WHAT THE INFLUENTIAL HÜSKER DÜ AND SUGAR GUITARIST SEES WHEN HE LOOKS DOWN
Interview by Amit Sharma
“THIS BOARD COVERS the foundation of my guitar sound. After my Boss tuner, the first pedal in the chain is my signature Sky Patch distortion. Those are made by a company called Tym Guitars in Brisbane, Australia. I started working with [founder] Tim Brennan back in 2013. He gave me one of the pedals he’d made based on the MXR Distortion+, which was something I’d been using for decades. It’s the sound I started out with as a kid. I had a Sears catalog SG copy and then moved onto the Ibanez Rocket Roll Sr. The MXR gave me a sustain that wasn’t far from what Johnny Ramone was getting with a Mosrite and Marshall stack. As a kid who didn’t have the money or headroom for a 100-watt Marshall head with two cabinets, I appreciated them packing that sound into something the same size as a pack of cigarettes.
“I don’t go into the back of the amp with anything; it’s all wired into the front. I use the TC [Electronic] Flashback [Delay] for one setting, which is a subtle shadow using the reverse setting. I dial everything at around 10 o’clock for a little more density. I try to keep it as invisible as possible, avoiding massive repeats. I love the Electro-Harmonix Freeze [Sound Retainer] for building layers. My current modes of touring are either as a three-piece or completely solo with an electric, so the Freeze is a wonderful way of creating solo sections. If I’m the only instrumentalist or guitarist on stage, it can get a little naked… which is fine. But it’s nice to imply or suggest other things are happening. On a song like “The Descent” from my [2012] album Silver Age, as I’m heading into the solo I’
