Features / Series: What's That Noise?

Bruno Dorella (OvO - drums,) SPB: Walk our readers through your self-described “minimal drum kit.” How did you arrive at your sizes of what to include (or not include)? Dorella: There are different reasons why I choose to play without kick drum. First, when I started playing drums in a … Read more

Jake (Painted Light – guitar) SPB: What type of guitar do you play (and how did you land on this one)? Jake: Fender 1972 Thinline Telecaster! I love it because the tone is warm, not too bright -- but the highs come through well, and the pickups are hot enough … Read more

Marc Blaquiere (Phuture Memoriez) SPB: Walk us through your setup that led to what we hear on Play Cobra? Blaquiere:  Read more

Sean Arenas (Pinned in Place – guitar) SPB: What guitar do you play (and how did you choose it)? Arenas: I've only ever owned one electric guitar: my purple Fender Standard Telecaster, a Mexican model. I purchased it when I was nineteen from a sixteen-year-old kid in Temple City, Calif. … Read more

Skippy (Pirates Press – owner) SPB: When pressing a record, what element is the most important to making sure the record gets the best quality sound? (Is there a specific step in the process that is key to the audio component?) Skippy: If you’re pressing with Pirates, the recording, mixing … Read more

Igor Starshinov (Ploho) SPB: What make/model of synth did you primarily use on the new record? How did you choose this model? Starshinov: We used Moog minimoog model d, Nord lead 2x, Quasimidi the Raven, Roland Vp550, Casio VL 1, Roland sh 101 and Roland juno 60. We chose these … Read more

Ryan Schutte (Pound – baritone guitar) SPB: What led you to the baritone guitar as your instrument of choice? Schutte: I do a fair amount of hybrid picking which is more difficult on larger gauge strings. The baritone 9 string allows me to use lighter gauge strings, which is easier … Read more

David Stickney (Pound – drums) SPB: Walk our readers through your kit and offer insight as to how you arrived at your sizes (shells and cymbals)? Stickney: The best way to think of my kit is actually as 2 separate kits. The main kit is a typical, traditional kit: just … Read more

Matt Cronk (Qui) SPB: What kind of guitar do you use and how did you come to this choice? Cronk: What a fun question! I love guitars and can go on and on about them, ad infinitum. I have several that rotate in and out but if I had to … Read more

Eli Hansen (Real Numbers) SPB: What type of guitar are you playing with Real Numbers and how did you choose it? Hansen: I play a 1965 Hagstrom I. Many years ago I was guitar shopping in Milwaukee with my Dad (also a musician and guitar collector) and stumbled across one … Read more

Eric Saylor (Reunions – guitar/vocals) SPB: Can you walk us through your guitar gear? Saylor: I have two pretty distinct setups I like to run; both are pretty basic. Most of the time I'll run my LTD EC-1000 into a Mesa DC-10 paired with an oversized Mesa 4x12. I've spent … Read more

Jason (Riot For Romance) SPB: Were there any amps, cabs or anything else that stood out when you recorded the self-titled EP? Jason: Something different for me than in past lives, is that I recorded my guitars from home for the first time ever. Previously, I've done scratch tracks at … Read more

Marissa (Screaming Females) SPB: How does your choice of guitar define the Screaming Females sound? Marissa: I never put much thought into what sort of guitar I wanted to play in Screaming Females, because I didn't have much of a choice. My G&L was a gift given to me when … Read more

Seagulls SPB: What model of guitar do you play and how did you choose it? Steve: I play a fender mexi pbass with delano pmvc 4 fe/m2 pickups (quarter pounders on roids) and always a fresh set of 45-100 strings. It's super bright, but still meaty. My stingray was too … Read more

So Hideous (Brandon Cruz) SPB: What instrument (or instrument combo) was the hardest to capture in the studio when recording None But A Pure Heart Can Sing? Cruz: We’ve used strings on every single one of our releases but it was particularly challenging on this album as we tried a … Read more

Vytautas Leistrumas (Solo Ansamblis) SPB: Walk us through your gear setup from your last tour. How do you implement the mix of live and electronic elements? Leistrumas: Let's start with a very important, beloved and sometimes hated Elektron Octatrack MK2, which serves as a midi host, effects machine and also … Read more

William Thomas Fay (Something Is Waiting) SPB: I hear you make your own cabs. Can you tell us what the most important custom features are for your personal sound? Fay: Read more

Nathaniel (Spaceships) SPB: Tell us about your amp pairings and how you chose them. Nathaniel: I run a stereo rig with a Vox AC15 and a 1960s Gibson Falcon. I encountered a Falcon while helping a friend who runs an amp repair shop. He had me put it together and … Read more

Todd Allen (Squarecrow) SPB: What amps do you use, and how did you decide on that setup? Allen: I upgraded from some random half stack with a Boss Metal Zone pedal to a Fender Deville 4x10 combo amp because I was playing in a rockabilly punk band at the time … Read more

AEF (Starless Domain) SPB: What electronic equipment/synthesisers do you use and what led you to those in particular? AEF: On the album EOS I went fairly simple with synthesizers and only used a Roland JP-8000. This was mostly due to my gear being in storage and, since this was our … Read more