Mixdown 262

M A D E B Y M U S I C I A N S F O R M U S I C I A N S

#262 FEBRUARY 2016 FREE!

GIVEAWAY!

Audio Technica ATH-M50x MTG Monitor Headphones! See Pg. 6

ALLEN STONE

ROYAL HEADACHE

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The RRPs shown are correct at the time of printing and are subject to change at any time without notice. iPhone and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.

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CONTENTS

FORE WORD

6

GIVEAWAY

8

INDUSTRIALIST

10

NEWS AND TOURS

12

PRODUCT NEWS

16

LUCINDA WILLIAMS

18

ROYAL HEADACHE, FAT WHITE FAMILY

19

WAXAHATCHEE, ASIAN DUB FOUNDATION

20

ASIAN DUB FOUNDATION PAGE 19

BASEMENT PAGE 20

BASEMENT, DREAM THEATER

22

BATTLES

23

ALLEN STONE

24

UNLEASH YOUR INNER ROCK GOD, ON THE DOWNLOW

25

HOME STUDIO HINTS, (D)IGITAL JOCKEY

26

WHAT’S THAT SOUND, BANGING THE TUBS

28

ROAD TESTS

40

SHOW AND TELL

42

DIRECTORY

GET SOCIAL:

BATTLES PAGE 22 FOR BREAKING NEWS, NEW CONTENT AND MORE GIVEAWAYS VISIT

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@MIXDOWNMAGAZINE

So here we are, at the beginning of February. NAMM has only just wrapped up, and now we have the next month or so to meander through the mass of product announcements that it brings, and to fully comprehend what 2016 is going to look like in the world of gear and tech.

It’s both overwhelming and fascinating; overwhelming in the sheer quantity of information that’s brought to the attention of the gear-loving public, and fascinating in the astounding innovations made by brands, both new and old. In this issue we’ll be scratching the surface of NAMM 2016. It looks as though there was plenty to get excited about at this year’s event. We’ll take a look at some of the announcements that are relevant to us here in Australia, before next month, where resident guitar guru Pete Hodgson will go into the event in more detail.

In this issue we’ll be chatting to the legendary Lucinda Williams about her forthcoming album The Ghosts of Highway 20, as well as her recent trip down to Australia. We’ll also chat with a lot of amazing artists, including local heroes Royal Headache who are preparation for touring as a part of Laneway, England’s Fat White Family and the effervescent Allen Stone, who will be down here later this year for Bluesfest.

KEATS MULLIGAN EDITOR

@MIXDOWNMAGAZINE

MADE BY MUSICIANS, FOR MUSICIANS MARCH ISSUE #263 DEADLINE AND STREET DATES:

STREET AND ONLINE DATE: WEDNESDAY MARCH 2 AD BOOKING DEADLINE: MONDAY FEBRUARY 22 EDITORIAL DEADLINE: TUESDAY FEBRUARY 23 ARTWORK DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 24 For more information on Mixdown Magazine contact us at: (03) 9428 3600 or email mixdown@beat.com.au

PUBLISHER Furst Media EDITOR Keats Mulligan mixdown@beat.com.au EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Michael Edney michael@furstmedia.com.au

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Elijah Hawkins, Phoebe Robertson, Chris Scott and Kate Eardley

GRAPHIC DESIGN Michael Cusack, Andrew Rozen

ART DIRECTOR Michael Cusack

CONTRIBUTORS Augustus Welby, Rob Gee, Peter Hodgson, Christie Elizer, Nick Brown, James Di Fabrizio, Elijah Hawkins, Phoebe Robertson, Michael Cusack, Sarah Bryant, Aaron Streatfield, Patrick Emery & Liza Dezfouli.

COVER ART Michael Cusack

PRODUCTION MANAGER Michael Cusack

MANAGING DIRECTOR Patrick Carr

PG.4 // MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016

ADVERTISING Patrick Carr patrick@furstmedia.com.au Phone: (03) 9428 3600 MIXDOWN OFFICE Level 1, No. 3 Newton Street, Richmond VIC 3121.

Phone: (03) 9428 3600

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“ ... an album that has the feel of a masterpiece, perhaps rivaled only by her 1998 breakout, Car Wheels On A Gravel Road.”

- GARDEN & GUN FEATURING

Bill Frisell & Greg Leisz on all tracks

GIVEAWAYS AUDIO-TECHNICA ATH-M50X

Limited Edition Matte Grey Monitor Headphones Another month, another awesome giveaway! In this issue we’re stoked to be giving away a pair of the legendary M50x MG monitor headphones, courtesy of our pals over at Technical Audio Group. These are some state of the art headphones, and will serve any discerning music enthusiast well enough to become their go to unit. At NAMM 2016, Audio-Technica unveiled the limited edition matte-grey incarnation of these amazing headphones, so to celebrate, we’ve lucky enough to share their brilliance with one of our loyal Mixdown readers!

If you’d like to discover how you can get your mits on a pair of these, head to our giveaways page at www.mixdownmag.com.au/giveaway and follow the instruction. For full terms and conditions visit www.mixdownmag.com.au/ terms-and-conditions.

*This giveaway is for Australian residents only and one entry per person.

For more awesome monthly Mixdown Giveaways, be sure to LIKE our Mixdown Magazine facebook page at www.facebook.com/ mixdownmagazine and regularly check our Giveaways page on www.mixdownmag.com.au/giveaways for your chance to win.

For full terms and conditions visit www.mixdownmag.com.au/terms-and-conditions.

-M50xMG ATH LIMITED EDITION ATH-M50x Professional Monitor Headphones Online reviewers, top audio professionals, and cult followers have long agreed that the ATH-M50x offers an unmatched combination of audio and build quality for exceptional studio or on-the-go performance. Designed to meet the needs of even the most critical audio professionals, the M50x provides a listening experience like no other. Now avaialble in Limited Edition Matte Grey.

For more information on the ATH-M50x and other Audio-Technica products go to audio-technica.com.au

INDUSTRIALIST SYDNEY BIZ CREATES ALLIANCE TO PROTECT MUSIC

Over 60 people representing Sydney’s venue operators, musicians, promoters, booking agents, festivals and industry associations met at the Oxford Art Factory to set up an alliance to protect Sydney’s live music scene. The meeting discussed how to lobby the government, influence legislation and promote the value of the live music. The alliance will be coordinated by MusicNSW, whose acting executive officer Emily Collins said “Sydney is full of incredible music talent, passionate audiences and inspiring creative leaders – this alliance is about bringing those leaders together to find new and exciting ways to collaborate.”

APRA SONG OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

The 20 finalists of the APRA Song Of The Year show a mix of well proven names and fast rising new talent. The winners will be announced on April 5, at the APRA Music Awards at Carriageworks in Sydney. The 20 finalists include songs by Seth Sentry, Daniel Johns, Birds of Tokyo, Troy Cassar-Daley, Chet Faker, Courtney Barnett, Hiatus Kaiyote, Vance Joy, Tame Impala, Cold Chisel, Shane Nicholson, C.W. Stoneking and Pond.

AAM CONDUCTING RESEARCH ON MANAGERS

The Association of Artist Managers (AAM) is conducting an important first-time research project into the backgrounds and needs of managers. It covers those looking after bands, DJs and artists, as well as self-managed acts, and want them all to provide input. Go to www.aam.org.au/ aam-blog/2016survey. “The results will be distributed to peak bodies and government departments in order to support new opportunities for managers and the greater music business community in Australia”, said AAM co-chair Rick Chazan.

MOSSY’S DEVICE WINS AT GLOBAL EVENT

Virtual Jeff, the new generation whammy designed by Cold Chisel guitarist Ian Moss and Sydney based tech company FOMOfx won the ‘Best in Show’ award in the Accessories category at the NAMM trade fair in California. Out of thousands of new products exhibited, Virtual Jeff was selected by the world trade media for its elimination of mechanical hassles and providing pitch-perfect bends. The win means major companies will show interest in the device.

APPLE APP TO RECORD SONG IDEAS

Apple has a new app to help musicians record ideas for songs.

An update of its Voice Memos which allows you to record audio on iPhones and iPads, the new Music Memos has higher quality recording and allows you to tag info and preset for drums and others instruments.

It also analyses guitar and piano recordings to suggest chords or notation. Apple also updated GarageBand, to include ‘Live Loops’ which functions similar to an MPC. T-Pain, who recorded his first album on GarageBand, said it will “change the way an entire generation makes music”.

FUNDING BLOW TO ACT AWARDS

A question mark hovers if the MusicACT Annual Music Awards in Canberra can return this year, as it has been denied funding by the ACT Government. Set up in 2012, the awards received $22,500 from the Government in its second year, which helped it sell-out. However in the last two years there has been no support as the awards built up. The event gets 80% of its $97,000 production costs from private sources, but the Government’s help is still crucial.

ONLINE GIG BOOKING APP GIGGER LAUNCHES

Gigger is an app aimed at helping bands find gigs, promoters to organise shows and venues to host live music.

Instead of spending hours hunting for links on Facebook, Bandcamp or Soundcloud to find what a band sounds like, promoters can use Gigger, which puts these all in a single page, with booking them “just a button click away”, says CEO and founder Anthony ManningFranklin, a musician who ran Midas Touch Studios.

In the meantime, Adelaide’s NXTGIG app, which provides data on gigs, venues, artists and times in real time, will expand to Sydney and Melbourne this year.

Developer Karl Falzon said, “It’s free to list your performance and it’s free to access information about gigs and events”. NXTGIG also helps with understanding the audience, crucial for audience development.

WRITE A SONG ABOUT WHITSUNDAYS

Airlie Beach Festival of Music in Queensland has a $5000 song writing comp to find the best song about the Whitsundays.

Open until May 7, the contest is sponsored by the Whitsunday Chinatown Investment. The song needs to be written in English and capture the essence of the Whitsundays including Heart Reef, the Coral Sea and Whitehaven Beach. It also needs to incorporate cultural references as love compassion, wisdom, karma, faith and energy to engage Chinese tourists.

JOSH PYKE PARTNERSHIP BACK FOR THIRD YEAR

The Josh Pyke Partnership, set up with APRA, is back for a third year. It gives a $7500 grant for an emerging musician to kickstart their career with a business plan, mentorship

by Pyke and a meeting with manager Gregg Donovan (Wonderlick Entertainment) and booking agent Stephen Wade (Select Music). “There’s so much great music being made and it’s always a challenging thing

PG.8 // MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016

Fo r cont ent s ubmissions to this col u mn p lea se em ail to c elizer @n ets pa ce.net. au

when you’re starting out, so it’s great to know that with APRA’s help we are making a small difference,” says Pyke. Apply by March 31 at www.joshpyke.com/ projects/jp-partnership. Last year’s winner Gordi has since landed booking agency deals in Europe and North America and is about to announce a worldwide recording deal.

ADELAIDE SUBURB LAUNCHES LIVE MUSIC POLICY

The City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters in Adelaide’s east adopted a Live Music Policy to strengthen its live music sector.

Strategies include promotion of local acts by working closely with venues, opening unconventional spaces for shows, supporting legislative reform proposals aimed at improving accessibility of live music at licensed venues, helping venues with noise issues, and trialling license periods for new venues in instances where noise impacts are not clear.

CHANGES FOR JAZZ BELL AWARDS

In their 13th year, the Australian Jazz Bell Awards announced new categories and voting system.

The prize pool is now $40,000 for the eight categories. See www.bellawards.org for full details.

WA STUDY: ARTS, MUSIC, GOOD FOR MENTAL HEALTH

A University of WA study found that being engaged in the arts – including going to concerts and listening to music – for at least two hours a week is good for mental wellbeing. “Arts engagement increases happiness, confidence, self-esteem and reduces stress and social isolation,” said Dr Christina Davies who lead the study as part of her Healthy Arts PhD. “It results in the creation of good memories and has an impact on a person’s knowledge and skills.

People need to give themselves permission to be creative and to make time for the arts activities and events that they enjoy.”

The study was published in BMC Public Health.

DEADLINE FOR ARTS AND DISABILITY FUNDING

The Australia Council for the Arts is calling for applications for dedicated funding for artists with disability by Feb 2. It provides up to $25,000 for development grants and up to $50,000 for projects involving individuals and groups. This is the second of a three year initiative after a successful trial in 2014. Last year 15 projects shared $300,000. Go to www. australiacouncil.gov.au.

DONATE TO ROADIES FUND

Since 2012, the Australian Road Crew Association (ARCA) has been working to raise funds to help roadies in crisis. The work is physically hard, hours are lonely, pay rate is low, income is sporadic, and few have provision for ill health or retirement. NSupport Act Ltd has stepped in to deliver a crisis

relief service through its existing infrastructure. It will also provide a tax deductible receipt for anyone donating $2 or more to the Roadies Fund. Donations can be made at www.supportact. org.au/givehelp, write “ROADIE” in the donation field.

SURVEY #1: TRAVELLERS LISTEN TO RADIO

Australians travellers are committed commercial radio listeners, says a new study.

Researcher Nielsen’s Radio On The Move was developed with Commercial Radio Australia, which represents the commercial radio sector. In the past six months 4.5 million Aussies aged over 14 flew around the country, and 4.6 million went overseas in the past 12 months. Commercial radio reached 70% of them.

These are divided into “Travelling Suits” on business, the “OS Adventurers” and “Local Leisure Seekers”. Travelling Suits are on average 36-year-old whitecollar males living in Sydney or Melbourne who holiday abroad.

Half talk about what they hear on commercial radio, and one in six rely on it to update them with what’s happening in their city. Overseas Adventurers are 63% female, 60% aged 25-39 or 55+. They rely on radio for product info. Leisure Seekers tend to be older families from Melbourne and Adelaide who listen to breakfast radio and prefer to organise their own holidays.

SURVEY #2: UNDER 30s MOST AT RISK AT FESTIVALS

People aged under 30, especially males, are most at risk, according to a NSW paper in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

This is especially true at music festivals. Those poisoned from recreational drug and alcohol use account for 9% of all poisoningrelated hospital admissions. The report is based on 13,805 patient records between Jan 1996 and Dec 2013 using data from the Hunter Area Toxicology Service (HATS). Alcohol comprised almost half of all recreational poisonings.

NEW HOME FOR SA HALL OF FAME

The SA Music Hall of Fame, overseen by the Adelaide Music Collective, is now based in St Paul’s Creative Centre. Its neighbours now include Music SA, the Music Development Office, arts/business/technology cluster Musitec and Musica Viva.

It’s open to the public 9—5 weekdays.

THINGS WE HEAR • Is Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp about to buy Twitter?

• Could we see a move to stop festivals being held in bushfire-prone regional areas?

This summer saw Falls Festival hastily move to a new venue in Victoria while WA’s Southbound and Tasmania’s inaugural Marshmelody were axed, the latter after a residents’ meeting of 200 concerned that a patron carelessly chucking a burning cigarette end could start a bushfire. This month’s Grampians Jazz Festival (Feb 12 to 14) is the last in Hall’s Gap. It’s moving to Port Fairy – because of musicians’ concerns over the bushfire risk there in late summer.

• The Jezabels cancelled their world tour after keyboardist Heather Shannon’s ovarian cancer worsened. She was diagnosed three years ago but worked her career around it. But now she needs more extensive treatment which means she cannot leave Sydney.

• If you wanted to taste Josh Pyke, his new beer The Summer – made with Sydney brewery Young Henry’s and based on an original homebrew recipe – is now out.

• Sydney’s latest record label Lazy Thinking Records was set up by Cassandra Wilkinson, co-founder and President of FBi Radio.

• Courtney Barnett and Tame Impala, already nominated for the Grammys, are among nominees for the prestigious BRIT awards, held in London on Feb 24.

• A bronze bust of Jimmy Little was unveiled at Tamworth Bicentennial Park during last month’s Tamworth country music festival. The legend’s long time guitarist Cyril Green said that sculptor Katie French captured such a likeness, that “I felt I was standing next to him on stage.”

• Express Studios in Darwin has opened as a hub for the local hip hop community. Owner and instructor Michael Trikilis said the space in the suburb of Woolner is for artists, breakers, DJs and graff artists to rehearse and collaborate.

• The Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society is moving to the Flemington Bowls Club cnr Smithfield & Racecourse Rds. Opening night (Tues March 15) is a fund raiser for the relocation, and a welcome back from Memphis for Miss Whiskey and Dreamboogie who competed at the International Blues Competition. The club says the new venue has more seating and parking, and is accessible by tram and train. More info from president John Jerman at president@mbas.org.au.

• When someone sent Allday a video of himself letting out a rip-roaring fart, the rapper/ producer didn’t miss a beat, figuratively. “Really good sound”, he murmured, using the flatulence as a snare drum for a new track.

• Finalists for the Queensland Music Awards will be announced on Monday February 8. They are held at the Brisbane Powerhouse on March 21. Also announced on that night will be the recipient of the Billy Thorpe Scholarship.

Meantime, Tim Steward (Screamfeeder, We All Want To), the 2015 winner of the Grant McLennan Fellowship, will use the money to travel to London to write a new album.

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NEWS & TOURS The Jesus and Mary Chain

These New South Whales

Seminal post-punk outfit The Jesus and Mary Chain have announced a second Melbourne show to commemorate the release of their groundbreaking album Psychocandy, 30 years ago. Their inital Melbourne performance at the Forum Theatre sold out in days, and now the Scotland natives have announced a second show at 170 Russell, where they’ll perform the album in its entirity. The group will also be treating Sydney with a rendition of the album in Sydney at Popfrenzy’s Divine Times at the Spectrum Now Festival. From their origins on the outskirts of Glasgow, The Jesus and Mary Chain have gone on to influence many of music’s greatest minds, and are consistently referenced as a chief source of inspiration for the likes of My Bloody Valentine and Nirvana.

Psychocandy, initially released in 1985, is widely considered to be one of the most influential post punk records ever released and spawned memorable singles like ‘You Trip Me Up’, ‘Never Understand’ and ‘Just Like Honey’.

Cocky underdogs from Newcastle, These New South Whales are heading across the East Coast to play a string of shows after the recent release of their popular mockumentary series. Whether it is aurally or visually, the four-piece know how to entertain an audience. With a sense of humour and an insane energy level, tickets to the shows are sure to sell quickly. Fans will be able to catch these local heroes at Newtown Social Club in Sydney, The Foundry in Brisbane and Shebeen in Melbourne. Joining the guys will be The Beverly Hills alongside other support acts including Jack T Wotton and The Wunderz in Sydney, Ciggy Pop and Hound in Brisbane and WOD in Melbourne.

Skyscraper Stan

The Bennies

After riding a wave of acclaim for debut album Last Years Tune, and then confronting the unfortunate and derailing passing of a loved one, Skyscraper Stan and the Commission Flats have emerged from a rollercoaster year with a national tour in sight. Latest single ‘Always Thinking Of You’, the second track lifted from their debut, is described by songwriter “Skyscraper” Stan Woodhouse as “An ode to ghosts of romance past that starts out slow and ends up fast.” With the dust now well and truly settled since its release, and all of the band’s members once again onboard, the riveting live act will be making their way through South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. While Stan will be going solo in Western Australia.

In a double dose of The Bennies, the guys have announced a national tour alongside their upcoming album release, Wood Machine. The record is said to be “11 tracks of fuel for the soul” and comes after Rainbows In Space (2013). Recorded at Holes And Corners in South Melbourne alongside Sam Johnson, the album was kicked of with smash hit ‘Party Machine’.

The last minute track was inspired by a psy-trance festival just out of Sydney and became an instant fan favourite. Set to tour Wisdom Machine across Australia later this year, The Bennies will be joined

by Off With Their Heads (Epitaph Records) and Adelaide’s Hightime.

And The Commission Flats

TOUR DATES

TOUR DATES

TOUR DATES

MAR 5 - SPECTRUM NOW FESTIVAL, SYDNEY NSW MAR 6 - 170 RUSSELL, MELBOURNE VIC MAR 7 - FORUM THEATRE, MELBOURNE VIC

FEB 21 - NEWTOWN SOCIAL CLUB, SYDNEY NSW FEB 26 - THE FOUNDRY, BRISBANE QLD MAR 11 - SHEBEEN, MELBOURNE VIC

FEB 12 – THE LOFT, WARRNAMBOOL VIC FEB 13 – MAJOR TOMS, KYNETON VIC FEB 19-20 – RIVERBOATS MUSIC FESTIVAL, ECHUCA VIC FEB 27-28 – ELTHAM JAZZ, FOOD & WINE FEST, ELTHAM VIC MAR 5-6 – NANNUP MUSIC FESTIVAL, NANNUP WA MAR 11 – GORDON HOTEL, PORTLAND VIC MAR 12 – CROWN & ANCHOR, ADELAIDE SA MAR 18 – LASS OGOWRIE, NEWCASTLE NSW MAR 19 – THE UNION HOTEL, SYDNEY NSW APR 1 – THE BEARDED LADY, BRISBANE QLD APR 2 – SOL BAR, MAROOCHYDORE QLD APR 3 – NIMBIN HOTEL, NIMBIN NSW APR 8 – CHERRY BAR, MELBOURNE VIC APR 9 – WORKERS CLUB, GEELONG VIC

TOUR DATES MAR 27 - CLUB 54, LAUNCESTON TAS MAR 28 - BRISBANE HOTEL, HOBART TAS MAR 31 - ADELAIDE UNI BAR, ADELAIDE SA APR 1 - CORNER HOTEL, MELBOURNE VIC APR 2 - AMPLIFIER, PERTH WA APR 3 - PRINCE OF WALES, BUNBURY WA APR 6 - TRANSIT BAR, CANBERRA ACT APR 7 - CAMBRIDGE HOTEL, NEWCASTLE NSW APR 8 - OXFORD ART FACTORY, SYDNEY NSW APR 9 - WOOLLY MAMMOTH, BRISBANE QLD APR 10 - SOL BAR, MAROOCHYDORE QLD

Palms

Majical Clouds

Xylouris White

Hacktivist

Sydney’s Palms are always good for a laugh, with their rowdy ‘boys will be boys’ shenanigans at the forefront of everything they do as a band. It’s one of the main reasons why their debut album Crazy Rack is so effortlessly good, and makes the announcement of an upcoming album tour sound like a rockin’ fun time. The national tour will see the band play around the country, spreading their blend of hilarity, hugs and friendly handshakes with repeatworthy songwriting and memorable hooks.

The reinvigorated formula, all fuzzed up and melodically-charged, has provided the band with a successful year, and holds them in good stead for an almighty 2016. As the tour presser so elegantly outlines, “You go, you see a great band, you might get a little bit drunk, buy a t-shirt, get hugged, and have your ears kissed by sweet buzzsaw angels.” It sounds like a good time if there ever was one.

Canadian musical-performance duo Majical Clouds are gearing up to tour Australia with St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival, bringing with them a brand new EP to boot.

Following the immense success of the duo’s 2015 sophomore album Are You Alone?, Majical Clouds have released a five track EP entitled Wait & See via Matador/ Remote Control Records. Vocalist Devon Welsh explains that “we put together this EP with songs that we recorded when we were working on Are You Alone? They didn’t fit on that album for one reason or another… they date from different periods of time [and] despite the fact that it’s a collection of songs that didn’t make the record, I think there’s a feeling that links them all together.”

Xylouris White, featuring Dirty Three Australia drummer Jim White and Cretan lute player, George Xylouris, have added a second Melbourne date to their upcoming east coast tour. The addition will allow fans that missed out to grab a last minute ticket or those who have already purchased tickets to see the boys live in action twice.

The unlikely collaboration between the two musical minds has created quite the stir around the globe, with a blend of folk and rock like no other. After touring around the globe and securing a number one spot on the Billboard World Music Chart for their debut release, GOATS, the duo are headed back down under. Alongside them in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne will be the Violent Femmes.

UK five-piece Hacktivist have become the very first global signing for the Australian label UNFD. Along with the announcement has come news of a debut album and a sneak peak single. Forming in 2011, the group have slowly been making their way to the main stage and it seems they have finally made it up there. Their debut record, Outside The Box is compiled of 12 tracks and offers up “low-tuned riffs and street-smart rhymes with huge hooks and grooves”. Featuring on the album are multiple artists including Rou Reynolds (Enter Shikari), Jamie Graham, Astroid Boys and Jot Maxi. Hacktivist use Outside The Box to discuss their attitudes towards the world that surrounds them and the tales of their journey so far. Ultimately, it is an expression of five years worth of ideas that the guys have been brewing. Take for example the track ‘Buszy. The track was written about a community centre in their home-town that was recently shut down despite the band’s best efforts to save it.

Co-vocalist Ben Marvin expressed that “I want people to take away from it the fact that no matter what, you gotta do what you love and you gotta fight for what you believe in. No matter what or who is against you.”

TOUR DATES MAR 5 – SHEBEEN, MELBOURNE VIC MAR 11 – PIRIRE & CO, ADELAIDE SA MAR 12 – JACK RABBIT SLIMS, PERTH WA MAR 17 – FOUNDY, BRISBANE, QLD MAR 18 – MIAMI TAVERN, GOLD COAST QLD MAR 19 – OXFORD ART FACTORY, SYDNEY NSW MAR 20 – RAD, WOLLONGONG NSW

TOUR DATES FEB 5 – ST JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL, ADELAIDE SA FEB 6 – ST JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL, BRISBANE QLD FEB 7 – ST JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL, SYDNEY NSW FEB 8 – NEWTOWN SOCIAL CLUB, SYDNEY NSW FEB 11 – THE FORUM, MELBOURNE VIC FEB 12 – THE TOFF, MELBOURNE VIC FEB 13 – ST JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL, MELBOURNE VIC FEB 14 - ST JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL, FREMANTLE WA

PG.10 // MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016

TOUR DATES MAR 3 – NEWTOWN, THE VANGUARD, SYDNEY NSW MAR 4 – TARONGA ZOO WITH VIOLENT FEMMES, SYDNEY NSW MAR 5 – BRASS MONKEY, CRONULLA NSW MAR 6 – CAMELOT LOUNGE, SYDNEY NSW MAR 9 – ANU REFECTORY, CANBERRA ACT MAR 11 – FRIDAY NIGHTS AT NGV, MELBOURNE VIC MAR 12 – CARAVAN MUSIC CLUB, OAKLEIGH VIC MAR 17 & 18 – CORNER HOTEL, MELBOURNE VIC MAR 19 & 20 – BLUES MOUNTAINS FOLK FESTIVAL, KATOOMBA NSW

OUTSIDE THE BOX IS OUT MARCH 4 VIA UNFD.

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ROUND THIRD E LIN -UPED! NC ANNOU

LINE-UP INCLUDES -–-–-–-–-–-–• Ajak Kwai • Alpine • Alsarah and The Nubatones

SUDAN/AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA SUDAN/USA • Angélique Ainslie Wills AUSTRALIA Kidjo & the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra BENIN/AUSTRALIA • Asha Bhosle INDIA • Calexico USA • The Cat Empire AUSTRALIA • Cedric Burnside Project USA • Choir of the APY Lands AUSTRALIA • De La Soul USA • Diego el Cigala SPAIN • Ester Rada ETHIOPIA/ ISRAEL • Ladysmith Black Mambazo SOUTH AFRICA • Marcellus Pittman USA • The Once CANADA • Orange Blossom FRANCE • Osunlade (DJ) USA • Sarah Blasko AUSTRALIA • Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 NIGERIA • Spiro UK • St Germain FRANCE • 숨[su:m] KOREA • TEK TEK Ensemble AUSTRALIA • Violent Femmes USA and many more!

Plus: Taste the World, The Planet Talks, a Global Village, KidZone, visual arts, street theatre and much more.

11-14 MARCH 2016 W BOTANIC PARK W ADELAIDE WOMADELAIDE.COM.AU

SEE WEBS FOR FUITE LINE-U LL P

PRODUCT NEWS

Richard Bona Signature Traveler 121 Ninja Speaker Cabinet CMC Music Australia | (02) 9905 2511 | www.cmcmusic.com.au

Blue Microphones Yeti Studio Amber Technology | 1800 251 367 | www.ambertech.com.au

The new Richard Bona Signature Traveler 121 Ninja cabinet has been developed in conjunction with the Little Mark Ninja head to bring you the full sound and tone of Richard Bona’s live and studio rigs. Suitable for use with any Markbass head regardless of power, the custom designed and manufactured 12” Markbass speaker boasts an exceptional 800W power handling (incredible for a single 12” speaker), delivering massive volume in a smaller, warmer sounding rig. The Traveler 121 Ninja accurately reproduces the sound of your instrument without compromise, a result that is perfectly aligned with the vision of Richard Bona and Marco De Virgiliis.

The Yeti Studio vocal recording system gives you the tools to record vocals, musical instruments, podcasts, voiceovers, interviews, field recordings and more with stunning quality and ease. Create like a pro using Yeti, the world’s most popular USB mic, together with custom recording software from PreSonus and advanced studio vocal effects from iZotope. Yeti’s unique three-capsule array lets you record with 4 different patterns—directional for vocals and voice-overs, bidirectional for interviews, omnidirectional for the whole band, and stereo for separate left and right audio.

Available now from your local authorised Blue Microphones dealer.

Orange Tiny Terror 10th Anniversary Amplifier Gibson AMI | (03) 8696 4600 | www.gibsonami.com

2016 marks the tenth anniversary of the amp that rocked the world – the game changing Tiny Terror. Its clever design, unique sound and deceptive versatility single-handedly kickstarted the low wattage amp craze.

A decade on, it still continues to set the standard by which all others must be judged. To commemorate this musical landmark, our UK Custom Shop has been busy, working to produce 110 limited edition compact half-stacks. Dubbed ‘Shiny Terror’, the 10th Anniversary model is a point-to-point hand-wired version of the original, housed in a stunning mirror-effect, polished stainless steel chassis.

Using only the finest quality components without a turret board in sight, each amp head also comes complete with its own open-back speaker cabinet. Finished in British racing green and fitted with a brace of 10” Celestion G10 Gold alnico speakers, the pair dovetail seamlessly to produce the ultimate Terror tone.

Ernie Ball rebrands Phosphor Bronze Slinky Acoustic strings CMC Music Australia | (02) 9905 2511 | www.cmcmusic.com.au

In 2015 Ernie Ball decided to group all of their traditional acoustic guitar strings together under a brand heading that they have used successfully for decades – Earthwood.

Earthwood has traditionally been the brand name for Ernie Ball’s 80/20 acoustic strings.

Now the Earthwood name encompasses both 80/20 and Phosphor Bronze acoustic strings manufactured by Ernie Ball. The new packaging has been rolled out over the last few months and should be in most stores by end of the first quarter of 2016. So what if your favourite phosphor bronze acoustic strings are the Ernie Ball Slinky Acoustics, and you pop into your local to pick up a set, only you can’t see them anywhere? Fear not, your Slinky acoustic strings are still ready and waiting, and sound and feel as good as ever – they’ve been given a new name and a fresh lick of paint – just ask for Earthwood Phosphor Bronze.

Jet City JCA2212 Guitar Amplifier Amber Technology | 1800 251 367 | www.ambertech.com.au

JCA2212 is a ‘combo’ version of the JCA22H. It’s the complete package, with 2 footswitchable channels and crazy tube tone that ranges from clean and jangly, to full-on Soldano high gain. Easy-access speaker connectors on the rear panel allow JCA2212 to drive external cabinets either with or without the internal Jet City Eminence Custom driver. Stacked on an additional JCA12S, the speaker volume doubles and the added height bring the controls to arm’s length in a small club. Now in stock at authorised Jet City dealers.

PG.12 // MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016

Denon DJ Breaks New Ground with MCX8000 Electric Factory | (03) 9474 1000 | www.elfa.com.au

Denon DJ is back. And Denon’s new MCX8000 is one of the most exciting controllers/ mixers that has hit the DJ scene for some time. Standalone controller, standalone mixer, USB support, hi-res displays, velocity sensitive backlit pads, built-in FX, Serato DJ and Engine software support are all on board. Yep, Engine is back - enabling the DJ to play tracks via USB (thumb drive or hard drive) completely standalone, with the large hi-res displays providing you with plenty of feedback. Perfect for mixing without skipping a beat. On the back you have 4 x RCA stereo inputs, enabling CD players and turntables to be connected, XLR master outs and XLR booth outs (with adjustable EQ). And to top it all off, the MCX8000 introduces Stage LinQ network connection via Ethernet, enabling you to control lighting and video along with your music.

www.mixdownmag.com.au

PRODUCT NEWS

Matchless SC-MINI 5W COMBO 110 Gladesville Guitar Factory | (02) 9817 2173 | www.guitarfactory.net

The Matchless SC-Mini is a 5-watt Combo, powered by a 5AR4 rectifier tube. The output is a single EL84, which is cathode self biased and is true Class A with a single ended output transformer. The pre amp input is an EF86/6267 with a 6 position rotary switch sweeping from thin to fat in tone. The phase inverter is run by a single 12AX7. The speaker inside is a single 10” Celestion Greenback. The cabinet is made of poplar, which is a lighter and more ambient sounding wood than the more dense birch ply. Essentially this is a small Class A recording amp based on Channel 2 of the DC30, SC30, and HC30 series.

JamHub Stage Innovative Music | (03) 9540 0658 | www.innovativemusic.com.au

Just announced at NAMM 2016, the next generation of JamHub will ship later in July and promises to completely change the way you think about rehearsal, recording, and performance. With new left and right main XLR outputs, your JamHub Stage is the perfect mixer for small spaces like coffee shops and house parties. It’s portable, durable, and gives you a highly visual, intuitive way to mix both your PA and your monitors.

JamHub Stage makes it easy to set up and control your own in-ear monitors on stage.

The whole band simply plugs into the Stage mixer, and then uses the 14-channel breakout snake to get sound to the front-of-house. It’s a simple, streamlined setup that won’t confuse your band mates or your sound tech, and will let you mix your own wedges and in-ears without affecting the room sound. A home studio in a box, JamHub features a fully functional multitrack interface that sends 14 channels of live audio to your computer. Open up your favourite DAW and capture the entire band’s performance while allowing every musician to control their own monitor mix.

Sebatron VAMP-four Sebatron | (03) 9484 3789 | www.sebatron.com

This month Australian Pro Audio Manufacturer Sebatron is highlighting their VAMP-four model. The VAMP-four is a four-channel valve driven direct in (or D.I) recording unit, which can also be used live. The signal path is completely discrete class a high voltage valve circuitry with a variable pad/colour control and two band switched passive EQ on each channel. If you track lots of keyboards or bass, this is the perfect unit for you, as it will make your tracks meaty and organic. Check out how the VAMP-four fared in this month’s Road Test.

Neumann TLM 102 Studio Microphone Sennheiser Australia | (02) 9910 6700 | www.sennheiser.com.au

The TLM 102 defines a new generation of Neumann studio microphones. This applies not only to the design of the microphone but also to the price.

The reduced overall size contributes to an exceptionally compact appearance, which unites all of the typical design components of a Neumann microphone. The harmonious proportions and gleaming grille ring ensure that even at first glance, the TLM 102 attracts attention.

The TLM 102 is impressive in terms of sound: In the interior is a newly developed large-diaphragm capsule (cardioid) with a maximum sound pressure level of 144 dB, which permits the recording of percussion, drums, amps and other loud sound sources. Instruments that are not especially loud also benefit from the very fast transient response of the TLM 102. Due to its price and flexible field of application, the TLM 102 is ideal for the home recording and project studio sector, as well as for the broadcasting area, especially when clear lines of sight to the speakers are a priority.

www.mixdownmag.com.au

Sennheiser Orpheus HE 1060 and HEV 1060 Headphones Sennheiser Australia | (02) 9910 6700 | www.sennheiser.com.au

Perfectly engineered and equipped with state-of-the-art technology, the new Orpheus HE 1060 and HEV 1060 headphones transform music from something you listen to, into something you live in. You may have never seen such beauty in headphones. Watch HE 1060 / HEV 1060 gradually come to life with a touch - allowing a momentary pause to let the tubes of its amplifier reach the optimum temperature. Then put them on and travel into pure sound. With an audio range from 8 Hz to more than 100 kHz, and the lowest distortion ever measured in a sound reproduction system: 0.01% at 1 kHz, 100 dB SPL. The relentless pursuit of perfection brings with it uniqueness. Thus, the HE 1060 / HEV 1060 is the first electrostatic headphone with a Cool Class A MOS-FET high voltage amplifier integrated into the ear cups. Details about the release are yet to be announced, so stay tuned at www.mixdownmag.com.au for the latest updates.

MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016 // PG.13

PRODUCT NEWS Apogee Symphony I/O Mk II Audio Interface Sound Distribution | (02) 8007 3327 | www.sounddistribution.com.au

Apogee Electronics has introduced a second generation of their flagship audio interface, Symphony I/O Mk II, at NAMM 2016. Symphony I/O Mk II is a multi-channel audio interface featuring Apogee’s latest AD/DA conversion, modular I/O (up to 32 inputs and outputs), intuitive touchscreen display and optional world-class microphone preamps.

The new Symphony I/O Mk II comes with direct connectivity to one of three different platforms – Thunderbolt, Pro Tools HD or Waves SoundGrid network.

Since its release in 2010, the first generation Symphony I/O continues to be a gold standard for the professional recording industry, and is utilised by a wide variety of commercial studios, producers, engineers and artists worldwide such as Bob Ludwig, Spike Stent, Bob Clearmountain, Dave Tozer, Nathan Chapman and Studio 606. The Thunderbolt models are available now, with the HD and SoundGrid models to be released later this year.

Audio-Technica ATH-M50xMG Limited Edition Professional Monitor Headphones

Yamaha EMX2 Powered Mixer Yamaha Music Australia | (03) 9693 5111 | www.au.yamaha.com

Yamaha has announced the release of the newest model of EMX Series powered mixers, the EMX2. Because the EMX2 is both a mixer and a power amplifier, you only need speakers and mics to have a fully functioning sound system. This makes it easy for newcomers, and even first-time users with no previous audio experience to easily configure their own sound reinforcement system. The EMX2’s all-in-one design concept ensures that by just plugging in a single power cable and making a few simple, intuitive connections, anyone can be their own sound engineer. Since the introduction of the EMX212S, EMX312S, and the EMX512SC, each model of the EMX line-up continues to provide users with an integrated, portable mixer to combine and balance your microphone, instrument and line sources, effects and EQ to refine and polish your sound, and power to drive the main speakers and even monitor speakers. The new EMX2 expands on the established design concept of the series, with an updated look and interface, and versatile features to accommodate a wider range of applications.

Technical Audio Group | (02) 9519 0900 | www.tag.com.au

At NAMM 2016, Audio-Technica has unveiled the ATHM50xMG Professional Monitor Headphones, a limitededition matte grey version of A-T’s popular ATH- M50x and part of A-T’s M-Series line of headphones.

From the 45 mm large-aperture drivers to its soundisolating ear cups and robust construction, the ATH-M50x provides an unmatched experience for the most critical audio applications, including recording, live sound, broadcast, DJ and personal listening.

The headphones incorporate technology drawn from Audio-Technica’s long history in the field of highperformance professional audio, providing exceptional power handling, very high SPL capability, and natural, accurate sound with impactful bass and high-frequency extension. With professional-grade ear pad and headband material and a collapsible design, the ATH-M50x headphones remain comfortable throughout long monitoring sessions and transport easily.

Audio-Technica Unveils New E-Series Professional In-Ear Monitor Headphones

Gibson Memphis Guitars 2016 Gibson AMI | (03) 8696 4600 | www.gibsonami.com

Gibson Memphis created the guitar that journeyed beyond jazz and blues to kickstart rock and roll. Sweet but sassy, these semi hollow and hollow-body guitars continue to power today’s music with their unique tone, style, and character. The 2016 Model Year follows tradition more faithfully than ever, while at the same time enhancing your playing and listening experience through technological advancements in wood treatment, which is now incorporated in the Premier Series.

This year also brings with it an entirely new jazz guitar based on Gibson’s rich traditions new trends in jazz. These new hollow bodies aren’t just exceptional guitars, but instruments of inspiration.

Technical Audio Group | (02) 9519 0900 | www.tag.com.au

Audio-Technica has debuted its new E-Series Professional In-Ear Monitor (IEM) Headphones at NAMM 2016. Bringing the critically acclaimed sonic signature of the M-Series to an in-ear design, the three models in the E-Series have been designed to fully answer the needs of demanding sound professionals and musicians from the studio, to the stage, to the DJ Booth. E-Series headphones are compatible with A-T’s popular M2 and M3 in-ear monitor wireless systems – together offering a comprehensive in-ear monitoring solution from AudioTechnica. They offer a perfect solution for use in any application requiring the use of in-ear monitoring.

The ATH-E70 is the flagship in-ear monitor model in the E-Series. Its accuracy and detail allow precise balancing of the mix, making it the perfect choice for monitoring on stage and ENG mixing in the studio. The ATH-E50 features excellent isolation that ensures confident, comfortable stage performance. The ATH-E40 has a proprietary dual phase push-pull driver design, which improves fidelity and efficiency. Australian prices are yet to be announced, so watch out in the coming months for updates.

PG.14 // MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016

Line 6 Firehawk 1500 Guitar Amplifier Yamaha Music Australia | (03) 9693 5111 | www.au.yamaha.com

Featuring award-winning tone, advanced editing control, and unmatched flexibility on stage, Firehawk 1500 is a 1500W/132dB SPL 6-speaker stage amp for guitarists who want great live tone, at any volume. Get true stereo sound—wet/dry/wet—and perfect tone replication from the 6-speaker amplification system. Dial in amazing sounds with the largest collection of HD/XT amps, cabs and effects in the Line 6 family. Manage patches and presets using the Firehawk Remote app’s streamlined and modern graphic editing workflow. Or use Live Edit mode to quickly control individual parameters directly on Firehawk 1500. Plus, a wide range of I/O makes it easy to perform with acoustic guitars, traditional pedal boards, multi-effects and more.

www.mixdownmag.com.au

PRODUCT NEWS

Kemper Introduce Seamless Tonetravelling with Profiler OS 4.0 Innovative Music | (03) 9540 0658 | www.innovativemusic.com.au

Yamaha Montage Synthesizers Yamaha Music Australia | (03) 9693 5111 | www.au.yamaha.com

The Montage represents a new era in synthesizer technology, by offering unprecedented ways for keyboard players to control and interact with sound. For more than 40 years, Yamaha has developed industry-leading synthesizers, from the revolutionary DX7 in the 1980s to the renowned Motif series – one of the best-selling synthesizers of all time. Now, Yamaha raises the bar again with Montage. Available in 61, 76 and 88-key configurations, Montage features the Motion Control Synthesizer Engine, a powerful and intuitive way to interact with and control sound. The Motion Control Synthesizer Engine controls two iconic Sound Engines: Advanced Wave Memory 2 (AWM2) and FM-X. Compatible with previous generation Motif libraries, the AWM2 engine is exponentially more powerful than the previous Motif XF flagship with nearly ten times more wave memory, integrated flash, double the effects and twice the polyphony. Joining the powerful AWM2 engine is FM-X, an amazingly sophisticated pure FM (Frequency Modulation) synthesizer engine capable of producing classic ‘80s or cutting-edge EDM sound with incredible dynamic range, power and fidelity.

At NAMM 2016, Kemper demonstrated the new morphing feature, which is available for all owners of the acclaimed Kemper Profiler in OS Version 4.0. The Kemper Profiler Morphing is the most easy to set up on the market and makes it possible for guitar players to seamlessly morph between the even most extreme tonal settings. The setup of more than a dozen parameter morphs only takes a few seconds and doesn't require handling complicated lists or midi controllers. It’s not even necessary to watch the display at all. Either engaged automatically by just hitting a switch on the Profiler Remote or dynamically by using an expression pedal, all continuous parameters can be changed smoothly to take the tone from ultra dry clean rhythm to utmost distorted, FX soaked lead tones. For breathtaking performances in the studio or live on-stage morphing, Kemper basically makes the typical ‘pedal board tap dance’ a thing of the past.

VOX Av Series Guitar Amplifers Yamaha Music Australia | (03) 9693 5111 | www.voxamps.com

Drawing upon nearly 60 years of tube amplifier design, the all-new AV (Analog Valve) Series from VOX offers players a full pallet of authentic amplifier sounds via eight, all-analog pre-amp circuits. VOX’s AV amplifiers also feature a true analog circuit design based on the classic 12AX7 tube, which lends classic, harmonically rich tones to these amps. The innovative Valve Stage section modifies the circuit to add, or reduce, brightness & bass response, and also allows users to adjust the bias and response of the power section on the fly. Additional features like a unique, sealed cabinet design, three classic effects (chorus, delay & reverb), and a retro-inspired aesthetic establish the AV Series as one the most exciting, and unique, offerings in the VOX line-up.

Shure KSM8 Dualdyne Handheld Dynamic Vocal Microphone Jands | (02) 9582 0909 | www.jands.com.au

Maton 70th Anniversary Series Maton Guitars | (03) 9896 9500 | www.maton.com.au

The Maton 70th Anniversary Series reflects the experience and guitar wisdom made possible by 70 years of continuous guitar building in Australia. Maton’s senior luthiers have put their collective heads together to create a guitar worthy of this significant landmark. In a first for Maton, this guitar features a gloss soundboard and satin back and sides. The tonal result of this combination is the full, natural tone associated with Maton’s satin finish and a sophisticated top end usually associated with full gloss models like the Messiah.

The back, sides and neck are made from select victorian blackwood with rosewood binding while the bridge and fingerboard are indian rosewood. The soundboard is AAA Sitka Spruce. The series comes in two body styles, the Dreadnought cutaway and the smaller BG808 cutaway. Both are fitted with gold Grover machine heads and tortoise shell pick guard, and are fitted with the superb AP5 Pro pickup system. The bracing is fully scalloped and top and back are designed for maximum tonal performance. This is a really elegant guitar, full of sophistication and tradition. After all, it has been 70 years in the making…

www.mixdownmag.com.au

The premium KSM8 Dualdyne Cardioid Vocal Dynamic Microphone is a groundbreaking feat of engineering design, as the world’s first-ever dual-diaphragm dynamic handheld microphone. The KSM8 is meticulously crafted for revolutionary vocal reproduction and soundreinforcement control for world-class live performance in top-tier professional venues. Featuring the single purest cardioid polar pattern that Shure has developed to date, the patented Dualdyne cartridge of the KSM8 virtually eliminates proximity effect and masters off-axis rejection, while providing sound professionals the signal clarity typical of condenser microphones without processing, along with the reliability of dynamic microphone feedback control. Australian release dates will be announced soon.

MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016 // PG.15

C O V E R

S T O R Y

LUCINDA WILLIAMS With more than 35 years in the music industry, country music icon Lucinda Williams has enjoyed a prolific career - securing cult status among fans, Grammy awards and countless critical accolades. At the crux of it all is her famously world-weary drawl; a timeless voice that can be honeysuckle sweet, or as sharp as a razor’s edge. Having just turned 62 years old, Williams is as creative and incisive as she has ever been.

Showcased on her forthcoming album, The Ghosts of Highway 20, the record finds the artist exploring new sonic territory while revisiting the rich - and at times harrowing life experiences she has had after nearly four decades on the road.

“The more people you lose, the more creative one gets,” reflects Williams. “I mean, one of the guys who was working with us in the studio; we lost him. He was on the better part of the album - not the very new one but the one before that - and he was suddenly gone. It’s hard to talk about it all without being sad, but that’s just that way it is right now. That’s the way of the world.”

Mortality and the afterlife are themes that run throughout The Ghosts of Highway 20, exemplified on the haunting ‘Death Came’ and the melancholy waltz of ‘If There’s A Heaven.’ However, while Ghosts is a relatively dark record for Williams, its underlying message is that of hope and satisfaction with a life well lived. By travelling down the sonic highway of her past, Williams has crafted a self-described map of her life - stopping at memories both good and bad along the way.

“Highway 20 is a highway that goes through certain songs, or certain towns that I grew up in,” says Williams on her connection with America’s longest stretch of road. “It started a few years ago when I went to play in Macon, Georgia. Macon is where I started school in the early ‘60s, and it was also the place where my father took me to see Flannery O’Connor, the Southern gothic writer that inspired him so much and also inspired me. It runs through Monroe, Louisiana where my mother is buried and where she is laid to rest. It’s about the memories.

Places that you can’t forget. Places that you don’t want to forget.”

As well as delving into the significant locations that have come to resonate with her musically, Williams also uses the record to draw on her vast back catalogue of unrecorded music. In the same way that the towns along Highway 20 signify various periods in her life, so too do the songs.

“I didn’t write all of these songs at the same time,” explains Williams. “‘I Know All About It’ was written probably as far back as 1980 or ’81.” With songs written decades apart, it’s amazing that Ghosts comes across as such a cohesive record. Undoubtedly, the instantly identifiable sounds of virtuoso guitarists Bill Frisell and Greg Leisz play a large part in this. Together they enrich the album with lilting open chords, subtle textures and rich washes of ambience. It marks a new, exploratory sound for Williams - but one that is used to dazzling effect.

“It adds a real uniqueness to the songs,” says Williams on the addition of Frisell and Leisz. “So musically, they fit together real well.”

Although the album is perhaps one of the most experimental of her career, the record’s boundary-pushing nature wasn’t premeditated.

Rather, it came about naturally. “I think it’s just one of those things that happens. Everything inspires me, from Bill Frisell’s playing to Greg Leisz’s playing. Bill is very special. I really don’t tell him what to play or anything. He just opens up and does whatever. The way I approach the studio is pretty organic, so I just let him play however he feels.”

It’s fitting that Williams has chosen players with world-class jazz pedi-

PG.16 // MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016

The main goal is to find great musicians first, and find that chemistry that works in the studio between the musicians. That’s where I think the magic happens,” says Williams.

“Then [the music] happens on its own accord, instead of thinking about trying to do something. It’s more spontaneous and organic.

gree to accompany her, because The Ghosts of Highway 20 is in parts defined by a vehement commitment to spontaneity. The record features no overdubs and the focus remains on capturing a group of musicians live, dedicated to the take. The 13-minute, slow-burning epic ‘Faith and Grace’ encapsulates this spirit, featuring an entirely improvised vocals spurred on by the grooves of revered Jamaican session musicians Ras Michael and Carlton “Santa” Davis. It makes for a climactic end to a thrillingly unpredictable album.

“It was all done very spontaneously,” says Williams on the creation of ‘Faith and Grace.’ “I’d never worked with these guys before. We got in there, I started singing it and they just fell in with me. We found a groove and just kept going… I was in there really improvising and kind of going nuts. It was like I was in church or something. It kind of carries you someplace. Now we’re putting out a dub remix on a separate EP. They came out great. Ras Michael is head of the Rastafarian church and was playing the tabla. We just went [for it]. It was one of those meditative, groove things.”

Williams has surrounded herself with a slew of brilliant musicians to bring The Ghosts of Highway 20 to life. Whether it’s the consistently inventive drumming of Butch Norton (Fiona Apple, Tracy Chapman, Rufus Wainwright) or the astute, economical production of Tom Overby - the combination of talents has created a melting pot of influences that ultimately form something greater than the sum of their parts.

“The main goal is to find great musicians first, and find that chemistry that works in the studio between the musicians. That’s where I think the magic happens,” says Williams. “Then [the music] happens on its own accord, instead of thinking about trying to do something. It’s more spontaneous and organic.”

Lucinda Williams’ music has always portrayed dust-bowl America with breathtaking poignancy, without glamourising the harsh realities that face the working-class or the downtrodden. It’s one of the reasons why her music resonates with so many people. This time around, she’s chosen to reinterpret a song that resonates with her by breathing new life into a brooding Bruce Springsteen classic, ‘Factory.’

“I’ve always loved his songs,” she says. “The initial reason that I learned it and worked it up was during the Occupy Wall Street movement. We were playing at the Filmore [Theatre] in San Francisco, and we’d decided to dedicate some songs to the workers of the world. A few years later, it was suggested that we cut it. That was all spontaneous too, because we were in a situation where we were able to do that.

We had more freedom this time.”

No matter where her muse leads her, the music of Lucinda Williams has always been written first and foremost to connect with the listener on a visceral, human level. To share her life experiences so that we might find further clarity on our own. With The Ghosts of Highway 20, this is what she has managed to do once more - and will continue to do until she sings her last note.

“In the past, my songs have proven to be helpful for people,” says Williams. “I would like to think that they might gain some comfort from some of the songs. Even the ones that are kind of sad and difficult to get through. I would like them to take away some healing from it - because there is a lot of loss there - but everyone is going through that.”

BY JAMES DI FABRIZIO The Ghosts of Highway 20 is out February 5 via Thirty Tigers/ Cooking Vinyl Australia.

www.mixdownmag.com.au

2016

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I N T E R V I E W S

ROYAL HEADACHE

Royal Headache fans had to be exceedingly patient when waiting for the band’s second album. The Sydney foursome released their self-titled debut in early 2011, and in spite of zero adjoining promotional activity, it became cherished around the world. Then a couple of years ago – with no follow-up to speak of – the band’s volatile frontman, Shogun, all but confirmed Royal Headache had broken up. However, destiny was quick to intervene, and last August came High – a brand new ten-track LP from one of Australia’s canniest rock bands. Mixdown speaks to bassist Joe Sukit about the rocky road leading to album number two.

Considering the first album came out at the beginning of 2011, the construction of High was rather drawn out. In various interviews from mid-2014, Shogun said the instrumental tracks for the album were recorded as far back as 2013. Did those original sessions survive onto the album?

About the end of 2012 we forced ourselves to go in and record a new record and tracked everything, tracked about 16 songs or something, and finished with it. I think we were all a bit exhausted by the year and we listened back to it and we all thought it was a bit shit. So we lost motivation to work on it and maybe just lost motivation for the band a little bit. Then we had that break and went back and listened to it and were, “Oh it’s not that bad.” So Shogun finished off his vocals and then we mixed it and that’s what it is.

Royal Headache is continually referred to as a garage rock band,

FAT WHITE FAMILY Lias Saoudi and Saul Adamczewski, vocalist and guitarist respectively in English rock’n’roll band Fat White Family, are adamant there’s never been a single motivating concept or artistic idea behind the band. “There was never any plan or scheme when we first got together,” Saoudi says. Even the band’s live performances – which have seen Saoudi strip naked and taunt the audience – are simply an organic event. “The idea of doing premeditated confrontation is something I find strange,” Adamczewski says. “I think we’re antagonistic by default,” says Saoudi.

But scratch the surface, and there’s more to Fat White Family than meets the eye. The band are avowedly politically motivated, though more in the sense of countering the apathy they perceive in the world around them. When I mention an interview with Saoudi in which he’s quoted as saying he’s apathetic about politics, he’s bemused. “I wouldn’t say I was politically apathetic – I’d say I was the opposite of that,” he says.

In fact, recalling Radio Birdman’s original rhetorical flourish, Fat White Family are pathologically averse to apathy. “One of the most important things to us when we formed the group was how apathetic everyone else was,” Saoudi says.

Fat White Family’s political leaning isn’t a partisan or ideological construct. Just as their onstage behaviour is natural, so too is their political attitude. “As human beings we feel like we believe in the right sort of human beings – it’s not supposed to be intellectual, and not pretentious, it’s just a basic human instinct that we all seem to have,”

PG.18 // MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016

and while it’s not an unfounded description, the performances and production on High don’t sound scrappy or rushed.

I don’t think we’re a garage band either. We just try to do whatever feels right and most of the time it seems to work out.

There was about two years where we just didn’t think about [High]. It’s easy for us to spend way too much time not thinking about a record after we record it.

We do this thing where we rush through and record everything in a day or in two days and then just sit there and don’t really work on it until about a year later.

I think we’re too embarrassed by our own band. We always think that we sound weird.

When you started recording High, you’d seen how critically well-received the self-titled album was and witnessed it gain popularity in other parts of the globe. When you listened back to the initial sessions for High and weren’t too impressed, was there a feeling that it wasn’t a good enough follow-up, given the acclaim for the first record?

It was just a weird time. We just finished doing all these entertainment centre gigs with The Black Keys where we had about 20 000 people telling us that we sucked, then you go into a studio… We were doing all these things that we wanted to do, but then also were like, “Well, why are we doing this stuff?” It takes its toll. At the best of times we’re not very confident. Basically it only takes one person to tell us that we’re shit and we’ll listen to them over a million people telling us that we’re good. We’re a bit weird like that.

Just overall it was a weird time and we were probably exhausted and needed to take a break from the band. It worked out for the best really because we’ve come back and we’re writing new stuff and it’s like the pressure’s gone. It’s like, “Who gives a fuck?”

Like the songs on Royal Headache, the songs on High are pretty simple; structurally and technically

Saoudi says. “The fact that it’s even a talking point I find bizarre – what the fuck is going on? If everyone is politically apathetic and we stand out because we’re not, then something must be wrong.”

Fat White Family formed in 2012 in South London where the original six band members were living together and playing in other bands. They came to broader public attention with the release of the Champagne Holocaust LP in 2013. Taking its musical cues from The Cramps, The Gun Club, The Fall and The Birthday Party, and with lyrical content ranging from the sensual pleasures of oral sex to perverted carnal pleasures and the mysteries of the JFK assassination, Champagne Holocaust positioned Fat White Family as the new enfant terrible of the rock’n’roll scene. One reviewer dismissed the album as “tasteless”; Pitchfork described the band as “diseased, drug addled and utterly corrupt”.

Scroll forward a couple of years and Fat White Family are gradually gaining respect from the music industry and media – not that they want it, mind you. “The reaction we got for a long time was very hostile, but I think that’s gradually changing because people are starting to see that there’s a buck to be made, or some sort of kudos to be usurped. As we’ve progressed, more and more creeps accept us,” Adamczewski says.

“We haven’t been given a seat at the table yet – but I don’t think we really want one,” says Saoudi. “Fuck the tables.”

Fat White Family’s forthcoming record, Songs For Our Mothers, departs from the sound and lyrical content of Champagne Holocaust. Gone are the jagged punk blues numbers and Fall-esque post-punk riffs of the band’s debut; replaced by a mixture of glam rock licks and a darker, more contemplative atmosphere.

However, Saoudi and Adamczewski deny there was any pre-conceived plan to deviate. What appears on the record was simply what came out of the creative and recording process.

“We didn’t want anything different on this record,” Adamczewski says. “The way that we are, and the way

there’s nothing overwrought or elaborate. But in this simplicity lies the magic of Royal Headache. The songs have a dynamic emotional character and an inbuilt depth that makes them repeatedly rewarding.

The songwriting, that’s kind of the main thing we do as a band – just spend a bit of time and try different things. That’s what we did with all those songs. There’s stuff on there like ‘Wouldn’t You Know’ where we basically just did a quiet lounge song, which we’d never really done before. It’s cool to try and do that different stuff.

The more time that passed between albums, the greater the anticipation became for the second Royal Headache album (at least among fans, a lot of whom really care about the band). Did that anticipation play a role in encouraging you to finish and release the album?

The best part about when we stopped playing – and Shogun’s out there saying that we’d broken up or whatever – was the fact that it took all the pressure off. It was like, “Nobody expects us to be a band anymore so we can just do whatever.” We started playing again for maybe about a year before the record came out, but just in our rehearsal studio just doing whatever ourselves. It was good. It was like starting again and just writing music for the fun of it. There was no pressure on anything really. It was like the start of the band again.

That no-pressure feeling will probably be difficult to maintain, especially since High has gained an even broader listenership than Royal Headache.

Yeah. We’ll have to keep breaking up.

BY AUGUSTUS WELBY Royal Headache will be touring nationally as part St Jerome’s Laneway Festival. High is out now through Distant and Vague Recordings/What’s Your Rupture?. that we organise ourselves, we don’t really sit down and come up with a fundamental plan.” “You’ve just got to make this stuff up – you don’t really think about it,” adds Saoudi.

But the clue to Songs For Our Mothers lies in the darkness of tracks such as Lebensraum, Duce, Love is the Crack, We Must Learn to Rise. With the band’s internal relationships buckling under the weight of touring, substance abuse and fractious personalities, the writing and recording of Songs For Our Mothers became – subconsciously at least – a cathartic event for the band, allowing the band members to explore those feelings they were unable to express outwardly.

“One of the interesting parts of making an album is that the meaning behind songs becomes more clear when you look back on it,” Adamczewski says. “That’s one of the most rewarding aspects of doing an album, actually,” says Saoudi.

Indeed, the promotional blurb accompanying Songs For Our Mothers says the album is “an invitation to dance to the beat of human hatred,” while Adamczewski says it’s “music that’s there for people to live, and also a reflection on the sour times in which we live.” If Champagne Holocaust took aim at the imperfections of the external world, Songs For Our Mothers was – in hindsight at least – about the hatred festering away within Fat White Family.

“There was a breakdown in the relationships within the band, there was a lot of substance abuse going on, things were generally dark,” Adamczewski says. “We didn’t expect to end up in that place – it all actually went quite dark,” Saoudi says, his voice faltering ever so slightly as he remembers the situation the band wound up in. “What came out is just what we were feeling at the time. Hopefully the next record will be more jolly – a barrel of laughs.”

BY PATRICK EMERY Songs For Our Mothers is out now through Without Consent / PIAS.

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I N T E R V I E W S I’m really excited to work on it and that’s probably what I’m going to spend most of my year doing.

WAXAHATCHEE Waxahatchee is, for all intents and purposes, Katie Crutchfield. The US songwriter introduced the moniker with the 2012 LP American Weekend, and has subsequently followed up with 2013’s Cerulean Salt and last year’s Ivy Tripp. In contrast to the bare-bones aesthetic of American Weekend, Waxahatchee’s latest two LPs have embraced a gutsier full band sound. After a solo jaunt Down Under last winter, Crutchfield’s back this month with her backing band in tow. Mixdown gave her a call in early January to find out what’s on the cards for 2016.

It’s nine months since Ivy Tripp came out, and I imagine there’s some ideas brewing for your next record. Have you had much of a chance to be creative while in the midst of all this touring?

[Touring]’s kind of part of the process now, because I have to tour all the time – pretty much every other year is spent mostly on the road. I spent all of 2015 gathering fragments of ideas. I have a lot of down time at the moment – the first thing I do in 2016 is come to Australia, so I have six weeks completely off. I’ve been trying to schedule my days around working on music, at least a little bit every single day. I don’t really know what it’s going to be yet. I made my last two records with the same people and in the same way. I really feel like I’m going to branch out from that this time. But as far as sound and just everything goes, it hasn’t really taken shape yet.

ASIAN DUB FOUNDATION Mixdown gets to chat to none other than Steve Chandra Savale of Asian Dub Foundation, the seminal electronic group from London, whose sound is described as ‘ragga meets sitar, dub meets bhangra and punk rock meets hip-hop.’ With their intense focus on politics and social change, singing about issues such as racism, immigration and family violence, the UK’s Asian Dub Foundation is set to close this year’s Womadelaide on Monday March 15 in their individual rapcore/dub/dancehall/ragga style. Does Savale think of himself as an activist? “I’m more of an educationalist. I work with ideas. I get ideas across to people who might not have otherwise think like that.”

We have to ask Savale about his David Bowie moment – Asian Dub Foundation were asked by Bowie to perform at his Meltdown Festival in the UK in 2002. How did that come about? “He came to see us, two nights in a row in 1997,” says Savale. “We were his favourite Community Music band. He’d also asked us to work with him and tour with him but nothing came of it. The band on the whole were quite ambivalent about at the time.” Sorry – what? “I know! The only two people in the world who don’t like Bowie were in the band; I don’t know anyone else who doesn’t like him.” Savale says he was intensely engaged with Bowie’s music at a very young age. “He had a huge influence on me personally.

Before I was even 13 I was listening to him. I was the only one in the

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It’s interesting to hear that Ivy Tripp and Cerulean Salt were made in the same way, because Ivy Tripp showed a clear expansion in the scope of your songwriting and the textures and sounds embraced in the studio. By saying you want to branch out, are you edging towards incorporating even more diversity in those areas?

I think if anything I’m going to tone everything back a little bit and make it more minimal. I feel like Ivy Tripp added a couple of extra layers sonically and instrumentally, and also the lyrics were more abstract and definitely different from Cerulean Salt and American Weekend. I feel like maybe I’ll explore some of the sounds and instrumentation and lyrics that I used to work with a lot, as far as subject matter goes.

I’m not really sure. I’m kind of excited to go off the grid a little bit with my songwriting.

At the time when I was making Ivy Tripp it felt really natural for me to head in the same direction as Cerulean Salt. Now I’m really ready to go in a totally different direction. I’m just not quite sure yet what that direction is going to be.

When framing an album, do you tend to keep fiddling around with ideas until you find one you feel strongly about and it points you in the direction you need to follow?

The more I’ve written songs, the pickier I’ve gotten.

But also the more meticulous I am about recording everything and writing every single idea down, no matter how much I like it. Just in case, because a lot of songs on Cerulean Salt and Ivy Tripp started out as an idea that I maybe wasn’t crazy about at first, but I came around to or it stuck with me. I’ve been pretty much meticulously recording ideas and writing things down.

On the subject of ideas you don’t necessarily love at first but are drawn to later on – having

band who had a Bowie period in their life.” Contrary to the normal order of things, Asian Dub Foundation’s music seems to have influenced Bowie, rather than the other way round. “People said Bowie’s album Earthling was influenced by us,” notes Savale.

(1997’s Earthling was Bowie’s twentieth studio album of electronica-influenced music partly inspired by the industrial and drum and bass music culture of the 1990s.)

The music Asian Dub Foundation performed for Bowie at the Meltdown Festival was their live score to French filmmaker Mathieu Kassovit’s cult classic, La Haine, a project that has been wildly successful for the band and which they’re still performing, unchanged,15 years on. Director Kassovit was in the audience that night and was ecstatic with what he heard and made a point of meeting the band after the show. “He was jumping around in his seat.” remembers Savale. Yet the La Haine live score was something that came about almost accidentally. “The La Haine project came from an off-the-cuff remark that became set in stone,” Savale continues. “We’d been collaborating with an avant-garde classical composer and that wasn’t working. We were going to play for a festival at the Barbican, Only Connect which was old films, new music, in 2001 where DJs played music to films; I had this insane idea of an insane experiment doing a live soundtrack to a film in front of an audience. What film would ADF do? La Haine. Such a significant and innovative film. And that was it. We had three weeks to create it and we pulled it off. No-one had done anything like this before, not to a film like La Haine.

We’re still doing that project; it’s been kickstarted again by Secret Cinema doing live cinematic experiences. We performed it again at Broadwater Farm in front of thousands and thousands of people. It got a new lease of life up north which took us by surprise.”

“We don’t fit the predictable mould or pattern of

done three albums and heck of a lot of touring, I imagine you’ve experienced an evolution in your relationship with your own songs. Does seeing how songs you’ve written change in significance over time – and realising which ones you consistently feel more enthusiastic about – have any influence on your thoughts when you’re working on new music?

That’s certainly something I experience. My relationship to some of my older songs, I guess it changed over time. But I’m reflecting on some of the stuff I’ve worked on in the past and I actually to a fault have been nostalgic for the time I spent working on my first record. It was just really an emotionally overwrought period of my life. And I think that I was able to get really, really close to my super authentic feelings. I got as close as I was capable of getting.

That to me is a victory as a songwriter; getting that close to how I really feel and being able to articulate that. So I’ve been really thinking about that.

I think that Ivy Tripp was more general. Obviously I still care a lot about that record and I’m proud of it.

But the lyrics were more about just general issues that people have, and at times more vague or more abstract.

They’re two valuable abilities to have – being able to write things that are intimately personal and depict your deepest feelings, and also being able to write in a more ambiguous and general way.

I have this irrational fear that I’m going to stop being able to do that. It’s a fear I’ve had since I started writing songs, that I was going to suddenly wake up and not be able to do it anymore. But I think I’m being too hard on myself.

BY AUGUSTUS WELBY Waxahatchee will be performing at Oxford Art Factory in Sydney on Wednesday February 17 and at Howler in Melbourne on Thursday February 18.

Ivy Tripp is out now through Wichita / [PIAS]

what a band should do,” Savale muses. “We break the rules. We’re the band that does things in reverse.

Projects that we plan out are least likely to happen.

Most of the things that have got us somewhere are unpredictable or unplanned. Like the Bowie thing – he came to see us; we didn’t go to see him. And meeting Iggy Pop in Croatia. He just came up to me and said ‘I’m Jim; pleased to meet you.’ He was still with the Stooges then; he rang my house! I thought ‘what the fuck! I’m still gaga about that.’” Whatever Asian Dub Foundation is doing, it works for them.

The band were nominated for 1998’s Mercury Prize, an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland, for their album for Rafi’s Revenge. They’ve toured with The Beastie Boys, performed with Primal Scream, and as well as Iggy Pop, they’ve collaborated with Radiohead’s guitarist Jonny Greenwood, with Sinead O’Connor on 1000 Mirrors, among many others. “We’ve done a lot of amazing collaborations,” notes Savale, who says he’s still reeling from the experience of working with legendary sound maestro Walter Murch on a reworking of the score to George Lucas’s THX 1138. “The music is really out there; it really pushed our limits. Walter Murch came on stage with us. This is the guy who recorded the helicopter sound for Apocalypse Now. He did the sound for The Godfather. For me, personally, it’s hard to top that; it’s really something else. We never thought we’d get permission but we put it out there and lo and behold George Lucas himself gave us the go-ahead. I didn’t think it we could even get to communicate with George Lucas but he answered us and gave us the green light. ”

BY LIZA DEZFOULI The Asian Dub Foundation will performing at WOMADelaide. For more information head to www.womadelaide.com.au.

MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016 // PG.19

I N T E R V I E W S

BASEMENT Riding waves of success off the back of the breakthrough album colourmeinkindness, UK punk rock outfit Basement is back in the saddle. The band’s first full-length record since a hiatus in 2012, Promise Everything, is a result of a band going back where it all started, good friends writing and creating music.

Guitarist and backing vocalist Alex Henery laments on the struggles of long distance writing and the joys of an American engineer in London.

“We love writing music and we love being creative together. One of my favourite things about being in a band is being able to create something with my friends, so when it came to writing Promise Everything it was just a natural progression, it just made sense,” says Alex.

But not all was quiet on the Basement front. Following the band’s hiatus, Alex landed a position at Boston record label Run For Cover and relocated to the US. With the rest of the band still at home in the UK, Basement wrote the majority of Promise Everything within the confines of their respective locations. The writing process - although resulting in a sonically dense and matured record – had its ups and downs; the burden of distance proved difficult.

“Not to say that it was a bad experience, but there were times when I would send over an idea and the guys would listen to it and have a practice without me. The idea would completely change, I would

DREAM THEATER Dream Theater is hands down, one of the most established prog-rock metal outfits on the circuit and have been for the last thirty years. It’s been three years since we’ve heard from the pioneering band, however, Dream Theater are about to drop one of their richest and most musically dense albums to date. Self assured, immersive and constantly evolving, 2016 will see them release the highly anticipated double concept album, The Astonishing. Jordan Rudess spoke to me from New York City whilst caught in a whirlwind of preparation.

Rudess knows better than anyone else that timing is crucial. He says that they’ve been sitting on the idea of doing another concept album for years. “We had wanted to do a concept album ever since we did Scenes from a Memory in 1999. One of the things that stopped us from doing one sooner is the fact that we had a new drummer join the band, and it just didn’t feel like the right time.”

Playing the waiting game has certainly paid off, as this is undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with. Conceptualised by guitarist John Petrucci, The Astonishing is an immersive experience. It’s a beautifully dark cinematic piece, providing us with 34 tracks spread over 2 acts that form a post-apocalyptic world. Within this world,

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have no say and then when I would eventually come over to practice, the songs had morphed into something I wasn’t really sure of.”

“We were working on parts and even writing on the day we were meant to be recording. I mean, we have always done stuff that way, but it would have been nice to have a bit more time. But you know, sometimes pressure is good, maybe it forced us to do the best we could in a short amount of time.”

Happy with the end result of colourmeinkindess, the band reunited with engineer Sam Pura for Promise Everything. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

“After doing colourmeinkindness and working with Sam, we had developed a connection with him, he contributed a lot of great ideas and we trusted him. We thought, “why try anyone else?” - so we flew Sam over to the UK and spent 10 days at Assault & Battery studios in London.”

“Sam was really excited to work out of there because of all the great records that came out of that place. Co-founders Alan Moulder and Mark “Flood” Ellis have produced some great records from bands like the Smashing Pumpkins, U2, The Killers, the list goes on. It was funny to see how excited he was. We would be walking down the corridor and Sam would shout, “Oh my god it’s Flood!” He would chat to them, and then we would go back to the Hotel and he would tell us all this crazy stuff that they had been talking about, so that was pretty funny.”

In light of his conversations with the Assault and Battery co-founder, Sam put into practice one of Flood’s tricks of the trade when recording the vocals for Promise Everything.

“Towards the end of the recording, when the vocals were being finished up, Sam asked Andrew to sing every song one last time all the way through. Sam setup a microphone into the control room and setup a mini booth as Andrew was sitting there. He did this because when ever Flood had recorded U2, Bono would just sit in the chair Andrew was sitting in and would just have an SM58 on record. Andrew

went through all the songs and did a few takes. I think that really helped on doubling up the vocals; it gave it a natural sound. Sam said that those takes was some of Andrew’s best.”

A notable part of Basement’s sound is the combination of both Alex and Ronan Crix’s guitar sounds. Each guitarist’s tone compliments the other and forms a dense wall of over-driven guitar layers.

When it came to record Promise Everything, Alex made use of his 1980 Gibson Les Paul ‘The Paul’.

“I’ve never had my own Gibson before,” says Alex.

“Before that I had an Orville, which is an old Japanese copy, so I finally went and bought an actual Gibson. It’s my favourite guitar now and I used that throughout the new record.” Fellow guitarist Ronan on the other hand made use of a Fender Jazzmaster. “I think both guitars work really well together. Ronan used the Jazzmaster and it has such a bright sound and then from the Les Paul we would have that really nice warm, kind of gritty sounding rhythm track.”

As far as amps and pedals go, Alex admits he is not one for gear indulgence, “I’m not a crazy gear head, but I’m trying to learn. You know what, I’m not somebody who spends thousands of dollars on gear; I like getting a deal. I might be the wrong guy to talk about this stuff [laughs], I’m more of a nerd about camera gear.”

eight rebels rise above debris and empires where music is the principal theme. The concept came from Petrucci, as Rudess distinctly remembers the moment he was approached. “John came to me at the end of the last world tour with this really cool story. I read the synopsis he put together and I was really touched by it. I think it’s a really classic story. So I brought it home with me and I sat down at my piano and proceeded to have all kinds of ideas in terms of composing.“ It’s hard to fathom the extensive planning and time that would have been involved in such an epic and untamed project. Having already had every aspect of the story nutted out before showing Rudess, a solid year of writing followed. “It was like composing music for a film score or musical theatre” says Rudess on writing the album.

Dream Theater took on a decidedly different approach to recording The Astonishing. Rudess confirms their schedule turned into a more formal and structural affair. “We decided we needed to put ourselves into a work environment and work every day. And that’s what we did. We would have meetings every morning about the story and where we were at.” The writing of the music formed organically over the course of a year, allowing for opportunities to arise such as having the orchestra and choir, which features heavily in the album.

The integrating of the orchestra and choir have pushed the boundaries like nothing ever before accomplished by Dream Theater. “Instead of using a lot of digital instruments like in past albums we decided to strip it back and do it with the real thing to make it as raw as possible. So we used a real organ and piano initially and that was our starting point. All the past Dream Theater albums were written with a bunch of guys in the room.

Even though it was always Petrucci and I doing all the composing, the other guys are still there

and they can chime in and it’s a nice vibe. For this album we decided that because it was so deep, detailed and conceptual that it would be John and I composing in a room and we would tell the other guys they could come in and play when they were ready and it was amazing, really unique.”

Jordan credits the understanding, experience and vision of composer David Campbell to moving the project forward. Campbell was able to see the intricacies. He was able to interpret and translate the complexities created by Petrucci and Rudess, to the soloist musicians, orchestra and choir. This has created a truly unique piece of musical theatre.

“He was able to make this happen. He knows how to get things done and the kind of music you’re writing for the time and the budget you have.“ Rudess, who initially thought Campbell was out of reach or too busy to work with, sent a spontaneous email not expecting to hear anything back. Shortly after, confirmation was made to work with the legend that has a mere 450 gold and platinum albums to his name.

It’s hard to miss the excitement and sense of accomplishment in Rudess’s voice as he moves on to talking about the first leg or their tour in Europe. Rudess confirmed with me that it will make up part of an extensive world tour, and ended the interview with a hint of a visit to Australia.

This album truly is one for the mantelpiece, “In all my years with Dream Theater, which is going on 16 years, I feel like this album really allowed us to go very deep. I feel like it truly is not just an accomplishment for the band, but for myself.”

BY AARON STREATFEILD

Basement’s latest offering, Promise Everything, is available now through Run For Cover.

BY SARAH BRYANT The Astonishing is out now via Roadrunner Records.

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THE MATON ACOUSTIC

70 TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

I N T E R V I E W S

BATTLES In the lead up to Battles’ second LP Gloss Drop, the band found themselves down one member, with vocalist Tyondai Braxton leaving midway through the process.

Although Braxton played a key role on Battles’ first album, Mirrored, the remaining three members persevered and created an excellent release that featured guest vocalists on four songs. However, despite Gloss Drop’s success, the future still looked uncertain. Undeterred, Battles returned last year with their third LP, La Di Da Di – their first entirely instrumental album and their most consistent effort to date. Mixdown speaks to guitarist and keyboardist Ian Williams about the album’s creation.

After the uncertainty surrounding Gloss Drop, did you feel more freedom about where you could take Battles on La Di Da Di? In a way, on Mirrored the surprise was that we actually made an album with some singing on it, because the stuff before had been instrumental [EPC and B EP, both 2004]. So it was like, “Oh there’s singing. Surprise.” Then I think on Gloss Drop we felt like, “Oh other people are singing. Surprise.” I feel like La Di Da Di, it was like “Oh we made an instrumental record again and there’s no singing. Surprise.” There are a lot of ways we can be ourselves, and what Battles can be. We didn’t have to do it this way, but it felt good to make an instrumental record and have a little more space in the music.

There is a wonderful amount of space in the arrangements, and the three of you play together with resolute comfort. But I imagine the songs don’t always come together as comfortably and spaciously as they finish

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up. Not only is the playing tight and technically proficient, but everything on La Di Da Di is precisely produced. Is it an element of pre-production to refine until you’ve removed any mess? Or do you go back in post production and figure out what’s essential?

With our older material it was like traffic conducting.

It was like figuring out traffic patterns and like, “Well this has to go here, therefore this has to pull back to make room for it.” It was about how to fit all the stuff in. I think this one we didn’t have to worry about that too much. There was more opportunity just to let the thing play itself out, let the melody figure out what it was. It used to be like more point–counterpoint, back and forth like an argument. This one was like, “Let’s just see if it’s interesting to let a line play without the thesis–antithesis thing going on.” We would always set something up to sort of wreck it – like, “here’s a nice little thing”, and then we’d have something step on it.

This was just trying to let things flow a bit.

The band functions like a creative democracy or something like that. There’s not like the creative director. We try to make it so that everybody’s into a jam, into the vibe of something, and we build something off of that. It’s confusing.

Is that an important feeling for you; a sense of mystery or confusion running through what you’re creating?

I’ve often felt if the process is too simple, the results I come up with are too simple. I find it’s interesting to feel like you’re just on the edge of disaster a lot – like “I’m not sure if this is going to work or not.” It means you’re truly exploring as opposed to doing that thing you know how to do.

On the subject of exploration, given La Di Da Di is completely instrumental and a jazzy sense of adventure permeates the record, Battles could be expected to be a jam band onstage. Do you feel there’s a lot of essential elements to the album It’s a cliché to say, but Battles exemplify the versions that you need to preserve when playing whole being greater than the sum of its parts. On these songs live?

La Di Da Di there’s equal importance to all three We stick to the album versions as a blueprint. We do members’ contributions, rather than one person’s input clearly leading the way. Internally, does there jam a little. But at least in the United States, [jam band] has a lot of connotations of The Grateful Dead tend be a leader, or someone who takes charge of and Phish and all the bands in that world. Like, “as individual songs? long as it’s got a beat and I can shake my hips to it I’ve always liked the idea of music that was about and take drugs it’s fine with me.” I really don’t think relationships between parts – you can feel the bass and that’s the kind of trip we’re on. I feel like we’re still the drum together, and the guitar, and it’s all locking together. The inner movement of machine parts together, this punk band that’s evolved from that family tree – like a few decades down the branch. Our excursions functioning to create the whole. I like that harmony are still this more focused aggression, as opposed to that gets found when things coexist without the leader. just taking acid and going for it.

People often find that they find more emotion and meaning in music when there’s the lead singer telling you

BY AUGUSTUS WELBY a story about his girlfriend who left him or when there’s the guitar solo with the guy wailing on a single note.

Battles will be performing nationally as part of But I find there’s nice emotion actually in a relationship Laneway Festival. La Di Da Di is out now through between parts, which is a little more abstract emotion.

Inertia.

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I N T E R V I E W S

ALLEN STONE Allen Stone’s first two records were steeped in the soul and R&B blueprint laid by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Al Green. Of course, they wore the imprint of his outlook – that of a 20-something white boy from Washington state – but he nevertheless leant heavily on his influences. After dropping two albums in quick succession, there was a lengthy wait for Stone’s third LP, Radius, which arrived at last in May 2015. If the title is viewed symbolically, the album finds Stone zeroing in on the core of his artistry.

“We wanted to sit down and try to find a signature sound,” he says.

“That’s what we set out to do, me and my producer [Magnus Tingsek].

New textures, new feel, new warmth.”

Indeed, Stone’s quest to find a signature sound hasn’t simply resulted in a bolder iteration of 2010’s Last to Speak and 2011’s Allen Stone.

“You definitely always want to try and reinvent your sound,” he says.

“For me personally as an artist, I always want to reinvent myself when I do music. I always want every album to sound different and to have their own time and place. Not only in my life, but hopefully

in the life of the listeners, where you can go back and the textures on the album remind you of smells or memories or moments that you were surrounded by at that time. I always want to sound as different from what’s going on in the music industry as possible, just so that I can maybe be a blip of time in people’s lives.”

It’d make sense for all songwriters to have this view. However, commerce often impedes upon one’s truest creative ambitions. Rather than chasing down sounds that can’t be easily categorised, writers are instructed to cohere with what’s commercially relevant. In the wake of his self-titled LP, Stone inked a deal with the major label Capitol Records.

Despite this, he wasn’t too worried how Radius might impact his existing listenership.

“There was definitely concern from the people who make a living off my records,” he says. “I definitely got pushed back from almost every corner, besides my management and my producer. It’s a tough balance, because I love travelling, I love playing music, and in order to do that it takes Caesar’s money. But I try my best to separate myself from that dialogue as much as possible because I do think it is extremely constricting to have people [saying], ‘Oh but did you hear the new Bruno Mars track Al? Maybe you should do a song like Sam Smith.’ That was kind of the rhetoric coming from the label for a good amount of that. And I understand it – those guys have jobs, they have families, they have egos, they have all this stuff. I think as an artist you’ve got to do your best to have people that protect you from that. I have some really good people that help protect me from that.

Because I tell you what, that stuff can make you just want to hang the gloves up and never swing again.”

Right from its opening track, Radius distinguishes itself from Stone’s first two records. The punchy

production and sense of freedom conveyed by the chorus of ‘Perfect World’ indicates we’re in for something more unique this time around. As the record progresses, it touches on funk, soul, R&B, and melancholic balladry, folk and hip hop.

Throughout, however, it’s rooted in pop structure and melody.

“It’s definitely a pop record. No matter how much whoever thinks it’s not, it’s definitely a pop record. I grew up on pop music. I grew up on Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye ‘Let’s Get It On’, and Ray Charles. These cats, even though super brilliant, they were pop writers. My producer grew up on The Beatles.”

While he initially owns up to writing a pop record, Stone has a few misgivings about the nature of the term. “What is pop music though? What the fuck is pop music? I still haven’t been able to figure it out. Gotye could come out with a song that’s the biggest song in the world for three years, and if it wouldn’t have been the biggest song in three years everybody would’ve been like, ‘Well I don’t think that’s pop enough Gotye.’ So the whole pop discussion for me is so moot. It’s just like busy-body industry people.

“I don’t get it. I don’t get the word pop. For me I just try to write music that makes me feel good and makes me think and I want people to feel that same thing. You can call it pop, you can call it fucking labour music. I don’t give a fuck what you call it as long as you listen to it and you feel something.”

BY AUGUSTUS WELBY Allen Stone is playing at Bluesfest 2016, alongside Brian Wilson, D’Angelo, Kendrick Lamar and more, which runs from Thursday March 24 – Monday March 28 at the Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, NSW.

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C O L U M N S

UNLEASH YOUR INNER ROCK GOD Cascading Gain Stages

Once upon a time amps were designed to be played clean, and distortion was considered to be a bad thing. Can you believe it?

Yeesh. Now we have so many different flavours of gain that you can combine all sorts of variables to create a unique tone that’s simply “you.” Here are some ideas for feeding one gain stage into another to generate a specific sound.

Clean Amp + Overdrive

Got a clean amp channel that’s just a little too clean? I like to use an overdrive pedal at a very low, subtle gain setting to add just a teensy tiny bit of breakup to the sound. Typically when I’m doing this I’ll make sure the volume of the pedal is consistent with the volume of the clean amp, but if you’re using a tube amp you can get a different character of gain by cranking that level knob: it’ll make your preamp tubes work harder, giving you more crunch and harmonic distortion.

You can do this with a single-knob clean boost as well of course, and sometimes that’s all you need. Other times you might want to tweak the tone a bit.

Dirty Amp + Overdrive

By far my favourite flavour of gain. I like to dial in my perfect rhythm tone, typically with my Marshall DSL50’s gain on about 6 on the Lead channel (not the hotter Ultra channel) then step on a Seymour Duncan 805 Overdrive for my lead sound. The 805’s volume is maxed, the gain is on about 2 and the midrange is boosted. This gives you lots of sustain and compression while the mid boost lets your notes really jump out at the audience. But it also gives you somewhere to go when you use the guitar’s volume control to adjust the amount of gain: having the Marshall on 6 seems to be a sweet spot where you can wind the guitar volume back to clean up the tone to a ‘just a little bit of grit’ voice, and I can quite happily play a whole set with a single amp channel and an overdrive to handle all of my clean, dirty and lead sounds for the night.

Megadistorted Amp + Overdrive

Some players like to use an overdrive pedal in front of a high gain amp like a Peavey 5150/6505, not to give the amp even more gain but to tighten up the response. This is particularly dependent

on the type of amp and pedal you’re using but typically you might want to raise the pedal’s tone control a bit but not go overboard on the additional gain or the level. When dialled in just right you’ll find it cuts down on the ‘kshh’ sound that you sometimes get in between chord chugs, bringing out more detail in your attack and giving you a more percussive, stopstart kind of feel.

Bonus Trick: Dirty Amp + Overdrive + Boost

Here’s a weird one I discovered totally by accident. I was using an MXR/CAE Boost/ OD pedal into my DSL50, just exploring various settings. I hit upon an utterly weird sound when I set the overdrive section’s tone and volume controls nearly all the way down, cranked up the gain and turned on the boost. Only a tiny amount of signal was coming out of the overdrive side but I was able to raise its level with the boost side and feed it into the dirty amp. The result is unlike nothing I’ve ever heard: it’s smooth and creamy, quite compressed, and harmonically complex in a way that I’ve never quite been able to achieve with just an overdrive and a dirty amp.

Other Tricks

This doesn’t even begin to get into the other fun stuff you can do: multiple distortion pedals all set for low gain but feeding into each other; fuzz pedals; using a graphic EQ ahead of a dirt box to goose certain frequencies; even the old trick of setting a wah-wah pedal in a stationary position qualifies as a cascading gain stage method of tone generation.

BY PETER HODGSON

PG.24 // MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016

ON THE DOWNLOW

What You Can Learn From Billy Sheehan

Virtuoso bassist Billy Sheehan is one of those freaks of nature, a naturally gifted player who is equally at home cranking out chart-topping hard rock with the likes of David Lee Roth and Mr. Big, or laying into intricate modal jazz improvisations with his fusion trio Niacin. Currently he’s playing in a new power trio, The Winery Dogs, with former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy and virtuoso guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen. Winery Dogs is an opportunity for Sheehan, Portnoy and Kotzen to tap into a classic rock-influenced sound, bringing it into the modern era with a slight detour through the 90s as well - think Alice In Chains jamming on Hendrix tunes with Chris Cornell on vocals and you’ll get a bit of an idea of what to expect.

With the album doing so well (it was released on August 30 in Australia after debuting at #27 on the USA’s Billboard 200 chart), it seems like a good time to look at a few things we can all learn from Sheehan’s style, whether you aim to play a similar kind of ‘shred bass’ or if you’re just looking for a little more colour and depth from your playing.

Three Fingers Are Better Than Two

It’s very, very common for bass players who use their fingers to stick with just their index and middle fingers, ‘walking’ over the string in a steady pattern of ‘one-two-one-two-onetwo-one-two.’ And why not? It’s natural and simple. But Sheehan can regularly be seen using a three-finger approach, running through a sequence of ring, middle and index fingers.

What’s neat about this technique is that it helps you to bake a little more variation into your bass licks, especially if you’re playing a particularly fast part. If you listen closely to a steady eighth-note part recorded using just two fingers it becomes easy to recognise the ‘one-two-one-two’ pattern and it can become distracting. Record the same part with the three-finger technique and the music will have much more of a roving, moving feel because it’s harder for the ear to pick out the pattern, since you’re alternating the focus to a different picking finger for each beat. And this technique is especially great for really fast licks because it enhances your speed while also buying each finger a little ‘recovery time’ before it next appears in the sequence, allowing you to prepare that finger to strike again and thereby giving cleaner articulation.

Pinch Harmonics

Pinch harmonics are very popular among guitar players - heck, Zakk Wylde has made a very solid career out of them - but they’re much less common among bass players. There are a few reasons for that: you require a plectrum to achieve ‘em - and there are more finger style bass players out there than pickstyle - and pinch harmonics are much easier to get on a guitar than on a bass. But Billy found a way around it. On a guitar, a pinch harmonic is achieved by hitting the note first

with the pick and then with the edge of your thumb, all in one action. When done fast enough there’s no distinction between the original note and the screamer that follows.

On a bass, simply use your index or middle fingernail to sound the note as you would with a pick, then let the fingertip pass over the string immediately after. It’ll take a few goes to get it right, but you’ll soon find that you can locate specific harmonic overtones to emphasise depending on where you pick..

Some zones won’t get you a harmonic at all: others will let you play notes that are way up there in the stratosphere. Oh and if you start to wear your fingernail down from all that picking, there’s no shame in using a little clear matte nail polish or a nail strengthener to give the nail a bit more resilience, or you could go full goth and rock the black nail polish.

Split Your Tone

For years Billy has used basses with two discreet pickup outputs: a bottom-heavy neck pickup through one amp, and a rear pickup with its own separate output and amp set for more of a distorted tone. This lets him goose the harmonic content of his basslines while still holding down the more rhythmic functions of a bass. But now if you want to get close to Billy’s tone, you can use the EBS Billy Sheehan Signature Drive bass pedal. It’s an incredibly versatile pedal which combines an overdrive and a compressor along with tone-shaping, a mixer and signal-routing features. It splits the signal into clean and distorted chains with controls for each, and a three-model compression circuit (High, Mid and Off) to give you more punch. And each signal has its own dedicated loop, so you can add different effects to your Drive and Clean signal chains. Throw some delay on your overdriven sound and a synth effect on your clean tone, for instance. It’s a very cost-effective way to get more scope and range out of your bass tone, whether you’re a high-speed, two-hand-tapping, harmonicsquealing technique monster like Sheehan or simply someone who wants to sound cool.

BY PETER HODGSON

www.mixdownmag.com.au

C O L U M N S

WHAT’S THAT SOUND? Recording Keys

Something that continues to be a real cause for confusion with a number of people I speak to is how to go about recording keyboard and synths. With a number of output options and new technology changing techniques faster than users can often keep up with, it can be easy to see why such a seemingly simple task can be actually be perplexing to most. So, whether it is MIDI, audio or VST control, there are a number of ways you can get the best sound from your keyboard when adding them to your recordings. Just because a synthesizer is a piece of technology, this doesn’t mean that it is not still an instrument that gets it’s sound from the soul of the musician playing it. So, it makes sense that you should want to capture that as part of the sound too, rather than having it sound like every other clone off of the production line.

The MIDI Myth

It seems that as we continue in the technology race, certain stalwarts of our music hardware become less and less known to newer users. In this case, MIDI is a shining example of just that.

Nowadays, it is often just seen as those weird 5-pin connectors that most people don’t use, or it is taken for granted, going unnoticed in USB data transfer. But many users don’t understand the full potential of this control message language that hasn’t really seen any sort of major upgrade for more than 30 years, yet it is still used. It is pretty simple stuff really, and new users shouldn’t be scared of it.

It is just a simple set of commands and control changes that travel from one device to another. In this case, when recording MIDI data, your DAW will be set up to a MIDI channel, rather than audio, and you will record the key strokes and controller motions that are made whilst playing. These can then be edited and sent to a sound engine at a later stage, making it a very tactile method of working. You don’t need to worry about how the audio sounds at this stage, you can simply edit the notes and control changes as you please, for the audio is yet to be produced and will only be recorded once you have the right performance to capture.

The VST Trap

Once you have your MIDI notation recorded, you can send it to any number of virtual instruments to achieve any sound you like. Your sound has not been locked to tape with the first recording; you can change it and modify it all you like, whilst still applying the performance recorded via MIDI to it. This can be dangerous though. You can very easily get caught in the trap of sound hording - stockpiling VST instruments to increase the variety and options available only to end up getting lost amongst them.

There is no need to have every sound ever created available to you if you are only going to use one. Or worse, if you need to listen to all of them in order to make

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a decision. This does result in a freedom of choice, but also a certain slavery to indecision at times. The same goes with feeding that MIDI information back into the keyboard to use the hardware engine for its sounds. It can result in too many hairs being split over the specific sound rather than worrying about the performance itself.

The Classic Way

Something that is often overlooked in recording synthesizers is the audio.

When faced with all this technology, it is easy to forget the pure analogue sound that is created by these machines.

It is easy enough to send the audio out from your synth to the input on your audio interface and record your performance directly. Sure, but you can add more depth to the sound with a little creativity. Sending your synth sound to a valve guitar amplifier, one that has a big clean channel that doesn’t break up with volume adds a new depth to the synthesizer’s capabilities and brings the sounds to life. This then allows you to employ a series of microphone options to capture the tone of your keyboard like it were a real instrument on stage and not just another link in a computer signal chain. What results from this is the inability to tirelessly edit you MIDI score and change your software sounds to find the right one. You need to go back to basics and capture the essence of the performance itself. Get the amp working hard and make the most of the headroom that it has to offer to bring real analogue warmth to your keyboard sound and you will never want to record direct in ever again.

But, whether you go through an amp, DI or MIDI ports, there are always certain advantages and disadvantages to each method. The important thing to remember is that you allow the keyboard to act as a means of expressing your music and don’t let it become a tool of technology.

BY ROB GEE

HOME STUDIO HINTS Microphone Choices

Last month we looked at the various polar patterns that are available with most condenser microphones and how they should be used in the home studio setup. Now, I want to take a step back and consider the microphone in question. Yes, a multi-patterned condenser microphone does offer a range of options, but perhaps this is not going to meet your needs. A lot of people I deal with seem to think that they have to have a side address, large diaphragm condenser microphone, resting in a fancy cradle in order for it to be deemed a “studio microphone”. Well, the fact remains that every microphone can be a studio tool, and there are many instances when a dynamic microphone is better suited to the task at hand. So, let’s take a look at the three most common types of microphones available and consider how they might come into play in the home studio.

Dynamic Microphones

Deriving their title from the fact that movement is required within the capsule, dynamic microphones are the most commonly used microphone, especially in live environments. The capsule is mounted to a magnet inside the housing.

This magnet has a copper coil around it, so when the sound waves hit the capsule and cause it to vibrate, the magnet moves within the coil, generating a small electrical charge, enough to power the microphone. It is because of the weight of the magnet restricting the movement of the capsule that dynamic microphones tend to require a louder signal. Low level signals are not easily captured as the capsule isn’t able to move with small variations in air pressure. For this same reason, high frequencies are often lost with dynamic microphones, keeping environmental noise to a minimum.

Because of this, they can be ideal for high sound pressure levels, like close to individual drums, guitar amplifiers and brass instruments. They naturally knock off a little of the harsh high frequencies and are able to handle high volumes without the capsule moving too greatly and causing distortion.

Condenser Microphones

Condenser microphones are quite the opposite. They have a freely suspended capsule within the housing. There is no copper coil and no magnet weighing the capsule down, resulting in a far more delicate microphone that is capable of capturing higher frequencies and more subtle variations in air pressure. This means that your room needs to be fairly quiet and well treated to get the most of a condenser microphone. If you are using it in a noisy environment, it will only project this noise more readily into your recordings. The better the condenser microphone is, usually means that the capsule is more sensitive too. So, before you rush out and buy the most expensive microphone you can afford, consider if the room you intend to use it in is up to the challenge.

Because condenser microphones don’t use a magnet and coil to create a charge,

they need to be powered by an external source. This is where Phantom Power comes into play. You would have all seen the Phantom Power, or +48V, markings on switches found on mixers or audio interfaces. This supplies the needed power to a condenser microphone through the third, current unused pin, in an XLR microphone cable. Sending power up the cable allows the microphone to operate without the need for a dynamic capsule design.

Ribbon Microphones

The third microphone type you might come across is ribbon microphones. This is where you need to be careful as they are often built into casings like condensers, but they most certainly are not. Supplying Phantom Power to a ribbon microphone is likely to fry the ribbon element and see the end of your recording tool. These microphones use a length of magnetic ribbon to act as the capsule, rather than a round diaphragm. What this results in is the ability to capture very low and very high frequencies with the one microphone, even at high sound pressure levels and in a variety of polar patterns.

They are often placed into a specialist category and rarely end up in home studios, but can achieve great results with some experimentation. Just be careful to make sure no Phantom Power is being supplied to the mixer’s channels before connecting a ribbon microphone.

In all, it seems the romance of a classic condenser microphone in a suspension cradle will always be the ‘go to’ option for people when they want to do studio recording. But in reality, it is a combination of microphones that is always needed to achieve the best results.

Don’t get caught up in how the thing looks, no one will ever know, or care, what it looked like when they listen to your music. They will only judge your recording on how it sounds, so make sure you choose the correct microphone for each application based on resulting sounds and not image.

BY ROB GEE

MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016 // PG.25

C O L U M N S

[D]IGITAL [J]OCKEY Who is a DJ?

In this day and age, roles within any area of music production, bit of a grey area. There was a time when one person played the instrument, another produced the album and another engineered the recording. Then a mix engineer and a mastering engineer were often implemented along the process to complete a release before the record company went about the marketing and sales path to get it into the listener’s hands. With today’s technology however, every musician can be a producer, engineer and marketing guru all rolled into one. The same goes with the role of the DJ.

Not Just a Radio Announcer

Thinking back to when DJs first appeared, what comes to mind is the radio announcers of the past, who would first perform on air, then began playing recorded music when it was possible. Moving on from then, the first suggestions of the modern DJ sprung up in the 70’s when disco took the world by storm. It wasn’t until hip-hop came to existence that the DJ really played a role as a performer and not just a glorified jukebox. This is when the reality of what two turntables and a mixer could achieve was realised, and it changed the course of music forever. By the end of the 80’s the DJ was now also a producer, as technology was tracking with the ever-growing demand for music making.

Just as musicians were being used to add something to a DJ’s performance, DJs were also starting to be used as another element in a band, performing as an instrument amongst guitars, drums and keyboards.

Into the Now

Jump forward a few more years and suddenly we saw turntable sales overtake guitar sales in the worldwide market for a year and you have to ask yourself, “What is it all about?” The next 15 years saw a boom in DJ related products that continued to push the boundaries of what a DJ can do in music production and performance. Just as the musician has evolved to become in part an engineer, producer and marketer, the DJ has done the same. In fact, the DJ has become the modern musician and vice versa, as both tread into similar waters with technology, although both continually seem to present themselves as something different. The fact is that the modern musician is the DJ; the only thing that separates one from another is the choice of platform and instrument used.

Consider the uninitiated in the music world through classic channels, and how easy it is for them to now create and share. Anyone can download an app to their phone and make music from it in a matter of minutes. Companies like Korg

have began to capture the imagination of the ‘possible DJ’ by offering products like the Kaossilator and Mini Kaoss Pad. These devices are small, compact and easily allowed the untrained user to create music. This has then been translated into phone and tablet apps that capture the same imagination. There are plenty of guitarists I know that would never go near any DJ gear, but when they got the Native Instruments Maschine app on their phone, they had a ball and were making all sorts of stuff that they would previously have rejected had it not come from their making.

This is where it is all heading. We are right at a point where there is no real defined answer to the question of “what is a DJ?” The reason for this is that each and every one of us that chooses to move with technology is becoming one as the defining values of what a DJ is are changing. It all comes down to how we harness that chance and how creative we allow ourselves to be, that will determine which of the new breed of DJ will shine. Of course, the person behind the turntables or computer in the booth at a club is a DJ, but we are all only a few steps shy of that ourselves. Because of this, there is a lot of noise out there.

Anyone has the ability to make and create this noise, the challenge into the future will be defining what is worthwhile and what is just more noise. Music can now be created and published in such a short timeframe and with such an enormous audience, which means we are headed for an overcrowding of musical space, if we haven’t already gotten there. Each and every DJ or musician is contributing and we the audience, as both creators and purveyors of music need to sort it out for ourselves. Vote with your ears and create with your souls and the results should speak for themselves. Until then, there is always the mute button.

ROB GEE

PG.26 // MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016

BANGING THE TUBS Hybrid Drum Kits

In the automotive world, the word Hybrid refers to the combination of electric and combustion engines. In the drum world, it’s the combination of electric drums and acoustic drums. What’s the deal? Why do it?

Is it worth it? How do I start? All relevant questions.

I’ve had a fascination for a long time with the concept of adding electronic sounds to my existing acoustic set up. I had to think why this was so. This is a little embarrassing but many, many moons ago I went to a Craig David concert. Yes, I admit it. Hear me out though. As it is with many R’n’B artists, they often bring out a band full of serious session musicians and this was no exception. It was perhaps the first time I’d seen a drummer really combine the two drumming worlds well. One minute I was hearing his frankly awesome sounding DW and the next moment I was listening to an 808 electric kit. The impact it had on the vibe and the music was fantastic. I still vividly remember that concert. The drummer was also the MD and he was all over it – perhaps another factor, but I digress.

So clearly, depending on the genre of music, electronic drum sounds can really enhance the gig. The actual reality of creating a hybrid instrument is a little more confusing than I once thought and really, this is why (many, many moons later) I’m only really starting to dive in.

Three Options For Adding New Sounds

Before we really look at some considerations after you have your set up, let’s firstly explore some different ways to approach adding these cool sounds to your kit. The first way and perhaps the easiest, is to buy a sample/percussion pad such as the Roland SPD-SX or Octopad. These units have built in memory and are a self-contained unit with sounds and actual pads on them. They can be attached to an existing cymbal stand or be free standing next to your kit. The SPD-SX also has sampling abilities so you can add loops or sounds of your choice.

The next way as to have a self-contained unit as above but combine the use of triggers. These are little sensors that clip onto the acoustic drums themselves and trigger pre-set sounds on the unit every time the drum is struck. This means though, that you have the electric and the acoustic sound at the same time.

The third and final way to get into this is to have physical rubber or mesh pads/ triggers set up as part of the kit. E.g. Two acoustic rack toms and then a rubber pad next to that or a separate kick drum pad.

Depending on the number of extra pads, this requires an electronic brain to trigger all the sounds. Some players will just use the brain from an existing electric kit. So in

a way, you could literally combine and electric kit around an acoustic kit. The brain doesn’t have any pads at all; it’s literally just the computer and link to the PA. I’ve just bought a Roland SPD-SX. I’m starting the journey with the first of my three options. The reason being that I thought having a smaller self-contained pad cluster next to my hi-hats was a simple way to get started – adding some hand claps, 808 kick drums etc. where appropriate. This unit however, has the added ability to add some external triggers (effectively a combination of options) so the next step will be to add these at some point and who knows where to from there. The thing is, my whole setup and procedure for gigging now has changed. Let’s talk about some of the changes.

Considerations

Since the electric pad requires amplification, it’s really important to get the balance of the samples and the acoustic kit the same. You’re so used to hearing loud drums coming at you, if you don’t get the electronics a similar volume, you won’t be able to play comfortably. This also means use of monitoring such as a fold back speaker or headphones. Bear in mind though, if someone in the band is not being run through the PA, you won’t be able to hear them as well in your headphones.

Not ideal. The point is, the monitoring needs to be considered and a solution decided when you start to gig with the hybrid kit. The fold back speaker is perhaps the best. The rest of the band can hear the sounds then too.

Bringing a speaker and electronic pad to every gig means more things to load in. If you’re a one-trolley load guy like me, this means more trips to the car. Is it worth it?

Your call. Finally, I’ve found the electronic world quite overwhelming – there are SO many sounds you can have and so many options as to where you play them in the music. How far do you go? Again, your call.

For me, I still want to get it happening.

I’m interested. The additional sounds really enhance the gig and the vibe and you can really capture some of the production sounds from the original recordings. When monitoring is sorted, it’s just so fun. So, I’d encourage you to get into it. Funny how a Craig David concert influenced my drumming. You never stop learning.

BY ADRIAN VIOLI

www.mixdownmag.com.au

ROAD TESTS TC Electronic BH800 Bass Amp Amber Technology | 1800 251 367 | www.ambertech.com.au | RRP: $1249

TC Electronic’s BH250 bass amp was a truly inno­v­a­tive piece of gear.

A light­weight, full-featured micro bass head with an onboard tuner, it also features the company’s TonePrint tech­nol­ogy for load­ing sig­na­ ture effects from a ros­ter of world-class play­ers and experts. Per­haps its stream­lined con­trols made some play­ers long for just a lit­tle bit more while main­tain­ing the porta­bil­ity and usabil­ity of the amp, and a lit­tle more power never goes astray. How about bump­ing it up to 800 watts? you want it), Spec­tra­Comp (the THE 800 CLUB same multi-band com­pres­sor that That’s what’s going on with you’ll find in the Black­smith) the BH800. It’s an 800 watt and Bass­Drive (designed for bass head that con­tin­ues the tube-like char­ac­ter). The built-in spirit of the BH250, but with tuner is always on, giv­ing you a few extra fea­tures that add a clear read-out whether you’re up to a lot more usabil­ity and in tune or not, and it’s designed func­tion­al­ity. For instance, to cater to every­thing up to sixwhere the BH250 only had string basses. Around the back bass, mid­dle and tre­ble tone you’ll find a bal­anced XLR out­put con­trols, the BH800 has bass, with a pre/post EQ switch, a lo-mid, hi-mid and tre­ble. Where head­phone out, which auto­ the BH250 had a two-position mat­i­cally mutes the speaker, an gain switch for opti­mis­ing the aux­il­iary in for rehears­ing with input stage for either pas­sive or tracks, a USB jack for load­ing active pick­ups, the BH800 has TonePrints, a footswitch jack a gain knob so you can dial in for hook­ing up a Switch 3 pedal the per­fect amount of input and then finally a speaker out power. Where the BH250 had a ­ um (class 2 wiring, 4 ohm min­im TonePrint con­trol, the BH800 has load). TC rec­om­mends using any two, giv­ing you access to a two RS series cab­i­nets (1x12, wide range of effects includ­ing 2x10, 2x12, or 4x10), any cho­rus, flanger, vibrato, octaver two BC series cab­i­nets (2x10 or (a sub’n’up octaver, which can 2x12), or the BC410 cab­i­net with give you an octave down or an� four 10” speak­ers and a tweeter. octave up and can add dirt if

ALL THE TONE THAT’S FIT TO PRINT

This is an ultra-flexible amp that can do every­thing from soft and gen­tle to loud and rau­cous. Whether you play jazz, funk, R&B, coun­try, blues, rock, punk, metal, it’s all in there.

The clean sounds are espe­cially nice, run­ning the gamut from deep, subby rum­bles to punchy, edgy thumps. It seemed equally happy with active or pas­sive pick­ups, although the Bass­Drive TonePrints seemed espe­cially happy with pas­sives espe­cially when really push­ing the gain.

The avail­able RH800-specific TonePrints are by Duff McK­a­gan, Nathan East, Richard Bona, Vic­tor Wooten, Roscoe Beck, Janek Gwiz­dale and Hen­rik Linde and they cover every­thing from sub­tle cho­rus to much more

outra­geous tones like Gwizdala’s ‘Fam­ily of Rats’. A lively flanger effect that man­ages to sound space-age and musi­cal at the same time.

THE BOTTOM END

If you’re into more organic and dirty sounds, then you might find three or four really great tones in here that you’ll use a lot. If you’re into a mil­lion dif­fer­ent sounds, with a great major­ity of them clean or pep­pered with studio-quality effects, there’s a never-ending stream of them lurk­ing within the BH800. This could either be a great ‘here’s my sound’ amp for set-and-forgetters or an all-in-one tone solu­tion for those who never want to stop find­ing cool sounds.

SPECS • TonePrint - For a world of sig­na­ture effects.

• Ultra-lightweight.

• 800 Watt.

• Intel­li­gently con­toured tone controls.

HITS • Two TonePrints • Handy gain control • Portable

MISSES • Tuner isn’t chromatic • No FX loop

BY PETER HODGSON

Yamaha NP-32 & NP-12 Portable Keyboards Yamaha Music Australia | (03) 9693 5111 | www.au.yamaha.com | RRP: NP-12: $399.99 NP-32: $449.99

When it comes to offering a complete range of keyboards, Yamaha certainly make sure that they cover all bases. In both price range and feature sets, they ensure that there is something for every budget and user requirement. And, never wanting to let a product fall behind, Yamaha seems to revise each of their keyboard and digital piano products every 18 to 24 months, making sure that they offer users the very best technology available for the price. With that in mind, I now think about the NP series of portable keyboards, having not had an overhaul for a few years. But with the release of the NP-32 and NP-12 portable keyboards, the Piaggero range of lightweight, slimline keyboards from Yamaha now jumps back into the focus once again.

A lighter option

With the larger, 88-note models like the P-45 and P-115 available for those who are looking for a graded hammer action that feels more like a piano, not everyone wants the bulk, or price tag associated with these units.

That is why the Piaggero series has held an important role in the Yamaha portable keyboard line-up since its introduction.

These units can easily be slung under the arm and carried about without any worry, being built into a very slim and very lightweight casing; these really define what a ‘portable’ keyboard should be.

Both NP-32 and NP-12 are

simple creatures, not trying to overcomplicate things with loads of bells and whistles. If you are looking for programmed songs, backing styles and hundreds of sounds, then the PSR series is what you probably need. The NP range in the Piaggero series is all about the piano, without the space, price tag or weight.

Designed to replace a digital piano on a smaller scale, both of these units do just that.

NP-32

The big boy of the pair is, as the name would suggest, the NP-32.

This is a 76-note keyboard that extends in length for greater range without the need to shift

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octaves up or down. But, it is still housed in a casing that isn’t too long, like many 88-note digital pianos. You’ll get this across the back seats of any car on the market if you need to travel with it and you won’t put your back out lifting it in and out. What the NP-32 enjoys is a graded soft touch action to the piano style keys. They are closed off to resemble full piano keys, but are nowhere near as solid or heavy. The pressure from the keys alters as you work your way up the keyboard, giving a realistic feel, whilst still being gentle and easy to play for beginners or those used to keyboards rather than pianos.

NP-12

The slightly smaller option is the NP-12, offering 61 keys, a format that many users of the PSR series and similar keyboards will be familiar with. This model does have a lighter touch to the action too, so it is very

easy to play for beginners and synthesizer users alike. Beyond the size and action, there is very little difference. Like the NP-32, the NP-12 has a choice of 10 different sounds, mostly piano and organ based. But don’t worry, the obligatory harpsichord sounds have been left in there, so you won’t go missing those in a hurry. The other big difference is in the amplification section, powering the built in speakers. The NP-12 has a pair of 2.5-watt amplifiers driving the speakers, whilst the NP-32 has a pair of window rattling 6-watt amplifiers. Because of this, the NP-12 suffers a little when you want to get any decent low frequency response at volume, but this is not what it is designed for. If you run a line from the headphone output into a PA system or monitor speakers, the tone of the AWM sampled sounds is fantastic and delivers right across the frequency range.

In looking for a compact,

portable keyboard, whether you want total portability and a reduced size, or would prefer a slightly heavier, graded touch with fuller sounding speakers, there is going to be something that will suit your needs in the Piaggero range from Yamaha.

Both these models are slicker versions of their predecessors and deliver plenty of value and sound quality at the same time.

BY Rob Gee

HITS • Very lightweight • Great Yamaha piano sounds • Responsive keyboard in both models

MISSES • The speakers don’t quite deliver in the bottom end. It’s just nit-picking really

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ROAD T ES T S

Hammond B-3MK2 Console Organ Musico | (03) 9872 5094 | www.musico.com.au | RRP: Contact For Pricing

Just over 60 years ago, the organ world was revolutionised by the introduction of the Hammond B3 organ, the “King” of instruments.

These goliath keyboards delivered a sound and control quite unlike any other on the market and have continued to do so for decades.

SO, now that the 20th Century is done and dusted and we are well into the 21st, Hammond have stepped it up with the B3-mk2, the latest incarnation of this great instrument, taking it to a new level as a digital instrument that has more power and flexibility than would ever have been dreamed of by the original B3 designers and players.

The look and feel

The design team at Hammond have gone all out with this model, and having had 60 years to come about with it, you would expect it to be something big. And bid it is. Anyone who has sat down at a B3 will know how this instrument is not only awe inspiring by sound but in appearance too. The mk2 is no different, with the same structure and design as the original. Sitting down at the bench and placing your hands upon the drawbars, it looks and feels like a newly built version of the old model. They have really done justice to the B3 legacy with this release, whilst ensuring it still has something extra

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too. Being a new digital model, Hammond has strived to retain the look and feel of the original and they have achieved that in every detail. Even playing individual keys very slowly allows you to hear the nine engagements of the drawbars as the sound builds with the continual depression of the key.

It behaves just like the original, but with added brilliance.

The inner workings

To the lower right of the keyboards, there is a slide out tray in the wooden panel that exposes the control interface for the digital engine. This allows you to store and recall all sorts of settings, including building

little issues like that are removed as raising the percussion volume does not affect anything but the percussion volume, bringing it up in the mix and retaining the overall sound. In short, this is everything a Hammond player would want, with all the bugs ironed out and all the control of a modern instrument.

BY Rob Gee

your own patches that retain drawbar and effects settings for instant recall. Furthermore, there are all manner of functions that can now be accessed on the fly, whilst playing to improve the usability of the B3. For instance, Leslie control, EQ and reverb can all be adjusted on the fly, separate to your recalled sounds.

And because it is all digitally

controlled now, you don’t need to re-engineer it to make critical changes inside. For example, increasing the percussion sound of a note - that used to happen by lowering the overall note volume so that the percussion attack stood out more, but then your whole signal dropped and you would have to work around that with your ensemble. Now,

HI T S • The sound is like no other keyboard or organ • The feel of the keys has that classic Hammond springiness • The ability to control and store your sounds makes it very workable

M ISSES • You need a truck to take this to a gig

M I X DOWN # 2 6 2 / / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 / / P G . 2 9

ROAD TESTS Alesis Crimson Electric Drum Kit Electric Factory | (03) 9474 1000 | www.elfa.com.au | RRP: $1599

For so long the words ‘Electric Drum Kit’ equalled something expensive – especially if you wanted anything of decent quality. The cheaper brands, marketed for the beginner/intermediate player, were usually just terrible excuses for what was clearly not a real instrument. Enter Alesis with the new Crimson.

Alesis have been working on the ‘electric drum kit for beginner/ intermediate’ solution for some time now, and even the successful flagship DM10 has been a revelation at its price point. However, even that kit can be over some drummer’s budget and so, the new Crimson Mesh kit is aimed to be a mid-range unit, with an attractive price that in my opinion, creams the competition in its class.

WHAT DO I GET?

You get a 5-piece kit as standard - all black mesh. There’s an 8” Kick pad, which is wide enough to accommodate a single or double pedal, two 8” dual-zone rack toms and a 10” dual zone floor tom. The real kicker is the larger 12” snare drum – also dual-zone but free standing on the snare stand that comes with the kit as standard. You also get a 12” dual-zone crash, three-zone 14” ride and 12” hi-hat with separate pedal. The whole lot is mounted on a killer metal rack

system that is really sturdy. So finally, there’s a real sense of quality with the hardware on this kit. It really makes you rest easy no wobbling whist playing.

The module contains 600 sounds, 50 preset kits and 20 additional ‘user’ kits that allow for your own combinations. There’s midi in and out, stereo/mono outputs as well as Auxiliary input (for iPods etc) and a headphone jack.

Other handy features include a metronome and real-time recording that allows for 5 tracks on the internal memory but up to 99 tracks via the use of USB memory stick. Worth noting, with regards to the USB stick input, is the ability to actually load your own samples onto the module and then assign them to whatever trigger/pad you want on your own user kit. Seriously? That is awesome for this type of kit. The sounds onboard are pretty cool on their own but if you’re keen on triggering something else, even loops, you can. Win.

DOES SHE HANDLE WELL?

The Crimson kit I tried had the tunable mesh heads to allow for personalisation of how you want the drums to feel. This is a great feature, usually reserved for the more top end electric kits.

Interestingly, the rims were metal just like an acoustic kit. Now, usually you get rubber rims but I have to say, I loved the metal rims. The snare drum actually felt real to me. Why? Simply because of the fact that when I lay into a snare, I usually rim shot (rim and skin at the same time) and this made this Alesis feel exactly the same as a normal snare for me. Seriously, this made all the difference. I’ve seen pics of the Crimson with rubber rims too though. The on-board sounds aren’t life changing but are really fine for many applications. That said, you can have other sounds too so it’s still a win.

The toms and kick all felt primo as well. The only thing not in their favour is the fact that they’re rather small, but this is a small niggle and for most players, the smaller size means less foot print for the room they’re in and with the ability to tune the heads down, they can be made to ‘feel’ larger if necessary.

The cymbals were the only thing that hinted to the mid range nature of this kit. They feel fine but are still rubber and feel the least realistic. However, this isn’t really a big deal as they respond

well and do exactly what you’d hope of them. The bell on the ride is easily triggered and they crash well. The crash is chokeable too, which is nice.

Within the module you can adjust the pads further by altering sensitivity, rim sensitivity, head to rim adjustment (the crosstalk reduction between head and rim), threshold, Xtalk (reduces pads triggering from other vibrations) and velocity curve to name a few.

Overall, the new Crimson is very impressive. There’s the usability of the mesh heads and the larger snare and mesh kick pad are also real winners for me. Add the quality rack/hardware and the

extra features such as external sample triggering and I reckon the Crimson is going to be an absolute cracker. Would I have one? Totally.

BY ADRIAN VIOLI

HITS • Great quality and feel overall • Advanced features for this price point • Oversized free standing snare drum

MISSES • Cymbals realistically not as cool as the drums • Not much else

Mooer Baby Water Chorus & Delay Pedal Jade Australia | 1800 144 120 | www.musocity.com.au | RRP: $129.95

With Mooer’s Baby Water pedal, they’ve created a chorus and delay optimised for use with the acoustic guitar. With its tiny size and adaptable range of sounds that move from subtle to extreme, it makes a welcome choice for players looking to get that little bit extra out of their acoustic rig.

POCKET ROCKET

For such a small pedal, Mooer has managed to squeeze five different delay and chorus tones into one incredibly economical box. One central knob selects between chorus, triple chorus for a deeper variant, echo, CH-DL mode for a combination of both chorus delay and DLCH - that adds chorus added to the delay effect. There are three thumbtack-sized knobs allowing some simple control over the sounds with level, depth and rate controls. It solely runs off a 9-volt power supply, but only because there is simply no room for a battery inside the minuscule enclosure.

DON’T BORE US, GET TO THE CHORUS

The first chorus mode offers the

most classic, airy sound of the bunch. It’s great for a subtler chorus effect. With a slow rate and low depth settings, it adds a pleasing touch of stereo depth to the guitar sound that can almost result in something akin to a 12-string sound. A little bit of chorus can go a long way, so I found the best results taking a metered approach to the dials. The ‘tri-chi’ or triple chorus effect is more noticeable, with a deeper and multilayered approach to chorus. With a higher rate and depth settings, it’s possible to get Leslietype rotary tones that sound relatively convincing. I don’t think this would be the type of effect to always leave on, but the Baby Water would certainly be useful to accentuate certain moments in an arrangement.

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DELAY FOR DAYS

While the delay and echo based effects are perhaps slightly limited by the lack of controls, they offer a perfectly usable and at times - lush sounding ambience. The echo setting offers a dry, clean digital delay without the addition of chorus.

The CH-DL mode is the most pleasing setting for acoustic guitar that especially shines when fingerpicking. With the effects working in series, neither the chorus nor delay overwhelms the other. It results in a weighty effect that can effectively fill out the sound when playing solo. Finally, the DL-CH mode applies the chorus to the delay’s repeats. Funnily enough, the wobbly repeats created by the chorus actually seem to recreate the flutter and wow of a tape echo. It’s a handy all-rounder type setting that doesn’t get too overbearing unless either the rate or depth is really cranked.

AN ACOUSTIC EXPERIMENT

While a lot of players may consider it sacrilege to start loading effects on to an acoustic guitar sound, Mooer’s Baby Water offers a cost effective dip into the world of acoustic effects. It doesn’t always hit the mark, but when you lock into a sweet spot that works it can sound both mesmerising and inspiring to play with.

BY JAMES DI FABRIZIO

HITS • Small and Compact • Five different delay & chorus tones • Clean digital delay

MISSES • Needs an external power supply

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ROAD TESTS

Gator Pro-Go Series Jands | (02) 9582 0909 | www.jands.com.au | RRP: Contact for Pricing

With their popular Pro-Go range, Gator is aiming to offer the protection of a hard case coupled with the ease and portability of a soft gig bag. At first, it almost seems too good to be true. So can guitarists and bassists have their cake and eat it too? Let’s take a look at the options and find out. �

PRO-GO BASS GUITAR BAG

We musicians take a lot of pride in our instruments, so it makes sense to look for a case that can adequately protect them. Prior to spending some time with Gator’s Bass Guitar Bag, I’d never considered anything else than the same hard case I’ve been using for years. However, I’m pleased to say I was genuinely surprised at how sturdy the construction is with the Pro-Go line - exemplified on their best-selling bass guitar bag. It became clear to me very early on that I could zip my favourite bass up into the bag and not worry about it any further.

Featuring ultra-thick padded sidewalls for added protection, micro-fleece interior that wont damage the instrument’s finish and a protective rain cover these things are built to keep your bass of choice safe.

Not only that, the case is capped off with numerous small design details that really make

the experience of loading in and out of venues easier, faster and a whole less heavier. The backpack style straps are fully adjustable, meaning you could tighten it high enough to ride a bike to the gig if you were game enough. At least you’d get more out of the rider, right? The bag is finished with a bunch of handy zipper pockets with purposefully designed spaces for sheet music, an iPad, a couple of pedals and cables.

PRO-GO 2X GUITAR BAG

Sporting the same durable and well thought out construction of its smaller sibling, the Pro-Go 2X Guitar Bag allows you to zip two guitars back-to-back into the same case, separated by a thick plush wall. Again, this was something I’d never considered before. But after using it for a few solid days of rehearsals and gigs, I was hooked. Usually, bringing more than one guitar along to a show is just too

much of a hassle for me. With a solution like this however, it makes bringing a pair of guitars around infinitely more manageable.

In practice, this means it has never been easier to have a spare instrument on hand in case of a mid-set string breakage, or to have a second guitar ready to go in an alternate tuning. While loading two guitars into the same case does add a little more weight to deal with, it’s nothing unmanageable. In my experience, it was actually less of a strain to carry two guitars on my back than bust through the venue’s doors with a hard case in each hand. Finally, the bag itself is made from weather resistant nylon. As I found out after

playing a gig that flooded on a particularly rain soaked evening, this does indeed work a treat.

MADE FOR MUSICIANS

Let’s be honest. A quality gig bag isn’t the most exciting piece of gear you might purchase in 2016. However, spend a week with any option from Gator’s ProGo series and you’ll wonder how you ever managed without one.

This is an excellent choice for the working musician who wants both convenience and quality.

BY JAMES DI FABRIZIO

HITS • Heavy-duty hardware and zippers • Built in cable management system • More than enough storage space for performance essentials

MISSES • None!

Kramer Ltd. Satchel Pacer Vintage Gibson AMI | (03) 8696 4600 | www.gibsonami.com | RRP: $1999

In the ‘80s, Kramer guitars enjoyed a meteoric rise to ubiquity.

Thanks to glowing endorsements from shredders like Eddie Van Halen, Mick Mars of Mötley Crüe and Vivian Campbell of Whitesnake, Kramer became the guitar of choice for any self-respecting, leather-wearing glam/metal fiend. Now the brand is back with their new line of madeto-rock instruments, spearheaded by the limited edition Satchel Pacer Vintage - a signature model designed for glam metal revivalist Satchel of Steel Panther.

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

Firstly, you’re either going to love or detest the design of the Satchel Pacer. Sporting a seriously gaudy leopard print design across the body (in your choice of either yellow or purple), this guitar certainly makes a statement. However, this is Steel Panther we’re talking about here. With songs named Bukkake Tears and Gloryhole, subtlety has never been their strong point. In all honesty, once you grow accustomed to the design it can really grow on you. After all, music is supposed to be fun, right? Sometimes it pays not to take yourself so seriously.

Underneath all that leopard print is a quality and weighty

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maple body coupled with an oiled maple neck. The neck features a classic Kramer profile with a 9.5” radius - making it very easy to get around the fretboard for some dexterous licks. The electronics are refreshingly simple, featuring a single master volume knob and a three-way mini toggle switch to choose between rhythm and lead sounds. Capping it all off, the guitar is loaded with two Satchel-approved Seymour Duncan pickups.

BUILT TO SHRED

Being a Satchel signature model, the guitar is essentially designed from the ground up to deliver an agile playing experience that shines through a high

gain amp. Armed with a top quality Floyd Rose bridge and tailpiece, this thing can dive bomb with the best of them.

I put the Floyd through some serious duress, and even when really digging into the whammy bar the guitar always came back perfectly in tune. Kramer know how to get the best out of these often frustratingly temperamental bridges, and they’ve really nailed it on the Satchel Pacer. While the neck pickup is perfectly usable and offers a strong, clear tone - the bridge pickup is what this guitar is all about. Featuring a slightly overwound, four-conductor

humbucking pickup with a balanced coil configuration, it’s perfect for coaxing that sought after crunch out of your amp with bucketloads of sustain on tap. While the frets feel a little clunky and angular, overall the neck is a joy to get around. The oiled maple neck is a great touch too, absent of the stickiness that comes with a higher gloss finish.

TAKE THE LEAD

Clearly, this isn’t a guitar for everyone. But if you’re after something with show-stopping looks and some serious potential for high-gain antics - then you’ve come to the right place.

Ultimately, this is a well built and sturdy guitar with a whole lot of character. Just don’t blame me if you start getting odd looks for turning up to work wearing spandex pants and a codpiece.

BY JAMES DI FABRIZIO

HITS • Great for classic metal tones • Fast, playable neck • First class Floyd Rose setup

MISSES • A tone knob could be useful

MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016 // PG.31

ROAD TESTS Khazan Splash Cymbals Jade Australia | 1800 144 120 | www.musocity.com.au | RRP: Tribal: $50 Vintage: $40

Khazan Cymbals should be well known amongst drummers around the country by now. Based in Melbourne, they’ve been offering great value for money, handmade cymbals for some time now and what they offer is fantastic at their price point. Two of the most successful lines are the Tribal and the Vintage and now, there are some new splashes.

TRIBAL VS VINTAGE

The Tribal and Vintage families offer the full range of cymbals for drummers including 10” and 12” splashes. The new release for both lines is the addition of 8” splash cymbals and having played the splashes from both lines, my pick are now these new 8-inchers.

I’ve always been a fan a smaller splash cymbals because unless a 10” or 12” cymbal is quite thin, it can possess some unwanted overtones that can really stand out – in a bad way. These 8” cymbals aren’t super thin but due to their size, there’s less of that issue and they still possess the projection you need from a cymbal this small.

The Tribal splash features a brilliant/polished finish on both sides with very minimal scoring or hammering. The Vintage by contrast, couldn’t be more different with a matte lathed

underside and a raw, un-lathed finish on top that features distinct hammerings. In the character stakes, the Vintage takes the win for sure. It’s an interesting looking thing. Both feature large bells considering the 8” size and their profiles are pretty much identical.

You wouldn’t call either of these splashes heavy porkers but they’re not super thin either – just a nice medium weight.

The weight, when designing a splash, is an important thing.

It will influence the amount of note and ‘bell’ like quality in the finished product. This particular Vintage is slightly heavier than its shiny cousin at 206 grams, the Tribal coming in lighter at 176 grams. Both the splashes have a distinct note when struck. The Tribal possesses a slight amount more wash in it’s character with some notable overtones but the

Vintage is dryer and darker with little overtones at all. This lack of overtones, combined with a lower pitch produces a note is actually more pronounced overall. It’s not unpleasant though. Both splashes remain musical but the Tribal is slightly angrier, with attitude and a brighter tone overall. Curiously, both splashes are loud and really cut. For the size, they’re happy to make themselves heard. This will be a bit of a selling point for some drummers. In the mix, they decay very quickly too.

OTHER USES?

Whilst playing these two splashes I had the urge – just for fun and in the name of experimentation – to investigate out some other uses for them.

The fact remains that, especially at this price point, if you were so inclined, either one of these splashes could be another effect somewhere else on the kit.

These two are robust enough to get a little fancy and I tried using them as an auxiliary set of hi hats. I must say, they’re super cool – sharp with a trashy quality when opened and surprisingly loud given the size.

You even get a nice chick under foot too.

Another great use is stacking.

Stacking is all the rage at the moment and an 8” splash is the

perfect stacker on top of another cymbal. I tried stacking on top of a few such as a 16” crashes and upside down in the middle of a china cymbal. The results really differ depending on how tight you clamp the felts down but again, this just proved to me what cymbals like these can do if you think outside the square.

THE PRICE IS RIGHT

Overall, these two are really cool and I’d be interested to see what I could do with them over time in my set up. Regardless of their sound, size and feel though, nothing negative can be said of their price. Period. I can’t think of another cymbal that sounds this good for the same price.

This just means that drummers

of any level can dive into the effects cymbal world and all for the price of a t-shirt. I only wish Kahzan were around when I first started playing drums.

BY ADRIAN VIOLI

HITS • Incredible value • Projection and cut considering size • Controlled overtones

MISSES • Distinct note won’t be to everyone’s taste • Still not quite a match for real top end rivals but it’s closer than you’d think

VHT Special 6 Combo Amp Innovative Music | (03) 9540 0658 | www.innovativemusic.com.au | RRP: Contact for Pricing

Hardwired tube amplifiers are typically only seen in the realm of higher end, boutique manufacturers. However, the VHT Special 6 aims to bring a combination of quality construction and unique features to the masses - capturing the essence of vintage American-style amplifiers and delivering it at an egalitarian price point.

SPECIAL INGREDIENTS

Typically, a guitar amp at this price point - even tube models - would feature a PCB board construction to cut down on cost. The Special 6 however is entirely hand-wired. Not only that, the trimmings inside and out are considered with quality in mind. It comes loaded with a custom-voiced 10” speaker designed in house at VHT. Going further under the hood, you’ll find one 6V6 output tube paired with a 12AX7 preamp tube. The controls are reminiscent of the famed low-wattage tube amps of the ‘50s and ‘60s, albeit updated with some additions for the modern player - a single tone and master volume knob, with the welcome addition of a pullactivated boost knob. It also features ‘lo’ and ‘hi’ inputs for matching pickups to the amp.

All in all, this is an amp that’s

clearly inspired by golden era amps, while still offering some well thought out innovations.

V IS FOR VERSATILE

I’m not entirely sure what the ‘V’ in VHT stands for, but from the way the Special 6 performs - I can only assume that it’s for versatility. As well as offering a decent spectrum of clean and dirty tones, the amp is currently lauded as one of the most easily modded and customisable builds on the market. The circuit is wired with this in mind, using eyelets to make modifications easier for anyone who is keen to get their hands dirty and learn more about tube amp theory.

In saying this, the amp is good to go and sounds great right out of the box. While it does lack a little top end sparkle, the clean tone is balanced enough to avoid colouring the original

PG.32 // MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016

tone of your guitar too heavily - giving a great foundation to build the rest of your sound off.

If you’re after more overdrive out of the amp, simply adding a clean boost into the chain really squeezes the most out of the tubes. A foot switchable lead channel is handy for times you don’t want to lug a pedalboard down to the gig, and a special low power mode acts as a built in attenuator that offers the

cranked sound at bedroom volumes. Whether it’s for small to medium sized gigs, or for moments when you are one noise complaint away from getting kicked out of your share-house, the Special 6 makes a worthy choice.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

VHT have managed to offer a functional, gig-ready amp that is packed with features usually

reserved for models three times its price. It looks like we’re beginning to see higher end construction trickle down into cost effective solutions, and in that respect - VHT and their Special 6 are leading the charge.

BY JAMES DI FABRIZIO

HITS • Price • Easy to mod and customise • Nice clean tones

MISSES • None!

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ROAD TESTS Yamaha DGX-660B Portable Grand Piano Yamaha Music Australia | (03) 9693 5111 | www.au.yamaha.com | $1499

The last time I got to have a spin on a DGX portable grand piano from Yamaha, they were building them with a light woodgrain finish and satin silver detail. Well, that was a number of years back now and moving on from a couple of models, I have just had the joy of unboxing the new DGX-660B that was released at the NAMM show in late January this year. So, as it has been a while, there were plenty of features on this unit that were new to me, making it quite an exciting test run. Even for those who have been using the DGX-650, there are some helpful new additions to the DGX-660 that are well worth a look at.

Sing it loud

Whilst the most noticeable difference to begin with was the fact that the DGX-660 is now all black and quite a stylish looking unit at that, it is what is going on around the back and under

the hood that is really exciting.

It’s almost as if Yamaha were actually listening to so many people I have spoken to, and delivered on what the people wanted. The DGX-660 now comes with a 6.5mm microphone input

to accommodate singing along with any of the tracks played from its library. And it is not just an afterthought; a simple addition of a connection that doesn’t deliver properly. No, with this new model you get vocal effects in built and the ability to record both vocal and instrument to USB, so you can capture you performances. This makes the DGX a very powerful songwriting tool, and brings what you create at home one step closer to being heard be the world.

The right touch

Not needing to worry about size or weight so much, as these are more often than not set up in one location, Yamaha have again delivered a graded hammer standard action to the DGX-660 with a realistic piano-like feel to how the 88 keys operate.

They have a nice weight to them in both their depression and

release, setting this up as not only a great beginner’s tool, but also as an instrument an accomplished pianist will enjoy playing. And with the feel of a piano comes the sound too, with a great selection of instruments in the memory and a range of rooms that can be selected for your piano sound to sit into. So, your living room can sound like a concert hall with a grand piano in it at the touch of a button, or the swipe of a finger with an iOS device and the new wireless control option that is available with the DGX-660. In all, this is a great stalwart of the Yamaha

Sebatron Vamp-four Valve DI Sebatron | (03) 9484 3789 | www.sebatron.com | RRP: $1550 (introductory retail price)

There are a lot of common ideas in the world of studio outboard gear, especially when it comes to microphone preamps, compressors and EQs. And these all have a sonic role as well as an aesthetic role in the studio, especially when it comes to glowing VU meters and full racks.

But, every now and then I find myself with a piece of equipment that really does belong in my rack. There are few ideas left that offer some original thought and clever design and, to tell you the truth, I didn’t expect that when unboxing the Sebatron VAMP-four. However, what I found was a real delight.

Yes please

I have to say, not knowing exactly what I was in for as I unboxed the VAMP-four, I was rather expecting just another multi-channel microphone preamp, based purely on the name. I was still excited with this, and taking it out of the unassuming brown box, with the

smell of a hand crafted piece of equipment thick in the air, I got a very pleasant surprise.

This is a piece of equipment I would never have gone looking for, but now that I have used it, I wouldn’t want to go without.

The VAMP-four is not another microphone preamp; instead it is a four channel Class A valve DI,

designed for front end use with guitars, bass and keyboards when you want a really rich sound. And can I say, what a way to get your analogue synthesizers cooking on the way into your recording system. This thing rocks!

Dial it up

The simple design means you can get a lot out of each input without much effort. A two option EQ circuit on each channel responds with pad/ gain control, giving you more clean headroom with one switch, and more gritty valve warmth with the other, in a responsive manner relating to how the gain structure is set. An acoustic

guitar has plenty of sparkle and brilliance to even show off all the string noise when you play, and a dirty analogue synth gets an added level of energy when you run the other way. I should have tried it with a bass, but never got a chance to, but I can only imagine good things with both extremes of the circuit being utilised.

This is a real studio gem, and one that is going to bring added life into your direct recordings quite unlike any fancy preamp and plugin combination on your audio interface will. The VAMP-four is an unexpected pleasure and would make a worthy addition to any recording

Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Monitor Headphones Technical Audio Group | (02) 9519 0900 | www.tag.com.au | RRP: $249

The Audio-Technica ATH-M50 model has long been a staple of the low price bracket monitor headphones, known for their no nonsense aesthetic, excellent sound and durability. The updated ATH-M50x hasn’t dared mess with the successful formula too much but there are some notable improvements.

IN THE BOX

Now included (in a schmick redesigned box) are 3 different detachable cords, a coiled 1.2-3m cable, a 3 metre straight cable for studio use, and a more portable 1.2 metre straight cable. Each cord is fitted with a locking mechanism for attaching to the headset. Detachable cables are a great addition to an already good product, extending longevity and flexibility. Also

included is a threaded ¼ inch stereo plug adapter for your standard mixers, studio gear etc.

IMPROVED COMFORT

When I was shopping for a new pair of cans, I remember trying the M50 and finding them slightly uncomfortable compared to some competitors - the padding being somewhat utilitarian. If you’re anything like me and spend countless

PG.34 // MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016

By Rob Gee

HITS • Sleek look and feel • Wireless iOS control • Microphone input and USB audio recording • Great Yamaha concert grand piano sound

MISSES • It’s taken too long for this model to get to where it is now

setup. For guitar, bass and keys, this little grey rack unit breathes new life into your signal before it gets lost in the digital jungle.

If you are prepared to invest in a valve front end for your vocals, you should think about the rest of the instrument too. The results will speak for themselves.

BY Rob Gee

HITS • Australian made, hand-crafted quality • Amazingly rich sound for seemingly little effort • It’s a real workhorse, a studio all-rounder • It screams tone

MISSES • Only my misconceptions before opening the box

clean without being harsh or overbearing.

Many brands struggle to update a legendary model without upsetting the masses, but I think Audio-Technica have pulled it off here. The updates are subtle but welcome and certainly add value to the product in a busy marketplace.

hours and late nights tinkering with songs and sounds, you’ll be pleased to know that (in my opinion) the padding on the M50x seems dramatically better.

The soft leather pads fit snugly over the ear with a comfortable amount of pressure and just the right amount of sound isolation.

BY MICHAEL CUSACK

SOUND

Audio-Technica claim to have left the sound profile unaltered from the previous model, maybe it’s the improved comfort or maybe I got a weary demo pair of M50s in store, but to me the M50x sound cleaner - more precise.

Perhaps the new ear pads required the cups to be retuned

range that has had some very clever updates to bring it well into the future.

HITS and improved? Either way, the 45mm drivers provide excellent bass response without being over exaggerated or muddy, and the mids to highs are crisp and

• Better earpads and comfort level • Great, flat sound • 3 cord sizes included

MISSES • Some may be bothered by the proprietary cord locking connector

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ROAD TESTS

Maton 70th Anniversary Dreadnought

anniversary model could well be the ticket.

BY NICK BROWN guitar that can handle quite a range of styles and the AP5 Pro does a fine job of translating the guitar’s fundamental tone when plugged in.

Maton Guitars | (03) 9896 9500 | www.maton.com.au | RRP: $3499

Maton’s 70th anniversary of building guitars in Australia marks a significant date for the company that is now recognised around the world with a long list of players and endorsers from all corners of the globe. From small beginnings with Bill May as a manufacturer and repairer through to now, running a world class factory that employs over 60 staff and expanding their line of guitars, basses and ukuleles, the Maton brand is an iconic part of the Australian guitar landscape.

How fitting then to celebrate this milestone with a series of guitars utilising features both old and new.

WHAT’S THE GLOSS?

Popularised by players such as Tommy Emmanuel, the Maton Dreadnaught is one of the most recognisable of their line, and this particular 70th anniversary model keeps plenty of that classic build in place. The full bodied dreadnaught is constructed with a sitka spruce top and Victorian blackwood neck, back and sides.

Interestingly, Maton have gone for the combination of gloss just for the top and satin on the rest of the body. Indian rosewood is the timber of choice for the fretboard and as with the majority of their new models the guitar comes equipped with an AP5 Pro pickup system. Overall this 70th anniversary model is classy and clean with the gloss top and

headstock adding some sheen whilst the satin back and sides and dark rosette add a rootsy and raw feel.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABY...

So the guitar looks a treat, but how does it sound? There’s plenty of body and volume making the guitar a good choice for strummers and flat pickers. The top seems to resonate nicely so you can really dig in if you need to also. I liked the neck shape and profile and the cutaway lets you push right up past the 12th fret with ease. It’s a full bodied

Hartke KB12 Bass Combo Amplifier Electric Factory | (03) 9474 1000 | www.elfa.com.au | RRP: $899

Hartke has long been a major bass amplification player. The mid 80s highlighted their use of the aluminium cone driver which began to pop up everywhere. Players such as Victor Wooten, Billy Sheehan, Marcus Miller, Will Lee and even Jaco himself use/have used their wares and with a solid line of amps and cabs they continue to produce top quality bass gear via an affiliation with Samson Technologies. Not forgetting the little guy, or smaller bass scenarios, they’ve recently reinvigorated their ‘Kickback’ combo range resulting in the new and improved KB12 Kickback Bass Combo.

LEAN ON ME

So the original Kickback 12 involved a single 12” speaker in a smallish combo shell, with the advantage that its angled back can be ‘kicked back’ for some added projection and sound on stage. Definitely handy if standing close to your amp to give yourself better monitoring

rather than just having your sound hit you in the back of the ankles. With a modern revamp, the new KB12 combo still features a 12” speaker in that angled cabinet but the HyDrive speaker technology makes it lighter in weight and kicks in a massive 500 watts of power, making it a serious little

beast. The front panel consists of volume, shape (with an in/ out switch), bass, midrange and treble controls, an XLR direct out and a headphone out.

KICK IT!

Man these are beefy little amps!

Seriously light in weight but big in power. As a significant rev

MarkBass Combo 121 Lite Bass Combo CMC Music | (02) 9905 2511 | www.cmcmusic.com.au | RRP: $2595

Somewhat similar in stature to the popular CMD 121H and CMD151P, the new 121 Lite is taller and skinnier with some added cabinet depth, and measures approximately 38.5 cms x 46 x 49 making it still pretty small. Great for fitting into small stages or carrying around town, the 121 Lite can sit right on the

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back seat of your car and the combo weighs in at just over 16kgs. Markbass has followed suit to the rest of their line and have gone with the spongey carpeted type cab covering and solid plastic corners, which seem to offer good protection and durability and can be wiped or vacuumed clean if needed. A handle on top to the unit and you’re away.

I like that Maton have stayed true to one of their favourite designs and just thrown in a few twists to spice things up. The workmanship is top notch with the thought and design evident in the classy looks and clean build. As a player it’s a strong and clear instrument that can sit in a range of styles and settings. The gloss top satin back and sides combination is fresh for Maton and seems to really work with this guitar. For those of you after a dreadnaught with a little something extra than the standard model this 70th

• • • • • • • • • • •

Body Shape: Dreadnought Neck: Blackwood Headstock: Rosewood Fretboard: Rosewood Soundboard: AAA Grade Spruce Back and Sides: Blackwood Outer Binding: Rosewood Inner Binding: Herringbone Bridge: Rosewood Nut & Saddle: Bone Machine Heads: Gold Grover

HITS • Distinct limited edition guitar • Looks and feel

MISSES • For some, it may not be different enough from the rest of the line for an anniversary model guitar

up from the original Kickback models, these KB amps can handle anything from small rehearsals to loud gigs. Full and clear, the neodymium speakers sound quite warm and round and the basic 3 band EQ does a good job handling your essential tone. For those then wanting to experiment further, the classic Hartke ‘Shape’ settings can be engaged which applies a 20dB filter across a range of frequencies as you rotate the knob. This can help accentuate some extra low mids and bottom end or pronounce your mid range for added honkiness. Whatever your fix, there seems to be quite a range of scope whether you’re playing rock, blues, funk, pop, jazz or country.

giggable combo, this revamp from Hartke really adds them into the mix. The power upgrade is seriously substantial, the, tones are good and the portability is great. The only slight want would be an extra out if you wanted to run an extension cab but hey, then you’re getting into bigger cab/ rig territory anyway, which sort of defeats the purpose. Definitely an amp to look out for – the KB12 KickBack Combo.

LISTEN TO YOUR HART..KE

MISSES

With quite a few brands marketing a small compact

The front panel also has in/ outs for aux in and headphone out. Flick to the back of the combo and you’ll find a line out, effect send and return, tuner out, preamp out, speaker out and ground lift and pre/post EQ switches. In terms of power, the 121 Lite runs 500 watts through the 12” woofer and 300 watts into the 1.25” tweeter, allowing for some serious dynamics and volume.

Having played with the likes of Frank Gambale, Mike Stern and Billy Cobham, Alain Caron is a highly respected player in the music community. Likewise, Markbass is one of the most well-known bass amp manufacturers on the planet. It’s then understandable why the two parties would collaborate on the 121 Lite Bass combo.

Continuing with their portable and lightweight amps that push some serious volume, Markbass seem to be onto another winner.

LITE AND EASY

70

SPECS

BY NICK BROWN

HITS • Small, light, powerful • Plenty of EQ shaping • Kick Back is very handy in certain settings

• No extension cab out

you can then add some body and edge if needed. The combination of the 12” and 1.25” driver also gives you a wide EQ spectrum to handle plenty of players and styles of music. Great for a range of basses and tones, the 121 Lite definitely has that MarkBass vibe and offers so much as it’s portable and efficient, yet can handle anything from small quiet rehearsals to big gigs.

BY NICK BROWN

ON THE MARK WHAT YA GOT?

Some standard Markbass controls are present on the front with gain, low, midlow, ,midhigh, high, VPF, VLE and master volume. I should mention the inclusion of a mute switch, which is really handy for changing instruments mid gig.

Starting with the amp set flat and the VPF and VLE off, I managed a tight, fat tone that had some great punch in the mids when digging in, and plenty of volume on tap when you start balancing the gain and master volume controls.

Dialling in some of the variable pre shape filter and vintage loudspeaker emulator to taste,

HITS • Plenty of volume, headroom and tone • Portable, light, smallish

MISSES • None!

MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016 // PG.35

ROAD TESTS Lovepedal DL 1 Delay Pedal Gladesville Guitar Factory | (02) 9817 2173 | www.guitarfactory.net | RRP: $299

Sean Michael has been designing and building effect pedals since the early ‘90s. Through a combination of good tones, good endorsees and some good marketing, Lovepedal has become a well-known ‘boutique’ guitar pedal brand. Covering distortion, fuzz, delay, modulation and some crazy in-betweens, Lovepedal often work on the less is more principle. Minimal controls and settings with a focus on good usable tones seems to be their ethos, and it’s nice to finally check out one of their delay pedals – the DL 1.

KEEP IT ON THE DL

Lovepedal seems to be always keeping things on the move with new releases, reworks of old designs and limited edition runs. In a silver casing the DL 1 Digital Delay features side mounted input/output jacks and controls for mix, delay, feedback, fidelity, as well as modulation.

YOU’VE GOT THE LOVE

Delay and feedback are your usual suspects ramping up the delay time and the number of repeats it produces. The mix control then lets you blend the effect with your dry tone allowing ever so slight nuances through to the big and bombastic.

TC Electronic Sentry Noise Gate Pedal Amber Technology | 1800 251 367 | www.ambertech.com.au | RRP: $279

If you’re prone to chasing down some Earth-scorching distortion tones and turning everything in your power up past 11, the chances are you might have a fair amount of noise running through your signal chain.

Enter the TC Electronic Sentry, a multi-band noise gate featuring state of the art technology that aims to control and kill any nasty hum and buzz that tries to get in the way of your tone - because the only time your guitar should be squealing is when you’re wailing on the whammy bar.

THE GATEKEEPER

This first thing you notice about the Sentry is how damn sturdy the thing is. It’s a pleasingly heavy enclosure that feels like it could withstand a decade’s worth of vigorous stomps. Three large knobs offer threshold, damp and decay controls. This allows you to find the sweet spot between how much noise can pass though the gate, how long the gate stays

open and how many decibels the signal is attenuated by when the gate kicks in. There’s also send and return inputs for patching particularly noisy effects into the Sentry’s own loop. This ensures the most organic gating effects.

As organic gating, the Sentry can also achieve classic hard gating sounds with the flick of a switch. This switch also accesses TC Electronic’s TonePrint option,

Juicy and squishy, the fidelity knob acts like a type of tone control for the repeats, giving you clean and bright, or warm and rolled off with the knob at its minimum setting. This is very

Let’s face it; the Babyface was still quite capable of standing its own ground against other competitors in the market. So, when RME announced this new version, there had to be some

big things in store for their little box, and it starts right there, with the box. Machined form a solid block of aluminium, this thing is tough as nails and ready to see you through the next ten years of audio recording without

PG.36 // MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016

WHAT THE F?

• Warm and lush • Fidelity and Mix controls are useful • Easy to get a good tone quickly

Lovepedal really does put out some cool stuff. They do however have a habit of putting out limited runs, so if you get onto a good thing I’d suggest you grab it as it may not be around

BY NICK BROWN

HITS

MISSES • Not as super flexible as some others

technology in conjunction with TC Electronic’s app offers some inspiring presets and sounds to use either as a set-and-forget solution, or as a springboard for fine-tuning your own settings from.

NOISE KILLER

PEACE AND QUIET

The Sentry is designed specifically with extremely high gain setups in mind, and it deals with noise in a clean and efficient way without strangling your guitar tone in the process. The three-band noise gate is invaluable for doing this, as it helps isolate the offending frequencies - whether they are in the lows, mids or highs - and remove the noise from that point.

The result is a gate that sounds relatively organic. I tend to shy away from noise gates generally, as I find them too obtrusive.

However, when you find the sweet spot on the Sentry, it becomes barely noticeable - besides the complete, almost eerie absence

Innovative Music | (03) 9540 0658 | www.innovativemusic.com.au | RRP: Contact for Pricing

THE NEW FACE

forever. Sean Michael intended for the DL 1 to be a plug in ‘easy to use’ delay pedal and I reckon he’s hit the nail on the head. Some people run for cover when they see the words ‘Digital’ and ‘Delay’ paired together, but the DL 1 can do warm and juicy really well through to more polished hi-fi tones.

offering both highly editable and custom made presets from Slayer’s Gary Holt and Anthrax’s Scott Ian. Rounding it out, the pedal comes wired as true bypass - ensuring your original tone stays intact and uncoloured by the effect.

RME Babyface Pro USB Audio Interface Many of you will know of RME, the German company responsible for delivering the best quality and clarity in analogue to digital converters, and a range of audio interfaces. Sadly, I don’t get much from RME for road tests, as they’re not likely to release new devices just for the sake of it. Instead, they deliver products that stand the test of time. That’s why there was a little surprise when I found out that their long standing compact interface was being discontinued last year, with a new model set to replace it. It’s not like RME to take something and simply redress it to spur on new sales, so with the release of the Babyface Pro, we were all expecting some worthwhile changes. And that is exactly what RME has delivered.

cool for those pseudo filtered guitar-synthy tones, and a handy trick for adding delay. It’s kept it out of the way since the repeats don’t just sound like your existing tone when you keep playing through the wash. Then with the modulation setting on you’re heading to Police territory and beyond. That extra sense of chorusing in the repeats makes for some cool rolling boat almost sea sick vibes. Obviously you can then tweak anywhere in between the DL 1’s palette to suit the application you need.

a hitch. It wasn’t enough to just redesign the casing; they had to sort out new connections as well. With four analogue inputs and outputs now on the new Babyface Pro, the two main inputs and outputs are now supplied on XLR connections within the casing and not via a breakout cable. Naturally, RME had to take the German approach to this and have redesigned the XLR sockets themselves to better fit into the compact housing, saving space and reducing the need for a breakout. MIDI, ADAT, USB, headphones and TRS connections are now all housed

For an intuitive and well-built noise gate that will buck hum with the best of them without stealing the colour from your tone, the Sentry is a very worthy consideration.

BY JAMES DI FABRIZIO of hum and noise caused by its presence.

Particularly with single coil pickups, the gate does a fantastic job of keeping all the sound you want while removing any nastiness that surrounds it. This would be particularly handy when cleaning up a guitar signal for a clean recording. The TonePrint

on the side of the casing and an updated top panel gives you more control over routing and monitoring than before.

UNDER THE HOOD

It’s not just a facelift with the Babyface Pro though. Obviously, the standout point beyond the build is that there is more I/O than before. It doesn’t stop there; for once we get our signal into the engine you get two digitally controlled preamps that feature a 76 dB gain range with an optional pad, allowing you to work with any and all microphones, no matter what level they output. The DSP chip that works with the TotalMix bridging software allows EQ to all inputs and outputs before

HITS • Noise Gate that retains the dynamics and character • Hard-gate setting offers classic metal tone on tap

MISSES • TonePrint technology may feel gimmicky to some

getting to your DAW, along with Reverb and Delay effects too, because of the nature of this chip, it is easily ready for future upgrades to DSP programming, ensuring that the Babyface Pro stays a market leader as the competition develops. Seriously, I cannot say enough about this device. The original Babyface was and still is one amazing compact interface, but the new Babyface Pro has just reset the benchmark some years into the future.

BY ROB GEE

HITS • Super tough machined aluminium case • Newly designed XLR connections • Class leading AD conversion • Easily expandable • More ins and outs than before

MISSES • Nothing. Absolutely nothing

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BH550 & BH800 TONEPRINT ® - SIGNATURE EFFECTS • INTELLIGENT EQ-SECTION • LIGHTWEIGHT DESIGN • LOADS OF POWER

TonePrint Artists ®

TonePrint® App

tcelectronic.com/bh-amps

Distributed in Australia by Amber Technology | www.ambertech.com.au | 1800 251 367 | sales@ambertech.com.au

ROAD TESTS Sennheiser e901 Kick Drum Condenser Microphone Sennheiser Australia | (02) 9910 6700 | www.sennheiser.com.au | RRP: $349

I know a lot of drummers who are always musing about what the best kick drum microphone is going to be for their setup. They all have varying opinions, and it all mostly comes from what they have used with various engineers in the past. One common factor in their decisions is that they have been told this or that from someone else, and haven’t necessarily had a chance to try all the options. This is where I am going to challenge all drummers reading this to take a risk and try a new idea. And with that, I present to you all the Sennheiser e901 Condenser Microphone for kick drums.

Atypical in design

We are all used to seeing that short boom stand in front of the kick drum, supporting a perfectly placed microphone within the shell of the drum. And many of you will know how long it took

to get that perfect placement, as each room, drum and microphone offer various challenges in getting the right sound. Having placed so many microphones within kick drums over the years myself, I know that there

has to be a better way, there usually is. And I now know that it can be found in the e901.

This condenser microphone, with an integrated preamp in the housing, changes the way we look at kick drum microphones.

It looks not too dissimilar to a typical PZM microphone, but offers a cardioid pickup pattern for a more direct result.

The beauty of this microphone is how easy it is to set it up right. You don’t need yet another stand getting in the way on front of the kit. It is simply placed inside the drum either on the dampening pads within or directly on the shell itself.

The microphone has rubber pads underneath to ensure it doesn’t move around with vibration if placed on the shell, with its own

Gladesville Guitar Factory | (02) 9817 2173 | www.guitarfactory.net | RRP: $299

Pre and Shim

Starting with the hall setting, I could dial in a nice big verb for picked arpeggios and open washy chords. The mix control is handy for reducing the effect to almost a hint of verb, or opening right up for boomy cathedral type tones. Modulate adds some warble and pitchy movement that cops 80s ballad sounds and modern electro funk very nicely.

The inclusion of the tone control on the HSR 3 needs to be mentioned as a handy addition that

CMC Music Australia | (02) 9905 2511 | www.cmcmusic.com.au | RRP: $1895

Following on with their collaboration/signature models, MarkBass has just released the impressive 1000-watt brute of a head designed in tandem with another monster of the bass world, Richard Bona. Once again their company reputation is top notch, as is the playing and musicality of Mr Bona, so I can see how this association fits.

Green Machine

Keeping the general MarkBass aesthetics, they’ve definitely gone for something a little different in terms of the lime green faceplate on the Ninja head. With a layered type clear front, the controls and logo have an almost 3D type look to them adding a bit of pizazz to their decidedly yellow and black line of amps. Rated at 1000 watts at 4 ohms, the Ninja front panel includes controls for gain, low,

Pre-delay can yield some interesting results too, with that slight gap adding some bigness and then a spooky effect with a silence and then boom the verb sets off. Cool with big hall settings for a small then huge effect, it sounds artificial in a really cool way when used as an effect but can also be backed off to work into your normal tone.

Shimmer adds that sparkle on top with some added octaves and can be subtle and ambient for chords and picking or more in your face. Again the mix, delay and pre-delay work beautifully as one to sort the wash and

Love the Tone

MarkBass Little Mark Ninja Head

mid low, mid high, high, VLE, VPF, master volume and line out level.

Fat and punchy, the Ninja handles slap, extended ranges (5 and 6 strings) and aggressive playing with fingers or pick easily. It also responds nicely to traditional fingerstyle, adding some honk in the mids if needed and with some extra EQ shifting thanks to the VLE and VPF controls. Great for a range of styles, its no wonder you see

PG.38 // MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016

solid weight keeping it in place.

Being a cardioid microphone, you simply need to ensure it is pointing away from the hole at the front of the drum and you’re all set. The raw punch and full sound this microphone delivers is really something special and in most cases doesn’t need a lot of EQ work to get it sitting right in the mix. Just as the e606

is quite sneaky in application.

Allowing for some extra bloom it can help the effect cut slightly more or sit back into the mix.

Another addition to the Lovepedal line, the HSR 3 is billed as a ‘multi-verb’ with 3 distinct reverb variations to whet your whistle.

Similar in looks to the DL 1 digital delay, the HSR 3 has a dark clear and classy look, let’s check it out.

Decay, pre-delay, tone and mix controls populate the top of the pedal along with a switch that flicks between ‘hall’, ‘shimmer’ and ‘modulate’ modes. Side mounted jacks are again the go with this particular Lovepedal model. Decay controls how long the reverb effect hangs around for, whilst the mix control blends your original tone, with the HSR 3 allowing you to add anything from a hint of verb through to everything you’ve got.

BY Rob Gee

Set and forget

Lovepedal HSR 3 Reverb Pedal

Under Control

made mic placement on guitar amps child’s play, the e901 means anyone can pull a good sound from a kick drum. And, being able to handle extremely high sound pressure levels, you can use it with even the hardest hitting drummers and still get exceptional results.

HI T S • Integrated preamp for clear sound • Easy positioning within and kick drum • Set and forget concept for instant results

MISSES • You won’t need that short boom stand you bought especially for kick mics any more

blend of the sound. I could see the HSR 3 being popular with ambient and indie users but also a great tool for those wanting moody scapes and haunting splashes of verb. Another cool effect from the Lovepedal peeps that adds some extra sparkle whilst remaining usable.

By Nick Brown

HI T S • Easy to use • Nice mix of simple and more ‘effecty’ tones

MISSES • 3 ‘verb’ settings might not suit everyone

MarkBass gear on everything from rock gigs to country, funk and jazz.

One Thousand?

Do you need 1000 watts? I’ve heard players ask that question plenty of times. It all depends on what type of gigs you’re doing. No you probably won’t need 1000 watts if you’re just rehearsing quietly at home in an acoustic duo. You might not even need 100 watts if you’re playing rock gigs at a loud pub. However, one of the main complaints from bass players is that they get drowned out or lost in the mix at gigs/rehearsals, as they don’t have enough power. So for the size and price you can have that extra volume in reserve and retain your tone at louder settings, rather than it pushing your amp to the limit and having it freak out.

Bona fide

Richard Bona is a serious player and this is a serious amp in terms of volume and headroom. Typically other brand’s 1000-watters are bigger, heavier rack mounted type deals, whereas the Ninja could easily fit in your gig bag. Yes there are similarly rated amps on the market with more tweakable options and settings, but don’t think for a moment that the Ninja is lacking in tone. So if you need to step your rig up, or even just want to have some

extra power in reserve, this lime green number could be your answer.

By Nick Brown

HI T S • Serious headroom and volume • Small, portable good tones • Funky green is a nice contrast

MISSES • Perhaps not enough variation from the rest of their line tonally

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SHOW & TELL

WE CHAT TO MUSOS ABOUT THEIR MOST TREASURED GEAR

ECCA VANDAL

US THE BAND

What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?

A Dave Smith Pro 2 Synthesiser.

How did you come across this particular item?

I Came across this when walking into the amazing Awave store – I’m like a kid in a candy store in there.

What is it that you like so much about it?

I think this is the ultimate mono/poly synth! It has 4 oscillators and really cool filters to create some original sounds.

I especially love the analogue drive distortion. It’s really easy to morph the timbre and get pretty whack sounds using the pre and post filter drives. I get pretty excited by crazy sounds!

How do you use it, and how has it shaped the way you write music?

It’s been great in shaping some sounds I’ve used in some of my previous tracks.

A few sounds for my single ‘End Of Time’ were created on this synth. Sometimes, when I’m working in the studio with Kidnot, our bassist and synth player, we take turns playing lines while the other is tweaking and messing with the knobs.

It’s a really fun synth to experiment with and you can totally go down the rabbit hole when playing on this one. The sequencer is a lot of fun also Any other interesting points/stories about it?

Kidnot, first had a play on the Pro 2 in Toronto when we were playing a few shows over there for Canadian Music Week.

What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?

My Digitech Hot Rod distortion pedal.

We needed to drop into a music store to grab guitar strings and of course we got distracted. He started messing around on this synth in the middle of the store, and attracted quite the crowd! The sounds were insane and it was pretty much love at first sight. Was tempted to buy it on the spot, but we would have had an issue with excess gear, so we headed into Awave the day after we got back to Melbourne to grab it!

Tell us a little bit about what you have coming up?

I have new music which just dropped last month. I have my first headline tour around the country coming up too in February and March. Looking forward to heading out on the road again with some new material.

ON DEAD WAVES

What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?

My Access Virus Ti2 Polar.

How did you come across this particular item?

I bought it during high school from my local (now-closed) guitar store. I’m 90% sure I got suckered into buying the expensive new pedal (my original plan was to get a Boss DS-1).

What is it that you like so much about it?

It’s the only piece of equipment I’ve bought in a decade-plus that’s decent enough to keep a spot in my set up and be durable enough to actually last. I had to look up the manual again to make sure I’m right, but the ridiculously named ‘Morph’ knob has three different voices it ‘morphs’ between. All the way down is “warm and smooth” (a weak overdrive), halfway is the “classic British stack” sound (which is pure

teenager bait) and then maxed out it is “high gain fuzz” (which is misleading, it’s more metal sounding).

How do you use it, and how has it shaped the way you write music?

It’s the sole pedal I use when writing a song. It can create most tonal ideas we’d be toying with, or at least pull off something close enough to see whether it’ll work. Usually in recording I’ll use other pedals (a Russian Big Muff Pi, a Death by Audio Interstellar Overdrive), but from the outset of any song it’s all Hot Rod. Tell us a little bit about what you have coming up?

Rice is Nice are releasing our EP very soon.

We’re gonna play some shows to support it, then start recording more songs for something album length.

ZAC SABER

and strange effects.

How do you use it, and how has it shaped the way that you write music?

How did you come across this particular It is a great synth for writing ideas on and item? sometimes that is how it is used. But for I have had this synth for a few years On Dead Waves we made use of the dark, now, I originally heard about the Access strange noises it can produce. It was very keyboards through researching and word- helpful in that department. of-mouth.

Tell us a little about what you’ve got What is it that you like so much about coming up. it?

The On Dead Waves album will be released It can sit comfortably in the studio, and in April so we are very excited about that. is also portable to take around easily.

We are currently rehearsing to play shows And, of course, it makes a huge range of this year as well. We are really looking beautiful noises! forward to the year ahead!

When has it come in handy most? Do you recall any time this has got you out of a tough spot?

It tends to be the go-to synth when searching for interesting sounds. For this album it was used mostly when we were looking to find some ambient soundscapes

PG.40 // MIXDOWN #262 // FEBRUARY 2016

What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?

My Cole Clarke Angel 2.

How did you come across this particular item?

I’d been looking for a second acoustic for gigging and I saw a few of these around and just couldn’t resist! Being left handed though, I did have to wait for them to make one, as there’s not a lot of left hand stock.

What is it that you like so much about it?

The tone is so versatile! It does mellow strumming, defined picking and can actually be really punchy. Because it

doesn’t have a cutaway it sounds really full, that and it just looks incredible.

How do you use it, and how has it shaped the way you write music?

Because I write in quite a few different tunings, I use it mainly for anything in standard tuning or not far from. Having such different tone really opens your mind for writing!

Tell us a little bit about what you have coming up?

My Debut EP Clearer is due to be released on February 4th and I’m doing a launch at Sooki Lounge, Belgrave. I’m currently in the process of planning some touring too!

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PG.42 // MIXDOWN #256 // AUGUST 2015

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