Adrian, thanks for taking the time. Both Disentomb and Deliquesce are filled with pretty demanding riffs, what do you look for in a guitar and bass to help you perform?
Thanks heaps for having me! I’ll usually look for guitars with a relatively thin neck, but not super thin like an Ibanez! I’ll usually find if it’s too thin I get wrist pains a lot easier, so a C or D shape neck is usually what I’ll go for.
If it’s a guitar it has to have a Floyd Rose, that’s non negotiable for me. What else? It has to be a 6 string, 24 frets, and the string spacing can’t be too close! If the strings are too close for my liking my heavy hand gets in the way fast, that’s definitely not what I need when executing riffs with all that string skipping!
Have you got a #1 guitar and/or bass for each band, and if so, what are they?
With Deliquesce, it’s my Jackson SL2. It has everything I need and more in a guitar. As for Disentomb, I’m still rocking my David Ellefson Signature model. It’s a beast. It can take all the abuse it deserves!
Jackson SL2
Tonally, metal needs to be grinding and heavy, but the technicality of the music you play requires some additional articulation. How do you keep everything clear while adding weight and heaviness?
Practice practice and practice, I’ll usually play with just enough gain to make it enjoyable when getting things tight, my VHT Pittbull is perfectly unforgiving so it’s ironically a great practice amp haha.
When it’s time to be heard I’ll crank it up a bit. I never use too much gain though, just enough to fill out the space. I love the feeling of a super tight/non-boosted amp even though some amps do require it, which is why I’ll usually tend to go with something that isn’t modern, for example my Mesa Mark III.
Do you find yourself reaching for many additional effects?
I’ve fallen head first into this rabbit hole fairly recently with effects… mainly because of Deliquesce’s live shows. There is a lot on the pedal board at the moment, its purpose is so I can do my best to emulate two guitarists.
A Bluguitar Amp 1 is the newest addition, it’s a whole amp! That goes straight into a cab, and I’ve got a Bigshot ABY pedal so I can run the Amp 1 and whatever backline is available simultaneously …
Boss SD-1
I’ll take a boost with me as well in the event that the backline may need a bit of help, that’s usually in the form of a Mesa Grid Slammer or Boss SD-1.
I’ve also got a Mimiq Doubler which magically splits one guitar into a stereo image, and I’ve recently put another TC Electronic pedal on there, the Quintessence Harmonizer so I can harmonise with myself up there!
Other than that I’ve got a delay to serve the solo sections which only goes to one side, a TC Electronics Ditto Looper so I can loop the rhythm track under the solo on the other amp in real time, a Longamp Roxanne flanger, and lastly a standard Boss GE-7 through the effects loop.
For Disentomb it’s as simple as it gets. A tuner and a Sansamp Bass Driver does the job! Occasionally I’ll bring a bass chorus to add a touch of depth as well.
Do you find the inevitability of performing this music live affects how technical you make it? Or do you just write the music and commit to learning it?
I just have to commit to learning it!
I’ll always and forever just write what sounds sick to me, I don’t think about a live setting too much when writing a song, although I’ll listen to it a thousand times and make sure the energy doesn’t fall off, usually that translates to a good set anyway if we do our job correctly!
You’re a producer and mixer as well, how do you think this affects your preference for tone, gear and practice routine?
I’ve learnt a lot over the years from producing and mixing. The one thing I always and still continue to fight is the tone I like to feel and the tone I like to hear in a mix. Let’s just say there’s a reason why Metallica used that tone on Master of Puppets and had to track it 4 or 6 times! It would be as thin as anything if it was just double tracked! I’ve experimented a lot with quad tracking and such, it’s always heaps sicker but also mega demanding when dealing with such dense music.
I’ll more often than not push for quad tracked guitars over double. If that’s the case I can use the tone I love to “feel”.
Otherwise, filling out the sound space with a bit more of a wet/boosted sound is the only way forward.
Either way, it needs to be tight if you want an exciting and lively feeling record, so of course being a producer and mixer has helped me and everyone I’ve worked for.
All comes down to the importance of being on top of the performance and getting it right at the source!
You can keep up with Adrian here.
