Mixdown Magazine December Issue #236

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

ISSUE 236

DEC 2013

FREE MIXDOWNMAG.COM.AU INTERVIEWED: ZEBRAHEAD LETLIVE NILE RODGERS KURT VILE THE GROWL FRIGHTENED RABBIT AUTRE NE VEUT INSANE CLOWN POSSE PEZ

GIVEAWAY NEW MATON NNE SRS70 SSR R SEMIACOUSTIC GUITAR

MEGADETH

PERIPHERY

THE CRIMSON PROJEKCT

SALE ON NOW!

VIEW FULL CATALOGUE AND PARTICIAPTING DEALERS AT YAMAHABACKSTAGE.COM.AU A MASSIVE SUMMER MUSIC PACK VALUED AT OVER $1,300 RRP, YOU CHOOSE YOUR SOUND FOR SUMMER

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK TO ENTER

facebook.com/yamahabackstagepass

SALE on now!

VIEW FULL CATALOGUE AND PARTICIAPTING DEALERS AT YAMAHABACKSTAGE.COM.AU

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the original third amp

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GUITAR PACKS WITH EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO GET STARTED

THR10X NEW

THR10C NEW

THR10

THR5A NEW

THR5

THR5 $285, THR5A $285, THR10 $379, THR10C $379 AND THR10X $379 GUITAR AMPS

AWARD-WINNING PRACTICE AMPS FOR TODAY'S PLAYER Designed to give guitarists just what they need when they're not on-stage with its portability, amazing stereo sound, USB connectivity, Steinberg Cubase recording software and onboard effects. Now in addition to the original THR10 and THR5 amps, Yamaha has expanded the range with the new high-gain stack modelling THR10X amp, boutique combo modelling THR10C amp, and acoustic THR5A amp. Capture your specific sound and prepare to spend a lot more time playing!

$549

$419

PERFECT BALANCE OF SOUNDS, COMFORT AND PERFORMANCE

TONNES OF TONES

TRBX304 BASS GUITAR NEW

$219

GIGMAKER FOLK GUITAR PACK LIMITED EDITION

YOUR FIRST GUITAR PACK This pack has a beautifully crafted Yamaha folk guitar with a digital tuner, learn-to-play DVD, spare strings, strap, picks, string winder and capo. Learn songs, impress your friends, and become the sound of summer!

LIMITED STOCK.

$185

GIGMAKER CONCERT CLASSICAL GUITAR PACK

RECOMMENDED BY TEACHERS ALL OVER THE WORLD Yamaha’s number one beginner’s

Solid Mahogany body provides the optimum tonal foundation while the Performance EQ active circuitry gives instant access to perfectly dialled-in stage-ready tones. Colours: Black, Pewter, Mist Green, White and Candy Apple Red. LIMITED STOCK.

classical guitar with beautiful tone and legendary Yamaha quality. It has a Natural Gloss finish and a Spruce top, Korg digital tuner and learn-to-play DVD. LIMITED STOCK.

$569

$849

EXCELLENT SOUND AND TOUCH AT AN AMAZING PRICE

YOUR PERFECT PORTABLE SOLUTION

PACIFICA 311H ELECTRIC GUITAR

An extremely flexible guitar offering tonal versatility to handle a wide variety of musical styles. A cut above the rest with quality hardware and four great finishes: Black, Red Metallic, Vintage White and Yellow Natural Satin.

LIMITED STOCK.

P105B 88-KEY DIGITAL PIANO

P35B 88-KEY DIGITAL PIANO

The portable P35B helps beginners become music virtuosos in no time at all. Thanks to its stunningly realistic sounds and natural touch, it inspires practice by making it fun. No keyboard in its class offers such a powerful combination of features, with 88-key weighted action, built-in metronome and 10 great voices. Includes power adaptor and footswitch for sustain. Optional stand and piano bench available.

$209

PSRE243 PORTABLE KEYBOARD

THE IDEAL KEYBOARD TO START LEARNING MUSIC 61 keys and 100 different accompaniment styles. Remarkable sound and amazing value. USB to HOST for easy computer connectivity. Includes power adaptor.

Dynamic sound and natural piano touch packed in a slim, exceptionally affordable digital piano that’s perfect for home, school or the rehearsal room. Special Pianist Styles and a variety of rhythms add enjoyment to your practice, and when you want more powerful sound for parties or on stage, use the AUX outputs to connect to a PA system. Includes power adaptor and footswitch. Optional stand, 3-pedal unit and piano bench available. Also available is P105WH in White.

$319

PSRE343 TOUCH SENSITIVE PORTABLE KEYBOARD

INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO THE WORLD OF MUSIC 61 touch sensitive keys giving piano playability and added expression. USB port allows easy connection to your computer. Use the input jack to plug in your MP3 player and play along. Learning music is fun and easy with Yamaha Education Suite lessons and 102 preset songs. Includes power adaptor.

A MASSIVE SUMMER MUSIC PACK VALUED AT OVER $1,300RRP WITH 5 SUMMER MUSIC PACKS TO CHOOSE FROM, LIKE US ON FACEBOOK TO ENTER facebook.com/yamahabackstagepass

YOU CHOOSE YOUR SOUND FOR SUMMER WATCH VIDEOS youtube.com/yamahaaustralia

FOLLOW US twitter.com/YamahaBackstage

FIND A DEALER yamahabackstage.com.au

PRODUCT INFORMATION au.yamaha.com

create, record, perform HS8

$1099

HS7

BE HEARD WITH THIS PORTABLE PA POWERHOUSE Easy to use, portable PA system with an 8-channel, 400-watt powered mixer and 2 x 8” lightweight speakers. Digital effects, iPod connectivity and an automatic Feedback Suppressor makes it ideal for performance, announcements and school events.

MX49 SYNTH

HS5

HS5 $279, HS7 $349, HS8 $449 AND HS8S $579 ACTIVE MONITOR SPEAKERS AND SUBWOOFER NEW

STAGEPAS400i PORTABLE PA

$729

HS8S

AFFORDABLE, STUDIO-STANDARD MONITOR SPEAKERS Created to deliver high-quality studio-standard monitoring at an affordable price-point. The HS-series offers a full range of monitoring and listening solutions, with three different monitor speaker models and a powerful yet sonically accurate subwoofer.

$879

MX61 SYNTH

AFFORDABLE AND AWESOME SYNTHS MOTIF synthesizers are used worldwide by high-profile live and recording artists due to their superior soundquality. Now, with the MX49 and MX61, get access to those incredible sounds at a fraction of the cost. The MX is a complete production solution with the included USB audio and MIDI interface and bundled Steinberg Cubase AI software.

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$199

great gift ideas for guitarists STOMPBI

UR22 USB AUDIO INTERFACE

ULTRA HIGH-QUALITY AUDIO AND MIDI INTERFACE Features 2 x D-Pre microphone pre-amps and 24-bit, 192kHz audio resolution for the ultimate recording quality. It also features latency-free hardware monitoring and USB MIDI interface. The UR22 becomes a full recording, mixing, production and performance solution with the included Steinberg Cubase AI. LIMITED STOCK.

STOMPGI

STOMPGII STOMPBII

$429 STOMPBI $99, STOMPBII $119, STOMPGI $99, STOMPGII $119 EFFECTS PROCESSORS

POWERFUL SOUNDS BUILT TO LAST Powerful sounds into compact metal units. Sound variations are categorised by style such as rock and blues, making it easy to get your sounds. With a full complement of effects, chromatic tuner and user preset banks, Stomplab sets a new standard for guitar and bass multi effects units.

AC4C1-BL GUITAR AMP

AMPLUG $65 AMPLUG CABINET $29

VINTAGE APPEAL Overflowing with personality, a rich blue vinyl, Tygon fret cloth and all-tube design. It has the highest levels of design sensibilities and offers an easy way for anyone to achieve the legendary AC30 Top Boost tone.

PLUG IN, ROCK OUT

Vox’s pint-sized headphone guitar amp available in many different styles. All models feature gain, tone and volume controls along with an AUX-IN jack so you can jam along with a CD/MP3 player.

AmPlug Cabinet has a 3" Vox speaker perfect for use with AmPlugs.

LIMITED STOCK.

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hot kits and cymbals to sound great this summer $439

$299

PST 5 UNIVERSAL SET 14/16/20 - WITH BONUS 14" CHINA

PST 3 UNIVERSAL SET 14/16/20 - WITH BONUS 10"SPLASH

QUALITY PAISTE PACK Genuine bronze alloy 14”

COMPLETE CYMBAL PACK TO GET YOU STARTED Great sounding 14”

hi-hats, 16” crash and 20” ride to suit a wide range of musical styles. For a limited time this pack comes with a BONUS 14" china.

hi-hats, 16” crash and 20” ride. For a limited time this pack comes with a BONUS 10" splash.

$1,299

GIGMAKER PLAYERS PACK

YAMAHA'S POPULAR ENTRY LEVEL DRUM KIT WITH UPGRADES The expanded hardware configuration features an additional double braced boom cymbal stand and drum stool, and the upgraded set of German made Paiste PST3 cymbals contains 14” hi-hats, 16” crash, and 20” ride for a complete sound palette. Available in a choice of either Rock or Fusion sizes and a selection of 6 eye catching finishes.

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DTX ELECTRONIC DRUMS, MORE SOUNDS, LESS NOISE

$629

$899

An easy to use, great sounding electronic drum kit with built-in training functions to get your drumming journey started.

Step up with an upgraded 3-zone snare, bass drum pedal and a premium hi-hat controller to take you to the next level.

DTX400K ELECTRONIC DRUMS

DTX450K ELECTRONIC DRUMS

TERMS AND CONDITIONS. All offers in this advertisement are part of a national sales program conducted by Yamaha Music Australia Pty Ltd and are valid only between 1st November 2013 and 31st December 2013 at participating Yamaha dealers. Not all products listed in this advertisement are available at all Yamaha dealers. While stocks last. The discounted prices displayed in this advertisement are only intended as a guide. The prices as set out or referred to in this advertisement apply for the duration of the program and are subject to change at any time. The Yamaha dealer participating in this promotion may not have sold these products in the past and where it has sold these products it may have sold them at more or less than the advertised price. Errors and omissions excepted. Only stands, stools and accessories outlined in the product description are included. Participating dealers may charge freight. Lifestyle images are for illustration purposes only. iPhone, iPod, are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. iPad is a trademark of Apple Inc. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.

CONTENTS

FORE WORD

6

GIVEAWAYS

8

NEWS & TOURS

12 THE INDUSTRIALIST 14 PRODUCT NEWS 24 A DAY TO REMEMBER 26 MEGADETH, ZEBRAHEAD 27 PERIPHERY, LETLIVE 28 CRIMSON PROJEKCT NILE RODGERS 30 KURT VILE

Holy smokes! That jolly big bastard is looking to drop his load down many chimneys in the next couple of weeks and by Rudolf and his red nose reindeer, kids both young and old will be awaiting with fingers crossed that they receive the gift they’ve been wishing for. That’s right, this issue is all about Christmas and the gear we probably don’t deserve, but sure as hell can get our hands on! We take a look at equipment that would make a fantastic gift for your muso buddies, loved ones (to hand back to you of course) and the list you ultimately hand to your significant other. Ho, Ho, Hell yeah!

Alongside this we shred out all the best interviews our upcoming national tour circuit can offer, with cover stars A Day To Remember slaying the cover alongside features with one of the founding Gods of heavy metal Dave Mustaine from Megadeth and current underworld rulers Periphery. Turn those pages and read on, it’s friggin’ amazing how many different genres of music and the plethora of awesome talent we get to speak with each month, it still blows my mind!

THE GROWL 32 FRIGHTENED RABBIT AUTRE NE VEUT 34 INSANE CLOWN POSSE PEZ 36 UNLEASH YOUR INNNER ROCK GOD, WHAT’S THAT SOUND? KEYS 38 ON THE DOWNLOW BANGIN’ THE TUBS 40 (D)IGITAL (J)OCKEY HOME STUDIO HINTS 42 WHAT’S MY RANGE AGAIN, APPROACHING THE BENCH 44 ROAD TESTED

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On a side note, it’s been my 36 issue as Captain of this publication and being able to construct from the ground up, each and every month my favourite magazine. I’ve had an absolute blast doing so and despite the long hours and heavy drinking habits the music industry induces, I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you - both our loyal supporters, readers and contributors. Without your input, feedback and criticism, we wouldn’t have the quality, FREE national dedicated music magazine that we have today, so cheer, cheers! I’d also like to wish you the happiest of Christmas holidays with your family and friends and hope you bring in the new year with a bang! I know there are some fantastic and exciting things ahead in 2014 for both the industry on a whole and Mixdown Magazine and I look forward to taking the ride with you – bring it on I say!

Aleksei Plinte Editor In Chief

NILE RODGERS PAGE 28

KURT VILE

FRIGHTENED RABBIT

PAGE 30

PAGE 32

PUBLISHER Furst Media EDITOR IN CHIEF Aleksei Plinte mixdown@beat.com.au PRODUCTION MANAGER Gill Tucker COVER ART Gill Tucker

MIXDOWN OFFICE 3 Newton Street Richmond VIC 3121 Phone: (03) 9428 3600 ADVERTISING Aleksei Plinte GRAPHIC ARTISTS Gill Tucker, Patrick O’Brien

CONTRIBUTORS Brent Hayhurst, Peter Hodgson, Rob Gee, Nick Brown, Adrian Violi, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Peter Vox, Dan Chilsom, Augustus Welby, Krissi Weiss and Tyson Wray

LIVE CUSTOM OAK When Yamaha released a kit designed specially for studio performance, it became the most recorded drum kit in history - The Recording Custom.

Now Yamaha has designed a kit suited specially for live performance - The Live Custom.

INNOVATIVE HARDWARE

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STRIKING FINISHES

Incredible stability and reliability on any stage

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EXPERIENCE THEM FOR YOURSELF TODAY AT YOUR NEAREST YAMAHA DRUMS DEALER FIND YOUR LOCAL STOCKIST

EVENTS AND PROMOTIONS yamahabackstage.com.au

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK facebook.com/yamahabackstagepass

FOLLOW US twitter.com/yamahabackstage

MIXDOWN GIVEAWAYS

NMAGAZINE DOW

‘LIKE’ US

ACEBOOK.COM/MI X AT F

DECEMBER CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY: MATON SRS70 SEMI-ACOUSTIC GUITAR

LAST MONTH’S WINNER M-AUDIO AXIOM AIR MINI 32 MIDI CONTROLLER It was the first Keyboard Special of its kind for Mixdown last month and we had a head-turning amount of quality feedback, so thank you and we’ll be sure to bring it back next year!

Alongside this special our good pals over at Pro Audio Group (Australia) gave one very lucky reader the opportunity to win the very cool M-Audio Axiom Air Mini 32 Midi Controller which serves up 8 responsive pads and 32 velocity-sensing mini-keys, opening new paths to live and recorded performance. With the aid of a laptop, the Axion Air Mini 32 makes it ridiculously simple to record and sample your music from anywhere, anytime!

If there’s one thing we love to do here at Mixdown HQ, it’s giving you the opportunity to win some fantastic gear from our loyal supporters, and this is one of our best giveaways to date! Our good friends from Maton Guitars have decided to give you the opportunity to get your hands on their newest creation, the SRS70 semi-acoustic guitar which is valued at $2199, as road tested in last month’s issue. Yes, the best Christmas present ever!

FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN THE MATON SRS70 SEMI-ACOUSTIC GUITAR, SIMPLY FOLLOW THESE STEPS: STEP 1. If you haven’t already, like our Mixdown Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mixdownmagazine and like/share the competition post of the Maton SRS70 acoustic guitar.

STEP 2. Like the page over at www.facebook.com/matonguitars and tell us what what pick up is in the SRS 70? Cheeky hint; check out the new Maton Facebook post of last months SRS70 Mixdown Road Test review for the answer.

STEP 3. Now all you have to do is email your answer to mixdown@beat.com.au as well as your full name, address and contact telephone number.

Simple? So Simple!

So congratulations Lucas Andrew from Canberra, ACT we’ll be in contact shortly and you can rest assured you’ve just scored an awesome early Christmas present for all your Summer songwriting. Be sure to send us a track!

One entry per person. Australian residents only. Good luck!

Disclaimer: all Mixdown competition winners must agree to have their location, name and photo with both themselves and their prize published in Mixdown Magazine and online.

M A D E

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M U 20 13 AU S G I C I A

REE F MIXDOWNMAG.COM.AU

AUSTRALIA’S ONLY NATIONAL MUSIC STREET PRESS WITH A COMPREHENSIVE AND FREE DISTRIBUTION. DESIGNED, WRITTEN AND CREATED FOR MUSICIANS AND LOVERS OF MUSIC.

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For more information on Mixdown Magazine contact: Aleksei on (03) 9428 3600 or email Mixdown@beat.com.au

PG. 6 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

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INTERVIEWED: VISTA CHINO CHIMAIRA DEAD LETTER CIRCUS POND JAGWAR MA ANDY FISENDEN GREGG BISSONETTE DOM FAMULARO

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CH RE EC VI K O EW U IN T TH SI E DE !

deep low-end

- powerful, rich tone with reliability on any stage 100% OAK SHELLS - incredible stability and WARE0 y of Oak INNOVATIVE HARD 23 sising the natural beaut - four great finishes empha E HES FINIS KING U STRI S MAHA.COM

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INTER FUCK BVIEWED: UTTONS DEVIN T OWNSE ANBERLIN ND P SNAKA ROJECT DA THE BA KTAL SICS

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HITS THE STREETS AND ONLINE IN THE FIRST WEEK OF EVERY MONTH

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• INTERVIEWS WITH THE WORLD’S BIGGEST ARTISTS AND HOME GROWN HEROES. • FEATURES ON THE MUSIC INDUSTRY • PRODUCT NEWS AND GEAR REVIEWS • EDUCATION COLUMNS • STUDIO Q&A’S • AWESOME MONTHLY GIVEAWAYS + HEAPS MORE

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A DAY TO REMEMBER ROB ZOMBIE MEGADETH MASTODON PLACEBO HIM AFI KORN ALTER BRIDGE TRIVIUM PENNYWISE JIMMY EAT WORLD DOWN DEVILDRIVER THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN GLASSJAW PANIC! AT THE DISCO EAGLES OF DEATH METAL LESS THAN JAKE MAYDAY PARADE ASKING ALEXANDRIA BIFFY CLYRO NEWSTED SEVENDUST ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT BARONESS SUICIDE SILENCE CLUTCH ALKALINE TRIO THE PORKERS (CROSSES) ZEBRAHEAD GOJIRA DESAPARECIDOS FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH SATYRICON AUGUST BURNS RED TESTAMENT ILL NIÑO LIVING COLOUR MUTEMATH BLACK VEIL BRIDES LETLIVE MOTIONLESS IN WHITE GWAR THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER MUSHROOMHEAD FINCH DREAM ON, DREAMER STIFF LITTLE FINGERS THY ART IS MURDER GRAVEYARD PULLED APART BY HORSES NANCY VANDAL BOWLING FOR SOUP TRASH TALK SKINDRED DIR EN GREY VOLBEAT AMON AMARTH TERROR WHITECHAPEL DEFILER TESSERACT DEEZ NUTS THE STORY SO FAR 10 YEARS INHEARTSWAKE BREATHE CAROLINA HARDCORE SUPERSTAR I CALL FIVES HACKTIVIST WALKING PAPERS OUR LAST NIGHT COLISEUM DEVIL YOU KNOW YOUR DEMISE SOIL HEAVEN’S BASEMENT THE BOSSHOSS NOSTALGHIA UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS REAL FRIENDS UPON A BURNING BODY

†††

...WITH MANY MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED!

NOVEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / PG. 7

NEWS & TOURS INTRODUCING NEW AUS METAL LABEL - BULLET PROOF

POND

Kill Devil Hill

Pond have just r eleased release a new video for ‘Midnight Mass’ the latest single fr om their album Hobo Rocket, created by Australian f lmmakers Jesse Taylor Smith and Jenna Eriksen.

The clip follows a melodramatic r econstruction of a news br oadcast from the 1980s as a space tragedy unfolds, with the footage being shot on an original 1985 VHS tube video camera to

keep things as authentic as possible. The clip lands just before Pond take to the road on their headline tour around the country.

TOUR DATES December 12 - Metropolis, Fremantle WA December 13 - The Gov, Adelaide SA December 14 - The Zoo, Brisbane QLD

DJ SHADOW

Newly formed heavy metal/r ock label Bullet Proof is set to kick off in a big way in December 2013, with r eleases from its f rst three signed artists and more to be announced in the new year. Backed by Universal Music Australia/ Caroline Distribution, they will be spr eading to New Zealand with the view of moving into South East Asia and Japan in the near futur e.

With a focus on established artists looking for an indie vibe but with major label distribution,

Bullet Proof are proud to announce US supergroup Kill Devil Hill, pr ogressive Sydney 5-piece Dawn Heist and New Zealand juggernaughts 8 Foot Savita.

TOUR DATES For more information on Bullet Proof you can email bulletproofaust@gmail.com

FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL

Phoenix

There are few DJs who stand the test of time through their innovative ways of music production. Esteemed inter national DJ and producer DJ Shadow, continues to set standards falling into the exception rather than the rule in today’s electronic music fr enzy. He will jour ney to Australia and New Zealand in February 2014 with his r enowned worldwide ‘All Bases Covered’ tour, with the shows pr omising to be smaller, stripped-back and mor e intimate DJ

sets. ‘All Bases Cover ed’ will tour nationally on the following dates.

TOUR DATES February 7 - Family Nightclub, Brisbane QLD February 8 - Ivy, Sydney NSW February 13 - The Prince Bandroom, Melbourne VIC February 15 - Perth Festival, Perth WA

PG. 8 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

major focus on enhanced, state of the art audio and lighting.

TOUR DATES March 1 - RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane QLD March 2 - Arena Joondalup, Perth WA March 8 - Royal Randwick Racecourse, Sydney NSW March 9 - Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne VIC March 10 - Adelaide Showgrounds, Adelaide SA

MAYHEM

ICED EARTH

Following the huge success of their f rst trip to Australia in 2012, Iced Earth r eturn to entrench their live reputation in this country with a blazing onslaught. Formed in 1985 by Jon Schaf fer, Iced Earth have r eleased ten studio albums, cementing the band’s reputation for being one of the worlds leading for ces in heavy metal.

They are heading out on tour in support of their new album Plagues of Babylon which will hit the

Future Music Festival has been going fr om strength to str ength in r ecent years, with the 2014 lineup being no exception and quite possibly their biggest to date. Leading the charge for 2014 is gr ound breaking electronic giant Deadmau5, the undeniable cr owd favourites fresh from the Op-Shop, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and Fr ench kings of indie-cool Phoenix. The festival will for the f rst time feature new indoor and outdoor stages as well as a

shelves in January 2014. Metal behemoths Elm Street will be supporting all Australian dates.

TOUR DATES March 14 - The Hi-Fi, Brisbane QLD March 15 - Manning Bar, Sydney NSW March 16 - Billboard The Venue, Melbourne VIC

When it comes to the def nitive history of black metal, only one name has survived all the sensationalism. Through the chur ch burnings, murder, imprisonments and myopic teenage nationalism, Mayhem has been able to channel the circus like atmospher e. Featuring iconic members Atilla Csihar , Necrobutcher and Hellhammer, Mayhem have a r eputation of being one of the most contr oversial live acts to ever disgrace this planet. Don’t miss out on this

chance to witness one of the true Norwegian black metal legends in the f esh. Support on all national dates come from Watain.

TOUR DATES January 10 – The Hi-Fi, Melbourne VIC January 11 – The Factory Theatre, Sydney NSW January 12 - The Hi-Fi, Brisbane QLD

NOVEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / PG. 9

NEWS & TOURS METRIC

Metric are primed to bring their cocktail of synth pop, new wave and indie electr onica to Australia this December. Coinciding with their f rst performance at Splendour in the Grass in 2012, the band r eleased their f fth studio album Synthetica. Featuring tracks ‘Y outh Without Youth’, ‘Breathing Underwater’ and ‘Lost Kittens’, the album peaked at #21 on the ARIA album chart and is still on rotation on radio stations throughout the country . Joining them

MIAMI HORROR

will be Sydney’s Glass Towers who will deliver their glorious tales of teenage tur moil in the form of polished and upbeat indie gems.

TOUR DATES December 7 - Metro City, Perth WA December 9 - The Forum, Melbourne VIC December 11 - The Tivoli, Brisbane QLD December 12 - Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW

PETER MURPHY CELEBRATES YEARS OF BAUHAUS!

Iconic frontman Peter Murphy has announced the Mr Moonlight Tour which will see Murphy play the East Coast in December. Taking to the stage with his full band, Murphy will perfor m nothing but Bauhaus material. For ming in 1978 and achieving worldwide cult status with their post-punk landscape this is the f rst time since 2006 that Murphy will perfor m full

35

Bauhaus sets. The Mr Moonlight Tour lands in Australia on the following dates.

TOUR DATES December 10 – The Hi-Fi, Brisbane QLD December 11 – Manning Bar, Sydney NSW December 12 – Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC

Melbourne indie-tronica heavyweights Miami Horror have just just released a new single ‘Real Slow’ with a clip featuring guns, babes and Fruit Loops to match. T o celebrate its r elease, the band will be touring Australia in December to play their f rst live shows since 2011, including Perth’s Sets On The Beach and the new Groovin’ the Moo curated festival The Plot.

TOUR DATES December 8 – Sets On The Beach, Perth WA December 14 – The Plot, Sydney NSW December 15 – The Plot, Melbourne VIC February 7 – Oh Hello!, Brisbane QLD February 8 – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney NSW February 14 – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC February 15 – Amplifier, Perth WA

THE NATIONAL

Having just performed a special one off headline set at Splendour In The Grass last month, The National will r eturn to Australia in the summer of 2014 with their intense and sophisticated brand of heartfelt rock. In what will be their f rst headline shows in Australia since their sold out 2010 tour, be sure to catch them in all their glory.

TOUR DATES February 6 - Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide SA February 8 - Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney NSW February 9 - Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne VIC February 11 - Riverstage, Brisbane QLD February 14 - Belvior Amphitheatre, Perth WA

WE ARE SCIENTISTS VANS WARPED TOUR FOOD DRIVE

This Summer, Vans Warped Tour invites festival goers to skip the lines by simply bringing a donation to the show. Outside the gates of the venue this year , look for the “Skip The Line” banner, where the Vans Warped Tour Australia will house a W arped Tour food drive tent for fans to drop off their donations of three canned goods for people in need. This little donation will obtain early entry into the show allowing

punters to skip the line pass. Dented cans ar e not accepted., so donate for a good cause and be rewarded.

TOUR DATES December 6 - Exhibition Park, Canberra ACT December 7 - Birrarung Marr, Melbourne VIC December 8 - Ellis Park, Adelaide SA

PG. 10 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

It’s been a few years since New Y ork-based We Are Scientists released a new offering. With a new record label in tow , Toronto-based Dine Alone Records (City and Colour and Twin Forks), will have Keith Murray and Chris Cain give fans the kind of songs that put them originally on the global map.

Their new f ve-track EP entitled Business Casual, was released on October 18 and now it’ s time for the duo to take it to the live setting with fans around the world pining to see singles ‘Something About You’ and ‘Let Me W in’ played out in full.

We Are Scientists bring their new live show and notorious on-stage antics to Australia this January, so check them while you can.

TOUR DATES January 22 - The Zoo, Brisbane QLD January 23 - The Gov, Adelaide SA January 24 - Factory Theatre, Sydney NSW January 25 - Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC January 26 - Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC

JAKE BUGG

NEIL FINN

Born and raised in Nottingham (UK), Jake Bugg has been leading the singer -songwriter dream and only at the youthful age of 19. Playing the biggest festivals in the world and following a stand out perfor mance at Splendour In The Grass earlier this year , including a sold out run of sideshows, he is heading back to Australia in April 2014. His sophomor e album Shangri La, produced by legend Rick Ruben was only just released worldwide on November 15 and saw him become the youngest solo male to debut at

There aren’t many artists whose songs and emotive performances have inf ltrated the hearts and minds of a generation of Australians in quite the same way as Neil Finn. In Mar ch 2014, Finn will r eturn for a national tour in support of his new album Dizzy Heights. To be released on February 7 2014, The ‘Dizzy Heights’ album tour will give the iconic artist the opportunity to showcase these new songs as part of his alr eady extensive r epertoire.

Fans can expect to hear new songs like ‘Divebomber’ and ‘Flying In The Face Of Love’ interspersed with a catalogue of songs that are now intrinsically part of Australian cultur e. In a unique offer, fans also have the choice to pr e-

the top, ever! Go see what all the Bugg is about at the following east coast venues. Supports come from local power houses The Cr eases & The Growl.

TOUR DATES April 17 - Palace Theatre, Melbourne VIC April 20 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW April 23 – The Hi-Fi, Brisbane QLD

order physical and digital versions of Neil Finn’s new album Dizzy Heights when pur chasing tickets. All shows on sale now.

TOUR DATES March 6 – Civic Centre, Nambour QLD March 7 – QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane QLD March 11 – GPAC Playhouse, Geelong VIC March 12 – Hamer Hall, Melbourne VIC March 15 – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide SA March 16 – Concert Hall, Perth WA March 20 – Civic Theatre, Newcastle NSW March 22 – Sydney Opera House, NSW

PG. 11 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

THE INDUSTRIALIST MUSIC INDUSTRY NEWS WITH CHRISTIE ELIZER

FOR CONTENT SUBMISSIONS TO THIS COLUMN PLEASE EMAIL TO CELIZER@NETSPACE.NET.AU JETSTAR CHANGES CARRY-ON BAGGAGE POLICY

grants Collarts Artist Management students access to mentorship from a global network of seasoned managers and industry professionals. Fostering local talent is really important to Collarts Artist Management students and this news is definitely exciting for a new generation of Australian music professionals looking for a course that offers real opportunities.

For more information on the recent collaboration visit www.collarts.edu.au

Jetstar has adjusted its carry-on baggage policy that will allow musicians to take a wider range of musical instruments on board. Instruments smaller than 85cm (height) x 36cm (width) x 23cm (depth), which weigh less than 10kg, may be included as a customer’s carryon item. This means trumpets, violins and clarinets can be stored in the overhead lockers. The size limit remains 56cm (h) x 36cm (w) x 23cm (d) for all other cabin bags. Musical instruments larger than the prescribed dimensions have to go into the cargohold or the passenger must buy a second seat. Music Victoria CEO Patrick Donovan hailed this as great news for Australian musicians. ‘’For many musicians, their instrument is an integral and unique part of their sound, and hiring an instrument just won’t cut it,” he said. “Now they will rest assured they can take their instruments onboard knowing they’re in safe hands.’’

See the airline’s new policy at www.jetstar.com

WHY MUSIC IS DANGEROUS TO DRIVING ‘SCUSE ME WHILE I KISS THE SKY’ Australian fans of Jimi Hendrix are invited to enter a global competition which gives the winner the chance to win a performing slot on the annual Experience Hendrix tribute US tour, set to roll in March 2014. Submit a video showing you performing a Hendrix number. Judges included Hendrix’s long time engineer Eddie Kramer, Dave Stewart and Jimi’s sister Janie. Runnersup get guitars, effects pedals and merchandising.

Visit www.talenthouse.com/submit-performancefor-jimi-hendrix for more.

AUSSIE MUSIC SALES DOWN 5%?

ARIA won’t release the official figures for 2013’s recorded music sales until early next year. But the Australian Financial Review has spoken to sources that say that sales are down 5%. This would be a disappointment after wholesale figures increased 4% last year to $393m, its second increase in a decade.

What’s also affecting sales, according to the AFR, is that cheap streaming services are biting into legal downloads. Digital revenue growth has slowed down to 10% from 20% and the fall rate of CD sales is 20%, compared to 12% last year.

SELECT MUSIC EXPANDS INTO NZ After eight years of operation, NSW booking agency Select Music has expanded into New Zealand. It’s opened an office at Rhythmmethod HQ, alongside Rhythmethod Distribution (Passenger, Tiki), Ode Records, DRM, 45 RPM and Mystery Girl Touring & Publicity. “We are lucky to have found a group of people who feel the same way that we do about building, developing and touring artists, so it’s a perfect fit for our Select artists in a market that has enormous potential for our acts to play in,” says director Stephen Wade.

ACT CELEBRATES ITS OWN

TWO UK DEALS FOR GOSSLING Just back from touring the US and the UK rave media, Melbourne’s Gossling signed UK two deals. One is with Polydor Records, alongside Lana Del Rey, Haim, Laura Marling and Ellie Goulding. Nick Holroyd and Matt Bates’ Primary Talent booking (Alt-J, Azealia Banks) will represent her live.

Power pop band Fun Machine and singer-songwriter Dylan Hekimian scored two wins each at the second MusicACT Annual Music Awards (MAMAs), before 700 at the Albert Hall in Canberra. Fun Machine won best artist of 2013 and their triple j-played ‘Ready For The Fight’ song of the year. Hekimian was best youth artist and best live performer. Full list at www.musicact.com. au/mamas. The Ideas Of North were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Composer Jim Cotter and arts producer Frank Madrid were lauded for their contribution to the ACT music industry. Zierholz at UC got best live music venue. Dax Liniere, who runs Puzzle Factory Sound Studio, won the Studio/Engineer/Producer category.

COLLARTS PARTNER WITH ASSOCIATION OF ARTIST MANAGERS (AAM) Collarts have recently managed to secure a collaboration with the Association of Artist Managers (AAM), Australia’s official platform for the International Music Managers’ Forum. The partnership

Listening to rock music causes men to drive more aggressively, moving faster and braking later. Women respond in a similar way to hip-hop. A study by insurance website Confused.com found that songs speed up heart rates and make drivers want to “catch up”. Psychologists say they should listen to songs that are the same as their heart rate (60 to 80 bpm) like Norah Jones’ ‘Come Away With Me’ ‘The Scientist’ by Coldplay and ‘Tiny Dancer’ by Elton John.

15 MORE AUSSIES ACTS CONFIRMED FOR SXSW Fifteen more acts from Australia were confirmed to perform at South By Southwest (SxSW) in Austin, Texas, March 7 to 16. These included Oh Mercy, Boy & Bear, Gossling, Kid Mac, Dub Fx, Dune Rats, DZ Deathrays, The Creases, Favored Nations, Jungle Giants, The Growl, King Parrot, Touch Sensitive and What So Not. They join the earlier announced The Chevelles, Vance Joy, Money for Rope, People of Letters, Josef Salvat and The Swiss.

TOMMY EMMANUEL NOW A DOCTOR OF ARTS Musician Mr Tommy Emmanuel, AM, has received an honorary Doctor of Arts from Charles Sturt University (CSU) at an Alumni event at the Australian Museum in Sydney on Wednesday the 27th of November. CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann said the University Council resolved to confer the honour in recognition of Mr Emmanuel’s commitment to rural Australia and contribution to music education. “Born and raised in the University’s footprint, Tommy Emmanuel is one of Australia’s most respected musicians,” Professor Vann said. “With a professional career spanning five decades, Tommy has always maintained a strong connection to rural and regional communities including significant interaction with Indigenous Australians. Tommy is also one of the most prodigious music educators in the world, meeting with both amateur and professional musicians at every show and location when he travels, often giving hours of his time to teaching and collaboration.” Professor Vann said Mr Emmanuel’s career could be an example to all rural Australians. are the favourite bands, but DAB+ devotees are coming on at 12.3%.

STAGECO ARRIVES IN AUSTRALIA PHARRELL CREATES WORLD’S FIRST 24 HOUR VIDEO Pharrell Williams’ new song ‘Happy’ off the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack only last four minutes.

But he decided the video should run for 24 hours. The series of clips, which are playing on an all-day loop via 24hoursofhappy.com, follow different characters as they clap, sing and dance along to the song’s beat.

Popping up are Magic Johnson, Despicable Me 2 star Steve Carell, TV host Jimmy Kimmel and members of Odd Future.

The StageCo roofing systems for festivals and live events have arrived in Australia. This is through staging and rigging company, Tri-Point Rigging Services, set up in 1998 and based in Sydney. It also has offices in Melbourne and the Gold Coast. The three directors of Tri-Point are no strangers to StageCo. Warren Jones has toured extensively with four U2 world tours, Graeme Dew toured as head of staging for Dave Matthews Band, Metallica and Linkin Park all over the USA. His son Reg also toured with the brand around the globe.

15% RISE IN LISTENERS FOR COMMUNITY RADIO

WANNA ROADIE FOR RÜFÜS AT BIG DAY OUT?

The latest Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA*) National Listener Survey shows that the 350+ community radio stations in Australia is drawing more listeners. An average of 29% of all radio listeners tune in each week. That’s 5,204,000 of 18,109,000 Australians aged 15 or older, and a rise of nearly 15% (from 4,446,000 community radio listeners) since 2012. Listening is strong across all segments, with mid-morning at 57% followed by breakfast (54), drive (51) afternoon (48), evening (31) and overnight (17). AM/FM

Red Bull Roadie is a comp where you can tour through Australia on Big Day Out as roadie for Sydney dance trio RÜFÜS. To enter upload a video (15 seconds or less) upload a video to Instagram telling them why you should win. All entries must tag @redbullAU, @ rufussounds and use #redbullroadie in the post. The Top 10 entrants advance to the ‘Red Bull Roadie Challenge’ at Red Bull HQ in Sydney to be tested on a series of fun challenges that one might face on tour.

Deadline is December 9. Full details at http://www. redbull.com.au/roadie.

THINGS WE HEAR • Drummer Matt Cameron announced he will not rejoin Soundgarden when they tour next year as he will be focusing on bashing skins for Pearl Jam.

models such as the S-1, L6-S (the modern reissue is the L6S) and Marauder as well as contributing to the design of the ‘Super-Humbucker’.

• Lorde, who celebrated her 17th birthday by signing a $2.54 million publishing deal, took four wins at the New Zealand Music Awards. Onstage she chuckled, “I feel like it’s a sign of my age that I’m the only one reading my speech off my iPhone.” She won international achievement, single, breakthrough artist and people’s choice while Joel Kefali who directed the Royals video won that category. Soulful R&B singer Aaradhna took album of the year and best urban/hip hop album for Treble & Reverb and Shapeshifter went home clutching the trophies for best group and best electronica album for Delta.

• An exhibition celebrating 40 years of Mushroom Records and the music of Melbourne will run until March 3 at the RMIT Gallery in the city. The Music Melbourne & Me: 40 Years Of Mushroom And Melbourne’s Music Culture exhibition includes a recreation of Mushroom founder Michael Gudinski’s office); plus memorabilia and soundbytes from 22 artists (everything from Paul Kelly revealing his favourite Mushroom record to Red Symons on the cover of the first Skyhooks album); and the Sticky Carpet room dedicated to rock venues. The memorabilia drew from the personal collections of Gudinski, Ian “Molly” Meldrum and the artists themselves. They include dozens of photos, costumes from Skyhooks, Split Enz, Crowded House and Kylie Minogue, and props including an AC/DC payment chit, a Little River Band booking contract, and Pegasus from Minogue’s Aphrodite Les Folies 2011 tour.

• The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum’s first Iconic Riff Award goes to Roy Orbison’s 1964 ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’ which sold 7 million copies, and is constantly covered by artists as diverse as Al Green, John Mellencamp, Johnny Rivers, Bon Jovi, Green Day and Van Halen. It inspired the title of the Julia Roberts-Richard Gere movie of the 1980s and used in the soundtrack.

• Pickup and guitar designer Bill Lawrence passed away. Born Willi Lorenz Stich in Germany in 1931, he designed his first magnetic pickup in 1946. He moved to America and set up the company that bore his name, and worked for a number of guitar brands. During his time with Gibson, he designed PG. 12 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

• The Angels’ ‘Will I Ever See Your Face Again’ was voted best song to come out of South Australia in a poll conducted by Triple M and the Adelaide Advertiser.

• The nearly sold-out Chic appearance at the Opera House will be streamed around the world at the SOH’s YouTube channel Live at the House Sat Dec 7.

Tombowler.com.au

!

PERFORMING THE MUSIC OF

KING CRIMSON

WEDS W EDS 22 22 JAN JAN - T THE HE Z ZOO, OO, B BRIS RIS //// T THURS HURS 2 23 3J JAN AN - T THE HE G GOV, OV, ADEL ADEL FRI 24 JAN THE FACTORY, F RI 2 4J AN - T HE F ACTOR ORY, SYD SYD // // SAT SAT 25 25 - THE THE CORNER, CORNER, MELB MELB SUN 26 JAN SUN 2 6J AN - AMPLIFIER, AMPLIFIER, PERTH PERTH

PETER MURPHY PERFORMING SOLELY

BAUHAUS

TUES 10 DEC - THE HI-FI, BRIS WEDS 11 DEC - MANNING BAR, SYD THUR 12 DEC - THE CORNER, MELB JANUARY 2014 TOUR. THURS 16 - THE ZOO, BRISBANE FRI 17 - THE CORNER, MELBOURNE SAT 18 - THE FACTORY SYDNEY SUN 19 - AMPLIFIER, PERTH

Canberra - Dec 4 - Harmonie Club Wollongong - Dec 5 - Heritage Hotel Newcastle - Dec 6 - Gallipoli Club S Sydney - Dec 7 - The Factory

Tombowler.com.au

NOVEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / PG. 13

CHRISTM MAS WISH LIST

DYNAUDIO DBM50 “BACK-2-FRONT” PROMOTION

From now till the December 31st 2013 when you purchase a pair of Dynaudio DBM50 (RRP $2095) studio monitor speakers from your local dealer you’ll get a free gift for either the front or the back end of your studio setup. Choose between either a Blue Microphones Bluebird condenser

mic, or a Primacoustic London 8 Kit (in black, beige or grey). Simply fill out the claim form – available at your local Dynaudio Professional dealer with you selection of one of the above items and return the form with proof of purchase to Amber Technology and they will send your

PEARL FREE FLOATING SNARE DRUMS

Pearl’s Free Floating Snare Drums feature a patented system with no hardware attached to the drum shell. With nothing to encumber its ringing clarity, the shells are free to vibrate with unbridled response and true articulation. Pearl Free Floating System snare drums are available in several different sizes and 4 different materials: Brass, Copper, Steel and 6 ply Premium Maple.

All Free Floaters feature our SR-1000F Glide-

Lock Strainer with locking snare tension knob and patented locking throw-off lever that will not loosen no matter how hard you play.

For more info on Pearl’s range of Free Floating Snares, phone Australasian Music Supplies on (03) 9549 1500 or visit www.austmusic.com.au

CIOKS LINK SERIES Cioks has become one of the best known and most trusted names in the industry for pedalboard power-supplies. Since 1991 they’ve built up an extensive range of multi-output, multi-voltage pedal powering options to suit an expansive range of pedals. Now, Cioks have made solving your pedal-board clutter problems even easier with the new Link Series of power supplies. The names are familiar but a lot has changed. Big John Link now has one less output but has had boost in total output power and the addition of switchable voltage to all its outputs. AC Rider Link has also had an overall power-boost and also has switchable voltage on all outputs, whilst the Schizophrenic Link is completely new. However, the most important improvements to the Link Series are the new steel

enclosures and the Link function. Link Series PSU’s can now be physically linked together side-by-side without the need for any fussy cables. Instead the Link mains adapter joins pedal to pedal, so that you only need to plug one power cable into the wall to power your whole pedal board. Easy!

PG. 14 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

For more information on the range of Cioks products, phone Amber Technology on 1800 251 367 or visit www.ambertech.com.au

chosen gift free-of-charge! This promotion is subject to terms and conditions and is available while stocks last!

For more information on the range of Dynaudio Professional, Blue Microphones and Primacoustic products as well as this exclusive promotion visit Amber Technology at www.ambertech.com.au or phone 1800 251 367.

PEARL SENSITONE ELITE SNARE DRUMS

SensiTone Elite snare drums offer unparalleled options for the discriminating drummer of today. This series provides a virtual cauldron of advanced metallurgy, with a choice of 1.0mm Steel, 1.2mm Stainless Steel, 1.5mm Brass, 1.2mm Phosphor Bronze and 1.2mm Seamless Aluminium. Each of these instruments brings a distinctive sound inherent to its individual aural alchemy and is offered in 2 different depths;

14” x 5” and 14” x 6.5”. The SensiTone Steel Snare drum offers strong highs, projection and a lot of brightness.

For more info on Pearl’s SensiTone Elite snare drums, phone Australasian Music Supplies on (03) 9549 1500 or visit www.austmusic.com.au

CHRISTM MAS WISH LIST

PEARL THRONE THUMPER

Pearl partnered with ButtKicker® to develop the ultimate low-end feel machine that attaches directly under any throne. Powered by an included 200-watt amp, your throne will vibrate in perfect sync with all the low-end thunder your kit puts out as you play. Pearl’s Throne Thumper is compatible with any electronic drum set and attachable to any throne. The Throne Thumper is equally at home vibing your kit’s low frequencies

to you as you practice, or letting you feel the bass player groove in a live show environment where hearing the other musicians is tough.

Installation is easy.

For more info on the Throne Thumper, phone Australasian Music Supplies on (03) 9549 1500 or visit www.austmusic.com.au

AVID S6 CONTROL SURFACE

Avid have unveiled a major new addition to its industry leading family of control surfaces for sound recording, mixing and editing, further extending its leadership in the space. Avid S6 is designed for audio professionals in the most demanding production environments, delivering the performance needed to complete projects faster while producing the best sounding mixes.

In addition, S6 provides mixing professionals with a state-of-the-art solution that easily scales to meet their current and future challenges.

Built on the same proven technology that is core to the industry-leading ICON and System

5 product families, the Avid S6 enables mixers to quickly turn around complex projects while swiftly handling last-minute changes. With its unparalleled ability to simultaneously control multiple Pro Tools and other EUCON-enabled DAWs over simple Ethernet, S6 also speeds work flow and enables network collaboration on a single integrated platform.

For more info on the Avid range of products, phone Avid Australia 1300 734 454 or visit www.avid.com

AMERICAN DJ QUAD PHASE

SHURE GLX-D DIGITAL WIRELESS SYSTEMS

The revolutionary Shure GLX-D Digital Wireless Systems combines leading-edge Automatic Frequency Management technology with best-in-class intelligent lithium-ion battery rechargeability, to define the new standard for seamless operation and digital audio clarity.

Available in a variety of configurations, including the first Shure pedal-mounted guitar option.

It also features the option of the GLXD6 Guitar receiver. This is a totally new concept for Shure who have packaged the receiver into a foot pedal. It even incorporates a tuner and a familiar

looking stop button to switch between tuner and receiver modes. When coupled with the ULXD1 body / guitar transmitter pack you get a true digital wireless guitar system that is free from undesirable artefacts such as compansion that plague analogue systems and audibly modify your sound.

PG. 16 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

For more information on the Shure range of products, phone Jands on on (02) 9582 0909 or visit www.jands.com.au

American DJ’s Quad Phase is designed to fill a room and dazzle a crowd with it’s 160 razor sharp beams of light. This technologically advanced moonflower features a homogenised 10W 4-in-1 quad colour LED source (RGBW).

The Quad Phase produces up to thirteen colours in all. The Quad Phase also offers all the latest features sought after in special effects lights such as: DMX-512 for programming or linking capabilities, exciting built-in sound active programs, no duty cycle (runs all night), a long

life LED source (30,000 hours), 4-button DMX display on rear (for easier programmability), IEC power daisy-chaining, a 1.8 steeper motor for smooth movement and is compatible with ADJ’s UC3 easy-to-use mini controller.

For more information on the American DJ range of products, phone Pro Audio Group (Australia) on (02) 9521 4844 or visit www.proaudiogroup.com.au

NOVEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / PG. G 1 17

CHRISTM MAS WISH LIST

MI AUDIO MEGALITH GAMMA 80W HIGH GAIN AMPLIFIER

AVID S3L SYSTEM

Get the performance, sound quality, and features that countless live sound professionals have come to rely on in a system architecture that’s built for the future. The modular Avid S3L System is comprised of a high-performance HDX-powered processing engine running AAX plug-ins, scalable remote I/O that can live on stage or in a rack, and a head-turning, compact

control surface that’s built for the road, but equally at home in the studio. A solid investment for the professional sound engineer.

For more information on the Avid S3L system visit www.avid.com/s3l or phone Avid Australia on 1300 734 454.

KALA BRAND RUMBLER U-BASS

The Megalith Gamma is a scaled back version of the Megalith Beta with both Low and High (30W/80W) output modes. With two 6550 power tubes and intelligent power-amp design, the big bottom end and punch of the Megalith Beta is still present, whilst also retaining the complex and sophisticated high-gain tone that the Megalith line is becoming synonymous for. The Clean channel is unlike any other in a high-gain amp. All the top-end is retained, along with the signature fat bottom end to produce a sweet, full clean tone. The Drive channel has three gain

modes, and has more gain on tap than most metal amps in the market with flexible EQ tuning done via the three-band EQ, EQ Shift switch (selectable mid-frequency peak) and the ever powerful Contour control.

For more information on the MI Audio range of products, phone MI Audio on (02) 9519 5902 or visit www.miaudio.com

ISOACOUSTICS ISO-L8R430 ISOLATING STAND

The Kala Rumbler is the latest model in Kala Brand’s distinctive line of award winning portable U-Bass instruments. The Rumbler takes the U-Bass into a new dimension with the addition of custom engineered electronics and new proprietary strings, at an economically friendly price. The Rumbler design integrates a specially designed Kala electronic system with a Piezo pickup and is equipped with an active EQ with built in tuner. Each bass is strung with Kala Silver Rumbler Strings which are designed and manufactured exclusively for Kala Brand Music by Aquila strings. Includes a padded gig bag, die-cast U-Bass tuners, laminate Mahogany construction, Mahogany neck with Rosewood

fingerboard and bridge. Introduced in 2009, the Kala U-BASS won Product of Year awards in 2010 and 2011 from Music Inc., Best in Show at NAMM, and three Editor Pick awards from Bass Player Magazine. It also received a 2012 Editor’s Pick Award from Worship Leader Magazine. It is known for it’s deep bass tone in a portable (21”) body and is used by bassists such as, Abraham Laboriel, Bakithi Kumalo, Steve Bailey, Stuart Hamm, among many others.

PG. 18 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

For more information on the Kala range of products, phone Jacaranda Music on (08) 8363 4613 or visit www.jacarandamusic.com.au

The ISO-L8R430 Acoustic Isolating Stands are for Guitar, Bass and Other Instrument Amplifiers. For the musician, the ISO-L8R430 Stand (a member of the award-winning, highly- acclaimed IsoAcoustics stand family), is designed to support guitar amps, bass amps and other musical instrument amplifiers. The ISO-L8R430 stands provide a high level of bass decoupling, with improved sound clarity and openness throughout the midrange. Acting like a floating floor for your amplifier, the IS0-L8R430 suspends the amp, allowing it to breathe whilst cleaning up the bass smear and eliminating

harsh secondary reflections. The result for the music player is markedly enhanced sound clarity, superior isolation and tightening up of the bass and the opening up of mid-range frequencies.

Designed for both live performances and studio recording, the ISO-L8R430stands give guitarists, bass players and other players the ability to play clear, true, unaltered sound.

For more information on the IsoAcoustics range of products, phone National Audio Systems on 1800 441 440 or visit www.nationalaudio.com.au

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Premium Quality. The Perfect Holiday Gift.

Shure Professional Headphones Series From professional applications to everyday personal listening, Shure headphones bring together dynamic, high-performance with the unparalleled build quality that has made us a leader in professional audio for over 85 years. The range includes closed-back and open-back headphones for general listening, home and studio recording, monitoring and DJâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ing.

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DECEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / PG. 19

CHRISTM MAS WISH LIST

M-AUDIO KEYSTATION 49ES

Step into computer music-making with the Keystation 49ES from M-Audio. Designed for every level performers, the Keystation 49ES feature 49 velocity-sensitive keys that support deep, dynamic playing. Octave shift buttons extend the keyboard range for complete coverage. Equipped with a professional pitch bend wheel, an assignable modulation wheel and even a sustain pedal input, the Keystation 49ES ensures an expressive performance. A single USB cable offers a convenient a two-way data connection, as well as delivering power

ALTO PROFESSIONAL KICK 15 AMP

from your computer. Completing this powerful package is Ignite by AIR. Offering seamless integration with your Keystation 49ES, Ignite music creation software provides an extremely fast path for capturing ideas and making music.

Ableton Live Lite music software is also included.

For more information on the M-Audio range of products, phone Pro Audio Group (Australia) on (02) 9521 4844 or visit www.proaudiogroup.com.au

Vintage Lemon Drop ReIssued (V100PGM)

Unlike tired amp designs that recycle the same outdated technology, Kick amps incorporate modern circuitry to give you massive wattage in astonishingly lightweight enclosures. Use it as a keyboard amp, drum monitor, electronic percussion amplifier or even as PA system for small to medium-sized gigs. Kick series amplifiers are fine-tuned performance-hungry machines.

Their true bi-amped designs pump dedicated power to the LF woofers and HF, so neither gets overworked and neither gets neglected.

Kick amps come packed with 16 genuine Alesis

effects, including delay, flanger, chorus and multiple reverbs. Each effect has 16 different variations, giving you a total of 256 effect presets to choose from. FX level controls are located on all four channels, allowing you to dial in just the right amount of effect on each.

For more information on the Alto range of products, phone Pro Audio Group (Australia) on (02) 9521 4844 or visit www.proaudiogroup.com.au

M-AUDIO VOCAL STUDIO PACK

The Vintage Lemon Drop is now available in the Vintage ReIssued Series, featuring a beautiful hi-gloss tobacco burst finish. So, if you love the iconic sounds of those out of phase Wilkinson WVC pickups, with their authentic late ‘50’s tonality, but never really appreciated the ICON Series Lemon Drop’s beaten up finish, now’s your chance to own the Lemon Drop as it might well have been – fresh, new and shiny straight out of the box. The V100PGM features an ingeniously

designed offset heel that provides improved access to the guitar’s upper frets. Players will now be able to get up to the dusty end of the fretboard with ease, all while maintaining the V100’s classic looks, feel and tone.

PG. 20 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

For more information on the Lemon Drop range of products, phone National Audio Systems on 1800 441 440 or visit www.nationalaudio.com.au

M-Audio Vocal Studio transforms your computer into an easy to use recording studio. Powered by the same technology behind many of today’s greatest hits, the system includes the M-Audio Producer USB microphone, Pro Tools SE music creation application, mic clip, stand and pouch.

Simply connect the studio-quality mic to your computer, fire up the software, and record stunning vocals for use in songs, soundtracks, podcasts, or voice-overs. Then use Pro Tools

SE to polish your performance, add effects and more. Whether you’re recording your own songs or narrating video production, you’ll sound great with M-Audio Vocal Studio.

For more information on the M-Audio range of products, phone Pro Audio Group (Australia) on (02) 9521 4844 or visit www.proaudiogroup.com.au

FROM NOW UNTIL 31 ST DECEMBER 2013 Buy any TWO of these:

Get one of these FREE!!

Get FREE accessories!

Buy selected TC Electronic Bass Gear: Buy any of these: Get a FREE MP-75 Microphone!

Buy selected TC Electronic and TC Helicon products between 28/10/2013 and 31/12/2013 to get FREE accessories!

Simply return the completed claim form with proof of purchase to Amber Technology and the item/s will be posted to you.

To download the claim forms visit: www.ambertech.com.au/tc-christmas-2013

|

For details of these exciting offers visit: www.tcelectronic.com/promotions www.tchelicon.com/promotions

DECEMBER DE DEC EC E CEMB EMBER EM ER 201 20 2 2013 01 13 / MI 13 M MIXDOWN IX XD XDO D DO OWN WN NO NO NO. O. 236 236 / P 23 PG PG. G G.. 2 21 1

CHRISTM MAS WISH LIST

AUDIO-TECHNICA AG1 AND ADG1 GAMING HEADPHONES

MATON SRS SERIES GUITARS

ESRS70C

ESRS60C

AG1

The new Maton SRS series of guitars is the culmination of years of development and fine tuning by Maton’s senior luthiers and production designers. Maton have improved the neck geometry, bracing patterns and body construction of their acoustic guitars with stunning results and improved production methods, which have made it possible to produce these all solid timber guitars more effectively than ever before. The playability and tonal benefits are amazing. The backs and tops of these guitars are able to resonate more freely and have a huge dynamic range. The scalloped bracing of the ESRS70C provides a superior bass response and a rich midrange, whilst the ramped

bracing of the ESRS60C creates a focused, bright tone and the improved neck/body geometry produces a neck that is a joy to play. Difficult chord shapes and complex single note runs are much easier to execute and increased tonal response improves acoustic projection. A bone nut and saddle ensure maximum tone and sustain. Both guitars are finished in Maton’s tuned Satin pre-catalysed Nitro finish. These guitars redefine what is possible in a production built guitar.

For more info on the Maton rage, phone Maton Guitars on (03) 9896 9500 or visit www.maton.com.au/srs

When it comes to headphones the audiophile and the pro gamer are looking for many of the same things: accuracy and highly detailed audio reproduction, ability to handle extreme dynamics and transients and most importantly a stable and realistic soundstage with depth, height and width. These characteristics are why Audio-Technica’s A-Series and AD-Series have become so popular. The ATH-AG1 (closed-back) and ATH-ADG1 (open-back) both have a unique look and feel that incorporates sophisticated

driver technology and superior components.

Both use huge 53mm drivers which deliver exceptional power handling and very high SPL, but most critically premium audio quality, incredibly accurate sound positioning and mastering quality detail.

For more information on the Audio-Technica range of products, phone Technical Audio Group on (02) 9519 0900 or visit www.tag.com.au

AUDIO-TECHNICA ATHATH-ANC70 HEADPHONES full of confidence. Providing up to 90% noise cancellation, the new ATH-ANC70 offers a host of improvements including a microphone and phone call/music controller, completely integrated electronics with all functionality built into the earcup and a new comfort-fit design. Rather than a cable mounted headset mic and controls, the ATHANC70 incorporates all of that in the left ear cup.

Simply pressing the illuminated ‘Audio-Technica’ logo/button activates the microphone or scrolls through music tracks. Like all QuietPoint models, the ATH-ANC70 offers superior noise-cancellation performance and audio quality. All Audio-Technica noise cancelling headphones function in passive mode when the noise-cancelling function is turned off or the battery is flat. The ATH-ANC70 folds flat for storage and comes with a hard carrying case, a 1/4-inch adapter, airline adapter and AAA battery which will provide up to 40 hours of operation.

MAYONES SETIUS M6 AND M7 ELECTRIC GUITAR TAR

Replacing a best seller can be a nerve racking exercise but with the renewal of the ATHANC7b, Audio-Technica are chock-a-block M6

ADG1

For more information on the Audio-Technica range of products, phone Technical Audio Group on (02) 9519 0900 or visit www.tag.com.au

M7

THE AP5-PRO PICKUP

Setius M6 (6-string) and M7 (7-string) models both feature specially contoured solid Mahogany Sapele body with bolt-on 5 ply Mahogany/Maple neck. The 25.4” (645mm) scale, 24 fret Rosewood fingerboard with no fret markers is a hallmark style of the Mayones brand. Side neck dots are provided for player fingerboard navigation – again a design signature of the Mayones instrument stable.

Electronics include a Seymour Duncan TB-4 “Beck” pickup in the bridge position, with SH-2 “Jazz” in the neck slot selected via 3 way slider switch. Overall volume and tone controls are manipulated via black metal dome knobs. Hardware consists of Tune-O-

Matic i bridge b id with i h strings-through-body i h h b d construction for maximum wood resonance. Graph Tech Black TUSQ nut, Schaller M6 tuners and Schaller security strap locks in black finish complete the hardware specification. Available in natural wood grain matte, transparent cherry matte or transparent black matte finishes, the Setius M6 and M7 both come complete with a deluxe Mayones logo gigbag included.

PG. 22 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

For more information on the Mayones range of products, phone Ubersonic (03) 9580 1050 or visit www.ubersonic.com.au

The original AP5 pick-up has been held in the highest regard for well over a decade and used by professionals the world over, however being the perfectionists they are, Maton the purveyors of attention to detail, knew they could do better. So begins the journey that has taken the AP5 to the

AP5- PRO standard with and expanded Mid Sweep (600Hz-2000Hz), single Microphone input with Bass Cut control and a newly upgraded microphone that is direct mounted to the pre-amp casing. After 28 simulations, 46 completed PCB’s and hundreds of listening tests it’s only natural that the new AP5PRO sounds like it should with big clear bottom end, beautifully articulating the guitars natural resonance with the new piezo pickup improving the overall sound and detailing sharper transients than ever before. The brilliant thing about the AP5PRO is that now you can upgrade you previous AP5 as retrofitting the guitar is easy. Contact your local Maton authorised dealer to learn how and if you are considering purchasing a Maton, now is the time to do it! If there ever was an endorsement, none would come better than from the legendary Tommy Emmanuel who states, “The AP5-PRO is the most natural sounding pick up I have ever heard.”

For more information on the range of Maton products contact Maton Guitars on (03) 9896 9500 or visit www.maton.com.au/ap5pro

WA N T E D

SONGWRITERS & AMATEUR film makers.

We need your help to make an action sports video with a music soundtrack which shows that you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to get smashed to have a great time!

If you have an original song or 30 seconds of amateur sports footage which has a positive feel, send it to us - your submissions may be used to create this action packed music video.

The winning songwriter will win a Macbook Pro, their song will be professionally recorded and they will receive mentorship from music industry experts.

The 10 winning amateur action sports footage entrants will each receive a handheld action camera and their footage will be edited together and set to the winning song.

entries now open.

For full details and to enter visit: tacklingbingedrinking.gov.au/thebeproject

DECEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / PG. 23

A DAY TO REMEMBER RIDING THE COURTESY WAVE A Day To Remember formed in Florida in 2003 and since that time they’ve tour ed Australia, oh, about a jillion times. And while some bands can easily wear out their welcome under such circumstances, ADTR have managed to make each visit bigger than the last. With new album Common Courtesy out now via 3Wise in Australia, it’s time for the band to come back with one of their strongest recordings to date.

And so it was that last month they were announced as one of the big-ticket names on the Soundwave 2014 second line-up announcement. We caught up with vocalist Jeremy McKinnon to chat about it, including just how close the band came to having to call it a day.

The f rst thing we should talk about, of course, is the massive Soundwave juggernaut!

It’s the best festival on the planet, man! It’ s our most favourite to play at least. I mean, good lor d! It’s the most well-run, fun thing we get to do as a band, honestly. It is the highlight of every album cycle for me as a musician. I’m honoured to be a part of it and I’m honoured that Australians even care for us enough to bring us back. I’m always excited to go there.

It seems like every time you turn around, you guys are here!

Yeah, we try to be! I’m telling ya, I’d move ther e if I could!

So why do you think Australians have taken to you so much?

I don’t know but I’m really happy you have!

So you started the writing pr ocess for this album two years ago. Does it always take this long fr om beginning to end?

Always, man. That’ s just how I write. I’m always writing at all times. For instance, I just r ecorded a brand new song just last week that I’ve had sitting around but have never recorded. It’s like that. I’ll just plug away whenever I have time at home. Every time

we’re home I’m usually tracking at least one song every break we have. I’m writing year-round, and that way when it’s actually time to put a record together I have a record full of songs that I love, instead of ‘Oh shit, we’ve got two months to write an entire album,’ and then you write a really half-assed one. This is our career, right? May as well take it serious!

Well the stuf f here has been crafted and f netuned to a level that you might f nd in a pop album rather than something this heavy, yet it sure doesn’t sound pop.

It took us eight months to track this entir e album.

We had something like 40 song ideas. Ther e were like, legitimate great songs that we didn’ t even get to work on just because we didn’t have the time. We found 19 songs that we were tracking, and we ended up actually f nishing 16 out of the 19 that we started tracking. Those wer e the songs that everybody gravitated towards. Even if ther e were songs that I felt really should have been on the album that wer e not, that’s just not the stuff that everybody was really drawn to. So this was the album that we all wanted to put out. W e had the time to sit and make sur e we were absolutely happy with it. And honestly , we couldn’t have made a better record right now. This is as good as it’s going to get at this point in our career.

PG. 24 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / NOVEMBER 2013

You have your own studio to work in - what’ s it like?

Well we actually had a lot of stuf f built for us by (producer/engineer) Dan Korneff. He builds outboard gear too, and we had him build a lot of compressors for us. I worked with Andr ew Wade and he would work with Dan Kor neff on what he did and didn’ t like in the studio, and by trial and err or they built the whole studio around that. We also have a patch bay and everything using all this stuf f now. It was a learning experience. It took us a few months to get up and running but yeah, it’s a really awesome setup!

And now Andrew’s got it set up here for me and I can literally just plug in to the front of a compressor and I can track a guitar that’s the same quality as the album we just made.

That’s one thing a lot of people with home studios miss - a good analog compr essor can do so much more for your sound than a plugin.

Yes! A huge dif ference. So hats of f to Dan Kor neff for helping us out. He built about thr ee or four and he’s amazing at what he does. Couldn’t have done it without him.

And have you adapted the studio environment to be a creatively inspiring space?

For sure! Andrew built custom panels and we got them wrapped pr ofessionally by upholster ers, so we decorated the r oom how we wanted to. Ther e’s this huge panel that takes up the back wall and we had our artist Mike C, who does all of our artwork, he made this big huge 90s collage of just stuf f that we grew up with. All these 90s things, so like, every time somebody comes into the studio they just stare at this stuf f for hours. W e have everything up there. Michael Jor dan, POGs, video games, Home Alone, everything you can think of. It’ s pretty awesome.

So the album was r eleased digitally on October 8, over a month before getting a physical release.

We had to do that because we didn’ t know until two days before October 8 if we wer e going to be able to release it at all, because our old label tried to go to the courts and say we shouldn’ t be able to release the album. And the judge decided “W e’re not going to stop this band’ s career because you guys have a disagr eement. They’re gonna put out their album. You should have settled. Y ou shouldn’t have let it get to this point.” Which is pr etty much what they said, which is awesome because our label’s entire game plan was to str etch it out until we wer e stretched into a cor ner where we had to make a bad decision. So we kinda just said “Y’know , we’re gonna gamble here,” and the judge took our side, thankfully. We really did gamble with our whole career. It was r eally, really scary. Seriously. If we had have lost it would have been the end of our whole career, seriously. It would have ruined our car eer.

It would have been over . So it was pr etty serious, we knew it, and the judge sided with us. I can not put into words the feeling that we all had when we heard that the judge sided with us. It was amazing, man. I’ve never had a feeling like that in my whole life. It was like we were the underdogs who won the football championship, man.

BY PETER HODGSON

A Day T o Remember ar e heading out for Soundwave Festival in 2014. For more information including dates, visit www.soundwavefestival.com

MEGADETH KINGS AMONGST MEN It’s safe to say that metal as we know it simply wouldn’t be the same without Megadeth. The other ‘big four of thrash’ contributed certain elements to the form - Anthrax brought the humour, Slayer brought the evil and Metallica brought the gruff manliness. But Megadeth contributed intelligence, social awareness and instrumental virtuosity in a consistent and incredibly assured way. Megadeth’s lineups have changed throughout the years but the one constant is Dave Mustaine. In many ways he is Megadeth - he’s the band’s songwriting anchor, and his rhythm guitar style defines the whole band’s approach. Megadeth are returning to Australia for Soundwave 2014, and their performance is sure to be a highlight of the festival. How could it not, with classics such as “Holy Wars …The Punishment Due,” “Hangar 18” and “Symphony Of Destruction” to draw from, as well as material from latest album Super Collider, which sees the band returning to the more melodic vein previously explored in albums like Youthanasia and Cryptic Writings?

It’s going to be great to have you back in Australia.

Megadeth and Australia have a great affinity for each other, if previous tours are anything to go by.

We’re chuffed. We’re really excited to be coming back. It’s long overdue and we can’t wait to get back down there.

You’ve recently started to incorporate digital screens to your stage show, which is a new thing for Megadeth.

Yeah. We started doing that because we realised that with all the new bands coming out with all their production stuff, playing with just a backdrop and a back line was cool and everything, but it wasn’t really what we needed. I mean, you’ve got opening bands that have fire and confetti and inflatables and strippers and video cameras and all kinds of stuff like that. What do you do when you’re a headliner? So we started looking at what we were doing and we decided to take the plunge into more production stuff. And I think it’s good for us because Megadeth is a band that has really intense songs, and when you’ve got that kind of visionary delivery with the songs behind it, it just takes things to a whole new level. I think it really helped us.

One thing I really liked from your new Countdown To Extinction Live DVD was when you used the screens to show a backdrop of Marshall stacks.

Haha, yeah! Are you a Marshall guy?

Yep! Good man, good man. When Dr. Jim (Marshall) passed away I was so sad, and I figured ‘Y’know, I’m going to honour him, no matter what,’ even though we weren’t using the cabinets on stage any more. I thought we should do the right thing, and I think he would have been digging that.

I use Kahler, but what we were doing was we were showing that the guitar can come with either setup.

I was at the NAMM show when you unveiled your new Dean double-neck…

That guitar, the ‘Flying W,’ is actually called the Diadem because it is based on the artwork and the song ‘Diadems’, which is about the story in the book of Revelations with the crown … diadem is another word for crown, and I thought that was just such an incredible crown jewel. It’s definitely the best guitar in my quiver.

And you recently switched to ClearTone strings with a new signature set. Strings can be such a personal thing.

They’re pretty monstrous strings, and when you start to play guitar when you’re a kid, you can’t really afford to buy new strings every day, you get your pack and you’re kinda loyal to it. Even when you get to a point where you can afford more strings, you still stay loyal to them and you don’t even know why, you just are. It takes somebody to really convince you to switch companies. When I went from D’Addario over to GHS, that was a huge, huge change. And for me to go from GHS to ClearTone, it was going to have to take someone to move a mountain, basically, to get that to happen. Evan (Skopp, Inside Track OEM Solutions) had told me about the way the quality and the way that the strings were manufactured, the sound, the support from the company and basically the way that we do things and the way that they do things, and Evan knowing how Dave Mustaine does things because he’s worked with me for so long, he just knew it was a perfect fit. So I said “Okay Ev, you know me, you know the way I play, so these things better be a motherfucker.”

And I noticed also at the NAMM show that there were a few models with Floyd Rose vibratos. Is that something you use from time to time?

No, I’m not a Floyd Rose kind of guy. I’m a Kahler guy.

A few years ago you switched from the passive Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz pickups to a signature active set. What drove that change?

Nothing, really. I just wanted to have a better sound,

Countdown To Extinction was a very pioneering album. I hear you were very precise about how it was recorded?

Well, we weren’t really doing a lot of digital editing when we were recording that. One of the things that we did do was we hooked up to the guitars, a Peterson strobe tuner so we could check the tuning as we were recording the songs.

and I talked to Evan and they told me they were really great pickups and were along the line of what I was trying to get sound wise, myself and my playing. I listened to him and I said “Y’know what, Evan, you’re totally right. This is what I’m looking for.”

I started trying to borrow bits and pieces from your guitar style ever since I discovered Megadeth when I was about 12 and I’ve always wondered: how do you treat your guitars? How hard do you have to play to get that sound?

They get pretty beat up. I remember seeing something one time, a guy had said he’d done an interview with Jeff Beck, and Jeff had said you’ve gotta play your guitars gently. And I thought “Fuck that.” I’m not gonna play my guitar gently. I’m gonna kick it in the stomach, y’know? It’s my guitar and it’s my weapon. It’s my tool, and I’m gonna be using it to change history. I’m not gonna go out there and try to carve Mount Rushmore with a feather!

Yeah, you’ve gotta break ‘em like a horse.

Of course you do, man! Get out there, get it on! Don’t be afraid!

BY PETER HODGSON

Megadeth will tour nationally as part of Soundwave 2014. For the full run of dates, the line-up and tickets visit www.soundwavefestival.com

ZEBRAHEAD FRIENDLY FIRES Formed during the Orange County, California punk explosion, Zebrahead are the kind of band who somehow manages to appeal to fans of punk and rock at the same time. They have the aggression and energy of punk and yet the songcraft and attitude of rock. And the musical flexibility to drift in and out of metal too whenever the mood strikes them. Their latest album is Call Your Friends, out now on 3Wise/Sony Music. Produced by Cameron Webb (Pennywise, Megadeth, Motorhead), it’s the band’s tenth studio album in a career which has seen them sell over 2 million albums and even score a Grammy nomination. We caught up with guitarist Matty Lewis ahead of the band’s appearance on Soundwave 2014.

Well, the first thing we should talk about is the music-nerd stuff. You worked with Cameron Webb again on Call Your Friends. What’s he like to work with?

Cameron’s awesome. We’ve worked with him a long time and he’s a friend, a good guy. He’s pretty intense. He’s laid back but he can be pretty intense because he tries to get the best out of you for a take. Especially vocally. He doesn’t settle for really shitty solos, like if I’m doing solos he never just settles for mediocrity, I guess, which is great! That’s what we love about him!

And with the kind of stuff you do, you need to get that energy across because ultimately this is music that’s going to be jumped around to!

Right! And that’s what we wanted to do with this one, to try to capture all that energy that we have on stage. He did a good job of feeling that.

Tell us about the title track and how it fits in with the rest of the album.

It’s a little bit poppier and it’s really cool. It’s

basically about a party, about calling your friends and hanging out at a party. We filmed the video for it in LA and it was crazy. We authentically got drunk and I puked - I didn’t puke on camera, I did it somewhere else. To this second I have no idea where I threw up. I think I did it beside somebody’s boat. But the video is representative of us in the sense that it’s a positive party.

Well it’s like when Van Halen filmed the video for the song ‘Amsterdam’ actually in Amsterdam, doing everything you’re supposed to do there, and then they weren’t allowed to show it…

Perfect, [Laughs].

So what guitars are you using at the moment?

There’s a Japanese company called Fujigen.

They make custom guitars for me and also for Ben, our bassist. They used to be the Fender distributor for Japan but they stopped doing that a couple years back. I use those and I use Seymour Duncan pickups. I use the JB humbucker. I used that guitar for all the rhythms

PG. 26 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

on all of the songs except one song had a little bit of a quiet tone, so I used a Fender Telecaster with Seymour Duncan Five-Twos. I have a Vox AC30 which I use for recording, and I use a Mesa Stiletto head and also a Marshall JCM900 sometimes, and also an Orange Rockerverb.

That’s my favourite of the Orange. It all depends on what region we’re performing in, because we have stuff placed all over.

Are you much of a pedal guy?

I use the DigiTech Whammy. I use a lot of it on this album. I also use a lot of MXR’s stuff… the Carbon Copy delay and I modded a Blues Driver and the Boss DS-1. I modded that myself. I’m trying to do that and get better at it. It might take a couple of days! I’ve always wanted to build a guitar but I know how it’d turn out. I’d have a piece here, a piece there and a couple of years later it’ll be like “Eh… didn’t get to it.”

So as a guitarist, who are your guys?

Eddie Van Halen, by far. In fact, my guitars that are made for me in Japan, I hope I won’t get sued, and my wife is an attorney so hopefully she’ll help me, is like his white guitar with the black stripes. That’s what my guitars are like. It all started because I had an Explorer that’s cream with a white pick guard, and because I love Van Halen so much I used electrical tape to stripe it because it looked so cool. And when Fujigen approached me to make a guitar I said “Make it look like Eddie’s!”

BY PETER HODGSON

Zebrahead are heading out for Soundwave Festival in 2014. For more information on tickets and dates, visit www.soundwavefestival.com

PERIPHERY THE WIZARDS OF OZ It seems like just yesterday that Periphery was in Australia – and it pretty much was, if you count ‘March’ as yesterday. Whereas last time around they traveled the country as part of the huge Soundwave festival juggernaut, they’re heading back in January and February for their own tour with like-minded proggy djenty iconoclasts Animals As Leaders. And guitarist Mark Holcomb - one of three axemen in the band - is pretty damn happy about that. “Oh man, I’ve said it many times publicly before and I’m not playing favourites just because I’m talking to Australian press, but it’s probably my favourite place to tour just because we get treated so well out there by our record label, by our fans, by everybody really,” Holcomb says. “Plus it’s just a breeze to tour because there’s something about the way we’re treated by our fans at the shows. They’re always intense shows but they’re not so crazy that people are beating each other up. They’re just really adoring fans. It’s my favourite place to tour in the world - I just wish it didn’t take 25 damn hours to fly out there!”

Last time Periphery toured they smashed the Espy to pieces at a Soundwave sideshow with Japanese electro-metallers Crossfaith, an odd pairing but one that somehow worked. “It was funny to watch the online reaction when those sideshows were announced,” Holcomb laughs. “Wow, what a pairing. And truth be told, I was not familiar with Crossfaith’s music, but after those shows and watching them live I was hooked.

They’re amazing.” This time around though Periphery will be playing with a much more like-minded band in the form of Animals As Leaders. After all, Periphery founder Misha Mansoor has a heavy songwriting and production stake in Animals As Leaders (whose new album is in the works now), and both bands are seen by some as leaders of the ‘djent’ movement, a spellcheck-defying variety of progressive metal with a heavy emphasis on low-tuned riffage and odd time signatures. “For a long time we’ve been wanting to come back down to Australia with a really, really cool tour package that made sense, much like when we toured with TesseracT two years ago,” Holcomb says.

“I think Animals and Periphery makes even more sense along that wavelength.”

By the time Periphery makes it to Australia there’s a good chance we’ll have some new music to hear, too.

Holcomb confirms that the band has been recording a very special project recently which is likely to see the

light of day in the next few months. “I can’t really say much more than that, except that it’s a very experimental concept that’s not our next full-length. It’s not our next album but we slaved away on it for months. We put a lot of work into it and you’ll see. I don’t want to spoil it for you…”

Periphery essentially started life as demos recorded at home by Mansoor, and the band has steadily developed into its own entity over the years, going through various line-up changes before settling on the current configuration. Holcomb says that in terms of having actual people dictating different elements of the music and business decisions it’s really done “a complete 180 from how it started, y’know, bedroom music - and not like sexytime bedroom music but bedroom metal, y’know - but it’s become its own beast now. You have six people and all of us write our own music and all of us contribute now creatively, be it on the engineering side - Nolly is an amazing producer and engineer and a fantastic guitar player as well as of course a fantastic bassist. And we all write our music. It’s just such a blessing to have that, but at the same time you also have to know how to get along and how not to get your feelings stepped on with so many other cooks in the kitchen, if you know what I mean.”

After years of playing Ernie Ball Music Man guitars

quite prominently, Holcomb has recently made a bit of a switch, picking up Carvin 7- and 8-string guitars in addition to his regular silver burst Music Man John Petrucci signature model. “Oh man, they play just as good or maybe even a little better for my tastes than the Music Man guitar,” he says of the Carvins. “I miss tune-o-matic bridges, I miss hard tail bridges, and the models I played, the JP models, don’t have that. It’s nice to go back to that, because I grew up playing on a Les Paul and I wrote the Haunted Shores material, 90% of it, on a hard tail guitar. It was a Carvin Holdsworth, the HF2 Fat Boy. And going back to those instruments is kind of a full-circle, where I find myself going back to a creative sweet spot.” And he’s working with DiMarzio on a custom set of pickups which he hopes will some day be made available for the general public. That’d be quite fitting, since this year his bandmates Misha Mansoor and Jake Bowen have both released signature pickups via Bare Knuckle and DiMarzio, respectively.

Holcomb found his way into Periphery via Haunted Shores, a heavy, melodic project and yet another that involves Mansoor. “It’s something I still write for, definitely,” he says. “But I find that the bulk of material now that I find myself writing I just think of as being destined for Periphery. I think the Haunted Shores style, even though the project has been semi-dormant for the

last year and a half, I think the sound is now just slowly seeping its way into Periphery’s sound. And I think it’s evident from the second record that some of the songs that I did not even have a hand in writing, like ‘The Gods Must Be Crazy,’ I didn’t have a hand in writing that song but that is a Haunted Shores song to me! Jake (Bowen, guitar) and Misha wrote that song. So I think the sound is creeping its way into the music, and I don’t know why or how but I like it. I like that a little tiny project like that is having a bigger impact, y’know?”

But for now the band is focused on the new mystery project and the Australian tour - and their next fulllength album, if the monster popularity of last year’s Periphery II: This T ime It’s Personal ever lets them get off the road long enough to finish the damn thing.

BY PETER HODGSON Periphery tour with Animals As Leaders on the following dates.

TOUR DATES January 31 – The Hi-Fi, Brisbane QLD February 1 – The Metro, Sydney NSW February 2 – Billboard, Melbourne VIC

LETLIVE CAPTURING THE DARK SIDE It seems that whenever you ask anyone what will be remembered amongst the strongest releases of 2013, they immediately elect the new Letlive album The Blackest Beautiful [Epitaph]. It’s a passionate, powerful, energetic burst of post-Rage-Against-The-Machine angst and ferocity, with a huge organic sound and a world-class approach to subtle but crucial vocal harmony. It’s also brain-grabbingly memorable, despite its complexity. Guitarist Jeff Sahyoun - who also engineered the album - has developed an idiosyncratic style which blends traditional riff-rock with post-hardcore adrenaline and a sound-designer’s appreciation of using found objects for weird noises and textures. The band will return to Australia in 2014 as part of the massive Soundwave Festival juggernaut.

The first thing that really hits me about the album is the massive low end, and as the engineer I guess that comes down to you.

How did you approach the overall sound of the album?

The studio I had a residency back in LA has a massively large live room, and I was wondering why a lot of bands these days will spend so much time on the drum mic placement and arrangements to capture the dynamics and sonic energy in a musician’s performance, and then they go to the computers and they soundreplace stuff, and it’s like putting together a puzzle on a computer. We’re pretty messy, and it’s about capturing the dynamics and the live feel, and what we’re feeling at the time.

It certainly sounds like it’s more of a recording rather than a construction.

Yeah. If we went about it relying on the digital technology I would find it kinda easy to soundreplace, and then it just becomes sitting at a screen putting squares together. We could have probably knocked out a record in a month and

a half and it would have been fine. But I think we’re kind of a different kind of band. And if you see us live, we’re raising hell and going off, and it’s all about that soul and energy. And when you rely heavily on the digital realm you lose some of that. So, we let it be.

I usually think of you as a Tele guy but I’ve seen you with the EVH Wolfgang a lot lately.

Dude, it’s beautiful and it’s small like me. My representative over at Fender brought me into the showcase room in Burbank, California, to try out some Charvels. I’d been rocking some Telecasters because I’d built them from scratch.

I’ll use a Fender body and I’ll nerd out on it. So I went in there to try out some Charvels and I’m not like an insane metal guy at all, so when I went in, when I was looking on the wall I saw the EVH Wolfgang and I picked it up and he said ‘Well, it’s not a Charvel, but if you want to try it out, go for it.’ I sat down and started jamming with it and I loved it. It was so easy on my hands.

I love the fretboard. Like I said, I’m tiny, and the fretboard is small and I have small fingers, and I

could get around the body and neck really quick.

So I loved it. I do use a Telecaster that I had built myself, but I still rock the EVH every single set, every day. I go half and half.

And amps, you’re an Egnater guy, yeah?

Yeah. I’ve been a part of the Egnater family for six or seven years, when they were making the amps out of a garage. A buddy of mine introduced me to them. They brought me over the Renegade and I love it! It’s been a part of my rig for the past six years. I actually just had a conversation with a producer/engineer buddy in Chicago and he said ‘You’ve never let go of that head.’ I don’t know if it’s just that I’m so used to it, but I love it.

I’m full Egnater up and down, all over the place.

And they’re really good to me. It sounds good for my style.

And pedals?

The mother of my rig is the Line 6 M13, which I use on everything pretty much. And I have a Red Witch Fuzz God II - lots of noises in that.

And then I have a Boss Super Shifter that I use for drops and whatnot. And I’m controlling my M13 with an Ernie Ball 25k volume pedal as an expression pedal, and I have another Ernie Ball Jr regular volume. Then I have a Dunlop Crybaby wah pedal but I took it apart and changed all the inductors on the inside, so it’s fatter when it’s closed. I nerd out, man. I sit there with my solder machine, take shit apart and put it back together til I like what I hear. So that’s what I’ve got. And other than that, a lot of my effects are whatever I can grab, whether it’s glass bottles, air conditioner systems on stages, or whatever Jason breaks I’ll take pieces off the floor and start drilling it into my guitar.

BY PETER HODGSON

Letlive will tour nationally as part of Soundwave 2014. For the full run of dates, the line-up and tickets visit www.soundwavefestival.com

PG. 27 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

THE CRIMSON PROJEKCT BLOOD RUNS THICKER THAN WATER The Crimson ProjeKCt is a King Crimson offshoot featuring three current members of that historic, iconic band - Adrian Belew, Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto - along with Julie Slick, Tobias Ralph and Markus Reuter. And a typical Crimson ProjeCKt concert is a marathon of musical might which shifts through many moods and configurations.

Belew explains: “What happens is this; Stick Men (Levin, Mastelotto and Reuter) play a set of their music, which includes a Crimson track or two, then the Power Trio (Belew, Slick, Ralph) plays a set of my music, which also includes a Crimson track, then Tony and Pat and I play a Crimson song (as yet another trio), and then comes the big finale: both trios play more than an hours-worth of Crimson music as a double trio! It’s a helluva show!” And the group is coming to Australia and New Zealand to spread their particular brand of musical majesty in January, with shows in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Fremantle.

“To me it’s a celebration of all the things that we’ve done in King Crimson, all the things I’ve been a part of for the past 30-plus years,” explains Belew, who in addition to an extensive Crimson tenure has also worked with the likes of Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Talking Heads and Nine Inch Nails. “But also there’s improvising so the show is fresh for us as well. It’s the closest you’ll have at this point to King Crimson, at least for the moment. And as well as that you get to hear the Power Trio doing some of my music, and you get to hear Stick Men doing their music. So you put it all together and it’s a pretty big night of music. As a six-piece band we play about an hour and a half of Crimson music and we cover everything, one era to the next. So it’s a lot of fun. It’s part of my legacy and I really enjoy doing it.”

Belew says that at this point there’s no particular

need to take liberties with the material or put it into a new context. “These are comfortable shoes for me now,” he says. “I just put them on and I’m ready to run. But that’s not so much what it’s about. It’s not about the invention of something. It’s a celebration of this music. But I will say it’s different night to night. Different things happen that will surprise me.

I might know the music so innately after all these years but there’s always going to be something that happens that I’ve never heard before. It’s music that you have to really concentrate on even if you know it really well. You can’t just be looking around. it’s really complicated and everything has to be really connected if you want it to work right. Especially in a band with two drummers and two bass players.”

Curious listeners who might not be well-versed in the Crimson lexicon but would still like to have a jumping off point to appreciate the show should

know that the band has explored many different styles, from the vaguely hippy-ish psychedelia of ‘Moonchild’ to the prototypical progressive rock of ‘21st Century Schizoid Man’ to the more recognisably prog ‘Dinosaur’ and the angular math-rock of ‘Thrak.’

But Belew has a suggestion for a suitable jumpingoff point. “If you want to start with the Crimson that I’ve been a part of that started in 1981, I would start right there with the first record that we did, myself, Robert Fripp, Bill Bruford and Tony Levin. That was called Discipline, and even to this day the Discipline record is something that people still talk about a lot as being something that was kind of unique. Nothing ever sounded like that before. I think if you heard that record you would know right away if that was something you’d be interested in, and strangely I think it still sounds ahead of its time despite being over 30 years old.”

music correctly and consistently.’ So Frank wasn’t looking for someone to add anything to what he did.

He wanted you to play what he had already written.

He knew what he wanted to you do, he spelled things out for you, and for me at that time in my life that was something I really needed. I needed a teacher for a while, so Frank was my teacher for a whole year. Right after that I graduated into being in David’s band, and what he wanted, was for me to just play as wild guitar as I could. That’s what he needed in his music: someone to colour it with lots of wild sounds and solos. And that’s the same thing that Talking Heads wanted from me to, and kind of the same thing that Nine Inch Nails always ask of me: to play as wild as I can. Some people come to me for songwriting or singing, and some people want me to play wild, and I like all those roles.”

BY PETER HODGSON

Belew has unique insight into working with great visionaries such as Zappa, Fripp, Bowie and Trent Reznor. Bowie and Zappa, in particular, required completely different things of the guitarist compared to each other. “David’s way and Frank’s way were different,” he says. “With Frank I can put it in one sentence that he said to me: ‘I want you to play my

TOUR DATES January 9 – The Hi-Fi, Melbourne VIC January 10 – Manning Bar, Sydney NSW January 11 – The Hi-Fi, Brisbane QLD January 14 – Fly By Night, Fremantle WA

NILE RODGERS LE FREAK In the late ‘70s Nile Rodgers was one of the most celebrated musicians in the world.

In 1976 Rodgers teamed up with bassist Bernard Edwards to co-found the band Chic, who then went on to record a string of commercially successful disco hits including Le Freak, Good Times, I Want Your Love and Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah). However his time in the spotlight was short-lived, and until his recent commercial revival through his collaborative work with Daft Punk, Rodgers spent the most part of the past three decades behind the black curtain crafting some of the biggest and most influential records of our time.

“It’s been a strange adventure with Chic,” confesses Rodgers. “People don’t realise that all of those hit records that we had – and there were a lot – happened in just the space of two years. We had say, ten gold, platinum and multiple-platinum singles all in that short time.”

Following the anti-disco reaction which climaxed on July 12, 1979 with the widely publicised and ill-fated Disco Demolition Night now referred to as “the day disco died,” Chic struggled to maintain airplay and sales, which eventually forced them to take extended hiatuses and follow individual pursuits. “After 1979 we never had another hit record again,” he notes.

“We went from 1979 all the way to 1983 doing nothing but flops.”

It was then that Rodgers stepped out of the limelight and into the producers chair, going on to work on some of the ‘80s most prolific records, including David Bowie’s biggest-selling album Let’s Dance and Madonna’s blockbuster Like a Virgin. “INXS, Duran Duran, Mick Jagger and Peter Gabriel,” lists Rodgers with a laugh. “At this point it’s pretty endless.”

Flash-forward to 2013 and Rodgers is back riding high on the charts, headlining festivals around the globe with Chic and continuing to work with some of the world’s most influential artists. “In a life of big, big, big years, this has been one of the biggest,” laughs Rodgers when reflecting back on 2013. “We played at Glastonbury for the first time and killed it – according to most that was our show, that was our festival. We played at Hyde Park just after that with Lionel Richie

and J-Lo which was in front of 65,000 people and was just great.”

His appearance on the year’s most ubiquitous single Get Lucky, alongside the earlier release of his autobiography Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco, and Destiny and various televised live performances (including Glastonbury) in 2013 saw a radical commercial reprise for Rodgers. “Daft Punk, quite like Chic, are a very anonymous band,” he notes.

“With ‘Get Lucky’ and ‘Lose Yourself To Dance’ Pharrell (Williams) and I became the recognisable faces. I also became the main guy promoting the tracks because they wanted me to take all of the interviews. I basically became the de facto spokesperson for the band. It was a position that I wasn’t particularly comfortable in.

But, y’know, it’s my record too. Other than Daft Punk I’m the only other person with three tracks on that album. I’ll be working with them on at least one new song on the upcoming Chic album.”

These high levels of commercial interest lead to the release of the compilation record Up All Night, attributed to Nile Rodgers and The Chic Organization, which contains recordings written, played and produced by Rodgers and Edwards for various artists alongside Chic themselves. “It’s been extraordinary this year because it’s really come full circle because now we’ve released the best Chic greatest hits package that I believe has ever come out. Even people like Madonna, who has always been my friend but is very protective of her product, gave me a great version of ‘Like A Virgin’ that we did to use – it’s been really awesome to have that one my new record.”

PG. 28 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

A busy year, no doubt? “That’s not even beginning to mention the amount of records that I’ve got coming out!” he laughs. “This feels to me like my career back in the ‘70s and the ‘80s, when one of my records was up for an award, a journalist said that I should receive some sort of special award for sheer volume. I don’t even want to start mentioning them because I know I’ll forget some, but I have records coming out with Disclosure, Chase & Status, Tensnake, Avicii, Daft Punk and Jessie Ware – it’s just an insane amount.”

After a whirlwind sold-out Australian tour in March 2012, which included a headline performance at Golden Plains, Rodgers and Chic will be returning later this month for appearances at Subsonic, Meredith and a series of theatre shows in what will be their largest Australian tour to date. “With Australia there’s always been this long-running joke,” muses Rodgers. “Any time a promoter even considers bringing Chic over they never, ever follow through. The reason why?

We’re basically an anonymous studio band. They don’t know what we do. They don’t know of my composing background or my production background. They don’t know how many hit records I’ve worked on. We have a really dynamic live show, so I’m always like ‘What! They’re picking that over us?!’ But last year a couple of promoters took a chance with us.”

“When I got to Australia last time I just couldn’t believe that no-one had ever booked us. Someone told me ‘You know Nile, you’ve had something like seven #1 records over here’ and I’m like ‘Really? And we can’t even get booked!’ In fact, last time one of the promoters even dropped us because he was

nervous that we didn’t have a bunch of pre-sales. He didn’t understand – we almost always sell out, but we never do it until the night of the show. There’s this phenomenon about us. People see going to see Chic like they’re going to a disco – they have this mentality. As everyone saw in Australia – we sold out. People showed up in droves. I don’t really understand, but people really do come to our shows as if they were going out to a club. We’ve had a number of massive sell outs all throughout Europe this year, and we’ve had to go on an hour or two hours late because the queues have been so long because people are showing up at the last minute and we want to give people a show. We’re not going to be all ‘Well, sorry, you came at the last minute so we’re just going to go on and to hell with you’. We wait – and we put on a show.”

BY TYSON WRAY

TOUR DATES December 6 - Subsonic Music Festival, NSW December 7 - Sydney Opera House, NSW December 8 - Astor Theatre, WA December 11 - Billboard The Venue, VIC (plus Q&A and Guitar Clinic) December 13 - Billboard The Venue, VIC December 14 - Meredith Music Festival, VIC December 15 - The Tivoli, QLD (Day Event) December 15 - Cloudland, QLD (Night Event)

DECEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / PG. 29

KURT VILE STAYING HUNGRY After a string of lo-fi releases, Kurt Vile’s 2011 LP Smoke Ring For My Halo brought him to the attention of a broader chunk of the music listening populace. Vile’s latest record, Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze is a meticulously layered production, departing from Smoke Ring’s more refined composition. We catch up before Vile’s appearances at the 2014 Sydney Festival which will see him play an acoustic show, without his backing band The Violators. Also on the verge of his new EP release, It’s a big world out there (and I’m scared), we caught up with Kurt as he ponders the likelihood of doing an entirely solo-acoustic record.

“Somewhere along the way I’ll do a full acoustic thing. Smoke Ring was pretty much full on acoustic, even if there was some electricity there. But in a more [Bruce Springsteen’s] Nebraska sense, that’d be awesome.”

Vile’s early records were largely done in coordination with former Violators band mate and War On Drugs leader Adam Granduciel. Vile indicates he’ll probably produce a bare bones acoustic record once he’s equipped with a functioning home studio.

“I think it’s inevitable that I’ll do something like that, especially once I get my ultimate home recording set-up. My band mate [multi-instrumentalist] Rob Laakso, he’s really good at engineering and my old band mate Adam Granduciel, he’s really good at having his home set up. I want that but I’m a little bit more ADD and I don’t have the engineering chops that they do. I just want some simple analogue setup that eventually I’ll have.”

Vile certainly doesn’t seem worried about adhering to commercial norms. Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze comprises lengthy songs unpacking the possibilities of simple chord progressions and is distinguished by Vile’s droll existential musings. Releasing an 11-track 70-minute record in 2013 is a gutsy move and Vile admits he encountered some doubts during the recording process.

“There’s always obstacles and different meltdowns of over-listening and trying to figure it out,” he says. “You definitely have meltdowns where you think the whole thing is not going to work out even though there’s potential. Ultimately I was going for something big and epic, shooting for something a little different – [trying] to grab ‘em by the balls a little bit.”

Despite the marked success of Smoke Ring For My Halo, Vile wasn’t interested in rehashing the record’s concision. However, he understands that the new record’s effortless pace and intricate textures could be unsettling to some listeners.

“Ideally I want people to freak out about it, but I know it’s a challenging thing. I’ve heard it enough, I’ve listened to it over and over so I know all the nooks and crannies. Other people hear it the first time and it’s usually different than my last one, which they might have liked, then at first they think they don’t like it but it’s really just because you’ve got to listen. It takes multiple listens to get it all,” he says.

Lyrically Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze is Kurt Vile’s most advanced work. With a mixture of everyday wisdom and comic irony, he covers themes such as the joy of existence, inescapable human fallibility and defiant self-confidence. Vile’s vocals are also more prominent in the mix than they have been in the past, but he indicates his lyrical abilities were never in question.

“I was always confident in my lyrics. I like them from everything that I’ve put out. I think that in the earlier ones you can’t hear them as much but that was almost [due to] lo-fi production values.”

Vile’s critical reputation has gone from strength to strength with each album release, which indeed would be a major confidence booster. Yet, Vile dismisses any yearning for critical flattery.

“Even if somebody doesn’t get something you put out that’s a little rough and they give it a bad review, you can get upset at first but it’s almost better. You don’t want somebody kissing your butt forever, because there’s some bubblegum shit that’s really popular,” he explains.

Tenaciously pursuing one’s artistic aims, particularly in the face of heightened external expectations, requires substantial self-confidence. Rather than adopting a modest attitude, Vile strives to harness the strengths of his creative idiosyncrasies.

“I want to destroy. I’m quietly competitive. I love so many artists but I definitely just try to push the envelope. There’s this place in there that’s my own style that you can hope to do different than anybody else could do,” he says.

Although Vile acknowledges that his songwriting efforts generate a unique sound, he isn’t claiming artistic pre-eminence and he ascribes this stylistic singularity to all individually-driven musicians.

“For instance my friend Stella [Mozgawa, from Warpaint] who played drums on the record, she just has her own thing; sort of the most musical drums I’ve ever seen. I’m not saying anybody’s the greatest – well she is one of the greatest drummers I’ve ever seen, but that’s not what it’s about really. She has her own super unique personality. It’s almost like a self-searching thing more than conceiving ‘this is the kind of sound I want to make.’ It comes out of you, as a person, and you just observe it as you go.”

Despite realising he is responsible for a particular strand of musicality, every musician is still at risk of falling into a routine way of operating. Vile explains that he compulsively seeks out new territory. “I get obsessed with new music all the time and it definitely, through osmosis, comes in there, but it’s

about channelling it through yourself. You’re always going to naturally go new directions unless you get disenchanted and become a parody of yourself or lose interest. I think [it’s about] keeping at anything and just loving music and finding new influences and evolving the way you’re playing and the way you’re recording.”

Vile’s determined self-evolution is reflected in the timeless quality of his compositions, which continue to reveal themselves on repeated listens. However, looking ahead, he can’t completely circumvent selfdoubt. “Generally I’m just pretty confident… that doesn’t mean I’m not going to freak out on the next record and get self-conscious or paranoid.”

black music. That was the way it came. I have been singing the same way for years.”

Another part of The Growl’s music that is also in line with classic blues are the unique tunings used for the guitars. “Some of the tunings are just purely for playing one song, it just came from me not being able to write music. The unique tunings come from me singing a melody and trying to find the funnest, most sonically pleasing way to play it on guitar so I tune the guitar to that to try and find that melody. So some of the tunings you can only play one song on them.”

With Mixdown being a magazine for guitarists, Avery is pushed on a specific example of his unique tuning. He is more than obliging and explains, “The way I tune the guitar on Hey Judy was to try and play the open notes to ring in between the riffs. So to get that, I tune the bottom strings to minor ninths and the upper

strings are open so it’s really weird and disjointed sounding. We don’t have a guitar tech so I have to either keep talking while Clint mucks around with it or we have a second guitar.”

Currently performing as a five piece, Avery says he and the rest of The Growl – Clinton Oliver on Guitar, James Ireland on keyboard, accordion and samples, Marc Earley on double bass, and Samuel Kuzich on drums – are really looking forward to the tour.

“We’re really excited at seeing how we go on our first full national tour!”

BY AUGUSTUS WELBY

Kurt Vile and The Violators new EP It’s a big world out there (and I’m scared) is out now via Matador/Remote Control. They tour as part of the 2014 Laneway Music Festival, alongside the following headline dates.

TOUR DATES January 22 – Town Hall, Sydney NSW January 23 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW February 5 & 6 – Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC

THE GROWL AUDITORY BLESSINGS The Growl play earthy, crunchy and damn good blues rock. Frontman and primary song writer Cameron Avery comes from Western Australia’s new school of old-school style rock bands with Avery being the drummer (now bass player for Pond) and touring bass player for Tame Impala.

The Growl’s debut album What Would Christ Do is uncompromising and crusty rock’n’roll that has garnered the band many fans, both here and abroad.

“The other day I got an email from a fan-club in Brazil with 500 members, I had a good little chuckle about how the fuck they even know about that? Maybe it was through Pond?” laughs Avery.

Additionally, most press outlets have embraced the band but as Avery explains, not everyone in the media dug their sound.

“Someone called it like ‘bland derivative blues rocky rubbish’, but I love getting roasted, I get more of a kick out of that than getting accolades.

Someone else called us a bland derivative as well – they’re the ones who are derivative. It’s most interesting for us to hear what people don’t like but, of course, we love all the positive feedback this album has got.”

Probably, the most positive feed-back or most qualified head-nod the band has received is that they were asked to support Kings Of Leon at the their only Australian show at The Enmore on November 20. Before disclosing how his band ended up on the bill, 25 year old Avery explains that as a teenager he was a huge fan of the band.

“When I was a teenager I used to run around with flares and a fringe. I was obsessed with Youth And Manhood and Aha Shake even because of The Times I was still listening to them then.”

Here’s Growl ended up on the bill.

“We played a big Festival in Portugal and it

was Tame [Impala], Phoenix and Kings Of Leon on our stage. They came and watched our set from side of stage and they were really into it and that’s how this show came about. They knew Tame were probably too busy to do the Sydney show but asked if The Growl wanted to do the support slot,” contends a mellow yet secretly enthused Avery.

Another occurrence that happened in 2013 that reconfirmed to Avery that The Growl were in the right track was the fact he won best male vocalist at this year’s Western Australian Music Industry awards (or WAMIS). The award went to Avery and then a second trophy to Birds Of Tokyo Ian Kenny – a split award that represented the handing of the baton from Western Australia’s musical past to its future. It appears that Avery was not expecting the award, so much so he didn’t believe it initially as he wasn’t there.

“I didn’t even know it had happened. My friend messaged me and said ‘you have one best male vocalist tied with Kenny’ and I was like ‘yeah good on you,’ and then in an interview they asked ‘what was it like winning the WAMI?’ and I was like ‘oh cool.’ There’s a lot of good singers in WA,” states a humbled Avery.

Avery’s unique singing voice is something not previously heard in the Australian rock scene so it is interesting to hear who is inspirations are, “When I was a kid I listened to a lot of Elvis Presley , a lot of soul stuff too like Aretha Franklin.

Then I got into like Muddy Waters and Howling Wolf – it all kind of came from there. Old sort of

PG. 30 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

BY DAN WATT The Growl are touring nationally with the 2014 Laneway Festival. For more information including festival dates and ticket info, visit www.lanewayfestival.com.au

SRS SOLID ROAD SERIES

SOLID AUSTRALIAN TIMBERS. SOLID AUSTRALIAN TONE.

WHY COMPROMISE. maton.com.au/SRS

FRIGHTENED RABBIT NOT SO PEDESTRIAN Frightened Rabbit’s success and popularity on the international festival circuit is a victory for traditional song-writing and band structure. Since the acclaim of 2008’s The Midnight Organ Fight – that saw the band extensively tour the UK with Death Cab For Cutie – Frightened Rabbit has grown musically with 2010’s The Winter Of Mixed Drinks being a densely produced opus to this year’s poignant and rich Pedestrian Verse. This album features the superb singles ‘Woodpile’ and ‘Holy’, two songs drenched in subtlety, testament to a more simplified sound.

Talking to Mixdown from Scotland ahead of the band’s appearance at this year’s Laneway Festival, Frightened Rabbit’s drummer Grant Hutchinson explains the reason behind the stripped back sound on Pedestrian Verse.

“On the record before (Winter Of Mixed Drinks) we had ten guitars - quite a decadent sound. It was heavy, was overloaded with parts and instruments, we really went too far. When we recorded it we did it with just a engineer in a studio, so we didn’t have a producer saying, ‘Whoa that’s too much!’”

However, on Pedestrian Verse Frightened Rabbit worked with legendary UK musician and producer Leo Abrahams whose resume includes Nick Cave, Brian Eno, Paul Simons and Ed Harcourt.

“On this record our ethos was ‘would you miss this if it wasn’t there?’ And if the answer was no then we were quite ruthless,” states Hutchinson matterof-factly.

The album’s first single Woodpile has a tender almost lullaby-like verse off the back of vocals and multiple the guitar layers, the chorus transforms the song into an uplifting celebration of life. As Hutchinson talks about the song you begin to understand that this wasn’t one of those moments where the song wrote itself or came easily.

“That song took a long time to get right, we recorded that four or five times. By the time we got to the last recording it was very lean and precise. We took our time over it and made sure that it was right because if it wasn’t right that time we weren’t going to record it again!” he concludes on this track.

The Scottish five-piece was originally a solo project for Scott Hutchinson – a soft voiced troubadour whose husky and poetic vocals made him a favourite in the Glasgow scene. However, in 2006 Hutchinson welcomed his younger brother Grant to the fold. Like the music, the foundation of Frightened Rabbit the band was very organic as Hutchinson explains, “It was a surprise he asked me to start a band, I didn’t even really know that he was taking it [his music] seriously at all. I know that he had done a few gigs with his friend’s band and done a couple of open mic nights but I was surprised when he asked. I wasn’t sure that he wanted to pursue it any further then he already had because he was studying at art school and I thought that would be his path if you will.”

Hutchinson himself was just kinda cruising at this time of his life, living the veritable hipster cliché of working in a trendy fashion shop and playing drums in bands.

“I studied for one year at university, dropped out then I just worked in retail and a couple of deli jobs just sort of earning money, figuring out just what I was going to do next. I did that alongside the band for a long time, up until not terribly long ago. Until we were actually making money I had to have a job and occasionally quit that job because I had to go on tour. I am very un-hipster although I did work in a hipster clothes shop but I didn’t fit into the description of what the store sold,” a self-effacing chuckle accompanies this second statement.

Despite Grant being in Frightened Rabbit ever since its inception as a band, neither he nor fellow members Billy Kennedy (guitarist), Andy Monaghan (keyboards), Gordon Skene (guitar) had been involved in the song-writing until Pedestrian Verse.

“Previously Scott would come to us with the songs fully formed, melodically, lyrically, structurally, there was no relay from us on how the song was structured etc. So this time round we basically went into a cottage and took all our gear and Scott, or Andy or Gordon would come up with an idea that they’d had on the guitar or the piano and then we would record that and we would all work off that.”

The biggest concession or inclusion – depending on how you look at it – of the expanded song-writing process was that this time all members had some

input into the lyrics.

“The lyrics were being modified as we went along which was interesting because I had never seen that process before. It took a little longer because with this newfound widening of the process we had to figure out what everyone’s role was - we took a couple of trips away to write songs. I feel much more attached to this record then before.”

This final statement bodes well for fans hoping to catch Frightened Rabbit at one of this year’s Laneway Festivals because it implies the band is much in love with the songs they are playing. Finally, Hutchinson enthuses about Laneway Festival, “We can’t wait for Laneway, the line-up honestly is so good. I have never seen a festival like it. If I was asked to pick my perfect festival line-up it would look very similar to Laneway. One thing I am looking forward to is seeing some Australian bands that I haven’t heard of.”

BY DENVER MAXX

TOUR DATES Frightened Rabbit are touring nationally for Laneway Festival 2014, for more information including festival dates visit www.lanewayfestival.com

AUTRE NE VEUT ANXIOUS ARRIVALS “And I said, Baaayyaaaybyyyyy.” Delivered with straight-faced, R&B-drenched sincerity, the opening strains of Play By Play reign as one of the most captivating moments on record in 2013. By and large one of the tracks of the year, the opening song of Autre Ne Veut’s Anxiety paves the way for an album that navigates a tightrope between pristine pop and forward-thinking subversion. Speaking from his Brooklyn living room, the solo project’s progenitor Arthur Ashin speaks on finding fuel for creative desire, album art copyright headaches and imbuing satire in pop.

“I think that any particularly salient emotion – by emotion I don’t necessarily as primary emotion, it could be something as simple as ambition – you do need that as some sort of engine, or maybe fuel is the better analogy,” he says on whether the album’s title was in fact a motivating artistic force. “I do think that anybody who decides what they want to dedicate their life to doing this needs that massive amount of motivation. I think for this particular record, anxiety was the fuel I was able to parlay into making the music.

I think there are plenty of people with severe anxiety that can be crippled by it as well, so it’s not necessarily in of itself a creative tool. It’s one of a plethora of options to motivate yourself to do something.”

Anxiety’s cover art was originally set to feature Munch’s iconic painting The Scream, but come release time, the artwork featured an empty frame instead.

“It was primarily a European copyright issue, although I actually do prefer it aesthetically without The Scream. I think it articulates the idea at least as well without the actual image in the frame. But the notion and inspiration for the cover art as it tied in to the title and theme of the record was quite tongue in cheek.

The AP [Associate Press] had an image, that was

almost identical, of two art handlers presenting The Scream for sale at Sotheby’s, I believe it was then sold for 120 million dollars [US]. It was the most expensive piece of art ever sold, although it was just trumped by the Lucian Freud triptych,” he says, referring to the 153 million dollar price tag of Francis Bacon’s Three Studies Of Lucian Freud that went under the hammer mere hours before our interview. “The idea was to take what is effectively an antiquated trope image of existential anxiety developed in the 20th century, and place it in a more anxiety-provoking framework of market capitalism, and the relationship between those things and art within the context of art as a product.

That symbolic business card for what is ultimately its business, which is business itself. It also ties into the way I make music, which is to take extremely popular notions of music – top 40 pop and R&B – and attempt to reframe that and work against these tropes, while ratifying them simultaneously. It’s all part of the same picture.”

Achieving a pristine sonic quality that wasn’t necessarily present on previous releases, Ashin teamed up with peers Daniel Lopatin and Joel Ford on production duties to achieve that conflict with the

PG. 32 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

aforementioned pop tropes. “Al Carlson [engineer] was the secret element, he engineered and mixed the Ford & Lopatin record as well as Replica, which is Dan’s [Oneohtrix Point Never] previous solo record, and he did a lot of work at Mexican Summer studios.

The way that’s configured is that there is an office, a brains trust upstairs, then the whole downstairs is dedicated to a large A-room with a huge library with 20-foot ceilings, then a smaller B-room for mixing.

That’s kind of like the home of the sound. Tracking and recording with the intention of clarity goes a huge way towards that. But also Al has that magic shimmer attached, he’s worked in more ancillary ways with Lady Gaga, that kind of pop music. In a lot of ways the key was striking the balance between finding that sound and also being inclined to push away from that into the avant garde. It was not hard, the recording sessions felt extremely natural, pleasant and easy.”

On the surface, Anxiety can be appreciated purely as a slick pop artefact. But also present within its layers are wry, enveloping aural touchstones to blur the barriers between established conventions and more forward-thinking ideas. “I’m not into comedy, but I’m super into satire. In popular culture there is that conflation where satire often ends up being funny, that guffaw-funny satire. But for me satire is

this incredible, classical narrative tool. I think it’s of the heart of avant garde practice in general. To me, the avant garde takes society as you see it and fucks with it, that punk rock attitude toward canonical norms. There’s an earnest appreciation for top 40 pop, but also the history of pop music as opposed to real rock and roll. One of the trademarks of pop music is how it innately synthesises a lot of trends into a package that’s palpable not because of its influence, but because of this sheen that’s superimposed on top of the influences. Pop has always experimented with bizarre ideas. Some of the most memorable songs have been from producers like The Neptunes and Timbaland, who actually do really fucking weird shit and are visionary in the way they don’t simply recreate what other people have done.”

BY LACHLAN KANONIUK

TOUR DATES Autre Ne Veut tours as part of Laneway Festival 2014.

For more information on dates and tickets visit www.lanewayfestival.com

DECEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / PG. 33

INSANE CLOWN POSSE WHOOP-WHOOP! Love ‘em or loathe ‘em, Insane Clown Posse are a global phenomenon. In a career that has spanned over two decades, the self-proclaimed “most hated band in the world” have sold over 11 million records (all without commercial support) worldwide, successfully ran their own music festival for over a decade and even sued the FBI. But perhaps the most intriguing notion of the ICP world is the devoted and almost cult-like sub-culture that they’ve spawned – the face-painting Faygo-swigging ‘whoop-whoop!’-hollering Juggalos.

“There has never been anything like it in the history of rock’n’roll” explains Violent J proudly.

“They’re not like any other type of music culture.

They’re not like hippies. They’re not like Justin Bieber’s fucking Beliebers, or whatever the fuck they’re called. Juggalos come from all walks of life. They’re scrubs, they’re poor people and they’re hillbillies. There’s also policemen and other hard-working good people. There are good apples and bad apples in the Juggalo world.” Juggalo is a sub-culture that has no boundaries to who they let in because everyone is invited. Everybody is included, nobody is excluded. Juggalos will accept you if you’re fat, if you’re nerdy, if you’re ugly. It doesn’t matter. You can be a Juggalo and not be judged. Juggalos are clowns. Therefore, no clown is too clown-y to be a Juggalo.

“When they’re together – whether it’s at one of our concerts with 100s of Juggalos or our yearly gathering with 1000s of Juggalos, there are never any fights between Juggalos,” notes J of their kinship. “They come to the shows early so they can be in line together. So they can sing together and so they can chant together and share Faygo and share whatever they want. Nobody gets treated like a stranger or a newcomer. Everybody is accepted and they’re totally friendly. A lot of people have met their best friends at our events. They’ve met their wives at our events. Some of them had no friends in their life before they discovered the Juggalo world and now they have 100s of friends. It’s

something to belong to. It’s something to be proud of. It’s a family. Everybody else looks down upon us, but like I always say, the colder it is on the outside the warmer it is on the inside.

To be a Juggalo? It feels damn good.”

Since first forming in 1989 both J and Shaggy 2 Dope have remained constantly active, with 2013 marking the release of their 12th studio album. “We had a good year. We promoted our The Mighty Death Pop! album and then went out on tour,” notes J. “On that tour we performed a lot of obscure and rare songs, we really dug into the crates to find some music that we had never performed live. A lot of really long-time diehard Juggalos were really happy with that tour because it wasn’t like anything that we had ever done before. We had a great Gathering.

We also got a TV show over here in the States.

We filmed the first season and have been picked up for a second. We’ve never had a TV show before, but we’ve got one now. That’s cool. It’s just another year down, y’know what I mean?

Things are pretty damn good in the world of Insane Clown Posse.”

Returning to Australia next month for the first time in over a decade, J recounts his previous time here fondly. “The one time we came to Australia about 10 years ago we had a great, fantastic time. It was bombastic,” he exclaims.

“The Juggalos were at every show and they were chanting just like the American Juggalos. It was amazing – it was the least thing we expected.

We thought we’d go over there and play to like

50 people a night, but it was nothing like that. It was just like touring the states. We had a great fucking time.”

Besides from their performances, one of the highlights was J’s (apparently confirmed) belief that Australian women are the most promiscuous in the world. “I read that in Maxim magazine!” he laughs. “The last time I was in Australia I got with three chicks! We went out after the shows and we’d go to bars, and we’d meet hotties, and we’d bring ‘em back to the hotels. It was great.

But it was also devastating. In the morning I’d be like ‘come to the show tonight!’ and they’d be like ‘I can’t, I’ve got work’ and I’d be like ‘come on take off work and come to the show, please hang with me!’ and they’d be like ‘look, we had a good time, it was fun, but I have to go.’ I felt really used!”

Directing his thoughts towards their upcoming Australia tour, J explains that it’s the passion and reciprocated respect of the Juggalos that is fueling their return. “We can’t stand airplane flights. We hate ‘em, we hate ‘em,” he details

fervently. “It’s a 17-hour flight over there but we’re doing it because there are Juggalos that are dying to see us. And on top of that, when you tour Australia you have to fly every fucking night! There’s no tour bus! I’m so fucking big that I can barely fit in an airplane. But I’m doing it for the Australian Juggalos. A lot of Australian Juggalos come over here for the Gathering Of The Juggalos and they’re always asking, ‘When are you coming back? When are you coming back?’ Well you know what. We’re coming back next month. We’re doing it for the Juggalos.”

Whoop-whoop!

They say the surest way to lose money is to start a record label, and with the two-way street of Obese and Elefant Traks now divided into a multi-lane highway of countless hip hop specific labels, what motivated Chapman to start the label? “I always wanted to have one just on my own called Easy Records and I was gonna do that and put out my stuff on it,” he says. “Plus I had a few other people just within my circle that I wanted to believe in and put out their music; I’m really passionate about that. But then because me and 360 have the manager and we’re always talking, he wanted to do the same thing so we were like ‘stuff it, let’s do it together.

That’ll be even more fun’. We might lose a shit load of money, we’ll find that out real soon, and it’s all pretty innocent, but we just love it and we’ve always wanted to do it. A lot of the people we idolised in the hip hop genre came from nothing and were pretty entrepreneurial and started labels, so I guess the whole idea was glorified for us.”

Hopefully there’s enough room in this large land of people to share the hip hop spoils. So far everyone seems to be playing nicely.

BY TYSON WRAY

TOUR DATES December 4 – The Gov, Adelaide SA December 5 – The Hi-Fi, Brisbane QLD December 6 – The Hi-Fi, Melbourne VIC December 7 – The Hi-Fi, Sydney NSW December 8 – Metropolis, Fremantle WA

PEZ DISPENSING THE RHYMES Brothers-in-arms Pez (Perry Chapman) and 360 (Matthew Colwell) have climbed the Aussie hip hop ladder together from the very first rung. When an inkless 360 dropped a verse in Pez’s massive summer hit ‘The Festival Song’ back in 2008, it would’ve been hard to predict the mammoth ride that both rappers would take. For Chapman it would’ve been even harder to predict that a serious illness would put a massive hold on his trajectory for what seemed like an eternity for both he and his fans. He’s back in a big way with an album (featuring an appearance from 360), you’ll hear him on 360’s forthcoming album too, they’ve also got a joint album in the works. Oh and these will all be coming out on their new label. Welcome back, Pez! Being body slammed to the turf by a serious illness can have some strange positives and while it’s often hard to see it at the time, Chapman has acknowledged what his tango with Graves’ disease (a serious thyroid condition that also put a hold on Sia’s touring life) has taught him. That lesson is now being passed on to others through his involvement in The Be Project – a government initiative aimed at tackling the problem of binge drinking. Apart from supporting up and coming songwriters and film makers and keeping young people alive, it will hopefully reduce the amount of vomiting douche bags we all need to deal with.

in the industry have always had that agenda to try and plug straight into kids thoughts. Before I got sick, everything got crazy for a while. I went from being in a bedroom wanting to do music to playing festivals and I was in front of thousands of people and everyone’s really hysterical and shit and I definitely didn’t handle it very well being a really shy person. You can just start abusing yourself with substance abuse and drinking. I got lucky, when my thyroid went crazy I couldn’t do that anymore and it gave me a slap in the face. Since then I’ve stepped back and I’ve realised that if you’ve got issues you’ve gotta deal with them.”

“A lot of artists, kids look up to them and they think they wanna be like them but they don’t see them behind the scenes and what they’re really like,” Chapman says. “They don’t see that they’re alcoholics and that they’re really not happy at all. In their photos and shit and it’s so glorified, kids think they’re livin’ the dream and I’m there with ‘em thinking ‘this is all bullshit’.

Music is really promoting binge drinking, especially a lot of international music. It’s all like ‘Yeah, you only live once, we get fucked up yeah!

Work hard, play hard, we don’t give a shit!’ and somehow it’s cool to be like that. The people

Chapman’s dealing with his, and that’s why folks like he and 360 are actually living the dream. The next few months are set to be massive with his album looking to be wrapped up by the end of December. “Everything’s being put out on the label with both mine and 360’s solo albums out early to mid-next year and then with the album we’ve done together, we’ll have that ready and we’ll have to gauge how it’s going, whether it’s crazy or not, and see whether it comes out late in the year or early in the next year. Both the solo album’s will definitely be finished up by late December though,” he says.

PG. 34 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

BY KRISSI WEISS PEZ is touring nationally this January for The Big Day Out 2014. He is also an embassador for The Be Project, a national competition inviting young Aussies to submit an inspirational song or 30 seconds of amateur sports film that has a positive feel, to form a collective voice challenging Australia’s binge drinking culture. The competition is now open and closes at midnight on Friday December 20.

The winning songwriter will win a Macbook Pro, their song will be professionally recorded and they will receive mentorship from music industry experts. To enter or find out more, visit tacklingbingedrinking.gov.au/thebeproject or facebook.com/nationalbingedrinkingcampaign.

OCTOBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 234 / PG. 35

UNLEASH YOUR INNER ROCK GOD THE MINOR BLUES SCALE

GUITAR

My earliest experience with playing blues guitar was being taught the Minor Pentatonic scale. I loved that damn scale as it allowed me to play those cool blues-based Chuck Berry licks. And it was always cool to be able to say “dig me as I play some sweet blues” at a jam with my then-fellow-13year-olds. But after a while, as I started to listen to more and more blues, something started to bug me. It didn’t sound like I was playing the blues ...

Sure, I was playing the Minor Pentatonic scale, which the guitar mags and my teacher had both told me was an integral part of the blues. And I certainly had enough built-up early-teenage angst to power a small to medium-sized hellhound – another essential blues element.

But the licks I was playing just sounded … stock.

They just weren’t as nuanced, as emotive or as bluesy as the licks I was hearing from guys like Stevie Ray Vaughan or older blues kings like BB King and Buddy Guy. At first I thought it was down to attitude and experience. “Live it and it will come.” But eventually I realised that the Minor Pentatonic scale can only get you so far.

To really unlock the sweetness and the sting of the blues, you have to get in between the notes.

It’s pretty common for blues players to bend microtonally. In this context, that usually means bending the string up to a note that’s not quite the next half-step up. This adds a nice little vocal kind of element to the lick. But it’s still not quite enough. Instead, the secret is in the flatted fifth.

Play the E note on the 7th fret of the A string.

Now play the Bb note on the 8th fret of the D string. Hear that? It can sound evil. It can sound dramatic. It can sound sophisticated and complex. It can definitely sound like progressive metal. But most of all it can sound bluesy. And to add it to a Minor Pentatonic scale (and thus turn it into the Minor Blues scale), check out Figure 1.

Let’s do this in the key of Am. I’ve included a heavy accent on the flatted fifth whenever it shows up in the Minor Blues version. Sounds bluesier already, right?

Now let’s turn it into some blues licks! Figure 2 is great as a finger warm-up, in addition to sounding undeniably bluesy. The first half is this lick at steady 8th note triplets. In the second half we crank it up to 16th note triplets, which gives it a bit more of a Paul Gilbert bluesy shred vibe.

Want a cool tag to add to the end of that? Then check out Figure 3.

Figure 4 is more of a laid back, loose, bluesy

lick which encourages you to bend from the flatted fifth up to the fifth for dramatic effect.

This one sounds especially nasty (in a good way) on my Gibson Les Paul Traditional with the

bridge pickup in full glorious bite mode. Happy shredding!

BY PETER HODGSON

WHAT’S THAT SOUND WHAT A (MICRO) BRUTE! It has been a little over two years since I first brought you the news of Arturia’s release of the now legendary MiniBrute keyboard. For those keen, you may have picked up on certain hints of its imminent release even before we were officially allowed to make it public.

And so, once everyone heard about it, the demand went through the roof for what has paved the way for a wide range of affordable analogue synthesizers now being produced.

So much was the demand, that many Australian users were not able to even get a look at one of these units for well over a year after the announcement. There simply were not enough units of the MiniBrute turning up on our shores to meet the demand of our local synth geeks and electronica lovers. So, with the release of its little brother imminent, how quickly will you be getting your hands onto the new MicroBrute?

Officially announced a little over a month ago on Arturia’s website, after much speculation from the likes of myself and other synth buffs, the MicroBrute is taking what the MiniBrute has already given us and packaging it into a smaller shell with a few different twists. The even more compact 25 note keyboard looks at a glance to be remarkably similar to the original, if you have no point of reference for its size. It is a smaller unit, with keys that are roughly half the size of the original, so you won’t get the same feel nor playability as you may be used to, but don’t let that detur you. What the MicroBrute lacks in size, it appears to make up with new features.

KEYS

ARTURIA MICROBRUTE

In fact, for many keyboard users who are not entirely up to speed with the inner workings of an analogue synthesizer, this could well be the perfect starting point. With less controls to worry about, you are able to build sounds with more ease, yet still have them sound monstrous.

The controls are now broken down to a simpler sound building design that gets you tweaking straight away. The oscillator section looks fairly easy to navigate, as does the Steiner-Parker filter that the MiniBrute is so well known for.

LFO and Envelope controls are kept simple and easy too, so you can finalise your tones without much trouble. The same style overlay sheets

PG. 36 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

for a somewhat rudimentary ‘patch memory’ come packaged with the MicroBrute, so you will have a good starting point and a simple way for noting down your favourite sounds.

But, the real fun is going to be getting into the Modulation Matrix that allows you to patch the signal in and out of the eight point patch bay to direct your signal flow. This is going to create a wide range of possibilities not only within the MicroBrute itself, but when you discover other synths that are compatible for patching signals to and from.

I think the fun is really going to start when you

get your hands on a MicroBrute and start mixing it with other synthesizers in your collection.

Just about any sound is going to be possible with this compact little unit in the right setup.

So, get in fast if you are keen. I already have mine on order, as I am sure many others do.

BY ROB GEE

For more information on the Arturia range of products contact CMI on (03) 9315 2244 or visit www.cmi.com.au

VIC: Drum Power (03) 9720 4581 Factory 2/55 Malvern St, Bayswater, VIC 3153 Mannys (03) 9486 8555 161-163 St Georges Rd, North Fitzroy, VIC 3068 Ron Leigh’s Music Factory (03) 9593 3900 625 Hampton St, Brighton, VIC 3186 Gippsland Music & Sound (03) 5144 7860 395 Raymond St, Sale, VIC 3850 Music Junction (03) 9882 7331 204 Camberwell Rd, East Hawthorn, VIC 3123 The Rock Garage (03) 9753 5093 1/1182 Burwood Hwy, Upper Ferntree Gully, VIC 3156

Coastal Music (02) 6581 3016 5/148 Lake Rd, Port Maquarie, NSW 2444

Music Park (08) 9470 1020 341 Albany Hwy, Victoria Park, WA 6100

Muso’s Corner (02) 4929 2829 1 National Park St, Dangar, NSW 2302

QLD:

Bam Bam Music (02) 9831 5101 156 Main St, Blacktown, NSW 2148 Icon Music (02) 9809 6700 3 Chatham Rd, West Ryde, NSW 2114 Planet Music – Lismore (02) 6621 7784 25 Molesworth St, Lismore, NSW 2480 Planet Music – Ballina (02) 6681 1125 83 River St, Ballina, NSW 2480

Shake It Up Music (07) 5441 5454 Shop 4/186 Currie St, Nambour, QLD 4560 Gympie Musicland (07) 5482 3226 36 Mary St, Gympie, QLD 4570 Ellaways Music – Kedron (07) 3359 8266 315-337 Gympie Rd, Kedron, QLD 4031 Mooloolaba Music (07) 5444 8889 Shop 2, Cnr Nicklin Way & Kensington Dr, Minyama, QLD 4575

SA:

The Guitar Shop (07) 3369 9530 40 Latrobe Ter, Paddington, QLD 4000

Westwood Guitars (03) 9746 6667 Shop 3/44 Smith St, Melton, VIC 3337

Derringers Music (08) 8371 1884 66-72 Leader St, Forestville, SA 5035

Variety Shop N Save (07) 4661 4433 129 Palmerin St, Warwick, QLD 4370

Five Star Music (03) 9870 4143 102 Maroondah Hwy, Ringwood, VIC 3134

Twang Central (08) 8231 9255 208 Gilbert St, Adelaide, SA 5000

Margate Music (07) 3284 8143 28 Baynes St, Margate, QLD 4019

Guitars & Things (03) 9770 1765 Shop 3E, 415-417 Nepean Hwy, Frankston, VIC 3199

Ceceres Music (08) 8331 9246 249 Magill Rd, Maylands, SA 5069

Musicians Oasis (07) 4162 4523 Shop 20 Alford St, Kingaroy, QLD 4610

NSW:

ACT:

Bass N Blues (02) 6551 5067 Shop 10/20 Albert St, Taree, NSW 2430

Pirana Music (02) 6162 3311 Unit 2, 56 Heffernan St, Mitchell, ACT 2911

Ultra Music (07) 4128 2037 51 Main St, Hervey Bay, QLD 4655

Park Beach Music & Hifi (02) 6652 3725 Shop 57, Park Beach Plaza, Coffs Harbour, NSW 2450

DW Music (02) 6260 5626 301 Canberra Ave, Fyshwick, ACT 2609

Turramurra Music (02) 9449 8487 Rear 1267 Pacific Hwy, Turramurra, NSW 2074

WA:

Landers Music (02) 6362 6588 286 Summer St, Orange, NSW 2800 Macron Music – Erina (02) 4367 8500 Shop 8, Erina Plaza, 210 Central Coast Hwy, Erina, NSW 2250 Macron Music – Tuggerah (02) 4352 3377 Shop 1006 Westfield Shopping Centre, Tuggerah, NSW 2259

Mega Music (08) 9330 2777 95 North Lake Rd, Myaree, WA 6154 Guitar World (08) 9358 6665 1240A Albany Hwy, Cannington, WA 6107 Concept Music (08) 9381 2277 246 Cambridge St, Wembley, WA 6014

Anthony Breed Music – Maryborough (07) 4123 1877 206 Bazaar St, Maryborough, QLD 4650 Anthony Breed Music – Gladstone (07) 4972 1229 1/117 Toolooa St, Gladstone, QLD 4652 Alive Music (07) 4152 7243 15 Walla St, Bundaberg, QLD 4670 Buzz Music (07) 4031 7078 92 Mulgrave Rd, Cairns, QLD 4870 Stewarts Music (07) 5554 5400 2570 Gold Coast Hwy, Mermaid Beach, QLD 4218

The Rock Inn 1300 304 418 762 Beaufort St, Mount Lawley, WA 6050

127 Merrindale Drive, Croydon, Victoria, Australia 3136 T: +61 (0)3 8756 2600 F: +61 (0)3 8756 2699

ON THE DOWNLOW LES CLAYPOOL OF PRIMUS

BASS

Primus have been pedalling their off-beat, colourful, twisted, highly virtuosic and even more highly listenable brand of funky avant garde rock (back in the day it was just called ‘alternative’) for over two decades now.

In that time they’ve appeared in Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, written and recorded the theme to South Park, inspired a generation of bass players, and somehow managed to create music that seems incapable of dating itself, in the grand tradition of Frank Zappa. The band went into hiatus a while ago, but the individual members never slacked off. With Primus or solo, Les Claypool is perhaps best known for his incredibly original and technically mind-exploding bass playing, which you can see when Primus play the Big Day Out, kicking off January 2014.

Claypool has made much of his love of the Canadian progressive rock band Rush over the years. In fact, you should try to track down his 1990s joint interview with Rush’s Geddy Lee in Guitar World magazine. You can hear Lee’s influence on Claypool’s tone on tracks like ‘Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver.’ But for the most part, Lee’s tone tends to be a little less aggressive and more percussive than Lee’s.

Earlier in his career, Claypool was especially associated with a fretless six-string bass made by Carl Thompson, and his influence in raising the profile of the six-stringer continues to this day. And yet a few years ago we put it to Claypool that he’d inadvertently sold more six-string and six-string fretless basses than anyone could count, his response was surprising. “I avoid six string basses and six string fretlesses,” he said. “I have one of each and I tend to avoid them. I love the four-string.

That’s what I’m most comfortable with and that’s what I play the most.”

Claypool tends to play four-string basses

by Carl Thompson, and a few years ago he designed a signature bass prototype with luthier Dan Maloney (a childhood friend of Claypool’s who started off repairing instruments for friends and local musicians

including Claypool and Metallica’s Kirk Hammett). Called the Pachyderm signature bass prototype, it features an active EMG pickup and a Kahler bass vibrato. Claypool has described it as “like a cross between a Carl Thompson, a Rickenbacker, a P Bass and a Jazz Bass. For many years I just wanted something specifically designed for my particular comfort and playability,” he explained.

Claypool confesses to not being particularly into hoarding gear. “I’m not a big gear guy,” he explains. “But from doing this for such a long time, I’m like a couch: All the lint and all the various things accumulate around and underneath me, in my cushions. I have a lot of various pieces of equipment and instrumentation but I don’t actively seek the stuff out. They just sort of end up in my world.” A classic example is the envelope filter sound that pops in and out of the Primus catalog. “I’m not even sure what that is,” he says. “Just some old Korg multieffects thing they don’t make any more. It’s nothing special, it’s just an envelope of some sort.” (A little more research reveals that it’s a Korg AX300B).

singular: a 2011 Premier Guitar interview revealed an MXR bass DI, MXR EQ, a Line 6 DM4 Distortion Modeler, Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler, a pair of API 7600 channel strips used for EQ and compression, and a pair of Mackie FRS2800 power amps feeding a pair of Ampeg 4x10 cabinets.

Claypool’s amplification rig is a little more

But for all the gear talk, perhaps the final word

on Claypool’s tone should be left to the man himself: “It’s in the hands and the genitalia.”

BY PETER HODGSON To see Les Clapool and Primus kick out the jams, be sure to get your ticket to Big Day Out Festival starting in January 2014. For the full-lineup, dates and ticket info visit www.bigdayout.com

BANGIN’ THE TUBS USING YOUTUBE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE This is a fantastic concept used by many a good drummer to full effect. It has so many benefits for the players’ development and essentially this concept allows the drummer to use the same idea they’ve always had, create variations that sound very different and pull the wool over the listener’s eyes (or ears) into thinking that they’re hearing a bunch of different ideas when in fact, it’s the same thing. We’re talking about playing fills in different subdivisions.

Take the standard 16th note rock fill everyone learns first. RLRL as 16th notes moving around the drums – four hits per drum. Pretty easy and sounds fairly stock – and sometimes boring.

What happens when you suddenly play the same fill in 16th note triplets? Now it doesn’t sound anywhere near as predictable as before as we cross the sticking over the beat. You fit six groupings of four notes into the one bar. See Figure A. Jumping ahead, I want to share three other fills/ ideas. Each of these fills has its own background and the practice that goes with it but I want to examine them so you get the idea of the concept at an intermediate/advanced level.

Figure B shows the inward paradiddle (RLLR LRRL) with accents on snare and toms. This type of sticking works perfectly with 16th notes given that it’s evenly grouped in eight notes. You can fit two groupings of eight per bar. By shifting the sticking into 16th note triplets – grouped in six notes – you can see how the accent pattern shifts over the beat and you can fit another group of eight into the same bar. This is a classic example of using the one idea across another platform.

Figure C works backwards. Here we have a famous Steve Gadd lick (RLLRRL – effectively a 6 stroke roll) with accents on the single strokes – at the start and end of the lick. This sticking puts the downbeat or pulse on the right hand accent. It rolls around to the right hand making it easier to feel over the beat. Throwing the sticking across 32nd notes puts that theory out the window as your accents shift backward with every repetition.

This fill is actually one that sounds good played consecutively over multiple bars.

The last fill at Figure D is a hand and foot combination. Things get really interesting when you add the bass drum into the mix. So we have RLRF over the toms. This time I decided to shift the sticking into slower, 8th note triplets where you only get three groupings of the four note sticking. In reality and when played in context – say with a standard rock beat and the triplet variation as the fill – this sticking sounds very different and unpredictable. Try this out for yourself. It’s really good to use a fill you know well. You may need to write it down, but it allows you to maximise what might already be a good pattern and use it more.

BY ADRIAN VIOLI

PG. 38 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013

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PROUDLY DISTRIBUTED BY AUSTRALASIAN MUSIC SUPPLIES

DECEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / PG. 39

(D)IGITAL (J)OCKEY LEAVING THE LAPTOP SIDE OF STAGE Now that there are so many software based DJ systems available on the market, it seems that just about every DJ out there has a laptop set up in the booth or on stage giving them the power they need to pull through the set. However, often all we are seeing is a DJ behind a computer screen hitting buttons that we can’t see or looking intently at their screen and not interacting with their audience. Sure there are some artists that can pull it off, but many simply can’t and should save that sort of lack-lustre performance for the studio. Simply put, it doesn’t have to be that way and thankfully due to some awesome developments in new hardware and USB / MIDI triggers, we are already seeing an emerging resurgence of synths, drum machines and triggers that can be used in conjunction with your laptop or be used stand alone. A live setting is supposed to foster a performance and be entertaining, so this article will look at some product to consider using when designing your live set up.

So, where are you sounds going to come from and what is going to control them? That’s a fair question. Nowadays, with the storage capacity of small portable devices, apart from using your whole laptop you can have thousands of songs loaded onto a USB flash drive that hangs on your key ring or even that is directly pulled from your smart phone. This is where companies like Stanton and Pioneer DJ are seeing the changing needs of modern DJs and are delivering products that allow you to experiment with your environment, your tools and your methods. The SCS.4DJ from Stanton really got a lot of people talking when it first came out and is worth taking a look at. It allows you to mix your virtual decks within the system, with a full colour LCD screen allowing you to see everything that is going on without the need of a computer. Better still, the SCS.4DJ allows you to mix not only audio, but video as well. This, when it was released, was a huge jump in the abilities of a compact DJ system and really moved creativity into a more compact, portable interface.

Pioneer DJ have taken this even further with the creation of their XDJ-AERO DJ console. Like the SCS.4DJ, this allows you to load song files onto the system as well as accessing files from a USB device that is connected to it. But, going that extra step, Pioneer have given the user the ability to draw songs wirelessly from a smartphone or tablet via Wi-Fi. Technically, this means that just

about any song library in the room can be used to create your mix. If you have access via Wi-Fi to a phone, you can drag any song from that phone’s library into the mix deck of the XDJAERO and bring it to life through the PA system.

DJ PIONEER XDJ-AERO

STANTON SCS4DJ

It’s not all about decks either, plenty of electronic producers and DJ’s are now also bringing in USB and MIDI triggers to perform live and make their show more interactive with companies such as Novation, Yamaha, Casio, Korg, Arturia, M-Audio and Akai all integrating both midi ports and USB connectivity for sound module use and flash drive storage so that the laptop can sit side of stage, rather than be the focal point of the performance. A couple of awesome products to check out in this category would be the ever popular M-Audio Axiom Air Mini 32 (reviewed in last months Keyboard Special), Novation MiniNova Synth, Arturia Spark LE Drum Machine and the Akai Professional APC40 Abelton Controller.

So, next time you work on your set-list and consider your live performance, think about the arrangements and how they could be integrated into using either portable storage and USB or MIDI triggers to enhance both your experience with the music played and your interaction with your audience.

BY ROB GEE

For more information on the range of Pioneer DJ products visit Australian distributors Australis Music Group at www.australismusic.com.au

For more information on the Stanton range of products visit Australian distributors AMI at www.gibsonami.com.

HOME STUDIO HINTS NEED MORE ROOM!

In the last eleven months we’ve well and truly covered microphone placement for your home recording set-up. However, the only area that we haven’t really focused on within this topic is capturing the room sound. So much time has been spent focusing on just the first few feet from your sound source, where as the space of the room can really help your recording come to life in a way you haven’t previously been able to achieve.

CREATING REAL EFFECT So much weight is placed on the ability for a reverb effect plug-in to be able to give your voice or instrument, that natural sound after you have recorded it. But, this is really only needed because we don’t capture the original reverb and room sound to begin with. When recording at a close range, we only get the direct sound from the sound source and we try to actually reject any reflections from around the room. This does create a somewhat unnatural recording as there is no reverb that we are used to hearing in so many different environments. Naturally, we just tend to rely on an added effect in post production to recreate this reverb, but it can be achieved with a greater reality if you think about it before you hit the record button. Obviously, this is achieved with thoughtful mic placement.

MIC PLACEMENT Capturing the room sound is best done with a stereo pair of microphones, so you get a good left and right spread of the reflected sounds.

Now, placement of these microphones is going to vary depending of the actual room, shape and size. A room that is more ‘live’ is going to

STUDIO

SHURE SM57

allow you to set the room microphones up much closer to the source and allow you to capture the sound reflecting from the hard surfaces.

But a somewhat ‘dead’ room will require you to get as much space between the source and the microphone to allow the difference in time to be captured. In saying this, you will be recording the direct sound from a close range and the delayed sound from a greater distance as the sound takes slightly longer to reach the microphone’s capsule. Don’t be afraid to record in different types of rooms either, many famous records have used everything from stairwells, bathrooms and odd shaped rooms to capture the unique reverb, echo and sound the environment has to offer.

THE RIGHT MICS A responsive condenser microphone with a fast transient attack is usually the best choice for this task, generally in a matched pair, to ensure consistency between the left and right audio images. But, having said that, I have seen great results with just a pair of SM57s being used as a room microphone set-up. This is especially the case when you are recording in an environment that is not entirely perfect as far as

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acoustic treatment goes and you want to allow the response of the microphone to somewhat deaden the audio capture. Then, breaking all the rules try placing a pair of SM57 microphones at a distance and this will give you a very subtle room sound that can be mixed in with you direct sound to achieve surprising results. In reality, there are no hard and fast rules. Try a few microphone combinations if you can, and

with different placement. In the end, the best results usually come from the greatest variety of techniques used. If you have an idea in mind, give it a try and leave your desire to go straight for the reverb plug-in behind for once. I’m sure you will capture something unique that would have been overlooked before.

BY ROB GEE

“This is gonna change everything.”

— James Michael | Motley Crue, Meatloaf, Scorpions

“Oh dude, this is gonna kill.”

— David Torn | David Bowie, John Legend, Tori Amos

“You’re going to see these everywhere.”

— Dann Huff | Faith Hill, Shania Twain

DECEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / PG. 41

WHAT’S MY RANGE AGAIN? SINGING WITH DISTORTION PART 1

VOCALS

Distortion, husk, dirt, grit, throat, growling; call it what you will! This month’s article we are to look at singing dirty or with distortion. There are two techniques you need to know with harder singing/screaming that are used. Firstly, there is True or Chest Voice Distorted singing. For example, James Hetfield from Metallica only uses distorted true or chest voice singing and the second type (that will be looked at in next months article; Part 2) is Falsetto Voice Distorted singing. A good example of this style is Daniel Davey from Cradle of Filth who sings predominantly in a falsetto with distorted screams. There are also a lot of heavier artists out there that use a mixture of both true and false voices too for example Lamb Of God, Dream On Dreamer, Airbourne and Pantera. Below are some handy steps on how to do it and the right way.

STEP 1: WARM UP Now before we get into any technique hints and tips, it is with the uttermost importance that you have completely warmed up your voice. The best way to do this is to begin with humming exercises and then move into some clean scale warm ups and light singing.

STEP 2: DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING Remember to take proper diaphragmatic breath whilst doing any singing, but especially harder for distorted singing. To ensure that proper breath support is continually maintained, focus on correct diaphragm support of all notes and apply the right amount of breath pressure underneath the vocal chords at all times.

STEP 3: RELAX THE RIGHT AREAS If you need to tighten anything, it should be your diaphragm (stomach) area, not your neck, shoulders or throat. Always keep your neck relaxed so that your vocal chords have room to distort. You want to feel the vocal chords vibrate and distort, like a quiet dog growl. Try for this for yourself at home: stand up in a relaxed posture and then try to growl like a dog in any key/note. Keep your mouth open and try to hold that one note/growl for 2 or 3 seconds. This shouldn’t hurt or strain your voice. You do not and should not feel

any pain or discomfort at all. You don’t want to feel the vocal chords are being pushed or forced together, this will only cause the air that is being forced through the vocal chords to become pressurised, like the vocal chords are holding back the air pressure in your lungs.

You want to relax your vocal chords and throat. Leaving your vocal chords to relax and distort with support from the diaphragm with minimal force. You ultimately want to let air run through your vocal chords so that they distort, you do not want to compress the vocal chords together to make a distorted sound.

STEP 4: BUILD STAMINA AND STRENGTH Kurk Cobain from Nirvana is a great example of the amount of huskiness and distortion you want to achieve and experiment with. So start off on a single note and try to lightly growl like a dog. Once you have achieved this and your vocal chords are distorting and not causing you any discomfort or pain, try to sing a few notes higher and lower from that single note starting point while still keeping your sounds distorted. If you are feeling comfortable with this then try to sing a few words around the same pitch or key.

Once you have mastered this technique then try to sing up as high and as low as you naturally and safely can without causing any pain or discomfort on your vocal chords. I would strongly recommend trying to tighten up your diaphragm or stomach area as you

were going up high in your vocal range.

STEP 5: HOW TO OCATVE CLIMB I would recommend going up and down the two octaves from about low C to high C with a light husky tone like Kurt Cobain. Once you have accomplished this and have sung a song or two in this particular tone you can gradually try to give your distorted tone more diaphragmatic support and volume, but please still try to keep your vocal chords relaxed. This should now start to sound and emulate a tone that is similar to James Hetfield’s from Metallica. Again repeat the same process by trying to sing a few octaves and songs with this somewhat courser tone. Then finally

and ultimately once you have got this technique down you give it even more diaphragmatic projection, support and volume but still keeping the vocal chords relaxed to produce an even more brutal and harsher tone similar to Phil Anselmo from Pantera.

STEP 6: MICROPHONE TECHNIQUE Another great tip and technique to make sure you have a more distorted sound is to cup or ball the microphone in the palm of your hand whilst singing.

This will greatly help you get a more distorted sound.

BY PETER VOX

APPROACHING THE BENCH SAMPLING OTHER ARTISTS’ MUSIC

LEGAL

The godfather of soul, James Brown, currently holds the title as the most sampled recording artist of all time. To clarify, sampling typically occurs when an artist creates an original work but takes fragments from pre-existing musical works and uses them as part of their composition. Many electronic producers and EDM artists sample their sounds not just from sound libraries but their actual record collections. Early day sampling artists often used other artists’ work without permission and here is where the legality kicks in!

Proven by many rap artists in making significant amounts of money through their sampled beats and stems without the original composer seeing a cent.

This prompted original artists to take legal action. A famous example of sampling infringing copyright law is Vanilla Ice’s ‘Ice Ice Baby’, which sampled the bass line from the Queen/David Bowie song ‘Under Pressure’ without obtaining clearance. Vanilla Ice was forced to pay royalties and as a result, all members of Queen and Bowie have since been given songwriting credit for the sample.

If obtained without permission, sampling can involve the breach of a number of sets of legal rights including the copyright in the composition, the copyright in the sound recording and the performer’s right to control the use of their performance. Very dangerous territory for an emerging producer or artist if one of their songs contains a sample and breaks the charts or becomes known to the original artist or record label that owns the rights.

In order to use a sample legally, all artists must first obtain permission from the copyright owner which is often a publishing company and record label. The issue of whether or not an artist has infringed copyright revolves around the question of whether a “substantial” portion of the original work has been used. Often, it is mistakenly believed that an individual is not infringing copyright law if they only sample a small portion of an original work.

The real test, however, is whether or not the sample captures the “essence” of the earlier work by being an important and distinctive feature of it.

The same test applies to non-musical works such as dialogue from a television show or film. It’s very dicey territory to tread if you’re an artist and you think the sample used in your work is superfluous with its reflection of the original as that is simply your opinion. If taken to court, this decision will be up for a judge or jury to decide.

In music, just a few notes may be an important and essential part of a song. People are frequently attracted to certain parts of musical works because there is something distinctive and recognisable about it. This is often an indication that you will need to obtain copyright permission if you plan on sampling it. Sampling has indeed become common industry practice

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and to have the works cleared from the relevant copyright owners, is becoming more common. If you have a reasonably large fan base as an artist and are releasing material globally it is important that you become particularly wary of using a sample without permission.

The same can be said if you hear a prominent part of your songwriting being used in another

artists recording, you might just have the grounds to obtain reimbursement.

All said and done, the main message here is to make sure you have the right clearance before you sample and release your music, it’s as simple as that!

BY DAN CHISHOLM

DECEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / PG. 43

CHRISTM MAS WISH LIST

CASIO PX-5S PRIVIA DIGITAL PIANO This is the first time I have had my hands on a Casio digital piano in a number of years. Having played just about every other brand on the market in that time, it was reassuring to find a comfortable feel with the Casio PX-5S Privia Digital Piano under my fingertips. For many keyboard players, using a Casio is an everyday enjoyment. But, for me and for many beginner players, it is a whole new experience and it has been good to revisit and remember just what these digital pianos can be like.

LIGHT WEIGHTED Firstly, I was a little taken back by the feel of the keys when I first place my hands on them. This is not the action I am talking about, but the actual feel of the keys themselves. The PX-5S features keys that have a gentle wood grain pattern embossed in the top. This is easily noticeable in the black keys, but not so evident in the white ones, although you do feel it straight away under your fingertips. The actual action of the keys was somewhat unlike what I was used to as well.

Casio’s Tri-Sensor Scaled Hammer Action II has what I can only describe as a very light touch to it. I am rather used to a heavier weighted key bed and this came as a nice surprise. It was very easy playing indeed and almost made me feel like I was playing a kind of hybrid between a piano and a keyboard, making it a great key bed for beginners and keyboard players alike.

WHAT’S THAT SOUND The sounds within the PX-5S are great. There is a wide variety of piano and organ sounds that don’t fail to include that old stalwart, the harpsichord. After all, what digital piano is ever complete without a great harpsichord sound?

That aside, the electric piano sounds make this a real stand-out and put it ahead of so many other digital pianos that just offer a rudimentary selection of a dozen or so sounds. The engine within the PX-5S is worth every penny.

WELL ROUNDED As well as a pitch bend and modulation wheel, there are four additional control knobs and six faders that can be assigned to a variety of functions. You can split the keyboard into four separate zones and run different sounds and controls. An instant recording of any performance can be captured and recorded to a USB thumb drive via the front panel port, giving this keyboard a little something extra too. In all, it is a well-rounded design with a few unique

features that make it quite unlike most other 88 note digital pianos on the market.

BY ROB GEE

RRP: $1999.95

Distributor: Shriro Australia Phone: 1300 786 112 Website: www.soundtechnology.com.au

DIMARZIO ILLUMINATOR OR PICK UPS Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci’s tone has shifted and swayed a lot throughout the years.

Sometimes it’s warm and crunchy. Sometimes it’s angry and abrasive. Sometimes it’s clear and cutting and sometimes it’s dark and rounded.

But two things remain consistent: his love of Mesa Boogie amps and his steadfast devotion to DiMarzio pickups. Petrucci has employed various models over the years, including the Blaze 7-string set designed for Steve Vai, the Steve’s Special (named after its designer, DiMarzio’s Steve Blucher), the Tone Zone, Humbucker From Hell, the Air Norton and the D-Sonic, but he’s also used several custom-voiced pickups too: a modified Steve’s Special and Air Norton set powered Petrucci’s early Music Man signature guitars, and more recently his signature Crunch Lab (bridge) and LiquiFire (neck) set became very popular among progressive guitarists. Now Petrucci and DiMarzio release the Illuminator neck and bridge models, available in 6 and 7-string versions.

LIGHT IT UP Originally available on Petrucci’s signature Music Man JP13 guitar (which comes equipped with an onboard clean boost), the Illuminators are now available separately. “This pickup set is building upon the Crunch Lab and the LiquiFire, so we’re starting there,” Petrucci tells us. “And most of it – really all of it – is the work of Steve Blucher at DiMarzio. I might describe something like “I want the low end to be tighter” and he’ll do his magic.

But in the case of this one, knowing that the guitar was going to have a preamp in it and everything, he was able to predict what would be necessary to make the guitar be more open-sounding and able to breathe more. He did a fantastic job, and I’ve been working with him so long that I barely

NE NECK Th The neck Illuminator is a ceramic humbucker wit with an output of 270mV and a DC resistance of 10.42Kohm (the 6-string is 295mV with a DC Re Resistance of 10.50Kohm). On paper it looks qu quite similar to the LiquiFire (270mV, 11.48Kohm) bu but it’s a little more open-sounding and a little cle cleaner. This is especially noticeable with on-theve verge-of-overdrive tones: the LiquiFire sounds a litt little bit dirtier than the Illuminator when plugged int into the same amp, whilst the Illuminator seems to have deeper, fuller bass frequencies. Crank up the gain and you’ll get plenty of that famous John Pe Petrucci hyper-articulate lead sound, perhaps a litt little more like an Air Norton than a LiquiFire but wit with enough of its own midrange character to jus justify its status as a separate pickup.

have to say much. He just instinctively knows. It’s wonderful.” I installed the 7-string Illuminators in my basswood-bodied Ibanez RG7420.

BRIDGE The bridge Illuminator 7 is a ceramic-magnet pickup with an output of 410mV and a DC Resistance of 11.17Kohm (the 6-string equivalent has the same output and a DC Resistance of 10.56Kohm). Compared to the hotter Crunch Lab it’s noticeably more ‘open.’ The Crunch Lab is capable of a warm, fuzzy ‘haze’ around the edges of the note which helps to knit together complex distorted chords, but the Illuminator

PG. 44 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / NOVEMBER 2013

tones this compressed vibe down a little in favour of a more open sound with a punchier attack. It’s especially great for power chords or for low chords with upper extensions. If you like to apply vibrato to chords or double-stops you’ll notice that this enhanced responsiveness will give you an almost three-dimensional sound that’s quite addictive. Lead lines are equally clear and loaded with shifting harmonics. Using a clean boost pedal to simulate the JP13’s onboard boost, I found that the clarity of the attack remained but the harmonic overtones jumped up into the stratosphere, making it particularly easy to wrench out pinch harmonics.

SE SEE THE LIGHT So Some players might consider it a bit of a hassle tha that they’ll need to install a boost or use a pedal to unlock the ‘designed with a boost in mind’ as aspects of the Illuminators, but most of us use so something to boost our gain for solos anyway, and these pickups are quite literally designed for that. Some players will prefer the slightly more compressed vibe of the Crunch Lab, but players who need a little more depth and liveliness from their pickups will love the Illuminators.

BY PETER HODGSON

RRP: $179 (DP256 and DP257)

Distributor: Australasian Music Supplies Phone: (03) 9549 1500 Website: www.austmusic.com.au

AVID PRO TOOLS & ELEVEN RACK I first came across Eleven in its Plug-in form many years ago and when it was first presented as a hardware option, I was very impressed with it indeed. Now, revisiting this idea some years later as the complete package it has become, I have to say that there really is nothing like it for an all in one solution for guitarists as both live performers and studio recording artists. AVID’s Pro Tools + Eleven Rack ties it all together to give users not only the flexibility they have demanded, but the quality and stability that they need.

TWEAK IT Being that the hardware unit operates without the need of a computer, you can trust the Eleven Rack to be totally stable in a live environment.

Weighing less than most compact guitar amp heads do, you get the power of a huge range of amp models and effects all ready to run directly into the PA system. There are a range of big name amp sounds within the unit and if you have a listen to their audio samples online, you will hear just how good they are. Adjusting parameters within each patch is quick and easy too, with the knobs beneath the LCD screen relating directly to the functions above giving you control over Gain, Presence, EQ and Volume settings to tweak the sound to just the way you want it.

OH SO VERSATILE But, Eleven Rack is so much more than just a touring tool. Off the stage, it becomes a seriously good front end to a Pro Tools recording system that takes a lot of the workload off your

computer with the built in DSP processing power that the Eleven Rack offers. You get one microphone and one guitar input on the front of the unit, but with the SP/DIF and AES/EBU digital connections on the rear of the unit, you are able to record 8 simultaneous channels of 24-bit/96 kHz audio into the included Pro Tools software. It also includes the Eleven Rack Expansion Pack that gives you even more tones and amp sounds including a range of great bass amplifiers and some slightly left of centre guitar amp options.

SOLID AS A RADIAL The first thing you will notice with this and with any Radial product is that it weighs probably more than any other similar device on the market. The Canadian promise to produce quality products is never forgotten with any Radial product, no matter how simple or how compact. Built into the same folded metal case that many other Radial devices come packaged in, you will find all the controls and connections are safely and securely tucked away beneath the lip of the case to ensure nothing gets damaged when the USB Pro is put through its paces in a live environment.

digital converter, you can run ru any audio you want ffrom your computer t via i U USB into the USB Pro. This then gives you a stereo pair of balanced XLR outputs to send to the PA with the added benefit of headphone monitoring direct from the unit.

CLEAN AS Should this not be enough to get a clean signal from your laptop to the PA system, Radial has added a few extra features to help clean up your signal. A mono summing option allows you to detect phasing issues on the inputs and there is a ground lift switch on the output side of the casing. But, to further protect you signal from unwanted low frequency humming caused by bad power, you can isolate one or both outputs with the recessed switches located on the side of the unit. Best of all, the USB Pro requires no power adaptor, bussing its power source from the USB port of your connected computer and meaning there is one less wall wart in your stage box to deal with.

BY ROB GEE

SIMPLE DOES IT When you have a look at these connections, it reveals a pretty simple design with a rock solid construction. Essentially, this is a DI for connecting your computer to a PA system for use on stage. So, no more noisy unbalanced cables running from your headphone output of your laptop. Now, with the built in 24 bit/96kHz

RRP: $1099 (includes Pro Tools 11)

Distributor: Avid Australia Phone: 1300 734 454 Website: www.avid.com

BY ROB GEE

MOOER STOMPLATE MINI AND Z SHAPED PEDAL CONNECTOR

RADIAL L USB PRO

As always, I love e to open up a new device from the good folk att Radial R di l Engineering, E i i as I know k that there is going to be some Canadian-made goodness awaiting me. This time it’s the USB Pro, a seemingly innocent enough DI box and I was not let down as I looked further into what this unit had to offer.

WHAT A RACK Put simply, this is not just a recording interface.

Nor is it just an amp modelling effects unit for stage use. No, Eleven Rack with Pro Tools is just about anything you could ever want in a live and studio combination for the guitarist that wants the best possible tones in one complete package. There’s just too much to fully mention here, so go and plug one in for yourself and hear just what I am talking about.

RRP: $299

Distributor: Amber Technology Phone: 1800 251 367 Website: www.ambertech.com.au

Pedals are unquestionably fun, we’ve all collected a bunch, maybe coerced Santa to get us one for Christmas each year, and binged on them like Cheese & Bacon Balls around tax refund time. However, there’s also a slightly unromantic side to them with connecting them and keeping them in one place. A lot of us start out with random plank of plywood with some gaffer tape to hold our pedals down and a few cheapo patch cords to string them together.

Ever try taking a rig like this out to a gig? It’s not fun, its not practical and it’s just not cool!

STOMPLATE MINI (MEP-SPMINI) The Mooer MEP-SPMINI is a simple, elegant little pedalboard designed to keep your stompables neat and secure. Its made from a rather light metal, with hook-and-loop strips on one side and rubberised foot pads on the other. Each of the corners is cushioned by a hardy red plastic protector. And that’s it! There’s no power function, no loops, no tuner out. It’s just a straightforward, road-worthy little pedalboard. And of course that’s what makes it so useful. It’s perfectly sized to hold your miniature Mooer pedals (and similarsized mini pedals like the TC Electronic Spark Mini Booster, Ditto Looper and Hall of Fame Mini Reverb) but will also quite comfortably house your standard BOSS-sided units as well, or your MXR-sized cans. And the spaced-out nature of the design means you have plenty of negative space to thread cables through if you need to. And you could even fasten one to a larger pedalboard so it can serve as an elevated platform, should you find that you need that.

And of course, what use is a pedalboard if

you can’t move it around? So the MEP-SPMINI comes in a padded bag which keeps everything nice and secure between gigs, and it includes a strap so you can sling it over your shoulder.

And there’s a zippered pocket in front so you can stash a few cables as well.

Z SHAPED PEDAL CONNECTOR (MEP-PCZ) The MEP-PCZ falls into the ‘unglamorous but totally cool’ category. Want to make more space for more pedals on your MEP-SPMINI? The MEPPCZ is a little Z-shaped connector which allows you to plug two Mooer pedals into each other as close together as they could possibly go without having to file a joint tax return. It can be used with other pedal brands too, and the Z-shaped layout means there’s enough range of movement to hook pedals of different heights up to each other. Take note; that they just might end up staggered at a slightly uneven layout if not Mooer pedals, which may or may not upset you depending on your particular temperament.

And of course with no pesky cable to go in between your pedals, you’re minimising all sorts of noise issues and ensuring that the electrons that define your ultimate expression of self to the world travel the shortest distance through your pedals and out to your audience.

BY PETER HODGSON RRP: $99.95 (MEP-SPMINI) $7.95 (MEP-PCZ)

Distributor: Jade Australia Phone: 1800 144 120 Website: www.musocity.com.au

NOVEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / PG. 45

CHRISTM MAS WISH LIST

SHURE SM58 DYNAMIC MICROPHONE Seldom do we, in an industry as dynamic as ours, come across a product that lasts more than a few years, let alone one that last decades. So, with the 50th anniversary of the Shure SM58 only a few years away, it really is no surprise why this micr ophone has been deemed the ‘industry standar d’ live vocal microphone when nothing else has shar ed its popularity and longevity at the for efront of stages and studios the world over since 1966.

STILL A SHURE THING Well, let me tell you this much. Ther e are plenty of you out there using the trusty 58 and plenty of you continuing to buy them. Sales of the SM58 continue at a gr eat pace, so it looks like existing musicians can’t get enough of their favourite vocal microphone and many new starters to live music are taking up on the trend too. And fair enough, it has surely proven its worth over the years.

THE STANDARD It would be a pr etty safe bet that everyone reading this right now has used one at some point or another, and most of you either curr ently own one or have owned one. And, with that being the case, what is there that I can tell you that you don’t already know?

SHURE IS TOUGH The rugged design is tough and simple and so iconic that it’s been copied by just about every other microphone manufacturer at some point or another. It is designed to be just about swallowed on stage, allowing the micr ophone to reduce the pickup of unwanted stage noise and just deliver the vocals with a minimum risk of feedback. Y es, when used really close it does tend to have a bit of a spike in the low fr equencies, but that is just

part of the characteristic of an SM58 and part of the sound that has made it so popular over the years. You can go with any microphone you like for their specif c sound, but if you want a microphone that every engineer will know how to work with and a microphone that just about every room and PA is tuned to, then you really cannot go past the classic. The SM58 should be in your micr ophone collection whether you have one micr ophone or f fty. Available with or without a switch depending on your needs, there is really no other microphone like it.

BY ROB GEE RRP: $199

Distributor: Jands Phone: (02) 9582 0909 Website: www.jands.com.au

SAMSON MTR112 STUDIO CONDENSER KIT I have, over the past f ve or six years had just about every micr ophone Samson have ever made across my desk for a test run. I have to say, this month when I got my hands on the MTR101; I had never been more intrigued. This is the f rst microphone from Samson that I had wanted to set up f rst, rather than pulling it apart. Of course, I couldn’t help but pull it apart later, but it is rare with any microphone from any manufacturer that I will set it up to try before I attempt to dismantle it. So, it looks like the MTR101 has def nitely got my attention.

NEW LOOK Delivered with a new look packaging to match this new look micr ophone, the MTR101 is packaged with a cradle style suspension mount and a pop f lter that mounts dir ectly to the microphone itself. This is a good idea in that it keeps the pop f lter compact and always in front of the capsule, but for someone like myself who prefers to use a pop f lter as a method of controlling the vocalist’ s distance fr om the capsule, it doesn’t offer a lot of f exibility in that regard. That said, if you’re a singer and can keep your head still and not move back and forth when you sing; this is then an excellent design.

DON’T BLAME IT ON THE SUNSHINE All in all, it assembles easily and has a somewhat retro look about it that will - no matter how bad your singing voice is - make you feel like a pro. Although, my voice could not be helped no matter what r etro styling was added to the unit. That said, the MTR101 wasn’ t ashamed to tell me just how bad my voice is. Y ep, it gave me all the painful f atness that came out of my mouth and deliver ed it dir ect to the r ecording

AUDIO-TECHNICA ATH-ADG1 GAMING HEADPHONES There is something about musicians, I don’ t know exactly what it is or why it happens, but so many of them seem to spend countless hours playing video games when they should probably be practicing their instruments.

Perhaps it has something to do with cr oss pollinating addictions, I mean both activities rule! So, with that in mind, there are going to be plenty of “musicians” aka gamers r eading this who will want to know mor e about these new headphones from Audio-Technica, the A THADG1 Premium Gaming Headset.

BACKSTORY So, having swor n to never play video games again after my life was almost ruined at the hands of Tony Hawk years ago, I put these on with some hesitation. But, putting my fear of gaming behind me, they are a very comfortable set of cans. The soft padded ear pieces f t completely over the ear , reducing spill and allowing them to be wor n for extended periods without fatigue. The r etracting, spring loaded arms that support the cans atop of your head are

a great idea, getting the balance perfect. Please make it noted that they do wreak havoc on your hairstyle, but vein aesthetics aside (something I’m sure the average gamer won’ t care about) they are super comfortable.

CONNECTIVITY Not just a device for gamers wanting a headset that allows them to interact with online counterparts, these ar e a gr eat set of headphones for simply listening to music with.

I had no problem listening to tracks for over an hour without them getting too hot or fatiguing my ears. My only r eal complaint was the length of the cable, being only thr ee feet; as it didn’ t really allow me to stray far fr om the computer.

Although, that might just be the point of the short lead. `PLUG ME IN For those r eaders who want a surr eal gaming, audio playback or simple mobile phone experience, the A TH-ADG1 headphones might just be your ticket. When the adjustable

PG. 46 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / NOVEMBER 2013

not microphone gooseneck micr ophone is not ne’s arm in use, you can r otate the micr ophone’s e way upwards and then fold it out of the way so so mers who who you don’t even know it is ther e. Gamers ade want a serious set of headphones made byby a a g to to love lo ve serious audio manufactur er are going interact how these respond, sound and let youuinteract ianswho who with your gaming counterparts. Musicians ext set of want to get multiple uses out of their next ate these. headphones are also going to appreciate For those of you who play video gamesmes andand instruments, you can now kill two birds with one ou’ve just stone, top job Audio-Technica I think you’ve answered many prayers.

BY ROB GEE

RRP: Call For Pricing

Distributor: TAG Phone: (02) 9519 0900 Website: www.tag.com.au

software. A crisp top end r eally accentuated my bad technique and the mid-range r esponse of this microphone just added to the horr or story that was me trying to sing.

BLAME IT ON THE BOOGIE Now, don’t blame the micr ophone for this. My vocal failings ar e not the fault of the MTR101; in fact, the micr ophone should be commended for putting up with that vocal onslaught. It just went about the business of capturing the sound, unfortunately just like it was deliver ed. So, if you are able to sing better than me, (which that should be most of you), then this could well be a good addition to your home studio if you ar e looking for a vocal microphone that for the price tag it carries, performs very well.

BY ROB GEE

RRP: $239

Distributor: Electric Factory Phone: (03) 9474 1000 Website: www.elfa.com.au

DECEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / PG. 47

CHRISTM MAS WISH LIST

ERNIE BALL MUSIC MAN SABRE

The Sabre is one of the Music Man company’s early designs and flourished in existence from 1978 to 1991. It was a rather cool bass all things considered, but for whatever reason it never quite captured the hearts of the public like the StingRay, even though it found its way into the hands of such esteemed players as Louis Johnson and Queen’s John Deacon. But now it’s back! After dipping their toe into the water with a Premier Dealer Network release of the Sabre in 2012, it’s now available in the regular line.

BACK FOR THE ATTACK The Sabre features Music Man’s famous six-bolt neck joint, a beautiful Birdseye Maple neck, Ash body, Rosewood fretboard and a sweeping pick guard which blends elements of those found on the StingRay and the P-Bass. The control layout seems quite simple yet effective and flexible: a volume control plus passive treble and bass cuts.

But look a little closer and you’ll see a five-way pickup selector switch, more on that in a moment though. The strings are anchored to a Music

Man top-loading chrome-plated hardened steel bridge plate with ‘Classic’ stainless steel saddles and adjustable mute pads (most players probably won’t ever use the mutes but the small number who do are seriously stoked that Music Man is using these again). The truss rod adjusts at the body end of the neck, and the nut is Music Man’s compensated design, which keeps intonation more even from fret to fret by providing small offsets optimised for each string compared to a standard nut. So that pickup switching: both pickups use Alnico magnets and have solid black bridge covers, but each pickup is a unique design, the bridge utilising 8 pole pieces and the neck having 16. The setup also includes Music Man’s patented ‘Silent Circuit,’ which reduces hum and retains a true single coil sound. And the pickup settings are pretty complex on paper (although we all should just use our ears rather than worry too much about what each setting is). If we are to assign each coil a number from bridge to neck, the settings are coils 1 and 2; 1, 2, and 3; 1, 2, 3, and 4; 3; and 3 and 4. What this means in practice

is that you have various sounds from thick and full humbucker to edgy, punchy single coil.

SWORDS AT DAWN The natural attack and sustain of the Sabre are rather piano-like unplugged, and this quality certainly translates to the amplified sound. Many players will find that the punch and definition of the bridge pickup (position 1) is all they’ll ever need, since it seems to have the perfect balance of high end definition and low end punch, and yet all of the other modes are equally useful.

Mode 2 is great for emphasising pick attack, mode 3 is a good full-range sound that will help out bass players who need to fill out more sonic space in a trio; mode 4 is great for jazz soloing, coming across as somewhat reminiscent of the neck pickup of a Jazz Bass; and mode 5 is a monster for deep dub styles or for driving a distorted bass sound. Playability is spectacular, with well-finished frets, great upper-fret access and no noticeable dead spots.

A PERFECT 10 There really aren’t any downsides to this bass.

It’s all knitted together in such a perfectly formed package that it’s kind of amazing that this model was out of production for so long.

And the Diego Blue finish of the review model is utterly breathtaking. Occasionally in this job you find yourself resenting a bass because it has to eventually go back to the distributor, and you feel like you can no longer even look at your own bass because it just looks, feels and sounds like crap in comparison to the one you just reviewed.

Thanks a lot, Music Man.

BY PETER HODGSON

RRP: $3850

Distributor: CMC Music Australia Phone: (02) 9905 2511 Website: www.cmcmusic.com.au

ALTO ZMX52 COMPACT MIXER

MARKBASS BLACK LINE 104HR BASS CAB

Many of you would have seen Alto mixers turning up in our Product News and Road Tested sections for quite some time and already know that they do indeed offer quite a diverse range of options. This month, I have the smallest member of the Alto mixer family to look at, the ZMX52 compact mixer. It may be small, but it still offers a variety of uses that will see potential owners saving space and money when they simply do not need any more.

Markbass is an Italian company that have built a reputation as solid as the gear they produce.

Starting off around 12 years ago, the distinctive yellow logo has become a staple sight on stages, recording studios and music stores all over the world. Markbass offer a variety of bass amps, cabs and in the last few years have introduced a line of effects pedals and guitar amps and cabs under DV Mark. They have always seemed to have maintained a strong emphasis on being lightweight and portable, without compromising tone.

KEEP IT SIMPLE Described as a ‘5 channel mixer’, the ZMX52 is really what I would consider three separate channels. You get a single, mono, microphone channel and two separate stereo line channels.

That said, both stereo channels could be used for separate mono line inputs if you were pushed for space and the balance control can supply a volume balance between these, if you were to sum the master output to mono. But, that is just getting all a little too complicated for the sake of the argument.

PRE DELIVERY What the ZMX52 offers to begin with is a budget microphone preamp in a compact casing. For those of you looking for a simple mic pre to get a vocal signal into a device that only accepts line level inputs, this is a great idea. Rather than forking out for a dedicated preamp that will set you back quite a bit of extra cash, you can use the ZMX52, pan the signal hard left and take a mono output from the left out. If you want to get a vocal, a guitar and perhaps some backing tracks into a powered speaker for an intimate and hassle free gig, this is going to get you across the line without any trouble at all.

NICE TOUCH With a headphone output and an auxiliary input and output, you can tweak the setup for a few different options if you have the right cables and feel like getting creative. After all, you shouldn’t need a large format mixer for every job if you don’t want to lug one around with you. I do like the large rotary dial that acts as the master volume control on the unit. With no space on such a compact mixer for faders, this is a nice touch and with what I can only assume to be 0dB indented, it gives you a good reference point by touch without even a glance.

BY ROB GEE

RRP: $109.99

Distributor: Pro Audio Group (Australia) Phone: (02) 9521 4844 Website: www.proaudiogroup.com.au

PG. 48 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / NOVEMBER 2013

POWER TO WIEGHT I’ve been a huge fan of the Markbass range for a few years now, so I know first hand why they’re building such a solid reputation. One of the obvious (and very few!) downsides to choosing to play bass over other instruments, is the nightmare loading in and out if you have to lug your bass rig from the car/van and up the staircases of venues that obviously didn’t have you in mind when they built the place.

The first thing that struck me when pulling the Blackline 104 out of the box at Mixdown HQ, was how easy it was to lift. I mean, it’s not like it floated out of the box all by itself, but for 4x10 inch speakers in a wooden box, it was definitely noticeably lighter than any other 4x10 cabs I’ve seen on the market. But the real question becomes ‘If I’m dropping weight, am I sacrificing volume and tone?’

BACK IN BLACKLINE Well, the short and long answer to that is no.

Not at all. In fact considering the whole cab weighs in at around 25 kgs (most 4x10 cabs are around the 35+ kg mark) it still manages to throw out an impressive 800w. To keep things in check I plugged in my ‘92 P-bass straight into my trusty Ampeg PF-800 head and kept it all nice and flat. Plenty of power, plenty of punch. Nice, crisp highs thanks to the the 1” compression driver with custom horn, as well

as retaining full but tight lows and audible clarity throughout the whole range.

THE VERDICT I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a 4x10 cab that’s lightweight, portable and versatile enough for small to larger-sized venues.

BY BRENT HAYHURST

RRP: $1295

Distributor: CMC Music Australia Phone: (02) 9905 2511 Website: www.cmcmusic.com.au

M-AUDIO M-TRACK USB AUDIO INTERFACE

M-AUDIO NOVA CONDENSER MICROPHONE

M-Audio has had a long history of delivering ing audio interfaces of just about every specification ion available and they have now developed a range nge of entry level interfaces that suits the needss of many home studio beginners. Whether you are just getting into home or portable recording ing for the first time, or you are looking to upgrade ade your existing set-up within cost, you can be fairly airly certain that M-Audio will have an interface that hat is going to offer the connectivity you require e to turn your ideas into records.

INTRODUCING The M-Audio M-Track will be familiar to some of you, possibly because you have one already or maybe because you entered our Giveaway of it’s slightly bigger brother the M-Track Plus in our September issue. Either way the difference between the two models is that the M-track is firstly at the cheaper price point due to its housing and comes with a few restrictions, like a different bundled software package in Ignite and Ableton Lite and no SP/ DIF interface. But let’s face it, when was the last time you really wanted to use or really understood the workings of the Sony Panasonic Digital Interface when starting to record?

Exactly, my point!

HOUSING The main differences between the two interfaces as briefly mentioned is that the M-Track is built into a plastic housing, again to save on costs.

But, you shouldn’t have to worry about how tough this little unit is, because like with all portable interfaces as long as you treat it with some care you will have a nice little portable interface you can take anywhere. Everything is pretty solid with the M-Track and the connections are all metal reinforced for added strength. With two microphone pre-amps both with phantom power, two line inputs and insets on the inputs, you are already ahead of just about any other interface in this price range.

MIDI in and out stacks up the connectivity to give you excellent integration with any external

So, it seems M-Audio are trying to rewrite the book on high quality at a low price. The new Nova large diaphragm condenser microphone is set to take on some rivals delivering solid competition when said rivals thought they could rest easy. Following from M-Audio’s Luna and Solaris series of microphones, both of which I have reviewed in the past, the Nova take a similar design and present a new low price. equipment you might be using. Powered from the USB connection there is also no need to stuff around with extra power supplies and it allows you the freedom of ultimate portability when used with a laptop. Now you can record, edit and mix just about anywhere and anytime which is really what this little beauty has been designed for. The only question, really, is what is stopping you from getting one?

BY ROB GEE

RRP: $169.99

Distributor: Pro Audio Group (Australia) Phone: (02) 9521 4844 Website: www.proaudiogroup.com.au

THE NITTY GRITTY OK, so the first thing I did when I got this microphone in my hands, in front of the M-Audio rep, was to screw it apart and see what was going on inside of it. I can’t help it; it is a sick fascination I have with microphones that just has me wanting to know more about them. Like most microphones that come in this price category, the casing presented a little bit of a rattle when first out of the box, but that ceased when I put it back together with all the joints properly lined up. Inside, everything looked fine, with the 1.1 inch gold diaphragm mounted with comfortable isolation form the main circuitry to prevent any damage or unwanted noise in operation.

PLUG AND PLAY When plugged in, with the included XLR cable and stand mount, the Nova didn’t present any obviously alarming issues. It has a fairly quite operation level as long as you don’t drive

the gain too hard. So, in a home recording environment it should be a great accessory to add to an existing microphone selection or even as the beginning of an unhealthy collection. There is nothing that jumps out with the audio performance of the Nova’s sound capture. It gives you what you put in and although it does stack a little with certain frequencies, it isn’t overly hinged towards an overly dark or bright audio image. It may not capture the lower frequencies, or deliver the detailed mid-range that you would expect of a more expensive microphone, but then again, it isn’t a more expensive microphone. Priced at under $200 with an included XLR cable, you really cannot complain with the quality you are getting in the M-Audio Nova condenser microphone, it’s really great value for the price.

Paired with the M-Audio M-Track also reviewed this issue you’ve just walked away with a solid, well performing portable studio and all under $400. Yes you heard right, write this down on your x-mas list for Santa as this is simply amazing!

BY ROB GEE RRP: $179.99

Distributor: Pro Audio Group (Australia) Phone: (02) 9521 4844 Website: www.proaudiogroup.com.au

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DROP THE CABLE. EXPAND YOUR OPTIONS The LSP 500 PRO is iPad controlled and truly wireless by design with 3 wireless microphone links, bluetooth music streaming, built in USB player and recorder guaranteeing optimum audio connectivity. The LSP 500 PRO is stackable from 2 to 20 speakers to suit every venue.

Save time. Save money. Go PRO. sennheiser.com.au/lsp-500-pro For more info, 1800 648 628, sales@sennheiser.com.au or visit www.sennheiser.com.au

NOVEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / PG. 49

CHRISTM MAS WISH LIST

CASIO XW-G1 & XW-P1 SYNTHESIZERS

XW-P1

Sure, I’ll admit it. Growing up in the 80’s I had a great love for Casio synths and the funky tools they came up with. A little later on I found myself slowly acquiring some of these old gems and coveting them a second time around. Now, I feel like the passion for Casio has been reborn when I get to unbox the XWG1 Groove Synthesizer that arrived on my doorstep this week. Then, I discovered that I also had an XW-P1 Performance Synthesizer to go with it. Cool!

OUT OF THE BOX At first glance, these beasts sort of reminded me of a bit of a mix of a couple of futuristic synths that came out in the late 90s. It was almost as if a few of the keyboards from the collection had been breeding and these are the bizarre love children of them all. But looks aside, these synths can really sing. They are based on what Casio calls its Hybrid Processing Sound Source, stemming from a 6 oscillator monophonic solo synthesizer engine. Essentially, what you get is a wide range of sounds that have a really classic analogue sound to them, but have the control and flexibility of a modern digital synth engine. Each voice can be made up of two virtual analogue oscillators, two PCM based oscillators, a noise oscillator and an external input source defined as an oscillator. Each oscillator having its own envelope generator and filters as well as a master filter across the entire sound.

XW-G1

IN WITH THE NEW Casio claim the XW-G1 has been engineered for the DJ and club performer, but don’t let that narrow the scope of its use. Yes, it is a wonderfully easy to manipulate the system with a step sequencer and effects section that allows you to make changes on the fly in a live set, even when you are working on other elements of the set from a DJ console. But, that doesn’t mean you miss out if you want a serious studio tool too. The XW-P1 steps in here as a performance and studio keyboard that offers amazing piano and organ sounds that are controllable with the drawbar feature on the P1.

TWO GOOD I have waited quite a few years to get my hands on a new Casio synthesizer and it was worth the wait to be presented with two great units. They sound amazing. In fact, they almost sound like something new, which is often hard to find in synthesizers these days. Plus, even though they

are both dead easy to navigate, they do have so much more going on under the hood than may appear. Really, you are just going to have to experiment with the sounds yourself to know what I am really talking about.

BY ROB GEE

JBL LSR308 ACTIVE STUDIO MONITORS Many of you would undoubtedly know JBL speakers from their powered PA lines, especially the EON series that seem to pop up just about everywhere. But, what a lot of people don’t realise is that JBL have for a long time also had a team focused on delivering quality audio monitoring for recording, mixing and post production. The television and broadcast industry has been onto these things for some time now and it seems that only recently recording studios are getting JBL on their consoles and hearing what they have to offer; which is clarity and precision.

CRYSTAL CLEAR This time around as I get to power up a different pair of JBL monitors, I was afforded the opportunity to test drive a pair of the LSR308 active studio monitors. These speakers, in the LSR 3 Series represent exceptional quality for the price tag they display. There are few monitors that offer the audio clarity that the LSRs do for this price. With a 1” Neodymium tweeter and an 8” long trow woofer, backed by 112 watts of Class D amplification, these speakers have enough grunt and volume to reasonably expect you will never need to run them hard in any near field listening environment.

THE SWEETEST SPOT Inputs are provided on both XLR and balance TRS connection on the rear panel which also gives you the option of input sensitivity as well as low and high frequency trim controls to tailor the sound to suit your room. That said, JBL pride themselves on their LSR technology

which claims that these speakers are designed to sound right in any room you use them in. LSR stands for Linear Spatial Reference and refers to the data recorded in testing these speakers to ensure they sound natural from any angle in any room, making it easier to get your sweet spot just right and have your speakers sound the way they should.

BANG ON So, with all the technical nonsense aside, it really doesn’t matter what is claimed of these speakers. What really matters is how they actually sound. Straight out of the box, without adjusting anything on them and sending a flat signal in, they come to life. I found no real need to touch the LF Trim, but maybe a slight reduction on the HF suited to room’s liveliness just right. AT both low volumes and when really driving them, they delivered a sharp transient response that stood up with dry recorded drums. These speakers do their best to put out just what you put in, so you can ultimately result in a better sounding mix.

BY ROB GEE

RRP: $449 EACH

Distributor: Jands Phone: (02) 9582 0909 Website: www.jands.com.au

PG. 50 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / NOVEMBER 2013

RRP: XW-G1 $999.95 XW-P1 $749.95

Distributor: Shriro Australia Phone: 1300 786 112 Website: www.soundtechnology.com.au

YAMAHA HS5 MONITORS & HS8S SUBWOOFER AMERICAN DJ MICRO GALAXIAN LASER

I’m pretty sure each and every one of you reading this has at some time or another seen a photo of some great recording studio and noticed the white cones of the old classic NS10s sitting atop of the mixing console. For what seems like an eternity now, Yamaha studio monitors have taken pride of place in recording studios and editing suites the world over. So, it comes with no surprise that when Yamaha released their latest range of powered studio monitors in the HS series, they decided to retain that classic white cone on black cabinet look.

But, that is about where the similarity ends, because what you get within the HS5 monitors and the HS8S subwoofer are a far more advance beast than the humble NS10s of yesteryear.

THE POWER Firstly, we now have power in the box. Like the previous range of monitor speakers that Yamaha had, the HS range is equipped with matching amplifiers built into the cabinet to match both the tweeter and the woofer of the HS5 monitors and a more powerful amplifier to drive the HS8S subwoofer. With a combined output power of 290 watts between the two mid/high boxes and the subwoofer, you will have plenty of drive in your near field monitoring to ensure you can work at any volume you require.

THE LOOKS Although somewhat similar to the recently discontinued HS50M monitors, the HS5s take from their failing and improve in a subtle, yet nice manner. The overall aesthetics of the case have

been rounded off and neated up and the drivers have been redesigned too, with a larger protection grill around the one inch high frequency driver for a clearer audio distribution. Around the back, you still get the option of XLR or TRS connections, but the room control has been simplified to just two switches, making it easier to find an EQ pattern that works for your environment.

THE RESULT The HS8S is the matched subwoofer to compliment these smaller ‘bookshelf’ style studio monitors.

When used together, the audio signal is initially sent into the subwoofer, where the internal crossover distributes the frequency range to the associated drivers. The HS5 monitors then concentrate on precision mid-range and sparkling high frequencies, while the HS8S drives the lower frequencies, right down to 22Hz. The compact design of both these units makes it easy to have the pair of monitors along with a sub fit into just about any home studio environment and deliver a sound that would be expected of much larger speakers. Clarity and quality are always foremost with Yamaha speakers and the HS series of studio monitors is no exception.

BY ROB GEE RRP: $279 (HS5) $579(HS8S)

Distributor: Yamaha Music Australia Phone: (03) 9693 5111 Website: au.yamaha.com

Often, we as musicians place so much importance on our instruments and sound reinforcement but never really think about the bigger picture when it comes to live performance. Yes, the audience is there to hear you sing and play your instruments, but they probably want a little bit of a show too.

It really isn’t enough to just turn up and stand in a dimly lit corner of the room playing guitar all night. Although, I can think of a number of players to whom that would be just perfect. No, you need to add something extra to the gig and a large lighting rig isn’t always that easy to truck about with all your other gear, so some compact but effective solutions are in order.

SEE THE LIGHT There are all number of lighting options such as par cans, strobes and smoke machines for basic effects, but you can take your lighting display that extra step with just a simple addition of a laser to really get the ravers and Floyd fans worked up. The Micro Galaxian from American DJ is the perfect solution for this task. It will probably fit inside the recessed of your guitar case it is that compact, yet it will throw out a light display that will cast across a room of just about any size. Easy to set up, you can leave it on an auto function or set it to react to the sound from a built-in microphone.

POINT AND SHOOT With a handy remote control, you are able to control the auto/microphone selection, black out the unit completely, change the direction of the laser’s movement and scroll between the two colours on offer. You can run it as the classic green, red or a combination of the two for more power, more light and more spectacle.

LIGHT IT UP Sure, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. It probably won’t enhance the performance of an acoustic folk duo, well, then again, it could be just what they were searching for to begin with.

With Christmas and New Year’s fast approaching, this is just the tool to give your holiday season gigs a little something extra and is sure to have your pets going bananas when you test it out in the lounge room at home. Trust me, the kittens go mental.

BY ROB GEE

RRP: $149.99

Distributor: Pro Audio Group (Australia) Phone: (02) 9521 4844 Website: www.proaudiogroup.com.au

Even if you’ve sold your soul down at the crossroads, you’re still going to need a case.

• • • • •

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17/06/13 NOVEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / PG.1:48 51 PM

CHRISTM MAS WISH LIST

FAITH MARS MAHOGANY GLOSS The Faith Mars Mahogany Gloss is one of the newest additions to Faith’s line-up of Patrick James Eggle-designed beauties. Like its stablemates, this Faith Mars is named after a planet and it embodies a classy, strippeddown design aesthetic. And if you’ve been following Faith you’d know that they offer their designs in a huge, huge array of wood configurations. In this case, the guitar gives a lot away in its name, because while its model number identifies it as the FRMG MARS, it’s also more helpfully referred to as the Faith Mars Mahogany Gloss.

FAITH’S GLOSS IS YOUR GAIN So as you’d expect, this guitar is very heavily skewed to the tonal characteristics of Mahogany.

It has a solid Mahogany top, solid Mahogany back and sides, a Mahogany neck, even quartersawn Mahogany braces (in Patrick James Eggle’s own X-Brace design). Pretty much the only concessions to non-Mahogany material are the sound hole rosette (5mm Abalone with fibre border), and the Macassan figured Ebony fretboard and bridge. Oh and the bridge pins are Ebony with Abalone dots. The body is finished in gloss while the back of the neck is satin to aid playability. The nut is string-friendly TUSQ material, the the machine heads are Grover Rotomatics in chrome. In true Faith style the 16mm radius fretboard is adorned only with a solitary F logo at the 12th fret, while a full Faith logo sits atop the headstock. And that’s it!

No pick guard, no fancy inlay, no preamp and pickup. Just a straightforward, stripped-back true acoustic guitar.

IS THERE LIFE ON MARS? Faith’s all-Mahogany models are designed to embody a clear, linear tone which the company describes as very sweet and woody with plenty

of midrange. Mahogany is a great wood choice for acoustic guitars because it has a wide dynamic range, and it seems to push out a unique, well-formed voice no matter what you ask the guitar to do, whether you’re strumming it as hard as you freaking can, or performing a delicate fingerpicking interlude. And because it has a relatively even harmonic overtone spread, you’re not going to get weird unwelcome overtones jumping out all over your recordings.

Playability-wise, this guitar is a little beauty. The neck depth is relatively shallow and it makes for great finger reach even up to the bass strings.

The string spacing is perfect for fingerpicking

too. It really adds up to a guitar that’s ideal for players who like to provide highly-orchestrated accompaniment - walking baselines, partial chords and little harmonies all at the same time - and yet the tone is so balanced, powerful and direct when you strum hard that it’d make a great acoustic for modern country or for rock bands who need a really tough-sounding acoustic to cut through the mix.

new guitars is a nightmare of paper cuts).

This really is a very playable, tuneful guitar which sounds as good as it looks - and it looks great.

BY PETER HODGSON

RRP: $1049

SUCCESSFUL VOYAGE There really are no downsides here (aside from my usual complaint that the protective wrap that Faith includes around the strings of its brand-

Distributor: Ambertech Australia Phone: 1800 251 367 Website: www.ambertech.com.au

YAMAHA PDX-B11 BLUETOOTH SPEAKER We all like to bring our music with us on the go, and on the surface it might seem like tablets, smartphones and laptops are perfect for this, especially when you have all your music stored in the cloud.

Ah but you and I know that those speakers just ain’t so great. At the risk of sounding like a bad late night infomercial, there has to be a better way! Well, dude, there is!

Yamaha’s PDX-B11. It’s a small, lightweight speaker designed to let you bring your music with you, and make it nice and loud.

GROOVE ON THE MOVE The PDX-B11 has a 10cm (4”) cone woofer and a 3.5cm (1-3/8”) tweeter, plus a bass port in the rear to extend your low end. It’s ridiculously light at only 1.5kg, and has a nice sturdy metal handle which also protects the controls, in addition to allowing you to drag it around with you. It’s powered by an AC supply (which is provided with the unit) or six AA batteries with an expected life of around 8 hours fo`r alkaline batteries. And there’s a stereo left/right mini jack for plugging in whatever device you like.

But that’s not the only way to cram sound into it: the PDX-B11 is also Bluetooth-enabled, so you can pair it with your device and then rock out wirelessly. There are four colours available: blue, orange, gray and black. Connecting the PDX-B11 is simple, and I’m sure all of us have used a Bluetooth something-or-other by now so we all know how it works. It has a one-touch Bluetooth system to refresh the connection, and will automatically reconnect to the last device it was synced to. I was able to get it to sync to my iPhone 5 and iPad with no problems, and although it took a few tries to connect to my Macbook Pro, once it was all synced up there were no issues whatsoever.

ROCK ON THE BLOCK The sound is very clear with great separation between high and low frequencies. The midrange is nice and musical, and the high end is crisp without being harsh. Sure, it’s a mono speaker so you’re not going to get the full widescreen majesty of Devin Townsend’s Infinity bouncing around the room, but it’ll certainly project sound in an outdoor environment like a picnic, at the beach or for busking. In fact, although Yamaha isn’t promoting this as a speaker for musicians it can certainly be used in that context, especially if you use the stereo line in, instead of Bluetooth just in case you’re using, say, an iPad which introduces latency issues when you turn on Bluetooth.

DJENT IN THE TENT This is a surprisingly flexible speaker given that it’s mono, has no tone-shaping capabilities beyond volume control, and isn’t specifically designed for musicians. And yet it’ll make your amp modelling apps really sing, will give you another insight into your work-in-progress mixes, and of course will let you crank up whatever music is on your phone/tablet/computer in an easily portable, certainly loud and definitely high-quality manner, whether you’re camping, partying, picnicking, BBQing, beaching or wherever you find yourself needing music.

BY PETER HODGSON

RRP: $149

Distributor: Yamaha Australia Phone: (03) 9693 5111 Website: au.yamaha.com

PG. 52 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / NOVEMBER 2013

STEINBERG UR22 USB INTERFACE I think the popularity of this little unit which has created some supply problems in recent months just goes to show how good Steinberg’s UR22 is when it comes to value for money in a small format USB audio interface. In a marketplace that is seemingly awash with new audio interfaces, seldom does one come along and stand up against all those present to get musicians recording.

SMALL BUT MIGHTY Having been available for a little over a year now, the UR22 shows that good things do indeed come in small packages. Built into the smallest casing Steinberg could manage, this little audio interface has some big features. With two inputs, both supplied on combination XLR/ TRS connections, you can run two microphones or two line level inputs at once. The second of these two inputs can be switched to a Hi-Z guitar level as well, so you can go direct into your DAW with your guitar lead. You get two line level outputs, headphone output and MIDI in and out as well. That’s it for physical connections, there simply isn’t any room left on the box to fit any more after that.

RATE THE SAMPLE Now, that is a pretty rudimentary compilation of ins and outs and you would pretty much expect to see all that on any interface these days.

But, where this unit really stands ahead of the others in its price range is with what is going

on inside the box. While many interfaces in the sub $500 price range struggle to even deliver 96 kHz sample rates, the UR22 goes one step further, and at a fraction of the price of many competitors, delivers stunning 24 bit/192kHz sample rate conversion on input to the DAW. This came as somewhat of a surprise when I first came across the UR22, especially since Steinberg had more expensive interfaces that didn’t even offer 192 kHz inputs.

TAKE THE LEAP Take the two “D-Pre” microphone preamps, high sample rate and bundle it all with Cubase AI recording software and there really is no further question really. This is not only amazing value, but exceptional quality when it comes to compact USB audio interfaces. For those looking to take their recording even further, it is just a simple step to upgrade from Cubase AI to the full Cubase 7 software and represents great value when combined with the purchase of the UR22 as a front end to your recording, mixing and editing world.

BY ROB GEE

RRP: $199

Distributor: Yamaha Australia Phone: (03) 9693 5111 Website: au.yamaha.com

YAMAHA PACIFICA 311H Yamaha are one of those brands that just always seem to have a good reputation. Reliable, well priced and usually great sounding, their list of musical instruments and accessories range from drums to woodwind to brass, AV gear, speakers, amplifiers, percussion and of course guitars.

With their ‘Pacifica’ series guitars still selling super well, Yamaha have furthered its reach with a host of new models including the 311H. S-PACIFIC Based on the higher priced and spec’d 611, the 311H is billed as a guitar with the looks, feel and versatility of the 611 built in as standard making real custom shop vibes more accessible than ever. Running to this theory the 311H is quite a bit cheaper than the 611, but still features an Alder body, Maple neck and Rosewood fingerboard. Grover locking tuners add an extra upmarket feel and the interesting combination of a P90 and humbucker give the 311H a great point of difference. From a looks point of view it’s Yamaha’s take on the double cutaway S styled guitar with their own spin on things. I like the look of the slightly more pronounced bout on the Pacifica, and the finish and tortoise shell styled guard combine nicely for a guitar that can fit with blues, rock, pop or country players equally.

BLEND IT I found the 311H quite light in weight - it’s definitely not a back breaker but the guitar is still well balanced and comfortable to play.

Acoustically resonant, the combination of P90 and humbucker plugged in really take off for a cool blend of tones. Perhaps aimed at bluesier type players, the P90 offers rounder, full tones that you mightn’t normally expect from a Pacifica. Flick to the middle and back and the chrome covered Humbucker comes into play with edgy, fat tones that can

KLOTZ ’59 VINTAGE While the ’59 Vintage, or ‘59er, looks like an old-school cable from the days of yore, it’s actually made with much more care and a much higher resistance to noise compared to an actual vintage cable. You get all the looks and physical benefits of a textile outer jacket (very hard for these to tangle) without the noise or the horrid sapping of high end. This cable has low capacitance of 115 pF/m, with a conductive pastil shield and a bare copper spiral shield. Each end is shrink-wrapped, and the connector sleeve is engraved with a ’59 logo.

It’s available in 3 metre and 4.5 metre versions.

Sonically the ’59 Vintage is very clear, with a nice accurate translation of the high end and a punchy low end. It works flawlessly to maintain treble definition and headroom when you roll back the guitar’s volume knob, which is always a plus. And it feels extremely road worthy.

KLOTZ TITANIUM With the TITANIUM series, KLOTZ guarantees superb sound quality and minimal microphony.

And you can test the latter by giving the cable the old ‘jiggle test.’ A microphonic cable will give you a weird clicky-squelchy sound slightly reminiscent of a dog eating. Not so here! The cable features high-quality 99.95% copper conductor wire, foamed PE insulation, a separating layer to further ensure an interference-

THE THREE ONE ONE Players looking for an S style guitar with a difference will dig the 311H and conversely, humbucker guys might like the variation on their usual shape. Neat and clean in the typical Yamaha way the 311H adds a little more individuality to the Pacifica line with its pickup choice, string through body, hard-tail design and funky scratch plate. Whilst not surprising, it’s interesting to see the Pacifica line still kicking major goals and the

research, creativity and marketing to add usable, worthwhile models to the existing line highlights Yamaha’s guitar nous.

BY NICK BROWN

RRP: $419

Distributor: Yamaha Australia Phone: (03) 9693 5111 Website: au.yamaha.com

ERNIE BALL MUSICIAN’S TOOL KIT

KLOTZ CABLES Be honest. Do you still use the cheapie plastic moulded cable that came with your guitar?

Why do companies do that? Those things never last. They’re noisy, they often get tangled and most guitarists would probably prefer a strap or some picks rather than a cable that’s going to diminish their tone. KLOTZ cables are much, much nicer than those things. Used by superstars like Joe Bonamassa, Mattias Jabs (Scorpions) and T.M. Stevens (The Pretenders, Steve Vai), KLOTZ cables are available in a range of performance and price classes. Let’s look at three from the range.

really take off with some added distortion.

free signal, and ultralow capacitance of 75 pF/m. It’s available in lengths from 3m to 9m. And the sound is noticeably clearer and with deeper low end than the ’59 Vintage.

You can use this cable in any musical situation and have it sound good, but it’s especially ideal if you use a hi-tech rig that requires super-clean sound, or if you’re into lowered tunings or extended range guitars.

KLOTZ VARIO STEREO GUITAR CABLE We don’t all use stereo rigs, but there are times where you just need a little bit of left-right action, or perhaps you have a complex guitar setup which requires sending the same signal to different parallel chains.

Who knows? But what’s certainly true is that there aren’t a lot of high-quality stereo cables for guitar out there. The Vario uses robust slim Neutrik jack connectors (so you can actually fit them into closely-spaced jacks, for instance) and KLOTZ’s tried-and-tested KIK cable. It’s double-shielded with a conductive plastic shield to protect against electromagnetic interference.

And it’s very low in noise, which is very handy when you’re using, say, a stereo multi-effects unit plugged into a line in on your recording setup. I tested it with a dual-output MXR Stereo Chorus pedal into the effect loop of my old Crate amp head (which has a single stereo jack for its stereo return, rather than separate left and right jacks) and didn’t notice any noise or squishing of dynamics. It also feels like it’ll easily withstand the rigours of the road.

BY PETER HODGSON RRP: Vario Stereo Cable - $119.95 (3m), $149.95 (6m), Titanium - Call For Pricing, ‘59er Vintage Cable - $34.95

Distributor: CMC Music Australia Phone: (02) 9905 2511 Website: www.cmcmusic.com.au

Being unprepared is the cardinal sin of rock guitarists. As anyone who has gigged a lot will tell you, you hear the same stories over and over again: busted string. Floyd Rose saddle wrenched loose. Locking nut not as locked as you thought it was. Loose output jack.

Emergency string borrowed from another band on the bill isn’t the right gauge, so it’s sitting about four inches off the fretboard. Argh! Ernie Ball knows musicians, and they’ve designed the Ernie Ball Musciain’s Tool Kit to give you a whole bunch of stuff that you might need in the heat of battle, or as an easy-to-keep-track of collection of tools for you to use to set up guitars at home or in the studio. They’ve kept it relatively simple and streamlined instead of overloading you with fret files, radius gauges and ohm meters.

TECH TOYS The set includes a microfiber polish cloth, a heavy duty string cutter (very handy unless you like to leave the loose ends dangling as protection against stage invaders, like Motley Crue’s Nikki Sixx used to do), a peg winder, a 6-in-1 screw driver, a 6” stainless steel ruler, one of the most comprehensive hex wrench sets I’ve ever seen for guitar, and of course the carrying case that comes with it. The set also includes Ernie Ball Wonder Wipes, and you can get these separately as well to replenish your stocks when you run out.

TOOL TIME Let’s look at the kit in a little more detail. The microfiber polish cloth measures 14”x14” - easily big enough that you can designate a corner for each job you might require of it. The Wonder Wipes - pre-soaked little napkins designed

for specific jobs, basically - are String Cleaner, Body Polish and Fretboard Conditioner - and the replacement boxes that you can buy include two of each. The string cutter is very sturdy and will long outlast the cheapies. The peg winder feels pretty hardy. The 6-in-1 screwdriver is the real star of this set though: It includes a double sided flat head bit (#1 & #2), double sided phillips head bit (#1 & #2) and a double sided nut driver (3/16” & 1/4”), covering all sorts of guitar/screw requirements including pickup height adjustments, neck removals, intonation adjustments, tremolo claws - whatever you throw at it, really. The hex wrench set includes 10 wrenches (1.5mm, 2mm, 2.5mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 0.05”, 1/16”, 5/64”, 3/32”, 7/64”, 1/8” and 3/16”). And the 6” ruler is very handy for setting action and checking your neck relief.

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, JUST OPEN ZIP On the one hand it might have been nice to have a set of Ernie Ball strings included in this kit, but then again string gauge is such a personal thing that a lot of players could end up with a set they have no use for because they use a specialised gauge, or an 8-string, or whatever.

So I think Ernie Ball have approached this in just the right way to give you everything you need and nothing you don’t.

BY PETER HODGSON

RRP: $69.95

Distributor: CMC Music Australia Phone: (02) 9905 2511 Website: www.cmcmusic.com.au

NOVEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / PG. 53

CHRISTM MAS WISH LIST

MAYONES REGIUS 8

Mayones yones is a Po Polish lishcompany companywho w hohave have been been around und for quite quite aawhile, while,but butr r ecently they’ve launched ched onto the theworld worldstage stagewith with a daring a daring attitude, a knack for choosing ridiculously beautiful woods, and a willingness to work with a variety of pickup companies in or der to effectively operate like a custom shop in terms of letting players choose the voicing of their guitar.

LORD OF THE STRINGS The Regius 8 is an 8-string guitar made with neck-thru construction - that is to say , the neck continues all the way thr ough to the r ear strappin end of the body. The review model features a plain black Maple top, pr of led Swamp Ash chambered body (a Mahogany body is optional), an 11-ply Maple-Mahogany-Amazakoe-W enge neck, 3-ply acrylic pearl binding, an Ebony f ngerboard with a 16” (406mm) radius, and a lengthy 27” baritone scale. Ther e are 24 Medium-Jumbo Ferd Wagner 9665 fr ets, no position markers on the fr etboard face (but quite shiny metallic dots on the side of the

neck to help you to f f nd your way ar ound on a dark stage), an ABM ff xed bridge with thr oughrim-Lok locking body stringing, stringing and andSperzel SperzelT Trim-Lok tuners. Mayones offers the Regius 8 with various pickup upgrades by brands including DiMarzio, Bare Knuckle, EMG and Seymour Duncan for additional cost, but the standard variant includes either EMG 808 or Seymour Duncan Blackout active humbuckers. The control layout is simple: master volume and tone contr ols and a thr eeway pickup selector switch.

OUTREGIOUS For comparison, I played the Regius 8 against my basswood Ibanez Ir on Label 8-string, which is now f tted with Seymour Duncan Pegasus and Sentient passives but which ships with EMG 808s (and don’ t worry, I’ve r ecorded plenty of reference clips of the 808s for future reference for stuff like this). The Regius 8 feels like much more of a ‘serious, big-kids guitar’ compar ed to the Iron Label. The neck is beef er too, and although both are 27”-scale instruments the Mayones

feels just generally ‘bigger’ than the Ibanez. The e quite high active Blackouts ar are high ininoutput o utputand and e warmly than EMG they’re voiced aa little littlemor more EMG 808s, cutting thr ough a little mor e powerfully for single note lines and with a bit mor e punch for ‘djent’ rif fage, which often r equires a har d attack and healthy midrange. The bridge pickup provides a lot of detail in the attack, followed up by a thick and fat ‘body’ to the note, while the neck pickup has a sort of f ute-like sustaining quality which compr esses somewhat under heavy picking, giving you a nicely even feel when blasting out high-speed arpeggios. They’re also nice pickups for clean playing, with a little mor e richness and directness than EMGs. If you go for the EMG option, expect less mids, mor e bass and treble, and a more even note envelope.

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY The Regius 8 is an extr emely high-quality guitar which is mor e than worthy of its price tag. It might take a little getting used to if you’r e more accustomed to bolt-ons, because the

thing neck-through design makes makesthe thewhole whole th feel more alive, r esonating more and f f ghts g e compared to aa bolt-on, you back aa little littlemor more bolt but it’s worth the work. And Mayones of fers enough options in ter ms of the choice between Ash and Mahogany and your pr eferred pickup models that ther e’s pretty much a Regius for anyone, whether they want the punch and warmth of the Blackouts, the depth and chunk of EMGs or something dif ferent entirely.

BY PETER HODGSON

RRP $4,899

Distributor: Ubersonic Phone: (03) 9580 2060 Website: www.ubersonic.com.au

MAYONES SETIUS GTM8

Mayones guitars are a rather pricey proposition, but if ever ther e was a company that justif ed the old ‘you get what you pay for,’ it’s Mayones.

They simply don’ t make bad guitars, and the painstaking work that goes into their cr eation is worth the hefty price tag. The Setius GTM8 keeps the price tag down a smidgeon compared to the Regius 8 by of fering a bolt-on neck, but it’ll still run you over thr ee grand. But did we mention ‘worth it’?

READIUS SETIUS GO This 8-string Setius M series guitar has a f xed bridge - actually a T une-O-Matic style terminating in thr ough-body stringing - on a Mahogany body with an expertly carved Flamed Maple top. The neck is 5-ply Mahogany-Maple with a Rosewood fr etboard, and it’ s attached to the body via an extr emely secure six-bolt joint. The fr etboard radius is a f attish, shredapproved 16” (406mm) and the scale length is 27” for adding a bit mor e snap and def nition

to the low strings. There are 24 Medium Jumbo Ferd Wagner 9665 fr ets, no fr etboard inlays (but perfectly visible metallic fr etboard markers on the side of the neck to help you f nd your way) and a set of Schaller M6 mini tuners on the angled headstock. The controls include a single volume pot (with a push-pull function to engage a coil split), a single tone contr ol and a thr eeway pickup selector switch. Mayones of fers the Setius 8 with Seymour Duncan Distortion passive humbuckers, or you can upgrade to a Bare Knuckle Pickups After math 8 set for an additional charge. Other brands, models and pickup conf gurations are also available on request and may require an extra fee.

YOU DO THE MATHS The ceramic-loaded Bar e Knuckle After math bridge humbucker of the r eview model is designed for accelerated bass response to allow the pickup to track high-speed staccato rif fage.

It’s also built with powerful midrange and a nice

PG. 54 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / NOVEMBER 2013

clear high end. Having said that, the After mathloaded Setius is a r elatively dark-sounding guitar, at least compared to the Regius reviewed elsewhere in this issue. Power chor ds on the lowest two strings knit together in a thick ‘wall of sound’ way, which is a diff cult feat for an 8-string pickup to accomplish, and notes in the middle of the neck hit with a really powerful, fat, chunky attack. Lead lines ar e rich and singing, holding up especially well under heavy distortion. And of course, single-note djent riffage sounds killer.

persevering through the initial “Uh oh… what do I do?” feeling to explor e the deeper reaches of this guitar’s sonic landscape. Y ou don’t have to use 8-strings simply for pr ogressive metal, and the Setius’s versatile tone (especially when you include those split-pickup options), incr edible build quality and solid tuning stability mean it’ll hang with you whether you’r e riff ng out on extreme metal or using it to add some low walking bass lines to traditional blues.

BY PETER HODGSON

8-STRINGS: NOT JUST FOR PROGGERS The Alnico V -loaded neck pickup is a gr eat match for the bridge version, and is especially great for clean tones, especially if you’r e into very complex chor ds or tapping. Crank up the gain and it sustains beautifully while still ensuring that your noodly lead lines remain articulate and clear. The Setius is f awlessly built and with great playability. The 27” scale length might thr ow off some f rst-time eight-stringers but it’ s worth

RRP $3,299

Distributor: Ubersonic Phone: (03) 9580 2060 Website: www.ubersonic.com.au

YAMAHA LIVE CUSTOM OAK SHELL Yamaha’s excellent line-up of acoustic drum kits are known worldwide and used by many of the serious players. Of the lines available, it’s usually the Maple Custom or Birch Custom that get the look in first but to the drummers in the know there’s also the Oak Custom. Obviously, the oak construction is the immediate separating factor but there are some other key reasons why even players like Dave Weckl and Keith Carlock chose the Oak. Yamaha have now released the Live Custom Oak Shell. It’s a direct take off the Oak custom but designed with features that put the emphasis on playing live.

LOOK/BUILD Oak is a strikingly good-looking wood with a very ‘stand out’ grain. Coupled with Yamaha’s beautiful Shadow Sunburst Finish (there are four finishes available but this one is the choice in my opinion) the Oak Custom looks fantastic, highlighting the pronounced grain and creating a lovely presence on stage. Shells are 6ply/7.2mm for the toms/ snare and 8ply/9.6mm for the bass drum all featuring 1.2mm oak plies only and standard 45 degree bearing edges. The shells on this Live Oak variation are thicker than the original Oak Custom and the idea behind that is to give some more projection for live situations – hence the rationale behind the name. Other features include Dark silver hardware which looks fantastic, all black shell interiors, the famous Y.E.S.S. mounts on toms, Absolute series lugs, die-cast bass drum hooks, open type floor Tom brackets that include a wing bolt designed to go tight but not damage the leg and 2.3mm dyna hoops. It’s a serious looking piece of kit. The hardware is typical Yamaha. It’s awesome and won’t disappoint with clever ease of use and reliability.

SOUND The configuration I reviewed was 10x7, 12x8, 14x12, 16x15 and 22x18 with a 14x5.5 snare.

The snare was a standout with some real cut – you can feel the sound. I experimented with different tuning ranges and there’s serious volume when cranked but I preferred the drum

at a medium tuning where there was that blend of cut and a fullness that I really liked. Leaving the drum wide open was nice too. The overtones were there but not overly intrusive. Lower tuning wasn’t as easy though, you’d have to experiment with it but overall a great drum. The bass drum too was a highlight with some real ‘sub’, even with the factory head – plenty of low-end that will instantly appeal to most drummers’ ears. It also felt nice to play; a big thing in my books.

The Oak shells come into their own with the toms. They’re loud, punchy and project very well. I especially liked the 12” and 14” where, even with the factory heads, I could actually feel the low-end. I would however, recommend a reskin as the factory heads, although being Remo Emperors weren’t quite as nice as I’m used to.

Overall though, the new Live Oak is an awesome kit that would especially suit the live setting with it’s full, clear and pronounced sound. Worth

a look if you’re interested in a louder kit and something a little different. I’d have one for sure.

BY ADRIAN VIOLI RRP: Shell packs starting from $2,999, snares starting from $499.99

Distributor: Yamaha Australia Phone: (03) 9693 5111 Website: au.yamaha.com

ORANGE CRUSH CR60C & CR120C AMPS Orange amplifiers have always personified tube tone. They’re responsive, dynamic, rich in midrange overtones, loud … and cool. Very, very cool. The CR60C and CR120C combos are a great example of the Orange tone in all its tubedriven goodness because …wait a minute, we’re just getting something in our earpiece… Ladies and gentlemen, these are solid-state amps. We repeat, these are solid state amps! We’ll save you the suspense and tell you that these two combos have miraculously succeeded in translating the Orange sound into the solid state realm.

FINALLY! So how did they do it? Part of the secret seems to be ‘engineers worked their asses off.’ Orange says they’ve never been happy with the sound of their solid state experiments until now. These combos are based on the Rockerverb range and they feature two channels (Clean and Dirty); the Clean is based on a two-stage, two-band EQ design engineered to give you a clean but warm sound which breaks up authentically when you crank it up. The Dirty channel has a circuit based on four stages of gain and a three-band EQ. And the design is crazy simple. The controls are Volume, Bass and Treble for the Clean channel, Gain, Bass, Middle and Treble for Dirty, then a digital reverb section with a three-mode selector switch (Plate, Hall or Spring) and a Reverb level, then Master volume. The channel switch is quite chunky and robust, as is the power on/off switch. And that’s pretty much it! The Crush CR60C is a 60W solidstate combo made from 18mm ply and loaded with Oranges own 1×12 60W, 16 Ohm Voice of the World speakers, while the CR120C gives you a pair of 12” 60 Watt 8 Ohm models. Around the back you’ll find jack sockets for channel and reverb footswitches and an effect loop send and return.

CRUSH ‘EM The Crush amps are uncannily tube-like in their response and feel. Only the most discerningly picky of ears might, when cranking the Dirty channel up to maximum gain, distinguish a few

stray odd harmonic overtones here and there which reveal themselves as an ever-so-slight harshness, but the amp is so cleverly voiced and so incredibly responsive that if anything it feels like using a high-quality germanium fuzz or overdrive pedal through the front end of a tube amp. You’ll find tones ranging from the most gentle, mellow jazz (with beautifully-voiced reverb) to sharp twangy country to full-on filth in a Josh Homme kind of way. At times the tone is reminiscent of an ENGL or a Marshall, but mostly it just screams ‘Orange!’ - and you probably already know if that tone is for you or not. This amp has a very bold, authoritative tone which

will serve metal and stoner bands well, and will really help single-guitar bands to maintain a full sound.

NAILED IT It’s really, seriously uncanny just how closely Orange has managed to mimic the overall feel of playing through a valve amp. The responsiveness is there, the tone is there, and even the volume, which is a tricky thing for a solid state amp to replicate. However they’ve managed it. Orange have really brought home the goods on this one.

BY PETER HODGSON

RRP: Call for pricing

Distributor: Gibson AMI Phone: (03) 8696 4600 Website: www.gibsonami.com

NOVEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / PG. 55

YAMAHA THR10X MODELLING AMP CHRIS STM MAS S WISH H LISTT

MOOER MOD M FACTORY & SLOW ENGINE E GUITAR PE PEDALS EDALS Shenzhen Mooer Audio Aud dio Co. Co Ltd. Ltd is i dedicated d di to researching, manufacturing cturing and marketing st statet of-the-art electronic musical instruments and audio equipment. They apply their expertise to everything from synths to audio processors to stomp box effects. A quick look at their website reveals a huge list of devices from electronic percussion modules to speaker cabinets to amps to MIDI controllers, but their compact pedals particularly jump out. They offer effects such as distortions, optical compressors, auto wah, a few delays, various fuzzes, an acoustic guitar simulator, overdrives, octaves, flangers, phasers, tremolos and reverbs, as well as more practical stompers like noise reduction, DI, graphic EQ and channel switch - as well as the decidedly more out-there Lofi Machine Sample Reducing Pedal. Let’s check out the new Mod Factory and Slow Engine pedals.

MOD FACTORY The Mod Factory is a mono modulation pedal with 11 modes including variations on chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo, vibrato, Univibe, auto wah and touch wah. The controls are again very simple: an 11-position Mode knob plus mini pots for rate/sensitivity, level/tone and depth. Again it’s powered by a 9v adaptor - a battery wouldn’t even fit inside it.

The Mod Factory is a surprisingly earthysounding pedal: the chorus sounds rich and warm, the Univibe is suitably swirly and watery, the flanger is gloriously steely and the phaser is thick and swishy without being too ‘soundeffecty.’ But the real star as far as I’m concerned is the ‘TW’ (touch wah) mode. It feels very responsible and is perfectly voiced. If you’re into those great Frank Zappa envelope filter sounds you’ll really dig this. And it’s great with bass too. Play gently and you’ll get some really nice Geezer Butler ‘bubbling wah-wah’ sounds. Lay in harder and it takes on a much more aggressive vibe. This mode is worth the price of the pedal alone, and yet there are ten other well-crafted, flexible and organic-sounding effects too.

SLOW ENGINE The Slow Engine bares similarities to the longdiscontinued BOSS SG-1 Slow Gear, a muchloved pedal which performs a similar function to the time-honoured ‘pinkie-finger volume pot swell’ trick. The idea of this pedal is basically to remove the attack from your note, fading it in instead of letting it instantly sound. The Slow Engine has only two controls (Attack and Sensitivity) on its diminutive frame and is powered by a 9V adaptor. It’s a very study, hardy-feeling pedal which will take out plenty of loving abuse. The Slow Engine might throw you if you’ve previously played the Slow Gear.

The highest reach of its Attack control is still only about half of the maximum attack length of the Slow Gear, so don’t expect to pull out any particularly long, drawn-out fade-ins. But the range of attack length that it does give you is still very usable. It almost gives the impression of backwards guitar, with notes swelling up quickly from silence into sound, and you can set the Attack control to give you just a little bit of pick attack or none. Play fast and it’ll give you a disorienting ‘high latency’ vibe where each note sounds just a little bit after you strike it.

But where the Slow Engine really comes alive is when you use it with other pedals, especially reverb, delay or modulated delay. It’ll help you coax some really otherworldly, haunting sounds that are somewhere in between a whale and a cello. It’s a shame that the attack time isn’t a little longer, but this is still a very useful pedal and a welcome addition to any pedalboard.

BY PETER HODGSON

RRP: $89.95 (EACH)

Distributor: Jade Australia Phone: 1800 144 120 Website: www.musocity.com.au

Once upon a time, the term ‘practice amp’ meant a little amp - maybe between three and ten watts - with a volume control, a tone control, a headphone jack and, if you were lucky, two inputs. If you were really lucky maybe you had a switchable distortion circuit which sounded harsh and buzzy. If you were super lucky maybe you had a reverb control as well. Now of course, everything is very, very different. Digital modelling amps can give beginning players an exciting approximation of real classics, and they come loaded with effects. Gone is the need to actually go out and slap down some hard cash on a bunch of pedals to add separate distortion, delay, reverb, chorus and phaser effects to your practice session. Plenty of companies now make modelling amps in a range of sizes, but Yamaha have really gone all-in with the THR series, creating a range of dedicated models for particular guitar styles and dressing them up in funky 50s-appliance-inspired livery.

SHIFT INTO OVERDRIVE The THR10X is the metal monster of the THR line-up. It’s configured with a range of high-gain amp modes - as well as a few cleans - and is squarely aimed at those of us who like to tune down, turn up and riff out. The amp types are Power I, Power II, Brown I, Brown II, Southern Hi, Clean and Bass, with an additional Flat mode which doesn’t apply any amp modelling and is therefore ideal for using with other processors - for instance, hooking up your iPhone guitar app for some big loud jammage - or for using as a recording interface. There’s also an effects section which cleverly splits modulation and ambient effects, giving you chorus, flanger, phaser and tremolo on one control, and delay, delay/reverb, spring reverb and hall reverb modes on another. Effect times are controlled via a tap tempo button, and there’s a compressor and noise gate whose controls are only accessible in the THR Editor software, which you can connect to via USB. There’s a chromatic tuner, controls for gain, master, bass, middle, treble, guitar output, USB/Aux output, a stereo Aux In, and five user memory buttons which allow you to recall your settings. The speakers are a pair of five-watt 8cm full-range speakers. The unit is powered by an AC adaptor or AA batteries. And it’ll even serve as nice computer speakers.

DUNLOP FFM2 GERMANIUM FUZZ FACE MINI AND HENDRIX FUZZ FACE MINI Fuzz has made some big appearances in the history of guitar driven music. A big part of rock, punk and indie music for many years the Dunlop Fuzz Face quickly became a classic pedal with its cool round shape and simple layout and colour scheme. Countless units sold with artists, gigs and recordings later, Dunlop have now joined the popular mini pedal trend with the release of a number of ‘Mini’ Fuzz Faces. Dunlop along with the expertise of pedal guru Jeorge Tripps, takes us into the fuzzed out world of the Germanium and Hendrix models.

BAND OF TRIPPSYS Intended as a faithful reproduction of Jimi Hendrix’s fuzz from the late 60s and early 70s the aptly named Hendrix Fuzz Face Mini comes in a light aqua coloured hammertone casing just like the original. Tough and rugged this Hendrix model has controls for Volume and Fuzz, front mounted input/output jacks and a few added features with an AC power jack and true bypass switching. Jumping over to the bold red coloured version and you get the same layout

and controls but this time with a Germanium flavour. This little pedal is based on a more 60s sound of slightly mismatched germanium transistors. Both models have taken their original model and updated them a little to modern specs whilst retaining their initial feel and flavour.

WHAT’S YOUR FLAVOUR? Want warm and creamy with plenty of level? The Germanium FFM does all that and has a beautiful reaction to your volume pot cleaning up without losing all your volume and tone. It really lets you add dynamic range and nuance to your playing be it big chords or slinky lines and licks. If you’re looking for something a little thicker and nastier then the Hendrix model might be the ticket. Still with the ability to clean up when needed you can also extend into psychedelic wall of noise type tones if that’s your thing, it’s bad ass!

CALL THE FUZZ Although somewhat overlooked effect wise, Fuzz has contributed to tonnes of classic tones and music moments and is used on many. Powerful

PG. 56 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / NOVEMBER 2013

and bold fuzz can also be clean, restrained and brooding when handled with care. Very responsive to your volume control, other pedals and chain order fuzz can be sweet and sustained for lead lines or dark and raspy for edgy riffs and moody effects. Capturing a broad range of the fuzz palette and now taking up less room than its bigger brothers it may well be time you checked out some fuzz tones for your pedal board and check out the rest of the Dunlop Mini range too if you want to delve a little further! Beware - fuzz can be super addictive as I found out playing these, so be careful you don’t saturate every song but rather let these Dunlop mini’s open you up to a new world of tone.

BY NICK BROWN

RRP: $199 (each)

Distributor: Australasian Music Supplies Phone: (03) 9549 1500 Website: www.austmusic.com.au

NO PAIN, NO GAIN The control setup is incredibly intuitive. It’s a real plug-and-play amp with no steep learning curve or anything like that. The various channels are all carefully voiced to offer a wide range of tones from dirty-ish clean to screaming megastortion: Power I and Power II are thick, modern highgain screamers well suited to thrash and extreme metal, while Brown I and Brown II are a little bit more dynamic and midrange-friendly. Southern Hi is a great all-round channel which sounds a bit like a Marshall JCM800 goosed with a traditional distortion pedal, and it’s especially great for rolling back the volume to generate some gritty vintagestyle punch in an AC/DC sorta way. The clean channel also has a bit of a kick in a faux-boutique sort of way and it seems to play especially nicely with single coils - the Seymour Duncan Pegasus and Sentient of my test guitar seemed to overwhelm this channel in humbucker mode, but in single mode it sang beautifully. The Bass channel seems to have, ironically, a little less actual low end than the others, I guess to maintain punch and clarity and to avoid the risk of a bass causing the same overloading that my (medium output) humbuckers seemed to coax from the clean channel. And the flat channel is unremarkable, which is to say it does exactly what it’s supposed to. I did find that whichever amp type I chose, the THR sounded better with lower settings on each of the tone-shaping controls. Extreme settings seemed to muddy up the tone and lose some of the great clarity that’s there at lower settings.

DESKTOP DEATH MACHINE The THRX is not aiming to be a subtle amp. It’s reason for existing is to unleash all sorts of highgain hell, in the nicest possible way. It does that very well for its size, although of course it’s not going to push the same amount of air or create the same impression of depth as a ranging 4x12 cabinet and tube head. But as a bedroom jammer, a busker’s amp and a recording interface, it’s really amazing.

BY PETER HODGSON RRP: $379

Distributor: Yamaha Music Australia Phone: (03) 9693 5111 Website: www.yamahabackstage.com.au

YAMAHA THR10C MODELLING AMP Like the high gain-oriented THR10X, the Yamaha THR10C is a little 10-watt modelling amp which is designed to take the personalamp concept to a new level of audio fidelity. It uses Yamaha’s exclusive VCM (Virtual Circuitry Modelling) technology to recreate the response and dynamics of tube amps, combined with a bunch of useful effects which are carefully voiced for maximum flexibility with a minimum of control-fiddling. But unlike the THR10X, the THR10C is aimed at players who require more of a boutique amp approach. Instead of a selection of amps voiced for extreme gain, the THR10C is aimed squarely at players who need boutique-vibed cleans and overdrives.

CHANNEL SURFING The THR10C’s channels are Deluxe, Class A, US Blues, Brit Blues, Mini, Bass, Acoustic (which features microphone simulation) and Flat. The effects are split into modulation and ambient streams: Chorus, Flanger, Phaser and Tremolo accessible on the Effect control, and Tape Echo, Tape Echo/Reverb, Spring Reverb and Hall Reverb on the DLY/Reverb knob. Amp controls are Gain, Master, Bass, Middle, Treble, Guitar Output and USB/Aux Output. There are five buttons for accessing user memories, a Tap Tempo/Tuner switch for either syncing the effects up to the tempo of your song or making sure you’re in tune, and the inputs are a standard mono jack for the guitar, a standard stereo headphone jack, stereo mini Aux In, and a USB jack. The speakers are a pair of 8cm full-range five-watt units, and the amp’s cool 50s-inspired livery is accentuated by charming mood lighting which conjures the vibe of a glowing tube amp - although of course there aren’t any real tubes in there. The unit is powered by an AC adaptor or AA batteries, and along with the required adaptor you also get a USB cable, stereo mini cable, owner’s manual (I like having a printed manual in a world where more and more companies are moving to online manuals) and a DVD-ROM with Cubase AI recording software.

Hook the THR10C up to your computer via USB and you can access further controls such as Compressor and Noise Gate, and use it as an audio interface and speakers for your computer.

SHUT UP AND DRIVE I plugged in my Taylor SolidBody Standard Double Cutaway with three Taylor HD Mini Humbuckers and let ‘er rip. The THR10C never approaches anything you’d qualify as ‘distortion.’

Its highest gain setting is still very much around the ‘vintage overdrive’ point on the spectrum.

But that’s what makes it so great: those overdrives feel extremely natural and responsive. Yamaha has obviously put a lot of work and thought into the voicings of each amp model, and they’re all brilliant. The Mini is great for Jeff Beck-style lead

(think “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers”) while Brit Blues does a great David Gilmour. US Blues is killer for SRV-style semi-Hendrixian chord work, and Class A is packed with great chime.

Deluxe is a nice all-round blues or country model. And the effects, especially the Tape Echo and Hall Reverb, really work well in this context.

They seem to have more room to breathe compared to the THR10X, and the Hall Reverb really aids in the illusion of depth and realism.

VINTAGE VIBE WITHOUT THE FEAR OF ELECTRICAL SHOCKS For this reason, the THR10C is the perfect choice for the traditional player who wants traditional tones but is not scared to cross into the world of presets and USB plugs. It’s an incredibly fun

amplifier to play, and while the tones may not be exactly the same as plugging into an actual vintage tube amp, they’re close enough for jamming and practice purposes that they can really put you in the mental zone to pull off those bluesier, rootsier styles with authenticity and attitude.

BY PETER HODGSON

RRP: $379

Distributor: Yamaha Music Australia Phone: (03) 9693 5111 Website: www.yamahabackstage.com.au

PRS SE CUSTOM 24 7 STRING Paul Reed Smith started his fascination with guitars in school, first making a guitar as a challenge for his college music professor. Through many early designs, prototypes, business decisions (and setbacks!) they worked their way to being one of the most recognisable guitars and a brand that is respected for its quality, innovation and dedication. With designs such as the Custom 24 being a favourite of guitarists worldwide PRS have continued to push their lines with added models, features and price points. Ticking two of those boxes is the SE Custom 24 7 String, PRS’ first production line 7 string guitar.

ROYAL FLUSH Made in Korea, the SE line of guitars was introduced as a lower priced alternative to the Standard PRS guitar range. Featuring the typical PRS look, design aesthetic and build ethos they’ve made a PRS guitar that’s more affordable and therefore accessible to an increased market whilst retaining the PRS identity and standard.

In regards to the SE Custom 24 7 String you get a Mahogany body with Bevelled Flame Maple top, Maple neck with rosewood board and PRS made SE HFS and SE Vintage Bass pickups. On first inspection you feel like you’re looking at a fully fledged US model with the finish, inlays and attention to detail being first class. Looking closer the top is ‘bevelled’ as opposed to ‘carved’ on this model but for me it still looks great and this particular model came in a beautiful deep Royal Blue colour with an interesting grain and a super smooth, glassy finish. Those famous PRS bird inlays are present here too with the whole guitar feeling like a quality instrument as opposed to the cheaper overseas made line.

NECKIN’ PRS have gone with their ‘Wide Thin’ neck contour on this guitar meaning you’re getting a neck that accommodates the extra low B string but doesn’t feel huge. With the double cut design you can get around the neck quite easily and I was suprised how easy the guitar played anywhere from open low B right up to the 24th

fret on the High E string. So for dark low end riffs or shredding in the higher register the SE Custom 24 7 string has playability and access in spades. Tone wise the combination of woods makes for a clear, open sound with good sustain and I found the low B string to be resonant and full, not fluffy or woolly at all.

PICK ME UP Onboard you’ll find an SE HFS in the bridge position and a Vintage Bass pickup in the neck. Both are along the lines of the original Maryland made PRS Custom guitars and can go handle subtle and clean through to darker and edgy when pushed with some gain and distortion. So both cleans and dirty tones ring true with the SE Custom 24 7 String’s inherent tone and pickup combo meaning that both heavy players and the cleaner guys will be impressed with the tonal offerings at this price.

LUCKY 7 The 7 string guitar is an interesting beast. It has gained much popularity in heavy styles of music thanks to its extended low range which is then also often detuned to various open and dropped tunings. Dark chuggy power chords and deeper voiced riffs splurt out with ease but it’s also interesting to note that the 7 string has often been used in jazz too. Opening up extra chord voicing and bass line possibilities the feel and price point of the PRS SE Custom 24 7 string might tempt more than just the heavy playing guys. Realistically it could be a winner for jazz, rock, metal, punk, swampy blues, studio use, country or whatever you dream up. A nice PRS offering at an even nicer price that will no doubt draw some extra attention their way!

BY NICK BROWN RRP: $1149

Distributor: Electric Factory Phone: (03) 9474 1000 Website: www.elfa.com.au NOVEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / PG. 57

CHRISTM MAS WISH LIST

ALESIS VORTEX USB/MIDI KEYTAR CONTROLLER Right, so this goes right to the top of my “Bucket Gear List”, yes I must have one! I can tell you now , my lounge r oom was like the biggest stage in any festival for one night this month as the Alesis Vortex allowed me to r elive some moments that would have been better left in the 80’s. Someone very dear to me pointed out, and once I regained my senses, that I was headed on a one way trip to funking off my neighbours if I continued blasting it through my amp. But that didn’t bother me, the Vortex rocks! But, what entirely is it?

Well, many of you will r emember a time of synthesized drums, big hair , bold outf ts and keyboards that were strapped to their owners for the ultimate stage presence. Alesis have brought that image and versatility into the pr esent with the Vortex USB/MIDI Keytar Contr oller. It harks back to the old Y amaha Keytar, the r ed plastic keyboard with a grip for the left hand, a guitar strap and a battery life that bar ely got you through a whole gig. Now , though, Alesis have taken the cool and married it with the functional and created a contr oller keyboard that can go anywhere on stage with you whilst still giving you loads of control over your software synths.

OCATVE UP TO DOWN The three-octave keyboard bed will give you plenty of range, especially since you r eally only play it with your right hand. The left hand takes the forward grip and can contr ol additional features like pitch bend, octave shift, sustain and the ribbon controller which can have thr ee different modes assigned to it for instant ecall. r You also get three assignable control knobs just above the key bed as well as eight assignable pads for adding drum sounds or any other sample triggers you want to bring to your performance. The versatility here is just mind friggin awesome – now all you need to get down is your hand-eye coordination!

ACCELERATING THROUGH THE VORTEX But, it doesn’t stop there, the Vortex also includes an accelerometer. A what? Yes, an accelerometer.

Basically, it has some sensors in it that detect the movements of the instrument in the user’ s hands and can translate these into a variety of functions like volume swells, pitch bends or increased vibrato. So, the mor e you move your instrument on stage, the mor e you get into your performance, the better it gets with an added level of interaction. The question is, what can you achieve on stage with the V ortex beyond using a regular controller keyboard? Really, it all comes down to getting the most fr om your live performance and giving your audience a show to remember. But, at the same time, I think it has a lot to do with r ocking out in the privacy of your own lounge room, until you either get good enough to introduce it into your next live show or like I was told... to grow up and get back to work.

The Vortex is too much fun and well priced for its functionality, try one out for yourself!

BY ROB GEE

RRP: $599

Distributor: Electric Factory Phone: (03) 9474 1000 Website: www.elfa.com.au

PEAVEY VYPYR V.I.P 3 MODELLING AMP Peavey’s VYPYR series of modelling amps have been around for a while now , and is the logical successor to the company’ s successful Transtube technology. The new VYPYR V.I.P 3 - that’s Variable Instrument Performance - is a world f rst in that it combines amp models for electric guitar, bass and acoustic guitar, as well as instrument modelling.

It’s aimed at the giggling musician: the player who might be in a cover band or duo and is called upon to provide electric, acoustic and bass guitar throughout the course of a gig, and who needs recognisably accurate sounds to match particular songs. That’s not to say that performers of original music can’t use it too, it’ s versatility as will be further explained is a for ce to be r eckoned with.

VERY INTELLIGENT PEAVEY The VYPYR V .I.P is a 100 watt combo with a custom-voiced 12” speaker specif cally designed for modelling amplif ers. It has a PowerSponge variable power control which lets you dial anything from 1 watt to 100 watts of operation, with all the sonic benef ts that come with that. Ther e are over 400 amp-accessible pr esets which you can customise, and you can use Peavey’s Sanpera I or Sanpera II foot controllers to get easy access to the presets, effects and expression pedal effects. There are ten instruments models including acoustic guitars immolators, 12-string guitar , mandolin, 7-string guitar, baritone guitar , resonator, electric violin and bass guitar . There are 12 ampaccessible stomp box models as well as delay , reverb and (if you use the Sanpera) wah. Ther e’s 36 onboard amp models with six bass models and six acoustic amp models. And ther e’s even an onboard looper (again with Sanpera contr ol).

Aside from the Sanpera connection ther e’s an Aux/MP3/CD input and a new USB bi-dir ectional data and audio port to pr ovide an easy way to record or to connect to our VYPYR softwar e so you can store presets, get lessons, and practice to backing tracks while connected to your computer.

VERY INSISTENT PRESETS I plugged in my 1987 Ibanez RG550 with DiMarzio

Gravity Storm Steve V ai signature pickups for testing. As is pretty common with amps of this ilk, the presets overdo it a bit in ter ms of gain and effects. They’re great for showing off what the amp can do in a crowded music store, but not so great for showing the subtleties inherent in the models.

So if you encounter a pr eset that’s just a bit too ‘runaway train,’ it’s always a good idea to back the gain down by between 30 and 50 per cent to see what the models actually sound like. Y ou’ll then f nd that many of the metal-oriented patches are much chunkier and punchier than they initially seem, and most of the lead sounds are more articulate. Some of the lead sounds are simply amazing - one is like a dead-on clone of the Def Leppar d “Women” tone, for instance - and it’ s a shame that heavyhandedness in the pr ogramming side of things means you have to dig around a bit to hit the real gold - because it’s in there and it sounds great.

The synth-based sounds are all very entertaining to play with and will surely f nd some kind of musical use somewhere along the line. Some of them have a very ‘analog synth’ vibe that many guitarists will feel really comfortable with. The dedicated bass presets sound gr eat and ar e named accor ding to the playing styles they’r e best suited for , but the bass simulation needs some work with some weird pitch-shift artefacts and slow tracking. But brush these inconsistencies aside and ther e’s a lot of gr eat, usable tone lurking in the VIP 3.

VERY IMPRESSIVE PRODUCT The VYPYR V .I.P is a r eally useful, well-voiced amp. Now, most of the pr esets sound artif cial out of the box, but with some very simple and easy tweaking the sounds come to life and overall makes them sound a lot better . If you’r e in a working band wher e you r equire amplif cation for electric, acoustic and bass guitar , along with the occasional digitally mimicked synth, mandolin, 12-string or baritone, you r eally owe it to yourself to check this bad boy out.

BY PETER HODGSON

PG. 58 / MIXDOWN NO. 235 / NOVEMBER 2013

RRP: $699

Distributor: Music Link Australia Phone: (03) 8696 4600 website: www.musiclink.com.au

DECEMBER 2013 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / PG. 59

Meet the new generation.

ELECTRO 4D SW61 61 SEMI WEIGHTED KEYS PHYSICAL DRAWBARS 7 KG

ELECTRO 4 SW73 73 SEMI WEIGHTED KEYS DIGITAL LED DRAWBARS 2X MEMORY 9 KG

ELECTRO 4 HP 73 HAMMER ACTION KEYS DIGITAL LED DRAWBARS 2X MEMORY 11 KG

ALL MODELS FEATURE NORD C2D TONEWHEEL ENGINE NORD C2D 122 ROTARY/DRIVE IMPROVED CLICK/PERCUSSION NEW DELAY EFFECT LONG RELEASE 4 LIVE SLOTS USB-MIDI

Listen to sound demos: nordkeyboards.com/electro4

Handmade in Sweden by Clavia DMI AB

NORD is proudly distributed by Electric Factory Pty Ltd 188 Plenty Road Preston Victoria 3072 Telephone: 03 9474 1000 www.elfa.com.au sales@elfa.com.au E & O E 2013 PG. 60 / MIXDOWN NO. 236 / DECEMBER 2013