BLACK STONE CHERRY
Gear Acquisition Syndrome is a way of life for Black Stone Cherry guitarists Chris Robertson and Ben Wells
Black Stone Cherry are one of those bands that live right on the edge of where hard rock becomes heavy metal, and have built a strong fanbase around the world because of it. On their eighth full-length Screamin’ At The Sky, they’re treading new ground in places, but if you’re looking for colossal tones and hard-swinging riffs, then you certainly won’t be disappointed. A major factor in all that, say singer/guitarist Chris Robertson and co-guitarist Ben Wells, is how they co-exist as two sides of the same coin…
What’s the secret to finding a tone that isn’t too soft or too heavy?
Ben: We both want that heavy sound but we’re going for two different versions of it. Chris is more vintagesounding and my tone is a little more modern, I guess.
Chris: We both like different kinds of amplifiers, but the blend of the two creates this unique thing. I go for an old-school modded Marshall kinda tone that pushes the power stage more while Ben likes to drive the preamp harder.His heads have more preamp gain internally than the ones I use.
So which amps have you used most over the years?
Ben: My number one amp, since even before the first record, has been the Peavey 5150. Even before I had any relationship with the people there, I was using that amplifier. It’s the sound I was always drawn to. Before we started using digital gear like the Line 6 Helix for our live shows, that’s the kind of backline I was requesting for our fly dates.
Chris: The first record was Marshalls. The second was Marshalls, Fenders and Peaveys. On our last record [2020’s The Human Condition] I used a Splawn, which is essentially a modified Marshall. On the new record I recorded the whole thing with Line 6 Helix Native, using the Friedman Placater sound and 2x12 impulse responses because of how the midrange sits. It was more than good enough for me!
If you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of gear advice, what would it be?
Chris: I would tell myself not to be afraid of using more gain and to experiment more with pedals. Because when we started, I just wanted to be Paul Kossoff – a Les Paul with a wah into a Marshall and nothing else. I’d always be telling myself off for dialling too much gain and back it down! It took a while to break out of that mindset. I remember when we got over to England and plugged into the Marshalls over there, they were chugging a little harder because of the power.I remember thinking ‘Yeah, I’m gonna turn it up a notch when I get home!’
Ben: We’ve used al
