"This рbig boardс is Nate Rowellуs latest configuration and includes an Ernie Ball volume pedal, Dunlop Cry Baby, Voodoo Lab Micro Vibe, Visual Sound Angry Fuzz, Maxon OD9, Hardwire Valve Distortion, LovePedal Amp 50, Xotic EP booster, Hardwire Chorus, and a Line 6 M5я with an American Flag рjust for good measure.с Rowellуs ""essentials"" small board for jams is the Wah into the Maxon into the LovePedal, рalthough the Angry Fuzz is makin' a hard charge to get on the short board.с"
"Chris Sterr shared his pedalboard for his Chicago-based band, Stolen Silver, which plays everything from rock to Americana, blues to jam, and pop to fusion. He says, ""This setup gives everything I need to create atmospheric beauty to dirty, grimy sludge."" The signal chain goes into a Build Your Own Clone (BYOC) drop-in Wah, BYOC Orange Ringer, and BYOC Divided Octave before hitting a custom six-channel Loooper. Channel 1 is either a Pro Co Turbo RAT (which he calls an ""unexpected great unit"") or a Fulltone Catalyst (""also a sick fuzz/drive""). Channel 2 us a Tube Works Blue Tube (""for a wonderful clean boost""), Channel 3 is a reissue Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer with an Analogman Comprossor (""for the post drive compression option ala Trey Anastasio if the mood strikes me""), Channel 4 is a Boss RT-20, Channel 5 is a TC Electronic Flashback delay and/or a Boss RE-30, and Channel 6 is a Boss RV-3. He adds, ""This board is a rotating door of things... but this is what it looks like this week."""
"Doug Niman plays guitar for a Seattle garage and psychedelic rock band called John Lee Spectre. His main board is powered by a Pedal Pad MPS-XL II and he uses a Planet Waves strobe tuner because he tunes to 432 rather than 440 and this tuner is calibrate-able. From there his signal goes into a modified Vox Wah Wah, Dunlop Swollen Pickle Fuzz, Boss EQ, Boss Blues Driver, Electro-Harmonix Ravish Sitar, Guyatone Flip Stereo Tremolo, Boss PS6 Harmonist, Rocktron Digital Delay, and a Maxon SD808 Overdrive. The stereo outputs from the Ravish Sitar and the Guyatone tremolo go out to an ABY Switch, which feeds out to an Ernie Ball VP Jr. volume pedal to Nimanуs second amp. рThis gives me panning stereo tremolo and awesome psychedelic bliss by sending the Sitar's sympathetic strings to the second amp as well,с he says. рThe main signal chain goes to my primary amp.с"
"Lee Evan Neher plays mostly blues and classic rock through this signal chain: Boss TU-2, Boss NS-2, MXR 6-Band EQ, Electro-Harmonix Octave Multiplexer, Chicago Iron Octavian, Electro-Harmonix Nano LPB-1 Power Booster, Morley (Tel Ray) Power Wah, His Laney AOR 30 (effects loop) has an MXR 10-Band EQ going into a JHS Modded Line 6 DL4."
"Nori Ueno uses (from right to left): a Dunlop Wylde Wah, Fulltone OCD, Way Huge Green Rhino, MXR Dyna Comp, Visual Sound H2O, and Tech 21 Boost D.L.A. The pedals and a Korg DT-7 tuner are routed through a Providence PEC-04 Programmable Effects Controller, and everything is mounted on a Pedaltrain PT-2. рI play mainly hard rock (love the Green Rhino for adding more gain to the OCD), alternative, blues, and R&B,с Ueno says."
"Chris R Trifilio uses a Chemistry Design Werks AmpTop Holeyboard with a Hardwire HT-6, Frantone Peachfuzz, Xotic EP Booster, and Fulltone Supa-Trem."
"Session guitarist and president of Ultimate Audio Systems, Doug Bryan designed this pedalboard with the goal of obtaining as pure guitar-to-amp tone as possible without tone sucking or coloration, and no toe-tapping. Each pedal has its own discreet loop to keep the guitar to amp tone as pure as possible. The Patchmate is programmed to turn single pedals on/off as well as having seven pedal combination programs in addition. The back of the board shows his attention to detail, cutting each cable from a Planet Waves Cable Station custom cable kit to the proper length and securing them, and all power lines were braided, electrical taped, and wrapped in foam sheet core insulation before being wrapped in rubber hose and locked onto the board away from audio cables to keep everything noise-free. The board is a Pedaltrain Pro with custom Candy Apple Red/Black powdercoat finish, and is powered by a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus mounted under the board. On the board is a Line 6 Relay G50 wireless, Dunlop Custom Audio Electronics wah, Majik Box Doug Aldrich Rocket Fuel LTD boost/ovedrive, TC Electronic PolyTune, TC Electronic John Petrucci The Dreamscape, TC Electronic Flashback delay, TC Electronic Hall of Fame Reverb, ISP Technologies Decimator, Rocktron PatchMate Loop 8, and Diamond amp switcher. "
"Jason Gearhart (fitting name) currently plays in a jazz fusion band, covering the likes of Return to Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Pat Metheny, etc. He plays his Squier Deluxe Strat and LTD MH-250NT w/ EMG through this signal chain: Boss TU-2 Tuner, Standard Phase 90 (""with 1 resistor removed for that 'script' sound""), Bad Monkey (""modded for less mids""), which goes into the amp. Next is the FX loop send, MXR/CAE Boost/Line Driver, Hardwire CR-7 Chorus (""usually on Jazz mode, but sometimes Vintage""), Boss DD-3 Digital Delay (""for long delays""), Hardwire RV-7 Reverb (""I use Gated mode for a touch of slapback when playing live, otherwise good ol' Spring when I'm practicing at home""), and an FX Return."
"Mike Mara plays rock, blues, funk, and dabbles with jazz. рThough it's subject to change at any moment, this is what I lug around to jam with friends.с He routes his tuner into a Noise Suppressor, then Dunlop 535Q, Boss Octave, Octavio, Fat Sandwich, Green Rhino, Crunchy Frog, Soul Vibe, (back to the noise suppressor) EH Memory Toy. He plays all of this through his Fender Hot Rod Deluxe."
"Keith Paul's board consists of an Electro-Harmonix POG2, Boss PS-5 Super Shifter, Ibanez WH-10 Wah, Ibanez TS808HW Tube Screamer, HardWire SC-2 Valve Distortion, Boss GE-10 EQ, Boss BF-3 Flanger, Boss PH-2 Super Phaser, Ibanez TC-7 Chorus, MXR Phase 90, Boss DD-5 Digital Delay, Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy, Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Nano, Dunlop DV-P Volume, Basic Cable Tester, Line 6 M9 multi-effects, and DigiTech JamMan Stereo."
"Ralf Lofstad plays progressive, alternative, and classic rock in Oslo, Norway with Andr▌ Holstad, Paralgin Forte, Charlotte & The Co-Stars, Violet Scene, Still Doing Sky. His pedalboard is a Pedaltrain Pro modified to accommodate an MXR/CAE MC403 Power System on the underside. The pedals are a Radial BigShot ABY, Eventide ModFactor, Keeley-modified Boss BD-2, Fulltone OCD v.4, DigiTech Whammy v.1, Demeter Compulator, Dunlop Cry Baby GCB95, MXR/CAE Boost / Line Driver, Musicom Lab EFX MkIII, Ernie Ball VP Jr. 25K, Eventide TimeFactor, Boss RV-5, Korg Pitchblack, and Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi with Tone Wicker."
"Cutter Savage plays original instrumental hard rock music inspired by the likes of Joe Satriani, Led Zeppelin, SRV, and Van Halen. He says he keeps his pedalboard, ""Pretty clean and simple,"" using just a DigiTech DigiDelay, Boss DS-1 distortion, MXR Phase 90, and a Vox Wah."
"If only life could be so simple for all of us. This is what John Lovett has to say: рI go direct from the guitar into an amp, a Fender Blues Jr,, so I just have empty stage where my feet go.с"
"David Mednick plays rock, pro, blues, shoegaze, ambient, and alt (""badly,"" he adds) with this setup. The pedals are a Wampler Plextortion, Rockbox Boiling Point, Stomp Under Foot Civil War, Basic Audio Tri/Ram Muff, Way Huge Swollen Pickle, Janglebox Compressor, original Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, ISP Technologies Decimator, Catalinbread RAH, Throbak Stone Bender, Basic Audio Solar Myth fuzz, Basic Audio (custom) Wildcat, MetalPedals Pro Country, VFE Enterprise Phaser, TC Electronic Alter Ego delay, TC Electronic Corona Chorus, HardWire Supernatural Reverb, EarthQuaker Organizer, Eventide Space, DigiTech Jimi Hendrix Experience modeling pedal and wah, and a Boss GT-10 used for certain models, but also as volume pedal, wah, flanger, tremolo, and other uses."
"John Mridha's Pedaltrain 2 pedalboard is loaded with a Dunlop JC95 Jerry Cantrell Cry Baby, Z.Vex Box of Rock, Boss DS-1 (modded), MXR ZW-44 Wylde Overdrive, Line 6 DL4, TC Electronic Corona Chorus, and TC Electronic Hall of Fame Reverb. It's powered by a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus."
"Jonno Wilson's current pedalboard is mainly use for church, as well as creating soundscapes, and, ""pretty much any style I feel like mucking about with in my home studio."" The board is a Pedaltrain Pro powered by a Cioks DC10. The signal chain is a Boss TU-2 Tuner, Rothwell Audio Love Squeeze compressor, Fulltone MDV-2 Mini DejaVibe, Morley Mark Tremonti Wah, Catalinbread Galileo overdrive/treble boost, Creation Audio Labs MK 4.23 boost, Ernie Ball Volume, MXR EVH Phase 90, Cusack Tap-A-Whirl, Retro-Sonic Chorus, Strymon Lex, Eventide PitchFactor (not currently patched in), Eventide TimeFactor, and Eventide Space. The blue stomp in the middle is a JHV3 Master Tap Pro 1:3 out tap tempo feeding the TimeFactor and the Tap-A-Whirl, the red three-footswitch pedal is a JHV3 3-Aux switch to use with the PitchFactor. He says, ""Patch leads are rubbish and next on my list to upgrade. Considering changing all this to a pedalboard switching system using Musicom Lab EFX MkIII for the brain, or a full blown RJM Music Effect Gizmo/Mastermind GT system...hmmmm GAS anyone?"""
"This incarnation covers everything from country to classic rock to metal. рI still have a few noisemakers for creating cool soundscapes on the fly,с says Chuck Stevens. рOnly problem is, I have no room left, so any changes means something has to go.с The guitar goes through the ISP Decimator, to the Morley Dragon 2, DigiTech Whammy DT, Electro-Harmonix POG2, and then an Ibanez Paul Gilbert Signature AF2 into a Moen Anole true-bypass looper. Then the TC Electronics PolyTune. Loop A has a Wampler SLO, Wampler Triple Wreck, Tech 21 Oxford. Loop B goes from a Fulltone MDV-2, Keeley 4-Knob Compressor, Empress Multidrive. The signal goes out of looper back to the ISP Decimator to a Tortuga Martini, Malekko EKKO 616 MKII, Electro-Harmonix Cathedral then out to a vintage Hiwatt Custom 50 watt driving a 2x10 open cab over a 2x12 closed back. "
"Larry Scharaуs latest setup is equipped with a Moog MF-108M Cluster Flux, Moog MF-104M Analog Delay, LovePedal Englishwoman, Keeley Compressor, Dunlop Cry Baby wah, T-Rex Polyswitch, and One Controlуs Xenagama Tail Loop. рEverything you might need!с he says."
"Mike Denson uses minimal effects on his bass, but has a Sunn amp footswitch, Line 6 Relay wireless for both his Waterstone and Fender Jazz basses, Boss GE-7 EQ for overdriving his 12-string, Amptweaker TightDrive, Boss TU-3 tuner, and a Radial BigShot AB-Y for toggling between basses."
"Anton Nota plays indie-post-ambient-rock with this ""little beast."" The signal path starts at the Keeley Compressor, MXR Ten-Band EQ, Fulltone Full-Drive 2, a DIY distortion pedal, Strymon Flint, Line 6 Echo Park, and Strymon blueSky."
"Rob Rossу pedalboard is short and sweet: DigiTech Whammy, Bad Horsie Wah MXR EVH Phase 90, Suhr KoKo Boost Banshee Talk Box. рIуm waiting for an EVH flanger,с Ross says."
"JD Bradshaw uses an ISP Technologies Decimator, DigiTech Turbo Flanger, HardWire RV-7 Stereo Reverb, HardWire DL-8 Delay/Looper, Guyatone Cool Booster, Dunlop Cry Baby wah, and HardWire TL-2 Metal Distortion for his classic rock, southern rock, blues rock, and instrumental rock."
"Zach Allard says he primarily uses delays and overdrives. рI tend to cascade them to get different tones,с he says, рAll the settings are pretty modest so adding them together doesn't really get too over the top.с He runs his pedals into the front of a 1971 Traynor YSR-1 (which is basically a Canadian super reverb) into an Orange 2x12. "
"рI play Southern rock/jam music,с says Travis Clark, who runs his board into an Orange Rocker 30 into a custom 2x12 loaded with Greenbacks. Pedals are: EB Vol Jr., Vox wah Electro-Harmonix Nano LPB-1 Power Booster, Guyatone Funky Box, Fulltone Supa- Trem, MXR Phase 90 modded to script logo specs, Orange footswitch, Fulltone Dej┤Vibe, and an Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy."
"John Abrenica's Trailer Trash pedalboard is built for eclectic alternative rock. It's loaded with a Blackstone Appliances Mosfet Overdrive 2S, WMD Geiger Counter, DigiTech Whammy 4 with Molten MIDI2, Providence Heat Blaster 2, Empress Multidrive, Electro-Harmonix Microsynth with Roland EV-5 Expression pedal (Filter Sweep control mod by Analogman), Strymon El Capistan with Favorite Switch, Malekko LoFi Ekko 616, Eventide ModFactor, Moog Moogerfooger MuRF, Xotic EP Booster v2, DigiTech JamMan Solo with FS3X footswtich, Boss LS-2, and a DIY True Bypass Looper (A+B, A/B, Bypass)."
"Jonathan Tarplee calls his live pedal setup ""simple, cheap, and cheerful,"" and uses it with lo-fi, quirky folk-rockers the BlueYellows. The pedals are a Chord FL-50 Flanger, Behringer Digital Delay, Behringer Ultra Chorus, Behringer Overdrive, Danelectro Cool Cat CT-1 Tremolo, Behringer VT911 Vintage Tube Overdrive, Arion Octave, Electro-Harmonix The Worm, and a Dunlop Cry Baby Wah. "
"His pedalboard is nothing too exotic, says Rich Higdon, but it works for his cover band needs. He runs a Line 6 G30 receiver way over to the left into a DigiTech Vocalist Live 3 Harmonizer, which рallows me (and the audience) to handle my backups and also is my tuner.с He also uses a Durham Electronics Zia Drive, into a Bob Bruce Clean Boost, into an MXR Carbon Copy, into a Vox volume pedal. рFrom thereяout to the amp du jour,с Higdon says."
"Blake VanHouten calls his DIY board, ""still a work in progress."" The signal chain is a TC Electronic PolyTune, Dunlop Cry Baby wah, Xotic EP Booster, Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi, Dunlop Rotovibe, Vox DelayLab, and Hardwire Supernatural Ambient Verb."
"Tyler Gomo's signal chain is an Ernie Ball VP Jr, DigiTech Whammy DT, Dunlop Kirk Hammett Cry Baby, MXR Distortion +, MXR Phase 90, Mooer Ensemble King, Boss TU-3 Tuner, Mooer Ana Echo, and MXR Carbon Copy Delay. "
"For his soul and funk tones, Shant Bajac uses his Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster or Yamaha SA2200 into this board, starting with a Maxon AF-9 Auto Filter, Fulltone SB-2 Soul-Bender, Budda Budwah II, Mu-tron Phasor II, Cmatmods Signa Drive, Xotic RC Booster, Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Electric Mistress, and MXR Carbon Copy delay, ending up in his Fender Super Reverb."
"Lorenzo Baccarini playsу60s and у70s rock through this rig: Vinteck boost, Dunlop Cry Baby wah, Boss Tuner TU-80, Ernie Ball VP Junior volume pedal, DigiTech Whammy DT, T-Rex Comp-Nova Compressor, HomeBrew Electronics Power Screamer, Fulltone OCD, Fulltone Fat-Boost, T-Pedals T-Fuzz, Electro-Harmonix POG, HomeBrew Electronics Three Hound Chorus, HomeBrew Electronics Psilocybe Phase Shifter, Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere MKII, Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Electric Mistress flanger, Fulltone Mini Dej┤Vibe, Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler, Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail reverb, Orange AD30TC channel footswitch."
"Andres Ugueto's pedalboard is also homemade and is powered by two Voodoo Lab Iso-5 units. He has a Hardwire HT-6 Polyphonic Tuner, MXR Super Comp, Fulltone OCD, Morley Bad Horsie 1 (he calls ""a great dirty wah""), DigiTech Whammy DT (""my must-have""), Z.Vex Fuzz Factory, MXR Phase 90, TC Electronic Nova Modulator, and Line 6 DL4."
"рMy board is all about utility,с says Jordan Shindle, who uses the following board for a church rig: Ernie Ball volume pedal (with output to Boss TU-2 tuner), Dunlop Cry Baby, Boss NS-2, Micro Comp, Boss OS-2, Fulltone OCD (рgreatest od ever!с), Ibanez TS-808, Little Big Muff Pi, back into the NS-2, Electro-Harmonix Micro POG, Boss Chorus, Boss Tremolo, Boss DD-7 with tap tempo (bottom left), then Strymon TimeLine with stereo output to two differently voiced Vox amps. "
"рI realized I only need a wah, a whammy and a few dirt pedals to satisfy my hunger for tone,с says reader Nino Sau, who plays rock, grunge, alternative and a little bit of funk through a simple rig with a Dunlop Kirk Hammett Wah, a DigiTech Whammy 5, a Damage Control Womanizer, a Radial Tonebone Hot British, and a Barber Trifecta. "
"Though he's building a new one at the moment, Sander Camps currently uses this setup for his indie-pop band. The pedals are a Strymon blueSky, Boss CH-1 Chorus, Modtone Clean Boost (with the graphics removed and Superman decal added), TC Electronic Nova Repeater, Ibanez TS-9, Xotic BB Preamp, and TC Electronic PolyTune."
"Colombian rocker Carlos Arturo Poveda uses this live rig for shows with The WorkManShip (TWMS). He breaks it down by effect types. For drive: Boss MT-2, DOD FX55-B, and Boss SD-1, For dynamics: Dunlop Cry Baby, Boss CS-3, and Boss FV-50 (L), For EQ: Boss GE-7, For shifting: Boss PS-5 with expression pedal EV-5, For modulation: Boss CE-5, For dimension: Boss DD-6 and Boss RV-5, For other things: Boss NS-2 and Boss TU-15 (just in case). All pedals are controlled by the Carl Martin Octa-Switch and everything is powered by the 1 Spot Combo-Pack."
"Billy Beheler uses this board with his band Atoadaso, which he describes as ""proguntzive jam rock"" from Virginia. The signal chain is a Teese RMC3 Wah, Subdecay Prometheus, true-bypassed DigiTech Whammy IV, Source Audio Programmable EQ, Source Audio Multiwave Distortion, Pigtronix Envelope Phaser, Ibanez TS-9 with Analogman Silver mod, Timmy Overdrive, Analogman Bi-Comp, Moog MF-102 Ring Modulator, Ernie Ball volume pedal, TC Electronic PolyTune mini, Tech 21 Boost D.L.A, Boomerang Phrase Sampler, and Dr. Scientist Reverberator."
"John Curtis Lewis plays everything from John Mayer to Black Crowes. рMainly I enjoy the bluesy-rock stuff,с he says. This is what he uses for that tone: Boss TU-3, JHS Pulp уNу Peel, Vox wah, Morley Power Wah Volume, Keeley Fuzz Head, JHS Honey Comb Dual Tremolo, Boss Super Chorus, Xotic EP Booster. His 5-Loop Effect Switcher strip contains: a Fulltone OCD, Keeley Katana, Fulltone FullDrive2-Mosfet, Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler, Electro-Harmonix Cathedral."
"Tim Warrenуs signal chain is as follows: Boss TU-2, Dunlop Cry Baby, Fender Starcaster Distortion, Boss RV-5, Boss TR-2, EVH MXR Phase 90, Boss BF-2, Boss DD-3, DOD 680 Analog Delay."
"рI play mostly indie/alternative but also some drone and more ambient stuff,с shares Adam McClure. For his tone he uses a TC Electronic PolyTune, Mellowtone Hi Five Plus, Mellowtone Singing Tree, Mellowtone Melx Fuzz 2, Mellowtone Trumpet Fuzz, Mellowtone (prototype), Mellowtone Wolf Computer, Devi Ever Soda Meiser, Blackout Effectors Twosome, Blackout Effectors Whetstone, EarthQuaker Devices Bit Commander, EarthQuaker Devices Organizer, Strymon El Capistan dуTape Echo, EarthQuaker Devices Rainbow Machine, Electro-Harmonix Freeze, Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy, Electro-Harmonix Stereo Pulsar, and an Electro-Harmonix SMMH. "
"Giulio Catarinelli set up his pedalboard for playing with a bass or a guitar, anything from рstoner doom to rock уnу roll blues.с He uses a Fulltone OCD, Catalinbread Teaser Stallion, Black Arts Toneworks Pharaoh Fuzz, Eventide PitchFactor (рIt can do EVERYTHINGс). Itуs all powered by a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power ISO-5."
"Emmanuel Lucas uses this pedalboard in a rock cover band that also touches on some metal. The board is a Pedaltrain Pro powered by a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus and a Cioks Baby. The signal chain goes into the Dunlop Cry Baby wah with a seagull switch into a Musicom Lab EFX with an Electro-Harmonix Soul Preacher, TC Electronic Vortex Flanger, Danelectro Chicken Salad, and Malekko Omicron Fuzz on separate loops. From there, the signal goes to an Electro-Harmonix Ravish Sitar and Option 5 Destination Rotation before returning to the Musicom Lab EFX with a Boss BD-2 overdrive, MXR Distortion III, and Danelectro Cool Cat Transparent Overdrive in their own loops, and a Boss ST-2 distortion, Boss NS-2 noise gate, Boss FV-300L volume pedal, and Line 5 M5, Strymon TimeLine delay in the final loop. The tuner out from the Musicom goes to an old Boss TU-12."
Duane Denison of the Jesus Lizard, EGC Chessie in hands, coaxing some nasty tones from his Hiwatt.
The Jesus Lizard’s sixth album, Blue, served as the band’s final statement from the frontlines of noisy rock for the next 26 years. By the time of their dissolution in 1999, they’d earned a reputation for extreme performances chock full of hard-hitting, machine-like grooves delivered by bassist David Wm. Sims and, at their conclusion, drummer Mac McNeilly, at times aided and at other times punctured by the frontline of guitarist Duane Denison’s incisive, dissonant riffing, and presided over by the cantankerous howl of vocalist David Yow. In the years since, performative, thrilling bands such as Pissed Jeans, METZ, and Idles have built upon the Lizard’s musical foundation.
Denison has kept himself plenty busy over the last couple decades, forming the avant-rock supergroup Tomahawk—with vocalist Mike Patton, bassist Trevor Dunn (both from Mr. Bungle), and drummer John Stanier of Helmet—and alongside various other projects including Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers and Hank Williams III. The Jesus Lizard eventually reunited, but until now have only celebrated their catalog, never releasing new jams.
The Jesus Lizard, from left: bassist David Wm. Sims, singer David Yow, drummer Mac McNeilly, and guitarist Duane Denison.
Photo by Joshua Black Wilkins
Back in 2018, Denison, hanging in a hotel room with Yow, played a riff on his unplugged electric guitar that caught the singer’s ear. That song, called “West Side,” will remain unreleased for now, but Denison explains: “He said, ‘Wow, that’s really good. What is that?’ And I said, ‘It’s just some new thing. Why don’t we do an album?’” From those unassuming beginnings, the Jesus Lizard’s creative juices started flowing.
So, how does a band—especially one who so indelibly captured the ineffable energy of live rock performance—prepare to get a new record together 26 years after their last? Back in their earlier days, the members all lived together in a band house, collectively tending to the creative fire when inspiration struck. All these years later, they reside in different cities, so their process requires sending files back and forth and only meeting up for occasional demo sessions over the course of “three or four years.”
“When the time comes to get more in performance mode, I have a practice space. I go there by myself and crank it up. I turn that amp up and turn the metronome up and play loud.” —Duane Denison
the Jesus Lizard "Alexis Feels Sick"
Distance creates an obstacle to striking while the proverbial iron is hot, but Denison has a method to keep things energized: “Practice loud.” The guitarist professes the importance of practice, in general, and especially with a metronome. “We keep very detailed records of what the beats per minute of these songs are,” he explains. “To me, the way to do it is to run it to a Bluetooth speaker and crank it, and then crank your amp. I play a little at home, but when the time comes to get more in performance mode, I have a practice space. I go there by myself and crank it up. I turn that amp up and turn the metronome up and play loud.”
It’s a proven solution. On Rack—recorded at Patrick Carney’s Audio Eagle studio with producer Paul Allen—the band sound as vigorous as ever, proving they’ve not only remained in step with their younger selves, but they may have surpassed it with faders cranked. “Duane’s approach, both as a guitarist and writer, has an angular and menacing fingerprint that is his own unique style,” explains Allen. “The conviction in his playing that he is known for from his recordings in the ’80s and ’90s is still 100-percent intact and still driving full throttle today.”
“I try to be really, really precise,” he says. “I think we all do when it comes to the basic tracks, especially the rhythm parts. The band has always been this machine-like thing.” Together, they build a tension with Yow’s careening voice. “The vocals tend to be all over the place—in and out of tune, in and out of time,” he points out. “You’ve got this very free thing moving around in the foreground, and then you’ve got this very precise, detailed band playing behind it. That’s why it works.”
Before Rack, the Jesus Lizard hadn’t released a new record since 1998’s Blue.
Denison’s guitar also serves as the foreground foil to Yow’s unhinged raving, as on “Alexis Feels Sick,” where they form a demented harmony, or on the midnight creep of “What If,” where his vibrato-laden melodies bolster the singer’s unsettled, maniacal display. As precise as his riffs might be, his playing doesn’t stay strictly on the grid. On the slow, skulking “Armistice Day,” his percussive chording goes off the rails, giving way to a solo that slices that groove like a chef’s knife through warm butter as he reorganizes rock ’n’ roll histrionics into his own cut-up vocabulary.
“During recording sessions, his first solo takes are usually what we decide to keep,” explains Allen. “Listen to Duane’s guitar solos on Jack White’s ‘Morning, Noon, and Night,’ Tomahawk’s ‘Fatback,’ and ‘Grind’ off Rack. There’s a common ‘contained chaos’ thread among them that sounds like a harmonic Rubik’s cube that could only be solved by Duane.”
“Duane’s approach, both as a guitarist and writer, has an angular and menacing fingerprint that is his own unique style.” —Rack producer Paul Allen
To encapsulate just the right amount of intensity, “I don’t over practice everything,” the guitarist says. Instead, once he’s created a part, “I set it aside and don’t wear it out.” On Rack, it’s obvious not a single kilowatt of musical energy was lost in the rehearsal process.
Denison issues his noisy masterclass with assertive, overdriven tones supporting his dissonant voicings like barbed wire on top of an electric fence. The occasional application of slapback delay adds a threatening aura to his exacting riffage. His tones were just as carefully crafted as the parts he plays, and he relied mostly on his signature Electrical Guitar Company Chessie for the sessions, though a Fender Uptown Strat also appears, as well as a Taylor T5Z, which he chose for its “cleaner, hyper-articulated sound” on “Swan the Dog.” Though he’s been spotted at recent Jesus Lizard shows with a brand-new Powers Electric—he points out he played a demo model and says, “I just couldn’t let go of it,” so he ordered his own—that wasn’t until tracking was complete.
Duane Denison's Gear
Denison wields his Powers Electric at the Blue Room in Nashville last June.
Photo by Doug Coombe
Guitars
- Electrical Guitar Company Chessie
- Fender Uptown Strat
- Taylor T5Z
- Gibson ES-135
- Powers Electric
Amps
- Hiwatt Little J
- Hiwatt 2x12 cab with Fane F75 speakers
- Fender Super-Sonic combo
- Early ’60s Fender Bassman
- Marshall 1987X Plexi Reissue
- Victory Super Sheriff head
- Blackstar HT Stage 60—2 combos in stereo with Celestion Neo Creamback speakers and Mullard tubes
Effects
- Line 6 Helix
- Mantic Flex Pro
- TC Electronic G-Force
- Menatone Red Snapper
Strings and Picks
- Stringjoy Orbiters .0105 and .011 sets
- Dunlop celluloid white medium
- Sun Studios yellow picks
He ran through various amps—Marshalls, a Fender Bassman, two Fender Super-Sonic combos, and a Hiwatt Little J—at Audio Eagle. Live, if he’s not on backline gear, you’ll catch him mostly using 60-watt Blackstar HT Stage 60s loaded with Celestion Neo Creambacks. And while some boxes were stomped, he got most of his effects from a Line 6 Helix. “All of those sounds [in the Helix] are modeled on analog sounds, and you can tweak them endlessly,” he explains. “It’s just so practical and easy.”
The tools have only changed slightly since the band’s earlier days, when he favored Travis Beans and Hiwatts. Though he’s started to prefer higher gain sounds, Allen points out that “his guitar sound has always had teeth with a slightly bright sheen, and still does.”
“Honestly, I don’t think my tone has changed much over the past 30-something years,” Denison says. “I tend to favor a brighter, sharper sound with articulation. Someone sent me a video I had never seen of myself playing in the ’80s. I had a band called Cargo Cult in Austin, Texas. What struck me about it is it didn’t sound terribly different than what I sound like right now as far as the guitar sound and the approach. I don’t know what that tells you—I’m consistent?”
YouTube It
The Jesus Lizard take off at Nashville’s Blue Room this past June with “Hide & Seek” from Rack.
The Jack White Pano Verb features unique stereo-imagine options. “[White] wanted to be able to do sort of startling things with each speaker’s content,” says Fender’s Stan Cotey.
Hooking up with Fender for the Jack White Signature Collection—which includes the Signature model hot-rod Jack White TripleCaster Telecaster and the stunning Jack White TripleSonic Acoustasonic—is as big as it gets, and this week’s announcement is proportionately epic.
The all-new Jack White Pano Verb amp looks to be one of the most forward-thinking advances in tube amps we’ve seen in … well, a very long time! Although it’s roughly inspired by three vintage Fender models—a 1964 Vibroverb, a 1960 Vibrasonic, and a 1993 Vibro-King—the Pano Verb is a rare all-new design that is poised to thrill. The single-channel stereo amp delivers 70 watts of combined power and features stereo harmonic tremolo and stereo reverb circuits, with unique routing options through the hip pair of 15" and 10" speakers. If you haven’t checked out Fender’s video announcing the amp, prepare to have your mind blown by the possibilities.
“It wasn’t based on what we could or couldn’t do, or what even was or wasn’t possible. It was just what Jack was looking to accomplish.”
Fender Vice President of Research and Development Stan Cotey, who worked closely with White to develop the prototypes for the Pano Verb, says, “There were no restrictions as far as how wild something could be. It wasn’t based on what we could or couldn’t do or what even was or wasn’t possible. It was just what Jack was looking to accomplish.” Putting those goals into action was a kick for Cotey. “I love the fact that we’re still pushing the idea of vacuum tubes and that there are things remaining to be done,” he says. “And [the Pano Verb] is a really crazy thing. It’s fun when one of the larger companies tackles a big crazy thing and releases it in a bold manner.”
We rang up Cotey to get the scoop on designing the amp as we wait to get our hands on one.
Cotey calls the Pano Verb “a really crazy thing,” and says, “It’s fun when one of the larger companies tackles a big crazy thing and releases it in a bold manner.”
The Pano Verb has a refreshingly unique and adventurous set of features.
Stan Cotey: There’s two separate power amps, there’s two separate preamps, there’s a reverb circuit. There are two separate harmonic vibrato circuits. There’s two full, separate amps in it—there’s one power supply, but everything else, there’s at least two of.
There are several different kinds of stereo interaction that could happen. The harmonic vibrato could be stereo. The reverb, even though it’s a mono tank, could be steered to the speakers differently, which kind of gives a stereo-imaging thing. So, that opens up myriad possibilities for how things could work.
How involved was Jack in the design?
Cotey: He was completely hardcore. He cared in great detail, exactly down to fine decimal points, how it worked. He was very particular about the voicing. He was very particular about the features he knew. He’s pretty studio savvy, so he had a sense of routing, how he wanted the stereo interaction of the sections to work together. He very much had an idea of stereo-ness for the amp at the outset of it. He talked early on about miking both speakers and panning them—he wanted to be able to do sort of startling things with each speaker’s content.
I think my role was to take the stuff that he wanted to do and figure out how we could do it. So, the stereo-ness of the amp, the 10" speaker versus the 15" speaker, the routing stuff you could do where the reverb goes to one speaker or both, all that stuff came from Jack.
Jack’s Vibrasonic was a touchstone for the Pano Verb.
Cotey: That amp lived with me for quite a while. He knew that he liked the harmonic tremolo.
The stereo harmonic tremolo, that’s a fairly part-intensive circuit, even in a normal brown amp. In this amp, there’s two full circuits in it, so it is literally double the parts of one of the more complicated earlier ’60s amps, just for that part of the amp. I worked out how that works. That’s two harmonic tremolos that are in sync, but opposite polarity. So, when one’s going up, the other is going down, and vice versa.
Stan Cotey is Fender’s Vice President of Guitar Research and Development and worked with White to design the prototypes for the Pano Verb.
The reverb mix on the Pano Verb is rooted in some vintage designs, but it’s handled a little differently here.
Cotey: In the video, he talked about the reverb tank in front of the amp, which forms the Vibro-King, and that he liked the idea. I think he liked the idea of having a more comprehensive, dedicated reverb circuit in an amp, not where it’s just kind of spread on the top, like margarine or something.
In a traditional Fender amp, there’s a feed that comes off the preamp circuit that goes to a driver, which is a tube and a little transformer, and that drives the reverb tank. Then, the output of the reverb tank goes into a recovery amp, a little gain stage with a tube, and that gets mixed with the output of the channel and shoved into the power amp. So, the reverb kind of occurs between the preamp and the power amp. It largely takes the tonality of the preamp on because the tone controls are upstream of it.
Jack has an old Fender amp from the early ’60s that had reverb added. I don’t know who modified it, but they actually used the second channel of the amp as the reverb return, which I think is really super clever. Then you get tone controls for the reverb. So that’s where that idea came from. He didn’t necessarily want the reverb circuit in front. He liked it between the preamp and the power amp, but he wanted to have it be more comprehensive than what would be on a typical mid-’60s Fender amplifier.
What was the most exciting feature for you to create?
The stereo harmonic tremolo was really fun, and the journey that we went on to get there was really cool. I have a tweed amp from the late ’50s from Guild that has tremolo in it, and it’s a stereo amp. It has two separate everythings. The tremolo only works on one side, and that gives the apparent sound that it’s kind of going back and forth between the speakers. We tried having just the harmonic tremolo on one side of this, and it really wanted to have two complete full circuits. So that was one of the changes that got made.
Getting the power amps to work well together was fun too. That was more about transformer and tube selection and working the power supply parts out, getting the amps where they would distort in the right way at the right times or right level. But the harmonic tremolo was definitely the elephant dancing on the bucket with the streamers going off.