Wah pedal

The one piece of equipment I'm really f'n picky about is my wah pedal — it's my "killer app," my not-so-secret weapon that I can't do without. I've tried countless different wahs over the years, and so far am happiest with the Dunlop 535Q Crybaby. It's got adjustable controls for frequency range and Q, so it's not necessary to get your fingers all greasy "tuning" the potentiometer. It's also got a separate volume control and a gain boost switch. That's all well and good, but all those sexy features actually do is make it sound and feel great to play! ;-) I've read some complaints on the internet about their (lack of) durability, but my 535Q is still alive and screaming after three years of HEAVY (ab)use. Even so, I'd drop it like a hot curling iron if I found a wah I liked better — I'm that finicky when it comes to wah pedals.

Strings, picks and other goodies

I'm a total slut when it comes to string brands for practicing at home; I'll buy whatever is on sale at the local shop. (Hey, if you broke as many strings as I do you'd do the same.) But for recording and playing live I use Dean Markley 2502Bs whenever possible. I don't know what it is about them, but the 2502Bs really are faster to stretch out and get tuned up, and last longer without breaking. They also stay in tune better than other brands I've tried. Soundwise, they are as good as anything else I've tried. I play normal 9-42 gauge for most rhythms and all solos, and put 10-46 gauge on the flying V for recording de-tuned rhythms.

Recently I became a reluctant believer in Big Bends Nut Sauce (see right), a tuning lubricant. Here's how it happened: Just before the SoP tour, I went into my local music shop to stock up on strings. The guys who work there whipped out a tube of Big Bends to show me: "Heheh, check out my NUT SAUCE, heheh." After we'd recovered from the hilarity of their clever joke, we settled down to a more-or-less serious discussion of the relative efficacy of the product as a lubricant. The music shop guys implied that it was one of those gimmicky products that don't really do much (it comes in a nifty tube — see pic on right). In the end I bought a tube as a silly joke present for Arjen (because I thought it would make him go "hehehe" too). Later on during the tour, out of curiosity I tested it on my own guitar and found that it really did help keep the floating trem in tune! I used it during both tours, and now my guitar would feel nekkid without a wee dab of Nut Sauce applied in strategic places.

My picks are Jim Dunlop Tortex (1.14 purple) because they seem to make it easier to get that certain squealy, half-pinched-harmonic sound that I can't get enough of.

Recording setup

My recording setup is über-simple: the signal goes from the guitar, into the Crybaby, and then into a digital preamp (Pod Pro or a Digitech GSP2101). From there the signal is fed straight into the PC soundcard.

I used this humble recording setup with the Pod Pro to record the solos on Stream of Passion's debut album, Embrace the Storm. All my solos were recorded completely dry and then sent to Arjen (the producer/head honcho), who added all the juicy fx goodness during mixing.

On Demo 2004 I used the Digitech 2101, and did everything myself in my cheapo home studio. Again, all effects were added during mixing. The only effect I ever "commit to tape" while recording is the wah pedal.

Live Equipment

For playing live with Stream of Passion, I use the Pod Pro as a preamp, which gets fed into a Marshall 50-watt head to drive a 4x12 cabinet (the latter two both borrowed from the ever-generous Arjen). I also use the Line 6 Floor board and its built-in wah pedal. My ideal setup would allow me to control both the Pod AND a Dunlop rack-mounted wah, all from one clean, simple (and sturdy!) MIDI pedal board. Ah, a girl can dream *sigh*

Early days

For playing live and recording with Warbride "back in the day," I used 1960s-1970s Marshall 50-watt heads (modified by Lee Jackson who was then still at the helm of Metaltronix) and 4x12 cabinets (the vintage tweed ones with green-back Celestions!). I ran a stereo setup through an Alesis Quadraverb+ and various Boss pedals (Super Overdrive, Chorus and Octave Divider). My favorite guitar at that time was a beat up, baby-poo-yellow 70s Fender Strat with a scalloped neck and Dimarzio HS-3s. (Yeah yeah, I admit it: I went through a brief period of total Yngwie worship. And yeah yeah, the uglier the guitar, the more I like it.)

ADvantages of "Small GEar"

Huge stacks of Marshalls are indeed manly (just ask MANOWAR), and can sound great if you can play really f'n LOUD. As much as I miss that oddly addictive, hit-you-in-the-chest sensation of high-volume Marshalls "moving air," I have to admit that my sensible "small gear" is perfect for recording quietly in at home without driving my neighbors crazy. They may find me irritating for countless other reasons, but at least I spare them the annoyance of incessant amps-turned-to-eleven guitar widdling. I also like the dependability of the digital preamps: tube amps can be a bit fussy and temperamental, but digital preamps like the Pod sound the same every time you plug in.

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