planetwaves.com/beatles
planetwaves.com/beatles guitar straps and picks
That rig has about 14 connections and I go
direct to the PA. All the programming is usually done in the studio through full-range
speakers, and for me the Fractal units translate better, for any kind of recording or live
performance stuff. That’s what those things
are designed to do best anyway, so I didn’t
want to introduce any limitations for the
device. I wanted to use it in the way it was
designed to be used.
Photo by Michael Mesker
important and unique inventions in the guitar
world these days.
I can recreate virtually all the sounds within
the analog rig with the digital rig, but I can’t
create some of the digital rig sounds with
the analog rig. The Fractal can go so deep
on certain kinds of effects, and the way you
can control stuff with expression pedals, that
makes it a difficult thing to pull off in the analog rig. That big analog rig has over 240 connections just to set it up, so there’s a lot that
can go wrong when you’re on the road. Some
of those hassles can bring a show down.
The Fractal guys told me that they look for-
ward to your input.
That’s what’s cool about this thing. It’s a living, breathing entity. The way that I use it is
different from the way a lot of other people
use it, but everybody’s input is valid. There
are tons of things that other people have
tried that I didn’t even know the thing could
do. It’s amazing that Cliff [Chase]—the guy
who made it and designed it—can do what
he can do. I’ve asked him for some specific
improvements on some things and he’s been
able to provide those fairly quickly. Now,
some of them are more challenging and are
taking more time, but it’s good to be able to
have your requests for certain things listened
to and then implemented.
Planet Waves is a trademark of D’Addario & Company, Inc. or its affiliates in the US
and/or other countries. © 2009 D’Addario & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
© 2009 Apple Corps Ltd. A Beatles™ Product. All Rights Reserved.
All Rights Reserved. Yellow Submarine: © 2009 Subafilms Ltd.
A Yellow Submarine™ Product. Beatles: © 2009 Apple Corps Ltd. A Beatles™ Product.
So you’re totally comfortable rolling with
analog or digital?
I have a love for all kinds of amplifiers and
effects, but when you pragmatically look at
touring and trying to keep costs down while
still trying to get the sounds you need, the
Fractal became a good option for me. Now
when I record in the studio, I’m probably
going to try out everything I can try out—the
Fractal, amps and all kinds of other stuff.
But still you need to find the one thing that
is going to be the most reliable and cost
effective. I’ve done the big, huge rig, and I
love the big, huge rig. It sounds great with
all the gear in it. It’s got some history. But if
it’s going to cost me $25,000 to ship it every
time I go to Europe or Japan, that’s tough,
especially in this economic climate. But the
Fractal, that’s certainly one of the more
What’s the main amp in your analog rig?
The Fuchs TripleDrive Supreme 3-channel, 100
watts. Those amps suit my playing and the flexibility with the three channels is great.
Do you have a favorite piece of gear?
There’s a piece of equipment that makes a
very specific sound that has existed on a lot
of Frank’s records; it’s called a DynaFlanger.
He had two of them and used them in conjunction with each other. Those are hard to
find but they make a very specific sound.
They’re in the analog rig, but I’ve also been
able to recreate them to a pretty good
extent within the Fractal, as well. As far as
signature sounds go, the sounds that Frank
got out of them on the Shut Up ‘N Play Yer
Guitar record are among the coolest guitar
sounds that I’ve ever heard. Knowing that
those boxes made those sounds, that’s a
pretty cool thing. I’ve never been able to get
80 PREMIER GUITAR DECEMBER 2009 always used on dark surfaces
ram such as Illustrator, be sure to set your PREFERENCES for the units to scale
window pops up - check the box for “SCALE STROKES & EFFECTS”
www.premierguitar.com
