’re saying and try to communicate it back in their language.” Being able to communicate answers clearly is especially crucial in a medium like YouTube and being as prepared as possible will help make that communication possible. Don’t - Plan Too Far Ahead - Go With the Flow! While being prepared is key, it’s also important to let go. One thing that stands out in any StichMethod video is Ian’s willingness to make mistakes and not focus on perfection. “That’s something that comes from the jam band world,” he says. “When you watch Jimmy Page and Trey [Anastasio] and Jerry [Garcia], they mess up all the time. And you’re not going oh, he screwed up - ok I heard that, but wow, that next note blew my head off.” It’s this same mentality that keeps StichMethod fresh - and can do the same for you. For more info, visit https://stichmethod.com PERFORMER MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2020 11
SPOTLIGHT Synth ace opens up about gear, her creative process and what the future holds for electronic music Benjamin Ricci
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SPOTLIGHT 14 APRIL/MAY 2020 PERFORMER MAGAZINE
Let’s explore your background in synthesis. Is this something that’s been with you since childhood? I got into music very young, I wasn’t necessarily born into a musical family, but my parents were very avid music listeners. Every Friday my father would come home from working at GM and he’d bring four or five new albums from the era - this would be the mid-70s – that’s what really inspired me to get into music. This was in the Cleveland area…my parents moved a lot and they were kind of tumultuous back then. But during that time my mother’s sister was a country and western musician. And she had a big Wurlitzer electronic organ, and WOW. Behold this thing – she’d let me play it and go crazy on it and record me on an 8-track cartridge [laughs]. Her daughter was a teenager at the time, and she turned me on to a lot of the rock and roll of the mid-70s. In fact, she took me to an Aerosmith sound check when I was three or four years old. It drove my dad nuts…My mother, however, was very supportive. She was very passionate about music and used music. She had a really unique rapport with music, and I studied her feelings about [it]…she had a very emotional response to music and that made an impact on me at a very young age. Was piano your first instrument? No, not by practice. I’d say the first real instrument I played was drums. And then the guitar, and then eventually organ, THEN piano. It came much later. I know we’re jumping ahead a bit, but when did you start approaching synths and modular gear, in particular? My first real impression came from my mother. One of her favorite records was Gary Wright’s “Dream Weaver.” She used to sit me
down between the speakers and tell me this was the future [laughs]. It really was breathtaking, hearing this synthesizer-dominated music. It wasn’t really until later when I was an early teen that I had an opportunity to even touch a synthesizer. I kind of spent years even gigging as a guitarist, getting into the organ and things before I ever played one. When I was 15 or 16, I started working in a jingle studio. And I basically was their in-house musician, multi-instrumentalist, and they put me to work as a tape editor, and I had all sorts of great experiences. I used to have to cut 15, 30 and 60-second spots…it was a really awesome learning experience. And it was there I first played a Fender Rhodes – that kind of changed my life. Using that with a small phaser and Space Echo, wow. They were using some modern technology, this would have been the mid to late-80s, but they still had some of these old things, like they had an Odyssey. An ARP Omni and an ARP Odyssey. That really kind of ruined me [laughs]. What do you think of the new KORG reissue of the Odyssey? I think they did a nice job. That one’s probably a little closer to the original than their 2600 [reissue]. I think it’s an awesome thing that they did a full reissue of the 2600; it was my beloved instrument for many, many years. [Editor’s note: at this point into the conversation, we spent a good deal of time talking about pricing, waxing nostalgic and then veering into the new model Behringer is bringing to the industry, which is where we’ll pick things up…] I think it’s a great way for new musicians to experience synthesis, and that’s equally as important as having a [high-end] instrument that’ll last a lifetime. It might be a good way for artists to get into music and get their feet wet. Sure. It feels like right now, a lot of people feel this comparison [of clones and originals] is valid, and it’s really not, you know? I’ve been doing this a long time, and I know the difference between the real instrument and something that’s a decent clone of it. I don’t ever want to come off as sounding like some elitist-type person, it’s just that I’ve spent a lot of bench time over the last three decades when people weren’t into analog synthesizers and at this point, I have played just about everything damn-near original. If you want cheap, buy cheap. If you want something that’s gonna last, you make the investment.
There has been a resurgence of analog gear in just the past few years. What do you think happened to spark that renewed interest? Well, I think that’s not entirely true. I mean Moog has been doing it [since the 2000s] with the Voyager. Dave Smith is still at it, Tom Oberheim is still making true instruments. So, I don’t think it’s totally been dead, it just hadn’t been as easily affordable. It’s just that more people have jumped on the bus and want to be a part of that. And that’s great.
SPOTLIGHT
I
f you’re a true synth nerd, chances are you’ve come across Lisa Bella Donna sometime in the past few years. She’s worked on a number of incredibly informative (and inspirational) videos for the likes of Reverb.com, Moog and more. Her fluid, lyrical playing style expertly draws out the best of each instrument she touches – evoking everything from choirs and epic string sections on the Mellotron, to spaced out, Tangerine Dream-style pulsing bass lines on the Moog Grandmother and other modular synths. We recently caught up with the keyboard guru to chat about all things synth and the direction of her career.
My only concern is, do the manufacturers really want to be a part of it? Or is it just a cash grab? It’s one thing to pay tribute to something from the past, but everything doesn’t have to be a necrophiliac experience, you know? [laughs] I’ve got to get back to the modular stuff. What drew you to this tangle of cables and made you say, “Yes, this is something I want to figure out?” This is kind of an off the wall answer, but it is honest. This goes back to the days working in the jingle studio. I had bought an ARP Omni and Odyssey, basically bought their old stuff, and they had gifted me this stack of magazines from the 1970s. They were pretty awesome and in-depth. And I remember reading about Heavy Weather by Weather Report, so I found the album and listened to it on headphones and it blew me away. The taste and color Joe Zawinul was getting out of the ARP 2600. By that time, I already had a Polymoog and a few other things…so I met this guy in the back of Keyboard Magazine called “Synth Locater.” This is where it gets off the wall. Right before I met him, I had this really crazy astral projection. I’m not talking about anything drug-related, I’m talking about a very personal experience. And in this experience, I heard these sounds that were so unique and intense and stereophonic…it was just such a crazy experience…When I came back from this thing, it put me on a mission, to start thinking about what sound is and how it affects humans and how it makes you feel. I wanted to understand that deeper, so I started reading books on physics from the library. But it was very hard to find books on synthesis – this was West Virginia, mind you. So, it was through this experience I decided I was going to find an ARP 2600, and something just clicked. In my mind’s eye I even visualized how I would make patches on it before I even got it, having a little bit of relevant experience having had the Odyssey. And so, I met this guy, the Synth Locater at this Expo, and he was so nice to me.
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SPOTLIGHT
“I like music that makes me feel like I’m listening to the person, not the instrument.”
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I was really passionate about it, and I think it caught him off guard because no one was really asking about these things at the time, but I had to find an ARP 2600. This was 1990, maybe? And he had so much crazy stuff, Mellotrons, KORGs, Moogs. This was the time that everyone was getting rid of this stuff, so he capitalized on that. He let me experience the 2600 and let me play one before I considered really buying it.
really learned it. I created a piece on it called “Correlative Moods” that I actually just rereleased for the Alan R. Pearlman Foundation. I was able to really achieve that astral experience in sound, at least a touch of it.
So, I played one and maybe a month, two months later, he called me and told me he had a 2600 for me [for sale]. He told me the price, I made a down payment and he was kind enough to give me the manual with it. The manual for the 2600 was an amazing resource for synthesis, as good as anything out there. It really had style to it that was a great education, even before I got it in my hands. So, I got it home and basically locked myself in my little tiny house, really went to town on it and
I think that’s important, because there are a lot of synth videos out there on YouTube where they demonstrate instruments but don’t play any music on them. They just go through what each oscillator sounds like, and then maybe some filter sweeps. But that’s not music. I think that’s why people gravitate towards your videos because you show what these instruments can do in the context of real musical playing and expression.
Eventually I got a pair of them [2600’s] and that’s how I learned modular synthesis. Getting to learn how to use it musically, as an expressive instrument…
SPOTLIGHT Well, I’m not really a critic. I know that I have my own personal approach to it, and I like a combination of very technical sound design and development, but the goal is to make an impression, musically, sonically. I love to play melodically…to play with heart. That’s really it. I love soulful music; I like music that makes me feel like I’m listening to the person, not the instrument. That’s what it’s really about. I want people to listen to my albums and get lost in it. And get more self-aware of where they’re at, at the time, listening. I’m creating a forest for them to explore in. That’s how I feel about it.
at a tape machine as a canvas. The computer is awesome…but there are so many options. When I’m sitting at a tape machine, I look at it like my piano. Even if it doesn’t wind up being the finished product, it will definitely pull out so many different things out of me like a muse… I’m an analog-at-heart person. I’ll start there and perhaps finish it on the computer, and I feel that’s a good marriage.
LISA BELLA DONNA SNOWY DREAMSCAPES STANDOUT TRACK: “DECEMBER”
What does your current recording setup look like? It’s very much a marriage of both analog and digital. There’s usually a mixture, very rarely do I something all-digital. But I look
Follow on Instagram: @lisabelladonna PERFORMER MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2020 17
SPOTLIGHT 18 APRIL/MAY 2020 PERFORMER MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT
Daniel DONATO
Nashville axe-slinger opens up about his work process and latest EP Taylor Northern
D
aniel Donato is a young, 20-something guitar-slinger who’s lent his skills to numerous acts you’ve likely heard on the radio and Spotify playlists. Making a name for himself in the country game, he’s already an Americana Award nominee, and we recently had an opportunity to sit down and chat about his career and future plans. You were touring the past month correct? And your tour was recently cancelled because of the Coronavirus…they shut down a lot of concerts and events [this month]. How was the tour going prior to that?
Yeah, absolutely man, you know I really learned so much there and it would be hard to discount how crucial [busking] was to my life…It was a platform to network with people and the first way for people to learn what I do via having a stage and having ideas to execute live. It provided a lot of musical inspiration for me, it was a real jackpot of my life, like I really hit it there and it was a perfect example of what right time, right place is. That’s cool – Nashville is one of my favorite cities. I like Carter Vintage Guitars there and Zollikoffee coffee shop. Were you born in that area?
Yeah, the shows were good, we had a really healthy percentage of people and good things were happening, both in ways of music and business, like outward growth was happening, so yeah, I would say the tour was at a fantastic place.
No, I was eight years old when I moved to Nashville.
Do you plan on rescheduling some of the dates?
When I was 14.
Yeah, we’re going to reschedule the dates to August. I saw in an interview with Reverb.com that you started busking on the streets every weekend for eight hours a day as a teenager. This was in Nashville in the Lower Broadway area, correct?
When did you hear about the Don Kelley Band and JD Simo?
What kind of lessons did you learn from playing with Don Kelley? I learned how to play guitar in the traditional sense of playing, both the rhythm and lead and how dynamics is the crucial difference between rhythm and lead, both in a volume sense and what you’re actually playing. I learned the CAGED system in a masterful way, that system mixes major and minor with chromaticism; it’s a system
Solomon Khoury
that allows you to execute ideas that are original, and it worked for how I was thinking at the time. So, I was able to come up with original ideas and the biggest thing you mentioned there is that you need to have a platform that forces you to execute on a regular basis very similar to how Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is always posting on social media about his physical health endeavors, his average working day, etc. that’s what the Don Kelley gig was for me. Yeah, that platform where you can have that regular practice, almost like an athlete in rec league…putting you in a live environment helps, huh? If you can have a live environment that’s most optimal, if you can have a live environment that makes you work your set and play what you practice every day in front of people and not just by yourself in a room, that…is one of the defining factors that can qualify a performer and help expand themselves. You did a demo of the Fender Acoustasonic guitar and there’s also a cool video of you and Tyler Bryant trading some epic licks and going back and forth on the Acoustasonic Strat and Tele models. Isn’t the Telecaster your main guitar? It is, I put a book out when I was 18 called, “The PERFORMER MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2020 19
SPOTLIGHT 20 APRIL/MAY 2020 PERFORMER MAGAZINE
You had some good videos on there, and you were showcasing some great techniques. Aren’t you currently represented by William Morris Endeavor? How did you link up with those guys?
What other kinds of pedals and amps are you using?
Right place, right time and the right people and a lot of luck.
Right now, my main amps for the Cosmic Country sound are vintage blackface Fenders, so my sound source itself is very analog, but then the pedals I’m using are very much digital. I’m using mainly Keeley pedals right now and using the Gamechanger Audio Plus pedal.
Let’s talk about your new EP, Starlight for a bit. I like the songs “Luck of the Draw,” “Always Been a Lover” and “First Class.” What was the songwriting process like for those songs?
I’m familiar with Keeley, I like their compressor a lot… I actually have a signature Cosmic Country compressor with Keeley pedals.
Weren’t you using the T. Rex Gristle King for a while? I was using it from 2010-2013, I’m definitely on the other side of the decade with that one now [laughs]. Let’s talk about your actual playing for a minute. Your style reminds me of famous country players like Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, but you also play a really good blues like T-Bone Walker or you can like sound Jerry Garcia. Who are your actual influences?
All those songs aside from “Sweet Tasting Tennessee” were written by just me, before I started co-writing with people. Before I made that record, I shifted my focus to only co-writing with people which is what I did all of last year. Those songs were the culmination of me writing songs by myself and those were the songs that were the strongest that I had gathered from my year of touring. That was around 2018-2019 and I attempted to solo tour as Daniel Donato for the first time. I had to have a batch of originals to throw in there and all songs from Modern Machine and the Starlight EP are from that phase of my life -- they’re very, very embryotic starting phase Daniel Donato songs.
Gotcha. Any last words for the magazine? I would like to suggest that people try to find the thing that they like to work hardest at and refine that skill enough, believe in that skill enough and make it as individual as possible so you can add value to the world and you can make that your gig. I think we live in a time now where if you can be you really well, you can be your own gig and I think people especially between the ages 18-35, those are the defining windows where you can make that happen.
Do you plan on continuing as a solo artist? You could easily tour behind an artist like Taylor Swift, you have those chops as a lead guitar player.
All those players you mentioned are great; you have the great country players of our time who are Brent Mason and Johnny Hiland, Hank Marvin, Gary Marvin, Chet Atkins, those are the country players. Then you get to the other side of the country and more or less, it’s players who are more blues based and rock based. Of course, Slash was the reason I started playing guitar, Hendrix was a huge influence on me, Stevie Ray Vaughan of course, then Jerry Garcia is kind of like the biggest guy, him and Bob Weir are my biggest influences presently.
Yeah, but I also have the chops to be Daniel Donato. That’s the idea though, it’s like what is Taylor Swift? All these accolades and all this great esteem, all this great success…obviously I would never compare myself to Taylor Swift, I don’t view myself as a brand, but she is an artist and one of the defining artists of our time. But I would much rather have my name on it and own it all, 100%.
Bob Weir is an amazing rhythm player, he uses the CAGED system with chords, too.
Absolutely, yeah, we did a live record in December with Robben Ford producing, there’s 12 songs on that. It was recorded at Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville where Jason Isbell records, Waylon Jennings, Garth Brooks, a lot of country royalty has recorded there.
Yeah, so those guys are big influences on me, I try to switch between them in terms of mindset -- I’ll try to think like Bob or think like Jerry on certain parts of the song
“We live in a time now where if you can be YOU really well, you can be your own gig.”
SPOTLIGHT
New Master of the Telecaster” and I wrote that when I was kind of a young prodigy. I’m still that person, but also different, like there’s more to me now and absolutely the Telecaster is what I do on guitar, it’s my voice.
Follow on Instagram: @thedanieldonato
Do you have any more music or other new projects coming out?
Playing both roles, nice. When did you start giving guitar lessons for Reverb.com?
Well, you had me at Robben Ford, that’s my guy, he’s awesome! So, he’s on this live recording?
Back in 2019, sometime during Summer NAMM…
He produced it; he’s not playing on it, actually.
DANIEL DONATO STARLIGHT EP STANDOUT TRACK: “LUCK OF THE DRAW”
PERFORMER MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2020 21
SPOTLIGHT
The Reinvention of
MARGARET GLASPY Josh Goleman
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Vincent Scarpa
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was being stunted. “It was such a shift for me that I didn’t know what to do with myself when I closed that chapter,” she says. “I was feeling pretty shy, and I knew I needed to create a new direction for myself.” Thus: a recalibration. She set out to conceptualize what her sophomore album might look like, committed and intent on challenging herself in every arena of music-making. The resulting fruits of reinvention are some of her most dynamic, confident, and compelling
“SONGWRITING IS A SOURCE OF MYTHOLOGY. IT’S WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND.” last song, for few songwriters are as astute in mapping the tectonics of thought and feeling, and few vocalists as adept at bringing such lyrics to life so uncompromisingly, with such indelibility. Her reinvented sound on Devotion is unapologetically intrepid and idiosyncratic, with the introduction of the synthesizer and other digital alterations serving to deliver a sonic texture that announces Glaspy’s fearless turn toward new frequencies. Not once does Glaspy’s veering into and mapping out the terrain of this new territory compromise her lyrical dexterity and her vocal power, which remain top of their range and are on full display in songs like “Vicious,” “You’ve Got My Number,” (the album’s most arresting earworm) and “Killing What Keeps Us Alive,” the first single off the album. Each song warrants its own unique soundscape, and it’s clear Glaspy hasn’t written toward anything like a unifying, universal effect here. Far better — to my ears, anyway — for each song to be served by Glaspy’s signature unswervingness; a hard-earned boldness that her listeners have been hearing her develop all the way back to her first self-released endeavors. After touring heavily in support of 2016’s Emotions and Math, her first full-length album, and her follow-up EP Born Yesterday, Glaspy says she was feeling a little glum. She wasn’t as prolific as she once was, and she began to feel her growth
songs to date. “It took me the better part of the last few years to understand how to make this music and still feel comfortable in my own vocabulary on these instruments,” she says. “You go left or right and it can feel kind of contrived, so you really have to just dial in. It’s been a journey, for sure.” At the other end of this journey is Devotion, which features some of her most dynamic, confident, and compelling songs to date.
performances masterfully and James Krausse (Los Angeles) mixed Devotion in a way that Glaspy says “she has always envisioned her music sounding like.” About the record itself, Glaspy says, “This record is very different from the last. It’s not about being righteous or all-knowing, it’s about letting love in even when you don’t know what will happen when you do. It’s about devoting your heart to someone or something, against all odds.” Nowhere are these sentiments echoed as directly as in the title track, in which Glaspy sings, “Baby, I’m on your side/It’s a sign of my devotion/When I show you my emotions.” Further commenting on Devotion, Glaspy says, “I’m learning that life is painful but you take the bad with the good; that love is hard but if you love someone, you make yourself available; that life is short and it’s okay to be sincere. I’m starting to be able to write about these things and it’as a feat for myself as an artist and growth for me as a person.”
SPOTLIGHT
“I
t’s definitely a departure,” Margaret Glaspy says of her new record. “I’m leaving a different kind of sonic footprint than I’ve left before.” And what an apt metaphor this is, for if anything’s clear about Devotion, Glaspy’s sophomore full-length release, it’s that she is, as ever, a masterful charter of internal geographies. The results are sure to overturn any expectations listeners enter the album with by the final notes of the
What sticks long after our interview has ended is Glaspy’s personal definition of songwriting and her take on what she wants to be as a songwriter. “Songwriting is a source of mythology,” she says. “It’s what we leave behind. The in-between is ever present…” If Devotion is any sign, those of us in the in-between can always expect something new and something true from Margaret Glaspy.
Follow on Instagram: @margaret_glaspy
If there’s anything Glaspy has learned in the process of recalibration and reorientation, it’s been to embrace the unknown and undiscovered rather than fall in line with whatever felt prescribed for her. “It has been amazing to be able to stretch out, to not define myself just by the music I make, but to follow my nose toward all the things that make me happy,” she says. The reinvention that Devotion signals was made possible with the help of Glaspy’s friend, L.A.-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Tyler Chester, whom she enlisted to produce Devotion. “Tyler and I proved to be a very good match in the studio,” she says. “I love being very hands-on with my records and he was a force of nature without restricting my sense of what the record should be.” They also brought in Glaspy’s touring drummer Tim Kuhl to complete the picture with his artful understanding of the kit paired with Chester’s programming. Brooklyn based engineer Mark Goodell captured these
MARGARET GLASPY DEVOTION STANDOUT TRACK: “YOU’VE GOT MY NUMBER”
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MIDI 2.0 NEWS
New Frontiers in Expressi What MIDI 2.0 Means for M
M
IDI has finally gotten an update, and for those of us who worked on this longawaited version, we strove
to fix some of the less perfect aspects of the protocol, add cool new things without breaking anything, and make it even more MIDI.
Some of the new additions to MIDI 2.0 are the most exciting aspects of this latest version. The things that have been added break down into two categories: Things that make MIDI 2.0 easier to use: Devices will be able to automatically configure themselves to adapt to whatever they’re connected to on the other end. Things that make MIDI 2.0 better to use: New capabilities will make it do more for you on stage and in the studio once everything’s connected. MIDI-CI: Devices now tell each other what they can do Most of the new features in MIDI 2.0 rely on a set of operations that are collectively called “Capability Inquiry,” and this is where the need for two-directional communications becomes obvious. When MIDI 2.0 equipment is powered up, it enters a process called “Discovery”; it might also do this in response
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After establishing that both ends of a MIDI connection terminate in a device that supports MIDI-CI, the devices exchange messages to determine what the other one is capable of doing, and may proceed into deeper negotiations. For example, using MIDI-CI and profiles, a controller and synth would be able to query each other, learn that both ends support the drawbar organ profile, and when needed, they would send and respond to the same controller numbers in the correct way. Or think about sample libraries that are used widely in film scoring -- there’s a convention in that world where the notes on the bottom octave or so of a keyboard aren’t used as “notes”, they’re used as “keyswitches” that control things like articulations -- if you press C#, your string samples are pizzicato, D natural is normal bowing, Eb is col legno, and so on. An “orchestral articulation” profile could be developed to both standardize
JR Timestamps let you use that clock information to precisely timestamp events with a resolution of 32 microseconds. When two MIDI 2.0 devices agree to use JR timestamps, the sender will attach a timestamp message to every MIDI message it sends out, and your DAW will use that data to record the event based on the time it was played, not on the time it was received. Events that happen inside the same 32 microsecond window will share a timestamp, and your DAW will treat them as exactly simultaneous. This is, to put it mildly, a huge upgrade. Per-Note Control and Higher Resolution: “Analog-ish” nuance In the past decade or so, several manufacturers have started making new kinds of more expressive MIDI controllers that use an extension to the MIDI 1.0 standard called MPE, for “MIDI Polyphonic Expression.” These controllers take a bunch of different forms: the ROLI Seaboard and McMillen K-Board look mostly like regular keyboards, the Roger Linn Linnstrument looks and plays
When we think about resolution, it’s important not to get too hung up on numbers. Think about one end being all the way off, the other end being all the way on, and the resolution is the number of places between those two extremes that you can stop at. If you’re a bass player, think about this as the difference between fretted and fretless bass. These higher-resolution controls feel “analog-ish,” as bizarre as that may seem. No matter how high-res you make a digital system, you can measure it with a piece of lab equipment and there’s always going to be a step between two adjacent values that a piece of analog gear could still fit an infinite number of intermediate values inside.
MIDI 2.0 NEWS
to the user pressing an autoconfiguration button, or when it detects that it’s been connected to a USB host.
But human perception isn’t like lab equipment -- cognitive scientists talk a lot about a thing they call a “JND” -- a Just Noticeable Difference between two things. If two different stimuli are the same as each other inside of that JND, there’s no way for a human to differentiate them. That wasn’t the case with MIDI 1, however. It was easy to
sion and Interoperability: r Musicians Brett Porter of Art+Logic
how articulation data is sent, and to define attributes instead of requiring this keyswitch hack.
like a fretboard grid, and the Eigenharp Alpha looks like a bassoon from outer space. The new Artiphon Orba looks like a hockey puck.
JR clock and timestamps: MIDI gets its timing act together
The one thing that they share is an increased number of high-resolution sensors that all send data polyphonically. Most of them track not just velocity and pressure, but also the x/y positions of each finger separately, and potentially other things about the playing technique. These controllers let you do things that don’t make any sense at all in plain MIDI 1. MPE does this with a clever bit of hackery: Both the sending and receiving ends need to agree that each note being played will have its own MIDI channel. This means that anything you can do to notes played on a MIDI channel will apply to only that one note, completely independently of any other notes. Working groups tasked with creating MIDI 2.0 wanted to take the ideas expressed within MPE of per-note control and extend it to new, higher-resolution messages--and thus provide even more expressive possibilities.
A recurring complaint about MIDI 1 (probably starting a few weeks after gear started shipping) is that timing can be sloppy. This shouldn’t be a surprise -- if you play a chord with all 10 fingers and hit all the keys simultaneously, the keyboard is going to send each note out one at a time in sequence -- by the time those messages hit the synth, it’s not unusual to have them sound as an arpeggio. MIDI 2.0 provides solutions to this problem: JR (Jitter Reduction) clock provides a way for a sender to periodically broadcast a message that tells the receiver what its current time is. That receiver can use that information to adapt to timing differences between the two devices and render events more accurately.
hear what people call “zipper noise” -- tweak a controller around and you can hear the steps as things change. The extended range of MIDI 2.0 control data lets us build equipment that gets way inside of that JND zone to make systems that are as perceptually smooth as analog systems. There will certainly be instruments that don’t actually use all of the newly available resolution, and that’s okay. The bottom line will be greater nuance and a greater possibility to use current and yet-to-beinvented controllers more expressively. By fine-tuning timing, offering higherres per-note control, and allowing devices to talk to one another, MIDI 2.0 builds on the tried-and-true protocol in exciting new ways, ways that promise to inspire musicians, producers, and hardware engineers for years to come. For more information, please visit www.midi.org PERFORMER MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2020 27
MEET YOUR MAKER
MEET YOUR MAKER
T
he HexHider is a simple, yet invaluable tool for any Floyd Rose equipped guitar. It’s stays attached to your instrument and was specifically designed as a hex tool for locking trems, much better than any L-shaped tool you might currently be using. FULL COMPANY NAME SmallStage LLC HOW LONG IN BUSINESS Just launched! BACKGROUND I’ve been a “maker” for a long time … since I was a kid … and I’ve developed and delivered many a product that you may have heard of. MOST POPULAR PRODUCT The HexHider 2-pack, but the 4-pack is catching up.
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With Steve from HexHider WHAT SETS YOU APART I target simplicity and utility. I have a drive to create things which can simplify the lives of musicians. The Neodymium magnet is pretty cool to me. It’s got a LOT of power in that small package. And you would not believe how many I had to go through to find the right balance of size and hold. LESSONS LEARNED I’ll never learn. The MI industry is the fun business, so if you like what you do, you’ll work all the time and it’ll feel right. So just keep working, it’ll all work out. AVG PRICE PER PIECE $9.95 per unit, very affordable. WEBSITE www.hexhider.com INSTAGRAM @hexhider
MEET YOUR MAKER PERFORMER MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2020 29
RECORDING
Creating Project Templates in Your DAW In an earlier article I covered the basics of using Reaper. This article will cover how to setup a project template to streamline the recording process. Project Templates have the following benefits: * Pre-built project folder organization * Consistent look and feel * Pre-setup FX routing * Color-coded project folders (with SWS Extension add-on) When I setup my project template I organize it in the following folders. I explain how folders work in Reaper below. * SCRATCH Beat - MIDI Drum Click Track * SCRATCH Song * DRUMS FOLDER * Kick in * Kick out * Snare top * Snare bottom * HH * Toms (1-3) * Floor (1-2) * Crash * Overheads BASS FOLDER * Bass 01 * Bass 02 GUITARS FOLDER * Acoustic 01 * Acoustic 02 * Electric Clean * Electric Distort * Lead OTHER INSTRUMENTS FOLDER Keys Synth VOCALS MAIN * VXM01 * VSM02 VOCALS BACKING *VXB Low *VXB Mid *VXBHi FX FOLDER * Compression * Reverb * Delay XTRA TRACKS FOLDER * Unused or old tracks as archive
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An example project template (fig. 1) Template Pre-requisites While we are not covering in full the folder/ track color coding included in my images, these are accomplished via the Reaper SWS Extensions - which can be download for free from: http://www.sws-extension.org/ Naming Conventions I name my folders and the items within the folders using the following nomenclature. SCR = Scratch Tracks. For example: SCR Beat is my MIDI Drum Beat that I use as a scratch track. SCR Song is my scratch track where I record the song - usually guitar and vocals, recorded to the beat in my SCR Beat track. DRM = Drum tracks BSS = Bass tracks OTH = Other instruments. This includes keys, shakers, etc. GTR = Guitar tracks VXM = Main vocals VXB = Backing Vocals FX = Effects busses XTR = Extra tracks I’m not using but do not want to delete yet. I move them here to get them out of the way and make navigating my project easier.
An example of this is using a DRUM folder for all the drum tracks. Once you’ve mixed the drum levels to each other, you can increase or decrease volume of all the drums in your mix with a single control, or apply reverb to all the drums at once using the same parameters. The following images show the effect of adding tracks and clicking on the folder toggle. Two tracks, no folders. (fig. 3) Folder track with indented sub-track. (fig. 4) New track added, automatically indented. (fig. 5) New track, indent removed by click prior track folder toggle twice. (fig. 6) Starting with a blank project Click in the track area and add two tracks. Name the first, SCR Beat and the second, SCR Song. I add a MIDI drum beat to the SCR Beat folder. I use this instead of a standard metronome click to add more feel when I am recording. I have a video online that demonstrates how to setup a MIDI drum beat as a click track.
While outside the scope of this article, I use the above referenced SWS extensions to define track colors and icons. The colors and icons defined are based upon the track name prefixes listed above, making them even more useful as an organizational tool.
Click to add a new track and name it DRM Folder. Add a track below it named DRM Kick. Now on the DRM Folder track, click the folder toggle once. You will see that the DRM Kick track indents, indicating it is a sub-track within the DRM Folder.
The following image shows the SWS Extensions Color & Icon Layout setup (fig. 2).
Now when you add a new track below it, it will automatically be indented and inside the DRM Folder. You can add tracks named DRM Snare, DRM Crash, etc. for any drums you may have mic’d up or will at a future date.
Once this is setup, I can add a track in the appropriate folder, name it, and select “Apply” on the above shown screen and the appropriate color and icon is added to the new track. Let’s discuss folders and then create our folders and their tracks. In Reaper, there is no difference between tracks and folders. Any track can be turned into a folder by clicking the folder toggle. Folders are tracks that have tracks indented below them. The folder serves as a master file for any audio tracks it contains. This allows you to apply fx, volume, and panning to an entire set of tracks in the folder, all at once.
Add a new track for the Bass folder and name it BSS Folder. This will be indented because we are still adding tracks to the DRM Folder. Click twice on the folder toggle on the last drum track before the BSS Folder. The first click will cause the track to be indented below the final drum track demonstrating that you can have folders inside of folders. The next click will cause the BSS Folder track to stop being indented, preparing it to be the next folder track.
RECORDING fig. 1 Add two new tracks, BSS 01 and BSS 02. Click the folder toggle on the BSS Folder track, causing the two new tracks to be indented, as shown below. (fig. 7) Note:I typically include at least once extra track for any given instrument in the event I want to try an entirely different take or approach to the instrument in question. In the above, I have two bass tracks, even if only one is used. Using the above procedure, add folders and tracks for the following: OTH Folder--> OTH Inst 01 --> Oth Inst 02 GTR Folder --> GTR 01 --> GTR 02 VXM Folder --> VXM 01 --> VXM 02 VXB Folder --> VXB Low --> VXB Mid --> VXB Hi Of course, you do not need to add tracks or folders you believe you will never use. However, whatever tracks you believe you will need should follow some type of naming convention that is easy to replicate and provides some information about the items you will find in those tracks. FX Tracks buses I also create an FX bus folder and include a track for compression, reverb, and delay. In the FX of those tracks I add the appropriate effect and I can then route any of the above tracks to those buses. You can also route an entire folder to a bus or apply FX to the folder track itself. This can be very helpful if you want to apply the same effect to every vocal track, for instance. Save And Use Your Track Template Once you have your tracks defined, select File->Project Templates->Save Project As Template. Give your template a name like: 2020 fullband or 2020 basic acoustic. Now you are ready to use the template. At any point you simple select: File-Project Template and select your template from the list. If you’ve only saved one template, that is all you will see. You can have templates for different time signatures and with more or less complexity as needed for your music.
fig. 2
Once you select the template, you are presented with a complete set of tracks and whatever settings and FX’s you’ve stored with it. My recording process summarized: Open Reaper and select my project template Set my beats per minute Arm my SCR Song track Set my input levels Record my song - both guitar and vocals in a single take. This is just a map. I am not that concerned about pitch and perfect performance. I try to ensure my timing is good so I can start recording my other parts. Disarm the SCR Song track Arm the first GTR track inside the GTR Folder Record multiple guitar takes (usually acoustic). Disarm first GTR track Arm first VXM track inside the VXM Folder Record multiple vocal takes Repeat for any instruments or vocals you are including in your project. Adjust FX and mix Render song Final notes This process is primarily for a single songwriter adding tracks individually. However, if you are recording bands, track templates are extremely helpful in streamlining the setup process. Also, you can always open your project template, make adjustments to it, and re-save it under the same name or a new name as appropriate.
fig. 3
fig. 4
fig. 5
fig. 6
Editor’s note: we will have a companion video for this article on our YouTube channel. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Matthew Moran is a songwriter, performer, author, podcaster, and technologist based in Los Angeles. He performs solo shows and with his band, Arrogant Sage. He often provides workshops to business groups and musicians on content marketing, collaboration, and useful technologies. You can find out more at MatthewMoranOnline.com.
fig. 7
GEAR REVIEWS
BLACKSTAR Silverline Special 50-watt 1x12”
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odeling amps have come a long way. Blackstar’s new Silverline series concentrates on practical amp versions and features that guitar players actually want. The whole package is quite classic, with the silver (hence the name) control panel, and the blue-grey vinyl covering and silver grille cloth. Celestion’s G12 V type speaker drives things and is voiced to handle vintage and modern styles of tones. There are six amp selections to choose from that cover sounds from clean to raging; clean warm, clean bright, crunch, super crunch, OD1 & OD2. The gain and volume controls sit next to a simple EQ system; Bass and Treble, along with their ISF (infinite shape feature). This unique control when turned to the left, captures an American amp tonal quality, and to the right, goes into the British territory. Essentially, it acts as a mid boost/cut function as the American side scoops the mids, while the British side pushes them. The next big selection comes from the response section, covering EL84, 6L6, 6V6, EL34, KT66 & KT88 power amp tubes. Each has their own signature sound and gives the player options that in most cases might defy what’s available, like a big and clean KT88 tone for example, and of course all at a reasonable volume. There are modulation, delay and reverb effects built in,
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which all share the selector knob for adjustability, but each has four variants; Phaser, Flanger, Chorus, Tremolo covers the modulations and the delay has Linear, Analog, Tape and Multi modes, while the reverb choices are Room, Hall, Spring and Plate. Plugging in and dialing up a great clean tone? No problem at all! Changing the response section can really alter what’s going on tonally. Working through the variants, with the EQ set flat, it’s quite noticeable. Moving into the crunch modes, it really feels and responds like a tube amp. The OD1 and 2 modes really get into that heavy amp area, but the real kick in the pants is the KT88 response -- a big volume jump with that, but in a good way! One cool thing is keeping the naming structure of the sounds almost generic and letting the response section dictate the kind of amp the player wants to emulate. So, there’s no trying to find that perfect VOX sound for example, dial up the EL84 response, and match the voicing and gain to taste. Not having to work around a sound designer’s version of a particular amp gives the player the ability to create their own version. The real pleasant surprise is the fidelity; in some high gain modes, a lot of other modeling style amps get to hissy and a bit brittle. Not here, it sounds big, rich and full. The effects section didn’t leave us wanting, either. The tremolo was really nice
and warm, and the delay and reverbs were very natural and not over processed. Connecting it into a computer running PreSonus Studio One, the USB really blew us away. Getting great DI tones out of amps can be hit or miss, but in this case, it’s on target like a sniper. The overall sound quality was great, and still maintained a natural feel and response, throughout the settings. Overall, it’s the non-modeling, modeling amp (say that out loud). It covers the stuff guitar players want to do -- get great tones easily, and get plenty of them. For players who have given up on digital amps, this is a whole new world, and it’s got a lot to offer. Chris Devine
PROS
CONS
STREET PRICE
Great sounds, plenty of voicing options, great for USB recording.
Footswitch not included, app is needed to get into deep editing.
$529
GEAR REVIEWS
PROS
Great workmanship, plenty of padding and protection, reasonably priced CONS
None. STREET PRICE
CROSSROCK Metro Series Deluxe Gig Bag appx $110
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ig bags usually fall into one of two categories; A-super expensive, or B-super cheap. The expensive ones have features that are expected considering the high price, and the cheap ones are usually laughable, poorly made with no padding to speak of, and fall apart quickly. You’re basically wrapping your axe in a windbreaker. So, finding a reasonably priced gig bag, with suitable padding and decent construction is kind of like finding a unicorn. Well saddle up, Crossrock’s Metro series of gig bags checks all the boxes. We received their electric guitar version and first off, the grey material is quite stylish, never mind the fact it can easily be seen through all the black cases and bags at any gig! It’s also water resistant. Size wise, this should cover any Strat, Tele or Les Paul sized instrument. We were able to fit in a PRS as well. The two-tone handle was very comfortable, as are the double shoulder straps. They also have nylon straps stitched in, with a section that is loose, with D rings, allowing for a cross strap or items to be hooked on, like a carabineer keychain. An open pocket also resides on the back, to tuck the straps into, if desired. In the front, there is a main double deep zipped pocket, and a smaller zippered pouch on the exterior of that! There’s over an inch of multi-layer EVA & Pep foam lining on the interior, which is in a soft microfiber like material throughout, with the exceptions of the headstock area, that has a tough nylon like material to prevent string ends from poking the lining, and the bridge area, where the bridge screws could do some damage, as well. The neck rest block, covered in the lining material, is Velcroed in and also has a Velcro strap to ensure the neck is secured to the block. To go even further, there’s a padded strip of foam, again with the same lining material to place on the fingerboard to prevent any damage to the frets or fingerboard. The zippers are very robust, with the pulls being a custom piece, branded with the company’s logo. So, all those features are well thought out, and the overall workmanship is excellent, with no stitching issues to be found. The zippers were ultrasmooth, and the lining material was ultra-plush. It’s really nice to find a wellpadded gig bag that isn’t ultra-expensive but offers up plenty of protection for the player’s beloved instrument. It’s a gig bag, you CAN actually gig with! We dig it. Chris Devine PERFORMER MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2020 33
GEAR REVIEWS
CLEAR TUNE MONITORS CE320 In-Ear Monitors
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here used to be a great divide, you could go out of your budget and get the best, or stay within your budget, and maybe get “meh.” In-ear monitors are no exception. Finding a reasonably priced, great sounding pair was impossible. Clear Tune released their CE320 models recently, and they’re worth giving a listen to. Their system is quite modular, Clear Tune ported over a lot of the components and research from their higher end models. Inside each earpiece is a three-driver setup, covering the highs, mids and lows respectively. The earpieces are detachable from the cable and include a great selection of foam and silicone inserts. We’ve mentioned it before, but getting a great seal is super mega important in IEM’s not just for comfort, but for proper sound response and isolation. Plugging these in, we were frankly Very Impressed, like wow. First off, the earpieces are fairly small and very light, meaning no physical fatigue during long usage. Performers won’t wear them if the comfort isn’t there, and we would give the comfort factor a 10. Sound-wise they’re fantastic. With the right insert we were 34 APRIL/MAY 2020 PERFORMER MAGAZINE
able to block out loud ambient background noise no problem, even when cranking up a very harsh aggressive heavy mix (think detuned deathcore, but meaner). We got plenty of low end that maintained definition, and the high end stayed clear without getting harsh. Moving on to a mellower ambient synth mix, we could hear perfect nuances throughout. We had no issues with sonic ear fatigue either; the balanced response made these a pleasure to use. Mobile podcasters might want to bring a set of these, as they take up far less room than a set of “cans” would in bag or case. YouTubers and Twitch streamers who might normally have a set of on ear headphones for monitoring should look into a set of these; the sound is great, the price is reasonable, and they’re less noticeable on-screen. These are really great sounding, and yet at this price, they sound far better than some boutique audiophile ear buds that are far more expensive. For the performer who wants to dip their toes into a set of IEM’s, these are well worth it, and you’ll wonder how you lived without them for so long. Chris Devine
PROS
great balanced sound, very comfortable, excellent price CONS
None. STREET PRICE
$249
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e’ve been lucky to have reviewed many of Taylor’s fine guitars, from inexpensive to the super high-end models. Each time we’ve experienced something new, and with the 524CE Builder’s edition, again we’re exposed to a new angle of Taylor’s quest for acoustic perfection – complete with their legendary new V-Class bracing system. It’s a Grand Auditorium body style with a whole lot of tropical mahogany, as it’s used on the top, sides, back and neck. And like we said, it also features Taylor’s V-Cclass bracing, which allows the top to maintain structural rigidity, but allows the musical resonance to come through at every point on the fretboard. The ebony board sports Taylor’s century inlay, as does the headstock. A beveled armrest is also incorporated, and the lower cutaway has a wonderful carved access to the upper frets. One very unique point, no pickguard to clutter up the wonderful dark burst finish. With all those lovely dark woods, it’s very warm sounding. It’s still punchy but more focused in the midrange areas. Taylor also outfitted this with their Expression System 2. The pickup is placed behind the bridge saddles, not under them. It adds a bit of natural softness, and none of the harshness of the usual under the saddle pickups that usually require EQ to balance things out. Speaking of EQ, it’s a simple system with Treble, Bass and Volume controls. Ever do a session where the engineer tracks a
GEAR REVIEWS
TAYLOR GUITARS 524ce Builder’s Edition Acoustic piezo signal, only to not use it in a mix because of any “quacky”ness they can’t sort out? With this system, as well as this guitar’s particular warmth, that track WILL get used. As per usual, the materials and overall build quality are flawless, as one would expect from Taylor. This guitar is a dream to play, with a pick and without. There’s plenty of projection in picking and strumming situations. The fret work is perfect, and the comfort is complete up and down the neck. Overall, sound wise, this guitar is ultrawarm, with no harsh frequencies or unwanted overtones coming through at all. It maintains punch and attack, but in an overall smoothness that is quite delightful. On its own, it can certainly fill up a room, and when working with a vocalist, it keeps to its own space, while not edging into the singer’s frequencies. Players in a situation where another guitarist might have an instrument with a brighter spruce top, this again carves out its own territory. It’s certainly a bit darker, but not in a bad way at all. When some guitars get older, they get warm and mellow, sometimes losing that snap and attack. This is the best of both worlds, that classic warmth, with the big presence and modern playability. While the $2999 price tag might seem high, considering the quality materials, perfect workmanship, playability and overall tone, it’s an investment any serious guitar play should consider. It comes with our highest recommendation. Chris Devine
PROS
CONS
STREET PRICE
Great warm tone, plays beautifully, beyond excellent workmanship
None
$2999
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GEAR REVIEWS
WASHBURN Bella Tono Allure SC56S Acoustic
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coustic guitars have such allure, with nothing to get in the way between a player and their passion, but at times getting upper fret access (even on a cutaway) is difficult, and the lower bout can be uncomfortable during long sessions. Washburn’s Bella Tono Allure model solves those issues with some flair, and all at a very affordable price.
well done. One minor, oh-so-slight blemish that seemed to be a stain of the glue on one part of the turquoise island inlay was barely noticeable visually, but didn’t hinder playability. This body shape is Washburn’s “studio” version that offers up comfort and playability, while maintaining the highs and lows of a more traditionally-sized instrument.
Upon first look, something might seem off, proportionally. The lower cutaway is very extended, and the body shape seems a bit smaller. With this enhanced cutaway, there’s pretty much unhindered access to the upper frets, while the top also has a beveled arm rest for extra comfort. The top is solid spruce, while the back and side woods are acacia. It’s certainly a unique wood choice, one that is very durable and resistant to moisture. The neck is mahogany, with a rosewood fretboard, and features a traditional 25.5” scale. The neck has a very unique tropical inlay done with an island and seagull motif, adorned in abalone and turquoise. The soundhole is also decorated in abalone, along with the top binding, which is done in maple as well. Finally, the strings rest on a bone nut and bridge, with a Barcus-Berry LX4 Preamp that sports, high, mid, low, presence and volume controls, along with a tuner that has a very large and bright display. The tuners are very smooth, and quite beefy feeling. Overall, a nice build quality from Washburn,
Sound-wise, the “studio” name lived up to its claims, with very loud projection acoustically. It’s quite bright, but also maintains a sweetness on the top end. With the cutaway, there are no issues gaining upper fretboard access. Chords rang true with a crisp, rich tone and plenty of definition (and thankfully, no boomyness). Lead bits across the entire neck played smoothly with just enough attack to be present, but not spiky. The overall comfort was very nice as well, with no fatigue on the strumming arm, either. The Barcus-Berry system is very flexible, and the controls have a center detent, allowing the player to cut or boost the frequencies of their choosing just by feel.
The feel of the neck is very nice, as well, with a smooth satin finish, and fret work that was very 36 APRIL/MAY 2020 PERFORMER MAGAZINE
OK, so with all the inlays and unique construction, here’s the real surprise; it clocks in at just $499. It’s very uncommon to find an instrument with these elements executed so well in this price range. Even with the tiny blemish on our demo/test guitar, it’s a knockout. Washburn swung for the fences with this one, and for the features, sound and playability, it’s a serious hitter. Chris Devine
PROS
unique inlay and body style, great upper fret access CONS
super-tiny blemish on inlay of our test instrument STREET PRICE
$499
GEAR REVIEWS
O
k, so why do you need a DI box? Well if you have any instrument that uses a standard 1/4” connection and want to go directly into a mixer or interface, it’s the best way to convert that high impedance signal to a balanced, low impedance signal like a microphone has. Countryman has been doing DI’s for decades, and their Type 10 DI Box is the latest in their line.
COUNTRYMAN Type 10 Active Direct Box the selectable pad gives plenty of range to work with active instruments.
Like most DI boxes, they have 1/4” in and thru connections, as well as the XLR output. A threeway selectable pad with -15dB, 0dB, or -30Db options sits on one end while at the other, ground lift, and power test selector switches reside. This unit is hefty and robust, with an extruded solid aluminum body. All the connections and switches are well recessed inside, as well. This is a fantastic feature, with no way something could break, or snap off one of the switches.
Plugging in acoustic and electric guitars, this lil unit was super clean, and very articulate. A lot of times when doing a session with a mic on an acoustic guitar, and a DI off of the piezo pickup, when it comes time to mix, the DI kind of gets dismissed. Not here, that clarity really brings in a new dimension, without having to crank the track’s signal to get it to be heard. Bass guitars also really benefited, again, not having to max the volume out on the track means less noise and distortion of the signal you’re trying to maintain. It’s easy for basses to get a bit gritty, but in this case, the DI gave that extra attack and punch without coloring things. Electric guitar players using computer for re-amping or even as your live rig, this clarity is welcome in the world of plugins and modern impulse responses.
This is an active DI box, and it can be run off of an internal 9volt battery or by 48V phantom power. Active DI boxes run great with passive instruments like bass guitars, or acoustic guitar pickups, without active preamps of course. But
Some players may say, but my interface/ mixer has combo XLR connections, why should I get an external DI? Well, this is an analog design, so no A/D conversion is taking place. Which means when the signal hits the interface/mixer it
hasn’t been messed with, and the mixer/interface gets a much better, balanced signal, right from the start. The clarity and depth of this lil box can’t be understated. If you’ve used DI’s in the past and shrugged and said “meh,” look here, this will open your ears! Chris Devine
PROS
Super clear, low noise, well designed CONS
None STREET PRICE
$199
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GEAR REVIEWS
BULLET CABLE 30’ GEARMANNDUDE Signature
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remium cables took a turn about 20 years ago, when manufacturers started to use exotic metals and manufacturing techniques and overcharging the consumer, citing better tone. Since then things have settled down, and players can see through the haze for quality cables at a reasonable price, and the Gearmanndude signature cable from Bullet Cable delivers on usable features and tonal quality. The first thing is the length, coming in at 30’, but since it’s a coily cable, it compresses to a much smaller length when not stretched out. It’s finished off in a nice white exterior shielding. It’s quite beefy overall, and for players who hate when cables get all spaghetti-ed up in a tangle, this might be your solution. The ends are reminiscent of a bullet casing (living up to company name) in a sleek red finish. The black heat shrink/strain relief has Gearmanndude’s message “love” boldly printed on it. Unscrewing one of the ends, the connection to the end is very well done. It’s super robust. This is where even expensive cables fail, so the attention to this end of things is very re-assuring! One of the other ends is a Neutrik Silent plug. This end always goes to the instrument. There’s a small contact at the end of the plug, and the cable is silent until that contact gets pressure. No need for a mute switch or an extra piece of gear, the cable is dead silent. No hearing the cable short out while trying to plug it in to an instrument! Plugging in a variety of instruments into amps, pedalboards, interfaces and DI’s, the cable sounded great, with plenty of clarity, and no loss of tone. Usually there is some noticeable degradation after 20’ of cable, but not in this case. The silent plug feature is a YUGE plus. Our reviewer used it with an acoustic plugged into a PA system at a gig, and got none of the usual plugging in/unplugging noise issues to annoy listeners when switching guitars! An added side bonus is the white color; you can find the cable on a dark stage very easily, and there’s no way someone could mistake this for one of theirs. Let’s face it, coiled cables always look cool, but in the past many didn’t sound all that great. But this is a well-made and thought out cable. The street price of $59 is reasonable, especially considering the materials and construction, making it a premium cable, without a premium price tag. One that’ll last a very long time. Chris Devine
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PROS
CONS
STREET PRICE
Silent jack, well-made
None
$59.95
GEAR REVIEWS
DPA 2028 Vocal Microphone
T
here are singers that just take whatever the sound person gives them, then there are ones that know what they like in a microphone. It’s theirs, and they don’t share it because it’s part of their sound. In these cases, they look for a great mic, and DPA’s 2028 is one of those mics you don’t want to share. Starting off, it’s a condenser with a supercardioid pattern. Under the grille is a pop filter and shock mounted cartridge. Now what that means is the handling noise gets greatly reduced – great for ham-fisted vocalists like us. The cardioid capsule also makes off axis responses flat. So, sound going into the capsule on a sideway angle won’t get tinny or encourage feedback, especially at higher gain and volume situations. Natural is probably the best way to describe the sound of this mic. What goes in, comes out, no EQ shading. It means the singer isn’t fighting the mic, or trying to place it where it sounds good, which could mean away from their voice, requiring them to have to project more. DPA’s reputation for mics
that don’t color things is well preserved with this new model. Regardless of mic technique, this sounded fantastic. Our reviewer put it through its paces in a variety of musical styles. In some cases, especially in lower vocal ranges, it really carried nicely, and didn’t need to really “ get on it” to get the lower sounds he wanted, and did not have to back off, making worrying about blowing things into the flabby/muddy territory a thing of the past.
PROS
Well-made and designed, natural sound CONS
Even going off axis on a vocal performance wasn’t an issue. What we got was a signal that didn’t get glassy, hissy or thin. Proximity effect was kept to a minimum, as well. This is the singer’s singer mic – if you catch our drift. It’s got a professional price to go with it, at $699 street price, but it’s an investment you’re making in your sound. In most cases a lot of singers don’t think about what live mic they have, but trying this one out will make you think what you’ve been missing out on. Chris Devine
none STREET PRICE
$699
PERFORMER MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2020 39
GEAR REVIEWS
EARTHQUAKER DEVICES Plumes Small Signal Shredder Pedal
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arthQuaker Devices certainly makes some very extreme and over the top stomp boxes, and when we heard about their Plumes pedal, we were prepared for the same insanity. But what we found was an overdrive that refined the sea of green TS style pedals, and their variants, into a very practical and versatile pedal. With a pretty familiar control layout of Level, Tone and Gain, it’s very easy to navigate. To dig further under the hood, it’s driven with JFET opamps, and the additional three-way toggle switch covers a symmetrical LED clipping, an opamp boost, and an asymmetrical silicon diode version. A lot of drive pedals benefit from higher voltage input but do require 18V at the source. The Plumes does run on a standard 9-volt, but internally it doubles, allowing for greater and cleaner headroom, without a special power supply. Nice. The footswitch is a flexi- switch, allowing the unit to work like a traditional on/off switch, or as a momentary switch to just kick on for something like a bigger note sustain. TS pedals have that signature mid frequency hump that in some applications isn’t desirable. The Tone control on the Plumes has a full range, giving the player the ability to dial in what they want and not have external EQ as a workaround. Working through the modes, the first one is quite crunchy -- we ran it into a Fender Blues Jr, and it sounded more British than James Bond at afternoon tea! Seriously, we like the Blues Jr as a pedal platform amp, but this combined the warmth of tubes with a much tighter response overall. Moving onto mode two, it’s a clean boost, and if you want to hit the front end of an amp hard, this does the trick. Our Blues Jr really interacted with it well when set clean, but when set a bit dirty it really opened up nicely. It’s that “more” you’re looking for. It also worked very well after a few of our fave drive pedals, for some very nice gain stacking. Mode 3 works a bit like a traditional TS pedal, but with a much more noticeable fuller bass response. It also dabbles a bit in that transparent area where it feels like a layer of cleans still sits in the mix. It’s got an overall sweet character that sings easily. There are some very noticeable volume jumps between the modes, so keep that in mind if you plan on changing them between tunes. Going between humbuckers and single coils, we really liked what the Plumes added to
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the mix. Rolling back the volume cleaned it up in an amp-like fashion as well. Overall, it’s a low to mid gain level of drive, with plenty of sustain for classic tones. It might not go into the realm of having an umlaut, but it’s probably the best in its range of drive. Our reviewer really dug modes 1 & 3 on their own, especially into a clean amp, as well as using mode 2 with an additional drive pedal. It’s the drive that you imagine a TS should sound like, with options that cover what guitar players actually want. If you like your rig but want “more,” this is the pedal that will deliver. Chris Devine
PROS
CONS
STREET PRICE
three great modes that work fantastically in many applications!
None
$99
T
raditional 12-string acoustic guitars sound great, but try to tour with one. The extra tension of the strings, along with the wood being at the mercy of its environment can make tuning and practicality difficult on the road. The necks are usually also quite large, making the player really have to adjust their technique to the instrument. Godin’s sorted that all out though with their A12, combining modern playability with great stability. The thinline body is about the same thickness of an electric guitar, with a single cutaway design and bolt on neck. The maple body is chambered and finished off in a strikingly classy gloss black with white binding. The neck is also maple, with a Richlite fingerboard, which is also the material the bridge is made out of. Graphtech’s TUSQ nut guides the strings to their tuning machines. The headstock is quite large with a 6 on a side configuration, but this allows for no angles or bends that would cause strings to get bound up at the nut. A Godin under-the-saddle Piezo pickup, along with four sliders on the upper bout completes the electronics, with simple Treble, Mid, Bass and Volume controls. The string arrangement on our test guitar had the bottom 4 strings with their usual pitch and an octave above, while the B and E strings are done in unison. The octave strings are also “above” their counterparts, making the octave strings the first ones to be struck, when down picking or strumming. Once tuned up, it was amazing sounding, even unplugged, it resonated and projected very well -- perhaps not as loud as a traditional acoustic, but enough to be heard in a small setting like working out parts with a singer. Plugging it in, the piezo sound was nice and very balanced overall. Putting a mic on it also yielded some extra “air.” It’s rich and full without any tinny-ness that usually comes from guitars with thinner bodies. Sometimes 12-strings can also get very glassy sounding,
GEAR REVIEWS
GODIN A12 Acoustic 12-String but the depth is very present on the A12, along with the requisite shimmering octaves. Location-wise, the sliders sit in a perfect area for adjusting levels on the fly, and not having to look down at them. The neck is super comfortable, especially for players coming from the electric world; there’s not a lot of adjustment to deal with, it feels like a nice big electric guitar neck. It’s a bit wider, but overall very easy to get used to. Our reviewer put this through its paces during recording sessions as well as live gigs in an acoustic cover band. It blended well with his singer’s acoustic 6-string, and when it came time for leads, those extra strings really filled things out in the mix. Long practices were no problem at all either, with no real big neck-heavy droop. Overall, it’s done so well, it’s one of those “yeah I need one of these” guitars. It makes owning a 12-string practical for just about everyone. Chris Devine
PROS
Great sounding 12 string, great neck, excellent playability CONS
None STREET PRICE
$1195
PERFORMER MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2020 41
GEAR REVIEWS
W
e reviewed Graph Tech’s Ratio Guitar tuners back in 2018, and now they have brought their Ratio tuner concept to Bass Guitar. Graph Tech has their Ratio tuners available in many variations and colors, and their 2+2 Y style tuners were a direct fit for our test bass, a Yamaha BB404. This was quite a relief, as this bass isn’t as popular as say a P or J style bass, but they dropped in with no issues. What’s the big deal with these tuners, you might be saying. Well, consider the various thicknesses of strings. With normal tuners the gear ratio for the E is the same as the G string. Graph Tech calibrated each individual tuner’s gearing to fit that particular string, so that you’re not making a million turns (exaggerated, I know) to get to pitch, while the E takes 10 turns, again, an exaggeration, but you get the idea!
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GRAPH TECH Ratio Bass Machine Heads Stringing it up with a set of D’Addario Nickel Wound 45-105’s went very smoothly. Getting up to pitch went really fast. Once we did our usual break-in and string stretching, they held tune perfectly. Now the cool thing is for players that might want to go to a drop D Tuning, in just about 1 turn, we were down to pitch; it takes the guesswork out of switching tunings easily. OK, you may be thinking “changing tunings on the fly, that’s for guitar players.” Well, not really. It’s not uncommon for bass players to change a string’s tuning, usually up or down a whole step, to make playing difficult parts a lot easier, especially in the studio. It can also give the illusion of bass parts that are almost impossible. Overall for the street price of $99, they’re quality tuners, which give the player the ability to tune up, or down quickly. If there’s a “to do” mod list for your bass, start here. Chris Devine
PROS
Easy install, smooth gear movement, easy to get to alternate tunings CONS
None STREET PRICE
$99
GEAR REVIEWS
JERRY HARVEY AUDIO JIMI Custom In-Ear Monitors
T
he new Jimi model from JHA’s Icon Series features earpieces that are a bit bigger than what we’ve seen from other IEM’s (and we’ve seen a lot). Inside are seven balanced armature drivers, which might account for the larger size. The black braided cable is detachable, and color coded; blue for left side, red for right side, and has O rings to keep moisture out at the connection point. The cable is also silver plated, which provides great conductivity and won’t corrode or oxidize. Included are plenty of selections for earpieces, foam, and silicone. We’ve said it before, getting a good seal is key to making sure IEM’s deliver, and we had no problem with installing them, plus a tool for removing the earpieces and cleaning them is included. Nice touch. One thing to notice on the braided cable is an integrated control for bass response, the two mini trim pots can be adjusted with the included mini screwdriver. Its range is very potent, going from zero to +12dB. Plugging these in, our reviewer said, “Where have you been all my life?” These just sounded flat-out phenomenal. The top end is quite rich and dynamic. Overall with the bass set in the middle,
they felt quite balanced sonically. One thing that can happen with IEM’s is ear fatigue, and it’s usually due to the continual higher frequency response that comes from smaller (and fewer) drivers, but with the adjustable bass control, blending in just enough extra lows can easily combat any issues, especially with extended use. The low end didn’t get flubby, either. Even the larger size wasn’t a problem -- the foam insert held them in place, and blocked out external noise perfectly. While most IEM’s are typically meant for live use, our reviewer even used these in the studio, choosing them over some very nice over the ear headphones during tracking, they’re that good. The frequency response covers 10Hz to 23kHz, which is quite amazing considering the size. Overall, these are quite possibly the best sounding set of IEM’s we’ve tried. Considering the street price of $1699, they certainly deliver a premium sound to go with their premium price.
PROS
beyond excellent sound, adjustable bass response. CONS
a bit expensive STREET PRICE
$1699
For the performer who wants a premium set of IEM’s that’ll last years, look no further, you will pay for that performance, but you won’t be disappointed. Chris Devine PERFORMER MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2020 43
GEAR REVIEWS
KRK Classic 5 Powered Studio Monitors
W
hen it comes to studio monitors, affordable speakers are usually meant as a supplement to another pair of high-end units, mostly to see how a mix will sound in contrast. However, when a set comes along that is affordable AND can hang with more expensive units, take a listen. KRK has something to say with their classic offering, the Clasic 5.
in the flat setting. When we boosted the lower frequencies, you could really hear, and feel the difference, so keep that in mind if doing a session that really goes low (EDM peeps, we’re looking at you). You may also wish to decouple them from your desk, either with short risers or iso-pads from someone like Auralex.
Tweak-ability is also available, and depending upon the acoustics of the room they’re in, the high frequency adjustment controls range from -2dB to +1dB, while the low frequency runs from -1dB to +2dB. There is a flat setting, which is the obvious starting point, but the user gets a ton of flexibility not only to adjust for the room dynamics, but for the type of music they’re working with.
When using them in a mixing situation, again the EQ controls are the user’s friend. Classic rock has their frequency ranges, and Euro-death metal has theirs. Setting the HF & LF to what works for that particular application, really enhances the session, and can at times help to zone in on any EQ issues that may be happening with your particular space’s quirks. Again, the LF control really can color things in a big way, so keep that in mind and dial in judiciously. We were able to tweak things to our liking with the dials, but one great thing we noticed is that the lows didn’t get muddy or flubby in a bad way, there was just more, a lot more. Depending on your session, this may be a good thing, or a bad thing, your mileage may vary. There’s no LCD screen or guide like on the latest gen Rokits, but this is meant to appeal to those who favored the earlier models, and they also carry a lower price point than the G4’s, which is nice for those just getting a home studio set up.
We put these through their paces, doing guitar (acoustic and electric) as well as bass guitar during tracking sessions, and they delivered fantastically. There’s plenty of clarity and depth that just works musically, especially
One nice feature is an automatic standby feature. After 30 minutes of no signal, the monitors go into a sleep mode. It saves you from having to reach back to turn them on and off. They do wake up when signal is going through
With a layered 5” glass aramid driver covering the lower frequencies and a 1” soft dome tweeter, it’s very nicely balanced right out of the box. It should be, it’s based on the classic KRK Rokits of previous generations. We connected them to our Focusrite 2i2 interface using the XLR balanced inputs with no issues. There are also connections for RCA and 1/4” TRS inputs if needed.
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them but takes a second or so. Don’t be surprised coming back from a break, if there is a slight lag when you put them back to work, it’s just the speakers waking up. Overall, these are a really, really nice set of monitors for the money that work with pretty much any musical situation for tracking and mixing. I mean, for $150 each it’s hard to find many faults. What the user gets for their cash is flexibility and great sound quality, regardless of the level of their studio space. Chris Devine
PROS
Great sound, very tunable, excellent price CONS
Keep an eye on the LF control! STREET PRICE
$149 (each)
GEAR REVIEWS
W
e’ve been reviewing USB mics for over a decade -- varying sizes, features, and price points. When a company like RODE, who has made their name with quality microphones for decades, has a new USB mic, it’s worth checking out. First off, the size -- it’s quite petite. Amazingly, inside is a condenser capsule with an internal pop filter. On the back side are the USB and headphone connections while the front sports the headphone level control. It’s mounted on a yoke for angled placement when used on a desktop. The base of the unit is magnetic; we found this out very quickly. Our workstation’s desk is stainless steel, and it attached itself with a solid “CHONK” during our unboxing. It made for a very solid placement. The yoke comes with a rubber insert that mates to the base -- remove it and there’s a threaded hole for attaching to a traditional mic stand. So the idea of a magnetic base: awesome. So many times, items like this just skitter across a desk, especially if a cable is pulled, inevitably, ending up on the floor. We know not everyone has a metal desktop, but kudos to RODE for this lil design feature! Now the input level is controlled from the source of the recording device. The font control is for the headphone monitoring level. It interfaced nicely with our DAW of choice, Studio One, and we were also able to connect it to our iPad easily
RODE NT-USB Mini USB Microphone with Apple’s camera adapter. A lot of people dismiss USB mics, thinking that they’re meant for amateurs, but it’s not the case here. We used it like you would a normal condenser mic and started by doing an acoustic guitar tracking session. Aiming it at the area where the fretboard meets the body, this mic is HOT, we certainly had to tame it in a bit at the DAW side of things, but we got a great natural sound, with just a bit of air, no harshness -- to be a bit nit-picky, it was a touch on the dark side, but minimal EQ and re-positioning cleaned that up in a snap. We had no issues with latency as well, the headphone out provided a perfect monitoring situation. Switching it over to vocals, it behaved like a traditional condenser would. Again, it is slightly dark, but not annoyingly so; just a touch of EQ and it brightened up nicely. Using it as a desktop/ voice over mic works nicely, but some users might prefer the flexibility to get it right onto a subject’s voice. Podcasters will likely eat this one up – it’s the perfect upgrade to any entry-level setup. At the time of this review, we’re about two weeks into the Covid-19 “social distancing” situation, and a mic like this can do a lot of things on the content creator side, as performers have transitioned from live gigs to live streaming. Working as an instrument and vocal mic, as well as a live-streaming/broadcasting device, it’s got a lot of options for the performer who might need
an all-in-one USB mic in situations like these. Considering the ultra-low price tag, it is in the great “bang for the buck” zone. The only downside is the included USB cable might be a bit short, but you’ve likely got a drawer of these around somewhere, anyway. Plug in and enjoy. Chris Devine
PROS
Great sounding, simple, flexible applications. CONS
Could use a slightly longer USB Ccble. STREET PRICE
$99 PERFORMER MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2020 45
GEAR REVIEWS
PROS
Neutral sounding, excellent on acoustic instruments and vocals. CONS
None. STREET PRICE
$399
ROSWELL PRO AUDIO Mini K87 Condenser Microphone
M
ost audio gear falls into two categories; devices that color the sound with a signature touch, like a Neve board, for example, or items that don’t alter the sound at all, providing transparency to the source. Great microphones don’t often color things, it’s the first thing in the chain after the performer, after all. Roswell’s small-format Mini K87 is a reasonably priced condenser that packs the same punch as much higher-priced units. Let’s take a look… It’s a large (34mm) diaphragm capsule that’s been gold plated. It’s taken its inspiration from the classic Neumann K67 and K87 mics, which are very desirable and of course, expensive and at times, unobtanium. The circuit does not employ a transformer in its design, which cuts down on noise and distortion, making it very transparent and an excellent go-to for vocals and acoustic instruments. The overall unit is very robust, with a heavy, solid casing and grill, and even includes a shock mount and case to round out the package. That’s a nice plus, especially under $400.
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We tested out this unit first by doing some acoustic guitars. With placement about a fist’s distance from where the body meets the neck, we got the brilliance and body we were looking for all in one shot. Some mics tend to be a bit a bit off, one way or another at this starting point. Some tend to be harsh, or even dark, depending on the mic, but here, the starting point was the end point. Re-positioning the mic to find a sweet spot left us finding that there weren’t any spots that WEREN’T sweet with this little unit. It certainly took the hassle out of doing that track completely. The small size was also welcome here, as it was easy to move into position in a tight studio space. Condensers always work in capturing that extra atmosphere and applying this to electric guitars as well was quite nice, especially a few feet away from the cabinet to add some ambience and room sound to the track. Working with vocals, during playback we realized it had a touch of high end, nothing that
was a problem, but just a nuance that we didn’t catch at the time. Not a bad thing. In fact, we realized it enhanced the track with a touch more air than we had anticipated. Now we also realize it could be our singer’s natural tone and approach, but we found it to be a benefit in our application. Noticing this upon playback, we were able to place the mic a bit further from the vocalist and did another track. It gave us a much more natural approach and sounded better than the applying EQ to the other track. Sometimes positioning is key, and will save you from having to “fix it in the mix.” Get it right the first time, and you’ll save everyone the headache. Overall for the cost, it’s a fantastic workhorse condenser that exceeds expectations. It’s certainly a studio mic that singers want to have in their arsenal if they do a lot of recording, and any studio would be wise to add to their mic locker. Studios may even want to look into a pair of these, using them as overheads for drums, or as room mics. Highly recommended. Chris Devine
S
hort scale basses sometimes get overlooked, even though players like Stanley Clarke and Paul McCartney have been known to favor them from time to time. Not every manufacturer has one in their line up, and if they do, they seem to be missing something. Ernie Ball took their famous StingRay Bass and literally scaled it down, while retaining the essence of what made that bass a modern classic. With a scale length of just 30”, the neck is very comfortable to wrap your hands around. The body also seems a tad bit smaller, as well. Control wise, it looks simple, with a volume control, three-way pickup rotary knob, and a master tone. But there’s a secret; the volume control is a push/ push version that engages a boost. Amazingly it is passive, so no need for batteries. The pickup is a humbucking version and the three-way rotary control allows the player to select the front coil, both coils, or the rear coil. The pickup in the “neck” mode was plenty round and full. Cool, mellow P-bass style tones still had attack but stayed velvety smooth. Going to the bridge added in that treble for Yes-like runs. If you want that harder attack, it’s right there. When both coils were engaged, it had a perfect balance of edge and warmth. Overall that setting was our reviewer’s fave. The volume boost is quite functional -- need to cut through a tough mix, but don’t want to bring an EQ or boost pedal? This is a lifesaver. The tone control was also fantastically useful, with a wide sweep, and no “drop off” when turned down. One thing we did notice, is when we did some slap and pop bits, the signal would cut out on an aggressive attack, only to slowly return. It felt like it occurred if the string made contact with a pickup’s pole piece. Lowering the pickup and raising the bass amp’s level to compensate fixed that. The only limitations are color and fingerboard choices. Our
GEAR REVIEWS
STERLING BY MUSIC MAN StingRay Short Scale Bass test version was in Daphne blue, with a maple board. It’s also available in Olympic white, with a rosewood fingerboard. So keep those limitations in mind. Bassists, if you don’t have one of these, it’s worth checking out; the smaller scale can make doing wider interval reaches easier, and chords aren’t as difficult. Overall, it can open up options in technique and creativity you may not have been aware of. Guitar players, get one of these. Think of all the times you’ve gone to a jam, where four guitar players and no bass player shows up. Yeah, it goes to show how important bass is, even in a casual jam situation. The neck shape and scale make transitioning from a normal guitar super easy. Also think of all the times you’ve been recording a demo without a bass handy. Now there’s no excuse not sto lay down a scratch bass track. Ernie Ball basses were cutting edge when they came out, and over the years, the design has been refined again and again -- this version of the StingRay gives players a whole new feel, with a sound that’s legendary and still contemporary. Even better is the Sterling versions are quite affordable, and still have the quality and features that Ernie Ball defined. Chris Devine
PROS
Great playing, great sounding, nice design CONS
None STREET PRICE
$549
PERFORMER MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2020 47
FLASHBACK
1970S MAESTRO BASS BRASSMASTER BB-1 FUZZ
In the early 1970s, Maestro created a pedal that would shed light on the bass player. The BB-1, a bass fuzz/octave pedal, had a relatively short span of production. It was manufactured from 1971-1974. It’s quite unique in its circuitry and was not a copy of any other pedal at the time. Using a split at the input
HOW IT WAS USED Plain and simple. Step on the switch, and the rhythm player becomes a featured musician in the band. This can be useful in live situations and in the studio. Though it was created with the bass player in mind, bassists are not the only musicians that benefit from the BB-1. Guitarists can use it to achieve massive lead tones and inspire soaring guitar solos. It boasts two extra switches on the front panel. One is labeled “Brass” and it is a filter that controls the tone of the fuzz. “Brass 1” has more bite on the top-end, where “Brass 2” has a bit more mid-range. The second switch on the BB-1 is labeled “Harmonic”. This allows you to choose between two different
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stage of the pedal, the signal is sent simultaneously through both a clean and a fuzz path. After the signal is run through both paths, it is combined at the preamp output stage where it can be blended for a cleaner sound with a touch of harmonic distortion, or a gnarly, over-the-top fuzz tone. As you turn up the
harmonic characteristics. It can be very useful for making your instrument sit just right in a mix. You’ve probably heard this pedal on many records. Chris Squire (Yes) and Dave Beste (Rival Sons) are just a few examples of users past and present. MODERN EQUIVALENT Though there is no digital equivalent, there are a few boutique pedal companies that have tried to recreate the Brassmaster. One pedal that gets us close to the original is the Black Cat Bass Octave Fuzz. It is priced at $210, which is astronomically lower than the original. The vintage Maestro Bass Brassmaster goes for around $2,000 and is nearly impossible to come by.
“Brass Vol.” knob, more fuzz is added to the signal. The “Sensitivity” knob is essentially a mix knob that allows you to blend between the dry sound of your instrument and the effected signal. Lastly, the “Bass Vol.” knob does exactly what its name infers. It adds more low end.
LESSONS LEARNED Throw some dirt on it. Harmonic distortion is incredibly important to the texture and energy of a band or a mix. This piece of gear also allows us to have some fun with it! Get big tones. Get gritty. Oh, and rock n’ roll will never die. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Andrew Boullianne is a gear obsessed, full-time recording and mixing engineer based in Tampa, FL. When he’s not in the studio, you can find him somewhere by the ocean. Follow Andrew’s Instagram @drewboull10 for pictures of studio gear and more.
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