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| My Guitars |
In May of 2006, I met a guy named Ed Miers at a show we did in Indiana. He told me that he was the CEO of a company called GREM USA, and that they made guitars. I told him that I would be happy to take a look at his guitars, and I'm SO glad I did. They are PHENOMENAL guitars!! GREM Guitars are all 100% made in America, and their quality is FAR superior to ANYTHING I've ever seen or played in my life. I told him that I had to have one! Since then, we've worked out an arrangement where I'm now exclusively endorsing GREM Guitars. I am so excited to play these fine instruments of such exceptional quality. I hope you'll take a look at their website: GREM USA |
| My Amps |
The amps I use exclusively in the studio are Randall MTS Amplifiers. I'll be using these amps live every chance I get. They are the most versatile amps I've ever heard. The design of these amps makes it possible for me to have three amps in one. The kicker is that all three amps in the one box sound and respond better than any other amp on the market. Because they are modular AND hot-swappable, I can have a virtually unlimited variety of tones at any gig and/or in the studio. They are absolutely AWESOME!!! You should check them out here: randallamplifiers.com
In case you're wondering who else is playing Randall MTS Amps, here's a list: George Lynch, Anthrax, King's X, 3 Doors Down, Breaking Benjamin, Chris Duarte, Danzig, Dark New Day, Disturbed, Drowning Pool, Five For Fighting, Goo Goo Dolls, Good Charlotte, Gotthard, Good Charlotte, My Chemical Romance, Michael Wagener (one of my favorite producers of all time), Nonpoint, Sevendust, Tommy Lee, and many more.
| | My Rig |
I get many emails asking me what equiptment I use on the road to get my tone. I've always wanted to have the best possible tone without having to take all my studio gear out to be abused. We do a lot of flying around, jumping from a newcastle hotel to a New York hotel, and sometimes back in just a few days, and the less I have to check underneath a plane, the better. Most airlines won't even let you check anything over 60-65 pounds anyway, so that refrigerator-sized rack might just sit at point A when you have to be at point B for a gig, so beware.
Since FireHouse is a very diverse band, I need to be able to switch from clean to crunch to World War III tones with the stomp of a single button. I hate tap-dancing up there onstage trying to turn off my delay, change channels, and add reverb in the split second where needed, while trying to sing and play, all at the same time, so I decided to go with a very simple, yet effective rack setup.
Right now on the road, I'm using a Randall RM-100M head for my main tone. It has three stellar sounding channels / preamp modules. I use three 4x12 speaker cabinets, all with Celestion Vintage 30 watt speakers. The speaker output of the head goes directly into the middle cab for my dry tone. The other two cabinets are wet left and wet right. They are driven by a power amp which is fed by the TC G-Force.
Anyway, the head has a line output which is an output that includes the tone of the output section of the amp. I go line out into a GCX, which is a signal splitter and looping box, and the signal feeds the TC G-Force (for delay, a little bit of pitch shifting, and a tiny bit of reverb). I use only a touch of reverb for "air". I also sometimes use a tube screamer for solos.
I'm using an All Access pedal to switch everything. Plugged into the All Access pedal, I have a volume pedal, which is set to control delay level, so the delay is not just on or off, but controllable for all levels in between. |
| My Strings |
I'm using Dean Markley Strings. Dean Markley makes the greatest quality strings on the planet. I've been playing them ever since I started playing guitar. They have amazing tone that lasts and lasts. By the way, I've never broken a Dean Markley String during a gig. Check them out here: deanmarkley.com |
| My Picks |
I have been using In Tune Custom Guitar Picks now for many years. They make the best picks I've ever used and I highly recommend you check them out here: InTuneGP.com |
| My Pedal Board |
The pedal board I use is the Pedaltrain. The Pedaltrain is an extremely rugged, yet lightweight designed pedal board that comes with, and fits snugly into its ATA flight case. I've had a lot of pedal boards, and this one is, by far, the best I've ever had. I never have to worry about it getting damaged when it's thrown around by the airlines or by stage hands. The construction is rock solid, and the pedals are mounted at an angle so I can see the L.E.D.'s even in the afternoon sunlight. It also has a lifetime warranty. Check the Pedaltrain here: Pedaltrain |
| My Cables |
I get emails all the time from people asking me about cables. I've tried every kind of cable on the planet and I have found that the best cables available in the world are from Four Star Wire & Cable. What makes these cables so good? It's simple: Very high shielding so there is NO interference. Every night, you just wrap it up, and there's no tangling, no spagetti mess. These cables keep my live and studio rigs running flawlessly and sounding their very best, day after day, night after night. Check out the professional cable that pros rely on here: MyStarSound.com |
| My Philosophy |
One thing that we guitarists share is the desire to make our guitar sound it's very best. I am always adding more and more pieces of gear to my system, but this basic system gives me the flexibility to play just about any gig, and have a great time doing it!
Good luck with everything, and remember, LIFE IS TOO SHORT FOR BAD TONE!!... Bill |
| My Studio |
| STUDIO GEAR: In the studio I love to use processors by Yamaha, Focusrite, Neve, Avalon, Tubetech, T.C. Electronics, Lexicon, Urie, A.M.S., E.M.T., G.M.L., Drawmer, and Fairchild. My recording preference is the Digidesign Pro Tools format. I also love using Reason. All my music programs are run on Macintosh. If you're into this stuff too, let me know! |
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