|
E-mail List
|
Doug Manring’s Gear
Gear Lovers!! Let's have some fun! I've always been a serious gear freak, I suppose to my own detriment sometimes ... in fact, back in my teen years, my father once lamented, "Son, It seems to me that you're more interested in the equipment than the music!!" He was probably right at the time, and I have been a tad more careful since then ... BUT ... a passion is a passion and one must not stand in its way ... so ... LET'S TALK SHOP!!! Guitar Rigs: I generally prefer straightforward, pure tones, so my rigs tend to be very simple ... however, I like to have access to a lot of different tones, so I like to rely on a number of different rigs rather than try to create one rig that might do it all: By far the simplest rig I use is just a Stratocaster plugged straight in to a Fender Sidekick 30 combo amp. This Paul Rivera designed transistor circuit is amazingly ear friendly and versatile. It's good for a primitive dirty tone that doesn't need to be a screaming type of lead sound. An essential component for capturing the sound of this amp in the studio is an AKG D-12 dynamic mic, about one finger width off the grille cloth a little off center, aimed at the seam where the speaker cone joins the center circle. A good example of this set up is the spot guitar solos between verses in "Marionette" on "Oasis". By adding a second mic, pointed at a wooden board a couple feet in front of the amp, a cool, "hollow" tone can be achieved ... this can be heard with my fretless SG on "Matsuri" from "Oasis". My principal solo tone is achieved with a Strat going into a ProCo RAT distortion box (modified to run on AC) into an original 1969 Marshall 50 watt top and out of an old Sound City 4 x 10 cabinet. I mic it with an Electro Voice PL95 dynamic mic and add any reverb or delay after the mic, both live and in the studio. I almost never use any kind of chorus or flanging on this sound. One interesting thing is that I generally don't play it all that loud, particularly in the studio, but the tone is very consistent at any volume, and it sustains very nicely even at low volume. The majority of solos on the Oasis album were done with this set-up, the title track, "It's Not Fair", "Freefall", "The River", "The Wake", and "Tightrope Walker". One of my all time favorite sounds is guitar through a Leslie speaker. The Leslie I use is the bottom rotor from a 147 mounted sideways into a smaller cabinet with ports on either side. I drive it with either the Fender Sidekick 30, or a Yamaha G100 two-channel head, which can switch between clean or dirty tones ... and I do use both. I usually mike it with my trusty AKG D12s. I have found that the Leslie recorded in mono will give a more pronounced "grind" (or "swoosh" perhaps?) (as heard throughout "The Gate") whereas in stereo, it's a more transparent, ambient texture, as heard in "The Future". Though I almost exclusively use the slow speed, "The Arrow and the Bird" incorporates the faster speed for the solo at the end. For DI or clean guitar sounds, I have used a number of approaches, both live and in the studio. I have used a Rockman Sustainer quite a bit, particularly live. It's a very convenient package, but I have had a lot of trouble controlling hum with Stratocaster pickups. I used it to record the main guitar part in "Freefall" on "Oasis". I have also gone straight DI through the board and simply miked a clean sounding Fender amp, which produces an earthy kind of clean tone. Albumwise, "The River" features the DI clean tone, "Tightrope Walker" features the miked Fender amp. Live, I generally need to be able to easily choose between clean and dirty tones. In the past, I have used a dual system, either the Fender Sidekick & DI (usually the Rockman Sustainer) or a double Fender setup with the sidekick doing the dirty work and an old Vibro Champ for the clean. In 1998, I acquired a Pearce G2R, two-channel, 200 watt amp, which I run through a custom built 4 x 10 cabinet (now replaced by a Marshall 1965B 4x10 enclosure). This rig has some noise problems, but is otherwise fantastic onstage. Drums & Percussion Instruments: My drum set is a Slingerland I got in 1977 and still use. Though copper coated, they have all maple shells ... and their unique tone is a mixture of that wood and metal. The kick is 24", I have a 9x13" ride, a 16x16" floor tom and an enormous 16x18" floor tom. My snare is a thirty year old Ludwig Acrilite. I use primarily Zildjian cymbals, my basic set-up employs a 22" ride, two 18" crashes, and 14" hi-hat .... all acquired in the mid-70s. The hardware is a mixture of brands and eras, Ludwig cymbal stands, a Tama hi-hat stand and throne, a Yamaha bass drum pedal which can convert to a double pedal. To this basic set I have used a variety of add-ons throughout the years, additional cymbals, and extra tom tom, roto-toms, electric pads ... I'm currently using a pair of Pearl Octobans, and a pair of small one headed toms by Tama. I use Remo heads on all the drums, a coated Emperor Batter on the snare, a Black Dot on the bass drum, Pin Stripes on the tops of the toms and Ambassadors on the bottoms. I use Pearl 103A sticks ... I prefer a slightly shorter stick with a thick shoulder and round bead. Though I was trained in the traditional marching grip, I almost always play in matched grip. I use matching felt beaters on my bass drum pedals. Albumwise, I used the Slingerland set on "Oasis", "The River" and "Tightrope Walker". The floor toms were used on "Border Story", "Marionette" and "Matsuri", the snare, kick and hi-hat only were used to perform "The Gate". "Freefall" and "The Wake" were done on rented Yamaha drums using my own snare and cymbals. Studio: Small Wonder Studio is sixteen-track (Fostex E-16, 1/2 inch) analog, with eight tracks of digital in a Macintosh-based Pro Tools Project system. The two formats can be sync'd using an Opcode Studio 64X interface, offering essentially a 24-track "analog/digital" hybrid system. I use a couple of mixers from Tascam and Roland to divide the channel load with, and monitor on JBL 4312s and Control Ones. I use Sony MDR-V606 headphones. I have a Tascam DA-30 for mixing down to DAT, and a Tascam CD-RW5000 CD recorder. I have signal processing gear by Drawmer, dbx, BSS, and Rocktron, effects units by Yamaha, Sony, Korg, Deltalab and Maxon. There is a selection of reliable microphones: condensers (AKG 414s, 451s, Sony ECM-23Fs), dynamic (AKG D-12Es, D-112, Audix D4, Electro-Voice PL95s, Shure SM57s), and a Beyer M500 ribbon mic. Despite the fact that I usually don't have any kind of proper acoustically treated space, I generally prefer to do nearly all my recording with mics. So it's a real guitar & drum oriented earthy sounding studio. The entire setup is fairly mobile and I can take it all out on location when I need to, which was essential when I was based in Tokyo. All the drum set work on "Oasis" and "Varanasi" was done on various location sessions. In April 2000, the studio moved to is new permanent location in Fredericksburg, VA. With literally twenty times the space of my previous Tokyo facility, the studio will now be able to handle extensive drum and percussion set-ups and full band sessions without having to rent space. There is a cavernous work room with a natural echo, and a cozy listening suite, acoustically treated for critical listening. THE MOST IMPORTANT GEAR OF ALL Perhaps this may sound trite, but there is one piece of gear I have not yet mentioned, but is the very item by which all else is realized ... my health and my ears. Without getting too preachy, I go out of my way to stay in shape ... I exercise, eat right and get my rest. I don't go anywhere without earplugs and do not hesitate to put them in when things, be they musical or otherwise start getting too loud. © 2001 Doug Manring |
