Tuesday, April 21, 2009

An Updated Look At Things

I thought about going back and revamping old articles like I used to do, but I decided to keep them the way they are for people looking for that sound. Anyway, despite Thrice's decrease in touring, there has not been a decrease in stuff for me to write about here...

I just haven't, because I suck at updating. Anyway, here's what I've got:

I've always credited Teppei's live distortion sounds to his Turbo Rat, however even when I was right about that I was totally wrong about how he used it. Teppei likes to use pedals to just push his amp transparently (rather than creating the distortion tone). This is how he used his Rat, a pedal which has now been sidelined by a homemade modified clone of a Tube Screamer, which Teppei says is his favorite distortion pedal. We can credit most of his sound to his amp- which most of the time is a Vox AC30.

Teppei also has invested in a Line 6 M13 multi-effect pedal to replace his DL4s, which have apparently given the band tons of problems on the road. The DL4s (and other Line 6 Modeler pedals) lose reliability because of their build: the switches are mounted directly to the PCB. If you've got a Line 6 Modeler, there are lots of people online who will mod your pedal for more reliability.


As far as amps on the new recording: it looks like the AC30 and Supro clone are getting use, as well as a vintage blonde Fender Bassman- different from Teppei's tweed Bassman that was used at times in 2008.

Eddie seems to be using a new M13 also, through his Ampeg setup. Despite the M13, he still has a DL4 and expression pedal on his board.


Thanks for reading!
-Mike

15 comments:

Holy Tears said...

Hey Mike, I'm not exactly a guitarist to be honest with you although I enjoy reading your gear posts and so does Teppei himself! I'm just wondering what exactly do you mean by Teppei using his Tube Screamer to push his amp transparently?

Anonymous said...

How do you know Teppei is using the m13?

Russell said...

Hey Mike! Congrats on being mentioned on Thrice.net. I don't know where you get your info but it's awesome! Oh and Holy Tears, I believe he means that the amp is already being driven so the overdrive pedals are added to it more as a boost to the existing drive than being the sole overdrive on a clean channel. If you've ever messed with a tube screamer or other overdrive pedal, you'll notice it's hard to really get a good crunch using that alone. They're great for expression but aren't too meaty unless paired with an already dirty signal.

Holy Tears said...

Anonymous person, Teppei and Eddie are using M13s, if you go to thrice.net and one of the posts on there will you find clearly that Teppei is using an M13 on his pedalboard.

Holy Tears said...

Thanks Russell!

Anonymous said...

Holy Tears, I've looked at the site, and I've seen multiple pictures of Ed's pedal board with the m13. I don't see one picture of teppei's board at all.

Mike said...

Thanks Holy Tears! The Tube Screamer has a large volume boost available, and can really bring out the balls of your amp with the right setting. Teppei likes using overdrive/distortion pedals to bring out the tone of his amp rather than create a new tone. Basically what Russell said.


As for Teppei using the M13... I promise I'm not lying. I can say without a doubt that he is.

Anonymous said...

Did you talk to him personally or something?

Mike said...

I actually have been breaking into Teppei's place after everyone's gone to bed and investigating the setup. I guess they thought that little lizard under the hi-hat stand would scare off strangers.

I've said too much.



Sorry for the cheap attempt at wit. Haha.

Holy Tears said...

Anonymous I will find you the link with a picture of the M13 integrated into Teppei's pedalboard.

Holy Tears said...

http://www.dontbescene.com/ThriceStudio/images/ThriceStudio_013.jpg

Here's a link with a clear picture of Teppei's M13

Holy Tears said...

http://www.dontbescene.com/ThriceStudio/images/ThriceStudio_023.jpg

And one more.

Anonymous said...

lo siento guys. i didnt even know these pictures existed. nice shots though thanks for linking me up

Geri said...

hey mike... i know that in the HOB dvd dustin says what guitar pedal he uses... but i just cant understand what he says. do you know which one it is. I am interested in it because he says he can switch tunings without untuning his guitar.


thanks alot.

Mike said...

He "switches tunings" with his Tele. It's got the guts of a Line 6 Variax guitar, which is a modeling guitar. Unfortunately technology hasn't given us a pedal that auto-tunes guitars yet. I think Dustin's back to tuning guitars by hand again with his new setup.

Hi setup for that DVD is mainly his Tele and Line 6 amp, which I talk about in my amp article... it's probably a ways back in the archive by now.