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The size of your cabinet – It matters

By Jason DeLorenzo

Many guitar players obsess over size and sometimes it comes down to, do you want to look cool on stage with your 4×12? Small combos or 1×12 cabinets don’thave the impact of a giant cabinet on stage.

The audience might not be as phased by this as the entertainer might be but still a very serious manner when discussing overall tone. The build of the cabinet matters but so does the size of your cabinet.

Volume and air push are important. Most 4x12s will project a beam of sound wherever they are pointed vs. an open back 2×12 that allows the sound to escape from the back of the cabinet as well. A more in-depth look at the guitar cabinet market brings an abundance of choice.  As mentioned, with your speakers generally number 1 to 4 in single cabinet regardless of the speaker-overall dimensions, quality of build, open back and closed back options available it can begin to seem overwhelming. To further complicate manners manufactures will change the size or bracing of their standard cabinets for specific amplifiers to create pairs that seemingly only stand on their own. This could be done in response to how the amplifier was made and if it lacks certain frequencies for example. It could also be sold such as the Jim Root Terror or 212PPC cabinet, more of a signature look to the overall presentation, black tolex and signature vs orange tolex. The Jim Root cab is also the same size as the 212OB but made as a closed back with custom speakers. Similar to the standard Orange cabs be clearly a unique creature that stands alone.

Similar to using lower wattage amps in the studio, smaller cabinets find a time to shine in this setting. A single speaker housing allows the listener to truly hear what is going on and not be completely blown out of the room. Another nice 1×12 feature is its easy speaker swapping ability to hear the interaction with a particular amp if you are after a detailed sound. If I had my way I would have an army of 1x12s each with a different speaker; a little crazy but hey, aren’t we all? We areguitar players after all; those creative juices emanate from somewhere.

A step up to the 2×12 creates more air movement and sound output generation. In this case, housing two different speakers in the same cabinet could yield wonderful results. Different speaker pairs can be used or combining the same speaker with multiple microphones during sessions can vary results. Different microphones dedicated to each speaker could allow for phase issues to be handled well if you have trouble mic’ing them up. Hands down, for me, the Orange 212s are hard to beat. The 212OB is a bit smaller but packs a punch. Great sound up front and with the open back, it fills the room—guitar everywhere! In a live setting it may or may not work as well but the 212PPC pushes all the air out the front.

With a larger build and solid construction, it feels like a 4×12 crumbling the ground beneath your feet. Naturally wattage needs to be a factor in all cases but is particularly important when using 1-2 speakers. Plugging a 100-watt flamethrower into a single Greenback might blow the speaker on the first chord, so size and wattage matters. Always verify that the total speaker wattage can handle the output of the amp. Always make sure the correct connections are made as far as the ohm in/outs as well. The last thing wanted is a blown tube amp or speaker!

Studying the jungle, the mighty and well-known 4×12 is the king of cabs. Looks great and sounds massive. More guitar? You got it! Yes, please, and thank you.

Certainly it is not as practical as the aforementioned 2×12 unless wattage and volume is vital. Generally known for blowing you right out of your sneakers these cabinets are big, provide the look of a pro and make sure the guitars are loud whatever the venue. Mixing and matching of speakers is a great way to make use of the 4 slots available to provide a more refined tone if required. These cabinets also have their place in the studio but can pose a space challenge depending on your studio. If you are like me, your experience playing live has taught you that a
lot of sound guys roll their eyes when they see you and a bandmate dragging a 4×12 through the back door.

Many times I have been told to “turn the cabinet around to face the wall,” they will mic it up and “be sure your volume is turned down.” What good does that do if there are no monitors, I can’t hear a thing! So much for being big and bad. How is a tube amp to shine, truly shine, at low
volume?

What is right for you? I don’t believe you can go wrong with any of these cabinets, especially under the Orange roof. I personally only use these cabs as I have found them to be the best of the best. The ‘PPC’ stands for “Power Projection Cab” and I believe that has been accomplished, these cabs can project. The 112CB and 212s spit out enough fire depending on the head you plug into. And a couple of 112s certainly looks nice and tidy like a mini stack while being easy to carry around yourself. On the other hand, have you ever tried moving a 4×12 up and down a flight of stairs solo? Never an enjoyable process but hey, they do sound great and you’ll look cool once you catch your breath (or maybe you’ll be blessed and snag a couple roadies!). What is paramount truly comes down to application and what you are doing at that given moment. Having a modest rig at home and one to take to rehearsal or a show is a great solution if your wallet can swing it. Keeping your 1×12 at home and taking the monster 4×12 to gig with might be the best way to get it on.

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Will solid state and simulation inevitably replace tube amps someday?

Technology is getting better daily as the digital market expands into all avenues of convenience. So is it possible that guitar tube amplifiers will take a final bow like the tube radio? Can solid state emulation replace all the nuances created by tube amplifiers? Let’s discuss!

On an expedition through the gear smorgasbord the tube amp might be the last piece of the equation to be replaced. Recent years have brought a leap forward with solid state amps, amp software, pedals and cabinet simulators flooding the
market. I am a believer in a few of these items in my own studio. Cabinet simulators play a larger role in my recordings than the others. I have been impressed by the offerings of current manufactures in the pedals, solid state amps and software emulation available as well. Admittedly a lot of guitar parts I record now days utilize Two Notes technology within their Wall of Sound plug in.

I do not necessarily need a huge mic locker or guitar cabinet warehouse with different size cabinets, speaker choices and ohm capacities. This advance made by Two Notes has minimized the amount of setup and has exponentially increased time to experiment more efficiently while also not blowing up my ears in the process. Of course I still own multiple cabinets, with multiple speakers and with different ohms—it’s just a different feel to the music. The more tools the better in my opinion—after all, every song is different and requires its own stamp on the musical landscape.

Sophisticated pedal such as the Orange Bax, (which features on-board EQ, Gain and a cabinet sim—yes, all this from just a pedal!) can offer originality to your playing. Insert that in your chain and turn your silverface into an Orange! If pedals can push the limits, what can be done in a larger format head or combo amps? The differences between a tube amp and a solid state are still noticeable overall and it might just come down to the irregularities of tube performance that create those beautiful noises with all that power running through them.

As far as tube amps go, my tube locker contains all sorts of letters and numbers each with their own sound palette. For this reason I believe there is more fun to be had with a tube amp. Some tubes can really open up the sound or dull it beyond belief. The ability to change from an EL34 British type power section to a more American style 6L6 is a good time in experimentation. At other points, a little something different is needed and altering the power section is a great feature on many amps that provides a ‘new’ amp in your arsenal.

Then there is the ‘fun’ factor of the preamp section—overall preamp, each channel, phase inverters and reverb! Any where from 2-8 tubes can be swapped for different shade in the sound. For additional options change the speaker or the cabinet that is part of the rig and boom, new sounds. There is a lot of interaction that takes place between you, guitar, cab and the tube amp. Playful feedback is tossed into the mix and can be summoned when provoked.

Unfortunately all of that excitement begins to dim when a tube starts glowing a different color or suddenly fades out like a dying star. As we all know, there are legit worries with owning tube amps. Maintenance for one ranks higher than others. In some cases, opening them up should be left to the professionals. The internal guts of these wonderful boxes are delicate from the wiring, capacitors, transformers and, of course, the tubes. This can lead to an expensive effort to find what works in an amp or in the instance when a tube has lit for the last time. When a tube wears
out I generally start to question if I like the amp anymore and that is a good way to identify if a change is required. If you own a tube amp I would highly recommend Orange’s VT1000 for your tube testing needs. Alas, problems do not stop there. Weather impacts performance, moving them around without harming the tubes is a worry, what if a fuse fails, is a backup needed to gig with?–you get the idea.

On the other side of the musical rainbow is the solid state amp. Worries are gone with solid state, right? Sure, there could be harm bestowed moving the amp from practice space to gig but no tubes to fail, no fuses to worry about. At 8 o’clock it sounds the same at 3 o’clock on the master volume. No breakup changes to worry about when cranking to get more volume over your drummer. Life is good.

Another improvement in our toolbox is modelling software. Imagine having every amp you have ever dreamed about within your computer or a small box that takes up less space than one amp head available to you at all times. I’m interested! The advantages are definitely tempting. All the back breaking amps, cabs and combos can stay at home. Simply show up with your computer or modelling amp and go direct into the soundboard. Which almost seems like blasphemy to a stage setup though your back will thank you, perhaps a cheaper alternative in the long run and certainly less dangerous in upkeep. The con list extends more to the tone side as there is less chances to experiment with tone changes due to lack of tubes and reliance on pedals almost becomes mandatory. Pedal dependency is a personal choice driven by what style you are playing. I
adore the edge of breakup tone, pushing the power section to break is glorious. With a solid state amp, that line in the sand no longer exists unless it is built to simulate that classic tone.

The edges can become blurred once the guitars have been recorded. Which track is solid state? Which track is an emulator? Which track is tube? I have mixed solid state and tube amps on a few occasions and I still hear the difference between them, even if they do sound good together, they are still not entirely equal. The difference becomes clearer when you start mixing all those sounds together. Certain sections stand out a little more than others and you might not be able to tell which is which but the alteration is heard.

I have been impressed by many different solid state heads and I had the pleasure of playing the Crush series as well as some of its competitors lately. Certain software packs sound pretty good but not enough that I say—that’s it, I am buying it! Sorry UAD!
I am not putting down the solid state crowd, I just don’t believe we are there…yet. Is the tube amp safe? I believe it is but in another 10 years the tube purist in me might be shaking in my boots. For me there is just too much interaction between that tube amp and guitar that could be missed with solid state.

Obviously I am not solid on the idea of bidding goodbye to my tube amp arsenal but I have been swayed on other advances as stated. The time is coming and it is close, when the tube amp might be a tool of the past; or at least one where we self-proclaimed purists are the only believers requesting to be buried ensconced with our tubes.

 

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Interview: Steve Bello

Who are you, and what are you about?
My name is Steve Bello, and I was born at an early age. Been a guitar player for 38 years, turned professional in 1988, and have been a teacher for 21 years as well. I’ve had my own band, in various incarnations, since 2003, and recorded six albums to date. Right now, my line-up features bassist Jimmy Donegan and drummer Tommy Irwin. I released my sixth album back in December 2015 called LAYERS OF TIME, which can be streamed and purchased on stevebellorocks.com
So it’s been nearly 40 years since you picked up the guitar, do you remember what sparked your interest and made you do so?
I heard Led Zeppelin when I was four years old, thanks to my aunt, not that she was aware of it at the time. My grandfather was a jazz guitarist way back when, so while I liked that there was a guitar player in the house, I wanted to play heavy rock from the start. Grew up listening to Zep, Queen, Aerosmith, Kiss. Started learning guitar at age 9 but didn’t take it seriously until I saw Ritchie Blackmore on MTV smashing his guitar, and seeing videos of Jimi Hendrix lighting his Strat on fire. Both of those moments made me think “I have to play guitar for life!” I’ve never smashed or burned one…yet.
Having been a professional guitarist for nearly three decades I’m sure this is a tricky one, but is there any highlights that sticks out in your career?
Getting endorsed with Ibanez guitars back in 2003 was a major life-changer. I’ve had small victories along the way. Opening for Uli Roth at Starland Ballroom in 2012 was another biggie. And then when I played with TM Stevens and TC Tolliver in Germany in 2014, I saw that as a huge boost. Opened for King’s X recently at Stone Pony, so that’s another nice notch in my bedpost. 
What do you look for in an amp?
First of all, the tone has to hit me the right way. I don’t like futzing with too many knobs and controls, just want to get a good clean and solid rock sounds out of the box. There has to be versatility too. Having just one staple sound isn’t enough for me personally.
You’ve mentioned before that your daughter introduced you to Orange – clearly you raised her well – does music run in the family?
She unknowingly introduced me to Orange, let’s put it that way. She plugged an Ibanez guitar into a Rockerverb 50, and as soon as she hit that low E string, I said “Gimme that guitar!” Music does run in my family, for sure. Emma was a bass player but now she’s more focused on singing and studying music theory. My son Julian plays clarinet in high school band, and was fooling around on drums for a bit. 
Can you tell us about your relationship and experiences with Orange?
I’ve had nothing but amazing experiences and relationships with Orange since I started writing to Alex back in 2013. I got to meet him at NAMM 2014, and he introduced me to Cliff Cooper. I plugged into the CR120 head in the demo room and was sold. Ever since then, Alex has been prompt with returning my emails and helping me get the right gear in my hands. And he likes my cat Linus too.
What’s your dream set up?
I have all Ibanez guitars, main ones are my 7-strings, but I have some 6s for other gigs. For amps, I have the CR120 head into the PPC212OB cabinet. Also have a CR35RT combo as well as the CR20. And I had to get a Micro Terror because it’s just too damn cool! As for pedals, I have Morley, Digitech, Electro-Harmonix, Boss, Ibanez, and my signature Nuclear Paradise pedal designed by Checkered Pedals. Why all of this? Because it makes my legs look longer…oh and it sounds good too. I also stick to Von York strings, and my signature Spectraflex guitar cable called BelloFlex.
You also teach music, what would be your advice for people wanting to get into playing?
Find a good lawyer after you learn your first E chord. From there, learn as much as you can, as best as you can. You will have the one staple genre that moves you the most but it’s good to dance around other platforms. 
I’ve seen you’ve got quite a few shows lined up at the start of the year, how is the rest of 2017 looking? Are you working towards a new record?
Got a couple of shows lined up in 2017, working on getting more of course. I have 11 new songs written and demoed for my next album, so if all goes well, I will begin recording in the Summer of 2017 and release the album in the Winter.
Last words of wisdom?
Never cook bacon with your shirt off. 
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Interview: Every Time I Die’s Steve Micciche

Photo by Ella Stormark

You recently released your eight studio album, and I’ve noticed a pattern where you release a new record every other year – can you run us through the process and cycle of recording, releasing and touring?
Well, you basically said it, that’s kind of how Every Time I Die work. You write for a few months, you record for a month, month and a half, release the record and then tour two, two and a half years on it non stop, that’s the formula the band’s been following for the last eighteen years. Our fans pretty much expect a new record every two to three years, followed by touring Europe, Australia and America. We feel pretty fortunate to still be able to do that and that we still have people coming to our shows and buying the records.

You’re notoriously known for your intense and insane live performances, so after eighteen years of touring excessively for two years at a time, are you not absolutely, unbelievably exhausted?
Oh, we are! Don’t let anyone fool you, we’re not getting any younger either. That said, I think we kind of just know what we need to do to mentally prepare and get in the zone. Years ago it was easy to get wasted every day, wake up and not feel any effect, but now that shit’s just out the window. I know Keith took the summer of drinking, and our drummer took the entire year off. If I drink I need to have a day off after. We cant do what we were doing before, I think we’re focusing all our energy on that one hour on stage, the you’ve got 23 hours to decompress and get back into the mind frame of playing live. We’re not the kinda band that just gets up there and picks up a guitar, you know? There’s a lot of energy between the crowd and us. I think it’s very much a mental thing, and then we do keep the partying to a minimum these days.

Photo by Ella Stormark

So you’ve got 23 hours of build up between shows, how do you spend that time?
We all kind of know how to stand out of each others hair and just do our own thing – Jordan’s really into drawing and his artwork so he will be off doing that, Keith’s got his book stuff so he’s constantly writing, I’ll listen to some podcast or just goof around online, and Andy’s into working out as he’s got his wrestling and things, so we’ve all just got our own thing that keeps us busy. A couple of hours before the show we just get into this routine where a couple of people will have a drink or two to take the edge of, and I’ve got my stretching routine… It’s really not as crazy as you think it would be – we’ve got our own ways to unwind and get in the zone, and that’s about it, nothing too crazy.

I think a lot of people expect you guys to act like savages at all times…
Yeah, it’s hard to live down some of those young kids in the DVDs setting their hair on fire and stuff like that, but that portraits the band in a completely different era. It’s still there though for everyone to see, so people will watch it and almost be like ‘dude why isn’t your hair on fire?’ when we meet, and then I’m just ‘Weeell, it’s been 12 years, and we’ve got a long drive tomorrow, so…’ It’s kind of funny how we’re always gonna be perceived as that crazy band, and in some aspects we still are, but it’s not as intense and 1000 miles per hour as it was back then. We’l have kids approaching us like ‘Yeeeah, do some shots!’, and all you can think is ‘Oh, no.. My back hurts, my shoulders are killing me..’ We tend to focus the craziness on the shows and performance, and all that extra curriculum? I don’t want to let you down, but we’re old men. We’re trying to keep up, but we’ll be in walkers pretty soon.

Photo by Ella Stormark

Except for the obvious punk / hardcore sound to your music, I pick up on elements from various genres such as stoner rock, and even blues. What kind of music got you into playing in the first place?
Every single person in this band would have a completely different answer. I know my parents, and Keith and Jordan’s parents loved The Beatles, Andy’s parents loved The Who, so you had all these influences around you. I started going to shows in the early nineties just as we got MTV, so you had stuff liken Headbanger’s Ball and all this music would blow me away, bands such as Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine, Rancid and Green Day. Then you’d start looking at the back catalogue to all these bands’ records labels and that way come across even more bands you liked. We’re all huge Zeppelin and Sabbath fans, so there is a lot of different influences that contributes to what this band have become today. When we started, bands like Converge and Dillinger Escape Plan were the kind of bands that we’d go see and be blown away by, that’s what we wanted to do. If we could ever play a show and kids were going that crazy to our music? That was the goal when this band started, those guys were our heroes. As far as our songwriting’s come today, that’s just the evolution of all kinds of genres blended together. Our newest record got a bit more of a rock vibe as Keith’s got a lot more actual singing, but we’re not gonna lose that crazy, hardcore sound.

Photo by Ella stormark

So obviously, you play Orange Amps – do you remember your first ever encounter with the brand?
You know, that’s a really good question, and the first thought I have now that you’ve brought that up… I think there was a Weezer video in 1994 or 1995, it might have been ‘Say it ain’t so’, and they were in someone’s living room or house, and I think one of the guitarists were playing through an Orange, and all I remember seeing when I was growing up was Marshall amps and stuff like that, so this Orange one looked so cool as it stood right out. I’m gonna have to look this up though as soon as this interview’s over, and if I’m wrong, well, I’m sorry.

I don’t think I plugged into an Orange bass wise, myself, until about four years ago. I’m not a big bells and whistles kind of guy, I like the easy to use, set it and forget it kinda stuff. It’s consistent, and I know what I’ll get out of it every time I turn it on, so that’s what I love about it.

What’s your set up for tonight?
I run two rigs, on stage left I have an AD200 bass head with 8×10 cabs, and on stage right I have the bass terror through 8×10 cabs. That’s my ‘England set up’, back home I just recently got the OB1500, and that sounds great too! It’s basically like the bass terror, but with this extra little boost on it that I really like, it’s kind of got this ability for the highs to come through a little bit better, without taking away from the lows and I really need that playing with Every Time I Die as Andy and Jordan’s guitars are so loud it’s like being at an airport and you’re surrounded by jet engines. I gotta be able to cut through and keep up with the guitars.

Photo by Ella Stormark

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Interview: Radio Moscow’s Anthony Meier

Photo via Radio Moscow's Facebook page

Photo via Radio Moscow’s Facebook page

You’ve been playing with Radio Moscow for quite some time now, how did you end up in the band in the first place?
It goes back to 2012 when I was playing with my other band Sacri Monti, and I briefly got to know Paul (Radio Moscow drummer) as he was living in San Diego and playing in a few other bands as well that we’d occasionally play with. When Parker (Radio Moscow singer/guitarist) moved to San Diego early 2013, he was looking for a new bass player, so Paul suggested me. Parker came along to one of the Sacri Monti shows and invited me to come jam with them. After that jam session he asked if I wanted to go on tour with them in the fall, and basically join the band. It’s been three and a half years, and here I am!

You released a live album earlier this year, ‘Live! In California!’, is there any plans of a new studio album any time soon?
Yeah, we’re currently in a period between shows and touring trying to work on a new album, which we’ll hopefully have out before next summer so we can start touring that, and repeat the cycle.

I know as a kid you picked up the guitar before bass, what made you swap?
A lot of the people I grew up jamming with is really fucking good at the guitar, so I decided to look into playing the bass as I’m influenced a lot by it rhythmically and I’ve always appreciated good bass players. I started playing it more myself and realized how much fun it was and stuck with it. We used to have jam sessions three or four times a week when I was younger, and when we started Sacri Monti I bass was what I wanted to play.

Do you find it difficult to combine the two bands?
Ehm, yeah, sort of. The past three years I’ve spent a lot of time on Radio Moscow as we’ve been touring like crazy, I think we may have done thirteen or fourteen tours over the last three years, so it’s been a lot of my time dedicated to that, but it’s all good as it’s a lot of fun. Both bands are working on new albums right now, and we’ll start touring again next year.

How long have you been using Orange?
I bought an Orange amp myself in 2014, so I’ve had my own for about two and a half years, but a few of my friends have been using Orange for a long time so I’ve used theirs prior to that when we’ve been jamming and stuff. After starting using Orange I dont really need another bass amp, it’s perfect for me.

What’s this perfect set up of yours then?
I’ve got an Orange AD200 MKIII with OBC 4×10 and 1×15 cabinets, and for pedals I just use a vintage Ibanez super tube screamer.

When off the road and not touring, is it mostly jamming with both bands that takes up your time?
Yeah, I dont have another job so it’s a lot of jamming with friends, playing pool, and just hanging out. It get’s pretty crazy on tour so it’s pretty nice to take it easy when I can. Or just keep partying at home.. But right now I do actually need to focus on writing songs for both bands new albums, this is kind of my calm before the storm.

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Eight bands, Great bands!

great-eight

There are oh-so many awesome bands out there and nothing pleases me more than finding new ones. Here I’ve shared some of my current favourites, eight great bands that might be tucked away in smaller or DIY venues, dingy dive bars, dead end towns or whatever. Hidden gems that shouldn’t be hidden, as they’re all en route to greatness in my opinion. Heavy rock / psych rock / hillbilly blues and stoner rock, here’s a bit of guitar goodness for everyone in their right mind, and for those out of theirs.

Sacri Monti

Photo via the bands Facebook page / Dana Trippe

Photo via the bands Facebook page / Dana Trippe

‘Sensational’ isn’t a word I use lightly, but while describing ‘Sacri Monti‘ I feel it’s pretty damn spot on. Based in San Diego, which seems to be the mekka for music within this genre, the 70’s psychedelic rock five piece are signed to Tee Pee records alongside fellow San Diegans and psych rock connoisseurs ‘Earthless‘ (among others), and released their self titled debut album in 2015. The album is, needless to say, an absolute killer – sensational, even.

Facebook / Bandcamp

The Devil and the Almighty Blues

Photo via the bands Facebook page / Julia Marie Naglestad

Photo via the bands Facebook page / Julia Marie Naglestad

‘The Devil and the Almighty Blues‘ is living proof that Norway is a hell of a lot more than black metal and church burnings. With a profound love for the good ol’ heroes of blues combined with a passion for punk, rock, country and metal, ‘The Devil and the Almighty Blues‘ recorded their debut album live in studio to preserve that raw, natural energy, and they’ve created, as they say it themselves, «A new take on blues-based rock, heavy without becoming metal, slow without being doom, bluesy without being straight up and boring, and all this without losing the almighty blues without of sight»

Facebook / Bandcamp

 

Jonny Halifax and the Howling Truth

Photo via the artists Facebook page

Photo via the artists Facebook page

While at it on the blues, here’s another one for you – ‘Jonny Halifax and the Howling Truth‘, heavy hillbilly blues with distorted vocals and a lot of lap steel. That said, some of the Howling Truth songs becomes so heavy that they almost stop by stoner or doom town, a perfect example of this is ‘In the realms of noble savagery’ from 2013’s ‘The Bestial Floor’.

Faceboook / Bandcamp

 

Shaman Elephant

Photo by Peter Tubaas / @visualsofsound

Photo by Peter Tubaas / @visualsofsound

A dark and gloomy Saturday night in 2015, I was lucky enough to stumble upon Norwegian band ‘Shaman Elephant‘, as I caught the last of their set at legendary Bergen venue Garage while spending the weekend in Norway. At the time they barely had any online presence and no music to be found either online or on record, but the name stuck, and by summer 2015 they graced us with the presence of an EP, ’More’, and I’m stoked to say they’ll be releasing their debut album next month, which I’m sure will be absolutely killer if the EP is anything to go by; Progressive psychedelic rock with elements of jazz and heavy riffs.

Facebook / Soundcloud

 

Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters

Photo via the bands Facebook page

Photo via the bands Facebook page

‘Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters‘ – rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? I’ll admit it took a while before I actually managed to learn this name by heart, but my god it’s a good one – 10/10. Dressed in tie dye t-shirts, black metal corpse paint and bandanas, you dont really know what to expect when these guys takes the stage in a cloud of smoke and bubbles, but they’ll hit you in the face with a wall of stoner fuzz, beefy bass and the occasional cowbell.

Facebook / Bandcamp

 

GNOB

Photo via the bands Facebook page

Photo via the bands Facebook page

«Why GNOB?»
«Because it’s bong backwards.»
«Fair enough.»
Another psychedelic one, this time it’s London based trio GNOB which sounds like an eastern acid trip gone great. During their intense live performances they play heavy psych rock you can kinda dance to.

Facebook / Bandcamp

 

HCBP / Haggard Cat Bothday Present

Photo via the bands Facebook page

Photo via the bands Facebook page

HCBP consists of singer/screamer/guitarist Matt Reynolds and drummer Tom Marsh (both of HECK), and may or may not have been a result of the rest of the band being late for practice, I don’t know, but whatever it is, I’m glad it happened. While moving away from the road of ‘general noise’ they’re on with HECK, they’re still sticking to their guns of loud and energetic live performances, with their dirty blues and hillbilly hardcore. Their second album is due to launch early next year, and having had a few cheeky listens I can assure you it’ll be a banger.

Facebook / Bandcamp

Oak

Photo via the bands Facebook page

Photo via the bands Facebook page

Oak‘s another case of me randomly stumbling across a band in a bar as I found them nearly naked at East London venue The Birds Nest, and I dont know if it was the smell of sweat and beer, the shirtless, longhaired, hairy men, the heavy riffs, the energetic live performance or all of the above, but they pretty much had me straight away. As they say it themselves, they «Take retro blues rock riffs influenced by the likes of Cream, make it filthy and down tuned and then get an actual mad man to yell over the top of it. For fans of: Cream, Mountain, Kyuss, Black Sabbath, and being shouted at.»

Facebook / Bandcamp

 

That’s all for now, kids. Play ’em loads and play ’em loud.

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Wall of Sound

By Scott Smith – Forum Member

When I think of what I want my next live performance to look like, I see visions a backline rivalled only by the band Sleep.  There really is something to that, and the guitarists with roadies are certainly the ones cheering the loudest, but bigger isn’t always better.

Additionally, when playing shows at dive bars to 15-25 people a night, including the bartender, you may need to watch your equipment closely. There is the threat of spilled beer (especially when the “venue” has no stage), overzealous stage diving fans, and a fast 15 minute load-in and out where the other band begins loading their gear on stage the moment your set ends. It can be a harrowing experience when you really love your gear.

Rejoice, as risking that 100-watt full stack you worked so hard to acquire may no longer be necessary.

Ade Emsley ushered in an era where the guitarist is more than the size of his stack. It started with the Tiny Terror. With the invention (or rather, intervention) of this wonderful, portable killer amp head and its many iterations, the required gear for playing a venue that has a decent PA has changed. Now, a 15 watt head with a 1×12 or 2×12 cab can be more than adequate. Many guitarists around the world are comfortably rocking low-wattage heads and 1×12 combos with pride.

Efficient is in. Let’s use that to our advantage and consider leaving the cab safely at home or in the rehearsal space. If you trust the sound engineer, consider the Two Notes line of cabinet simulation products.

The Two Notes Torpedo Live paired with your favorite Orange head is a rack-mounted, no-compromise option to gig lightly with your own amp head. Simply put your Orange head in a rack case, your cab simulator in a rack, and you have a set-up that is sure to take down the house! Plus, it is incredibly easy to take down once the set is over.

What if you want to eliminate the rig almost entirely and still sound amazing? Try the Orange Bax-Bangeetar guitar pre-eq pre-amp pedal with the Torpedo C.A.B. and you have a full bodied solution to gigging any venue with a decent P.A. with nothing more than a guitar and your pedalboard. Many bands are using these new approaches because it can be easier, more time efficient, and often cost effective.

Still, if you are like me and feel obligated to show off Orange’s sonic tools, then your best option may be the compact, lighter weight, and less expensive Orange Crush Pro 4×12 for your gigging needs. The beautiful thing is that we now we have many different tools to help us stop worrying about spilled beer and keeping an eye on expensive favorites, and to instead concentrate on what matters: the performance.

Those stacked Orange PPC412’s sure do look sweet, though…

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Interview: HECK’s Jonny Hall

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Photo: Jennifer McCord

Hey dude, who are you and what are you about?
Hi, I’m Jonny Hall, the one with the bigger beard in HECK. I play guitar and bleed on things a bit.

How would you describe HECK’s music and live performances to a stranger?
Musically, HECK are an intense beast. We have always seemed to thrive off relentlessness. It’s like that moment when you have that secret scream at the mirror to purge your frustration, except very public. The live shows are essentially an arena for everyone to sack off inhibition and join us in accepting that most of real life is bollocks, ‘so let’s do whatever the fuck we want for an hour’. It’s chaotic, extreme and powerful, and it’s fucking fun.

You released your debut album ‘Instructions’ earlier this year, how has life been ever since?
It’s been difficult but rewarding. Self releasing the album means there was no one to do our dirty work for us, so we plunged headfirst into a world we knew nothing about and we’re thankfully still afloat! We’ve done some amazing tours and played to thousands of incredible people. We’re frankly amazed by the response we’ve had, people seem to have really ‘got’ the album, bizarrely. The only downside is that everything awesome that you do only makes you hungrier for more. I’ll never be completely satisfied.

Can you tell us a bit about your history and experiences with Orange?
When I was a nipper just learning to play orange amps seemed like some unobtainable relic of guitarness. Pro’s played Orange, I couldn’t play it too, as I was clearly not good enough. I played about with a few different amps in my youth but nothing ever gave me the huge sound I’d been after. I wanted something with balls. Preferably several sets. The more superfluous the better.

When I started jamming with Matt (the smaller beard in HECK) he had a Rocker 30 running into a PPC212. It sounded to full that, despite the fact that my rig was considerably more powerful than his, I genuinely couldn’t hear my guitar due to it being made to sound so thin by his. I immediately applied for a credit card because clearly, owning an Orange rig was more important than any hint of financial security. Totally worth every penny of debt.

What’s your set up?
I currently run a Rocker 30 into a PPC212 and PPC412, drive channel only, with a ProCo RAT as a ‘death’ pedal before it. When i kick that in, it sounds like the amp-apocalypse.

Back to the band – if you were all zoo animals, who’d be what animal, and why?
Paul Shelley would be a walrus. He’s mighty, girth, stubbly and wise, with a touch of class and an air of authority. The rest of us would be the shitty pointless grubs they feed to the lizards in the reptile house. We’re there out of necessity.

You recently did a massive co headline tour with Black Peaks around the UK and Europe, how is it being back home after a month of madness on the road?
It’s rubbish. It’s difficult being in a touring band as it’s like getting post holiday blues every time you get home, but from the best holiday you’ll ever have, where you feel like you’re actually achieving something with your life, but it’s actually your job, that you love, and you want to do forever. Then one day it stops and you find yourself sitting in your pants eating microwave Tesco Value macaroni cheese and dry bread, watching six consecutive seasons of Friends because you can’t be bothered to click ‘back’ on Netflix. I do get to see my girlfriend though, which is nice.

Top ten songs played in your tour van:
Talk Dirty – Jason Derulo
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