Facing a mandatory shelter-in-place ordinance to limit the spread of COVID-19, PG enacted a hybrid approach to filming and producing Rig Rundowns. This is the 28th video in that format.
Guitarist Nate Garrett earned his stripes in the Arkansas metal scene alongside sludgy contemporaries Pallbearer and Rwake. He toured the States and beyond with Gatecreeper and Take Over and Destroy. He always played the support role. (Garrett claims in a Consequence of Sound interview to have played in 29 bands before Spirit Adrift.) He hammered away on his 6-string in the shadows, bringing to life other people’s visions. It was time for his own story to be told. So, in the mid 2010s, he started Spirit Adrift as a personal creative space.
Garrett admits that when he started Spirit Adrift as a personal endeavor two things never entered his mind. First, he never planned on playing gigs. Then, he went full Spector and layered dozens of guitars, bass parts, and synth colors in his 2016 debut, Chained to Oblivion, making it nearly impossible to fully recreate with a band smaller than Skynyrd.
In 2017, he formed a 4-piece band and took his riff portfolio to the stage. The sonic consolidation and incorporation of others input pushed the band from its doomy, swampy roots and broadened it with a Master of Puppets-meets-Vol. 4 realm that featured chugging rhythms, guitar harmonies, and slicing solos. Later that year they put out the more svelte, menacing Curse of Conception and the further polished juggernaut Divided by Darkness in 2019.
Just after Spirit Adrift’s fourth (and most eclectic) album Enlightened in Eternity was released, Nate Garrett virtually welcomed PG’s Chris Kies into his home jam space just outside of Austin, Texas. In this Rig Rundown, the former one-man band opens up about turning to his heroes for gear guidance, formulating workarounds for dreaded bunk backlines, and explains (and demos) how a little chorus and reverb goes a long way in heavy music.
In 2017, Power Trip bassist (and Rig Rundown alumnus) Chris Whetzel introduced Nate Garrett to Sacha Dunable who is the main man behind Dunable Guitars. (Yep, Sacha also has his own Rundown with his band Intronaut, too.) Between Whetzel being a big fan (and user) of the offset R2 bass and teenage Garrett’s worship of Hetfield’s Explorers, the Dunable R2 was the only choice when he commissioned Dunable to build his first one (in two slides). Above is his newest R2 that is constructed with a black limba body and his favorite instrument. It’s an ace for recording but will probably never hit the road.
Again, thanks to Papa Het, he dropped in a set of EMG 81/85 (bridge/neck) active humbuckers in it. Asked about switching from passive pickups to active, he said this: “When I first started doing Spirit Adrift our material was slow, doomy, saturation, and lots of sustain,” explains Garrett. “Our second record Curse of Conception had that early Metallica influence creeping in—I’ve always idolized James Hetfield—with faster tempos, more chugging, precise picking patterns so the active pickups helped the definition of our newer material … plus, if it works for the man himself, it’ll work for me [laughs].”
The Spirit Adrift tunings live in the drop-B world (although he does mention using Eb standard for new material) and he uses Ernie Ball Beefy Slinkys .011–.054.
The impressive backside of this black-limba Dunable R2.
Here is Garrett’s first R2 model built by Sacha Dunable. (He has a third R2 that’s white and currently with Spirit Adrift’s second guitarist in Oakland.)
Friend and luthier Josiah Upshaw is behind Brother Coyote Guitars and surprised Garrett with this doublecut dime. Like the R2s, Nate laid in some EMG 81/85s and says this gift did the clean tones and some layering for Spirit Adrift’s last two albums—2019’s Divided by Darkness and the brand new Enlightened in Eternity.
Its backside gives thanks ala Ernest Tubb.
Like with his move from passive to active pickups, the band’s evolving, expanding sound persuaded him to leave the Orange Rockerverb 100 camp and settle in with the EVH 5150 III. (In the video, he says the amp uses EL34s, but it actually takes 6L6s.) “We started really incorporating single-note riffs, melodic interplay with harmonies and more lead guitar, so it needs to cut and be defined,” says Garrett. “This is the only amp that I’ve found that the low-end chunky power chords won’t completely kill or overshadow the single-note parts.”
“I can’t play other cabinets,” says Garrett. “When we backline gear overseas or request rentals for fly-in gigs and I don’t see an Orange cab, I know I’m not going to be able to dial in my sound the way I need to because I’m so spoiled with the thick construction.” In his current home setup, he has this Orange PPC212 that’s loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s. For tours, he’ll go with either one or two PPC412 cabs.
When he decided to bring his songs to the stage, he knew there’d be some sonic strictures. So, he adopted this mantra: “What is on the records that would be a travesty if that specific sound was not reproduced live?” Pondering that dilemma (and realizing travel restrictions), gave life to this board that holds a Dunable Eidolon, a pair of EarthQuaker Devices (Afterneath and Dispatch Master), and a Boss DC-2W Dimension Chorus. An ISP Technologies Deci-Mate Micro removes unwanted buzz, a TC Electronic PolyTune Noir Mini 2 keeps his guitars in check, and a T-Rex Effects Fuel Tank Junior powers the board. (Not pictured, but often used: SNK Pedals VHD, EQD Avalanche Run, and Boss CE-2W Chorus Waza Craft Pedal)
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Chris Kies has degrees in Journalism and History from the University of Iowa and has been with PG dating back to his days as an intern in 2007. He's now the multimedia manager maintaining the website and social media accounts, coordinating Rig Rundown shoots (also hosting and/or filming them) and occasionally writing an artist feature. Other than that, he spends time with his pitbull and enjoys non-guitar-related hobbies. Follow him on Instagram & Twitter.
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