
Kevin Parker plays his No. 1 guitar, a '67 Rickenbacker 335, during Tame Impala's set at the 2015 Sasquatch Festival. Parker says older Rickenbackers have something new ones don't. "They just have this pristine crispness to them. They just sing to me, you know?
The scion of psych discusses the imaginative guitar work and unorthodox soundscapes on his new album, Currents.
Amid the massive resurgence of psychedelia in recent years (though you could argue that it never really went away), no single artist has transcended the confines of the genre the way Australia's Tame Impala has. Perth's heir-apparent to the psych throne, Kevin Parker, effectively is Tame Impala. A well documented and self-professed control freak, Parker has single-handedly written, produced, and tracked the entirety of Tame Impala's recorded output, which now includes the band's anxiously awaited and critically lauded third full-length, Currents.
While Parker's dedication to solitary work may be off-putting to some, the young scion of psych is more focused on articulating the musical visions that exist in his mind than on the glory his labors yield. Despite assembling a monster team of musicians to bring his records to life on the road, the calculated, meticulous drive at the heart of Parker's endeavors can't be overridden, and has even pushed him to create the visuals for Tame Impala's performances.
Currents is a sonic departure from the sun-soaked, '60s-informed sounds of its predecessor, Lonerism, especially in its reliance on classic prog-synth sounds over the more traditional guitars that characterized previous Tame Impala records. Still present are the saccharine melodies and dreamy textures that are Parker's calling cards, but on Currents, everything is juxtaposed against dance-ready rhythms and placed in the chasm between '60s psych and modern pop, earning the album near-universal acclaim.
At first listen, Currents can give the impression that Parker has abandoned the guitar in the name of synths. But further examination reveals an album cleverly littered with guitar synth and otherwise processed guitar sounds that speak to Parker's new approach to writing and recording with the instrument.
We gained an audience with Parker, who opened up about his writing process, early influences, and approach to getting the unique guitar and bass sounds on Currents.
The guitar seems less prominent on this albumāor at least far more processed than on your previous records. What took you in that direction?
One of my favorite ways to use a guitar is to find new flavors with it, but there's an organic sound that comes out of a guitar that nothing else can really replicate. It's almost like a human touch. I liked the idea of that making cameos every now, rather than being this chugging base of the song this time around. The way the album was going sonically and texturally, I wound up processing the guitars more. There are guitars on every track, but they come in every now and then, more as an outside element or answer to other sounds.
Did you approach writing those guitar parts differently to navigate all of those big synth sounds?
Yeah, but I've always written songs that feature synths and guitars working together. The style of music on this one is more ... modern, for lack of a better word. Some of the chord progressions and rhythms are more R&B, and when you put rocking guitars on top of that, it can ruin it. So I had to be really careful with how I played the guitarāwhat types of chords I used, the types of licks I'd playāso that it worked with those other ideas.
Besides his trusty Rickenbacker, Parker's other live guitar is a Squier J. Mascis Jazzmaster with a Roland GK-3 synth pickup, which belongs to Tame Impala keyboardist Jay Watson. Parker is shown here playing Saturday afternoon in Chicago, IL, at this year's Lollapalooza festival. Photo by Chris Kies
Was the guitar still an important writing tool on Currents?
Not so much. I've been getting better at playing keyboards, which means I'm now much more flexible about which instrument I write on. But the instrument I write on might be the butt end of it. It's really just whatever is sitting around when I think of the song. The most important part is getting the song out into the real world before I forget it, rather than finding the right instrument to write it on. I'm just so worried that I'll forget the song, so I grab whatever instrument is closest, and that inevitably become the bones of the song. For whatever reason, I had a few more synths around me this time. And we were touring so much off of Lonerism that my guitar and pedals were usually halfway between one continent and another while I was at home. We'd finish one tour in say, Europe, go home for two weeks, and all our gear, including my guitars and pedals, would be on their way to South America. I didn't even have my favorite guitar, my Rickenbacker, with me a lot of the time, so that was a factor.
What's the story behind your Rickenbacker? I haven't seen many photos of you performing without it.
Not in the last few years, for sure. I bought it in Japan a few years agoāmust've been 2010āand it was the first real, vintage, proper guitar I bought. I have a mongrel Stratocaster that's got like a Mexican body and a U.S. neck, and my other guitar I got for Christmas when I was 15. The Rickenbacker a '67 335 model, and it sounds like nothing else. We travel with one of the reissues as well, which Dom [Simper] sometimes plays. But for some reason, those toaster pickups on the old ones just sing to me. Maybe they have less output than the new ones.
So you painted the body of a vintage Rickenbacker?
Sort of. I was actually more sensible than that: I laid down white gaffer tape on it in the shape of what I wanted and then painted over it. But I'm pretty sure that once I pull that gaffer tape, all the paint under there is going to come with it, so I effectively did deface it.
I appreciate that personal touch, even if it makes collectors squirm.
Well, I knew I'd never get rid of it. I've written so many of what I think are my best songs on that guitar, and it's been involved in everything I've done. I would never sell it in a million years! I've just made it more mine, personalizing it like that. It belongs to me even more deeply because of the paint, you know?
Parker applied white gaffer tape to the body of his vintage '67 Rickenbacker 335 and painted over it. Photo by Chris Kies
The bass guitar takes a front seat on Currents. Who influenced your bass playing, and how you get that signature bass tone?
I guess it has a lot to do with my good old Hofner bass, which I actually bought in Japan at the exact same time as the Rickenbacker. I didn't even realize it until I got back to the hotel room and my friends were like, āAw, so you bought the Beatles starter pack!" That sums up a lot of the Beatles references we get. It's all a total accident and coincidence. I usually just send the bass through my guitar pedal chain. I didn't have enough pedals to set up separate boards for guitar and bass. But it worked well, so I've stuck with it.
What's on your pedalboard?
Just a compressor, a vibrato, and a reverb. I often run the bass with reverb, which a lot of people don't, but I like what it does. There's also this Seymour Duncan [KTG-1] rack unit. It's a preamp, and I run everything through it. I've never been able to find another one, though I'd love to get one. I think they made them for a few years in the '80s or '90s. To everyone else they must sound really shit, because no one on the entirety of the Internet seems interested in them. But I can't for the life of me find something that sounds the same.
Who influenced you as a guitarist?
You know what? I've thought about it before, and no one immediately sprung to mind. When I was a teenager, I loved Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age, Reine Fiske of Dungen. The common thing with all the guitarists I respect and admire is they play the guitar as though it isn't a guitar. A lot of the time when you pick up a guitar, your hands do the thinking, and it's just muscle memory. We've all got those blues licks we play almost automatically, you know? I try really hard to look past that. Sometimes I sing the melody in my head and try to play it on guitar, and I realize my hands really don't want to do that. My fingers would rather play it a different way, but I force myself to play it the way I hear it in my head until it feels natural. To me, that's what makes playing guitar unique to youānot just playing the kind of ZZ Top-esque licks that live in a lot of our fingers.
I've seen you perform on a Jazzmaster with a Roland synth pickup. How do you use it?
I used that a lot on the album, actually. It was a cheap shortcut to doing something I love: making a guitar sound not like a guitar. I've always been obsessed with tricking people into thinking that a guitar is actually a synth. I used to do it with octave pedals and different types of auto-filters and stuff, and then I'd play the instrument in a different way to make it sound like it's not a guitar. So when I started getting into guitar synths, it made it all too easy. It's a Roland GR-55, and a lot of the presets are totally nasty. They're almost stuck between a metal guitar and a saxophone. A lot of the presets Roland offers are terrible. But if you start from scratch building your own patches and then combine them with cool effects and outboard stuff, it starts to sound really cool.
YouTube It
Kevin Parker gets synth-heavy with his Rickenbacker 335 on āThe Less I Know the Better" during a set at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, one of the oldest graveyards in Los Angeles.
There must be a lot more guitar on the record than is immediately apparent!
Absolutely. I spoke to a few people after they heard some of the new songs. Then they saw us play them live and they were like, āOh! I didn't realize that was a guitar part!"
Could you point out specific instances of camouflaged guitars?
Well, for example, the instrumentation in the verses of āThe Less I Know the Better" is all guitar synth. There are organs, padsāeven the bass is going through the guitar synth. Other than the drums and vocals, everything you hear there is guitar synth, and it has this sort of '80s synth disco thing. The lead line halfway through āThe Moment" is a weird, almost alien-sounding patch that's one of my favorite parts of the album. It's got this really crunchy, Himalayan-sounding lead.
I like that you went with a mountain range to describe the sound of a synth patch.
It just reminded me of standing on top of a mountain, so I figured I'd go with it!
YouTube It
Tame Impala plays the hit single āLet It Happen" from Currents on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
Tame Impala's Kevin Parker tunes his guitars a full-step down from standard tuning (DGCFAD). Photo by Rich Osweiler
Synthful Guitar: Kevin Parker's Gear
Tame Impala mastermind Kevin Parker's main guitar is a 1967 Rickenbacker 335, which he customized with painted tape. He also sometimes uses a Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster with a Roland GK-3 synth pickup, which belongs to Tame Impala keyboardist Jay Watson. Parker tunes his guitars a whole step down from standard: DGCFAD. Parker's Hofner bass was also a primary tool when making Currents.Parker's pedals are divided between three boards. The first has a Roland GR-55 synth running into a Yamaha mixer routed to a Radial J48 DI box.
The second board includes an Electro-Harmonix Small Stone (V4) and Holy Grail Reverb, MXR's Dyna Comp and Carbon Copy Analog Delay, an EarthQuaker Devices Terminal Fuzz, Boss's BD-2 Blues Driver and TU-3 Chromatic Tuner, and an Ernie Ball volume pedal. This board is routed to a Vox AC30H2 combo.
The third board employs a Boss GT-100 multi-effector, Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb, Diamond Vibrato, Empress ParaEQ, and a Bogner Wessex Bubinga Overdrive. This board is also routed to a Radial J48 DI.
Parker created the patches he uses on his Boss GT-100 and Roland GR-55 guitar synth. The GT-100 patches usually approximate more complex effects chains used on recordings, which would require many more pedals onstage. Some GR-55 patches used live also appear on Currents and other Tame Impala albums.
Building upon the foundation of the beloved Core Collection H-535, this versatile instrument is designed to serve as a masterpiece in tone.
The new model features striking aesthetic updates and refined tonal enhancements. Crafted at the iconic 225 Parsons Street factory, home to other world-famous models like the H-150, H-157, and H-575 - the H-555 continues to exemplify the very best of American craftsmanship.
The Core Collection H-555 features a set of Custom Shop 225 Hot Classic Humbuckers, meticulously wound in-house with carefully selected components, and voiced to deliver added punch and richness while preserving exceptional dynamics and touch sensitivity. Seamlessly complementing the H-555ās semi-hollow construction, they blend warmth and woodiness with refined, articulate clarity.
The Core Collection H-555ās aesthetic has been elevated with multi-ply binding on the body, headstock, and pickguard. Its neck, sculpted in a classic ā50s profile, delivers effortless comfort and is adorned with elegant block inlays, seamlessly blending style with playability. Gold hardware complements the aesthetic, exuding elegance while presenting the H-555 as a truly premium and versatile instrument for the discerning player.
Available in Ebony and Trans Cherry, each Core Collection H-555 is beautifully finished with a nitrocellulose vintage gloss that features a subtle shine and gracefully ages over time. An Artisan Aged option is also available for those seeking an authentically well-loved look and feel, achieved through a meticulous, entirely hand-finished aging process. The new Core Collection continues Heritageās tradition of world-class craftsmanship, offering a true masterpiece in tone and design for discerning players. Each guitar is shipped in a premium Heritage Custom Shop hard case.
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For more information, please visit heritageguitars.com.
Ariel Posen and the Heritage Custom Shop Core Collection H-555 - YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.Watch the official video documenting the sold-out event at House of Blues in Anaheim. Join Paul Reed Smith and special guests as they toast to quality and excellence in guitar craftsmanship.
PRS Guitars today released the official video documenting the full night of performances at their 40th Anniversary celebration, held January 24th in conjunction with the 2025 NAMM (The National Association of Music Merchants) Show. The sold-out, private event took place at House of Blues in Anaheim, California and featured performances by PRS artists Randy Bowland, Curt Chambers, David Grissom, Jon Jourdan, Howard Leese, Mark Lettieri Group, Herman Li, John Mayer, Orianthi, Tim Pierce, Noah Robertson, Shantaia, Philip Sayce, and Dany Villarreal, along with Paul Reed Smith and his Eightlock band.
āWhat a night! Big thanks to everyone who came out to support us: retailers, distributors, vendors, content creators, industry friends, and especially the artists. I loved every second. We are so pleased to share the whole night now on this video,ā said Paul Reed Smith, Founder & Managing General Partner of PRS Guitars. āI couldnāt be more proud to still be here 40 years later.ā
With nearly 1,400 of the whoās who in the musical instrument industry in attendance, the night ended with a thoughtful toast from PRS Signature Artist John Mayer, who reflected on 40 years of PRS Guitars and the quality that sets the brand apart. āThe guitars are great. You canāt last 40 years if the guitars arenāt great,ā said Mayer. āMany of you started hearing about PRS the same way I did, which is you would talk about PRS and someone would say āTheyāre too nice.ā Whatās too nice for a guitar? What, you want that special vibe that only tuning every song can give you on stage? You want that grit just like your heroes ā¦ bad intonation? The product is incredible.ā
Be sure to locate your sample library where it can be quickly referenced on your DAW.
Improve your recordings using your own samples. Bryan Clark, house producer at Nashvilleās Blackbird Studio, tells you how to take the final steps in building your own sample library.
Mastering the sample import process in your chosen DAW can significantly enhance your creativity and streamline your workflow. With a clear understanding of the tools and techniques available, you will be better equipped to bring your musical ideas to life and make your productions stand out.
This month, we finish up a three-part series on creating your own sample libraries. In this final installment, Iām going to give you the basic ways to import your samples into various popular DAWs. Each one has its unique workflow and user interface, but the fundamental process remains very similar. This Dojo guide will cover how to import samples into Ableton Live, LUNA, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, and Studio One.
Ableton Live
Steps to Import Samples
Drag and Drop: Simply locate the sample file in your computerās file explorer, then drag and drop it directly into an audio track in the session or arrangement view.
Browser Window: Use Abletonās built-in browser (on the left-hand side). Navigate to the sampleās location on your hard drive, then drag it into the workspace.
Create a Simpler or Sampler Instrument: Drag the sample into a MIDI track with Simpler or Sampler loaded. This allows you to trigger the sample using MIDI notes.
Tips: Use the warp feature for time-stretching and syncing samples to your projectās tempo.
Organize your samples into collections using the āAdd Folderā option in the browser.
LUNA
Steps to Import Samples
Drag and Drop: Drag the sample from your file explorer directly into the timeline. Then hold the CTRL key down, click on the end of the loop, and drag it to the length it needs to be.
Browser/Workspace: Use the media browser to navigate to your sampleās location on your hard drive. Drag it into an audio track in your session.
Audio Track Import: Right-click on an empty area in the timeline or a track and select āImport Audioā to locate and add your sample.
Tips: Use LUNAās built-in varispeed capabilities to match your sample to the sessionās tempo.Logic Pro
Steps to Import Samples
Drag and Drop: Drag the sample from the Finder directly into an audio track in the workspace.
File Browser: Use the file browser (accessible via the media sidebar or āFā key) to locate and drag samples into the timeline.
Quick Sampler: Drag your sample onto a MIDI track with the Quick Sampler plugin loaded. This lets you play the sample chromatically.
Tips: Use Logicās flex time feature to sync samples to your projectās tempo. Organize samples into Logicās library for quick access.Pro Tools
Steps to Import Samples
Import Audio Dialog: Go to File > Import > Audio; then locate your sample and click āConvertā or āAddā to bring it into the session.
Drag and Drop: Drag the sample directly from your file explorer into an audio track.
Workspace Browser: Use the workspace (accessible via Window > New Workspace) to locate your sample. Drag it into your session.
Tips: Use the elastic audio feature for tempo matching and pitch adjustments.
Place your samples into playlists for efficient access during editing.
Studio One
Steps to Import Samples
Drag and Drop: Drag your sample directly from your file explorer into the timeline or browser.
Browser: Open Studio Oneās browser (on the right-hand side), navigate to the folder containing your sample, and drag it into your project.
Sampler Track: Drag the sample onto a MIDI track, and use the Sample One sampler for additional manipulation.
Tips: Enable the āStretch Audio Files to Song Tempoā option in the browser for automatic tempo synchronization. Create sample folders within Studio Oneās browser for quick access.General Best Practices
Regardless of the DAW you use, it is important to maintain a smooth and efficient workflow. Organize your sample library with clear folder names and categories to make locating files easy (see last monthās installment for detailed strategies). Where possible, learn DAW-specific shortcuts for importing and editing samples to save time. Always check if your DAW offers a feature to sync the sampleās tempo to your project to ensure seamless integration. Finally, regularly back up your sample collection to avoid losing important audio files and preserve your creative assets! Seriously. Do it now.
Next month, weāre off to āconsoleā land and Iāll be investigating console emulations (hype or not?), summing bus processors, and more to give you a more āstudioā sound. Until then, blessings and namaste.
Stretching the boundaries of reverbās realm through dynamic and pitch control.
Nice core reverb sounds. Invites cool compositional and arrangement directions. High quality.
If you lack patience, it will be hard to unlock its coolest secrets.
$329
Gamechanger Audio Auto Reverb
gamechangeraudio.com
When the first Moog synthesizer appeared, it freaked out a lot of musiciansānot least for the way it blurred the divisions between instruments and their roles. Was it percussion? A keyboard? A reed instrument? Many effects makers build from this philosophical foundation. The Latvian company Gamechanger often seems to revel in itāan attitude thatās manifest in the companyās Auto Series pedals, which includes the Auto Reverb.
Thereās no reason you canāt use the Auto Reverb in a very straightforward fashion. The plate, spring, and hall settings are all very nice digital representations of their analog inspirationsāand Iād be perfectly happy playing an instrumental surf set with the spring mode, for instance. But because you can control the parameters like the reverbās level, decay, tone, and the filter with changes in pitch and dynamics, the Auto Reverb can function in highly orchestral ways, transforming itself from subtle to outlandish as a musical piece shifts in intensity or rises from low to high keys toward a blurred, hyper-spacious climax. While these attributes make the Auto Reverb a great fit for prepared guitar and conceptual piecesāand invites many themes and compositional ideas within those formsāit can just as easily be configured to create an especially dynamic and dramatic pop song arrangement on stage or in the studio that might otherwise be relegated to automations within a DAW. Itās fun to use, if not always intuitive. But knowing its ways can expand your musical options significantly.