Saturday, December 13, 2008

Some Things Confirmed By The New DVD (and a few other things)

I guess this article is basically just a little update on... everything. I should put these things in the amp and effect articles, but I haven't updated them in so long I'd be afraid the updates would go unnoticed. In the Q&A part of the (really, really good) House Of Blues DVD the guys go into some detail about their gear. Here's some info about the last tour's setup:

Teppei used 2 amps: his AC30 (though the Bassman was used on Conan) and a clone he built of a Supro amp from the 60s. These amps have been largely forgotten, and specific models seem to not be cared about anymore- but they had their own sound. Teppei mentions on the DVD that Jimmy Page used a Supro on Led Zeppelin's first album, so this amp will certainly give you that dirty 70s rock sound.

Dustin mentioned his all Line 6 setup, confirming that his newest Tele has Variax guts too. The interesting part though, was the look into his vocal processing setup. He's using a CB mic on live versions of Digital Sea, and for the crazy effect he uses a Korg KAOSS Pad. I won't go into detail about what the KAOSS pad does, because I'd just be reiterating info from this page. He is also using a MicroKorg keyboard, which can be heard clearly on The Whaler from the live album.

Eddie mentioned that his P-Bass is actually a Nash, like Teppei and Dustin's newer Telecasters. As for his picks, they are, in his words: "blue". They're blue Dunlop Tortex picks (1mm).
His pedalboard includes a Line 6 delay, 2 Line 6 distortion pedals, a Boss Reverb (which I believe is the old Reverb/Delay), and the Zvez Fuzz Factory, which Dustin appropriately described as "crazy".

Riley uses a Roland SPDS Pad to trigger little samples and segues between songs (to avoid total silence as Eddie and Teppei tune between songs). Some songs have click tracks when needed (to sync up with pre-recorded sound effects, etc.), or songs that are just very tempo-sensitive.


Lastly, as you probably know by now, Teppei is selling some stuff on Ebay. His username is theraindogg if you want to check it out. These auctions have confirmed a few things about past tones:
  • The guitar sound from The Illusion Of Safety and The Artist In The Ambulance albums was Teppei's Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier and Mesa cab. This is now up for sale.
  • Teppei almost had a signature Gordon Smith guitar, nearly exactly like this one, which was apparently based on his design. His GS is going up on Ebay soon. Check .CAK's comment on my last post out to see Teppei talk further about that guitar.
  • Teppei used a wine red PRS CE24 to record a lot of Identity Crisis.
  • His black '99 Gibson SG (with an EMG 81 pickup in the bridge position) was used on some of the Illusion Of Safety (notably the Red Death guitar solo), and possibly on The Artist In The Ambulance as well.
  • His candy apple red '85 Fender Telecaster Custom '61 Reissue was used on a bit of Vheissu, though he can't really remember where.
  • A (slightly out of tune) Yamaha CP70 baby grand piano was used to record Lost Continent. This makes me think that the Rhodes pianos used on Vheissu were probably owned by the studio, and not Thrice.

Bottom line: Check out Teppei's Ebay auctions, and if you haven't yet- BUY THE DAMN LIVE ALBUM! I believe it's still on sale at FYE, I got mine for $15. Quite a deal for 2 CDs and a DVD!

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Won the Gibson SG Standard!!! :D :D :D

Anonymous said...

Bryan you suck...i was the one who was winning it and then bid 1100 on the thing...I wanted that guitar soooo f'ing bad...geez.

Mike said...

Congrats Bryan! Good lookin' guitar!

I'm not a fan of EMGs though, I have to say.

louis said...

Im the new owner of Teppeis Mesa

Anonymous said...

Peter, if it is any consolation I will be eating ramen for a about a month.

Also congrats Louis, bet it sounds amazing.

louis said...

This mesa has a very different tone than the traditional heads. Sounds a lot tighter and not as muddy.as most newer mesa's tend to sound.amazing amp, definitely blessed to own that particular peice of Thrice history..

Mike said...

Louis, that's so awesome!!! Congrats! That's interesting about it being tighter sounding- glad you're digging it!

louis said...

Sick part is i wont have to eat ramen for a month. It was actually a gift from my girl. Best Gift Ever

Mike said...

Sounds like you've found yourself a winner there, Louis! Hahaha

Anonymous said...

I hate both of you hahaha. Not big on EMG's but still an amazing guitar, and I would have sold my soul and first born child for that MESA haha. The older Dual Recs just sound better and were better made. Add that to it being a piece of thrice history and... well I may have to steal the amp from you. Haha congrats to both of you. Peter, let me know if you want to plot against them.

Bryan said...

I'm not a fan of the EMG either and am actually looking to put new pickups in the SG.

I, shockingly, like playing a lot of Thrice's older, heavier stuff... both rhythm and lead parts. I was thinking some sort of Seymour Duncan humbucker although some singlecoil P-90's would be interesting as well.

I would love to hear everybody's advice.

louis said...

bryan, if you're trying to go for that Illusion of Safety kind of tone you should look into using a Dimarzio Super Distortion, Seymour Duncan JB or Duncan distortion in the bridge. The Dimarzio is what was mostly used on Illusion but the others are close calls as well. Every one of those humbuckers will sound really good in an SG. Hope this helps in your tone search.

Bryan said...

Thanks Louis, I'll have to check those out.

Also, I have one more question for you guys... while I can't afford it at the moment; How old of a Mesa Dual Rec should I be looking for if I want that tighter sound?

Thanks in advance.

Russell said...

Bryan, I think they changed the dual rec around 2004? Either way the older ones had 2 channels if memory serves. If you can find one, that's great but keep in mind they're a bit hard to find. I think you can tweak the new ones to get a tighter tone or mess with the tubes to get something comparable but it'll take some experimentation. Also look at the MESA road king. I played one and fell in love with it for the distorted tones. Good luck and happy hunting!

Unknown said...

can anyone give me any info on teppei's gordon smith guitar