![Jerry Cantrell Rig Rundown [2024]](https://www.premierguitar.com/media-library/youtube.jpg?id=53714787&width=1245&height=700&quality=85&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0)
Jerry Cantrell’s forthcoming solo record, I Want Blood, is a return to beastly form for the legendary grunge guitarist. Featuring spots from Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo and Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin—two old friends who played on Cantrell’s 2002 solo release, Degradation Trip—along with Duff McKagan and more, it’s a glorious, riff-filled reunion.
Ahead of the record’s release, PG’s Perry Bean caught up with Cantrell for an updated rundown of his current touring rig. Watch the whole Rig Rundown to catch all the details, and hear some special stories about how late Alice in Chains vocalist Layne Staley encouraged Cantrell’s singing.
Brought to you by D’Addario.The Ones You Know
The G&L Rampage has been one of Cantrell’s top choices for decades, and he brings his vintage, well-used, and colorfully decorated iterations on the road along with his newer signature models. G&L announced earlier this year that they were reviving the Rampage—thanks largely to Cantrell’s impact.
Feel the Champagne
This Gibson Flying V finished in champagne sparkle is another of Cantrell’s go-to stage axes.
Amp in the Box
Cantrell tours with this rack amplifier setup, which features a Fryette Two/Ninety/Two Stereo Power Amp, a Fryette LX II Stereo Power Amp, and a Bogner Fish All Tube Preamp.
Rack 'Em Up
Save for his signature MXR Jerry Cantrell Firefly Talk Box and his Dunlop Jerry Cantrell Firefly Cry Baby Wah which stay at his feet, Cantrell keeps his pedals in a rack configuration, including a handful of MXR Smart Gates, MXR Timmy, Strymon Ola, MXR Six Band EQ, MXR Ten Band EQ, Barber Electronics Direct Drive, Boss DD-500, MXR EVH Flanger, Boss CE-5, MXR Poly Blue Octave, Ibanez TS808HW, MXR Reverb, Line 6 MM4 Modulation Modeler, and MXR Talk Box. A Custom Audio Electronics RS-T MIDI Foot Controller, manned by Cantrell’s tech, handles the behind-the-scenes switching.
Bryan’s MIDI-based ’board.
For guitarists, MIDI was a bit of a useless concept—something the synth player in your band endlessly yammered about while you plugged in your amp and pedalboard and set up for the gig. Well, tighten up your belts, the Dojo is now open.
The Paradigm Changes
Developed by a consortium of musical heavyweights, including MIDI’s progenitor Dave Smith (Sequential Circuits), Ikutaro Kakehashi (Roland Corporation), and engineer Tom Oberheim, MIDI enables synths and drum machines from various makers to “talk” to one another using a standardized “language” over a 5-pin cable. The original MIDI instruments included Roland’s TR909 and Jupiter-6, and Smith’s own Prophet 600. Today, MIDI can be carried over USB, 3.5 mm, and 1/4" TRS cables, as well as Bluetooth. It’s also something that more and more pedal makers are taking advantage of en masse. Many months ago with the help of my friends at XAct Tone Solutions here in Nashville, I finally wired up a MIDI-based pedalboard (Photo 1). Why would I ever go down this rabbit hole?
“Until very recently, guitar-oriented manufacturers never took advantage or expanded on MIDI possibilities.”
For several huge reasons: It gives me greater control over all of a given pedal’s obvious (and hidden) parameters that I can adjust simultaneously using expression pedal(s); the ability to toggle, latch, or tap tempo for many pedals at once; to create, save, and adjust wildly divergent preset parameters on the fly (using CC and PC messages); and organize song lists and set lists, for starters.
While this is possible with multi-effects pedals from Line 6, Fender, Neural DSP, Boss, Kemper, etc., I often find that I don’t like all the sounds bundled within these units. I may not like certain types of amp models, overdrives, choruses, reverbs, fuzz, and delay offerings from one maker, and prefer the algorithms of another brand entirely. With more and more pedal manufacturers embracing MIDI, we’re much closer to a “having our cake and eating it too” scenario.
I can further use my MIDI-enabled pedals with instruments beyond keyboards, drum machines, samplers, and other MIDI controllers (this may be the subject of a future Dojo). But for now, I want to get your creativity fully charged, and take you down another rabbit hole I stumbled into!
Becoming a Convert
Let me give you one of my new favorite “effects” I’ve been exploring. This involves using any plugin or software that will convert audio to MIDI. Certain DAWs (Ableton, Pro Tools, etc.) already have the ability to convert an audio file to MIDI. If your DAW does not, you can use Melodyne and pitch-based plugins, or free ones specifically made for this like NeuralNote or Basic Pitch, which were developed by Spotify.
Try This
Now let’s “break” the plugin. Either use a prerecorded audio track (guitars, vocals, bass, keys, or even ambient field recordings), or grab your guitar and record something with all the effects you would normally use. Delays are particularly fun to have here since they repeat pitches already played! Now convert this audio track to MIDI. In Pro Tools, right-click on the audio file and select “Copy Audio as MIDI.” I tried this using a fuzzed-out solo I played on a recent record I produced.
Next, create an instrument track and instantiate a soft synth of your choice (I’ve used Arturia’s Jup-8 with one of my tweaked presets). Now paste (Cmd or Ctrl+V) the MIDI-ized audio onto the instrument track. Based on your sensitivity settings, you should have all kinds of crazy extraneous notes in various octaves.
From here, solo the instrument track with your new MIDI, and let your imagination loose! Pay attention to the parts of your original audio track that were accurately “preserved” and what parts were not. You can now play with velocity, duration, quantization, and transposition for any and all notes. For example, I chose to isolate notes that were originally part of the delay and then adjusted them to match the underlying implied chords I soloed over—thus turning my guitar’s delay into a MIDI chord accompaniment for my solo!
I hope you canceled your dinner plans. Blessings, and until next time, Namaste.
Supported by Focusrite
Friedman IR-X
The Friedman IR-X dual-channel tube preamp is an entire Friedman rig in a compact pedalboard-friendly package. Powered by two high-voltage 12AX7 preamp tubes, each channel delivers the harmonic richness and touch response of Dave Friedman’s finest designs. DSP IR cabinet/power amp simulation sends a studio-quality mic’d-up tone to your DAW or Front-of-House.
IR-X isn't simulating a Friedman tube preamp. It is one. While many available preamp pedals utilize tubes to 'warm up' their digital or solid-state circuit, two glowing hot 12AX7 preamp tubes, running at the proper high voltage, are this pedal's beating heart. A genuine preamp in every way, IR-X delivers all the tone, response, gain characteristics, and harmonic complexity you expect from a Friedman design.
IR-X boasts two fully independent foot-switchable channels. Like the famed Friedman flagship amps, channel one takes your tone from bluesy, British-voiced cleans to a muscular Plexi-style roar. Engage channel two for the Friedman signature higher-gain voice and all the percussive punch, note clarity and singing sustain that comes with it.
Both channels feature their own independent and highly tweakable Boost circuits. This essentially gives you four channels, accessible with the tap of your toe.
All great tube amps need a great speaker cabinet, and whether sending your signal straight to the board or silently playing through the onboard headphone output, IR-X gives you a selection of Dave Friedman’s favorite IRs. Select the IR per channel using the 3-way mini toggle switches or load your own quickly and easily via IR-X’s editing software. You can even disengage the onboard IRs entirely to use IR-X’s tube preamp with another IR loader.
IR-X gives you astounding tonal control, but its included Friedman IR-X Editor software takes it to a new level. With it, you can tweak each channel’s power amp simulation via the thump and presence controls, load your favorite IRs, activate the Boost Lock feature, select loop ON/OFF and save it all to 128 MIDI presets.The IR-X software includes 12 free Friedman IRs to choose from.
IR-X is MIDI-capable. Whether pulling up presets with a pedalboard controller or switching channels with the laptop running your entire show, IR-X is ready for the job. It truly is the perfect marriage of modern control and classic tube tone.
The IR-X’s transparent effects loop allows you to easily integrate your favorite effects with everything from the most straightforward setups to the most complex digitally controlled rigs.
