What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?
My Digitech Hot Rod distortion pedal.
How did you come across this particular item?
I bought it during high school from my local (now-closed) guitar store. I’m 90% sure I got suckered into buying the expensive new pedal (my original plan was to get a Boss DS-1).
What is it that you like so much about it?
It’s the only piece of equipment I’ve bought in a decade-plus that’s decent enough to keep a spot in my set up and be durable enough to actually last. I had to look up the manual again to make sure I’m right, but the ridiculously named ‘Morph’ knob has three different voices it ‘morphs’ between. All the way down is “warm and smooth” (a weak overdrive), halfway is the “classic British stack” sound (which is pure teenager bait) and then maxed out it is “high gain fuzz” (which is misleading, it’s more metal sounding).
How do you use it, and how has it shaped the way you write music?
It’s the sole pedal I use when writing a song. It can create most tonal ideas we’d be toying with, or at least pull off something close enough to see whether it’ll work. Usually in recording I’ll use other pedals (a Russian Big Muff Pi, a Death by Audio Interstellar Overdrive), but from the outset of any song it’s all Hot Rod.
Tell us a little bit about what you have coming up?
Rice is Nice are releasing our EP very soon. We’re gonna play some shows to support it, then start recording more songs for something album length.
Listen to Us The Band’s latest single ‘And I Will’ below.
To keep up to date with the latest from Us The Band, head to www.facebook.com/ustheband666.
