Adam Jones: It's complex because I'm very picky about what I use. I use multiple amps. I have a couple of different guitars that have different tones. I definitely have my pedals that I use. I guess my guitar is especially a piece of me. I have a '79 Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst.

The tone it has throughanalog equipment is incredible. I think fast and easy and convenient is kind of the way everyone goes and I do it myself. I'm a victim of it. But there's so much digital equipment out there and people just plug in any guitar and then, 'Oh, well, you can make it sound good. You don't need to be fussy about other stuff.'

But to me, that doesn't sound good. It's the same sound. It just sounds weak and farty. I could go off about equipment for hours. But yeah, my guitar. I mean, I could pick up any guitar and jam with people. But, you know, when I actually play our Tool songs, I just I love my weighted guitars.

Tool performs on Wednesday, February 14 and Thursday, February 15 at the Crypto.com Arena.

(Photo by Travis Shinn)

Dai Burger: The connection between a headphone set and an artist is a union that can’t be ignored! It’s how we hear and catch the beat, it’s how we correspond with the engineer, it’s the vessel that leads the music to the mind and soul… 

I take my set of Audio-Technica ATH studio headphones with me to all sessions, so I’m comfy and ready to go!

Dai Burger "Masterpiece" is out now.

It is powered by an included external power supply connected by a 5-pin XLR connector; MeMore’s excellent audio fidelity that’ll drive any impedance headphones louder than loud including my power hungry Audeze LCD-X Planar Magnetic pair.

All analog line level audio comes in via db25 (d-subs) connectors. Each mono channel has its own Level control, Pan Pot and T-Q (Wolff Audio’s version of a Tilt-like EQ)—a single tone control knob. Increasing brightness lowers the bass at the same time and if the sound is too bright, turn the T-Q control CCW takes down the highs and brings up the bass. These are gentle, “touch-up” EQs with center (flat) detents.

Channels 9/10 and 11/12 are stereo input channels that use both d-subs and rear panel XLR inputs; 11/12 has 1/4-inch TRS inputs as well. These stereo channels also have a single volume control, Pan/Balance, and T-Q control.

MeMore’s other features include: a built-in Talkback mic with its own (2:1 ratio) compressor and its own separate XLR output jack and lighted push button with a hands-free 1/4-inch footswitch jack. When MeMore units are linked together, talkback audio is automatically routed to all of them and can also serve as a “hear me” feed mixed into the headphones.

All db25 sockets are “multed” or copied on the rear panel as well as on the bottom of the MeMore for convenience. In addition, there are two additional db25 connectors for linking nearly unlimited MeMore units together without loss of fidelity. 

In a live tracking session, you could have a stereo track mix going to Channel 9/10 and then each player could adjust the level of himself using the individual track volume controls for their particular instrument or vocal track.

Channel 11/12 could play a completely different stereo mix at the same time such as for a drummer with click track, an orchestra conductor or for any stereo source that you need individual control over. The possibilities are nearly endless especially for commercials or post-production work where simplicity and speed are very important.

Soon there will be a Direct Digital interface that runs at 96kHz with only 2 SAMPLES of latency (measured at 48kHz). This interface would reside in the control room and existing Dante or Cat-5 cabling could be repurposed. MeMore Headphone Systems start at $1,299 MSRP.

wolffaudio.com

I found the microphone’s output level sufficient for most all uses (except for recording super-quiet Foley sound effects) without requiring an external booster amp. I used a professional Millennia Music & Media HV-37 transformer-less mic pre-amp but any inexpensive USB interface will work great.

The PDX720 has two, three-position toggle switches located in a recessed cavity at the opposite end of the mic's all-metal (aluminum) body. There is a Presence boost of either off, 1.5dB or 3dB at about 5-kHz. There is also a low-cut filter with three choices of off, 120-Hz or 155-Hz. The Presence boost adds a little more "cut" to thick vocals.

I liked these switches both off for singing or talking about four inches from the end of the mic. But recording a booming bass drum required the 120-Hz low-cut filter position.

The Audix PX720 proved to be excellent for recording drums with its good directivity that tends to prevent loud hi-hats from being picked up when I had it aimed at a snare drum's top head for example. Its 50-Hz to 20-kHz frequency response and ability to take up to 135-dB SPL make it a natural for positioning close to loud drums. It has a warmer sound without excessive brightness. Thin, small sounding drums take on a thicker quality right away

The PDX720 is designed, machined, assembled and tested by Audix in the U.S. It sells for $799 MSRP. 

audixusa.com/products/pdx720-signature-edition

The new V6 features include: Equalization to a neutral frequency response, improved linearized phase response above 300 Hz, and then you now can start, with a known flat voicing for further equalization, to the needs of the particular install.

The V6 FIR tunings are for COL600 & COL800, SLP12/T and SLP14/T, GSF6 and GSF8 and Control 68HP products. The posted tunings are for use with Crown DCI-N and DCI-DA power amps. 

All models feature premium multi-tap transformers for use in distributed systems and are switchable for direct operation. These are sleek, elegant and non-intrusive speakers and winners of prestigious international design awards for industrial design excellence.

jblpro.com/en-US/site_elements/instructions-for-ae-series-fir-tunings

Kelly Gonsalves: Choosing one piece of gear is tough! We’re going to go with our Fender Mustangs.

Both Adam and I play identical Mustangs with P90s in them. We don’t know how it happened, but at some point over the last few years we ended up playing the same guitar and stuck with it. They feel great to play and have nice tonal range.

We’ve also developed quite the pedal collection, which seems to suit these guitars.

And when Ryann chooses to play her Mustang Bass we’re all matching at shows. It’s a thing!

Torrey's self-titled album is out now.

(Photo by Katie Lovecraft)

Loudbox Micro has 40-watts of bi-amped power driving a 5.25-inch woofer and 0.8-inch tweeter in a sealed cabinet that is angled slightly upwards back at you when it sits on the floor.

I liked that the included (paper) manual explains all the controls with exactly how and why to set them and the results to expect. Loudbox has an XLR input jack for plugging in a professional dynamic microphone but it will also handle a direct box or any balance audio mic-level signal. There is no +48-volt phantom power provided, but there is a simple, two-band EQ for the microphone channel that is very effective and sounds good on dynamic mics.

The 1/4-inch input jack for the instrument channel accepts any passive or active acoustic pickups using Fishman’s legendary preamp and tone control design. A three-band EQ with +/- 12dB @ 60Hz peaking, +/- 10.5dB @ 700-Hz peaking, and +/-12dB @ 15kHz shelving sections will carve your acoustic sound exactly the way you like. There is also a Phase button that can reduce acoustic feedback or increase/decrease bass boominess. 

I tried Shure’s MV-7 XLR/USB Podcast and also their new SM7dB dynamic mics in the vocal channel with great results. The digital reverb is fine when used as a light touch but the chorus effect on the Instrument channel is lovely in just about any amount for acoustic guitars to spread out the sound beautifully.

Besides the DC power jack that connects Loudbox Micro to its included power adapter, the rear panel has two mini stereo jacks. The first is an Aux input for mixing in a backing track with its stereo sound automatically summed to mono. There is also a stereo headphone jack that mutes the speaker when you plug in to it. For practicing without the speaker on!

Finally, the XLR output jack plays out your dialed-in mix of the Vocal and Instrument audio channels so they may be routed to a larger house PA system via its ground-isolated output. Overall level is under control of a Master Volume control.

The Fishman Loudbox Micro is a complete professional product that sells for $299.95 MAP. It is a well-made and designed portable amp that is very flexible, useful and sounds great!

fishman.com/portfolio/loudbox-micro-acoustic-amplifier

Besides the standard 150-ohm low impedance microphone input that uses a custom nickel-core input transformer, there is also a high-impedance 1/4-inch input jack on the front panel for recording direct instruments. That same signal coming in is also boosted, isolated and sent out a second front panel 1/4-inch unbalanced Inst/Thru jack. This Thru signal goes out loss-free (even over a long cable) to your guitar amp (or powered speaker) to be amplified again and then also recorded using a microphone and hopefully another Mäag Audio PREQ2-500.

This unique, built-in re-amplification feature enables creative experimentation when recording and/or mixing using: stomp pedals, guitar amps, or Leslie speaker cabinets. The PREQ2-500 has +25dBU of headroom, and a very low noise floor. The Air Band® has up to 9dB of boost and switchable frequencies of 2.5kHz, 5kHz, 10kHz, 15kHz, 20kHz and 40kHz.

Front panel includes switches for: +48-volt phantom on/off, -20dB attenuation pad, phase/polarity flip, and in/out switches for both the 2nd order 12dB/octave 70-Hz high-pass filter, and the Air Band EQ. The +25dB gain button (A red LED lights up when engaged) selects between two gain ranges of either +20dB to +42dB or +42dB to +71dB. 

I liked the large, easy-to-grab, red pre-amp gain knob for continuously adjusting the recording level, but I love the super-clear and pristine sound of this amplifier design. The Mäag Audio PREQ2-500 is a single-channel 500 version of their Dual-Channel 1U rack mount PREQ2 Dual Mic Pre-amp with EQ and a great way to get into the sound of Mäag Audio. It sells for $959 MSRP.

maag.audio/preq2-500

Pro-R 2’s original Modern Reverb Style/algorithm is joined by two new reverbs called Vintage and the great-sounding metallic-tinged Plate. I liked that if you have all other parameters set such as Decay time, Pre-delay, EQ etc., you may substitute any of these three styles without disturbing the other parameters.

I think the ability to import impulse responses (.wav or .aiff formats) that Pro-R 2 will analyze to duplicate any room sound to work within a mix is an excellent feature! I also liked the Freeze button that can be automated for moments in your mix to increase the sustain of a reverb in a musical way. Conversely, the new Auto-Gate feature determines how long the reverb tail should last and is sync-able to the host tempo.

I found good use for the Character feature that modulates and increases the early reflections while the new Thickness control saturates the input signal going into the selected reverb algorithm. 

I think if you've been wanting more sound design features or immersive reverberation capabilities, this new Pro-R 2 update is a worthwhile investment in the time to learn how to utilize it completely.

With more control and modern features than before, it is actually a whole new product, FabFilter Pro-R 2 Plug-in Reverb sells for $169 MSRP and is available now.

fabfilter.com/shop

Dessa: Pen snobs suck: the loud talking about fine lines and ink flow, the zipper cases, the theater-kid pledges of absolute devotion to a singular make and model. And yet here we are. For me, it’s Pilot Razor Point, write or die. 

My dad (an actual pilot) kept em around when I was a little kid, so I started using early. If you’ve never kicked the tires on a Razor Point, think of a chisel-tip Sharpie—the satisfying attenuating swoop, the no-bullshit matte black. Now render it slim in hand, with a plain utilitarian barrel, and a $1.61 price tag at Art Materials. To write lyrics with anything else feels…a little icky. Like eating takeout with a hotel key card on tour—I’ve done it, it works, but it’s sort of embarrassing to engage in or behold. Pilot, if you’re listening, I am quite possible your Number One Fan. 

Dessa performs at the Lodge Room on January 18.