 On, with his '72 Tele Thinline. Photo: Joe Scalfaro |
The band’s name, O.A.R., stands for Of A Revolution. From their high-school days to playing college parties for beer, to two top-40 albums (Stories of a Stranger and All Sides) and stadium gigs, it’s safe to say that over the past 13 years the band—and On’s playing—have experienced a revolution of their own.
We caught up with On during their summer tour to talk about his Fenders, getting his signature tone, and bonding with the band.
So how does a group of friends in the Rockville, Maryland-area stick with a band through high school and college, eventually making a living doing what you started just as a hobby?
This was something that was always a pipe dream for us. It was nothing that we took seriously until we got to school and we realized we had a small but loyal following. The days of playing in our drummer’s basement and for a few friends… it was getting to be more than that. When we got to OSU and toured the local circuit, we realized that people were actually listening to us—we weren’t just background noise at the bars. That’s when we took it more seriously and really started paying attention to our instrumentation, overall sound and crafting our songs. Everything just became more important… [laughs] and here we are.
What are some other things that have resulted from playing with the same group of guys for more than 10 years?
I think the biggest benefit of our band playing together for that long is the trust we have when in the studio. If you’re in there with a group of guys that you sincerely trust and you have a bond with them, it truly shows in the final product. I think people can listen to albums and feel if the songs were put together by musicians who were either just thrown together, working with one another for the first time or just didn’t get a real good feel for each other. I think it’s transparent. But with us, the comfort level has always been there because we were friends before we really started jamming. We’re still great friends, and I think that shows in our last record All Sides because it comes through rock solid in the music.
How has this bond changed the songwriting and recording process?
The first record we recorded, The Wanderer… it’s even hard to say it’s a record because that was a jam session in high school and we didn’t have a clue what the hell to do. We literally took [bassist] Benj’s credit card, swiped $500 off it, went into this guy’s basement and just recorded what we could. That’s a reason why “Poker” is such a long song. It’s because we honestly had no idea on how that song was going to work or how it would even end. We pretty much just had the hook and chorus figured out and the rest was just kind of a spontaneous jam. Literally, when Mark sang, “I don’t know what to say anymore” in the song, it was because he was making the lyrics up as we were recording.
Back then, we had no idea about the craft of songwriting, and we definitely didn’t take it too seriously because we were just having a lot of fun. Somehow that song and record just translated and spoke to a lot of other people. It’s definitely not the tones or the playing that grab people. It’s really hard for me to listen to. I think it is the innocence and honesty of that song that just took on a life of its own.
I think the more we recorded, the more we realized that we want to say as much as possible without making it too long or overbearing. Everything within the song has to matter. We dissect all parts of the song and make sure it has to be there. The longest song on our newest record is “War Song,” and we knew that we wanted to make that an epic song. The song was based on a USO tour we did in Iraq, and it was a long trip and we experienced a lot of things. Because of that, we knew that this song would be very meaningful and be the longest on the record. But even so, we scrutinized each part and made sure it had a relevant place in the song.
 On with John Cruz Masterbuilt '63 Strat. Photo: Joe Scalfaro |
Well, first off, I definitely don’t deserve the right to own or even play that ’63 Strat. I don’t even know how John even considered building me that guitar. My contact at Fender, Billy Siegle, who I always with about the specs and sounds I want from my guitars, said, “why don’t I introduce you to John and see if he can build you the guitar you’re talking about.” I was like, “You’re shitting me?!” And Billy said, “No way man, he’s very cool and completely down to Earth.” So John and I started exchanging emails and phone calls.
My friend Bob had this original ’63 Strat and he let me borrow it and I fell in love with it. I didn’t have $30,000 floating around to buy it, plus I can’t say I’d be willing to bring that all over the country on tour with us. He let me borrow the ’63 neck, and I sent it to John Cruz, who replicated it and built me the ’63 Strat based around Bob’s original neck. The guitar that John built me and the original one that Bob owns feel exactly the same in my hands. It’s amazing.
You rock some Teles too. What are the differences between your ’72 Thinline and ’63 Custom Shop Teles?
The Thinline works great for a lot of the heavier stuff because the pickups are a little hotter. [I use it] when I need a lot of feedback and sustain; for instance on “War Song,” I use that guitar all over that song. The ’63 Custom Shop Tele I use for a lot of the lighter stuff—the glassy and twangy kind of vibe, ya know, that traditional, old-school Tele tone. Each guitar has its own voice and character that can truly breathe more life into a song. While I think every guitar has its own place within each of our songs, I would say 80 percent of the time I’m using that ’63 John Cruz Strat.
In acoustic settings, you’ve been seen using a Taylor model. What kind is it, and what drew you to Taylor’s acoustics?Out on tour I’m using a 314ce, which I believe is one of their lower-end models. They sound unbelievable and allow me to play whatever I need. I got linked to them through Mark Roberge [lead vocals, guitars] because he has an endorsement with Taylor. They’re great touring guitars because you can just plug and play and have no worries about tuning or other issues while going from gig to gig. Taylors are definitely my all-around favorite acoustic guitar out there.
You’re using two very different amps—the Two-Rock Signature Custom Reverb is a modern rock monster and the Fender Supersonic pulls from the ’65 Vibrolux and ’66 Bassman—how do you incorporate both into your rig live and in the studio?
I know it sounds cliché to stereotype amps by saying a Two-Rock shouldn’t be playing on a certain song, or a vintage Bassman should be on this song, but some of our songs have that vintage-y, classic rock sound and I definitely use the Fender for those jams. It’s got that unmistakable chimey tone that’s a foundation of rock.
When I need a little more power, volume and more modern tone, I turn to the Two-Rock. It has a bark all its own. However, the clean channel on my Two-Rock is fantastic and it’s the clean channel on a lot of our glassy reggae-ish, offbeat stuff. When it comes to lead tones I tend to blend the two amps. It’s just nice having those two distinct options behind me, but at the same time, its great knowing that I can blend them together to create a killer lead sound for my solos.
You play a fair amount of outdoor festival-type gigs. Why do you prefer the 60-watt Fender Hot Rod DeVilles for backline situations?
I’ve just found those amps to be the most consistent. When you’re playing with a rented backline you’re basically rolling the dice because you really never know what to expect of the gear and its quality. I mean, you never know who had the amp before you and how many beers he spilled on it. I’ve just been able to trust the sound and durability that the DeVilles crank out. When you travel with a few guitars, an on-the-go pedalboard and have to jump on stage at a festival gig, you don’t have sound checks or any prep time so it’s just plug and go. In these situations, you’re just hoping to get some kind of a tone that resembles your own rig. Thankfully, the rented DeVilles I’ve used thus far haven’t let me down. On one-off shows, it’s all about what backline amp can give me the least amount of anxiety [laughs].
What are some effects you currently have on tour that help you achieve the wide range of tones and sounds covered in O.A.R.’s songs?
The one sound or tone that is a staple in our band is Line 6’s Sweep Echo on their DL4 delay pedal. The funny thing with those pedals is that we seem to break them all the time. We have a drawer full of assorted DL4 parts from previous pedals already broken. But obviously, that sound really caught our ear and has done wonders for the band, so when one does break, we have to buy another one. We even wrote a couple of songs based solely on that sound.
Now that I’m using a foot controller and everything is MIDI, our sax player is letting me borrow his rackmount version, so hopefully I won’t be breaking stuff anymore. I also have a ‘70s Electro-Harmonix Small Stone Phase Shifter that I bought a long time ago for like $30 and its been with me since the beginning. It has needed some occasional surgery, but I’ve never heard another Small Stone like it.
Richard On's Gearbox
|
Chronicling your tone from The Wanderer to All Sides, what would you consider a trademark setup/signal chain for your signature OAR tone?
Well, it’d all have to start with that ’63 John Cruz Strat. I’ve played so many other guitars, swapped out pickups and I always come back to that Strat. Players, myself included, are always looking for new gear or something to break them out of a rut, but no matter what I’ve found, I’m always going back to that Strat. That guitar is one of the important aspects of O.A.R.’s tone.
Next in the signal chain would be the amp. Whether it’s the Two-Rock or the Fender Supersonic, I just need a big, open clean amp—just something that doesn’t tend to break up. I used to play a lot of Hiwatts because I could never get the clean to break up. I like to get my dirt and other stuff from stompboxes and rackmount gear. But ideally, the amp would come somewhere from the Fender world because you can’t beat a Fender clean. And for that one effect, like I said before, it’d have to be that Line 6 DL4 delay with the Sweep Echo feature.
ofarevolution.com
“The Player II Series represents our continued evolution in design and functionality,” said Justin Norvell, EVP of Product, FMIC. “We listened to the feedback from musicians around the world and incorporated their insights to refine and innovate our instruments. The re-introduction of rosewood fingerboards is a restoration of the ‘original Fender recipe’ and will no doubt be a fan favorite - but we didn’t want to stop there. We’ve also incorporated our rolled fingerboard edges for a broken-in feel, upgraded hardware, and have some new body options as well- which underscores our commitment to providing players and creators with the tools they need to express their unique sound and style. The Player II Series is not just an upgrade, it's a detailed re-imagining of our core silhouettes, highlighting our dedication to quality and the continuous refinement of our instruments.”
Additionally, Player II offers new options for chambered ash and chambered mahogany bodies for the Player II Stratocaster and Telecaster models, which will be available in October. Designed for musicians ready to elevate their craft, the Player II Series sets a new standard for quality and performance in the mid-price range.
Fender Player II Stratocaster HSS Electric Guitar - Coral Red
Fender Player II Jaguar Electric Guitar - Aquatone Blue
The 2018 CCL Deco Custom, in all its Pelham blue glory.
Anyway, we became friends and I started working on him pretty early—my 40th birthday was approaching, and that meant it was time for us to start designing his first solidbody build. If you stopped on this page, it’s because the photo of the finished product caught your eye. Beautiful, right? The 2018 CCL Deco Custom: Never shall there be another.
Old National Glenwood guitars were my design inspiration, but I wanted a slim waist like a PRS and the like. We used a solid block of korina to start, routed like MacGyver to get the knobs and switches where I wanted them. Dale builds all his own lathes and machines (usually out of lumber, y’all), as the task requires. This beast took some creativity—it’s tight wiring under that custom-steel pickguard. Many were the preliminary sketches. Four coats of Pelham blue, 11 coats of nitro. Honduran mahogany neck, Madagascar ebony fretboard with Dale’s signature not-quite-Super-400 inlays. He designed the logo; I just said, “Make it art deco.”
We sourced all the bits and bobs from StewMac and Allparts and Reverb and the like, mostly to get that chrome look I so adore. Graph Tech Ratio tuners, Duesenberg Radiator trem (had to order that one from Germany), TonePros TP6R-C roller bridge. The pickups were a genius suggestion from the builder, Guitarfetish plug ’n’ play 1/8" solderless swappable, which means I have about 10 pickups in the case to choose from: rockabilly to metal. And both slots are tapped, with the tone knobs serving as single- to double-coil switches. I put the selector on the lower horn to accommodate my tendency to accidentally flip the thing on Les Pauls—definite lifesaver.
Reader and guitar enthusiast, Cody Lindsey.
Dale offered to chamber this monster, but I said what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It weighs in at 11 pounds, if it’s an ounce. We carved the neck to match a ’60s SG, so it’s like the mini bat you get at the ballpark on little kids’ day. Easy peasy. 1 11/16" nut, 25" scale, jumbo frets, just 2 1/8" at the 12th fret.
Delivery in its lovely, hygrometer-equipped Cedar Creek case actually happened a month or two shy of my 41st, but hey, you can’t rush these things. We ended up with a studio Swiss Army knife; it does a bit of everything and does it effortlessly. A looker, too. Dale didn’t spend his career doing this kind of thing—he was in IT or some such—and I imagine he’s winding this “hobby” of his down these days, enjoying retirement with a bottle of Killian’s and a lawn chair at Duluth Blues Fest. But this guitar will live on as a marker of his skill and otherworldly patience. It sits at the head of the class in my practice room, welcoming any visitors and bringing a smile to my face every day. And Dale, my friend, I’ll be 50 before you know it....
Cody requested that Dale design an art deco logo for the guitar’s headstock.