Mixdown #267

M A D E B Y M U S I C I A N S F O R M U S I C I A N S

#267 JULY 2016

F R E E

GIVEAWAY!

OUTLAW EFFECTS QUICKDRAW DELAY PEDAL & DR. NO DRIVE-O-MATIC PEDAL SEE PG. 6 FOR DETAILS

GOJIRA

BROODS

RODRIGUEZ

PLUS: L I Z S T R I N G E R , S C R E A M I N G F E M A L E S , P E R I P H E R Y , T O T A L L Y U N I C O R N + M O R E ROAD TESTED: AUDIO-TECHNICA ATM230, VOX STARSTREAM TYPE 1, SHERLOCK AMPS ROCK BENDER, TC ELECTRONIC WIRETAP RIFF RECORDER, EDEN EUKE COMBO + MORE

MUSIC SYNTHESIZER

BONUS SAMPLE LIBRARY! SEE PAGE 3

AR

RI

VI

NG

NO W

THE STORY CONTINUES

Working with the legendary artist Steve Gadd, Yamaha have elevated the iconic Recording Custom Series with new design elements. The result is an easy-to-use and easy-to-tune drum set that re-defines the classic signature Recording Custom sound.

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CONTENTS 6

GIVEAWAY

8

INDUSTRIALIST

10

NEWS AND TOURS

FORE WORD

12

PRODUCT NEWS

18

BLINK-182

20

GOJIRA, TOTALLY UNICORN

21

RODRIGUEZ

22

SCREAMING FEMALES, PERIPHERY

24

BROODS, LIZ STRINGER

26

GUITAR COLUMN

27

BASS COLUMN

28

STUDIO COLUMN,

SCREAMING FEMALES PAGE 22

LIZ STRINGER PAGE 24

PRODUCTION COLUMN 29

KEYS COLUMN

30

DRUM COLUMN, PEDAL ADVICE COLUMN

32

WHAT’S GOING ON AT: MELBOURNE GUITAR SHOW AND INTEGRATE EXPO

33

UNERSTANDING MULTI-

34

WHATS ON OFFER AT THE

SCALE GUITARS AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF MUSIC AND JMC ACADEMY 35

KEY TO A KILLER KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN

36

ROAD TESTS

45

SHOW AND TELL

46

DIRECTORY

GET SOCIAL:

TOTALLY UNICORN PAGE 20 FOR BREAKING NEWS, NEW CONTENT AND MORE GIVEAWAYS VISIT

WWW.MIXDOWNMAG.COM.AU FACEBOOK.COM/MIXDOWNMAGAZINE

@MIXDOWNMAGAZINE

As I’m sitting here now, we’re just putting the finishing touches on an issue of Mixdown that I’m especially fond of, as gracing the cover Mixdown’s July 2016 issue we have two of my ‘childhood hero’ acts. Being a schoolboy desperately fond of football, but with the hand-eye coordination of a slow Golden Retriever and the motor-speed of a baby sloth, I never made the A-team. When school life places that type of ridicule and adversity in front of you, there’s only one thing to do, turn to punk music of Blink 182, and then later on the sorrow and mournful brilliance of Sixto Rodriguez.

Those two acts sign-posted my introduction into playing music in two different ways, and that theme is carried on throughout this issue, as we spend quite a bit of time on learning how to adapt your musical ability in a number of ways. We have some particularly excellent advice columns in all the instrument categories this issue, especially with the debut of our new Electronic Music Production column. On top of that we’ve got some downright awesome product news announcements, road tests and interviews to ensure you’re right on top of what’s happening in the world of music.

So sit back, flick through, and learn a little more about the music you play (and maybe a little bit about the music you don’t play).

Rock on, KEATS MULLIGAN - EDITOR

@MIXDOWNMAGAZINE

MADE BY MUSICIANS, FOR MUSICIANS AUGUST ISSUE #268 DEADLINE AND STREET DATES:

STREET AND ONLINE DATE: WEDNESDAY AUGUST 3 AD BOOKING DEADLINE: MONDAY AUGUST 25 EDITORIAL DEADLINE: TUESDAY AUGUST 26 ARTWORK DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY AUGUST 27 For more information on Mixdown Magazine contact us at: (03) 9428 3600 or email mixdown@beat.com.au

PUBLISHER Furst Media EDITOR Keats Mulligan mixdown@beat.com.au EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Michael Edney michael@furstmedia.com.au

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Elijah Hawkins, Phoebe Robertson,Tom Bartha and Alex Pink.

GRAPHIC DESIGN Michael Cusack

ART DIRECTOR Michael Cusack

CONTRIBUTORS Rob Gee, Peter Hodgson, Christie Elizer, Nick Brown, Elijah Hawkins, Phoebe Robertson, Chris Scott, David James Young, Augustus Welby, Joe Hansen, Alex Watts, Adrian Violi and Michael Cusack.

COVER ART Michael Cusack

PRODUCTION MANAGER Michael Cusack

MANAGING DIRECTOR Patrick Carr

PG.4 // MIXDOWN #267 // JULY 2016

ADVERTISING Patrick Carr patrick@furstmedia.com.au Phone: (03) 9428 3600 MIXDOWN OFFICE Level 1, No. 3 Newton Street, Richmond VIC 3121.

Phone: (03) 9428 3600

www.mixdownmag.com.au

OUT NOW

FEAT. “BORED TO DEATH” AVAILABLE ON CD, VINYL AND DIGITAL

GIVEAWAYS DOUBLE PEDAL GIVEAWAY! Another issue of Mixdown brings another opportunity to give away an awesome prize, and this month, we’re thrilled to be able to bring you – not one – but two opportunities to take home a killer new pedal!

That’s right, this month we’re going to be sending two different pedals home to two lucky winners!

First up, we have the awesome Quickdraw Delay courtesy of Outlaw effects. This little number has really ticked all the boxes with the review staff here at Mixdown HQ. It packs a heap of amazing delay tone into one small and intuitive pedal.

Delay not your thing? Well we’re stoked to be able to say that we’re also giving away a Dr.No Drive-OMatic, straight from the mad scientist himself. Dr.No has developed a serious reputation in recent years for putting together some unique and brilliant units, and this one is certainly no different.

Last Month’s Giveaway Winners ULTIMATE PEDAL EFFECTS SPECIAL GIVEAWAY WINNER Well, this was certainly one of our most popular giveaways to date! A huge thanks to all of you who entered in to win this awesome collection of pedals. Unfortunately we only have one of these to give away, and it’s going to: Pat ‘Seedy Wombat’ Muller of Sydney, NSW

For your chance to take home either of these awesome prizes, head to our giveaways page at www. mixdownmag.com.au/giveaway and follow the instructions.

For full terms and conditions visit www.mixdownmag.com.au/terms-and-conditions.

*These giveaways is for Australian residents only and one entry per person.

For more awesome monthly Mixdown Giveaways, be sure to LIKE our Mixdown Magazine facebook page at www.facebook.com/mixdownmagazine and regularly check our Giveaways page on www.mixdownmag.com.au/giveaways for your chance to win.

Congratulations Wombat, you’ve won a vibrant bunch of quality effects and products. Featuring the One Control Baltic Blue Fuzz (Hot Apple Distribution Australia), a Cusack ‘Sweetverb’ Reverb (Gladesville Guitar Factory), the Dr. No Effects DriveO-Matic (Tone ProShop), a Jet City ‘The Flood’ Analogue Pedal (Ambertech) and a Pedaltrain Pedalboard to house all of your new gear. Prepare to have your tone elevated into another stratosphere!

PERIPHERY III

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INDUSTRIALIST REPORT #1: INDIES HAVE 35% SHARE IN AUSSIE MARKET

Australia has one of the healthiest indie markets in the world, with a 35% share of the recorded music market. That’s almost equal to that of indies in the US (36%), far better than the UK (23%) and Spain (18%) but much less than South Korea (88%) and Japan (66%). This is according to The Worldwide Independent Market Report launched by the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN).

The estimate puts Australian indies’ share of physical sales at 35% compared to the 65% held by majors. The report puts the global label market worth at US$5.6 billion (A$7.6 billion), with a 37.6% label share based on rights ownership rather than distribution. WIN, like many other indie groups, argue that it is more accurate to assess market share on actual ownership. Too many times, the success of indies distributed by major labels tend to be counted as part of the major’s figures.

REPORT #2: AUSSIES PREFER MUSIC TO SEX TO KICKSTART MONDAYS

We Aussies have a problem kick-starting our mojos on Monday mornings. 52% reach for a cup of coffee, 38% turn on the music (although the figure for music rises to 50% for the under-35 age group), 32% of us look to food, 16% try working out while 10% feel the best way to kickstart the working week is by having sex. The survey was about Australians, so it should come as no surprise that 3% perk themselves up with alcohol and 12% don’t do anything.

NEW WORLD ARTISTS EXPANDS TO BRISBANE

The New World Artists agency has set up shop in its third city. After launching in Sydney and Melbourne, it has now also moved to Brisbane. Its major clients include Daniel Johns, Tina Arena, Allday and Northlane. The Brisbane operations are handled by artist manager and booker Dominic Miller, who will continue to independently run venues as The Zoo and Black Bear Lodge.

AAM SIGNS WITH TAG TO MAKE TOURING EASIER

A deal between travel services company The Appointment Group and the Association of Artist Managers will make it cheaper and easier for Aussie acts on tour, The Music Network revealed.

The AAM’s 230 members (along with their acts, road crews and staff) now access corporate deals with hotels, airlines and ground transportation. It includes waived flight change fees, free WiFi, early check-ins, additional

baggage allowances, airport lounge passes and room upgrades

ARE LOCKOUTS CAUSING LIQUOR THEFT?

The Shout website reports Sydney liquor retailers believe that a 7.9% rise in retail theft (according to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research) is attributed to 10pm bottle shop closures as part of the lockout.

Michael Waters, executive director of the Liquor Store Association of NSW said “there was an instant surge in petty theft” after the laws came in.

People would rush in during the last few minutes and grab bottles before rushing off, while others had the attitude that “if you won’t sell to me, I’ll just take it.”

Some have had to install new security devices, others stagger closing time to prevent a last minute rush.

AMIN PROPOSES $6M-A-YEAR FUND FOR MUSIC

The Australian Music Industry Network (AMIN), made up of associations around the country, has put together a proposal for the new government. It’s a music fund that will cost $6 million a year and will, through various music associations, deliver audience development initiatives to increase engagement with music; support the work of music export body Sounds Australia and the Live Music Office which works with councils and venues to increase the amount of gigs; deliver a music education program and national skills forum; establish a music export grant program for international opportunities alongside export body Sounds Australia; develop a nationwide regional touring circuit and a regional grant to get rock acts into regional areas; and set up a music entrepreneurs internship program to develop the skills needed to manage music businesses. Just in case anyone sniffs at you that $6 million a year is a stiff price for contemporary music, advise them that the music biz more than pays for itself. It contributes close to $6 billion annually to the Australian economy while the live sector alone generates $2 billion, according to Ernst & Young.

PANDORA TEAMS WITH UBER

Drivers of ridesharing service Uber now have a free Pandora service that provides a personalised playlist. Passengers can also log in through the Uber app to create their own Pandora account. Pandora is currently available only in three countries – Australia, NZ and the US.

HARPOONS DUO LAUNCH INSTRUMENTS CO. Henry and Jack Madin of Melbourne’s The Harpoons

PG.8 // MIXDOWN #267 // JULY 2016

F OR CONTE NT SUB MI SSI ONS TO TH I S COL UMN PL E ASE E MAI L T O CELIZER@ NET S P A CE. NET. A U

launch their own music instruments company, Hundo Instruments. They’ll invent and redesign instruments to make them easier to play. “We’re both musicians, and we’re always looking for simple tools to make our processes easier and more fun,” said Henry. “I started making instruments because I couldn’t find what I wanted in music stores.” These include acoustic marimba and an electronic drum-pad plugged into any laptop or iPad. Hundo Instruments officially launches Thursday July 7 at Schoolhouse Studios with an interactive exhibit and pop-up shop.

AUSTRALIAN DIGITAL RADIO LISTENERS HIT 3.52M

Australians’ love affair with digital radio continues. There are now 3.52 million listeners in the five metropolitan cities, a rise of 168,000. 553,000 vehicles have it installed in this country, with another 91,900 new vehicles sold with DAB+ installed in the first quarter of 2016. Last month Honda became the 28th car brand, installing the units in the new Honda Civic. After being installed in luxury cars, digital radio is now found in more popular makes. Because of the higher audio quality, 26.3% of Australians listened to radio via a DAB+ digital radio in the first three radio survey periods of 2016. Of these, 2.62 million tuned into DAB+ simulcasts of AM and FM stations and 1.42 million listened to digital-only stations.

FIRST ACTS FOR INDIGENOUS AWARDS

The first performers at the August 6 National Indigenous Music Awards in Darwin are AB Original (Briggs & Trials), The Medics’ Kahl Wallis, Emma Donovan, Stanley “Gawurra” Gaykamangu – who’s debut album Ratja Yaliyali is creating sparks – and new artists Rayella, Chris Tamwoy and David Spry.

This year marks milestones in indigenous history: the 50th anniversary of the Wave Hill walk off, the 40th anniversary of the Land Rights Act, 30 years since the release of Yothu Yindi’s Tribal Voice and 25 years since ‘Treaty’ topped the charts. “Music has stoked the fire and been a voice of protest for many years and what better way to recognise a year of milestones, than by celebrating the strong history of Indigenous protest songs”, says Mark Smith, executive director of the NIMAs.

SIX ACTS GET PPCA/OZCO GRANTS

new sound recordings. They are Gordi (Sophie Payten), Fascinator (aka Johnny Mackay of Children Collide), Northeast Party House, singer/songwriter Martha Marlow , jazz pianist Barney McAll and Brisbanebased Robbie Miller. One of the success stories from the grant was 2014 recipient Courtney Barnett who used it to record her globally recognised debut album.

WA RAPPER DIED BY DROWNING

The October 2013 death of WA rapper Murffelz (aka Samir Joseph Abraham) was most likely due to drowning, the state’s Deputy State Coroner Evelyn Vicker found. She dismissed speculation he was taken by a shark, killed himself or faked his death. A drunk Murffelz was at Yanchep Lagoon beach with friends and announced he wanted to swim to a marker pole to shout, “King Kong ain’t got shit on me!”

Midway, the 30-year old signalled he was in distress and not seen again.

NEW CATEGORIES FOR SA MUSIC AWARDS

The year’s South Australian Music Awards (SAM Awards) – to be held in Adelaide on Friday November 11 – has added new categories in its second year.

They include Best Studio and Best Engineer in the industry section. New in the major awards is Best Aboriginal/ Torres Strait Islander Release.

These cover best song, new artist, group release, female release, male release and best release. Entries close July 31.

For more information visit www. southaustralianmusicawards. com.au

SHE-RIFF LAUNCHING IN CANBERRA

While the debate rages about gender inequality in every aspect of the music industry – festival bills, record labels, staffers, the EDM scene etc. – She-Riff is launching in Canberra this month. The idea is to showcase female Canberra players and songwriters and encourage more women to get up on stage. It’s the brain child of Kristy Anderson, guitarist and singer with Canberra band Sally Chicane. She-Riff will be held every couple of months. The first is on July 21 at Transit Bar with Betty Marshall, Adelaide Jones, House of Strangers and Sally Chicane.

THINGS WE HEAR During their Australian tour, Air Supply met with the Australian Road Crew Association (ARCA) and donated 5 cents from each ticket – totalling $1,000.

Organising the inaugural hard rock Legion Music Festival in Australia in January was initially a part-time project for John Sankey, Aussie-born drummer for LA hard rock band Devil You Know. Now it’s become so big he’s quit the band.

The first time Tame Impala played the Glastonbury Festival, they went on first and no one gave a stuff about them. Last month they came back as triumphant heroes, drawing a massive crowd which included Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner who was dancing along to them.

Kevin Parker got all cosmic after he spotted a rainbow over the stage during their set and later told the crowd, “I’m in the middle of one of the best moments of my life.”

Parkway Drive won best video in the UK Metal Hammer awards.

Their Ire album has also gone gold.

A NSW landowner was fined $3000 for allowing an unauthorised rave to be held on his property. A 24-year old attendee was found dead in his car, metres away from the dancing, 12 hours after his heart stopped.

Melbourne’s Cookin’ On 3 Burners vs Kungs’ ‘This Girl’ is getting airplay in 19 European countries after it topped the UK dance chart and reached #2 on the mainstream charts.

Some high profile Adelaide indie acts popped into the studios of community radio station Radio Adelaide to do a series of “farewell and thank you” songs.

The station has since moved to co-share premises with dance station Fresh FM after the University of Adelaide decided not to operate the station any more for financial reasons. A new GM and some new staff are expected to be announced.

So why did the bright red dress Indy Yelich-O’Connor wear to her final school ball in Auckland look so familiar? Because her elder sister Lorde wore it to last year’s NZ Music Awards. Nice to be the same size as a wealthy global superstar sibling who has designer clothes thrust at her!

Six acts share in a $75,000 grant from the PPCA and the Australia Council to create

www.mixdownmag.com.au

NEWS & TOURS Yours & Owls Festival Big Scary

ScotDrakula

Cog

Yours & Owls Festival is back for 2016 and boasts a fantastic blend of international and local acts. Held at a beach-side Wollongong location, the festival will play host to international artists Antwon, Black Mountain, Bleached, Chastity Belt, The Coathangers and PUP. The excellent homegrown talent featured on the line-up include Ball Park Music, The Belligerents, Big Scary, Client Liaison, Cog, DMA’s, The Hard Aches, Hermitude, Hockey Dad, Kilter, KLP, Ladyhwake, Little May, The Living End, Nicole Millar, Pinheads, Remi, Sampa The Great, Skeggs, The Sonics, Stonefield, TEES, Thelma Plum, Tired Lion, Tkay Maidza, Totally Unicorn and Vera Blue.

Yours & Owls will be taking place over the NSW Labour Day long weekend (October 1-2). The two sun-soaked days at Stuart Park will see two main stages and a larger site than ever before. Also celebrated at the festival are art, visual projection, film and a great selection of food, drink and booze.

Melbourne garage rockers ScotDrakula are heading off on a 15-date Australian tour as a part of the Up The Guts regional tour.

The local group will be making their way through the country alongside a line-up that includes Ben Wright Smith, Ali E and Scott and Charlene’s Wedding.

Recently releasing their new single, ‘Skeleton Fever’, the show is sure to feature some new material from the band’s new record. With a sound that is described as “played tight, arranged thick, and recorded warm,” it’s clear SkotDrakula have got it down to a fine art.

Taking the band into the depths of Australia, the tour will even land in Alice Springs. Up The Guts will start at Hobart’s Brisbane Hotel and finish up at Darwin’s Railway Club. There’s plenty of road to be covered and plenty stages to smash it out on the way so don’t miss out on this one.

Infamous Aussie band Cog are back on the road this July for a four date East Coast Tour. After a well deserved five year hiatus, Sydney’s Cog have announced yet another Aussie tour. Forming way back in ’98, the undeniably hard working band have released an onslaught of EPs, singles, DVDs and two studio LPs - The New Normal and the incredibly successful Sharing Space. The progressive rockers have certainly perfected the art of performing live; after their incarnation, our home-grown boys toured nonstop for twelve years. Having graced the stage at a couple of Australia’s most respected festivals like The Big Day Out, Falls Festival and One Night Stand, there’s no way that they’ll disappoint.

The festival will take place over October 1 & 2 at Stuart Park, North Wollogong NSW. For more information, head to www.yoursandowls.com.au

Ella Hooper & Gena Rose Bruce

Alt-pop powerhouse Ella Hooper and award-winning singer-songwriter Gena Rose Bruce are touring around the country together in support of their latest releases.

Hooper’s New Magic and Bruce’s Mad Love make for the perfect performance experience. The series of stripped back shows will see the pair play their material together – using both acoustic and electric guitars to back their honey-soaked harmonies. Hooper’s record is said to encompass gloom pop and strummy 90’s moments, whereas Bruce’s is a smack of sad-eyed femme fatales, kilter heroines and home wreckers. Both delivered with a touch of twang, the Calamine sisters will unveil both the fragile and fierce nature of femininity.

The string of shows will create a heady moody atmosphere for audiences and turn out raw, rocking and entrancing performances.

Ella Hooper & Gena Rose Bruce will be on tour from July 28 – August 28. For a full list of tour dates, head to www.mixdownmag. com.au

Melbourne’s own Big Scary are coming out of the shadows and onto a stage near you.

The upcoming headline tour will be the first in three years and is in support of their forthcoming album, Animal.

While Big Scary is predominately a twosome – Tom Iansek and Joanna Syme – their live show sees their formation consist of five members. Joining them on stage are saxophonist Gus Rigby, label mate Christopher Port and Ted O’Neil.

Big Scary will appear first in Brisbane and continue to weave their way around the country between September and October.

Available for pre-order now, Animal is out September 2 via Pieater. If the two teaser singles, ‘Organism’ and ‘Over Matter’, are anything to go by – we are all in for a treat.

TOUR DATES SEPT 20 – THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE QLD OCT 1 – THE METRO, SYDNEY NSW OCT 5 – 170 RUSSELL, MELBOURNE VIC OCT 14 – THE ROSEMOUNT, PERTH WA OCT 15 – FAT CONTROLLER, ADELAIDE SA

TOUR DATES Scotdrakula are hitting TAS, VIC, SA and NT throughout july and august, for full tour dates, head to mixdownmag.com.au

JULY 8 – THE NORTHERN, BYRON BAY NSW JULY 9 – THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE QLD JULY 15 – 170 RUSSELL, MELBOURNE VIC JULY 16 – THE METRO, SYDNEY NSW

Neville Staple

Thy Art Is Murder

Unify - A Heavy Metal Gathering 2017

The Original Rudeboy aka the legendary Neville Staple is coming to Australia this winter. United Kingdom’s national treasure, and the man behind acts such as The Specials & FunBoy3 is back and will be touring the east coast along with a massive collection of classic hits & new tracks from his latest album, Ska Crazy.

Neville Staple’s thirty-five year career in the music business is well-documented, from the early days with The Coventry Automatics, The Specials and FunBoy3 in the late ‘70s and ‘80s, to The Special Beat and various other collaborations during his solo career from the ‘90s up to the present day.

There are VIP tickets available with a full back stage experience, however tickets are extremely limited.

Metal crew Thy Art Is Murder are heading home to smash it out on some Aussie stages.

The Coffin Dragger Tour has sent them to the far corners of the world and it’s now time for the guys to bring it all back to where it began. Joining Thy Art Is Murder will be Graves and I, Valiance, as well as Lochan Watt (Triple J’s The Racket) on vocals. “This is the third iteration of the coffin dragger,” says guitarist Andy Marsh. “The idea being to drag death (metal {lol}) around the world to places we’ve never been before. The US leg saw us go to many states we’d never seen before, Europe we are going as Far East as Transylvania and now the Australian leg will see us play a whole bunch of regional towns, some we’ve never done, and others we’ve neglected for quite some time.”

After two massively successful and sold out years as a one night event, Unify - A Heavy Metal Gathering will return in 2017 as a two night BYO, music and camping festival on the 13-15th January 2017. Headlining is newly reformed seminal punk-hardcore outfit Alexisonfire. Following the fivepiece Canadians will be home-grown rock juggernauts, Violent Soho. Having just finished their sold-out Australian tour, this will be the Mansfield group’s debut appearance.

While Unify seems to be branching out and booking a more diverse variety of acts, they haven’t forgotten favourites like Northlane, Thy Art is Murder and Every Time I Die as well as the energetic Letlive, Luca Brasi, Deez Nutz and the revival of hardcore veterans House VS Hurricane. Speaking of veterans, I Killed the Prom Queen are also back to perform their 2006 album For The Recently Deceased. The site is set across a secluded Recreation Reserve surrounded by greenery and just a short ten-minute drive from one of the most stunning beaches in Southern Australia.

TOUR DATES JULY 28 – LONG JETTY HOTEL, CENTRAL COAST NSW JULY 29 – THE CORNER HOTEL, MELBOURNE VIC JULY 30 – THE BASEMENT, CANBERRA ACT JULY 31 – THE NEWTOWN SOCIAL CLUB, SYDNEY NSW AUG 4 – THE CAMBRIDGE HOTEL, NEWCASTLE NSW AUG 5 – MIAMI SHARK BAR, GOLD COAST QLD AUG 6 – THE WOOLY MAMMOTH, BRISBANE QLD

PG.10 // MIXDOWN #267 // JULY 2016

TOUR DATES JULY 22 – THE HELM, MAROOCHYDORE QLD JULY 23 – MIAMI TAVERN, GOLD COAST QLD JULY 27 – COFFS HOTEL, COFFS HARBOUR NSW JULY 29 – THE CAMBRIDGE, NEWCASTLE NSW JULY 30 – UNI BAR, WOLLONGONG NSW JULY 31 – MASONIC HALL, WODONGA VIC AUG 3 – KARVORA LOUNGE, BALLARAT VIC AUG 4 – THE LOFT, WARRNAMBOOL VIC AUG 5 – BARWON CLUB, GEELONG VIC AUG 6 - PELLY BAR, FRANKSTON VIC AUG 7 – PHOENIC YOUTH CENTRE, FOOTSCRAY VIC

UNIFY 2017 is held on January 13-15 in Tarwin Lower, South Gippsland VIC. Tickets are available now from unifygathering.com

www.mixdownmag.com.au

NEWS & TOURS

Avion Roe

Peter, Bjorn & John

American rock quartet Avion Roe have just released their debut album In Separation.

Following on from their 2015 EP, Into the Rest, the band has also recently premiered a new video titled ‘Sing Me To Sleep’.

Straight out of Dallas, Texas, the band show off their various different sides in this new album, which also demonstrates how dynamic the act has become after spending a few years tirelessly perfecting their craft.

“The four of us grew up going to punk rock shows and at our roots, that’s what we are,” Couture explains. “Until the very last note is hit and we walk off of the stage we use our adrenaline to deliver the most passionate and energetic performances we can. We’ve climbed venue rafters, thrown microphones, jumped into drum sets, and smashed guitars but most importantly we use our time on stage to connect with fans. They are listening to us but we’re listening to them too, we try to feel what they need from us and give it to them.”

Peter Bjorn and John’s brand new album, Breakin’ Point, is out now. Celebrating in style, the Swedish trio has released the video for ‘What You Talking About?’.

Breakin’ Point is the follow up to their 2011 criticically acclaimed album, Gimme Some.

Outsourcing outside producers for their earlier release and doing the same for the new ablum, Bjorn says “You behave better when you have people over for dinner that aren’t just your family,” and “it wasn’t that we just brought in anyone. We really respect what these guys do. We wanted to make pop music that was relevant now and not in a fantasy world of what we thought would be relevant.

We learned how to not dwell on stuff because you can’t sit forever. You have to reach a goal. That was a little bit scary at first.”

As a result, Breakin’ Point is about creating big pop songs. Instead of vying for a live sound, the guys have chosen to take advantage of their studio surroundings and have crafted a complex album.

In Seperation is out now via Epitaph Records.

Breaking Point is out now via INGRID/Kobalt Label Services.

letlive.

White Lies

Los Angeles punk band, letlive. have dropped their fourth studio album. If I’m The Devil… follows their criticallyacclaimed 2013 release, The Blackest Beautiful.

Recorded at Kingsize Studiolabs in L.A with co-producer Justyn Pilbrown, If I’m The Devil… is a highly anticipated release for fans around the globe. letlive. aim to place political messages back into rock music and have used their experiences throughout the last few years to determine the themes running throughout their latest record. Frontman Jason Butler says, “Our music is very left-leaning. It’s very clear I have a large disdain for the way a lot of systems are working and our society’s incapability to unravel.”

Sure to be an emotive collection of tracks, If I’m The Devil… promises a performance that defines the sound that is letlive. If Good Mourning, America is any indication, followers are in for one hell of a listen.

British Post-punk rockers White Lies have unveiled new single ‘Take It Out On Me’, from their upcoming album Friends to be released October 7th. . Their newest single brings heart pumping melodies as well as well-driven bass and drums.

Friends follows from the debut album To Lose My Life, from 2009. The new album seems to still carry the bands trademarked synth-rock, but brings the bands style into a new light. Out of the ashes of a recent music label re-shift, the band were left temporarily adrift, So they decided to start writing and recording the next album on their own, and without influence from anyone else (not even a producer).

The new single, which the band states, started off as an experiment, which the singer Charles Cave aimed to write a chorus using only numbers.

Friends was recorded by the band in Bryan Ferry’s private studio in London’s Olympia.

White Lies also enlisted award-winning James Brown (Foo Fighters, Arctic Monkeys), and David Wrench (Caribou, FKA Twigs).

If I’m The Devil... is out now via Epitaph.

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Friends is out now through Infectious Records and BMG.

PRODUCT NEWS In a Snapshot: Blue Microphones Baby Bottle Amber Technology | 1800 251 367 | www.ambertech.com.au

Baby Bottle is a pressure gradient cardioid condenser microphone that delivers classic sound and incredible versatility.

Featuring richly present mid range, smooth top-end and neutral bottom, Baby Bottle is reminiscent of the world’s finest vintage microphones.

Baby Bottle was created to deliver superior warmth and presence to vocals and a wide range instruments, so you can bring the classic vibe and feel of a vintage mic to your studio, without having to break the bank.

Every part of the Baby Bottle microphone was designed to ensure incredible performance. The proprietary hand-tuned large diaphragm capsule delivers incredibly accurate and transparent sound, with minimal coloration. And custom circuitry makes it the quietest mic in its class.

It excels at recording nearly any sound source, including vocals, drums, electric guitar amps – even difficult brass instruments like saxophones and horns. We just don’t recommend it for feeding…

Yamaha Expands EMX Lineup of Powered Mixers Yamaha Music Australia | (03) 9693 5111| www.au.yamaha.com

Yamaha has announced the release of two new models in the popular EMX Series of integrated mixers, the EMX5 and EMX7. The new models feature a significant increase in output power and a more comprehensive selection of performance features in a portable design.

The EMX5 and EMX7 feature high-efficiency power amplifiers capable of 630W and 710W output power respectively, and come equipped with an overload protection function to improve reliability. A rugged, extremely portable enclosure with a powder-coated, impact-resistant metal chassis adds to the consoles’ durability while its versatile design easily adapts to horizontal or vertical placements.

Both the EMX5 and EMX7 are equipped with 4 mono input channels and 4 mono/stereo input channels, allowing up to 8 microphones, and line-level devices to be connected to each channel. Channel 4 can be used with Hi-Z inputs to connect instruments such as guitars or basses directly.

Each model is also equipped with 2 ‘aux send’ connections for a monitoring system or external effect devices, ‘rec out’ unbalanced RCA-pin output jacks to connect an external recorder, and stereo out TRS phone jacks to output the mixed stereo signal. EMX5/7 also feature speaker jacks which can be used with both TS phone and speakON plugs.

Both also feature highly-efficient internal universal power supply.

Sterling By Music Man Introduce New John Petrucci Signature Models

DV Mark Release New Firmware For Multiamp Series

CMC Music Australia | (02) 9905 2511 | www.cmcmusic.com.au

DV Mark’s latest firmware release for their Multiamp modelling series of guitar amps provides new amplifiers, effects and microphones as well as plenty of added features and presets. Included in the update are the Citrus 120 and No Match amps, the AU Ribbon and Square 409 microphones, the 24dB Booster with treble control and the Migliorizer enhancer. The operating system has also been updated to enable control of effects parameters via an expression pedal, and enhanced control of DI parameters.

The Multiamp is one of the most powerful all-in-one preamp/effects processor/power amps ever produced. It features everything a guitar player needs: three fully programmable channels (clean/crunch/lead), as well as a vast array of virtual amps, speaker cabs and microphones and studio effects. Its state-of-the-art design allows for continual expansion. The DV Mark team have promised to work hard to continue to release periodical firmware updates, new items and more useful and exciting tones/ effects. This new firmware update is just one of many that you will be seeing from DV Mark.

These new features are available for download free of charge. Contact your DV Mark dealer, or visit www.dvmark.it for more details.

Based on the Ernie Ball Music Man JP15, Sterling by Music Man’s John Petrucci Signature Series JP150 features a lightweight African mahogany body with a figured top.

The subtle yet beautiful Sahara Burst satin finish and pearloid JP inlays compliment the instrument’s quilt figuring and natural maple neck and fretboard with stunning effect.

Powered by twin custom Sterling by Music Man pickups with a 12dB ‘push-push’ active gain boost on the volume knob, the JP150 is available in 6 or 7 string (JP157) equipped with the new full float modern tremolo system for the ultimate in tuning stability. Guitarist, composer and producer, John Petrucci, is best known as a founding member of the progressive metal/rock band Dream Theater. With his former bandmate Mike Portnoy, he has produced all Dream Theater albums since their 1999 release, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory until their 2009 release, Black Clouds & Silver Linings, and also produced alone their 2011 release A Dramatic Turn of Events and 2013’s Dream Theater. The new JP150 and JP157 will be available in stores August 1.

PG.12 // MIXDOWN #267 // JULY 2016

CMC Music Australia | (02) 9905 2511 | www.cmcmusic.com.au

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PRODUCT NEWS Cordoba Add C9-E To Luthier Series Zenith Music | (08) 9383 1422 www.zenithmusic.com

Tommy Emmanuel Returns To Sydney in September To Host Guitar Camp Australia Guitar Camp Australia | www.tommyemmanuelguitarcamp.com.au

Guitar legend Tommy Emmanuel will be hosting his prestigious Guitar Camp Australia at the Checkers Resort and Conference Centre, Terrey Hills between September 1 and 5.

Over 4 days and nights, guitar students and aficionados will receive masterclasses and performances with Tommy and fellow guitarists Stuie French, Simon Hosford and special guest Phil Emmanuel. This is a unique opportunity to learn from the guitar great – receive tips and tuition, witness their unique guitar techniques and experience some special performances from these guitar masters. In a career that has spanned over five decades, Tommy Emmanuel has become one of the most respected and acclaimed musicians on the planet. One of a select few crowned “Certified Guitar Player” (CGP) by iconic guitarist Chet Atkins, Tommy has received an incredible variety of accolades, including two Grammy Award nominations, two Golden Guitar awards and being twice voted Best Acoustic Guitarist by US Guitar Player Magazine. There will only be 100 places available for this event. Tickets include access to all workshops, masterclasses and performances, meals and are available with or without accommodation. Guitar Camp is available for guitarists aged 15 and over.

Introducing Sennheiser’s AVX Wireless Mic Systems Sennheiser Australia | (02) 9910 6700 | www.sennheiser.com.au

As a part-time videographer, I know the struggles of operating as a one-man-show.

Without a sound recordist, you need to make sure that both video and audio are always perfectly captured. The new Sennheiser AVX lightens this workload immediately. Once plugged in it instantly takes away the audio part from the to-do list. From now on videographers can simply rely on, perfect sound – and concentrate on what they really love to care about: filming great pictures.

The AVX features dynamic range, which guarantees perfectly levelled sound, regardless of the situation. Whether it’s quiet or loud, the AVX synchronises perfectly to the camera’s input sensitivity.

The AVX plugs directly into the XLR audio input and uses phantom power. It switches on and off automatically with the camera. So it is instantly ready to record and saves battery power when the camera is turned off. The AVX works faster than the human ear.

Before any interference becomes audible, the AVX selects the best operating frequency and switches to a clean channel. No matter what, perfect audio transmission between the microphone and the camera is guaranteed.

PG.14 // MIXDOWN #267 // JULY 2016

Based on one of the original models in Cordoba’s Luthier series, the Cordoba C9-E is built with a solid European spruce top with solid mahogany back and sides. The C9-E features a fan bracing pattern, which gives the center of the soundboard more surface area to vibrate and respond to the tension of the strings.

A more responsive soundboard makes the guitar louder, and provides better tone. The C9-E is the perfect choice for the serious classical guitarist, or for any player looking to upgrade to a concert-level instrument at an affordable price.

The inclusion of the Fishman Sonitone pickup on the C9-E allows for easy amplification.

Like every guitar in the Luthier series, the C9-E is built with Spanish heel construction, where the top of the guitar is attached to the neck, the sides are added next, and the guitar’s body is sealed by the installation of the back.

This construction feature allows the entire instrument to vibrate as one unified piece.

Aesthetic touches like the mother-of-pearl weave rosette inspired by a 1920’s Domingo Esteso guitar add a touch of vintage elegance.

Other premium features include a rosewood fingerboard, rosewood bridge, high gloss finish, and Savarez Cristal Corum strings.

The History Behind Lollar Pickups Gladesville Guitar Factory | (02) 9817 2173 | www.guitarfactory.net

Jason Lollar has been a professional luthier since graduating from Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in Phoenix, Arizona in 1979. However, his interests and expertise go well beyond building guitars. In addition to designing and producing extraordinary archtop, solid-body electric and lap steel guitars, Jason is a noted authority on nearly everything related to electric pickups. For more than a decade Jason Lollar has designed and built some of the most sought-after pickups for electric, bass and steel guitar. If you’re on a quest for tone, he can help. Lollar Pickups personally build more than fifty different models of pickups for a variety of instruments.

Lollar is also the author of Basic Pickup Winding and Complete Guide to Making Your Own Pickup Winder, which demonstrates his expertise in the field. His book has been credited as the spark that created a new movement in aftermarket and boutique pickup manufacturers. Additionally, many amateur and professional luthiers and guitar electronics tinkerers have learned a great deal about pickups using Lollar’s book. Even if you never plan to wind your own pickups, his book is a valuable reference for any musician interested in gaining a better understanding of tone and sound in electric instruments. Lollar Pickups are now available in Australia via Gladesville Guitar Factory.

www.mixdownmag.com.au

PRODUCT NEWS

Exclusive To Australia: Audio-Technica Limited Edition Blue AT2020USB+ Microphone Audio-Technica www.audio-technica.com.au

Based on the incredibly popularyet-limited ATH-M50x Blue, the new Limited Edition AT2020USB+ Blue is ready to strike a chord with collectors and home recorders alike. Exclusive to Australia, the new AT2020USB+ has a metallic blue and copper colour scheme, designed to brighten up your desk and match your headphones or make a difference and stand out from the rest. Equipped with a USB output, the AT2020USB+ is designed for digitally capturing music or any acoustic audio source, using your favourite recording software. The microphone offers the critically acclaimed, award-winning sound of the AT2020, with studio-quality articulation and intelligibility perfect for singer/songwriters, podcasters, voice-over artists, field recorders, and home studio recorders.

The AT2020USB+ features a built-in headphone jack with volume control that allows you to directly monitor your microphone signal with no delay. It also offers mix control that blends microphone and pre-recorded audio. The microphone’s cardioid pickup pattern delivers excellent off-axis rejection, while its A/D converter with a 16-bit, 44.1/48 kHz sampling rate ensures extremely articulate sound reproduction.

Guild are Now Offering Their Classic Jumbo In A Smaller Size

Outlaw Effects Introduces Four New Products Pro Music Australia | www.promusicaustralia.com

Haven’t you heard? There’s a new sheriff in tone. Relatively new to the pedal game, Outlaw Effects offers analogue micro effects pedals for guitar that feature true-bypass switching. With Summer NAMM done and dusted, the boutique pedal manufacturer has revealed details of four brand new pedals.

Lasso Looper is a compact-sized 24 bit, 44kHz looping pedal lets you build multiple layers of guitar sound into rich sonic creations. Lasso Looper features a generous 10 minutes of recording time and unlimited overdubs, and allows users to record, play back, overdub, stop and delete all at the touch of a single, easy-to-use footswitch.

Six Shooter II is a precise, compact-sized chromatic tuner suitable for a wide range of instruments. The Six Shooter II features a quicker response time and more accuracy than its predecessor, and boasts a larger LCD screen (1 3/16” x 2”). Six Shooter II also features true bypass switching to maintain the purity of your clean tone.

The Kerosene micro power supply helps users streamline their pedalboards by eliminating individual power cords/wall adapters. With eight 9V DC outputs each offering 300mA of current, and 2000mA of overall output, Kerosene has plenty of fuel to burn.

Iron Horse also features eight 9V DC outputs, two of which offer 500mA and the other six providing 100mA. This powerful engine will also help you stay on the rails with its quick and accurate integrated tuner, which boasts a large 1 5/8” x 1 1/8” easy-to-read LCD display. Your signal is muted when tuning, and true bypass switching retains the purity of your signal when the tuner is not in use.

Zenith Music | (08) 9383 1422 www.zenithmusic.com

Guild now offers its classic jumbo shape in an affordable smaller size. Whether on the couch, in the studio or on the go, the Jumbo Junior’s compact design allows you to have a Guild by your side at all times.

Fun and comfortable to play, the Jumbo Junior’s warm tone and surprising volume will inspire many memories, group sing-alongs, and weekend jam sessions.

Available in either a solid Sitka spruce top with an arched mahogany back or a solid Sitka spruce top with an arched maple back, the Jumbo Junior offers Guild’s classic aesthetic for those who love the look of a jumbo, but may not love the size.

Top it off with Guild’s AP-1 pickup, and a deluxe padded gig bag, and the Jumbo Junior is ready to go whenever you need to get your Guild on.

A Look at “The Most Responsive Tube Distortion Pedal Ever”, the Radial Tonebone Classic Amber Technology | 1800 251 367 | www.ambertech.com.au

The Tonebone Classic is a high performance 12AX7 tube distortion pedal that is designed to deliver the tone, feel and dynamics of a real tube guitar amplifier.

Following the vision set by Leo Fender in the 1950s, the Classic is based on the modified vintage overdrive sounds that emerged in the 1970s, matured throughout the 1980s and 1990s and today remain some of the most sought after guitar tones of all time. The Classic begins with a 3-position gain switch and drive control that lets you dial-in slight overdrive to high gain saturation and everything in between. Ultra sensitive passive-interactive tone controls let you contour your sound to accentuate the mids for solos or fatten up the tone when using single coil pickups. Inside, the Classic combines two gain stages to create the distortion with a 12AX7 tube drive to deliver added warmth and harmonic content. And like a real tube amp, when you turn your guitar volume down, the Classic cleans up naturally without the noise, hum or buzz that is common with most other pedals. Yet at higher settings, every note remains distinct.

The Classic is so responsive and dynamic, your individual playing style shines through.

www.mixdownmag.com.au

MIXDOWN #267 // JULY 2016 // PG.15

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C O V E R

S T O R Y

For the first time in many years, it has become an exciting – albeit somewhat confusing time – to be a fan of blink-182. The band has reshuffled its line-up for the first time in nearly 20 years, with estranged vocalist/guitarist Tom Delonge removing himself from the fold and getting replaced by Matt Skiba, who many would know best as the co-frontman of another noted pop-punk three-piece, Alkaline Trio. With this version of the band in full swing, the executive decision was made to go from simply completing tour-date obligations to entering the studio. It was in doing so that the band realised their fresh start had legs beyond simply nostalgia – they ended up being the most fruitfully creative they have ever been.

“Usually, when it’s time to make a blink-182 album, we never go far beyond what we set out to do,” says Travis Barker, who has served as the band’s drummer since 1998 and appears on five of their seven studio albums. “If it’s an 11-track album, we’ll probably write about 12 – and that’s if we’re lucky. This is the first time that we’ve ever had a surplus of songs to choose from. By the time we had finished writing for the album, we had ended up with about 30 songs. This is the first time that this has happened. We had to cut that down, obviously, so it was a matter of everyone in the band picking their favourites. It was honestly the toughest part. I fought for a few songs on this album. I fought for ‘She’s Out of Her Mind’, I fought for ‘San Diego’, I fought for ‘Sober’. Ultimately, the selection process was about being a team player and knowing when to pick your battles.”

The resulting sessions at Foxy Studios in Woodland Hills saw the band put together their first album in five years, California, which took 16 of the aforementioned 30 songs that were written throughout the second half of 2015 and recorded several weeks earlier this year. Overseeing the album’s recording was producer John Feldmann, who many punk fans would know as the driving creative force behind Goldfinger and who many pop fans would know as a co-writer for the likes of 5 Seconds of Summer.

“When I suggested him, the other two needed a day to think about it,” says Barker. “I could see where they were coming from – when people think of Feldmann, a lot of the time they’ll only think of Goldfinger or the bands he’s done production work for. I feel like a lot of people don’t realise what Feldmann is capable of. There’s so much more to him outside of the stuff he’s popular for. John’s a good dude, man. We all went to breakfast, and then the next day we went to John’s studio. We wrote three songs that day, and the other two were instantly convinced. The original plan was to be with him for a week or two, and ended up staying for a month and a half. It went well beyond what any of us could have anticipated.”

California sees the band – completed by bassist, vocalist and

PG.18 // MIXDOWN #267 // JULY 2016

Mark and I have wanted to write an album like this for a long time - We weren’t arguing with someone about what the band should or shouldn’t sound like. There was no fighting like there was on the last couple of blink-182 albums. I love Tom, and he’s a great songwriter, but we knew we didn’t want the band to sound like Angels & Airwaves.

sole original member Mark Hoppus – attempting to encompass everything that has come to define the band in its 20-plus years of existence. There are free-wheeling skate-punk numbers, some vintage rock moments, a ballad or two and the inevitable 30-second gag songs. Despite the album not coming from a place of the “classic” line-up, Barker believes that this is the closest the band have gotten to truly sounding like itself since reuniting in 2009.

“Mark and I have wanted to write an album like this for a long time,” he says. “We felt like we were finally allowed to make an album like this. We weren’t arguing with someone about what the band should or shouldn’t sound like. There was no fighting like there was on the last couple of blink-182 albums. I love Tom, and he’s a great songwriter, but we knew we didn’t want the band to sound like Angels & Airwaves. By the same token, I never want this band to sound like the Transplants or like my solo material. I want this band to sound like blink-182. That’s all I want.”

There’s a genuine sense of enthusiasm around the release of California from Barker, which is more than can be said about the previous blink-182 album, 2011’s Neighborhoods. Produced entirely by the band itself and recorded completely separate from one another, the album was met with critical indifference and a commercial slump when compared to the multi-platinum sales of previous albums. “There were a few pretty clear problems with the Neighborhoods record,” admits Barker.

“Jerry [Finn, the band’s longtime producer] had just passed away, and we were all disconnected – Tom had his studio, we had ours. I had survived a plane crash and was out of my mind. We were just trying to pull ourselves together. We had nobody there to be like, ‘That chorus could be bigger’ or ‘this intro shouldn’t be so long.’

There was no producer doing that, which I think is instrumental.

You need that extra set of eyes and ears.”

Although he’s never asked about by name, Barker brings up Delonge several times throughout the interview. He appears to have an onagain-off-again relationship with him, noting his songwriting skills while simultaneously pointing to him as the reason for the schism between the three of them. “Tom wanted the band to be different,” he says. “It didn’t make sense to me. We could sell out Reading and Leeds, play to 100,000 people – look at what they go crazy for. It’s all the fast, fun songs that people know this band for. I think Tom’s time away from the band will help him to realise what blink-182 does really is awesome. I hope it convinces him of that. I’m really proud of who we are and what we sound like.”

BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG

California is out now via Liberator Music/Vagrant.

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I N T E R V I E W S

Gojira At 39 years of age, Joe Duplantier has been playing music for over half of his entire life. His most notable work has come under the banner of Gojira, perhaps France’s most celebrated metal band, which Duplantier started while still in his teens.

Slowly but surely, Gojira have built up a cult status on an international scale; brandishing a sound that is brutal and biting yet also able to fully complement a balance between brains and brawn. At Joe’s side during this entire time has been his younger brother, Mario, on drums. Despite the age gap between them, the singer and guitarist is forever thankful to have had his sibling by his side for the band’s entire lifespan.

“I think he and I were both going to end up playing music, no matter what,” he says. “I started to play music without him when I was in high school – there’s a five-year age difference between us, so he was ten when I started playing music. What can you do with a ten-yearold? The drumsticks were bigger than he was! By the time he was 12, he started to pick up drums a bit and he started to get really good at it – we couldn’t believe how quickly he was picking things up. Soon enough, he’d proven himself and I thought he was ready to start playing music with me. That was 20 years ago, and we’ve been in bands together ever since. It’s become our lives – it’s all that we know. I feel like it has become the engine room as far as Gojira is concerned. Music is very important to our family.”

Totally Unicorn Although debut albums are usually the business of young, up-and-coming bands, the first full-length release from hirsute hardcore heroes Totally Unicorn is one several years in the making. The band has been active in some way, shape or form since 2010, having originally formed in Austinmer in the Greater Illawarra region of New South Wales. The band began after the split of Hospital The Musical, which featured founding members Drew Gardner (vocals) and Mike Bennett (drums), as well as original guitarist Clancy Tucker. “I was such a huge fan of that band,” says Aaron Streatfield, one of the band’s two current guitarists who stepped in to replace Tucker upon his departure in late 2012.

“I’d known them through that and got to see them a lot when it changed over to Totally Unicorn. My band at the time [Snakes Get Bad Press] even got to play a few shows with them. When Clancy left, I heard through a mate of mine that they were thinking of approaching me to try out. I thought it was just crazy – even though we were acquainted at that point, I was still such a big fan. They decided to see what it would be like with two guitarists in the band, and that’s where I met Kerim [Erkin] for the first time. Amazingly, that first runthrough together went really well. We definitely had our work cut out for us with what Clancy left behind, but Kerim and I immediately hit it off and were throwing ideas back and forth straight away.”

PG.20 // MIXDOWN #267 // JULY 2016

2016 sees the release of Magma, the sixth studio album from Gojira and one that marks a noticeable and significant change in the band’s sound.

Though still borrowing heavily from the band’s more progressive and groove-oriented influences, the album also forges further into a more melodic approach to alternative metal. It’s not something that is going to sit well with die-hards – but, then again, Duplantier doesn’t have any time for people like them. “The more that people hate this record, the better,” he says. It’s with a laugh, but it’s a little ambiguous – it’s clearly meant to indicate that he is joking, but the laugh also comes across as nerves from dropping such a seismic, defiant statement.

“We’ve always released records that were more death-metal inclined, and we built up an audience that was primarily people that exclusively listen to death-metal,” continues Duplantier. “As we have gradually moved away from that specific sound, we have had those kind of fans turn on us. We’re more interested in mixing heavy metal with rock music now, and I don’t see anything wrong with that. It’s opened up new avenues for us artistically. We’re experimenting a lot more. We’re evolving as a band.

It’s always going to hurt to see those negative comments from the death-metal lovers, but we’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s impossible to move forward and still be able to please everyone.”

Magma was recorded in the band’s second home of New York City, where the band relocated in order to focus more on that continental market. Several delays pushed the album’s process back further, including the death of Joe and Mario’s mother. The end result, however, is more than worth the wait.

This is particularly apparent when one notes just how much the band – completed by lead guitarist Christian Andreu and bassist Jean-Michel Labadie – have made the effort to push forward in an inventive and engaging way. For Duplantier, this

The line-up of Totally Unicorn has shifted several times since the band’s inception. Along with the departure of Tucker, the band’s first bassist Robert Mudge lasted less than a year before relocating overseas. He was replaced by Tim McMahon – formerly of Let Me Down Jungleman and Chorus Girls – from 2011 up until last year, where his spot was filled by the most recent addition to the family, Lee Nielson. Coincidentally enough, this reunited Nielson with Streatfield, with whom he had played guitar in the initial version of Snakes Get Bad Press. “This was a new one for him, as he had never played bass in a band before,” says Streatfield.

“We’d spent a lot of time living together, but we lost touch after he left Snakes and we moved out of our sharehouse. Eventually, we got back in contact and I floated the idea of getting him in to replace Tim – Lee was just as big a Hospital the Musical fan as I was and he knew exactly what kind of thing the band was after. I remember the first jam that he came to. He had learned way more songs than any of us imagined he would, and slotted in quite well.

Thankfully, there have never been too many painful transitions as far as the band’s concerned.”

The band have spent the last few years keeping busy with some choice international supports like Kvelertak and Rolo Tomassi, a split 7-inch with the late Robotosaurus and a smattering of local shows full to the brim with shirtless debauchery and chaotic partying – something that has become synonymous with seeing the band live. All the while, however, the band have slowly but surely been working towards the release of Dream Life, their long-awaited debut set for release at the end of July through Wollongong label Farmer & The Owl. With personal lives occasionally getting in the way of the process – three of the five band members are married, while Erkin also has a young daughter – Streatfield recalls the writing of Dream Life being arduous and filled with obstacles, yet entirely worth it upon looking back upon it.

came in the form of focusing on his singing – and that’s meant literally, as being the lead singer in a metal band doesn’t always necessitate doing what’s typically defined as singing.

“When we made our previous album [2014’s Les Enfants Sauvages], I wanted to try singing more and blending that with the screaming and harsh vocals,” he says. “During the pre-production, I was constantly trying to figure out which arrangements would suit which kind of vocals. At first, I tried to compromise by doing dual tracking – one of me singing and one screaming – and having them run at the same time. That’s not exactly what we ended up going with for the finished product, but I think that’s what sparked the idea that it was a possibility as far as being a vocalist was concerned. That was a few years ago, and my interest in singing has only grown stronger.”

With this article comes an interesting piece of context around perspective and hindsight. Magma is out in the universe at the time of you reading this, but at the time of the interview the album is still spoken of in future tense. Duplantier has no idea what it is to come for his band as they put out their all-or-nothing leap into the great unknown.

He is endearingly positive about the entire process, however. “We’re very excited about this record,” he says. “We feel in tune with it – we feel as though it’s really us coming through in the music that made it onto the album. We’re very interested to see people’s reactions to it. This is an album we’re very ready to share with people, both in terms of them listening to it and people coming to see it played live.”

BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG Magma is out now via Roadrunner Records/ Warner Music.

“We had all of the drums recorded first with Tim [Carr], just so we had something down,” he recalls.

“Kerim and I listened back to the ten or eleven songs from that session, which were recorded to guide guitars with no vocals, and we came to the conclusion that we weren’t entirely happy with where things were headed. We knew the other guys weren’t going to like it, but we proposed rewriting and re-arranging the songs using the drum tracks that we had already recorded. The other guys didn’t like that idea at first. They were happy with the songs the way they were. We pushed to let them see what we could come up with on our own though, and I ended up writing two new songs out of the incomplete drums. Kerim did the same, and we’re pretty happy with what we came up with.”

Listeners have already heard three songs from Dream Life so far: ‘Customer Service Station,’ which sports a hilarious Parkway Drive-aping music video, as well as ‘Space Congratulations’ and ‘Convict Brick,’ which features High Tension vocalist Karina Utomo as a guest vocalist. “She’s a legend of a person, as anyone who’s met her knows,” says Streatfield. “We were talking about people that we wanted to appear on the record, and I think Karina was one of the first people that had their name thrown into the ring. It was pretty much a no-brainer for everyone in the band – she’s been a mate for a long time, and she brings her A-game on this song. I don’t think the band has ever sounded heavier than with her up the front. What a legend!”

BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG

Dream Life is available July 29 via Farmer & The Owl.

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I N T E R V I E W S

Rodriguez The career rebirth of Sixto Rodriguez is one of the most fantastic tales in the history of popular music. The American singersongwriter released two albums in the early ‘70s, Cold Fact and Coming From Reality, only to be met with commercial indifference.

His subsequent disappearance from the public eye and eventual return to performing in the late ‘90s was the subject of the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary Searching For Sugarman. The success of the film and its soundtrack was such that it sparked a genuine career renaissance for the man known simply as Rodriguez.

The movie is not only his story, but one about South African apartheid. The sanctions in place during the ‘70s and ‘80s allowed his records to become huge hits without the knowledge of anyone outside of the country. While earning a low income as a construction worker in Detroit, Rodriguez’s records were selling by the millions, unbeknownst to him at the time.

However, what is not reported in the film is that, presumably also for reasons of cultural isolation, the other place that Rodriguez became big was Australia. In fact the commercial interest was such that local tour promoters contacted the singer directly and brought him here in 1979. “[They] called me on the phone for four hours. Eight concerts brought me out. Boy, the time I had, so very memorable,” says Rodriguez, down the phone from Detroit. In fact, the tour did two national runs and a total of 13 theatre shows, with reports from the time remarking on how shocked the performer seemed at the crowd sizes.

“The thrill of, whatever it’s called, it’s like opening night,” he says. “It’s

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still that feeling, some kind of anxiety, and loads of it as well. It’s all good, it’s very positive and now I’m very happy that it did become [my] profession.”

Since the documentary’s release, Rodriguez has not only managed to maintain public interest through constant touring, but is now playing to larger rooms than ever before. “Last year and I played a 16,000 seater and they came out to see me, so they’re still there for me,” he says. “At this stage we’ve got more control of it and we’re more conscious of what’s going on.”

While acknowledging the positive effect that Searching For Sugarman has had on his life, Rodriguez is also keen to stress the difference between his work and that of the filmmakers.

“I had nothing to do with the making of it. I even asked that certain things be removed, but they kept them in there. So I didn’t have any say. One of them was that there was gonna be a third album. There’s no third album,” says Rodriguez. “Sometimes the film makes it misleading. The film suggests that, you know, but that wasn’t the goal. Well, mine anyway. The words I used as I saw it myself was that it cheapened the film. But I’m not a filmmaker.”

Which of course begs the question of whether after these recent years of heavy touring and an ever growing public interest we can expect to see a genuine follow up to Coming From Reality. However Rodriguez remains non-committal. “Yeah I think so but [there’s] nothing in the works right now,” he says.

Yet even without new material, the 73-year old is enjoying the touring life and has no qualms with playing songs that he wrote over 45 years ago. “I try and be true to the material, I don’t overplay it or underplay it. But it’s a moveable artform, and so that’s fun - you can move it around as well. But we try to stay true to the form of the music,” he says.

Tony Bennett – this is thinking about 1963, I Left My Heart in San Francisco – they asked him doesn’t he get tired of singing that song, and he said ‘that song gave me the keys to the world.’”

In conversation Rodriguez speaks with the same philosophical leanings peppered with ‘70s slang that typify his songs. When asked whether he thinks there are advantages to experiencing this success so much later in life than he had intended, the singer is decidedly positive.

“I can clearly say yes, very much so. I am [a] grandpa and I think that that kind of perspective really gives you a kind of balance, if not extra strength. So you have more purpose as a sense and I think that that’s the shift,” he says. “I think that they say that old age, you lose some of your faculties, but I think that some of them are getting even sharper. So even if your vision is diminished…”

Perhaps not wishing to discuss health issues and the glaucoma that is badly affecting his sight, Rodriguez cuts himself off and changes subject, as he does frequently throughout the interview.

Thankfully, given the astonishing 42-year gap between Coming From Reality and Searching For Sugarman, and what is now known about the mismanagement and missed opportunities that caused that gap, the singer holds no bitterness. When asked what advice he might offer to the young musician who made Cold Fact, he leaves a long pause before responding with typical philosophical reflection.

“There’s so much reality gets in the way, and nothing beats reality,” says Rodriguez. “I don’t think you have that much clear choice all the time, we just pick the better of the choices and go for it.”

BY ALEX WATTS

RODRIGUEZ is touring Australia in November and will appear at The State Theatre in Sydney on Thursday November 15 as well as A Day On the Green in the Hunter Valley on Saturday November 19. He is playing at The Plenary in Melbourne on Friday November 25. Tickets go onsale via Ticketmaster on Thursday July 14.

MIXDOWN #267 //JULY 2016 // PG.21

I N T E R V I E W S

Periphery Prog innovators Periphery are back with a new album Periphery III: Select Difficulty. Following up on their double concept album Juggernaut, the band have been a major creative force on heavier music through their sound, writing, processes and gear choices. I got to chat with guitarist Mark Holcomb in anticipation of their new album.

The new album Select Difficulty…

A lot of people sort of raised an eyebrow when we said we were going to release another album so soon. They kinda had that ‘oh wow, already?’ reaction. We had anticipated a little bit of push back along the lines of thinking they’d be like ‘you can’t do that, you need to at least tour your last album for 2 or 3 years first’. I think that’s gone out the window a little though, the whole rule book has changed these days with the music industry. The main thing was we had a good chunk of downtime towards the end of last year and whilst Juggernaut was a very fulfilling album for us, it was also a double concept album so it was a pretty stressful and arduous process for us too. It had a lot of criteria to fill with track order, lyrical content of sorts and some sort of musical framework. I remember the sense of ‘I can’t wait to write songs again just for the sake of writing songs’, everyone was itching to write a 4 minute kick in the balls type song and that’s exactly what we did.

Screaming Females New Jersey’s Screaming Females stand alone in their place in modern independent rock and punk. In an era of somewhat conservative musical trends and the apparent uncoolness of extended guitar solos and jam sessions, the band continues into their tenth year as strong and self determined as ever.

A month away from their debut Australian tour, they spoke to Mixdown about inspiration, songwriting methodology and what it means to be an independent band in 2016.

The band’s unique sound and accompanying artwork come directly from frontwoman Marissa Paternoster. “I’ve been drawing ever since I was a little kid and my mum was an art teacher,” she says of her creative influences. “She’d teach me a lot of things and let me sit in on her classes. I got really into comic books and Mad Magazine around the same time, which probably is what got me into punk.

Watching Ren and Stimpy and enjoying weirdo stuff has always been what I’ve been into and what has influenced me.”

During live performances the band is known for often extending songs, jamming on new riffs or taking old songs down new and unexpected avenues. “We definitely have songs that have changed a lot live over the years, but then again we have other songs that we try to play as close to the recordings as possible,” says drummer Jarrett Dougherty. “I think it just comes down to trying to play the best possible show every night. For us that means having a little bit of the unexpected involved. At any moment one of us could try

PG.22 // MIXDOWN #267 // JULY 2016

Broadly, there’s a great mix of material – melodic stuff with ‘Marigold’, ‘Catch Fire’ and ‘The Way The News Goes’, blasty dark riffy tunes, techy lines and some longer 7 minute plus tunes. How did you settle on these 11 tracks?

It’s always a process honestly of whittling it down. One of the biggest perks about this lineup is that all 6 of us are writers and producers. So in our downtime we all write and then when we reconvene there are just enormous lists of memos with song ideas, melodies, lyrics, riffs so there’s never a shortage. To answer your question we probably had 40 – 60 songs ranging from bare bones parts to full recorded tunes with everything in between.

‘The Price is Wrong’ is a pretty pumping album opener!

That song is a funny one. When I was brought into the band around 6 years ago now that was actually part of my audition! The guys wanted to see how I would write with them and that was the product of it for the most part. We reworked it big time and we all loved it so much – it’s like a direct punch in the gut and it’s symbolic of what we are now with all of us contributing something, it really symbolises something for us.

‘Habitual Line Stepper’ – is that in reference to anyone in particular?

Haha, is the Dave Chappelle show big in Australia?

You’d probably know his Rick James part where Charlie Murphy would say that Rick James would line step, always step over the line being a habitual line stepper.

That’s classic for us, and we always throw that line around and we just seemed fated to title a song that at some stage!

You must be excited about the release of your signature PRS SE Model? It’s got some similar specs to your full blown guitar?

I’m very happy with it, its super exciting. It’s pretty and change the song slightly and most often we’re good at knowing what parts are good to expand and change. Occasionally it crashes and burns but that’s no big deal. If that happens you can just start bashing everything and pretend you’re Sonic Youth.”

Complex songwriting and technical musicianship has been a staple of the band’s sound on all of their albums, however 2015’s Rose Mountain took the opposite approach. “I think that Marissa’s guitar playing gets a lot of credit and attention for obvious reasons,” says Jarrett. “For Rose Mountain we really tried to strip everything away that was extraneous and build the songs back up from there. Most often we’d write an instrumental track first and then add vocals on top of that. So for years that meant Marissa would be playing a lead line, Mike would be playing a lead line on the bass, I’d be playing a melodic line on the toms and Marissa would try and fit a lead vocal line on top of it. Since then we’ve become really focussed on managing the whole project a lot better and simplifying some things.

“We did a tour with Garbage around the time that we were working on those songs and we were playing some of them to Butch Vig, trying to pick his brain,” says Jarrett. “He said something that I thought was very insightful which was ‘it sounds really cool what you guys are working on here and it’s a great way to go as a band. But remember the best thing about your band is that it sounds like three people all going nuts at the same time and it somehow works.’ I thought that was a cool thing to come from someone who’s worked on so many radio friendly records reminding you that it’s OK to be crazy”.

“We always just try and put out something that makes us happy and I think we were all really proud of that album. It was the first time we made an album where we didn’t have some sort of emotional breakdown during the recording,” adds bassist King

easy for anyone to point a finger and just say ‘that’s just a cheaper import model of the guitar you’ve already put out’, but the whole point with the SE model was to just get it as close as possible to the US model and keep it at an affordable price. What PRS have pulled off is insane. I have 3 of the prototypes at my house at the moment and I’ve used them for everything. I’ve been using it over the US one, I used it on the album, they nailed it and there’s just something about it the way it feels and plays. PRS have really defied the demonizing of the foreign named model with this. It’s all about the design specs, if they’re spec’d out well and the factory is consistent the only real difference is they’re not being made by hand. All of these are well spec’d and setup in Maryland so they’re great.

How are you dealing with Nolly (bass player) stepping down as a touring member?

We don’t quite know yet. We’re still kinda reeling from it. We totally support Nolly and his decision and we back him 100%. We don’t have a long term solution but we’re gonna roll with bass on backing tracks for our August shows but we’ll work it out internally from there. I can say first hand I don’t like using bass on tracks live so that’s not going to be a long term solution but we’ll work it out soon.

And for the Australian fans – any plans of touring soon?

Sooner rather than later! You know anywhere in Australia, but Melbourne and Sydney especially are some of our strongest markets and they’re always great. You know they’re up there with London and New York so we’re in discussions to come back very soon.

BY NICK BROWN Periphery III: Select Difficulty is out July III via Sumerian Records/Warner Music.

Mike.

The state of the music industry in 2016 is confusing at best, with no clear method of ensuring a profitable or safe career. Jarrett believes that their approach to controlling their art and direction is one of the only ways a band can achieve longevity and freedom.

“Doing things DIY and independently is pretty much the only way we’ve ever known. Whenever we’d try to talk to people who are more important or have more money in the music industry, they look at us like we’re crazy when we talk about what we think is important about being a band,” he says. “What we say misses their ears and what they say misses our ears. But somehow it’s worked for us over the years.

“I’ve also noticed that a lot of bands these days don’t even get an opportunity to do a lot of things for themselves. Very quickly people swoop in and promise them lots of money for their new record or management offers. To me it seems like a detriment because bands never learn how to manage these things for themselves. If you don’t have the knowledge to handle these things you’re going to get screwed in the end,” says Jarrett.

“There’s been a very small minority of people who have been able to be financially successful in music. We’ve always wanted to avoid those pitfalls in the industry. If you go into it with the intent of capitalising on the monetary side of it you’re destined to fail.”

BY JOE HANSEN

Screaming Females are touring nationally later this month. For tour dates visit screamingfemales.com.

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I N T E R V I E W S

Broods Sweden is renowned for its high turnover of quality, worldconquering pop music. But there’s another small, mountainous nation that’s a hotbed of quality pop songwriting: New Zealand.

Over the last few years, Kiwi artists such as Lorde, Ladyhawke, Kimbra and Unknown Mortal Orchestra have claimed global success. You can now add South Island siblings Caleb and Georgia Nott, better known as Broods, to that list.

After their single ‘Bridges’ attracted attention in early 2014, Broods’ debut LP Evergreen sent them off on a mammoth world tour. Along with sold out dates in Australia and New Zealand, they notched up North American tours with Ellie Goulding and Sam Smith and made multiple appearances on US network television. Last month saw the release of the duo’s second LP, Conscious.

Conscious contains plenty of sweeping choruses, emphatic vocal melodies and instrumental hooks. Though, the eruptive choruses found in songs like ‘Free’ and ‘Are You Home’ are contrasted with the downcast tone of ‘Worth the Fight’ and ‘Bedroom Door’.

“It’s a bit of a schizo album, but I guess that’s because it was written over two years,” says Caleb. “So there’s a lot of different inspirations that have come and gone. Depending on what kind of place you’re in at that time, [the songwriting] depends on that.”

With the release of the Broods EP in January 2014, the Notts quickly became aligned with pop music. Pop music tends to draw from all over the stylistic map, as exemplified by greats like The Beatles, David Bowie, Janet

Liz Stringer Liz Stringer’s seen notable career expansion over the last four years. After releasing her third album Warm in the Darkness in early 2012, the Melbourne songwriter toured through Australia, the US, Canada and Germany, leaving plenty of fans eager for a follow up LP. The wait ends on July 1 with the release of All The Bridges via Vitamin Records (Aus) and Roaring Girl Records (North America). However, Stringer says the growing breadth of her listenership didn’t influence the album’s songwriting. There was a more significant hurdle to jump over first.

“I spent the last couple of years doing a lot of session work, playing in a couple of other bands, not focusing even 50 per cent on my own music,” she says. “[That] was important for me, because I didn’t feel like I had enough output personally.

“I had this bunch of songs, but to be honest I didn’t have any expectations that I would come out of it with an album I really wanted to release. I just felt like it was going to be my rusty pipe album – I just had to get back on the horse and get back in the studio and give it a crack.”

All The Bridges is Stringer’s fourth long player in a ten-year period, and it’s fair to say it’s been a long time coming. But then again, aside from commercial pressures and perhaps the demands of an existential project, there’s no need to rush into these things. Though, Stringer

PG.24 // MIXDOWN #267 // JULY 2016

Jackson and Prince; contemporary pop stars Beyoncé, Rihanna and Kanye West; and indie pop acts Grimes, Chvrches and Tegan and Sara. It’s no different for Broods – Caleb and Georgia have cited Kanye, M.I.A., Marilyn Manson, Haim and Azealia Banks as influences on the album’s lead single ‘Free’ – which is largely a result of the pair’s individual preferences.

“If you listen to what I listen to in the way of other artists and you listen to what Georgia listens to, you’d think, ‘How do they work together?’ ” Caleb says. “[Our tastes] are pretty different and as songwriters we’re completely different as well. I think that’s kind of how it works. But with the whole pop thing, it’s pretty weird. If you asked me four or five years ago if I was going to be writing pop music for a living I would’ve said, ‘Fuck off. I don’t listen to pop music. I don’t listen to mainstream radio.’

“I think I just didn’t have the respect that I have now for the pop industry and how hard it is to actually make good pop music and how interesting it is to make it. I’m just like a pop geek.”

Being a self-described pop geek doesn’t mean Caleb obsessively follows prominent pop music trends and uses them as a filter for his own ideas. “The stuff that I’m bringing in is not really coming from anywhere pop, really,” he says. “That’s the funny part. It just kind of ends up being pop naturally when we work together. It’s a weird combination where pop happens by combining two different ideas that aren’t really pop.”

It’s a formula that’s working for Broods. Evergreen was a breakout success, converting fans from all corners of the globe, while the anticipation for Conscious blossomed with the announcement that Ella Yelich-O’Connor (AKA Lorde) co-wrote the album’s third single, ‘Heartlines’.

“Making this second album, I think it’s the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done in my whole life,” Caleb says. “There was no expectations when we wrote Evergreen. You have those expectations hanging over you a little bit, you can’t really run away from that, but that first album did better than we ever thought it could. So it’s like, ‘How can we top it? Are people going

to react in the way that we hope they are?’ That’s why it’s terrifying.”

Even on the cusp of the album’s release, the band’s worries hadn’t subsided. However, Caleb says the high stakes didn’t interfere with the songwriting process. In fact, they might even have energised it.

“I think [fear] can be a useful creative tool. The second album, every decision you make, you take in a lot more than you did when you wrote the first album. We just wrote music [for Evergreen], but then after touring for so long and being in the industry for a wee while you think about other things that you wouldn’t have thought about when we wrote Evergreen. So that was why we decided to call it Conscious, because there was a lot more calculated decisions in writing it.”

Much like Evergreen, Conscious was developed alongside producer and co-writer Joel Little (Lorde, Daniel Johns, Jarryd James), with additional production from Alex Hope (Troye Sivan) and Captain Cuts (Halsey, Tove Lo), and a vocal appearance from Tove Lo. In terms of the band’s internal dynamic, one could assume Caleb and Georgia’s roles are clearly defined. Georgia is the vocalist and lyricist, while Caleb takes charge of the instrumentation and arrangements. But while this is broadly how it works, there is some flexibility.

“Georgia has a say in production and instrumentation – she had a lot of input in instrumentation – and I have some input in some of the lyric writing,” Caleb says.

“It was like that in terms of who did what on the first album, but you develop as an artist yourself and as a team that line starts to blur a little bit.”

did begin to worry that the motivation to make another record might never arrive.

“I had moments of thinking, ‘Maybe that’s it,’” she says. “Before that I was always one step ahead of myself – I knew what I wanted to make and I was always excited to get back into the studio and I was planning a long time in advance for it. And as I say, I just felt like I’d gone off the rails a little bit and I just needed to recalibrate and get back on them, whatever that took.”

As it turned out, it was a trip to Portland, Oregon that resolved Stringer’s creative uncertainty. To be more specific, she made her way to Type Foundry studios to work with producer Adam Selzer, which proved more fruitful than she’d anticipated. “[Going to Portland] totally reinvigorated me creatively,” she says. “It was such a great kick up the arse, and then I went and toured in Canada after that for three months. In this stunning country, meeting all these great people and playing dozens of gigs – it was such a reinvigorating experience. Before that I was just like, ‘Maybe that’s all I’ve got. Maybe I’ll just be a session player.’ But I now realise it was just a little patch, and I’m writing a lot since then.”

Selzer’s career credits include records for M. Ward, The Decemberists, Monsters of Folk and R.E.M.’s Peter Buck. Some mutual acquaintances pointed Stringer in his direction.

“Mick Thomas recorded with him, and Mick met Adam through Darren Hanlon who’s another friend of mine,” Stringer says. “Darren’s partner Shelley Short is a great Portland-based songwriter. So Mick suggested it because I was saying to him, ‘I don’t know what to do next. I’m feeling a bit lost.’ He said, ‘Oh maybe you should go to Portland and do it.’ I didn’t take it seriously really, and then I thought about it and thought, ‘Actually that might be exactly what I need to do.’ Then I spoke to Darren and Shelley and they highly recommended

him. It turned out to be a really great working relationship. He and I really worked so easily and well together, so I was lucky.” “[Selzer]’s a really good musician himself, so he’s very good at being on both sides of the desk. It’s not a deal breaker, but in my experience it does help to have musicians who are engineers, because they just understand what it’s like.”

Stringer went to the US without her Melbourne band mates, but she was able to rope in a couple of Portland musicians to serve as her rhythm section. Luke Ydstie (bass) and Ben Nugent (drums) combine with Stringer to give All The Bridges a live, animated feel, moving through Springsteen-like heartland rock songs and plenty of folk and countrytinged numbers.

“I was so nervous,” she says. “We rehearsed the night before we started tracking and they’d listened to the demos, they had great ideas and they were really into it and they were really enthusiastic and happy to be there. So it was such a great vibe. As soon as we started playing the first song I had this huge sigh of relief. They were great.”

With a solid team in place, Stringer’s doubts disappeared and All The Bridges was finished after just eight days of recording.

“It became apparent very quickly when I was in the studio that it was actually going to be a cohesive album that I would want to release. [When I went over there] I wasn’t thinking about much at all. I was just like, ‘Let’s just try this, because I need to get back in the ring.’ Luckily it worked, because it’s a long way to go to do that [laughs].”

BY AUGUSTUS WELBY

TOUR DATES JULY 8 – THE TIVOLI, BRISBANE QLD JULY 9 – ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY NSW JULY 11 – THE FORUM, MELBOURNE VIC

Conscious is out now via Capitol Records/Universal Music Australia.

BY AUGUSTUS WELBY All The Bridges is out now via Vitamin Records.

Liz Stringer will be touring nationally in support of the album, for more information and for a full list of tour dates head to lizstringer. com.

www.mixdownmag.com.au

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Chords, Comping, Licks, Riffs & Rhythmic Stuff GUITAR Adding to our discussion from last month, I’m going to run through some more ideas and examples. Often guitar is perceived as either playing ‘lead’ or ‘rhythm’ and whilst these terms do apply sometimes, they don’t always fit.

Sometimes just ‘playing guitar’ can mean swapping between chords and arpeggios with single note lines and fills. The line can be blurry and sometimes that’s good!

Starting with a simple funky chord progression that might pop up in blues, soul or funk Figure A takes a C9 chord and an F7.

Already split up from your basic strumming full chords idea, it takes the root note of the chord on the first and third beats and intersperses the rest of the chord voicing in between (on the 2 and the 3 e + a).

Figure B keeps the same progression but adds some variation both melodically and rhythmically. Bar 1 uses the same root note and C9 voicing for the first two beats but then plays a dominant 7th/mixolydian type lick to fill the rest of the bar. The second bar changes the first beat rhythm to two quavers and just uses the Eb from the F7 voicing on beat two. This still hints at the chord quality but is lighter in sound as a smaller voicing/single note. The rest of the bar takes the F7 voicing and plays a run of 6ths ending on the Eb (dominant 7th of the chord). Bar 3 uses some slides/half steps from a semi tone below the intended chord (C9) to create movement and add a James Brown type guitar sound whilst Bar 4 plays some double stop type fills with another dominant 7th/mixolydian lick to finish the

section.

More of the same with Figures C and D. A simple-ish progression in Figure C outlines a rock/pop/folk feel. Figure D stretches this progression a little, starting with an arpegiated Em9 sound on beats 1 and 2.

This voicing creates interest due to its almost clashy sounding F# and G notes (just a semi tone apart). The D/F# sound is kept on beat 3 with a descending run adding some movement into the C major chord on beat 1 of the next bar. C major to G major is embellished with a D note on beats 3 and 4, which create some repetition. Bar 3’s A minor voicing is moved up the neck allowing us to hold most of the chord whilst playing an A Minor descending run over the top, which ends with three groups of diatonic 3rds. The whole progression then ends on the same Fsus2 with a major 7 type voicing from Figure C. Whilst not earth shattering or out of this world, hopefully these continue to give you some ideas. Of course you need to understand some of the concepts with chords and scales behind these examples but a lot of them are experimenting with both

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rhythm and melody (licks, scales, fills etc) to create something more interesting than just chugging on chords. Again, there’s nothing wrong with chugging on chords and the beauty is then that when you do

play some more straight ahead comping it’s a great contrast to your funkier playing – perfect!

BY NICK BROWN

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A D V I C E

C O L U M N S

I Got (More) Rhythm (And Melody) BASS Following on from what we’ve looked at previously in the bass column, here are a few more ideas for expanding simple chord progressions and bass lines with rhythmic and melodic ideas. Hopefully practicing these will open you up to new melodic ideas help you break new ground with your playing.

Figure A is a Bb major-based groove with a VI, II, V type turnaround. It’s fairly straight ahead rhythmically so let’s shake things up a little.

Figure B works on the same progression, splitting the C minim on beat 3 of bar 1 into two quavers to break things up a little. The quaver rest on beat 1 of bar 2 creates some movement with a walk up from D to F. Bar 3 retains the G sound but moves from low G up the octave with two semi quavers before playing C quavers in the last bar into an anticipated low F (as the V).

Figure C is a simple chord progression in a rock, pop or heavy style played as simple semi breves and minims. Figure D starts to expand on some possibilities taking the A minor tonality of bar one and using the root, 5 and octave to add some extra movement.

Bar 2 takes F major and creates a major 7 sound with the E natural on top. Bar 3 again uses the typical root, 5 and octave with the D falling on the 2 and for an anticipated/ early feeling. Expanding on the F to G sound of Figure C this time we’ve used a D note on top (the 6th in relation to F major and the 5th to G major) to create some extended chord sounds.

Figure E then takes a rhythmic approach

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choosing to stay on an A as a pedal note across the whole progression. This can take some time to get your ear familiar with as it will create tension (hopefully in a good way) that will then work beautifully when resolved either back to the normal progression or moving to another section. Rather than keeping the rhythm simple, Figure E uses a mixture of note values to create a slightly disjointed feel both on and off the beat which can be a great contrast if the chords are being played straight as in Figure C. This idea of tension is everywhere in music and creates feelings and movement that sound like they want to go somewhere. Just be careful overusing these ideas as it can sometimes get too much.

Lines can be simple and aren’t there to just show off your prowess – you only need to play what’s required. However, often there are subtle sections of rhythm or added note choices that can add that little something that really helps a section to stand out.

Some knowledge is needed to get into extended chord sounds and rhythms but also being creative and trying things is important too – what’s the worst that can happen?!

BY NICK BROWN

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A D V I C E

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Monitor Placement STUDIO Having just rearranged the recording room and spent the best part of a week organising where everything should go for the most efficient workflow, one of the last tasks on the list was to get the monitor placement right to suit how I work.

This is something that is often overlooked with home studio monitors simply spread either side of the computer screen and often overlooked. Considering so many of us spend good money on studio monitors for our home recording setups and even go to the effort of acoustically treating our rooms for better listening, it makes sense to take a step back and consider how the placement of these monitors might be affecting their performance to begin with.

Height, Width and Depth

There are a number of ways to determine where your monitors should be placed in regards to your listening position, but the simplest is to consider an equilateral triangle, with the three points consisting of your two monitors and your head. In order to achieve a correct stereo spread from you monitors, this will give you a good distance measure for how far apart they will be. If you choose to sit very close to the desk, your monitors are going to need to be closer together, right up near the computer screen. But, if you are using a deeper desk, or have your monitors mounted on stands back from the desk itself, you can afford to have them spaced further apart. But it doesn’t stop with just that. You need to consider one other distance in where these monitors are to be set up, and that is their height. To achieve the best result, you want your monitors mounted at the same level as your ears. There’s no point having

them on a low desk so that they are firing directly into your stomach or chest region.

What you will end up hearing is not the direct sound from the speakers and will result in a lack of high frequencies as they are muffled by your body. This will lead to your mixing overcompensating for the lack of high frequencies and you will ultimately end up with a mix that is very trebly and unpleasant. So, if your desk does not have shelves on it, ensure you can raise the height of you monitors to match the height of your ears when you are listening. You will hear the results in your mixes when you can hear properly to begin with.

Consider The Port

Many studio monitors these days feature front porting, with use in a small room being taken into consideration in the design process. But, there are still plenty of speaker manufacturers who prefer to use a rear porting to their speaker cabinets,

to reduce chuffing of air in front of the listener. Because of this, you need to pay careful attention to how close your monitors are placed to a wall. If you are using rear ported speakers, they need a good distance between the port and the wall itself. As a general rule of thumb, I like to keep that distance to be no less than the distance between the speaker cone and the ear.

That means you cannot have your listening position too hard up against a wall, with the monitors throwing air up against it.

This will result in an emphasis on the low frequencies, as they are amplified from the reflections off the wall. It’s important to remember that low frequencies are not as directional as high frequencies, so it isn’t enough to simply angle your monitors to deflect the sound from the wall. You need to place distance between the port and the wall itself. Understandably this is not always an option as smaller rooms do not allow for said distance to be achieved. In this instance, it is wise to consider monitor speakers with a front port instead.

Treat Your Yourself, Treat Your Room

It is always a good idea to consider your listening position and how sound travelling around the room passes through that location. A simple reorientation of your monitoring setup might be all that’s needed to improve your listening, but some basic room treatment is always a good option.

From your seated listening position, with the door closed, clap your hands loudly in the quiet room and listen carefully to what follows this clap. Listen in on how the sound rings out and where it appears to focus upon. The room’s hard surfaces will make

themselves apparent when you do this a few times. You want to stop the reflections that are passing through the listening position, but not to completely deaden the room.

Ideally, ensuring the two surfaces directly in the path of the speaker’s throw are dampened with acoustic foam or a curtain will have the most immediate effect. Then, treating the walls either side of where your head is placed when sitting in the listening position to prevent standing waves will focus the direction of the speaker’s projection. You don’t need to turn your room into a padded cell, just cancel out any offending hard surfaces and leave the rest to provide some life and realism to the room’s own voice.

BY ROB GEE

From The Beginning…

ELECTRONIC MUSIC PRODUCTION G’day guys, we thought it was high time Mixdown started talking about the magical world of electronic music production – where your CPU, RAM and imagination are your only limitations. It’s a pretty intimidating thought isn’t it, so where to begin? Well, I thought the best place to start this column would be taking a look at stripping everything back. Bugger your multi-band compressor plug-in comparisons for a moment. You’re sitting in front of a semi functioning hand-me-down laptop with the intention of making music, but don’t have any other equipment, a DAW to record audio, a sample library, instruments, nothing. So what now?

Working With Nothing

Let’s look to a couple of notable producers who famously use very little to produce distinctive music. UK artist Burial blew the proverbial lid off the drum’n’bass and ‘post-dubstep’ sound in the early and midnoughties with his clattering lo-fi beats, ominous tones and creative sampling. It eventually surfaced that Burial composed his music within his computer without the aid of a sequencer of any kind - he literally dragged and dropped every little snippet of audio into place by hand in the fairly basic audio software SoundForge.

No quantising to a specific bpm or grid at all, just copy and pasting little bits of audio, working his shuffling dystopian rhythms into a groove by ear. This whole mindset of listening to rhythms rather than looking at them on screen as they snap into perfectly timed 16th notes is pretty unusual in today’s electronic music production world. His sampling was an

artform itself, he sampled everything: sound fx in video games, rain, pop singers, movie soundtracks etc. If you go exploring on YouTube, there are a ton of videos from people who have figured out what he sampled. In some cases, he’s chopped a melodic vocal line, separating vowels and consonants to make the lyric something else entirely. Super cool.

Another artist with a similar approach is Four Tet (who bizarrely went to the same school as Burial). His uniquely beautiful 2010 album There Is Love In You was composed using essentially the same copy and paste technique, rarely relying on a quantised grid. Another collector of samples, he keeps his composition and sound collection sessions separate, setting aside time specifically to gather sounds and other times to butcher loops, sounds and other melodies, pushing the results together into a song.

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The Thought That Counts

The reason I mention these two, is because all of the music they created is possible without spending a dime once you have a laptop and headphones. The free open source audio software Audacity is a great option for your first foray into toying with sounds and production, it can be set to sample the audio output of your operating system – so you can record any snippet of audio playing currently on your machine, ready for you to chop up, pitch down, reverse..whatever! There’s also mountains of free or low cost samples available for download these days, chuck a Google and see what you can find. A lot of laptops have low quality microphones inbuilt for Skype sessions too – pick up

some bits and bobs from around the house and record yourself tapping them. Use effects like reverb and phasers to mask that distinctive, shitty mic sound. In my own music, I frequently use samples of keys rattling and taps on saucepans that I recorded with my phone.

Not all of us are weird audio mangling super talents like Burial and Four Tet, and maybe don’t like that style of music at all. But, if you’ve gotta wait a bit until you can afford a DAW, drum machine or whatever else your heart desires, give it a crack! The more experience you’ve got with mangling and arranging audio, the better. Maybe you’ll make something cool?

BY MICHAEL CUSACK

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A D V I C E

C O L U M N S

Nordic Notes KEYS There have been a number of iconic stalwarts in live music when it comes to backline and stage rigs. It goes without saying that the Marshall stack, be it a single head and box, or a towering wall of speaker cabinets, is an image that we all know and love. The same goes for the Ampeg fridge, topped off with an SVT head on the other side of the stage. Sure, not every guitarist uses a Marshall and most bass players avoid trying to lift an SVT these days, but they are still images that conjure up certain emotions. And when you think about classic keyboards that have graced the stage over the years, some have held a presence like the mighty Hammond, if only a forklift could be found to get it up there, but the new norm, the new go-to when it comes to keys on stage now seems to be that ever-present red keyboard, the Nord.

The Red Machine

I’ve heard it described as the Marshall stack of keyboards before, and for that reason, along with many others, I am putting the Nord range of synths and stage pianos up there as the prominent figure on most stages around the world when you are talking keys. This may be partly due to the fact that it is so recognisable in the bold red casing that each model adorns, or there could be something more to it. Sure, it is easy for a keyboard, any keyboard, to just blend in with the hardware on stage and go unnoticed. Especially when so many are in similarly sized black housings with only a simple logo printed next to the outputs as a means of denoting its presence. Often this logo ends up covered in the ubiquitous black gaffer tape anyway, so you only have the voice of the keyboard to tell you what it is. This can often be difficult too, as so many keyboard and synthesizer

manufacturers strive to achieve a similar sound set that often does not have the instrument making its presence known in the mix. It’s rather sad, but often the sounds in so many keyboards are chasing the same tone and never try to actually stand apart and deliver something original.

Well, there are a few exceptions. So, when you can’t hear a difference, and the logo is covered up, one way to know you’re listening to a Nord is simple – the thing is big and it is red, so you’ll know before the band even comes on stage what you’re in for as far as the sounds go!

A Tone Of Their Own

It’s not just a colourful case that makes the Nord keyboards stand out. Although this is a good trick – we can all agree on that – the different models in the range have all delivered certain tones that we have come to know and love.

The Nord Lead synthesizer is a real beast that delivers in a number of ways. Now several generations in from the original development, the Lead also has an analogue modelling counterpart in the Lead A1 that brings a different flavour to the synth driven mayhem this unit is known for. Screeching lead tones, luscious pads and complex bass droning all make up the Lead’s special character.

The Nord Piano is a model that is often overlooked as it doesn’t necessarily have the versatility of some other models, but it is still popular for those who want a simple stage piano that delivers in character and options. Many argue that it perhaps doesn’t stack up against competitors like Yamaha or Kawai for the actual piano sounds on offer, but it does seem to appeal to a more modern generation of keyboard players looking to move away from the traditional path. The Stage 2 EX is the king of them all, featuring a synth engine taken from the Lead and a piano section taken for the Piano too. This is your all-in-one workhorse that delivers in impressive size and sound. What ties these two elements together in the Stage 2 EX is the third engine that is taken from possibly the coolest, funkiest and most in-demand Nord ever – the Nord Electro.

The Electro is now in its fifth generation and continues to capture the imagination of organ and electric piano players for both its touch and feel as well as its sound.

I think it is easy to say that it was the Electro that got Nord onto so many stages around the world to begin with. This is a keyboard that offered something quite unlike so many other competitors’ models and did it well too. For keyboard players looking for emulations of classic electromechanical organs and keyboards, this is the beast. It offers physical drawbars for organ emulations that sound as good as the real thing as well as a piano section with some classic and clunky sounding keys in there too. If you like your Rhodes sounds, Hammond tones or any sort of suitcase piano, this is the red machine for you. Funk and soul players will fall in love with the tones and the way the keys respond and it means you don’t have to lug around all of the heavy, tired old monsters that may not sound their best any more.

When you think of stage presence from a keyboard, the Nord red is the key. When you think of electro keyboard tones, Nord is that sound these days.

BY ROB GEE

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A D V I C E

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Linear Grooves DRUMS As a younger drummer, I found a whole new world when I was exposed to something called Linear Grooves. I was stuck in a world where the hi-hat remained steady, constant and predictable. I was desperate for something different and new – only I didn’t know it until I experimented with this cool concept. What I found wasn’t even really new at all, but it did open up a world of possibilities.

The Philsophy

If we think of a traditional, simple straight ahead drum groove; be it rock or funk and so on, we might have the hi-hat playing 8th notes whilst the bass drum and snare drum layer underneath. So many styles have a similar make up to this – albeit different rhythms and feels, but there’s one thing that remains common between all of them. Any ideas? Just in case you didn’t guess, here it is. All the parts layer on top of one another or sound at the same time at one point or another in the groove – bass drum with the hi-hat and so on.

A linear groove is the complete opposite.

Nothing overlaps – one sound at a time.

Always.

Paradiddles Altered

Now, a simple way to get into this is to take the single paradiddle (RLRR LRLL). If you apply the Linear Groove rule, it’s easy to see that nothing overlaps in that sticking but without the bass drum or suitable application, it’s just a rudiment; hardly a great groove. Now, most of us may have played a paradiddle groove between the hi-hats and the snare drum and layered the bass drum underneath but what if we actually replaced parts of the paradiddle with the bass drum instead? (See Figure A). Now we have a

similar type of groove but one with a little less predictability to the ear. You could replace any part of it, accent in different places and use any of the other paradiddles in a similar way.

Steve Gadd

One of the world’s greatest drummers and one of my personal favourites – Steve Gadd, uses linear grooves in many ways but a particular example that demonstrates the idea perfectly is shown in Figure B. Following on from using paradiddle and substituting in bass drum notes, Gadd uses the same idea, with parts of the paradiddle in 16th note triplet subdivisions, giving us groups of six notes.

You can see the same sticking through out – KLRRLK but Gadd replaces the bass drum on the start of beat two with an accented snare drum in the right hand to give the backbeat.

This really makes it groove. The full sticking becomes – KLRRLK RLRRLK. You can clearly see the paradiddle within the sticking but the bass drums fill in the gaps and make it fit within the subdivision. Again, the scope here is huge. You could even play the original idea at Figure A over the 16th subdivisions in Figure B. Go nuts!

Let’s take a look at some other examples of Linear Grooves. In Figure C, I’ve used a very simple (perhaps the most common also) form

of linear sticking. It’s a simple 3-note sticking – RLK – played over 16th notes. I’ve put the sticking between the hi-hat, snare and bass drum; this makes it sound ‘groove-like’ but you could also move the idea around the drums for an interesting fill or start the groove on the hi-hat or the snare and incorporate accents or other parts of the drum kit within the groove for other sound options.

Songo

Lastly, Figure D is a very well known Afro Cuban groove for the drumset called Songo. It also just happens to be a great Linear Groove in its basic form. It’s a great combination of accents and non-accents with displaced bass drum notes. Interestingly though, the hi-hat actually plays a steady quarter note pulse.

Moving on from this, Figure E is actually a groove I devised based on the vibe of the Songo. It’s not an official Latin groove but it’s an influenced groove and follows the principles of being Linear. Nothing overlaps and to make things interesting, it’s chopping and changing over the kit and the right hand is playing the rim of the second tom so

the overall sound is very unpredictable and interesting. It also incorporates a paradiddle for a little icing on the top.

The challenge when playing Linear Grooves is that, due to the absence of a distinct time keeper in the form of a steady hi-hat or bass drum on the down beat, keeping the tempo can be difficult. In addition to this, there may not be a clear backbeat so you may find knowing where you are in the bar more challenging. Practicing to a metronome really helps, so even if something feels weird, you can be sure that you’re in the right spot.

As mentioned, these types of grooves can really open up some interesting possibilities for developing more vocabulary on the drums.

The beautiful thing is that since they are simply one note at a time, you can literally make them up on the spot. There are no rules and anything goes. Check these grooves out and then make up your own. Enjoy!

BY ADRIAN VIOLI

Finding The Best Order For Your Guitar Effect Chain MIXDOWN’S GUIDE TO: Today, guitar pedals offer a world of possibilities. Their impact as a shaping force for tone, sound manipulation and creativity is greater than ever. However, just as important as finding the right effects is the order with which they are chained together. Even with the greatest group of pedals at your disposal, an ill-advised chain will ultimately produce a lousy tone. So while there’s no perfect order that exists – many a guitarist has been known to break the rules with great success – harnessing the potential of your pedals can be made easy by following a few simple guidelines.

It’s important to start your pedal chain the right way. Pedals that are going to add noise to your signal – distortion, overdrive, fuzz, boost, compressors, wah – should be placed near the beginning of the path. If introduced later in the chain they will amplify the noise of each effect that comes before it, decreasing your level of control and potentially muddying each effect. In line with this approach we recommend using an auto wah first for maximum dynamic range, then a compressor and after that, a distortion or overdrive. You want to be distorting or boosting a pure, unadulterated guitar tone.

The placement of modulation – that’s flanger, phaser, chorus and tremolo – in your chain is of great importance – ped-

als that produce tone need to go before pedals that modify tone. Generally these pedals should be activated around the middle of your chain. The desire is to first construct your tone with the basic building blocks – wah, compressor etc.

– and to then shift this solid foundation with modifying effects. All modulators therefore come after your chosen overdrive. Both of these groups of pedals also benefit from the fact that modulators are enriched by the harmonics generated from distortion.

At the end of the pedal chain comes any kind of ambience effect. This is essential with the use of delay and reverb. Placing them before a distortion pedal, for instance, will mean each effect is altered with the introduction of extra gain. For

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the greatest level of control they should come last and, thus, have the ability to encase the rest of the chain with ambience.

There are, of course, other recommendations for numerous pedals. An EQ, for example, works well when situated directly after distortion and used to change specific frequencies for a solo.

It’s important to navigate the use of different pedals with a basic understanding of how they interact. Consider minimising

noise, establishing a strong organic tone, and maximising tonal control. But this is merely a place to start, and mastering the order of your pedal chain can only truly be achieved with personal experience and experimentation.

BY CHRIS SCOTT For more tips and tricks, head to www. mixdownmag.com.au.

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F E A T U R E S

The Melbourne Guitar Show TAKING THE NEXT STEP

Following the rampant success of the 2015 Melbourne Guitar Show, the weekend long celebration of all things guitar is set to return in August this year.

Buoyed by their previous success, Australian Music Association (AMA) CEO Rob Walker expects this edition to be even bigger than the inaugural event.

“I feel like with [major sponsor] Triple M coming on board, and with us being able to see what worked last year, I think if we do our job well then we can get a few more [people in than last year],” he says. With 20 more stalls booked in already this year, and a whole new area for all things acoustic, his prediction for a bigger show doesn’t look far off the mark. “We’ve got a pretty full program of artists and entertainers, and all the same great products coming back again as well, plus a few more. It’s been a good reaction and a good result so far,” he continues.

Varying the types of performances is one way that those planning the show are attempting to improve it, as well as trying to find a good balance of male and female acts in different genres. In a change from last year, there will be a real focus on group performances, with a whole heap of different jams, shows and small groups playing at the show; there’s even a ukulele orchestra. With all these different groups playing, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there might be difficulty in getting so many performers together, but Rob assures me that isn’t the case. “Everyone loves the

idea, the concept. Last year’s event was such a happy event for everybody, there was so little negativity about any aspect of the show,” he says. “People did good business, the artists played well and generally there was a great vibe, so everyone’s been really looking forward to the repeat of it this year.”

Billed as Australia’s largest pop-up guitar shop, the show will be a good opportunity to see a whole range of gear. As part of their 70th anniversary celebrations, there will be a Maton Custom Shop seminar at the show, which will detail the history of the company. This is one of the many seminars, clinics and workshops at the show, and one person who will be running a workshop is former Skyhooks and The Angels guitarist, Bob Spencer.

“I’ve had a long involvement with the Australian Music Association,” Bob says.

“In 2001 I started the Victorian end of the Weekend Warrior program.” This involvement led to a phone call from his old friend Rob Walker, asking if he wanted to be involved in the upcoming Melbourne Guitar Show, a chance he grabbed with both hands.

“[At the show] I’ll be doing a couple of things. One is that I’ll be involved in a performance where there’ll be some songs played, either I’ll do those with a little band or I’ll sit in with someone else and I‘ll be part of the Professor Guitar series, in which I’ll be talking about certain aspects of playing and performing. And I guess, in general, I’ll be poncing about doing some kind of guitar-ey things.”

In his Professor Guitar workshops he will be imparting some of his wisdom learnt from more than 40 years in the industry on those attending, but don’t expect a lesson on crotchets and treble clefs. “I want nothing to do with theory, I’m a bit over theory. My workshop will probably be a performance-based workshop, which is really where my interest lies. Since my involvement with the Weekend Warriors, my angle has been about performance. When I say performance I don’t mean how to do the splits on stage, I mean tailoring your playing, your equipment, your sound, your approach for the gig and the band.”

Where Bob is focusing on performance, there will be many other experts focusing on many other aspects of guitar playing, meaning the show is set to have something that appeals to just about every patron.

It’s a structure that’s hopefully setting up the festival for a long and successful history. “Australia has some fantastic festivals and shows like this, and we’d like to keep the guitar on the agenda from here on in,” says Rob. “We’d like to grow with more makers, and more products and more artists, maybe even some overseas artists and more interstate artists, but at

the moment we’re doing it with the means we have and we’re happy with the results.

It’s really about not only maintaining the standard, but trying to just lift it each year as we go.”

BY ELIJAH HAWKINS The Melbourne Guitar Show will be taking place at Caulfield Racecourse on August 6 and 7. For more information visit www. australianmusician.com.au/melbourneguitar-show.

BEHIND THE SCENES: Integrate Expo AN INTERVIEW WITH SOREN NORGAARD The AV industry is a big business, and like many other areas of technology, the thinking is always changing. As an annual meeting place and showcase for companies in the industry to network, learn and display their wares, Integrate has developed into Australia’s biggest AV Expo. Soren Norgaard is the man behind Integrate, bringing together many companies and sectors that fall under the broad umbrella that is AV. How long has Integrate been running?

This year is the 8th expo. For the first 6 we were in Sydney, last year was in Melbourne and by all accounts it was well received.

Certainly a lot of our visitors and exhibitors are keen to go back, so we’re in Sydney again this year and we will then alternate each year.

Can you explain the importance of a show such as this?

The AV industry is reasonably specialised – particularly in the commercial sector.

There are a number of verticals within these under the AV umbrella and really I think the industry as a whole wanted a meeting place and a showcase. The concept developed more out of a live focus like entertainment technology, but has slowly evolved more into the commercial AV side of things.

Talking to the cross section of the community, they want a showcase that represents the broad range of the AV industry. Things like audio, digital signage, residential, smart building, unified communications, automation, content management and distribution, displays, home cinema, interactive displays, LED

video walls, lighting controls, multimedia controls, professional audio, security and light safety, streaming media and video projectors. So there are range of companies represented that would appeal to the real end users as well as the architects, designers and installers; people such as the hands on decision makers for workplaces, government associations, universities and venues.

AV technology is an always evolving beast. Can you give us some ideas of the technologies and brands that will be represented this year?

Technology, as you would know, is rapidly advancing. Things such as image quality and image distribution is a big one. Also the scale of some of these screens. A few years ago you could buy a hi-res screen, whereas now you can get cinema-sized video walls with a 4k resolution at an affordable price. It might have been available a few years ago, but realistically no one could afford it. In general, most of the technologies are becoming more accessible, which is probably why we’re seeing a lot more digital displays in our

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everyday life. Other advances are obviously in audio with line array speaker systems and much better quality at a lower price, which helps with decision making for businesses. Technologies are also focussing on enabling the distribution of this higher quality content. Obviously here in Australia we’ve had considerations in regards to file sizes and available bandwidth, but advancements are being made to allow high quality images to be distributed in relatively low bandwidth, which is exciting.

The automation and control over lighting systems is also advancing rapidly.

And there’s more than just the actual exhibitors?

Of course. There are a number of dedicated information screens on the floor detailing the latest and greatest in these fields. We also have over 70 individual sessions in collaboration with our training partners and guest speakers. These include some very popular and highly regarded speakers from the international stage with great knowledge and insights into where the industry is heading over the next few years.

How does Australia differ from overseas?

It must still be quite a large market?

I say this quite often but if you look at our population and geographical location, we’re catering to around 30 million people if we include New Zealand. Compare that to Europe with a billion people. Integrate attracts over 5000 attendees with 130 odd exhibiting companies. Go to Europe and a similar event will have 1200 exhibiting companies and around 65,000 visitors.

Infocom in the USA would have 1000 exhibitors and get around 45 to 50,000 attendees – so we’re doing quite well. We punch above our weight really. We’re also in a marketplace that’s very well connected and because of its size, although many of these companies are competitors, they are united and embrace the industry and this is their annual get together and showcase for the industry. This is obviously great for Integrate, but it also a chance for companies to unite and showcase the latest and greatest.

BY NICK BROWN Integrate Expo will take place from August 23-25 at the Sydney Showgrounds, NSW. For tickets and more details, head to integrate-expo.com

www.mixdownmag.com.au

F E A T U R E S

Ormsby On Multiscale If you’ve never played a multiscale guitar before you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. Do you really need a guitar with funny frets that fan out in opposite directions in either way? What are the benefits? Is it hard to adapt to? Perry Ormsby is Australia’s reigning king of multiscale guitar designs, a true innovator of the art, and one wonders if the recent increase in production multis from American and Japanese brands has been a direct result of said companies lurking on Ormsby’s Instagram and thinking “We’d better get in on that.” The eyes of the guitar world are currently on Ormsby’s Custom and GTR SX, Hype and TX instruments, with the new Goliath headless and GTR basses on the way.

Multiscale Origins “Back in the day I used to play guitar, frantically, and I would always have problems with my forearm getting really, really sore.

Basically I could play for ten or fifteen minutes before my hand would cramp up with pain. Went to some doctors and they said there was nothing I could do other than just exercising it. But that’s what playing guitar is anyway! I spoke to my guitar teacher. He had an operation for the same thing and he said I didn’t want to do that.

So I just accepted it. I used to bathe my arm in hot water before playing and that helped out, I could play for maybe half an hour then. But it was always in the back of my mind that I would never be able to play a gig. A few years go by and I had a guy that wanted a baritone guitar, so I built that and it was my first experience of really hearing a baritone, and it was just killer. He just tuned to normal tuning but it sounded like a much bigger instrument and that got me thinking that was the way to go with the scale length. Gibson’s short, Fender is longer, PRS is in the middle but if you go a bit longer you can get a nicer-sounding guitar, at least to my ears. So I thought

about my arm and I thought about slanting the frets. I mocked one up and I sat there with it at lunch one day and played for half an hour and didn’t get any pains. My wrist wasn’t bent in the normal way. So I decided to actually make a guitar like that. I looked into it and Novak was making fanned-fret guitars, but his system was a lot different to what I was proposing. He went with a straight bridge with an angled nut, and the straight fret as you would call it would be the bridge. He was doing retro-fit necks for Strat and his was called Fanned Fret but mine was about multiple scales. It just went from there. We built the first one and it was a monster. The next order came about nine months after that, then the next order was three months after that, and now it’s most of what we do. I worked out why it wasn’t causing problems with my RSI in my forearm: it’s because instead of my wrist being bent to its full extension, it’s more relaxed and I’m not using those tendons in my forearm that I was using before. Or if I am, I can’t feel it. But if I pick up a regular guitar again and play for ten minutes, my arm seizes up.

I have to be lazy and not fret properly. But with a Multiscale I can play for an hour.

Adjusting To Multiscale The best thing to do when you first pick one up is, if you can play without looking at the fretboard, do that! Because if you look down at the fret it could throw you off. I’ve given guitars to two guys now who had had zero practice time who used them on stage.

One of them was a singer/guitarist and knowing I’d forgot to bring his guitar to the gig and I’d brought mine instead, I handed my guitar to him back-first so he couldn’t see the front, hoping he wasn’t going to see the frets because I knew he was already onstage and he was f**ked if he looked at it because it would throw him off. He sang and shredded away and at the end of the gig I asked him if it felt uncomfortable and that’s when he freaked out because he didn’t realise he was playing a multiscale!

He became a fan straight away. So it doesn’t take much adjustment at all. For 99 percent of people who pick it up they say it feels totally natural. Literally you’ve learned to play guitar the hard way with a normal guitar. With a multiscale you just have to relax your wrist and pivot your forearm and that’s it. And the feedback I get, people feel it’s easier to play and they’re more inspired to play. And if you’re more inspired to play you move on to the next level.”

Intonation We all know that shorter scale instruments could do with a shorter string. So you’ve got two things going against you: a thicker string and a shorter scale length, and the intonation is horrendous around that third fret. I challenge anyone: take a short-scale guitar, tune the open strings perfectly with a tuner, play and open D chord and only one of those four notes will be in tune and it’s the open string. The longer scales, 25.5”, are not as bad, as a natural occurrence. With a multiscale we don’t have to put frets in the standard position as per the formula that everyone uses. We can go “Y’know what?

Third and fifth are always out on regular guitars. Let’s move them a tiny little bit.”

I know that PRS, for example, have done something about this as well and they cut their fretboards short by about 1.3mm so the nut is a little closer to the first fret. We do that as well, adjust the frets a little bit and it’s done. We do cut all of the slots for our frets on a CNC so we can repeat that time and time again.

BY PETER HODGSON For more information about Ormsby Guitars head to ormsbyguitars.com.

THE ANALOGUE PROJECT By Audio-Technica

RED E YE RECORDS

For some people, their opinion on those who work in record stores might be informed by John Cusack’s caricature version of a record store owner in the 2000 film High Fidelity. However, this uppity, uninterested, know it all character is usually pretty far from the truth. Matt Huddy owns Sydney’s Red Eye Records and has seen plenty of change in his time at the helm, from the days of the digital revolution right through to the current vinyl resurgence.

“When I started Red Eye, it was predominantly CDs,” says Huddy. “We did have a vinyl section that we never actually got rid of, but seeing the vinyl resurgence, which really started for us about 10 years ago, we had to add a second rack and then a third rack. Our last store was a two-story building, and we had to have vinyl racks going up the stairs because we had no more room for them. The change from going to having 200 LPs in the shop to what we have now – which is hundreds and hundreds – is great. I’m a massive vinyl fan. I love CDs too, [but] it’s good to see the bigger format, the beautiful artwork [on records].”

It appears he isn’t the only vinyl fan though, with the format’s newfound popularity resulting in a whole new group of customers for stores like Red Eye who have stuck around for the resurgence and even for new stores now opening up. With new pressing plants opening and record labels seeing the opportunity that vinyl

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provides, it looks like the format has a healthy future ahead.

The vinyl clientele is often quite varied, but one thing brings them all together: a love of music. This shared love weaves a tight-knit, sometimes competitive, community, which Huddy sees the value of. “Community is essential to independent record stores,” he explains.

“We have regular customers who have been shopping with us for over thirty years, we have seen friendships forged in this very shop. Stores like Red Eye also offer a different experience for the community than your average chain store, we care about them and have the knowledge to cater to their needs.”

Huddy seems to pride himself on Red Eye’s commitment to the customer and fulfilling their requests. “We have customers that are after obscure, rare and long out of print titles [and] they usually come to us because other stores, most of the time, only focus on catalogue titles. We source things that go back to the 1950s

and we deal with people across the planet. So we’ll go to Germany, Sweden, America, anywhere we can to find what the customer wants.” That’s a particularly important string to have in your bow as a record store owner, as vinyl collectors are the kind of people who thrive on the rare, the old and the hard to find.

Owning a record store comes with a lot of benefits and hosting in-store gigs and meeting the bands and artists who play definitely seems to be one of them, as Huddy attests to. “One of my favourite in-stores would have to be when Chris Knox [played], probably about 15 years ago now, only because he was just very casual,” Huddy admits. “Usually with in-stores, especially nowadays, the record company get involved and there’s a timesheet [with] when they arrive, when they leave and what they need on their rider. He rocked up in his thongs, with his guitar in one hand and his amp in the other. He just walked in, went and set up and started playing. He made up a couple of songs just based on our genre headers

in the different sections of the shop.

He was just such a sweet guy, I’ll never forget that in-store.”

As many younger people are getting into vinyl now, record stores are often stocking turntables as well to help them get on their way. Huddy has been selling and using Audio-Technica turntables since late 2012, and couldn’t be happier with them. “We’d been thinking of stocking a turntable for a while and fortuitously Wes rocked up one day with the offer,” he says. “I personally own a USB120, which I love. It’s sturdy, sounds great and reminds me of my turntable from the early 80’s, plus it looks a bit like the old Technics unit, but at a fraction of the price. I’ve used the convert to file [option] a little bit too, for rare old B-sides, which works really well and sounds pretty good.”

BY ELIJAH HAWKINS For more details, head to www.audiotechnica.com.au or www.redeye.com.au.

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F E A T U R E S

What’s On At JMC Academy JMC Academy was established in Sydney in 1982 to meet the growing demand for qualified entertainment professionals. Since then, the academy has grown to become one of the most revered and respected education institutions in its field. We caught up with the people at JMC Academy to talk about their offerings ahead of the mid-year intake.

Tell us about the curriculum that you currently have on offer.

JMC Academy has 8 different courses on offer for training in the creative industries.

Each degree is divided up into 6 trimesters, totaling to 2 years of study. Each course includes many components of practical study as well as theory-based subjects.

Courses offered at JMC Academy include Audio Engineering and Sound Production, Contemporary Music Performance, Entertainment Business Management, Animation, Game Development, Film and Television, Digital Design and Songwriting.

How does the teaching regime operate?

How are classes and units broken up throughout the year?

Each trimester consists of 4 subjects and contains practical sessions, including one on one sessions with our lecturers, as well as lectures with designated classes. There are 4 classes a week for students to spread out through the working week.

What do you offer, which cannot be found anywhere else?

At JMC Academy, we offer a concept called integration, whereby all courses at one point during the degree work on a project

with students from other courses. For example, students in Music Performance, Audio, Film and TV, and Entertainment Business will collaborate on a music video project together, each student taking on real-world industry roles for the project.

How do you strive to make students ready to seek out opportunities once they’ve graduated?

All lecturers are working industry professionals in their respective fields, and if students do well in their course, lecturers will help them with internships, work experience, or in getting a full time job.

We strive to make sure that students are aware to take any opportunity they can to further their own career and development, whereby we have even provided all students completely free access to Artshub, where industry professional jobs are listed regularly.

With the music industry rapidly changing, how do you adapt and react to constant social shifts?

By making sure we are always up to date on recent technology within the creative industries and making them accessible to our students. We recently introduced a

Songwriting Diploma and Degree at JMC, a course we introduced due to the changing music industry and the need for spectacular songwriters.

How important is networking within the music industry? And do you think this should be taught at an early stage of a students learning experience?

In the music industry, a big part of helping your career to progress is to network and make connections. All students should know the basics of how to network and interact with like-minded people in your industry; it benefits all parties. A lot of the time, it definitely is who you know, not what you know, and it’s also great that these students are the future pioneers of the creative industries. So they are essentially making connections and networking at the beginning of their career. Students also can make connections to other industry professionals through their teachers and lecturers.

Do you invite key note speakers or people with industry experience to come in and talk at your institution?

We regularly hold masterclasses and workshops for our students at JMC Academy, such as RAab Stevenson, Dave Aron, Aaron Draplin, and NWA original member The D.O.C. Lecturers will also regularly bring in guest speakers for their classes.

Do you any upcoming events that people might not be aware about?

We regularly hold performance nights at the Jam Gallery, and this year in Sydney we are hosting Prism Sound’s Mic to Monitor Event (Wednesday 10 August). Our Melbourne and Brisbane campuses are also running introductory high school workshops during June and July, and September respectively.

BY JAQUES NUGENT For more information about courses on offer at JMC visit www.jmcacademy.edu.au.

A STUDENT GUIDE TO: Australian Institute of Music Like many industries, music education has undergone a number changes over the past few years. Changing technologies, course delivery methods and content has prompted institutions to refocus their offerings to remain adaptable and cater to a broader demographic of potential students. Originating in Sydney, The Australian Institute of Music (AIM) has emerged as one of the country’s leading independent education providers. Recently their Melbourne Campus has opened in the bustling CBD, providing modern facilities in a central location. Ahead of their Melbourne campus open day on Saturday August 13, Mixdown spoke with the Senior Coordinator Daryl McKenzie and Operational Coorodinator Glenn Cannon.

What courses are on offer?

Quite a range of courses. We offer Diploma and Bachelor courses in both Contemporary Performance and in Composition, a Bachelor in Business Entertainment Management, a Diploma in Audio Engineering and Masters Degrees and Graduate Certificates in both Composition and Performance.

Do entrance requirements vary?

Yes, we cater for a range of students. In terms of Bachelor courses for students coming straight out of school, they need a pass in VCE and then it’s based on an audition. Mature aged students (21 and over) are based solely on audition. These auditions involve meeting a performance standard and a theory standard. Entry into the Diploma courses are slightly different in that they are audition and require a performance standard only.

As a relatively new institution how does AIM differ to other traditional music education providers?

Two of our main strengths are the quality and diversity of our teaching staff. It’s an industry based course so we’re aiming to give students a really well-rounded education to prepare them for the music industry. In terms of logistics, a lot of people find our location attractive being right in the middle of the CBD on King St. We’re only one block from Southern Cross Station and we have students coming from places such as Bendigo, Mt Macedon and Geelong. Yet, despite that seeming some distance, it’s only a single train trip in. In terms of our Sydney campus, students do have the option to transfer between the two. Both campuses run the same course program and we’ve had students that have moved between both and enjoyed broadening their experience from studying in two different cities.

Education seems to be more flexible with a focus on catering to student needs these days?

Absolutely. We have flexible study options – students can take one unit per trimester

PG.34 // MIXDOWN #266 // JUNE 2016

if that’s all they can manage right up to full time study loads. And with our facilities being modern, centrally located and well equipped, we can help with this as much as possible.

I understand you’ve had acts such as Snarky Puppy, Spyro Gyra in for workshops recently – is this a common occurrence?

Yes. We regularly have events such as that a couple of times a trimester, in both Sydney and Melbourne. We often have artists at both campuses for workshops and performances in a range of styles and genres.

What opportunities do students have on completion of a course at AIM? We’re just about to complete our first Melbourne Graduation ceremony this week in fact! Plenty of students have already found employment. One student is heading overseas on a performance contract,

another has been doing assistant Musical Direction work, others have gone onto further study such as Graduate study or areas like Music Therapy. Plenty of musicians have taken up work in professional bands and playing settings and obviously with Sydney – having some further history than Melbourne – there have been students going on to work internationally and on TV. Most of our graduates from the Business Entertainment Management course have already found placements working in their field of expertise, which is a great success for us also.

BY NICK BROWN The Australian Institute of Music will be holding open days on August 6 in Melbourne, and on August 13 in Sydney.

For more information head to www.aim.edu.au.

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F E A T U R E S

The Key To A Killer Kickstarter Campaign Since 2009, Kickstarter has had over 11 million people back a project, $2.3 billion has been pledged and over 100,000 projects have been successfully funded. With a success rate of around 36% and a no-win no-fee policy, it’s hard to think of any reasons why creative wouldn’t use the platform to back their projects. From a music video, album production or a tour, to new instruments, musical technology or product, Kickstarter allows you to fund almost any project. Here are some tips to ensure that your next campaign is successful.

Have A Crystal-Clear Vision If you’re going to have any hope of creating a successful Kickstarter campaign, you’re going to need to know what you want to achieve, why you want to achieve it and how you’re going to pull it off. Before you even think about publishing a campaign online, you need to ensure that you have a well thought-out plan, achievable goals and a thorough understanding of the processes involved. After all, if you don’t understand your own vision in it’s entirety, how is anyone else supposed to? To avoid confusing your potential investors, make sure to draw up a detailed plan. Points to cover include the reasons behind your endeavour, your short term goals, long term goals and your overall mission statement.

To see just how profitable a well-thought out campaign can be, check out the Revols Campaign – where “10,569 backers pledged $2,530,756 to help bring this project to life.”

Include A Kickass Video As expected, all of the greatest Kickstarter campaigns have featured a great accompanying video. Whether they are humorous,

mysterious, super straightforward or just all round interesting, the best videos are those that explore your mission clearly, while entertaining the viewer. Now, your video does not have to be super high quality or cost you an arm and a leg, it just needs to grab an audience’s attention. The mission is simple here – introduce yourself, your band or team, explain what you want to do, why you want to do it and of course, back it up by using visuals. It is recommended that your video does not exceed four minutes, so you’ll have to do it in a timely manner.

After all, it was reported in 2015 that the average attention span of a human is as little as 8.25 seconds – that’s shorter than a gold fish guys.

Keep The Campaign Short While your campaign’s length can range from anywhere between one and sixty days, it is has been statistically proven that projects with thirty days or less are subject to a higher success rate. According to Kickstarter themselves, “Shorter projects set a tone of confidence and help motivate your backers to join the party.” So, it seems only natural that you’d get decorated, keep the party

short and just hope that your guests don’t arrive fashionably late. Running only a 30day campaign, Frantone were able to reach their goal to bring back the Cream Puff.

Create A Community Like any good project, your Kickstarter campaign is going to require a community to succeed. By sharing regular updates with your backers, sending them personalised thank-you messages, connecting with them on a variety of social platforms and reminding them that you appreciate their support; you will be able to form a great support network. For an individual or a group to become a part of your campaign, they will firstly have to want to become a part of the group backing you already; they will want to feel at home. So put in the extra effort – create a conversation and reward engagement. You never know, by thanking one backer, you may just land yourself five of their friends’ support.

Include A Clear Budget When it comes to asking people for money, the best bet is to show them clearly how their money will be spent and to prove it’s a worthwhile investment. By including a budget in your Kickstarter campaign you are allowing your backers to further understand your mission, to see where their donation will be going and ultimately, to ensure them it is in safe, capable hands.

Offer A Range Of Cool Rewards According to Kickstarter, the most popular donation amount is a casual $25, meaning that you should be offering a substantial return for that particular amount. In addition, it’s worthwhile creating a range of rewards at a range of different prices. From

$1 up to $200, each amount’s reward should be thoughtful and exciting. Think about your target audience - what do they want from you? What would they like to be given in return and what will encourage them to hand over some supportive money? Check out Emily Afton’s debut album Kickstarter for reward inspiration – she even offered up a singing lesson and a private solo-acoustic concert.

Make It Ridiculously Good Looking This one is simple guys – just keep it neat and interesting to look at. Use bold font and capitals for anything important, italics for quoting and a range of visual aids including photos, videos, graphs etc. Check your spelling & grammar and keep it short and sweet, but just long enough to explain yourself, and remember – presentation does matter.

BY PHOEBE ROBERTSON

DIESEL TOURING NATIONALLY —

DIESEL reworking songs by: Neil Young, Tom Petty, Joni Mitchell, The Band, Bruce Springsteen and many more… www.mixdownmag.com.au

— ALBUM OUT NOW —

SAT 3 SEP The Factory, Sydney NSW FRI 9 SEP The Corner, Melbourne NSW SAT 10 SEP Revesby Workers, Revesby NSW THU 15 SEP Friends, Perth WA FRI 16 SEP Ravenswood Hotel, Ravenswood WA SAT 17 SEP Charles Hotel, Perth WA FRI 23 SEP Rooty Hill RSL, Rooty Hill NSW SAT 24 SEP The Governor Hindmarsh, Adelaide SA FRI 30 SEP Sol Bar, Maroochydore QLD SAT 1 OCT The Triffid, Brisbane QLD

—

For all ticket details visit dieselmusic.com.au MIXDOWN #266 // JUNE 2016 // PG.35

ROAD TESTS

Yamaha Recording Custom Yamaha Music Australia | (03) 9693 5111| www.au.yamaha.com | RRP: Contact for Pricing

Yamaha Drums have been a staple for so many drummers since the 60s, producing models that have defined a sound for many of the masters we know and love. Perhaps the most famous of all the lines is the Recording Custom. It’s back.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Originally known as the YD9000 series, the Recording Custom got its current name because of its reputation in the studio as the ‘recording choice’ with a controlled sound, particularly when close mic’d – as was the favoured thing in the day after the roomy sounds of the 60s. The RC is probably the most recorded set of drums in history and is the company’s longest running line of drums since 1977. Drummers that have encountered or played a Recording Custom will know ‘the sound’ and may feel apprehensive about the model being reintroduced, but I got to try the newly updated drums recently and we can rest easy people. Things are very ok.

STEVE GADD/DIFFERENCES

Yamaha teamed up with the legendary Steve Gadd and worked for three years on the re-release of the new Recording Custom. It was important to bring the drums into the modern era whilst retaining the things that made them so famous and loved in the first place. The 6ply shells are 100% North American birch with a 30-degree bearing

edge and one-piece lugs. The consensus was the 6ply shell yielded the best balance of low-end frequencies and volume.

Gadd also was heavily influential with the bass drum and a line of snare drums, of which, there are three materials available – brass, stainless steel and aluminium – more on this later. The drums are available in four finishes – solid black, real wood (natural), classic walnut and surf green.

Some differences that the purists might notice are new issue badges and weighted lugs – a little wider, but still extended to the length of the drums as with the previous model. The lugs are weighted to enhance lower frequencies without having to further alter the thickness whilst adding rigidity overall. It allows for a thin shell without a loss of clarity across the tuning range. Another suggestion from Gadd was to add a riser to the 20” bass drum so the beater strikes dead centre. Yamaha have analysed this and there’s more low-end compared with off centre. It won’t be everyone’s preference but it’s not a bad thing. Some drummers may also lament the loss of the painted

PG.36 // MIXDOWN #267 // JULY 2016

interior of the shells – replaced with a stain to show off the grain of the wood.

SOUNDS

I got to try two configurations of the new Recording Custom – the classic ‘Gadd’ 6-piece in solid black – 10x7” (slightly shorter than previously), 12x8”, 14x12”, 16x15” and a 20x16” bass drum with riser, as well as a super cool surf green 4-piece with a massive 24x14” bass drum. As with any Yamaha, the set up feels really good. The quality hardware allows for precise adjustments and even though the bass drum is lifted, it feels no higher than a 22” so for most players, it’ll be natural. The first thing that strikes you about the sound is the control. Win. The drums have the same characteristics of old – there’s a focus to the sound – even wide open. Curiously, the drums I tried had factory single ply heads so I expected a range of overtones and carrying on that you’d normally get on say, a brighter maple kit. The combination of birch, those lugs and a standard YESS mount gives that shorter, slightly dry and dare I say it, EQ’d sound. I tried a minimal amount of dampening too and it just got better. I really like a dampened drum sound and compared to that of a Maple Custom, I barely needed anything.

That said, the tone and sustain

is still there. You can have it both ways. Geez, no wonder the Recording Customs were popular in the day. The floor toms too had real presence and fullness, even with single ply heads tuned lower. I can only imagine the kit with double ply heads – I’d be keen to hear. As mentioned, the bass drum is on a riser. Holy hell did this thing surprise me. To be frank, it sounded like a 22” and had so much low-end love.

All the drums are easily tuned up or down but the bass drum responded so easily to minimal alterations. Even with nothing in it, there’s that control – a lovely thing. The 24” just took it to another level – the shorter depth adding more punch. So good!

SNARES

I tried three variants of the new snares – all of which, Gadd was involved with. Curiously, there’s no birch offering but the metal snares have the same ethos as the rest of the kit, so the control remains. All shells also have the one-piece lug and for the first time, the metal centre bead on the exterior of the shell instead of inside promoting a more open sound. The aluminium snare is Steve’s usual choice and as such you can get his staggered 10-strand wires to use instead of the regular 20-strand. A nice thing is that the hoops are also aluminium making for a light

drum. The sound is short and a little vintage. Tuning range is awesome on this drum. The 13x6.5 brass offered some great cut and a brighter tone overall, whilst the 14x6.5 stainless gave depth and a wide, more traditional deep snare sound. All are cool in their own way.

So is the new Recording Custom a success? Yes it is. It looks great, sounds predictably fantastic and will appeal to many drummers. Downsides? Besides the riser that is screwed into the hoop, the only other negative is price. You don’t get awesome for super cheap. The Recording Custom is a top-end kit and won’t be affordable for everyone but this can’t take away from the fact that they’re great drums at the top of the Yamaha family.

The new Recording Custom is my pick of the Yamaha range at the moment hands down.

BY ADRIAN VIOLI

HITS • That sound • Range of tuning • Killer bass drums

MISSES • Pricey for some • Non-option riser on 20” • Not much else

www.mixdownmag.com.au

ROAD TESTS

VOX Starstream Type 1 Guitar Yamaha Music Australia | (03) 9693 5111 | www.voxamps.com RRP: $1299 - $1399

Vox are certainly known for classic looks and classic tones when it comes to their amplifiers. They are also known for straying from the classic when it comes to their guitars. So, it comes as no surprise that their latest release – the Starstream Type 1 – looks the way it does.

This instrument certainly is different, yet it looks so intriguing, you simply have to pick it up and see what it’s all about.

DOWN TO DESIGN

Let’s face it: this is a pretty unique looking guitar. It is not going to get the traditionalists nodding in approval that is for sure and I would hazard a guess that this was what Vox intended.

So if you can’t get past the looks, you will never understand the benefits. The outer frame

of the body is a slim plastic contour that fits perfectly up against the body when you are playing either seated or standing with a guitar strap. There are two strap pins on the underside of the body so you can easily adjust the height and angle at which the guitar sits. But, the beauty of this is that when you lean the guitar up against your

amp, the two pins stabilise it and stop it from falling over!

The inner section of the body is mango wood, with enough timber to house the pickups and harness their tone without adding too much mass or weight to the instrument.

THE SWISS ARMY GUITAR

What the Starstream Type 1 is all about is offering the modern guitarist versatility for practice, studio and live performance.

There are 27 different guitar models within the on-board DSP along with reverb for the acoustic models and distortion for the electric models that can be wound up to a level you desire. The electric guitar models have great honesty to their tones as the standard magnetic

pickups on the Starstream capture that sound to begin with.

But, you are able to move from a humbucker to a single coil sound quite easily and hear the dynamic and tonal differences between the settings.

The acoustic sounds give this guitar a real edge as it allows performances that require a number of instruments to all be played from the one. I especially loved the 12-string models and got totally distracted by the Sitar mode. It even offers some synth sounds that are probably best left for experimenting with at home, but in a limited capacity they can be a lot of fun. A headphone output further improves the versatility of the Starstream, making it a perfect silent practice tool for any

guitarist anywhere. It is not something you can understand by liking at the pictures or watching the videos though, you need to get into your local dealer and try this guitar out.

It is a lot of fun to play and is going to rethink the way you see electric guitars.

BY ROB GEE

HITS • Feels great to hold and play • Impressive variety of sounds • Magnetic pickups respond naturally for electric guitar models • Dual strap pins

MISSES • Not a conventional look

Guild Starfire Bass Guitar Zenith Music | (08) 9383 1422 | www.zenithmusic.com | RRP: $2499

Sometimes in this job you have what I’ve come to refer to as a ‘Pulp Fiction’ moment. You get a call from the Editor to go and pick up a couple of bits and pieces for the next issue. You’re greeted with an imposing, black tolex case that sits quietly in the back seat all the way home. You lay it out on the table, flick open the latches and your face is bathed in the golden glow of something truly magical. This is exactly what happened to me with the Wine Red Guild Starfire Bass.

To say this guitar is dolled up to the nines is an understatement.

I’ve written about my adoration of the Starfire legacy before and from first glance it is clear that these newer renderings of old favourites are faithful to the elegance and joyful playability of their forbears. Few reissues come quite so close to delivering on the promise of harnessing the essence of the original, but if there’s one company hitting the nail on the head, it’s Guild.

It’s all there: the radiant sheen of the deep red, gloss finish giving way to the incomparable mahogany grain, the rosewood saddles mounted on floating chrome bridge, ivoroid binding cresting slowly over the hip of the arched body. To say I’m smitten is the second of many understatements.

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These guitars were long the poster child of 60’s rock worship.

Seeing Jack Bruce wallop away on either a hollow body akin to this one or his SG, his band pounding blissfully around him, was enough to get me to pick up a bass for the first time and as such playing this specimen felt like coming home. Just about every spec here is true to the original. The neck is a narrow 1.5” at the nut and courses over 30 ¾” of rosewood, just as it should. Jumbo frets over a reasonably tight 12” fingerboard arc means it will lend itself to going for a walk but the even roundness of the back of the neck, which almost reminded me of hanging onto a double bass for dear life, means it’s just as comfortable anchoring on one position for a while.

makes this possible but the bass played like an excited puppy as soon as I kicked on some dirt, revealing an effervescence and versatility that was a more than pleasant surprise.

Tonally it’s everything you want out of a hollow-body bass. Warm as a campfire and smooth as silk, the Guild designed BiSonic Bass pickup manages to harness all of that without sacrificing anything for the sake of electrifying the acoustic quality of the build. At 6.4k ohms the Alnico2 is neither too hot nor cool as to colour the tone more than is absolutely necessary, but it does afford you the option of rolling off the tone pot from absolute clarity to velvety woof as desired.

Being a child of the 60s mind set, it is essential that a bass of this character is able to shake hands with its friends on the floor. The danger with open cavity builds is that they can be almost unusable at high gain/ volume as that notorious standing wave barges in and rains on the parade. I ran the Starfire through a Bogner La Grange (also reviewed in this issue) and far from ruining the fun it actually came to life. I’m not sure exactly what part of the build

It was an honour and a privilege to play the Guild Starfire bass.

Everything about it screams quality craftsmanship and it is truly a descendant worthy of its lineage.

BY LUKE SHIELDS

HITS • Quality craftsmanship • Modern tone in a classic package • Stunning appearance

MISSES • None

MIXDOWN #267 // JULY 2016 // PG.37

ROAD TESTS DV Mark DVC Guitar Friend 12 CMC Music Australia | (02) 9905 2511 | www.cmcmusic.com.au | RRP: $1495

Back in my day (if you didn’t just read that and didn’t roll your eyes then you have no idea what you’re in for) practice amps used to be a very specific animal. Most of them were 10 watts of scooped, squelchy, plywood abomination that you put up with just long enough to convince yourself it was time to upgrade to a more serious rig. Seems to me that kids these days have come to expect a little bit more from their first noisemaker. That’s where DV Mark’s charmingly named DVC Guitar Friend 12 comes in.

Designed to be completely portable and easy to use, there is a deceptive amount of power in this super lightweight black box. Somehow DV Mark has managed to squeeze 50 watts of solid-state grunt in behind the 12” speaker that boasts their own “proprietary, neo-classic technology.” From what I can gather from the website, the idea is that by using neodymium in their magnets you get all the guts of any other magnet type at less than half the weight, which goes a long way to fulfilling the promise of ultra-portability.

With all the buzzwords on the swing tag out of the way, next step is to plug in and see what we’re in for. There is something just a little different about what comes out the front. Barely a tap on the clean level and I’ve got to admit I was surprised at the amount of unadulterated volume on offer – much more than it’s size would have you believe.

Tonally the clean channel is heavily weighted towards some pretty rich mid frequencies, almost to the point of being scooped and it felt like the mid control was more of a boost than a potentiometer. Wrangle that pony and you’ve got all the belllike honk of Nile Rodgers’ best work without having to reach for that Excalibur of a white Strat of his. Another thing it surprised me with is how responsive it was when I rolled back the tone knob on my guitar. There’s so much clarity in the signal that it really lent itself to plonking away, trying to wrap your head around some jazz standards.

The drive channel on the other hand couldn’t have been further removed in character. There’s only so much original personality you’re going to get out of a unit like this, but what came out when I flicked the switch was a pretty keen representation of that classic Boss OD2 distortion

sound. There was a fair volume dip between the two channels, with the drive losing out by a margin, but a bit of to and fro to balance it out and you’re back in the game. Like Mr. Hyde to the clean channel’s Dr. Jekyll, the drive is as dirty as you like and with a tonne of sustain that feels like the 90s coming back into your life like an old friend saying “Hey man, remember all those Tool riffs we used to flog to death? I do!” Roll on some of the built-in reverb, dig out some of your old tab books and you’ll never look back.

As with any great practice amp there are a few bells and whistles to help you along in the earliest upturn of the learning curve. There’s a 3.5mm aux input that you can send your favourite jam tracks through, snazzy blue LEDs and (some might say most importantly) a headphone out just incase you’re not quite ready for everyone else to hear what

you’re capable of… yet.

All in all, there is a limit to what the DVC Guitar Friend 12 will let you do. Play within that field though and you’ll find a clear, mid-friendly, bell like clean that descends into riff rock heaven at the flick of a switch. Whether you’re learning the riffs for the first time or returning to them after ages there’s plenty of good things in this small package.

BY LUKE SHIELDS

HITS • Simple to use controls • Ultra compact combo • Great cleans

MISSES • None

Bogner La Grange Overdrive Pedal EGM Distribution | (03) 9817 7222 | www.egm.net.au | RRP: Contact for Pricing

nal expression pedal to ease on or off the gain – something very few competitors have on offer.

Admittedly I’ve never had the fabled pleasure of plugging into a genuine 60’s Marshall JCM800, few of us have. Needless to say, I’ve often wondered just how different my life would be if I had, such is the legend of the Elysian tone that has become the white whale of just about everyone who’s endeavored to answer the question “Are You Experienced?” In the La Grange, the engineers at Bogner have bottled the energy and mythic personality of those legendary British plexis. Not only that but they’ve taken care to squeeze every drop of tonal possibility into the design and housed it in a regal, golden box.

First off you have the essentials.

Tune in the ‘volume’ and ‘gain’ stages to find the perfect amount of dirt and pepper it liberally with one of the widest sweeping one-pot tone controls I’ve come across. From here the La Grange smokes every other plexi-based pedal for options.

Just like in real life, you have the option of blending faithful representations of two channels of the 4-input, ‘67/’68 era JCM800. I found the sweet spot around 12 o’clock as the 1-2 punch of both colours really made my ‘72 Tele sing. Kicking on the ‘boost’ switch offers absolute transparency and sheer volume, sending searing hot

signal into the front of my amp.

The real crowning glory of the pedal is the 4 switches across the top row. The low, medium and high gain switch means you can go from Tom Petty to Jimmy Page to Kerry King at the drop of a hat and on top of that, flick on a generous portion of ‘presence’ to send some high mids sailing through the mix. The variac control is one of the more interesting features as it slaps on a tonne of compression adding some glistening harmonics that, while quite pretty, seemed to me to be a ‘sometimes food’.

The real cherry on the cake though is the subtlest three-way

PG.38 // MIXDOWN #265 // MAY 2016

switch on-board. You have a choice between tight and focused, wide and loose or ‘a little of both’ in the structure switch and this is really where you get to tie your tone up in ribbons.

Its almost the pedal equivalent of getting a recording mastered; after you’ve dialed in all the other options you pick the way it comes across to the listener.

A really nice touch that sets this pedal apart from the myriad of other stompboxes that pay homage to the once and future king of guitar amplification.

It doesn’t end there though.

California’s finest German imports have gone to great lengths to make this a premium package.

The whole thing is built on double sided, gold-plated circuit boards with German WIMA and Japanese Nichicon capacitors, gold plated relays, the smoothest Carling switches and more that only the truly fastidious solder soldier need know about. If you’re running it off a 9v battery, the LEDs flash as you approach critical power and you have the added option of using an exter-

It is clear in every inch of the Bogner La Grange Overdrive that the guys behind the design are in love with one of history’s most recorded drive sounds.

They’ve gone to great lengths to honour the myth in all it’s glory and have honestly left no stone unturned. Like Knights of the Round Table kneeling before Excalibur, they have done a great service to their king and have created a pedal that proudly takes its place in the hall of great tone.

BY LUKE SHIELDS

HITS • Brilliantly constructed pedal • Wide-ranging tonal control • Classic British rock tone

MISSES • None

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ROAD TESTS

speaker outs, isolated DI with a dedicated switch to pull signal from pre or post EQ, a ground lift for even the dingiest in venue wiring complaints, an aux in on the off chance you’re the one in charge of the walk-on song, all the finer details of life as a working bass player that you might’ve thought at some point “Gee, wouldn’t that be nice!”

Eden Amplification David Eden Terra Nova TN501 Bass Amp Electric Factory | (03) 9474 1000 | www.elfa.com.au | RRP: $979

‘Colourful’ is not a word bandied about too often where modern, or even vintage, bass amplification is concerned. Between the limitations of human hearing, engineering specifics or purely and simply the state of the room you’re playing in, there is a pretty severe set of limitations placed on the frequency range in play. The majority of amp makers take aim squarely at ‘coloured’, preferring to dictate nuance rather than offer up a bevvy of options and, while this focus has yielded some of the tastiest low-end thunder imaginable (see Motown, Bootsy et al.), it’s taken a lot of work to come to a build that offers anywhere near a full sonic spectrum. David Eden has long been at the forefront of the charge into subsonic splendor.

His amps have a reputation for being everything to every modern player and as a company they wear this medal proudly on their collective chest. The Terra Nova TN501 is their latest offering to the tone gods and it comes with a promise of portability, simplicity and versatility.

Small in footprint and stepping in the ring at a welterweight 2.45kgs, Eden has certainly knocked the portability aspect out of the park. You’d be forgiven for thinking you’d picked up a box of your favourite cereal! Long gone are the days when your rig had to weigh a tonne to pack a punch, though as all 600w RMS is put to good

use here. There’s plenty of power in the puny package and what it lacks in stature it more than makes up for in capability.

There is an incredible amount of control on offer here, all of which is designed to come to you as quickly and easily as it possibly could, enabling you to roll with the punches on any field of battle.

Simply put, the practicality of this amp is all over its face.

First and foremost you have the choice of plugging into jacks designed to harbor passive or active pick-ups before heading into tone territory. The EQ section of the preamp is astonishingly flexible. Even if you’re running everything at 12 o’clock there is enough scope in the ‘enhance’ knob, which essentially acts as a presence or mid frequency focus, to find a nice home base for your tone to hit from. The ‘bass’ and ‘treble’ knobs give you +/-15db

of range to play with but the mid range is where you can really have some fun. One channel allows you to dial in anything between 30 to 300hz while the other has from 200hz to 200khx covered. Topped off nicely with a completely transparent compression stage, which in my opinion is something that no bass player should be without, there’s just about nothing this amp can’t do. Often with this amount of options on offer other amps have a habit of falling into the ‘too fiddly’ category but Eden have managed to steer this ship well clear of that ill fate.

On top of all of that, it’s the simple, technical advantages that double the virtue of the TN501. Things like having the option of TRS or Speakon style

It may not look flashy, weigh a tonne or take up a gregarious amount of room like some of its contemporaries but David Eden’s Terra Nova TN501 is a checkedoff list of everything you’ve ever wanted in a bass head. Portability – check, tonal versatility – check, unmitigated power – check. All in all, a classy, all rounder of an amp that is sure to handle anything and everything you can throw at it.

BY LUKE SHIELDS

HITS • • • •

Incredibly lightweight Flexible preamp EQ Isolated DI Option of TRS or Speakon style speaker outs

MISSES • Not as flashy looking as other bass amps.

TC Electronic Wiretap Riff Recorder Amber Technology | 1800 251 367 | www.ambertech.com.au | RRP: $219

The last few years have been an exciting time for pedal-heads. All it takes is to watch any video taken at a NAMM convention to realise that long gone are the days where only two major manufacturers had a stranglehold on the stompbox market. There are hundreds of boutique, bespoke and bedroom builders hunched over enclosures, soldering iron in hand, pushing the boundaries of what goes on between guitar and amp. And for a long time, TC Electronic has been one of the most ingenious names at the forefront of this charge.

In gear nerd forums the Internet over, the word ‘gimmick’ has come to be somewhat of an insult: the implication being that any given pedal may be a good idea on paper yet have little to no real world application. This has been the death knell for many a hopeful new face on the market but sometimes a gimmick can be exactly the thing that pushes an idea over the edge (see: Devo, Kraftwerk et al.)

Enter the Wiretap Riff Recorder.

The pitch here is simple. We’ve all been in the situation in a rehearsal studio plugging away at one riff or another and something just clicks. You wail away for hours on it only to have it disappear as quickly as your tinnitus kicks in. The Wiretap

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is here to help you distil those ephemeral moments of improvised alchemy to take home later and restore time and time again with a view to making them a more permanent, replicable part of your set.

Functionality is paramount here, as in order for an idea like this to work there has to be a balance between immediate simplicity and uncompromising quality. The signal path is true bypass and playback is clean as a whistle, so there is no tonal loss between the magic that goes into it and that which comes out when you listen back.

This means that not only is it a great writing tool but a simple little looper to boot – not surprising given the success of the

Long story short, TC Electronics’ Wiretap is a damned sight easier and quicker than setting up an Abbey Road worth of mics for every jam. It sounds infinitely better than a handheld recorder and has a small enough footprint that you don’t need to bump off any of your other pedals to make room for it. It may seem gimmicky on first glance but let it prove its worth to you and you’ll thank it time and time again.

same company’s Ditto range. The package comes with a concise cheat sheet of the specific set of combinations of clicks and taps used to navigate your riff library.

One tap to record, two taps to play back and from there the rest is academic.

After a while the hardest part about using it would be scrolling through up to 8 hours of solid gold noodling to find the specific riff that escapes you at the time.

That however is where the real outside of the box thinking comes in. TC Electronic have built an app that couples with the pedal itself that not only makes storing your creations a breeze but also opens up a whole other set of playback options.

You can name, trim, edit, mix

BY LUKE SHIELDS and playlist all of your creations either on your smart phone or laptop and paired either via Bluetooth or USB you can pass files back and forth as needed.

Leave it to the Swedish to invent something so thoroughly usable and packed with real world application.

HITS • Easy to use • iOS compatibility • Clean as a whistle playback

MISSES • None

MIXDOWN #267 // JULY 2016 // PG.39

ROAD TESTS Sennheiser Sennheiser e935 Dynamic Microphone Sennheiser Australia | (02) 9910 6700 | www.sennheiser.com.au | RRP: $229

There will always be the ‘go to’ microphones that allow you to achieve a decent sound in a range of environments. But, when you are actually looking for definition, clarity and quality in a live performance dynamic vocal microphone, it is hard to go past the e935 from Sennheiser. These German made handheld vocal microphones deliver rugged handling and quality sound in a simple and sleek package that will deliver time and time again. clarity and that added sparkle BIGGER RANGE that usually requires a condenser For those of you who have used microphone to achieve, you are an 800 series vocal microphone going to love the sound of the from Sennheiser, you will no e935. Its top-end is to die for, doubt be aware that even they and allows plenty of room for a offer a better high frequency good engineer to work with if roll-off to many of the competiyou want to really narrow in on tors. So, it makes sense that as a certain tone. Because of this, you step up to the 900 series – you can use it for in instrument and most notably the e935 that microphone too is you so desire, is going through the wringer with plenty of width in the this month – you end up with an frequency range to meet most even better result. If you want needs in this area.

LOVELY AND LOUD

The improved electronics and capsule in the 900 series means you get a higher gain from this microphone to similar models in the 800 series. That means more volume and a bigger, richer sound without having to drive the gain controls on your mixer too hard. Furthermore, this offers that little added safety net from feedback beginning, allowing the vocals to be pushed up in the mix as they are needed. The cardioid polar pattern offers decent side rejection without the voice of the user dropping away too abruptly when they move off axis slightly. You don’t need

Eden Amplification E-Uke Amplifier Combo Electric Factory | (03) 9474 1000 | www.elfa.com.au | RRP: $299

Eden Amplification will be most familiar to bassists. The high-end bass amp manufacturer is responsible for the well-regarded boutique World Tour Amplifier and D-Series Cabinets – the choice of many session musicians and bass purists. It’s the attention to detail and a strong history in quality craftsmanship that defines their distinguished product range, which is also what led to the company becoming a member of the Marshall Amplification family. That’s why it is no surprise to see Eden produce the E-UKE – a 20W amplifier specifically designed for the ukulele – with the company always in the market to assist the serious player in search for that tonal sweet spot.

VINTAGE SHINE

Ukulele amplifiers tend to embrace a vintage finish – the Fender Mini Twin ’57 and the Danelectro DH-1 both popular models with a retro aesthetic. The E-Uke follows suit with its 1950s style red and crimson two-tone finish and transistor

radio-inspired control panel, easy on the eyes. It really does welcome the spotlight. Weighing in at a little over 5kg, it’s compact, sturdy and easily portable for everyday use. With an MP3 line-in and ¼” headphone jack, the multipurpose unit can be used to play a media

VOX V860 Volume Pedal Yamaha Music Australia | (03) 9693 5111 | www.voxamps.com | RRP: $249.99

There are some pedals that continue to show up on guitarists pedalboards no matter what they play and how they use effects. One such unit is the volume pedal, an indispensable tool that can transform the way you control your dynamics and change the way both your guitar and amplifier interact together. But, there aren’t that many good volume pedals readily available, so it is nice to see Vox adding the V860 to their product line-up this year.

SIMPLE, BECAUSE IT WORKS

There really isn’t a lot going on here. And that is for the simple reason that there doesn’t need to be alot going on. Trying to overcomplicate the matter or redesign the wheel – so to speak – is not what Vox set out to do with this pedal. No, they have simply ensured that it is

functional and it isn’t going to affect your tone in any way that is unintentional. The passive design allows your signal to pass through unaffected if you wish, simply by leaving the pedal pushed all the way forward. This then has the same effect as extending your cable as the signal passes straight through the unit

PG.40 // MIXDOWN #267 // JULY 2016

device, and can be played any time of the day, silently.

TWO-TONE TOUCH

20 watts of power is produced by an 8” Eden designed 35W bass loudspeaker – the same one found in their EC8 20w bass combo amp.

When used to amplify a ukulele, it has enough juice to find traction in live performances. The clarity on show suggests that it will more than hold its own when played alongside other ukuleles.

Up top are three control knobs:

without any consequence. When you start rolling the pedal back, that is when the attenuator kicks in and the level begins to drop. It doesn’t change the tone, simply the overall volume. So you can control what level your signal is before it gets to your amp, allowing you to clean up your tone, or run it at its full volume for a dirtier response from you amp.

IN OUT AND OFF TO THE SIDE

The connections for this pedal are all at the rear of the unit, allowing it to be kept nice and snug alongside other pedals on your board. An input and an output are there to allow the signal to pass through with a tuner

to swallow this microphone, nor hold tight right in front of it to get a consistent sound. It allows the user to control their dynamics manually without fear of their vocals dropping right out of the mix when they move too far from the capsule. This is not only a great sounding and excellent performing microphone, it looks the part too. Really, there are very few stages I could imagine that wouldn’t be improved by an upgrade to a Sennheiser e935.

I can honestly stand up to back this microphone as I own two myself and continue to choose them over other microphones for

a range of applications.

volume, EQ sweep and tone. The EQ sweep is touted as a ‘enhance’ control, shaping the general sonic parameters of your tone. The tone knob, on the other hand, works to push and pull your lower and higher frequencies. By moving the EQ past 12 o’clock the tonal character becomes brighter and more coloured.

The tone knob can then be swung left to re-establish those lower frequencies, or right to accentuate a higher twang. This greater emphasis placed on shaping tone ensures that rich, lush and dynamic ukulele sounds are at your fingertips. While simple to get your head around, it would have been helpful, however, to have more information on the inner workings of the dual tone knobs.

playing live in a group or going to work in a recording session, the E-Uke holds up under the microscope. Unlike many other ukulele amplifiers, it doesn’t fall into the trap of diluting quality with the inclusion of non-essential effects and features. Instead it focuses purely on recreating that golden Eden tone in a ukulele.

AN OUTFIT FOR ALL OCCASIONS Whether it’s individual practice,

BY ROB GEE

HITS • Solid build and good weight • Smooth curves that are comfortable in the hand • Clear, crisp and concise sound

MISSES • You won’t want to share it

BY CHRIS SCOTT

HITS • Dual tone controls • Enough power for performance and practice • Made with Eden quality construction

MISSES • The manual could have been more informative

allows you to adjust the tension of the pedal’s axle. If you want a stiff and rigid pedal, tighten it up, or let it go for a loose action that allows for plenty of fast movement. output also included, so you can always send signal to your tuner without bypassing it along the way. Should you have the pedal pulled all the way back to mute your guitar signal, the tuner is still fed from its output which is totally independent of the volume control. Around the other end and beneath the pedal plate you will find a screw point that

BY ROB GEE

HITS • Simple • Solid build • Doesn’t affect your tone

MISSES • There’s not a lot that can go wrong here

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ROAD TESTS Catalinbread Katzenkönig Effects Pedal Gladesville Guitar Factory | (02) 9817 2173 | www.guitarfactory.net | RRP: $259

In the current stompbox climate, bringing back vintage sounds – rejuvenated with an added shine – is in vogue. So too is the practice of mixing and matching pedals, of identifying the best sounds and fusing them together to create a superior end product. Catalinbread, a US manufacturer growing in prominence down under, is a key exponent of both of these practices. While renowned for their rather unique pedal names, where they truly flourish is in their ability to capture defining tones, reshaped and reworked with new age ingenuity. The Katzenkönig is a product of this very approach; it melds together the quality workings of both a vintage Tone Bender MKII Fuzz and a classic Rat distortion to generate a fully-fledged spectrum of distortion and fuzz.

A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

We’re met with a filter knob, as well as gain, volume and an input knob. The compact chassis is a dirtied yellowy green, stamped with a fierce black cat donning a crown – in English Katzenkönig translates to ‘cat king’. This pedal borrows from the aforementioned MKII Fuzz, utilising a modified version of the three-silicon transistor setup. Input controls the sensitivity of your guitar signal as it enters the fuzz section and is described by Catalinbread as a volume control for the front of the circuit. The gain knob also elevates gain, this time by controlling the amount of negative feedback in this stage of the circuit. Where the pedal

emulates a Rat is after the third transistor, the signal suddenly met with a Rat-esque clipping section and a filter tone control.

The end result is a fuzz tone that can come in blistering hot, yet ceases to fizzle out or combust.

Conversely the pedal can be dialled in without restraint, made to channel a firm crunch or defined growl.

ONE STEP BACK, TWO STEPS FORWARD

The Katzenkönig has got attitude and grunt. Yet with a two-prong gain attack and tone-sculpting capability, there’s no need to always go in all guns blazing.

When using a low gain setting, turn the filter to 1 or 2 o’clock for a more precise and smooth

tonal shape. Introduce a little more gain and soon this pedal is purring. While the makeup seemingly points to metal and heavier genres, the filter knob does an amazing job at channelling the artillery on board. Punk and indie rock guitarists would no doubt feel at home using this pedal. By pushing the gain past 12 o’clock it starts to transition into fuzz, which eventually leads to fuzzed out mayhem with increased input. The sweet spot, however, tends to be based on subtlety rather than a “crank and ask questions later” approach.

CHILD PRODIGY

Much younger than its two guiding parents, yet better for

it – this pedal is served well by the repurposing of its references.

It doesn’t reach the heights of the sweltering steel-housed Tone Bender MKII, or the tight lowend grip of a Rat. In between, however, exists a tone of its own, purposeful and emphatic.

BY CHRIS SCOTT

HITS • Two ways to increase gain • Great tonal control

MISSES • None

Tc Electronic Sub ’N’ Up Octaver Amber Technology | 1800 251 367 | www.ambertech.com.au | RRP: $289

TC Electronic boast a formidable pedal range, with the Danish masters of sound alteration currently at the height of their powers. So when the audio equipment manufacturer teased earlier in the year the forthcoming release of a new pedal, the industry buzz was palpable.

Following widespread speculation about the pedal’s identity, we were finally introduced to the newest member of their heralded pedal effect family – the Sub ‘N’ Up Octaver. In true TC Electronic fashion, this is a high performance octaver, modernised and reinvented, yet undeniably authentic. As the new face of pitch altering, it looks the part and plays like a well-oiled machine.

THE NEW AND THE OLD

On the control board we have four knobs: dry, up, sub and sub 2. Accompanying these is a three-position switch, which alternates between poly, TonePrint and classic. This is an enhanced level of control, the versatility of which is truly felt once you start to get your hands dirty. Poly offers smooth, fluid and immaculately responsive polyphonic pitch altering. It has been developed for the use of chords and, for the most part, stands up to the test of complex chord structures and multiple strings. Strumming is definitely something that you need to take into account – overly complex patterns can be the source of slight muddying. By increasing

the ‘up’ octave here a beautifully smooth chime can be achieved, delivered with exceptional clarity and colour. On the other end of the scale, leaning on either of the sub and sub 2 knobs will bring forth a bass-like curvature, and buzzing synth character. The added versatility of the sub 2 is felt most when working on the ‘e’ and ‘a’ strings, where bonerattling riffs can be matched by a thunderous low-end. By switching to ‘classic’, the Sub ‘N’ Up cranks out a vintage monophonic octave sound, equipped with that familiar computerised warble. It’s nice to know that you can still run this through some dirty fuzz and add some desired oomph to a well-defined riff. However I’m sticking to the poly mode, which is truly a joy to play through.

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A POINT OF DIFFERENCE

Underneath the compact chassis – finished in bold, blue arrows and a striking red coat – is a high-functioning engine. This octaver is elevated beyond standard fare by a polyphonic mode that produces clear and dynamic octave tones. The use of TonePrint then takes it up another notch again.

BY CHRIS SCOTT

CONTROL YOUR TONE DESTINY

TC Electronic’s TonePrint technology is a game changer of behemoth proportion. This pedal is TonePrint enabled and thus can be equipped with custom-made signature tones from legendary artists, or be made to wield a personally customised tone, created from scratch. With added

reverb and flange shimmering chords can sing and glisten. By offsetting the ‘up’ (3 o’clock) with the ‘sub’ (10 o’clock), the fluid nature of this combination can be accentuated and enhanced. With TonePrint capability, the creative options are endless.

HITS • TonePrint capability • Modern polyphonic mode and subsequent clarity • The addition of a Sub 2 octave

MISSES • While made for the use of chords, it is still limited to playing style

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ROAD TESTS Audio Technica ATM230 Hypercardioid Dynamic Microphone Audio-Technica | www.audio-technica.com.au | RRP: $299

I do enjoy getting my mits on a microphone that I’ve previously not tried out. So, it was a pleasure, and a delight to have the Audio Technica ATM230 end up on my desk this month. I get so many vocal microphones for stage and studio to try out; it makes for a pleasant change when I get an instrument specific microphone turn up, and so the ATM230 was winning already, even before I pulled it out of its packaging.

THE BUILD

Of course, I can’t help but pull any new microphone apart to see what’s going on under the hood. It seems to be a habit of mine that I cannot shake, and always gives away a few things right from the start.

Removing the grill from around the capsule told me a lot about this Japanese made microphone.

It’s impeccably assembled, with threading that’s perfect and seals tight, with no vibration in or around the capsule and housing. The elongated grill serves to protect the extended capsule form errant drum sticks quite well, enabling the capsule to be placed well in front of the electronics to achieve the desired pickup pattern.

THE DIRECTION

It’s in this mounting of the capsule that gives the ATM230

gets its hyper cardioid pickup pattern. There’s plenty of grill area behind the capsule to allow for phase cancellation and side rejection to ensure that this microphone only picks up the sound of the drum it’s being pointed at. That’s what it’s been designed to do, work in a tight space around a drum kit aimed at either the rack or floor toms.

The compact size allows for this placement and the side rejection of the hyper cardioid capsule gives you the sound of just one drum per microphone. Of course, you can place them right up near the skin and the ATM230 will capture the sound perfectly as it can handle very high SPLs without audible distortion or distress on the capsule.

The inbuilt stand attachment allows the microphone to be screwed directly onto most

microphone stands or drum mic mounting hoops without the need of a separate microphone clip specifically shaped for this unit. The angle adjustment bushing is extremely secure so you can seat this microphone at any angle to achieve any target of sound and know that it will not sag or slip in any way. In all, it’s a solid unit that offers a clean and crisp sound from a

source that’s only inches away.

It’s a perfect accompaniment to any overhead microphone pair to give each drum around the kit that extra definition and punch.

realisation was that I’ve never in my life played an amplifier that was as extremely sensitive to pick-up selection. My Strat gives me more or less five variants of the same tone when I play it through my Marshall DSL50, but the Rock Bender gave me five utterly distinct voices, playing up the individual character of each individual setting in a way that even a lot of other boutique amps can’t muster. Cranking up the master for power-amp grind and maxing out the gain resulted in a hot, rich, three-dimensional voice perfect for the blues or

roots-rock and indie/alternative, but you can get some great edge-of-breakup clean tones too with careful balancing of the gain and master controls. Perfect for Jazzmaster and Jaguar players looking for clarity and detail with just a little growl.

BY ROB GEE

HITS • Compact and easy to mount around cramped drum kits • Solid construction • Very direct audio capture with little side spill

MISSES • I can’t pinpoint any really

Sherlock Amps Rock Bender 15 DR Sherlock Amplifiers | (03) 8802 0499 | www.sherlockamps.com RRP: $1195 - $1450

When a lot of us hear the name ‘Dale Sherlock’ we think of his brilliant Fat Head amplifier, a highly regarded interactive amplifier designed with pro players in mind that features MIDI control and all sorts of ‘inbuilt mods.’ But Sherlock also has a knack for much more simple amplifiers like the Angry Ant or the Buddy. The Rock Bender is offered as a 6V6-loaded alternative to the Buddy.

THE BENDER TO END ALL BENDERS

The Rock Bender is an Americanvoiced amp with two 6V6 power tubes and a 5aR4 (that sounds like a badass droid from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, doesn’t it?) rectifier tube. Its Class A output stage produces a lower power output of around 12 watts with an early power amp break-up distortion which is designed to be perfect for blues or any situation where you want growl at lower volumes. If you want a cleaner sound with more headroom, there’s a 20 watt Class AB output version too.

The circuit is based on a Fender ’64 Deluxe. The controls are gain, treble, mid, bass, reverb and master, with the reverb

coming from the same digital unit found in the Buddy. It has a dwell control on the back which allows you to tailor the character of the verb from something vintage-y to a sound altogether more ethereal - and it’s foot-switchable. The Rock Bender also features SoZo capacitors, 1-watt carbon resistors, turret board wiring and hand wired transformers. A combo version is available with a Celestion Greenback 25 watt, or you can request the speaker of your choice.

VINTAGE GROWL

I plugged my Fender American Vintage ’62 Stratocaster Reissue into the Rock Bender and cranked ‘er up. My first

PG.44 // MIXDOWN #267 // JULY 2016

THE BOTTOM LINE

This is a very simple amp but the tones it produces can be complex and utterly world-class.

Sherlock seems to be entering a golden age with all these new designs lately and I strongly urge

you to check out as many of his new models as you can get your hands on.

BY PETER HODGSON

HITS • Very responsive tone • Great range of clean-to-grit tones • Still plenty loud despite power rating

MISSES • None

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WE CHAT TO MUSOS ABOUT THEIR MOST TREASURED GEAR

Georgia Fields

What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?

Here we have a vintage 1980s omnichord!

It’s a musical instrument, kinda like a cross between an autoharp and a casio.

How did you come across this particular item?

My friend Dean Manning was playing one in his band Holidays On Ice. I heard that distinctive, jangly glissando and fell in love instantly. My boyfriend bought me this one on our first Christmas together (he knows the way to this girl’s heart: obscure vintage electronic instruments!).

What is it that you like so much about it?

There’s so much to like! There is a touch pad that you swipe with your finger, to generate the strumming glissando sound of the chords. There are keypads for each chord in the 12 tone scale, including major, minor, minor 7, major 7, dominant 7, augmented, and diminished – so like it says in the accompanying brochure: “now you can play all the chords”. Its battery operated and not much bigger than an A4 sheet of paper, so it’s a fun and portable

SHOW & TELL

Hugh Matthews OF PRETTY CITY

addition to my solo set.

How do you use it, and how has it shaped the way you write music?

I use it sparingly in my live shows, because it has such a unique sound and I think it benefits from being used just a couple of times in key spots. Also, not enough research has been done into the overuse of omnichords in live performances – there is always the chance that the sheer awesomeness of it could cause a small fissure to appear in the time/space continuum, and this would have devastating consequences for life as we know it in this dimension.

Any other interesting points about it?

The sound of the omnichord was a big influence on the production palette for my forthcoming second album Astral Debris. I played it on a lot of the early song demos.

When’s the next show?

I’m launching ‘Astral Debris’ at The Toff In Town on Thursday 25 August. Keep your eye on my Facebook page for more details!

What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?

My iPhone 4 Synth. It’s an iPhone 4 with the Animoog app + Akai 25 key midi controller. All stored in a modified 1970s ‘Miami Vice drug money’ style briefcase.

How did you come across this particular item?

I had a Kawai K1 synth from the 1980s which I used to play live. It was big and clunky and one day at a soundcheck the old beast sound-checked out of this world for good. I was sad, but I needed keys stat for the show with no time. I had the animoog app on my phone, I plugged the iphone in and it sounded cool so I haven’t looked back. I bought the akai controller so I didn’t have to play the iphone screen onstage (pretty teeny!) and added the briefcase so it could travel.

What is it that you like so much about it?

The Animoog app tones are interesting, and the iPhone touch screen is really intuitive for shaping tones. I can change the sounds by swiping around the filter pad on the screen. It keeps the sense of play when creating. Digital keys can sound a little flat

and cold in general I think, so the tube amp is there for compression/distortion to put a little fur on the tone and create tension.

It helps the synth sound grip to the guitar tones. I like the idea of experimenting with pairings of analogue and digital technologies, they kind of argue and make interesting tones with a lot of personality.

How do you use it, and how has it shaped the way you write music?

I wrote the tracks ‘Melt’ and ‘Fun Machine’ off our album Colorize using the iphone 4.

Both tracks originally started with loops of a single chord that lasted for the entire song. These songs drift and float, hanging on a haze of synth cloud. It’s similar to how a harmonium or sitar might provide a background drone in Indian or psychedelic music. Blending constant drones with shifting chords is a very emotionally potent sound, listen to the ebows and chord voicings on ‘What’s the story Morning Glory?’ and you’ll hear heartfelt sadness from this technique.

When’s the next show?

The iPhone synth will be producing glorious digi-analogue drones on August 13 at Yah Yahs, with Batz and Heloise.

Sime Nugent OF SWEET JEAN

What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?

Alice’s modified 1977 Greco Les Paulesque guitar.

How did you come across this particular item?

We bought this little beauty at the mighty Music Swop Shop in Carlton, Melbourne.

They (and the excellent Found Sounds) are some of the last bastions of recycled music gear and we love to browse. Our friend and producer, John Castle pointed the guitar out to us and we loved it at first sight.

What is it that you like so much about it?

Great neck. New pick-ups give a beautiful tone. Someone had put a Bigsby on it and we ditched that straight away. It really suits Alice’s playing style and since we had it set up by Jeb at Melbourne Guitar Repair it has very good intonation.

How do you use it, and how has it shaped the way you write music?

Our new album, Monday to Friday has this guitar all over it and a lot of the songs were written on it. We set out to make

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SEE THE NEW 318BT BLUETOOTH AUDIOSTIX a more electric album than our previous releases and this was the guitar for the job. We worked at home in our converted laundry studio then took those sketches across to John at The Shed Studios. Working this way we were able to keep a lot of the first takes from the earliest demos and expand on them over time.

Any other interesting points/stories about it?

When these guitars were made by the Japanese in the 70s, they were so good that the American companies that made the originals filed law suits against the makers of the copies. They call this the lawsuit era. Sime has an Ibanez made Telecaster copy from the same era.

When’s the next show?

Sweet Jean will be touring throughout Australia from July 1 through to August 6.

For more information visit their facebook page. Their new album Monday to Friday out now on ABC Music

STAND 16 MELBOURNE GUITAR SHOW AUGUST 6 - 8 WWW.CSEONLINE.COM.AU MIXDOWN #267 // JULY 2016 // PG.45

DIRECTORY EVOLUTION MUSIC

(MUSIC INSTRUMENTS RETAILER) A | P | E | W|

8/2 Northey Rd, Lynbrook VIC (03) 8787 8599 info@evolutionmusic.com.au evolutionmusic.com.au facebook.com/evolutionmusicaus

AA DUPLICATION

(PRINTING/CD & DVD DUPLICATION) A | P | E | W|

84 Nicholson St, Abbotsford VIC (03) 9416 2133 sales@aaduplication.com.au aaduplication.com.au facebook.com/AADuplicationServices

EASTGATE MUSIC

(MUSIC INSTRUMENTS RETAILER) A | P | E | W|

1131 Burke Rd, Kew VIC (03) 9817 7000 sales@eastgatemusic.com eastgatemusic.com.au facebook.com/Eastgatemusic

JABEN AUDIO

(HEADPHONE SPECIALIST RETAILER) A | P | E | W|

Shop 2 398 Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC (03) 9670 8231 info@jaben.com.au jaben.com.au facebook.com/jabenau

HYDRA REHEARSAL STUDIOS (REHEARSAL ROOMS) A | P | E | W|

18 Duffy Street, Burwood VIC (03) 9038 8101 hydrastudios@bigpond.com hydrastudios.com.au facebook.com/hydra.rehearsal.studios

FOR FULL S T ORE P ROFILES , HEA D T O MIX DOWNM A G. C O M . A U / DIREC T O RY

MELBOURNE MUSIC CENTRE

(MUSIC INSTRUMENTS RETAILER) A | P | E | W|

525 North Rd, Ormond, VIC (03) 9578 2426 info@melbournemusiccentre.com.au melbournemusiccentre.com.au facebook.com/melbournemusic.centre

SKY MUSIC

(MUSIC INSTRUMENTS RETAILER) A | P | E | W|

4/2181 Princes Hwy, Clayton VIC (03) 9546 0188 info@skymusic.com.au skymusic.com.au facebook.com/skymusiconline

FIVE STAR MUSIC

(MUSIC INSTRUMENTS RETAILER) A | P | E | W|

102 Maroondah Hwy, Ringwood VIC (03) 9870 4143 websales@fivestarmusic.com.au fivestarmusic.com.au facebook.com/fivestarmusicoz

(MUSIC INSTRUMENTS RETAILER) A | P | E | W|

1/30 Station Rd, Indooroopilly QLD (07) 3878 4566 info@music440.com.au music440.com.au facebook.com/music440

BINARY MUSIC

(MUSIC INSTRUMENTS RETAILER & EDUCATION) A | P | E | W|

48 Bloomfield St, Cleveland QLD (07) 3488 2230 sales@binarydesigns.com.au binarydesigns.com.au @binarymusic

WILD HORSE GUITARS

(MUSIC INSTRUMENTS RETAILER) A | P | E | W|

Brumby Street Surry Hills NSW (02) 9690 0800 info@wildhorseguitars.com.au wildhorseguitars.com.au facebook.com/wildhorseguitars

REVOLVER DRUMS

MONA VALE MUSIC

A | 4a Izett St, Prahran 3181 P | (03) 9521 4644 E | sales@revolverdrums.com.au W | revolverdrums.com.au @revolverdrums

A | 55 Bassett Street, Mona Vale NSW P | (02) 9986 0589 E | info@mvmwarehouse.com W | www.monavalemusic.com facebook.com/monavalemusic

MODERN MUSICIAN

DAMIEN GERARD STUDIOS

(DRUMS SPECIALIST RETAILER)

(MUSIC INSTRUMENTS RETAILER)

(MUSIC INSTRUMENTS RETAILER) A | P | E | W|

106 Murray Street, Hobart TAS (03) 6234 5537 nick@modernmusician.com.au modernmusician.com.au facebook.com/modernmusician

NOT IN THE DIRECTORY? C O N TA C T

MUSIC 440

P A T R I C K @ F U R S T M E D I A . C O M . A U

PG.46 // MIXDOWN #267 // JULY 2016

T O

ARCADE SCREENPRINTING

(SCREENPRINTING & DESIGN SERVICE) A | P | E | W|

15/17 Hutchinson St, St Peters NSW (02) 9550 6965 info@arcadescreenprinting.com.au arcadescreenprinting.com.au facebook.com/arcadescreenprinting

GLADESVILLE GUITAR FACTORY

(MUSIC INSTRUMENTS RETAILER) A | P | E | W|

280 Victoria Rd, Gladesville NSW (02) 9817 2173 mail@guitarfactory.net guitarfactory.net facebook.com/GladesvilleGuitarFactory

TURRAMURRA MUSIC (MUSIC INSTRUMENTS RETAILER) A | P | E | W|

1267 Pacific Hwy, Turramurra NSW (02) 9449 8487 general_sales@turramusic.com.au turramusic.com.au facebook.com/TurramurraMusic

COASTAL MUSIC

(MUSIC INSTRUMENTS RETAILER & REPAIRS) A | 5/148 Lake Road, Port Macquarie NSW P | (02) 6581 3016 E | sales@coastalmusic.com.au W | coastalmusic.com.au facebook.com/coastalmusic

(RECORDING STUDIOS)

A | 230 Crown St, Darlinghurst NSW P | (02) 9331 0666 E | bookings@damiengerard.net W | damiengerard.com.au facebook.com/damiengerardstudios

S E C U R E

Y O U R

P L A C E

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PLAY WITHOUT LIMITS. A NEW GENERATION OF MARSHALL AMPLIFIER.

Fully programmable, with 100 user editable Presets, CODE combines incredibly authentic MST Amplifier and Speaker Cabinet Modelling with professional quality FX. CODE features 14 classic & contemporary preamps, 4 power amp voicings and 8 speakers cabs. CODE’s 24 FX include Compressor, classic stompbox distortions, Pitch Shifter, different types of chorus, Flangers, Phaser, Auto Wah, Tremolo, as well as versatile Delays and Reverbs. Download the Marshall Gateway™ app for your iOS or Android device to controls CODE’s settings remotely and stream audio from your device via Bluetooth®. Connect via USB to use CODE as a DAW interface.

CODE is a powerful tool that lets you make your way. 1 x 10” 25 Watt combo, 1 x 12” 50 Watt combo, 2 x 12” 100 Watt combo, 100 Watt head and 4 x 12” cab. For more information, contact your local Marshall dealer.

MARSHALLAMPS.COM Marshall Amplification is proudly represented in Australia by Electric Factory Pty Ltd 188 Plenty Road Preston VIC 3072 marshall@elfa.com.au