Primo Jags and ace Ernie Ball axes help the funkateer channel Eddie Hazel grooves through a prism of Tropicália rhythms.
Facing a mandatory shelter-in ordinance to limit the spread of COVID-19, PG enacted a hybrid approach to filming and producing Rig Rundowns. This is the 14th video in that format, and we stand behind the final product.
Chicano Batman was formed in 2008 with Bardo Martinez (lead vocals/keyboards/guitar), Eduardo Arenas (bass/vocals), and Gabriel Villa (drums/percussion). The foursome was fortified shortly thereafter with the arrival of Carlos Arévalo on guitar. And since then, the quartet has sharpened their modus operandi. They took their influences (English invasion, ’60s soul, ’70s psych rock, and Brazilian artists like Caetano Veloso and other Tropicália music) and morphed them into something that represents East L.A. in both 2020 and 1970.
To that point, CB is a cohesive collective of artistic assassins like The A-Team, Captain Planet, or The Avengers. Each member brings something unique, authoritative that complements and elevates the greater groove of the band.
Bardo pads his social commentary and ecological worries with an airy, sultry cadence that’s warmly hugged by warbly notes from his vintage Crumar TI Organ. Bassist Eduardo Arenas might be the busiest of the bunch with his lead lines and tasty locomotion that charges the band. That horsepower is in lockstep with the complex, time-morphing Latin percussion laid down by drummer Gabriel Villa. And guitarist Carlos Arévalo is the utilitarian that fills in the holes. In “Friendship (Is A Small Boat In A Storm)” he masquerades as Electric Ladyland Hendrix, “The Taker Story” slips into Maggot Brain Eddie Hazel-mode, and throughout 2014’s Cycles of Existential Rhyme and 2017’s Freedom is Free he taps into Tom Verlaine’s melodic single-note interplay with chord stabs.
However, Arévalo’s most unifying force might actually be his restraint. The bulk of the new LP Invisible People was written on keyboards and synths forcing him to rethink the guitar’s previously heavy-handed role. For “Color My Life,” he plays two chords around the keyboard melody and arrangement. Alone the chords seem minimalistic and boring, but in the context of the song, they’re a rhythmic firecracker. Another “reserved” element is his chord shapes often incorporate only two or three notes of the full chord harmony to avoid colliding with keys and bass.
Following the release of CB’s fourth studio album in May 2020, the soft-spoken artist welcomed PG’s Chris Kies into his L.A.-based home. The “ADHD” tone chaser opens up about balancing between vintage Jags and mint Ernie Ball Music Man guitars, finding a Deluxe Reverb killer while on a family vacation, plucking fuzz advice from Dan Auerbach, and understanding when to play.
Thanks to his love for Tom Verlaine and Television, Carlos Arévalo has been hunting for an early- to mid-’60s Jaguar for some time when he ran across an online listing from actor Scott Whyte (City Guys, That '70s Show, and Full House) advertising the above 1965 Fender Jaguar. They met in person, the price was right, and (to Carlos’ desires) the neck lacquer was gone. For Chicano Batman's new LP Invisible People, he used this Jag to lay it down on “I know It,” “Invisible People,” and “Pink Elephant”. All of his guitars take Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys (.010–.046).
Cruising Chicago Music Exchange’s website he caught a glimpse of this slab board 1962 Fender Jaguar. While the slab designation makes it a highly rare instrument (supposedly only two months of production in ’62 for Jags), it’s a refin so he made a call, asked how worn the neck was (real slick), and handed over his credit card information. Carlos says this Jag is a bit warmer, whereas the ’65 sunburst is brighter.
Carlos took notice of Ernie Ball Music Man’s guitar game after seeing his contemporaries Omar Rodríguez-López and Annie Clark (St. Vincent) secure signature deals. Further exploring his interest in the new guitars was the band’s aim to make a modern-sounding record with 2020’s Invisible People, so Carlos thought it’d make sense to play some modern instruments.
While it shares the same scale length, includes a vibrato, and has a remarkably smooth neck (with added gunstock oil and wax finish) like his vintage Jags, the StingRay has a different bite because of its buckers. Carlos does comment that they sound underwound and can easily mimic a single-coil’s skanky rhythms and crispy chords.
Looking for something a little visually striking, Carlos was drawn in by the hard-angle offset silhouette of the Ernie Ball Music Man Albert Lee HH. Before taking one home from the EBMM showroom, he had two requests—a gold sparkle finish and a vibrato. They delivered and he left one guitar richer. These EBMM humbuckers are the hottest set he’s ever played through so he often finds himself in the second or fourth position for a more dulcet domain.
The band was primed to tour behind Invisible People this spring and his onstage artillery was going to be some handwired AC30s. Considering he doesn’t want to drive his family insane, he’s been rocking and rolling through this AC10 for online performances (like their recent jam for NPR’s Tiny Desk) and Instagram live sessions.
Here’s a rare bird—a transition period 1964 Fender Princeton. The circuitry is late brownface-era (using 7025/12AX& dual triode preamp tubes and 6V6GT power tubes) with a chewy tremolo that’s cloaked in a black-panel cab and chassis.
This black-panel combo is an all-original, non-reverb 1965 Princeton. Carlos says this one is a bit cleaner and has a scooped Deluxe Reverb sound from the mid ’60s. He really enjoys recording with both these low-watt Princetons revealing their sweet spot is between 4 and 5 on the volume.
While visiting family in Virginia, he was jonesing to play so he ventured out to the nearby Guitar Center to pluck some strings. After finding a worthy 6-string, he plugged into this ’90s Tone King Imperial MKI. He couldn’t leave without it so he signed on the dotted line and crossed his fingers until it showed up in California. of its “great highs, full mids, overall warmth, and great lows.”
After opening for the Arcs (side band for Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys) in Austin and hearing Dan’s huge fuzz tone, Carlos approached his tech, Dan Johnson, and found out the culprit was an EarthQuaker Devices Terminal. He bought one the next day. Adding some more fuzz flavors, he put in an Electro-Harmonix Ram’s Head Big Muff. A MXR Sub Machine Fuzz provides growling sub octave (down one or two) and the octave-up fuzz (MXR’s La Machine Fuzz circuit) is yet another shade of scuzz. Next up are a dynamic duo of digital delights by Boss—DD-200 (Digital Delay) and a MD-200 (Modulation). Up top he has a Catalinbread Topanga, Stacks FX Lil Masher, Ibanez Analog Delay Mini, and an Analog Man King of Tone. A Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner keeps everything in check, while a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power MONDO brings the pedals to life.
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Day 9 of Stompboxtober is live! Win today's featured pedal from EBS Sweden. Enter now and return tomorrow for more!
EBS BassIQ Blue Label Triple Envelope Filter Pedal
The EBS BassIQ produces sounds ranging from classic auto-wah effects to spaced-out "Funkadelic" and synth-bass sounds. It is for everyone looking for a fun, fat-sounding, and responsive envelope filter that reacts to how you play in a musical way.
A more affordable path to satisfying your 1176 lust.
An affordable alternative to Cali76 and 1176 comps that sounds brilliant. Effective, satisfying controls.
Big!
$269
Warm Audio Pedal76
warmaudio.com
Though compressors are often used to add excitement to flat tones, pedal compressors for guitar are often … boring. Not so theWarm Audio Pedal76. The FET-driven, CineMag transformer-equipped Pedal76 is fun to look at, fun to operate, and fun to experiment with. Well, maybe it’s not fun fitting it on a pedalboard—at a little less than 6.5” wide and about 3.25” tall, it’s big. But its potential to enliven your guitar sounds is also pretty huge.
Warm Audio already builds a very authentic and inexpensive clone of the Urei 1176, theWA76. But the font used for the model’s name, its control layout, and its dimensions all suggest a clone of Origin Effects’ much-admired first-generation Cali76, which makes this a sort of clone of an homage. Much of the 1176’s essence is retained in that evolution, however. The Pedal76 also approximates the 1176’s operational feel. The generous control spacing and the satisfying resistance in the knobs means fast, precise adjustments, which, in turn, invite fine-tuning and experimentation.
Well-worn 1176 formulas deliver very satisfying results from the Pedal76. The 10–2–4 recipe (the numbers correspond to compression ratio and “clock” positions on the ratio, attack, and release controls, respectively) illuminates lifeless tones—adding body without flab, and an effervescent, sparkly color that preserves dynamics and overtones. Less subtle compression tricks sound fantastic, too. Drive from aggressive input levels is growling and thick but retains brightness and nuance. Heavy-duty compression ratios combined with fast attack and slow release times lend otherworldly sustain to jangly parts. Impractically large? Maybe. But I’d happily consider bumping the rest of my gain devices for the Pedal76.
Check out our demo of the Reverend Vernon Reid Totem Series Shaman Model! John Bohlinger walks you through the guitar's standout features, tones, and signature style.
Reverend Vernon Reid Totem Series Electric Guitar - Shaman
Vernon Reid Totem Series, ShamanWith three voices, tap tempo, and six presets, EQD’s newest echo is an affordable, approachable master of utility.
A highly desirable combination of features and quality at a very fair price. Nice distinctions among delay voices. Controls are clear, easy to use, and can be effectively manipulated on the fly.
Analog voices may lack complexity to some ears.
$149
EarthQuaker Silos
earthquakerdevices.com
There is something satisfying, even comforting, about encountering a product of any kind that is greater than the sum of its parts—things that embody a convergence of good design decisions, solid engineering, and empathy for users that considers their budgets and real-world needs. You feel some of that spirit inEarthQuaker’s new Silos digital delay. It’s easy to use, its tone variations are practical and can provoke very different creative reactions, and at $149 it’s very inexpensive, particularly when you consider its utility.
Silos features six presets, tap tempo, one full second of delay time, and three voices—two of which are styled after bucket-brigade and tape-delay sounds. In the $150 price category, it’s not unusual for a digital delay to leave some number of those functions out. And spending the same money on a true-analog alternative usually means warm, enveloping sounds but limited functionality and delay time. Silos, improbably perhaps, offers a very elegant solution to this can’t-have-it-all dilemma in a U.S.-made effect.
A More Complete Cobbling Together
Silos’ utility is bolstered by a very unintimidating control set, which is streamlined and approachable. Three of those controls are dedicated to the same mix, time, and repeats controls you see on any delay. But saving a preset to one of the six spots on the rotary preset dial is as easy as holding the green/red illuminated button just below the mix and preset knobs. And you certainly won’t get lost in the weeds if you move to the 3-position toggle, which switches between a clear “digital” voice, darker “analog” voice, and a “tape” voice which is darker still.
“The three voices offer discernibly different response to gain devices.”
One might suspect that a tone control for the repeats offers similar functionality as the voice toggle switch. But while it’s true that the most obvious audible differences between digital, BBD, and tape delays are apparent in the relative fidelity and darkness of their echoes, the Silos’ three voices behave differently in ways that are more complex than lighter or duskier tonality. For instance, the digital voice will never exhibit runaway oscillation, even at maximum mix and repeat settings. Instead, repeats fade out after about six seconds (at the fastest time settings) or create sleepy layers of slow-decaying repeats that enhance detail in complex, sprawling, loop-like melodic phrases. The analog voice and tape voice, on the other hand, will happily feed back to psychotic extremes. Both also offer satisfying sensitivity to real-time, on-the-fly adjustments. For example, I was tickled with how I could generate Apocalypse Now helicopter-chop effects and fade them in and out of prominence as if they were approaching or receding in proximity—an effect made easier still if you assign an expression pedal to the mix control. This kind of interactivity is what makes analog machines like the Echoplex, Space Echo, and Memory Man transcend mere delay status, and the sensitivity and just-right resistance make the process of manipulating repeats endlessly engaging.
Doesn't Flinch at Filth
EarthQuaker makes a point of highlighting the Silos’ affinity for dirty and distorted sounds. I did not notice that it behaved light-years better than other delays in this regard. But the three voices most definitely offer discernibly different responses to gain devices. The super-clear first repeat in the digital mode lends clarity and melodic focus, even to hectic, unpredictable, fractured fuzzes. The analog voice, which EQD says is inspired by the tone makeup of a 1980s-vintage, Japan-made KMD bucket brigade echo, handles fuzz forgivingly inasmuch as its repeats fade warmly and evenly, but the strong midrange also keeps many overtones present as the echoes fade. The tape voice, which uses aMaestro Echoplex as its sonic inspiration, is distinctly dirtier and creates more nebulous undercurrents in the repeats. If you want to retain clarity in more melodic settings, it will create a warm glow around repeats at conservative levels. Push it, and it will summon thick, sometimes droning haze that makes a great backdrop for slower, simpler, and hooky psychedelic riffs.
In clean applications, this decay and tone profile lend the tape setting a spooky, foggy aura that suggests the cold vastness of outer space. The analog voice often displays an authentic BBD clickiness in clean repeats that’s sweet for underscoring rhythmic patterns, while the digital voice’s pronounced regularity adds a clockwork quality that supports more up-tempo, driving, electronic rhythms.
The Verdict
Silos’ combination of features seems like a very obvious and appealing one. But bringing it all together at just less than 150 bucks represents a smart, adept threading of the cost/feature needle.